Chapter 584: Chapter 584

On Chongxuan Mountain, for over a month, the registered disciples like Ye Yunshan had not seen the newly successful Core Formation Mistress, nor their Master.

This made Ye Yunshan, who was ready to present treasures to impress the Mistress, feel quite frustrated for a considerable period.

Of course, these people didn’t know that their Mistress didn’t want to come out, but was unable to.

Having achieved the fruition of hundreds of years of cultivation, Zhouyang and Xiao Ying, this Dao companion pair, after tasting the forbidden fruit, seemed a bit addicted, spending almost every day on dual cultivation for months.

Back in the Kunxu Realm, although Zhouyang and Jiang Fengxian had dual cultivated, because it was their first time, both were under the influence of Silver Poison, their minds lost, leaving only the most primitive instincts. As a result, the Primordial Yang Qi and Primordial Yin Qi they had preserved for hundreds of years were wasted.

This time, dual cultivating with Dao companion Xiao Ying, although Zhouyang was no longer of a Primordial Yang body, they conducted it consciously. Both understood how to circulate the dual cultivation technique for yin-yang harmonization, which instead significantly advanced their cultivation.

Especially for Zhouyang, with the help of Xiao Ying’s pure Primordial Yin Qi, he saved at least thirty to fifty years of hard work, and his cultivation was not far from reaching the fifth layer of the Golden Core.

And although the benefits for Xiao Ying were far less, there were still some gains.

Of course, these advancements in cultivation were just one of the benefits of dual cultivation, and not the most important one.

The real benefit of dual cultivation was that Zhouyang and Xiao Ying truly achieved unity of body and mind; two people, two hearts, completely merged, fully understanding each other’s intentions.

Between high-tier cultivators, dual cultivation is not merely a physical connection but a connection of souls and minds.

Through advanced dual cultivation techniques, during dual cultivation, the divine souls and primordial spirits of both high-tier cultivators resonate, creating a unique connection.

With this connection, both can directly "see" what the other is thinking, clearly and directly sensing whether the other truly loves them.

For two truly loving cultivators, this deep spiritual and physical dual cultivation only deepens their love for each other. Each dual cultivation is the best way to deepen affection.

Precisely because of this unique connection, the Dao companion relationship established by high-tier cultivators is more stable and reliable than relationships like father and son or mother and son.

Words and actions can deceive, but the heart cannot.

If one party has no affection for the other, during deep dual cultivation, the other can fully sense it.

Of course, the heart can change, and it doesn’t mean that once high-tier cultivators enter a Dao companion relationship, they will never change their hearts.

But this is rare, and even if it occurs, it’s mostly because the two high-tier cultivators haven’t engaged in deep dual cultivation for a long time, leading to a waning of love.

Therefore, if high-tier cultivators want to stabilize their Dao companion relationship, they just need to frequently engage in deep dual cultivation. In this deep dual cultivation state, if one Dao companion has a change of heart, it’s impossible to hide it from the other.

Before engaging in this deep dual cultivation, no matter how many times Zhouyang assured her about what happened between him and Jiang Fengxian, Xiao Ying always had some reservations, but she kept them to herself.

But when Zhouyang was willing to engage in this deep dual cultivation with her, opening up his mental defenses to let her see his innermost thoughts through Primordial Spirit dual cultivation, she instantly had no reservations.

In Zhouyang’s heart, she truly saw his love for her, a love without concealment or reservation.

At that moment, she felt a sense of peace, filled with happiness and security.

However, too much of anything is not good, and excessive dual cultivation might not be beneficial.

Cultivators’ magical power emphasizes purity. If dual cultivation is too frequent, the exchange of magical power might affect each other’s purity. Therefore, it’s best to dual cultivate at intervals, maintaining a balance.

"Ying’er, now that you’ve formed your Golden Core, have you decided on your Lifebound Spiritual Artifact?"

In the cave residence, already dressed, Zhouyang and Xiao Ying sat facing each other across a jade table, from which a pot of Spirit Tea was still steaming.

At this moment, hearing Zhouyang ask this question, Xiao Ying immediately said, "I’ve thought about it long ago; I’ll refine the ’Rejuvenating Immortal Bottle’ as my lifebound artifact."

