Chapter 472: Chapter 457: Preparing for Core Formation!
No matter if it was Zhou Guangxiang’s own plan or not, her tacit approval and having Li Hong relay the message already reveals her attitude.
However, in his heart, Zhouyang still has a bit of resistance to this kind of thing and has not made up his mind to agree to it.
Moreover, he knows that although the plan looks beautiful, it is not so easy to make it succeed.
That Cangyuan Wanderer has lived for over eight hundred years and established the bustling Cangyuan Immortal City under the pressure from all sides of Yu Country. What schemes and plots hasn’t he seen?
If Zhou Guangxiang and the Zhou Family want to play such schemes and plots with him, they might end up lifting a stone only to drop it on their own feet and get swallowed whole by the other party.
Furthermore, he has no intention of leaving Haoyang Immortal City at the moment, as he still needs to attempt to reach the Golden Core stage here.
"Regarding Guangxiang’s matter, it can wait a bit longer. That the descendant of Cangyuan Wanderer is pursuing her, who knows if it’s sincere? Even if Guangxiang is truly willing to sacrifice her personal happiness for the clan, as elders, we must at least ensure that the person she entrusts herself to genuinely loves her!"
"Let him cool off for ten or eight years to see his sincerity. If he can’t even wait that long, it shows he doesn’t love Guangxiang that much, and I definitely won’t agree to this marriage."
"I, Zhouyang, have single-handedly brought the Zhou Family to where it is today, fought for every inch of land on my own, and not by using schemes and plots!"
Righteously uttering these words, Zhouyang saw Xiao Ying seemingly still wanting to say something and quickly continued, "Moreover, I still plan to retreat temporarily and attempt to break through to the Golden Core stage, to gain experience for the future real Core Formation, so definitely can’t leave Haoyang Immortal City in the short term."
Attempting the Golden Core stage doesn’t pose much risk; at most, a failed attempt would only result in a slight depletion of primordial Qi, and another attempt can be made after several decades.
Zhouyang currently doesn’t have the "Jade Liquid Golden Pill," a treasure that significantly increases the success rate of Core Formation. Solely relying on a few supporting Core Formation treasures he has, his success rate might be increased by only twenty percent, which isn’t high at all.
Therefore, he has long planned that once his cultivation reaches the Ninth-Layer of the Purple Mansion, he would attempt to break through to the Golden Core stage without any treasure support, to accumulate experience for the next real Core Forming attempt.
This is also the common choice made by many cultivators who reach the Ninth-Layer of the Purple Mansion before the age of three hundred.
Their remaining hundreds of years of long lifespan allow them to fully bear the consequences of failure, and there’s no need to rashly use those supporting Core Formation Spiritual Objects on the first Core Forming with low success chances.
In contrast, those cultivators who only reach the Ninth-Layer of the Purple Mansion after the age of four hundred can’t afford the consequences of failure, so regardless of reluctance, they can only use the precious supporting Core Formation Spiritual Objects they have on their first attempt at Golden Core breakthrough, hoping for success.
Being young is truly an asset, and this phrase applies in the Cultivation Realm as well.
After much persuasion from Zhouyang, Xiao Ying was finally convinced and did not mention leaving Haoyang Immortal City again.
After persuading Xiao Ying, Zhouyang thought for a while and still went to the Cyan Yuan Pavilion.
"I didn’t expect that in just twenty-odd years without meeting, Fellow Daoist Zhou would have continuously advanced to the Ninth-Layer of the Purple Mansion. Such cultivation speed is truly envied by others!"
Inside Cyan Yuan Pavilion, Shopkeeper Jin Qu was initially delighted to see Zhouyang come, but upon discovering that Zhouyang’s cultivation had reached the Ninth-Layer of the Purple Mansion, he was suddenly shocked, staring with a face full of surprise for a long time before bursting into a heartfelt sigh of admiration.
"To have cultivated to the Ninth-Layer of the Purple Mansion so quickly, I must thank Fellow Daoist Jin. If it weren’t for your introduction to the underground auction, I wouldn’t have obtained the treasures there to greatly enhance my cultivation."
Zhouyang smiled faintly, explained with a terse sentence, and didn’t elaborate further.
Raising cultivation from the Seventh-Layer of the Purple Mansion to the Ninth-Layer in just over twenty years, while surprisingly fast, isn’t possible without the various treasures continuously emerging in the Cultivation Realm.
This is all part of a cultivator’s personal fortune and privacy, and no matter how good the relationship, people generally don’t root back to probe into it.
Jin Qu, naturally, wouldn’t either.
Upon hearing Zhouyang’s explanation, a flash of unusual color appeared in his eyes. He suddenly said, "Please forgive Jin’s rudeness, but may I boldly ask, Fellow Daoist Zhou, is your lifespan below three hundred?"
The specific lifespan of high-tier cultivators is difficult to discern without them stating it, if they are not known from a young age.
This is mainly because the Cultivation Realm has too many spirit elixirs that enable one to maintain everlasting youth, and many cultivation techniques and divine techniques also have beauty-enhancing and life-extending effects.
For instance, Zhouyang’s appearance stabilized after he took the "Appearance Stabilizing Pill" and will not change again.
And Xiao Ying’s cultivation of the "Qinghua Calamity Crossing Scripture" also has effects on maintaining beauty and skin, so the higher her cultivation, the younger and more vibrant her appearance and skin, making it impossible for others to judge her real age through her looks and skin.
