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Jiufeng Ridge, Flying Rock Peak.
Flying Rock Peak abounded in dense spiritual energy and ranked third among the nine peaks, serving as the cultivation haven for Zhou Daoquan, the third elder of the Zhou Family.
The Book Collection Tower of the Zhou Family was also built on this peak.
On this day, after completing his task of guarding the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion, Zhou Chun headed to Flying Rock Peak to read books in the Book Collection Tower.
He ascended the well-trodden mountain path and after a short while arrived at the base of a three-story building.
Casting a glance at the golden lacquered characters "Book Collection Tower" hanging above the doorframe, Zhou Chun stepped inside.
Within the grand hall on the first floor, a grey-robed green-haired ape was sprawled across a long table, fast asleep.
Seemingly alerted by the noise, it fluttered its nostrils slightly, sniffed awake, glanced at him, nodded gently, then lay back down to continue sleeping.
Although this was not the first time he had witnessed this scene, Zhou Chun still found it quite marvelous.
This green-haired ape was no simple creature, having once been the spirit pet of a deceased cultivator from the Zhou Family, back when it was still a low-level Green Wood Ape.
Before the Zhou Family cultivator passed away, he ended the contract with the ape, intending to release it back to the forest and grant it freedom.
However, the witty ape declined the cultivator's kind gesture, choosing instead to stay with the Zhou Family and continue serving them.
More than two decades after the Zhou Family cultivator's passing, astonishingly, the ape evolved from a first-order superior Demon Beast into a second-order Demon Beast, the Green Wood Spirit Ape.
This event caused quite a stir within the Sanjue Sect, and several Golden Core Stage cultivators even came to take a look at the green-haired ape upon hearing the news.
In the end, after research, the Golden Core Stage cultivator Yu Jinghua concluded that the green-haired ape likely harbored a latent Green Wood Spirit Ape bloodline.
For reasons unknown, this latent bloodline transformed into a dominant one, subsequently elevating its species rank and allowing it to break free from the constraints that usually prevented low-level Demon Beasts from advancing to the second order.
Nowadays, this Green Wood Spirit Ape has reached the status of a second-order intermediate Demon Beast, equivalent to a core clan member in the Zhou Family and has been given the title "Elder Yuan."
It is even entrusted with the oversight of the vital Book Collection Tower.
Although it cannot speak the human language, its intelligence is on par with that of an average person. It can read and write, allowing for written communication with others.
When Zhou Chun first visited the Book Collection Tower and saw it, out of curiosity, he even engaged in a written exchange with it.
He found the experience exceedingly novel and regretted not having a mobile phone; a video of their interaction would no doubt instantly top the charts on Douyin and become a viral sensation across the internet!
Unable to resist, Zhou Chun took several more glances at the slumbering Green Wood Spirit Ape before treading lightly towards the rows of bookshelves at the back.
According to Zhou Family rules, the first floor of the Book Collection Tower was freely accessible to all Zhou Family cultivators, the second floor was open only to core clan members upon request, and the third floor was exclusively reserved for the elders.
Even just the first floor alone housed thousands of volumes, more than enough for Zhou Chun to read for a considerable time.
After all, the time he could devote to reading each day was not particularly ample.
Zhou Chun was selective in his reading; his current priority lay in various classics related to beast taming, especially the Zhou Family ancestors' summaries of beast taming experiences and records of extraordinary Demon Beasts.
As Zhou Chun's time within the Zhou Family at Jiufeng Ridge grew longer and he encountered various types of Demon Beasts, his interest in the art of beast taming flourished greatly.
He too wished to raise a few intelligent spirit pets like "Elder Yuan," which could not only provide substantial aid in magical battles but also serve as companions in his leisure time, even cooking and doing laundry for him.
Of course, this was not something he could expect from his Rock Earth Turtle; these roles were best suited to those inherently wise and attractive "furry children."
Days passed into nights, seasons changed, and before long, Zhou Chun had been in this world for a year.
Since arriving at the Zhou Family of Jiufeng Ridge, besides his brief absences to fulfil hunting missions outside, he spent the remainder of his time within the sect's domain.
His life was exceedingly regular, immersed in daily meditation, cultivation, and guarding the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion, undertaking minor tasks, and spending his time reading and learning in the Book Collection Tower.
Occasionally, he would accept invitations from his fellow clan cultivators to participate in cultivation and beast taming experience exchange events, sharing insights and techniques with one another.
Through a year of this routine, his cultivation level had steadily improved, and he had broken through three more meridian points.
His spirit pet, the Rock Earth Turtle, which he had been nurturing for a year, had finally grown to the size of a basin and successfully awakened two innate spells, "Stone Skin Spell" and "Earth Spike Spell," granting it the strength equating to that of a Qi Refinement Realm fourth-level cultivator.