"Why choose this? I think the ’Calamity-Overcoming Divine Needle’ is more suitable as a lifebound artifact. This needle can assist you in combat and save lives, much more useful than the ’Rejuvenating Immortal Bottle,’ which is purely an auxiliary artifact!"

Zhouyang frowned at his beloved wife, clearly not agreeing with her choice.

The "Qinghua Calamity Crossing Scripture" Xiao Ying cultivates was selected by him personally. She had long discussed the functions of the various lifebound artifacts recorded within it with him.

He certainly knew the function of the auxiliary artifact "Rejuvenating Immortal Bottle." It had a single function: to produce a treasure called "Rejuvenating Immortal Dew."

The "Rejuvenating Immortal Dew" is the most top-tier healing spiritual object. A drop can regenerate a severed limb for cultivators below the Golden Core Stage. Even Golden Core cultivators with injuries like severed hands or feet require only ten drops of "Rejuvenating Immortal Dew" to regenerate.

If this "Rejuvenating Immortal Bottle" can be nurtured to become a Tier Six Spiritual Artifact, then the effect of "Rejuvenating Immortal Dew" will even have the ability to "resurrect the dead". At that time, as long as the Divine Soul of the deceased cultivator hasn’t dispersed, a drop of "Rejuvenating Immortal Dew" will bring them back to life and restore them to their original state.

From this perspective, the "Rejuvenating Immortal Bottle" is absolutely a top-tier magical artifact that every cultivator wishes to possess.

But if one were to treat it as a lifebound spiritual artifact, Zhouyang believes there wouldn’t be many cultivators willing to do so.

A lifebound spiritual artifact is a cultivator’s item for proving their path; it is an important treasure meant to accompany them for life. Choosing such a purely auxiliary artifact as a lifebound spiritual artifact is not a wise choice.

"Husband, you know my situation. Given my circumstances, even if I choose the [Calamity-Overcoming Divine Needle] as my lifebound spiritual artifact, when it comes to magical combat with those on the same tier, I might not be their match."

"But choosing the [Rejuvenating Immortal Bottle] as a lifebound spiritual artifact allows me to rely on the [Rejuvenating Immortal Dew] it produces to quickly recover from injuries and magical power, serving to delay time."

"More importantly, whether it’s husband or Guangxiang and the others, those who can carry some [Rejuvenating Immortal Dew] during their travels will have an extra life-preserving artifact!"

Xiao Ying shook her head slightly and stated her reasoning with a serious expression.

Her experience in magical combat is indeed woefully lacking. At least for the past few hundred years, she hasn’t engaged in magical combat with anyone.

Besides, the cultivation technique she’s practicing, "Qinghua Calamity Crossing Scripture," is not proficient in combat. The divine techniques and spells it contains are primarily focused on defense or healing.

If she truly were to engage in magical combat, even though she is currently a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, she wouldn’t be able to best some powerful Ninth-Layer Purple Mansion cultivators.

Of course, with her powerful defense divine techniques, cultivators below the Golden Core Stage can never defeat her, at most resulting in a tie.

Zhouyang knows all of this, yet from his heart, he still hopes his Dao companion can have enough self-preservation power.

However, he holds the belief of never forcing his close ones into doing anything.

Now, understanding Xiao Ying’s determination, he swiftly adjusted his mindset and nodded in agreement, saying: "Alright, since you insist on your views, I won’t persuade you further. The best material for refining the [Rejuvenating Immortal Bottle] is the [Heart of the Tree Demon]; I’ll take care of this. You can now focus on your cultivation and also refine those protective spiritual artifacts I gave you!"

The Tree Demon is a rare species among the demon race, and Tier Five Tree Demons are even rarer than Flood Dragons. Thus, the most precious "Heart of the Tree Demon" from a Tier Five Tree Demon holds value even equal to the Jiao Pill of a Flood Dragon of the same tier.

This item is one of the best materials for wood element cultivators to refine their lifebound spiritual artifacts, and as soon as it appears in the market, it gets snatched up immediately.

Even if this treasure can’t be used currently, for some wealthy forces, it could be purchased to seal within their treasure vault, waiting for the emergence of Golden Core Stage wood element cultivators within their ranks to grant them for lifebound spiritual artifact refinement.

