Cultivation Begins From The Desert

What are Zhouyang's bottom line conditions?

He hasn't decided yet.

"Senior, could you allow me some time to think it over?" he asked Cao Wenjin.

Upon hearing this, Cao Wenjin looked at him deeply and said, "Then take your time to think. Such a big decision indeed needs to be thoroughly considered before making a choice!"

The atmosphere instantly fell silent.

Thoughts whirled around in Zhouyang's mind. He meticulously reviewed each condition Cao Wenjin previously mentioned, savoring and reflecting on them repeatedly in his mind. Then he compared the benefits Cao Wenjin offered, slowly pondering his own bottom line that he could bear.

He definitely wanted to make this deal with Cao Wenjin.

But he wouldn't make a losing deal; he had to find a point that wouldn't make him feel he's losing too much, while also being acceptable to Cao Wenjin.

After much contemplation for nearly half an hour, Zhouyang finally had a rough idea.

He glanced around, creating a slight sound to awaken Cao Wenjin, who was resting his eyes while waiting for Zhouyang's response. He spoke in a solemn tone, "Senior, after much thought, I believe that your second condition should either be changed to a number of times intervened, and this number should not exceed five times, or altered to calculate by time, such as protecting Yellow Sand Sect for three hundred or five hundred years in the future for me!"

"As for the third condition, if in the future I am fortunate enough to form a Golden Core, I can sell one 'Jade Liquid Golden Pill' to Yellow Sand Sect at half-price to repay the kindness of you giving me 'Purple Heart Jade Marrow'!"

Limited times of intervention or limited period of care, this is the bottom line that Zhouyang could accept.

After hearing his words, Cao Wenjin's eyes showed a contemplative expression, clearly weighing the pros and cons of the two options.

After considering for a while, he looked at Zhouyang and said, "Then we change it to protect Yellow Sand Sect for five hundred years, starting from when you advance to the Purple Mansion stage."

He did not mention the 'Jade Liquid Golden Pill,' clearly acquiescing to Zhouyang's condition.

After all, even buying the 'Jade Liquid Golden Pill' at half-price from Zhouyang, compared to the 'Purple Heart Jade Marrow' he invested, it's a threefold gain!

Even if Zhouyang had pressured the price lower, he would still give this 'Purple Heart Jade Marrow' to Zhouyang, because only if Zhouyang successfully opened Purple Mansion can his first two conditions have any basis of implementation.

If Zhouyang did not even reach the cultivation of the Purple Mansion stage, how could he threaten Yellow Sand Sect, or protect and care for Yellow Sand Sect?

Zhouyang understood this principle, but he wouldn't go too far.

Because in this transaction, the statuses of both parties weren't equal; if he pushed things too far and caused Cao Wenjin's displeasure, it might lead to the failure of this transaction.

After all, Cao Wenjin chose to trade with him not only because of his relationship with Master Cyan Yang but surely also believing his character is trustworthy, trusting that he will keep his promises.

Therefore, upon hearing Cao Wenjin's words, Zhouyang pondered briefly before nodding immediately and said, "Then as per senior's words, once I've successfully opened Purple Mansion, I'll exert all efforts to protect Yellow Sand Sect for five hundred years!"

Having said that, he continued before Cao Wenjin could speak again, "However, I still have some minor requests, hoping senior could agree!"

"What requests?"

"Firstly, I hope to purchase some spirit pills that can refine magical power from late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators from you, secondly, I hope you can provide pill formulas for Foundation Establishment Pills, Purple Cloud Pills, and methods for making 'Nether Blood Contract' for my Zhou family to copy, and thirdly, I hope that before I have opened Purple Mansion, you allow me and my family to remain neutral without being targeted by Yellow Sand Sect's enemies!"

Zhouyang spoke with a low tone, with a sense of boldly asking for too much.

Previously, he surely wouldn't dare openly extort Cao Wenjin, but now since both parties have reached a higher level of cooperation intent, these requests weren't too hard for others to accept.

After all, what he's asking for, though in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm it's hard to find even for thousands of gold, in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm it doesn't quite mean much.

Given that Cao Wenjin had agreed to gift him the 'Hidden Spirit Incense' for a trip to Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, agreeing to these requests would surely be like giving him a favor.

Sure enough, after hearing his words, Cao Wenjin just slightly paused, then nodded in agreement, "Your requests old man agrees, but the pill formulas can only circulate within your Zhou family, mustn't be passed elsewhere, besides you still need to pay sect merit points and spirit stones!"

"That's natural."

Zhouyang nodded slightly with no objections.

The merit points of Yellow Sand Sect, he had tens of thousands, and as for spirit stones, he had even more of them.

Both sides reached an agreement, and Cao Wenjin immediately decided:

"Since this is the case, you should first go find Yun Peng, take what you need back to your clan, and when your cultivation reaches the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment, and you wish to open your Purple Mansion, return to the Yellow Sand Sect and find Yuyan. At that time, she will give you the [Purple Heart Jade Marrow] and let you enter seclusion in the sect to open your Purple Mansion!"