Everything was progressing favorably, including the Zhou Family itself.
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Zhou Chun had not left home for a year, but that hadn't kept him from closely observing the movements of the Zhou Family's upper echelon and the changes within the Zhou family itself.
Through his various observations, he had come to understand that the Zhou Family's leaders had spent the year frequently venturing out to visit the powers of Lanzhou and the surrounding states within Jingguo Country, striving to dissolve their hostility and wariness, and to gain their recognition of the Zhou Family's future role as a member of Jingguo Country.
And from changes within the family, it was clear that the Zhou Family's efforts had borne some fruit.
At the very least, over the past six months, a number of cultivators from Jingguo Country had been invited by the Zhou family's higher-ups to visit Jiufeng Ridge.
One day, as Zhou Chun made his usual way to oversee the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion on Baozhi Peak, he received good news from Peak Master Zhou Jiahe who was sitting in with him.
A year after the Zhou family had established itself on Jiufeng Ridge, several bold loose cultivators had come to rent the Zhou Family's cultivation rooms for their practice.
Renting out cultivation rooms for cultivators from the outside world to train was a business from which many cultivator families and factions could easily earn Spirit Coins.
Now that loose cultivators were willing to come to the Zhou Family for cultivation, it signified that the family's notorious reputation for seizing Jiufeng Ridge was gradually fading.
At least some loose cultivators were now willing to trust that the Zhou Family would not persecute those who came to cultivate.
This was truly a piece of very good news.
For if a sufficient number of loose cultivators came to the Zhou Family to cultivate, it would not only bring in a steady stream of Spirit Coin income.
The Zhou Family could, in turn, use the temptation of free cultivation to involve some of these loose cultivators in the duty of guarding the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion.
This would free up some Zhou Family cultivators, allowing them time to go out and do their own things.
And the good news did not stop there.
Two days later, as Zhou Chun was reading in the Book Collection Tower, a vibrantly feathered blue macaw suddenly flew into the tower and, speaking human language, called out to him, "Brother Chun, Brother Chun, the Clan Leader has ordered, asking you to come to Pagoda Peak to see him immediately."
Upon seeing this, Zhou Chun's expression tensed and then he nodded lightly, replying, "I understand, Lan Lan. You go back and tell the Clan Leader, I will go to Pagoda Peak to see him immediately."
"Roger that, goodbye Brother Chun."
The blue macaw replied and then flapped its wings, flying out of the Book Collection Tower.
This blue macaw was a Spirit Pet specially trained by Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi for efficient internal communication within the family.
It was but a first-grade, mid-tier Demon Beast, yet it was very intelligent, capable of mimicking speech, recognizing the faces of over a hundred Zhou Family cultivators, and could easily find any specific member within the family to promptly relay Zhou Daoyi's orders.
There were many other Zhou Family cultivators who also employed the services of low-tier Demon Beasts to assist them in their work.
Not daring to delay, Zhou Chun put the book he was holding back in its place soon after the blue macaw had left, and then promptly left the Book Collection Tower, heading straight for Pagoda Peak.
When he arrived at the "Central Peace Hall" on Pagoda Peak, he discovered that not only he, but also two other "Zheng"-generation cultivators, a man and a woman from the Zhou Family, had been summoned here.
After they had paid their respects, and seeing him approach, Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi spoke to the three of them, "I've urgently summoned the three of you because there is a task I need you to undertake. Are you willing to take it on?"
Hearing this, Zhou Chun and the others couldn't help but glance at each other, then the oldest among the Zhou youths promptly replied respectfully, "May I ask what the task is? Please enlighten us, Clan Leader."
Zhou Daoyi immediately said, "The task itself is not difficult. The Zhou Family has reached an agreement with three cultivator families from Jingguo Country. They wish for knowledgeable beast taming Zhou Family cultivators to reside in their families for three years, to cultivate some of their clan members in the Beast Taming Technique."
After speaking, he gave the three a profound look, adding lightly, "I've investigated, and with your knowledge and cultivation level, the three of you are fully capable of taking on this task."
"What about our safety? If we go to other families by ourselves, will they ensure our safety?"
The Zhou Family female cultivator also asked softly about her concern.
"Of course, they will treat you as honored guests and ensure your personal safety without fail!"
Zhou Daoyi nodded firmly, making a promise without hesitation.
Hearing this, the female cultivator immediately said, "Since that is the case, I am willing to comply with the family's arrangement and serve the family."
"I am also willing to serve the family,"
Zhou Chun and the other young man both responded in quick succession.
"Good, then you can go back and prepare. I have compiled the specifics of the task into a booklet here for each of you. You should read it over several times to be fully prepared."
Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi nodded in satisfaction and, with a wave of his sleeve, handed a booklet to each of them.