Hence, the cultivators of those major sects once they achieve Core Formation, unless they have extreme material requirements like Zhouyang did in the past, can quickly find suitable materials to craft their lifebound spiritual artifacts.

Zhouyang knows that if he collects this item through normal channels, it might take hundreds of years without success.

Therefore, he plans to wait—wait for Profound Sun Immortal Sect or Yuqing Daoist Sect to request his assistance on a task. After completing it, he will ask for this item as a reward or seek relevant information.

In fact, he didn’t have to wait long to get the opportunity.

Three years after Xiao Ying successfully formed her core, Zhouyang received a letter from Profound Sun Immortal Sect written by Master Cyan Yang, detailing his task this time.

The task is simple: To stealthily leave Chongxuan Mountain and infiltrate the territory of the "Six Paths Alliance", to assassinate a Sixth-Layer Golden Core cultivator of the Six Paths Alliance.

The jade scroll accompanying the letter contains detailed information about the individual’s background, commonly used magical artifact divine techniques, and even personal preferences.

Along with the letter, he was given a special spirit talisman created personally by a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, meant to counteract the Nascent Soul Stage’s "Circular Light Retrospect" divine technique power.

There are countless divine techniques and spells in the world, and nothing is without a solution.

The "Circular Light Retrospect" divine technique used by Nascent Soul Stage cultivators is powerful, but not unsolvable.

Firstly, this divine technique is weak in effect on the Nascent Soul cultivator themselves. For instance, when Zhouyang activated a "Profound Sun Purple Sky Divine Thunder" jade talisman to kill Beast Taming Sect’s Golden Core cultivator Zhong Chuming, and Nascent Soul Stage cultivator "Master Celestial Serpent" Xu Hanwen of Beast Taming Sect personally came to use the "Circular Light Retrospect" divine technique, it only traced back to the moment of talisman activation and couldn’t see the events before it.

Secondly, the divine technique "Stinging Dragon Avoiding Tribulation Technique" Zhouyang is practicing, if refined to the Small Success Realm, can also interfere with the "Circular Light Retrospect" divine technique power, making it unclear for the casting cultivator to discern his true appearance.

Moreover, some special treasures can likewise interfere and significantly reduce or outright nullify the "Circular Light Retrospect" divine technique power.

The special spirit talisman Master Cyan Yang sent to Zhouyang is precisely such a treasure.

Due to the task’s time constraints, once Zhouyang received the task, he merely instructed a few things to his Dao companion Xiao Ying before secretly leaving Chongxuan Mountain under the guise of closed-door cultivation and infiltrated the territory of "Six Paths Alliance".

"Six Paths Alliance", as a superpower within Liuyun Continent’s cultivation realm in parity with "Profound Purity Dao Alliance" and "Liuyun Commerce Alliance", holds territory even broader than "Profound Purity Dao Alliance". For origınal chapters go to Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

Especially after Profound Sun Immortal Sect relinquished large tracts of land including An Country due to the "Heaven-Sundering True Demon" incident, the prestige of the "Six Paths Alliance" has surged significantly compared to the past.

Unlike the "Profound Purity Dao Alliance", which only has two top-tier major sects, the "Profound Sun Immortal Sect" and the "Yuqing Daoist Sect", the most powerful sects in the "Six Paths Alliance" now are five, plus a top cultivation clan that’s not inferior to any of these five sects.

Zhouyang’s target this time is a Golden Core Elder of that top cultivation clan, the Qi Family.

The Qi Family is a very special cultivation clan, its founders were a pair of Nascent Soul Stage cultivator Dao Companions, and the male cultivator among them was at the Late-Stage Nascent Soul at that time.

For this reason, this clan has very deep foundations and has produced several Nascent Soul Stage cultivators over thousands of years.

Currently, although there is only one Nascent Soul Stage cultivator in the Qi Family, that Nascent Soul Stage cultivator is a Sixth-Layer Nascent Soul cultivator just one step away from advancing to the Late Stage Nascent Soul.

