Hao Yang Cave

"The Spiritual Milk of Earth Essence is a necessary supplementary herb for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, but it also has another function - to restore the body's vitality to the state before the age of sixty and provide another opportunity to break through to the realm of Foundation Establishment!"

Zhou Minghan ignored Zhou Xuanhao's crazy change in expression.

"Clan Leader, you..."

Zhou Xuanhao wanted to say something but then decided against it after much hesitation.

But Zhou Minghan knew what Zhou Xuanhao wanted to say and was not happy with it. "Xuanhao, I know what you want to say. But let me just say this, once you have embarked on the journey of cultivation, you must keep moving forward with an indomitable will!

"If you merely want to be an immortal cultivator just to live twenty to thirty years longer than a mortal, then you might as well be an ordinary person and live a peaceful life!"

Zhou Xuanhao seemed to be struggling with his feelings.

But Zhou Minghan continued speaking. "Xuanhao, you know that your spiritual root is not at all inferior to Xuanyu's. If you didn't have to dedicate your time and effort to alchemy due to the lack of alchemists in the clan back then, you would have advanced to Qi Refinement Level 9 before your sixties!"

Zhou Dan also chimed in. "That's right, Xuanhao. The clan leader is right. You missed the opportunity to break through to the realm of Foundation Establishment for the sake of our clan. Now that you have the chance to do it, why not take it? Even if you fail, you still have Zhou Yang, your outstanding son to continue your career. You shouldn't have any regrets in this life!"

When Zhou Xuanhao heard this, the struggle with his conflicting emotions increased. He looked at Zhou Yang, who was a little dumbfounded.

"Alright, enough. It seems that this Spiritual Milk of Earth Essence will take about eight to ten years to condense. Xuanhao, you still have a lot of time to think about it. When the time comes and you have thought it through, let me know what you've decided. As long as you want it, I will let you have the first taste!"

Zhou Minghan didn't want the other Light generation cultivators to keep pestering Zhou Xuanhao, or for Zhou Xuanhao to remain conflicted and say something he would regret.

Zhou Xuanhao knew that so he held back the words that he wanted to say. "I understand. I will take your advice into consideration."

Zhou Yang did not say anything because it took him a moment to fully understand what was happening.

"So Clan Leader and the others wanted Father to use the Spiritual Milk of Earth Essence to break through to the realm of Foundation Establishment? No wonder Father, who has always respected his elders, was struggling to agree this time!"

Zhou Yang's heart started to feel heavy.

Zhou Xuanhao was already eighty-seven years old this year and he had also lost his Yuan Qi. Even if he used the Spiritual Milk of Earth Essence to restore his body's vitality to the state before he was sixty years old, the probability of him successfully reaching the realm of Foundation Establishment would not exceed 5%!

With such a low probability, it was no wonder Zhou Xuanhao was hesitant.

After all, he now had to consider more than just himself. He had a wife and son he cared about.

But on the other hand, it was just as Zhou Dan said. Since he already had a wife and a son and had lived for nearly a hundred years, there shouldn't be any more regrets if he took up the second chance to break through to the realm of Foundation Establishment, even with the possibility of failure.

"Will Father agree? What would I choose if I was in his shoes?"

Zhou Yang stole a glance at his father who still looked conflicted. Although Zhou Yang had a thousand words in his head, he couldn't say a single word.

If he persuaded his father to agree, he might end up as an unfilial child if his father failed to break through to the realm of Foundation Establishment and died.

However, as an Immortal Cultivator, persuading his father against taking up the chance would be equivalent to cutting off his father's path of cultivation. This was also unfilial.

Perhaps the best thing he could do currently was to play dumb!

Fortunately, other elders of the Zhou clan entered the room to report the findings from their cave exploration to the clan leader, helping him to relieve this awkwardness.

The first to report among them was Zhou Xuanyan, a female cultivator who was ranked eighth in the Xuan generation of the Zhou clan. As a relatively rare cultivator that practiced Water-based cultivation methods in the Boundless Sand Sea, she had been tasked to check out the underground river.

"Clan Leader, I have explored the underground river and didn't find any other demon beasts hiding or traces of spiritual objects. It seems that it is just an ordinary underground river flowing through."

The underground river was a strange place that might contain some water-type demon beasts, including those that have reached Grade 3 or 4. These demon beasts had almost no natural enemies.

Therefore, once immortal cultivators discovered an underground river, they would carefully investigate it before deciding whether or not to build a settlement nearby.

Zhou Minghan pondered for a moment when he heard Zhou Xuanyan's report and decided to be cautious.

"We can't be careless about this. I believe Qian had once repaired a water-type Advanced Grade 2 array formation in the family's treasury. I will ask Xuantai to get it and set it up in the underground river. When the time comes, lend him a hand, Xuanyan."

