Chapter 385: Chapter 370: Zhouyang’s Scheme [2 Updates!]
At the family meeting, Zhouyang’s final three announcements naturally caused quite a stir.
Whether it was the Foundation Establishment Pill to be refined every twenty years or his "Seed Plan," they were both extremely thrilling news for the Zhou Clan Members.
Especially the "Seed Plan." Although Zhouyang set many requirements for those selected for the plan, some quick-thinking individuals quickly realized he did not mention any requirements regarding the spiritual root talent of those chosen.
What does this imply?
It implies that even Zhou Family Cultivators with lower-grade spiritual root talent can qualify for the "Seed Plan" if they meet other conditions he specified, thus gaining the opportunity to redeem the Foundation Establishment Pill at half price and get the chance to attempt Foundation Establishment!
Lower-grade spiritual root talent cultivators can also use the Foundation Establishment Pill to attempt Foundation Establishment!
Before Zhouyang announced this "Seed Plan," it was something many Zhou Family Cultivators dared not even dream of.
Previously, the Zhou Clan did have a stipulation that lower-grade spiritual root cultivators could receive priority in redeeming a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Clan if they managed to accumulate ten thousand special Clan Contribution Points.
But how rare are those special contributions points, unless one, like Zhou Guangtai, has the fortune to discover Tier Five or Tier Six Spiritual Objects to hand to the family, otherwise it’s something that would take generations to achieve.
One must realize that times have changed, and as the Zhou Clan’s foundations grow deeper, some treasures that previously could be exchanged for special contribution points can no longer be exchanged for them.
Previously, Tier Three Treasures could earn special contribution points, but now it requires Tier Four Treasures to do so, and how difficult it is for a Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator to acquire Tier Four Treasures!
Yet now, as long as one can be selected for the "Seed Plan," becoming one of its members, Foundation Establishment for lower-grade spiritual root cultivators will no longer be just a distant hope.
Redeeming a Foundation Establishment Pill at half price means ten thousand Clan Contribution Points, and with effort over a few decades, plus borrowing from some friends, many Zhou Family Cultivators could still gather enough contribution points.
The most important aspect is that participants in the "Seed Plan" face no restriction on the number of Foundation Establishment Pills they can redeem, which means as long as they have enough Clan Contribution Points, even if lower-grade spiritual root cultivators only have a fifty percent chance of success using the Foundation Establishment Pill, if they redeem and use two pills, they are sure to succeed in establishing a foundation!
Regarding Zhouyang’s second point, the establishment of the Battle Hall as the ninth hall following the Hundred Arts Hall, it also drew significant interest from the Zhou Clan Members and Outsider Cultivators.
The Battle Hall, as a permanent hall, does not prohibit Zhou Family Outsider Cultivators from joining, even Honored Guest Cultivators can become members.
Based on what Zhouyang disclosed, the benefits of the Battle Hall seem to be the best among the nine halls of the Zhou Clan.
Just the free provision of a complete set of magical artifact equipment and special secret technique training are attractive enough.
Moreover, Zhouyang was quite clear in his speech, the Battle Hall was established specifically for external battles, and once involved in such battles, there’s bound to be significant rewards for victories.
With the Zhou Clan’s current status in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, and Zhouyang’s fourth-layer Purple Mansion cultivation strength, unless attacking the Yellow Sand Sect, which other forces in this realm could withstand the Zhou Clan’s assault?
Thus, whether being selected as a candidate for the Foundation Establishment Seed in the "Seed Plan" or joining the Battle Hall as a member, these are excellent opportunities that Zhou Family Cultivators should strive to seize.
In the wake of these two great initiatives, Zhouyang’s third announcement surprisingly faced little opposition!
It wasn’t until after the meeting when Zhouyang eavesdropped on some clan members’ conversations that he realized why they did not strongly oppose his third point; most of them believed with the preceding two matters, even if outsiders wanted to obtain Zhou Clan’s Foundation Establishment Pills, they would need to have the chance.
Their thinking was simple: after all, each successful batch of Foundation Establishment Pills yields only a few, and if Zhou Clan Members redeem them right away, what chance would outsiders have to benefit?
When Zhouyang heard these remarks, he couldn’t help but chuckle secretly.
These Zhou Clan Members have no idea how many materials he possesses for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. His mention of refining once every twenty years refers to using the "Yuan Condensing Fruit" from the "Yuan Condensing Fruit Tree" in future refinements, not accounting for using Tier Four Demon Pills in the process.
Regarding the existence of the "Yuan Condensing Fruit Tree," currently only he, Xiao Ying, Zhou Xuanhao, and Zhou Guangxiang siblings know, even Zhou Guangtai and Zhou Guangqing, the newly advanced Foundation Establishment Cultivators, are unaware.
Of course, despite his amusement, Zhouyang will not publicize this matter, as doing so would only bring endless trouble.
However, after the meeting, he summoned the various Foundation Establishment Elders and Deacon Elders within the clan, along with some young promising cultivators the family focuses on nurturing, totaling twenty-three people, to the Zhou Family Ancestral Hall.
"This magical artifact is called the [Soul-Imbued Celestial Book], a treasure I obtained during my travels. Each of you can entrust a thread of your divine soul to it, so if you meet an untimely demise while outside, I can use this artifact to investigate the truth of your death and avenge you!"