In addition, the Qi Family has a Tier Six Middle-Grade Demon Beast as a guardian. That demon beast was originally the spirit pet and Dao Companion of a Nascent Soul Stage ancestor of theirs, and is an ancestor-level existence in the Qi Family.

This kind of top cultivation clan was originally a model target for Zhouyang’s development of the Zhou Family, but now he is going to kill an important member of this clan.

According to the information provided by the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, the Qi Family Golden Core Elder secretly practices the evil technique of gathering and replenishing, and is suspected to be involved in the disappearance cases of dozens of Foundation Establishment Stage and several Purple Mansion Stage female cultivators.

But this is not the real reason why the Profound Sun Immortal Sect wants him dead.

The real reason the Profound Sun Immortal Sect went so far as to dispatch Zhouyang, this hidden agent, to kill him, is due to his connection to a core disciple of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect who disappeared and fell eight years ago, suspected of having killed that missing and fallen core disciple and their Dao Companion.

Because the Profound Sun Immortal Sect has no direct evidence of this matter, and it is impossible to forcefully capture and soul search for evidence, they can only resort to assassination to kill him and avenge that fallen core disciple.

Killing such a person, Zhouyang has no psychological burden.

In fact, he is now considered a member of the "Profound Purity Dao Alliance". As a member of an opposing force, killing a same-realm cultivator from the "Six Paths Alliance" does not amount to unnecessary killing.

According to the recorded information, the Qi Family Elder will soon go to the "Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers" to celebrate the birthday of a Golden Core Female Cultivator. Zhouyang only needs to ambush him on the unavoidable path to the "Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers".

The ambush location had long been selected for him by the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, in a remote place.

The Profound Sun Immortal Sect has already arranged cultivators to monitor along the way, continuously relaying messages to report the correct position of the opponent, ensuring that Zhouyang will not miss him.

In this way, after everything was properly arranged, Zhouyang waited for about two months until the appearance of that Qi Family cultivator.

This person’s cultivation is not high, yet his entourage is grand.

With mere Golden Core Stage cultivation, he had two Tier Four Middle-Grade Demon Beasts "Silver-Winged Flying Tigers" pulling his carriage, and the driver was a Purple Mansion Stage elder.

The "Silver-Winged Flying Tiger", as a Tier Four Middle-Grade Demon Beast, flies at a not-so-slow speed. However, since the flying vehicle is made of spiritual gold and weighs ten thousand pounds, even with weight-reducing and speed-increasing magic bans acting on it, the speed is greatly reduced to barely equal to the sword flight speed of an Early-Stage Purple Mansion cultivator.

So riding such a flying vehicle, besides showing off, Zhouyang really couldn’t understand its purpose.

Unable to make sense of it, he was too lazy to think further, deciding to go ahead anyway.

He changed his disguise mask to another person’s appearance, then directly rode a cloud towards that flying vehicle.

Since he did not hide his hostility and was still dozens of miles away, the two "Silver-Winged Flying Tigers" pulling the carriage halted their flight with bristling fur and roared in alarm upon sensing hostility.

"Who is coming? Why block my way?"

Inside the flying vehicle, upon hearing the spirit beasts’ warning, the Golden Core Elder of the Qi Family hurriedly opened the door and stepped out, looking angrily at Zhouyang and shouting loudly.

While angrily questioning Zhouyang’s origins and intentions, he had already summoned several magical artifacts to protect himself. In this aspect, this person indeed lived up to his Golden Core Stage cultivation, possessing rich experience in magical combat.

"The one to kill you!"

Zhouyang responded from afar, waving his hand, a purple-red spear and a silver blade shot towards that Qi Family cultivator simultaneously.

The Qi Family cultivator’s face turned cold, killing intent filled his eyes.

He naturally saw that Zhouyang’s spear and blade were extraordinary, but so what?

Coming from a top cultivation clan like the Qi Family, his magical artifacts were not ordinary, and moreover, his cultivation was two layers higher than Zhouyang’s.

However, this thought vanished after he truly fought with Zhouyang.

To ensure a swift victory, Zhouyang had no intention of holding back, attacking with full force right from the start.

The Qi Family cultivator assumed that the "Fiery Sun Heart-Burning Spear" and the "Taiyin Soul-cutting Saber", two powerful Tier Five Top Grade Spiritual Artifacts, were Zhouyang’s strongest methods, not knowing his capabilities extended far beyond.

