Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Two main branches, five subsidiary branches. After the Zhou Family implemented the branch separation policy, the first batch of main and subsidiary branches were officially established.

Let's leave the main branches aside. Zhouyang's branch currently only has him alone. Zhou Guangxiang's branch, on the other hand, already consists of four people. Over the years, Liu Xuanxuan has given birth to two offspring, both cultivators with lower-grade Spiritual Root talent.

There are quite a few people in the subsidiary branches.

In the branch of Zhou Yuanyao, she has given birth to five children over the years, of which two possess Spiritual Roots, and one of them, a baby boy, has a middle-grade Spiritual Root.

As for the branch of Zhou Guangqing, including Zhou Guangqing himself, there are already eight people. This includes two of his cross-generational grandchildren, who are cultivators.

The others, such as Zhou Tongyao and Zhou Tonghua, after succeeding in establishing their foundations, have taken wives and concubines, giving birth to four or five descendants with Spiritual Roots.

They are all Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Zhou Family. As long as the news of taking concubines is spread, many female Loose Cultivators in the Qi Cultivation Stage and women from small clans will eagerly join, so the number of descendants who are cultivators is quite substantial.

Only Zhou Tongmin, having built his foundation for only a few years, still has no descendants. But since he wants to establish a branch, he will presumably also soon marry and take concubines to have descendants.

However, generally speaking, the number of people in several main and subsidiary branches compared to the Spirit Mountains they occupy is still quite small. So, if they wish to develop the Spirit Mountains they occupy, they probably need to spend money to hire other Zhou Family cultivators to help achieve it.

Of course, these are still fortunate concerns.

Having a Tier Three Spirit Mountain as a territory will enhance the living standard of these subsidiary branch cultivators for at least several generations.

It is certainly unrealistic to expect everyone to redeem Foundation Establishment Pills, but with effort and leveraging the strength of the whole family, they can still cultivate Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Indeed, Zhouyang's division of branches and allowing branch founders to be called Patriarch actually aims to stimulate internal demand.

Many times he would reminisce about the Zhou Family when he first took over, when no cultivators of the clan had many personal interests, and everyone worked hard to preserve the family's legacy. There weren't many conflicts of interest among clan members, and relationships were very harmonious.

At that time, the Zhou Family was truly united under the threat of extinction, with minds and forces moving as one.

However, as the Zhou Family gradually developed and grew, doubling and redoubling their territory and population, the harmony and amicable atmosphere of the past no longer existed.

Clan members would use various means to hit competitors to vie for a steward position or to compete for clan contribution points to redeem Foundation Establishment Pills.

Some are busy making connections and finding networks!

Some run to clan elders to report the unknown errors committed by their opponents in the past!

Others intentionally set traps for their opponents, wanting to catch bad deeds and force them to voluntarily give up!

Zhouyang, though possessing great abilities, is also helpless in the face of these matters.

Thus, in making this division, he actually wants to try something, to see if those branch cultivators can, in the crisis and honor of smaller families, again display the unity and camaraderie of the early Zhou Family.

According to the rules he set, if no new Foundation Establishment cultivators appear within a hundred years after the death or fall of a branch Foundation Establishment cultivator, these branch cultivators will become ordinary cultivators.

With this crisis looming, will the branch cultivators voluntarily abandon their path for the sake of paving the way for siblings, uncles, and nephews within the branch, like those Zhou Family ancestors once did?

Whether this attempt succeeds or fails, it is still beneficial for the Zhou Family.

If successful, the Zhou Family will have additional Foundation Establishment cultivators, further strengthening the family's strength.

Even if it fails, it fulfills his original intent to reduce conflicts among clansmen from different backgrounds.

Moreover, main branch cultivators and branch cultivators benefited, and Zhouyang did not neglect those ordinary clan cultivators.

After the division topic ended, he looked at the eight hundred Zhou Family cultivators in the hall and said loudly: "In five years, it will be the four hundredth anniversary of the Zhou Family's foundation. For this purpose, I have decided to hold a Treasure Hunting Conference. All cultivators affiliated with our Zhou Family who are under sixty years of age may participate in the conference and those who rank among the top twenty will be rewarded with numerous treasures!"

"The Treasure Hunting Conference will take place in two sessions. One session will only accept registrations from clan cultivators, restricted to those under sixty, and the top three winners will each be awarded a Foundation Establishment Pill and one Tier Three Artifact by the clan. Those ranking in the top ten and top twenty will also receive corresponding rewards issued by the clan."

"The other session of the Treasure Hunting Conference will accept registrations from all foreign relative cultivators, honored guest cultivators, and cultivators from associated vassal clans and friendly clans, as well as Loose Cultivators. Registration age is similarly limited to under sixty years old. The first place winner will receive the same rewards of Foundation Establishment Pill and Tier Three Artifact, and the remaining top twenty will also have corresponding rewards issued by the clan."

Holding a Treasure Hunting Conference on the occasion of the four hundredth anniversary was Zhouyang's long-standing plan.

However, his original idea was to have Zhou Family cultivators exchange and compete with external cultivators to test the combat power of clan cultivators, and also to temper the arrogance of the young people within the clan with the help of outsiders.

Now he has made some minor modifications to the plan, offering more treasures to reward internal clan cultivators to appease the people's hearts.

The obvious result was achieved.

Upon hearing that the top three in the conference can directly receive the reward of Foundation Establishment Pills, those Qi Cultivation cultivators under sixty in the Council Hall were immediately filled with envy.

