Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 61: Switching Cultivation Technique

While Zhou Xuanhao led thousands of secular members of the Zhou Family to the Baisha River Oasis to establish a clan branch, Zhouyang also bid farewell to the old clan leader Zhou Minghan and headed to the Haoyang Cave to oversee it.

He had an agreement with the old clan leader Zhou Minghan that he could take over the position of clan leader, but the clan’s daily minor affairs would still be handled by Zhou Minghan. If there were major issues that required his decision as the clan leader, someone would inform him to return for discussion and decision-making.

Traveling from Yuquan Lake Oasis to Haoyang Cave Oasis, riding a Shatuo Beast would take several days, but switching to Sword Flight would take less than two hours.

Regarding the speed of Sword Flight, Zhouyang’s current cultivation at the First-Layer Foundation Establishment can serve as a benchmark.

With his First-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivation, in the absence of carrying others, he can fly over a thousand miles in one hour with the recently obtained Tier Three Lower Grade Flying Sword flying at full power.

However, such full-speed flight consumes a lot of magical power. With his First-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivation, he can only fly continuously for two hours before needing to stop and rest to recover his magical power.

This doesn’t mean his magical power can only sustain two hours of flight, but because he must always reserve at least half of his magical power to respond to emergencies.

The speed of Sword Flight for a cultivator mainly depends on three factors.

Firstly, cultivation level. The higher the cultivation level, the faster the Sword Flight speed.

Secondly, the "Sword Control Skill" Spell. The better the skill, the more noticeable the increase in speed.

The third factor is the type of Flying Sword. Note, it’s the type, not the grade.

Under normal circumstances, a cultivator’s Flying Sword mainly serves for Magical Combat, and Sword Flight is merely a secondary function.

However, sometimes when artifact refiners obtain particularly unique materials, they will create a sword specifically for cultivators to use in Sword Flight.

Such Flying Swords are generally equipped with multiple speed-enhancing Magic Bans, allowing an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to fly faster using such a Tier Three Lower Grade Flying Sword than a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator using a regular Tier Three Middle Grade Flying Sword. Matching the speed of a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator is not entirely impossible.

Nevertheless, materials for crafting such flying-specific swords are rare, and few artifact refiners know how to make them, so cultivators possessing these unique swords are very few.

Moreover, high-tier cultivators have more than just Sword Flight as a means of travel. For instance, the Giant Flying Mansion Ship Spiritual Artifact in the hands of the Chen Family Ancestor is one of the common means high-tier cultivators use for long-distance travel.

After more than a year, the oasis at Haoyang Cave has expanded a bit. Upon returning, Zhouyang first met with Eighth Aunt Zhou Xuanyan, who had been overseeing this place for years. He explained the recent events of the Zhou Family and mentioned that he would be transferring Eighth Aunt’s son, Zhou Yu, here to assist in developing the oasis as a reward for her efforts.

Zhou Yu, having narrowly escaped the chaos caused by sand bandits at the Baisha River Oasis, had developed a fear of going there. As he was ready to take concubines and raise descendants, Zhouyang facilitated this favorable outcome for him by arranging for him to come to Haoyang Cave to assist his mother in developing the oasis.

Zhou Xuanyan was deeply shocked to hear that her son had almost perished, so upon hearing Zhouyang’s arrangement, she was immensely grateful.

"The clan is very short on people now, and the oasis development relies entirely on you, Eighth Aunt. When I set off, Thirteenth Aunt, Brother Eight, and Eleventh Brother were also leading ten thousand clan mortals here. They will help with defense for five years upon arrival. At that time, these clan members will act under your command, and the clan’s task for you is to develop a small oasis sufficient to support ten thousand people within twenty years!"

A small oasis capable of supporting ten thousand people must cover an area of at least over one hundred square kilometers, whereas the oasis at Haoyang Cave is barely over ten square kilometers.

Therefore, the clan task Zhouyang mentioned was not light.

However, Zhou Xuanyan said nothing more and, instead, firmly replied, "Rest assured, clan leader, as long as I am not buried twenty years from now, the oasis at Haoyang Cave will surely be developed as you wish."

Hearing this, Zhouyang felt rather uncomfortable because he realized that Eighth Aunt was already nearing ninety years of age, and setting a twenty-year deadline would mean dedicating the rest of her life to this stretch of desert sands.

"I leave everything in your hands, Eighth Aunt!"

He bowed deeply to the elderly woman whose hair had begun to turn white.

Zhou Xuanyan remained silent, accepting his bow quietly.

Everything was understood without words.

After bidding farewell to Eighth Aunt Zhou Xuanyan, Zhouyang went to visit his second brother, Zhou Bao, who served as the Mortal City Lord.

It is said that his second brother was quite fortunate. Just over a month before the sand bandits assaulted the Baisha River Oasis, he happened to return to the clan with Eighth Aunt’s husband, Chen Ting, escaping danger.

Now, after taking on the role of Mortal City Lord, in less than a year, not only did he marry eight concubines, but three of them have already become pregnant one after another.