"Furthermore, I must tell you that once you open your Purple Mansion, you will need to sign the [Nether Blood Contract] with Yuyan, to ensure you uphold your promise to me. That blood contract will be formed by me sacrificing half my Divine Soul before my death, and even if you reach the Nascent Soul Stage in the future, you cannot easily break your promise!"

Cao Wenjin's true cultivation realm is as high as the Seventh Layer Golden Core. If he personally sacrificed half of his Divine Soul to create a "Nether Blood Contract," the binding power of that contract would indeed be something that even Nascent Soul Stage cultivators cannot ignore.

Only by signing the "Nether Blood Contract" could he and the couple Zhang Yunpeng truly believe that Zhouyang would not go back on his word after benefiting.

"I understand, elder. I shall take my leave."

Zhouyang performed a courtesy and exited the cave.

"Such a pity, such a pity that I didn't discover this young man's potential earlier!"

"Had I known earlier that this young man was so closely connected to Master Cyan Yang, I would have made an exception and accepted him as a closed-door disciple and cultivated him with all my might!"

"But now it's too late. If I were to accept him as a disciple, not only would I fail to earn his gratitude, but he might even think I'm trying to drag him into trouble, and with the sect's current situation, I'm genuinely afraid of inviting a wolf into the fold and letting him take over the sect!"

In the cave, after Zhouyang left, Cao Wenjin shook his head and sighed with regret.

He had previously paid attention to Zhouyang but didn't truly regard him highly.

The reason was still the same. The "Qianyang Treasure Body" was rare but didn't significantly aid cultivation. He was unwilling to break the rules for a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Zhouyang because of it.

Sect rules cannot be easily violated, and among the loose cultivators of the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm, many possess Top-grade Spiritual Roots, yet none of the sect's Purple Mansion or Golden Core cultivators took them as disciples.

Cao Wenjin was certainly unwilling to make an exception for Zhouyang at that time.

But circumstances change. How could he have foreseen that Cyan Yang Daoist would succeed in refining the pill and forming the infant, becoming the esteemed Master Nascent Soul?

Nor could he have predicted that the now successful Master Cyan Yang still paid such close attention to Zhouyang, a junior in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The thought "a fortune in early knowledge" sums up Cao Wenjin's current feelings.

Zhouyang, of course, was unaware of Cao Wenjin's complex thoughts, and after exiting the cave, he returned to the previous side palace with Zhang Yunpeng and expressed his request.

Zhang Yunpeng had already received Cao Wenjin's whispered instructions and naturally would not reject Zhouyang's request. He immediately had his trusted aides deliver the items Zhouyang needed, handing them over in full.

"My apologies, Fellow Daoist Zhou, that Top-grade Spirit Pill capable of enhancing a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's level, many of our sect's cultivators need it, so right now only this [Jade Flower Vermilion Dew Pill] remains."

"Along with the pill formula and secret technique you requested, you will need to pay a total of fifty-seven thousand sect merit points to the sect. Of course, you can also use Spirit Stones as a substitute."

Back then, when Cao Wenjin borrowed Spirit Stones from Zhouyang, he used ninety thousand Yellow Sand Sect merit points as collateral. After using these merit points to exchange for a Tier Four Spirit Talisman from Jiang Yuyan last time, there were just over fifty-eight thousand left, which coincidentally repaid all these merit points this time.

Taking these items, Zhouyang quietly left the Yellow Sand Sect without even visiting his clan brother Zhou Yuanchen.

He merely asked Zhang Yunpeng to help deliver a Storage Bag filled with a large amount of Tier Three Demon Beast Hide to this clan brother, requesting him to craft another batch of Tier Three Spirit Talismans for the clan when he had time.

At such a critical moment, he dared not be careless at all.

Luofeng Mountain was originally a Tier Four Middle-Grade Spirit Mountain owned by the Yellow Sand Sect. Although the mountain was situated on a Middle-grade Oasis, it was resource-rich and an important resource point for the sect.

But now, the owner of Luofeng Mountain had changed to Luo Yunqing, who, after leaving the sect's main mountain gate, took some trusted disciples and occupied this Spirit Mountain, making it his base.

At this moment, at Luofeng Mountain, Luo Yunqing was engaged in a secret discussion with another Purple Mansion Cultivator, Guo Shuyun.

"According to the news from the sect, Old Ghost Cao is either dead or surely too injured to make a move, not daring to easily emerge from seclusion!"

"We all understand his character; if he weren't truly injured beyond action, he certainly wouldn't allow us to stir up trouble outside!"

"Since this is the case, we should seize the opportunity now as Jiang Yuyan is in seclusion and Zhang Yunpeng cannot leave the mountain gate, take the initiative to pressure the Chen Family of the Baisha River Oasis Cultivation Realm to join our camp."

"Chen Ping'an of the Chen Family is also a Purple Mansion Cultivator. If we can convince the Chen Family to surrender, the majority of the existing Purple Mansion Cultivators in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm will then be on our side. Then, even if Jiang Yuyan succeeds in refining the [Outer Dao Golden Core] and emerges from seclusion, she would at most only defend the mountain gate."