Ninety-nine percent of the people present originally had no hope of accumulating enough clan contribution points to redeem a Foundation Establishment Pill before turning sixty, or even in their entire life.

In other words, they originally had no hope of achieving Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.

But now, Zhouyang has given them hope, a hope that seems readily obtainable!

As long as they enter the top three in the clan's internal Treasure Hunting Conference, they can receive a Foundation Establishment Pill worth twenty thousand clan contribution points, fulfilling their Foundation Establishment dream!

"Supreme Elder is wise!"

A young Zhou Family cultivator suddenly shouted with fervor, and then the entire council hall echoed with the cheers of those young Zhou Family cultivators.

"Supreme Elder is wise!"

"Supreme Elder is wise!"

"Supreme Elder is wise!"

...

The cheers resounded throughout the council hall. If it weren't for the sound insulation array sealing the entire council hall during the clan meeting, the thunderous cheers would likely be heard halfway across Red Tiger Mountain.

Where some are excitedly cheering, others remain silent and somber.

Those silent and somber cultivators are naturally the Zhou Family cultivators over the age of fifty-five, for their age exceeds the limit, and this opportunity will forever elude them.

"If only I had been born five years later!"

A Zhou Family Qi Cultivation cultivator closed his eyes tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks, his voice filled with unwillingness and helplessness.

This year, he was precisely sixty years old. Four years ago, he had already reached the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, and he once killed a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation sand bandit and several Tier Two High-Grade Demon Beasts.

If he had been able to participate in the Treasure Hunting Conference, he would have been a strong contender for the top three.

At this moment, there were quite a few cultivators inside the council hall, like him, beating their chests and lamenting their bad timing.

The word "opportunity" sometimes leaves one feeling helpless.

Zhouyang did not deliberately target them; it was simply that their opportunity was lacking, and they could only sigh in vain.

After announcing the organization of the Treasure Hunting Conference, Zhouyang declared the meeting adjourned and was the first to leave the council hall.

Subsequently, the news about the Zhou Family's subdivision and the upcoming Treasure Hunting Conference quickly spread throughout the entire Zhou Family and soon pervaded the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm.

In the ensuing months, discussions about these two matters became the hot topic among all the clans and various loose cultivators.

The Treasure Hunting Conference naturally garnered the most attention from these individuals.

The first prize in the Treasure Hunting Conference was a Foundation Establishment Pill and a Tier Three Spiritual Artifact, an immensely attractive prospect for all Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, and especially for the loose cultivators, it was an opportunity worth risking their lives for.

Usually, the rootless and helpless loose cultivators wouldn't even think about using a Foundation Establishment Pill to reach Foundation Establishment. Even when the Zhou Family holds its grand auction every thirty years, and a Foundation Establishment Pill is available, it is not something Qi Cultivation Stage loose cultivators can afford.

But now, a once-in-a-millennium opportunity has arisen.

As long as one participates in the Treasure Hunting Conference held by the Zhou Family and takes first place, they will directly receive a Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward. It is an irresistible temptation.

Even though everyone knows that emerging victorious from the thousands of competitors to seize first place is not likely to be easier than the risky attempt at Foundation Establishment.

Yet this did not stop those who heard the news from deciding to go to the Zhou Family and participate in the Treasure Hunting Conference.

The reason is quite simple: attempting Foundation Establishment is a path of nine deaths and only one survival if failed, whereas participating in the Treasure Hunting Conference, even if unsuccessful, the Zhou Family's Foundation Establishment cultivators will rescue them, and at most, they would just sustain some injuries.

Moreover, even if they can't claim first place, simply making it into the top twenty guarantees rewards from the Zhou Family.

With the Zhou Family's current foundation, those rewards surely won't be lacking!

However, these discussions outside did not affect Zhouyang up on Red Tiger Mountain in the slightest.

After setting the major direction, he had washed his hands of these matters, leaving everything to Clan Leader Zhou Guangxiang and the clan elders to handle.

He only had to review and approve the finalized regulations once they were drafted.

Currently, he was in the highest-security area of Red Tiger Mountain, an independent medicinal garden with only the "Yuan Condensing Fruit" tree planted there.

If you calculate carefully, it's been thirty to forty years since Zhouyang brought this "Yuan Condensing Fruit" tree back to the Zhou Family and planted it.

Over these years, through the diligent care and management of Zhou Family Spirit Plant Cultivators, this "Yuan Condensing Fruit" tree has long adapted to its new environment and has bloomed.

"When did these flowers bloom?"

Beneath the fruit tree, Zhouyang looked up at the full tree of white spirit flowers, his face glowing with delight as he inquired about the situation from a Zhou Family Spirit Plant Cultivator behind him.

This Zhou Family Spirit Plant Cultivator was merely a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation Cultivator. He wasn't the caretaker of the "Yuan Condensing Fruit" tree but a guardian specifically tasked with watching the tree's condition closely.

Once he noticed any unusual changes in the tree, he would immediately inform the clan higher-ups and relay the message to Xiao Ying, who currently held the highest spirit plant expertise in the family, to have her personally handle the matter.

Upon hearing Zhouyang's inquiry, the Zhou Family Spirit Plant Cultivator promptly and respectfully replied, "To reply to Supreme Elder, the buds on the tree likely formed around ten years ago, and last night at the sixth quarter of the hour of the pig, I smelled the fragrance and went to inspect; the buds on the tree had all fully bloomed!"