There are also some unique cultivation techniques and divine techniques that can even keep the voice of cultivators in their youth.
However, although it’s difficult to determine specific age and lifespan, if high-tier cultivators have interacted for a long time, they can still slightly gauge the other’s general age stage through some details.
As the shopkeeper of Cyan Yuan Pavilion, Jin Qu often interacts with high-tier cultivators and thus has developed his own set of methods for assessing age.
When he posed this question now, Zhouyang was slightly taken aback, hesitated briefly, and then nodded, saying: "I am indeed still a few years away from reaching a lifespan of three hundred."
Gasp!
Even though he had suspected this for some time, hearing Zhouyang’s answer now, Jin Qu couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath.
A Ninth-Layer Purple Mansion Cultivator under three hundred years old, he knew exactly what that meant, not to mention that Zhouyang also has an implicit record of slaying Golden Core Stage cultivators and is himself a Tier Four High-grade Refiner!
Recalling what he learned from a senior brother responsible for intelligence within the sect about Uncle-Master Zhao Hao’s investigation of Zhouyang’s background made Jin Qu’s mind spontaneously fill with various associations.
No matter how you look at it, Zhouyang’s series of achievements should not be possible for a loose cultivator!
"Maybe he truly could become a Golden Core Stage cultivator!"
Jin Qu glanced at Zhouyang’s youthful and handsome appearance and couldn’t help but express a deeply envious sigh in his heart.
Every Purple Mansion Stage cultivator hopes they can progress to become a Golden Core Stage cultivator with a lifespan of a thousand years; Jin Qu is no exception.
But as the years pass since opening the Purple Mansion, watching his cultivation grow slowly and incrementally, and reflecting on the difficulties of core formation, Jin Qu, like many ordinary Purple Mansion Stage cultivators, has almost lost confidence.
For ordinary Purple Mansion Stage cultivators like them to succeed in core formation, unless a monumental opportunity falls upon them, that hope remains just a hope.
However, for cultivators like Zhouyang who can reach the Ninth-Layer of the Purple Mansion Stage before three hundred, their likelihood of becoming Golden Core Stage cultivators is much greater, significantly greater.
Golden Core Stage and Purple Mansion Stage may seem like just one step apart, but although both are regarded as high-tier cultivators, their status in the cultivation realm is completely different levels.
Originally, Jin Qu wanted to try and persuade Zhouyang to agree to become a mercenary, but upon knowing Zhouyang’s situation now, he abandoned that idea completely.
He reckoned that if he had achieved what Zhouyang did, he certainly would not take risks by fighting life-and-death battles on the battlefield with peers.
After giving up on that matter, his thoughts turned to building a connection with Zhouyang; if he could establish a close friendship with Zhouyang before his core formation, it would undoubtedly help him immensely in the future.
He rolled his eyes and actively asked: "Fellow Daoist Zhou visits today, you probably want to know the current specifics of the battlefield situation between both sides?"
Without waiting for Zhouyang to reply, he enthusiastically produced a jade scroll and offered it, saying: "Coincidentally, I received a detailed war report from the sect a few days ago, Fellow Daoist Zhou might as well take a look."
"This, this isn’t quite appropriate."
Looking at the jade scroll in Jin Qu’s hand, Zhouyang hesitated slightly and didn’t immediately reach out to take it.
Seeing this, Jin Qu couldn’t help but laugh: "Rest assured Fellow Daoist Zhou, this is just a summary war report and doesn’t involve sect secrets. Even if the sect finds out it was shared externally, there’s no way they would punish a high-tier cultivator like me."
Upon hearing this, Zhouyang no longer acted coy and immediately took the jade scroll, cupping his hands and said: "If that’s the case, then I’ll first thank Fellow Daoist Jin."
Subsequently, Zhouyang asked Jin Qu about renting and hiring cave residences for core formation in Haoyang Immortal City, which was actually to convey a message that he had no plans of leaving Haoyang Immortal City temporarily.
Jin Qu, having abandoned the idea of hiring him as a fighter, naturally did not mention related matters anymore at this time.
After chatting idly for a bit more, Zhouyang bid farewell to Jin Qu, returned to the cave residence of his Dao companion Xiao Ying, and started studying the war report.
The war report from the Cyan Origin Sword Sect was very detailed, not only recording the general casualties of middle-lower tier cultivators on both sides and the general progress of engagements between both parties, but also including a specific analytical article on the fallen high-tier cultivators, analyzing why they failed, which mistakes they made, and what advantages their enemies had to achieve victory.
This detailed war report provided Zhouyang with a sufficient understanding of the current situation of the war, allowing him to also learn many names of notable cultivators and their signature divine techniques; thus, if he encounters them in the future and conflicts arise, he can prepare in advance.
"No matter what Jin Qu’s intentions are, the various information I’ve received from him these past years genuinely accounts for a favor; if he requests something in the future, as long as it’s not too difficult, I’ll still have to repay this favor."
After reading the war report, Zhouyang murmured a few words to himself, then set the matter aside and focused on another jade scroll.
This jade scroll recorded Xu Song’s insights and experiences during his core formation, and Zhouyang had several similar jade scrolls of core formation experiences and insights, all obtained from Golden Core Stage cultivators he killed or from Ninth-Layer Purple Mansion cultivators he encountered.