Although the water-type Advanced Grade 2 array formation was unable to defend against the attacks of Grade 3 and Grade 4 demon beasts, it could at least serve as a warning system to alert future clan cultivators stationed there in time.

However, when he thought of the deceased Zhou clan's great elder, Zhou Qian, Zhou Minghan's mood became heavy.

Then, he looked at the Zhou clan cultivators and, with a wave of his hand, a metal disk with dozens of pale yellow formation flags on it appeared in his hand. With a sigh, he said, "This Earth Garrison Golden Spear Array is Qian's last work in the world. Although it is only ranked at Lower Grade 3, it is extremely compatible with this spiritual vein's attribute. Now, go and assist Xuantai in setting up this array formation!"

Zhou Minghan gently tossed the formation flags to Zhou Quan, and upon receiving the clan leader's orders, the others started to leave one after another.

Suddenly, the clan leader remembered something and instructed Zhou Yang to stay behind. The latter wondered why.

"Zhou Yang, since this spiritual vein was discovered by you, have you thought what you're going to name it?"

Zhou Yang was not expecting the question and he fell silent for a moment. "Well, since Clan Leader has asked me this, then I will not hesitate to be bold. What do you think of the name 'Haoyang Cave'?"

"Haoyang Cave, Haoyang Cave. Hmm, I like the sound of it. Very well, then. From now on, this place will be called the Haoyang Cave!"

The clan leader muttered 'Haoyang Cave' and waved his arm. A stream of sword light quickly flew out and carved the words 'Haoyang Cave' on the wall of the stone room.

Then, Zhou Minghan turned back to Zhou Yang seriously. "Zhou Yang, Haoyang Cave is a Lower Grade 3 natural spiritual vein connected to an underground river. It has great potential for development in the future. I was thinking that once you have reached the realm of Foundation Establishment, you can move here and be in charge of the place. What do you think?"

Why was Zhou Minghan asking him about this when Zhou Yang hadn't reached the realm of Foundation Establishment yet?

Zhou Yang looked confused as he gave it a thought. Suddenly, he was moved and couldn't help but blurt out his thoughts. "Clan Leader, are you saying that you want me to spend the rest of my time here in Closed Door Cultivation?"

"This child is definitely worth teaching!"

Zhou Minghan looked at Zhou Yang with approval in his eyes and nodded, then he told him his plan.

"As I mentioned earlier, Haoyang Cave is a Grade 3 natural spiritual vein, adjacent to the red flame iron vein. In terms of its actual value, it is not that much more inferior to Yuquan Lake Oasis. I cannot let low-level cultivators come here until there is a Foundation Establishment cultivator to stand guard and prevent the outside world from knowing about this place prematurely.

"Once the Earth Garrison Golden Spear Array has been set up, the others will follow me back to the clan. Only Quan, Dan, Xuanyan, and you will stay behind to guard the place. With four Advanced-Stage Qi Refinement cultivators and the array formation in place, I am confident it will hold up until reinforcements arrive even if Grade 3 demon beasts attack!

"More importantly, the environment here is more suitable for your cultivation than at Yuquan Peak. If you cultivate here, your chances of advancing to Qi Refinement Level 9 within a dozen years would be higher."

Zhou Yang knew the rationale behind Zhou Minghan's intentions well. But when he thought about how he had just reunited with his parents and now had to separate from them again, he couldn't deny that he was starting to feel reluctant.

In fact, he really wanted to request the clan leader to let his father, Zhou Xuanhao, stay with him as well.

However, he also knew that his father was the clan's only Advanced Grade 2 alchemist and would best benefit the clan if he returned to the market.

Moreover, if his father had decided to break through to the realm of Foundation Establishment in the next eight to ten years, he would have to choose an alchemy successor from the Yuan generation just in case he failed, which meant that he would have to be at the clan to choose and train someone. He couldn't afford to be the last alchemist of the clan.

"I understand."

Zhou Minghan decided to suppress the pain in his heart.

"I know this isn't easy for you or your family."

Zhou Minghan let out a long sigh and couldn't help but reach out to pat Zhou Yang's shoulder. Zhou Minghan was not an apathetic person.

If there was another way, Zhou Minghan wouldn't have requested this of Zhou Yang, and Zhou Yang would have the option to refuse him. However, the predicament the Zhou clan was facing forced them to do this.

If a clan wanted to develop, someone had to make a sacrifice.

As a cultivator of a clan, he couldn't enjoy the benefits of the clan without doing anything in return. The more benefits he enjoyed, the more he had to give back.

Zhou Qian and Zhou Xuanyu had also faced something similar back then. Why would Zhou Xuanhao and Zhou Yang be an exception now?