Inside the Zhou Family’s ancestral hall, Zhouyang looked at the bewildered crowd that he had suddenly summoned and didn’t mince words. With a wave of his hand, he took out the "Soul-Imbued Celestial Book" artifact he had exchanged for using the "Golden Light Celestial Stabilizing Mirror" talisman treasure.
He had initially obtained this artifact for use by the family’s younger generation.
Because the artifact could only accommodate thirty users, he didn’t even include himself, his father Zhou Xuanhao, and his Dao Companion Xiao Ying in the count.
At this moment, Zhou Guangxiang and others, upon hearing the function of the "Soul-Imbued Celestial Book," had their eyes brighten. They eagerly followed Zhouyang’s instructions and sent a strand of divine soul onto the "Soul-Imbued Celestial Book."
In the past, the Zhou Family, and even major sects like the Yellow Sand Sect with Golden Core Stage cultivators overseeing them, could only rely on soul tokens to determine the life and death of cultivators out on missions. Investigating the death of a fallen cultivator was extremely difficult.
Now, with the "Soul-Imbued Celestial Book," anyone daring to harm the Zhou Family cultivators recorded on it could no longer evade justice.
After the cultivators left their names, Zhouyang dismissed the others, leaving only Zhou Guangxiang, the clan leader, for a private conversation.
"Guangxiang, how is Liu Xuanxuan, whom I assigned to the Hundred Arts Hall?"
In the room, Zhouyang directly raised the reason for leaving Zhou Guangxiang behind.
Liu Xuanxuan was the genius artifact refining girl he personally tested seventeen years ago. Back then, he promised her that if she passed the assessment, he would give her a Foundation Establishment Pill to help her reach Foundation Establishment in the future.
He was now speaking of fully opening the recruitment conditions for honored guests, naturally, he was very concerned about the status of the Zhou Family’s first Level B honored guest.
"Ninth Uncle, you truly have keen insight. With our Zhou Family’s resources supporting her, Liu Xuanxuan has become the top artifact refiner in our Hundred Arts Hall in just seventeen years. Now, her success rate of refining Tier Two High-Grade Spiritual Artifacts has reached seventy percent, earning thousands of spirit stones for the clan every year through her refining alone!"
"The most astonishing thing is that her cultivation is only at Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation Stage, and she refined her first Tier Two High-Grade Spiritual Artifact when she was merely at Fifth-Layer Qi Cultivation Stage!"
With an expression of admiration, Zhou Guangxiang answered Zhouyang’s question with a tone full of awe.
Hearing this, Zhouyang’s face brightened with delight, nodding repeatedly, saying, "Not bad, not bad. With such performance, giving her a Foundation Establishment Pill to reach Foundation Establishment is not difficult."
After a moment’s pause, he continued, "Relay a message to her for me. If she can refine a Tier Three Spiritual Artifact during her Qi Cultivation Stage, I promise she will definitely succeed in Foundation Establishment in the future!"
Guarantee her success in Foundation Establishment!
Even with Zhou Guangxiang’s current cultivation at Seventh-Layer Foundation Establishment and his position as the clan leader, he was shocked by Zhouyang’s words, his pupils shrinking with a hint of awe in his eyes.
Knowing Zhouyang’s character as his clan uncle, he understood that Zhouyang always kept his word, and if he promised this, then as long as Liu Xuanxuan met Zhouyang’s requirements, even if she failed with the first Foundation Establishment Pill, Zhouyang would definitely give her a second, a third...
With a serious expression, he immediately nodded vigorously, "Ninth Uncle, rest assured, I will relay your message to her in its entirety!"
Seeing this, Zhouyang nodded in satisfaction and continued, "There’s another matter for you to handle. When the Zhou Family recruits honored guest cultivators and foreign relative cultivators, you can focus on recruiting cultivators practicing water and wood cultivation techniques. As long as their conduct is not an issue and they remain committed, certain conditions can be made more lenient."
"Once these individuals are recruited, specifically organize them to practice the magic and secret techniques recorded in this jade scroll with those in the clan who also practice water and wood cultivation techniques. These individuals will play a significant role in the future!"
After finishing, Zhouyang handed him a jade scroll he had prepared.
The jade scroll documented several water and wood magic spells and joint casting secret techniques, all specially excerpted by Zhouyang from the collections of Xu Song and his battle spoils.
If a sufficiently large team of cultivators could be organized to practice the magic and secret techniques inside, and given an environment like the spirit vein of Haoyang Cave, Zhouyang was confident he could create a medium-sized oasis like Yuquan Lake Oasis within a few years!
Zhou Guangxiang had a desirable trait - he always executed duties assigned by Zhouyang without any compromise.
Upon receiving the two tasks from Zhouyang, he immediately began organizing them.
After assigning the tasks to Zhou Guangxiang, Zhouyang also invited Xu Song, the array master, to set up an illusion array at a location on Red Tiger Mountain to test Zhou Tongming and Zhou Guangyin.
Xu Song was a renowned Tier Five Refining Master and Tier Five Array Master during his life. Zhouyang returned this time to have Xu Song mentor Zhou Guangxiang, instructing him in all of his array skills.
While he himself would inherit Xu Song’s artifact refining legacy.