Looking at Zhou Bao, who had gained a circle of weight in less than a year, and the mortal women who lowered their heads and dared not look at him, he didn’t have much to say, just nodded lightly and said, "Since Second Brother likes his current life, enjoy the rest of your days. By the way, when the children are born, remember to ask Eighth Aunt to check if they have Spiritual Roots."

Zhou Bao, hearing this, immediately beamed at the three pregnant concubines and nodded vigorously, "Don’t worry, I won’t forget this matter of all things. I have no grand hopes for myself; I just hope to produce a descendant with a Spiritual Root to carry on my bloodline. This was the task grandfather laid out for me before he passed!"

Then you must strive hard!

Zhouyang couldn’t help but smile inwardly, his previously gloomy mood suddenly becoming much lighter.

He now somewhat understood the thinking of those clan brothers eager to take concubines and produce children.

These people are hastily marrying concubines and having children, not only because they’re tempted by the childbirth subsidy fund, but also because they want to produce an exceptional descendant to prove themselves.

They know that they will never be able to compare with Zhouyang in this lifetime and can only place their hopes in their offspring. If they can produce a descendant with a Top-grade Spiritual Root, the leader of the Zhou Family will undoubtedly change to their descendants in the future.

Moreover, the current situation of the Zhou Family is different from the past. Now, the Zhou Family has three Foundation Establishment Cultivators stationed and has developed the Haoyang Cave Spirit Vein and the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein. Whether in terms of strength or finances, it’s better than at any previous time.

Under such circumstances, anyone with a little foresight knows that now is the best time to produce descendants.

If they have descendants now, when their descendants start cultivation and grow, the resources they’ll receive for cultivation will be far superior to what they received, and their future path will be smoother and further.

"This is a good thing!"

"Have more children, as long as you dare to give birth, the Zhou Family can afford to raise them!"

"If truly Heaven’s favor allows the Zhou Family to produce a Top-grade Spiritual Root cultivator, I, as the Clan Leader, would laugh from my dreams!"

Zhouyang left the earthen city where mortals gathered with a smile, in high spirits.

Haoyang Cave is still Haoyang Cave because Zhou Xuanhao went to the Jade Spring Lake Oasis to rest and preside after his Foundation Establishment, so everything here is no different from when Zhouyang left initially.

He spent eight years here, about a quarter of his life, naturally forming a bond with it and internally not wanting to see a drastic change upon returning.

However, now that he’s back, the development plan for the Haoyang Cave Spirit Vein must start working on it. After all, it’s a Tier Three Spiritual Vein, and if developed properly, it can provide the clan with a net income of several hundred Spirit Stones each year without issue.

"This matter is not urgent. Thirteenth Aunt and the others are migrating with over ten thousand mortals, and it won’t be possible to reach here in just a few months. I’ll wait for them to arrive before going back to the clan to ask Twelfth Uncle to help open up the medicine field."

After Foundation Establishment, one’s lifespan suddenly extends to 240 years, causing Zhouyang’s mentality to change considerably, becoming more and more calm and steady.

Moreover, the most important thing for him now is not developing the Haoyang Cave Spirit Vein but quickly changing his Cultivation Technique to the "Qianyang Immortal Scripture". In the Foundation Establishment Stage, continuing with the Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivation Technique would be intolerably ineffective, and he’s long been fed up with this situation.

Of course, only he knows about the "Qianyang Immortal Scripture"; on the surface, he’s still practicing the "Golden Radiant Sun Technique".

As a Cultivation Technique created by a Tribulation Crossing Stage True Immortal Great Power, the "Qianyang Immortal Scripture" is, of course, much more profound and mysterious than the ordinary "Golden Radiant Sun Technique". However, Zhouyang possesses the "Qianyang Treasure Body", naturally perfectly matching this Cultivation Technique, making cultivation with it even smoother than with the Qi Cultivation Stage technique.

Shortly, in just half a year, he completely transformed all his Magical True Essence into "Qianyang True Essence", completing the introductory cultivation of the technique.

Generally speaking, Cultivation Techniques above the Foundation Establishment Stage come with exclusive Divine Techniques. Like the Cultivation Technique the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan recommended for Zhouyang, the "Golden Radiant Sun Technique", after the introductory cultivation, automatically grants the cultivator two exclusive Divine Techniques.

One is similar to "Protective Golden Light", a type of protective golden light, and the other is the offensive Divine Technique "Fiery Sun Fire Pearl".

The attached Divine Techniques of such Cultivation Techniques have many advantages compared to ordinary magic, first being that they are naturally acquired with the Cultivation Technique. Once the Cultivation Technique is practiced to a certain level, the Divine Technique is automatically mastered, so no special time is needed to learn.

Secondly, the casting speed of such magic is fast, often instantaneous.

Thirdly, the power of such magic increases automatically with the cultivator’s cultivation level growth. When the cultivator surpasses to a higher realm, as long as they don’t change their Cultivation Technique, the power of such magic can also increase to a higher level.

After Zhouyang completed the introductory cultivation of the "Qianyang Immortal Scripture", he also acquired two types of Divine Techniques attached to the technique.