While the opponent was busy fending off the attacks from these two artifacts, he had already summoned the "Qianyang Golden Tower", promoted to a Tier Five Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact, and engaged the "Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique", practiced to the Third Layer, swiftly rushing towards the flying vehicle.

Zhouyang swung his fists, instantly tearing the two attacking "Silver-Winged Flying Tigers" into pieces with two green-golden dragon shadows as he neared the flying vehicle.

After practicing the "Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique" to the Third Layer, he could freely unleash the "Shadow of the Cyan Dragon" combat skill, without needing any more power buildup.

"Fellow Daoist, this can be discussed. If Fellow Daoist is willing to cease, I am willing to offer generous gifts to calm your anger!"

The Qi Family cultivator’s expression finally changed, nervously leaping off the flying vehicle, while speaking in a soft tone to beg for mercy, yet simultaneously preparing to flee for his life.

"Fine, I’ll take your head!"

Zhouyang let out a cold laugh, his eyes suddenly igniting with two golden-red flames, shooting two golden-red fiery beams that fell on the Qi Family cultivator.

In an instant, the Qi Family cultivator trembled all over as if struck by lightning, letting out an "ah" scream.

Just then, Zhouyang crossed his fists in front of him, shouting explosively.

Roaring dragon sounds of fury abruptly resounded on the battlefield.

Then a green-golden azure dragon stretching more than several feet shot up to the sky from behind Zhouyang, angrily rushing towards the Qi Family cultivator whose primordial spirit was injured.

With a scream full of terror, the world immediately fell silent.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, although this [Azure Dragon’s Fury] consumes a lot, its power really needs no further explanation. Below late-stage Golden Core cultivators, probably less than one in ten could withstand it unharmed!"

In mid-air, Zhouyang looked at the distant Qi Family cultivator torn into fragments of bones and flesh, smacking his lips and showing an extremely satisfied expression.

The move just now was another "Azure Dragon Combat Skill" he mastered after practicing the "Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique" to the Third Layer—[Azure Dragon’s Fury]

With his current cultivation, after unleashing such a move, it’s impossible to execute it a second time in a short while.

But opponents that would require him to execute it a second time probably wouldn’t be many below the Golden Core Stage.

Earlier, the Qi Family cultivator still had a protective spiritual artifact and body-protecting divine techniques safeguarding him, yet still couldn’t resist his [Azure Dragon’s Fury], being blasted dead on the spot.

This demonstrates just how powerful this move is!

Without lingering at the scene, after killing the man, Zhouyang cleaned up the battlefield a bit and then swiftly left the site with the spoils of battle.

Less than half a day after he left, a plain-looking elderly man in green clothes appeared above the murder scene.

This plain-looking elderly man in green was precisely Qi Fengyun, the only Nascent Soul Stage cultivator currently in the Qi Family.

From the moment the soul lamp left in the clan for that Qi Family cultivator suddenly extinguished, he rushed all the way here, yet even with his speed-famous wind element cultivation technique, he couldn’t reach the battlefield before the culprit left.

Now, facing a battlefield already cleaned up, all he could do was attempt to use the "Circular Light Retrospect" divine technique to trace back the past and find the killer’s appearance and destination.

"Circular Light Retrospect, return through the past and present!"

Qi Fengyun waved his hand, causing a white light mirror to appear before him, rapidly reversing the images on the mirror back in time, stopping four hours prior, unable to go further back.

Seeing this, Qi Fengyun’s face tensed, then he dispersed the white light mirror with a wave, lightly exhaling and saying: "They even prepared a treasure to disrupt the secrets of Heaven, seems this was premeditated!"

"However, it doesn’t matter, since you’ve appeared here, it’s impossible not to leave any trace. Even if you don’t, your accomplices will, our Qi Family’s people can die, but they absolutely cannot die unclearly!"

An angry expression flashed across his face, Qi Fengyun reached out and grabbed, a gust of wind blew from the ground, finally bringing several fingernail-sized fragments of flesh and some human hairs to him.

These were the only remnants left of that Qi Family cultivator.