Chapter 132, Old Friends and Seclusion for Foundation Establishment

Translator: Raznick

 

Green Cloud Mountains.

 

Zhou Chun should have been more familiar than most Zhou Clan cultivators with the past Green Cloud Mountains.

 

After all, he had once been sent here to teach the Mu Clan cultivators beast-taming arts and stayed for over a year.

 

However, when he returned, the scene before him was completely different from the memories he held.

 

The formerly lush Green Cloud Mountains were now scorched in many places, and even the grass and trees on the main peak bore traces of transplantation.

 

Even the Mu Clan’s new Purification Array’s protective range had shrunk by half.

 

The Mu Clan couldn’t find enough cultivators to maintain the Purification Array’s operation and had to set up a smaller array, opening up a place for cultivation.

 

Seeing Zhou Chun and Zhou Jiarui arrive, Mu Yuntian personally came to greet the two.

 

“Welcome, Fellow Daoist Zhou and Junior Zhou, to the Mu Clan. I have long awaited your arrival.”

 

“Fellow Daoist Mu is too kind. The Mu Clan is rebuilding its estate, and we were sent by Grand Elder to offer our congratulations, wishing the Mu Clan a swift recovery and a resurgence in reputation.”

 

Zhou Jiarui then removed a storage bag from his waist and handed it forward, saying, “This is a mere gift, a token of respect. I hope Fellow Daoist Mu will graciously accept it.”

 

“Too kind, both Fellow Daoists are too kind!”

 

Mu Yunshan offered polite greetings with a smile but did not politely accept the storage bag.

 

However, after briefly scanning the contents of the storage bag with his Divine Sense, he was taken aback.

 

Then, he hurriedly bowed to Zhou Jiarui, cupping hands in respect, and said, “The kindness the Zhou Clan and Senior Zhou showed the Mu Clan will not be forgotten. There will be a time we’ll repay this favor!”

 

He spoke with unwavering conviction and a resolute tone.

 

Zhou Jiarui, who didn’t have a favorable impression of him, found his mood considerably improved by his words.

 

He then exchanged a few more pleasantries before being invited along with Zhou Chun to the main hall, where he sat with the other Foundation Establishment cultivators who had already arrived from various clans.

 

The Mu Clan, after all, had been establishing its legacy within Mist Province for hundreds of years, and with the assistance of Green Lotus Monastery this time around, there were quite a few Mist Province forces present to show their support.

 

However, most of the forces simply sent representatives with gifts to offer their blessings.

 

Few forces were willing to invest resources to send gifts and provide support, clearly not very optimistic about the reconstruction of the Mu Clan.

 

This was likely due to the current situation.

 

The incident caused by the Dragonized Sect left everyone uncertain about the future.

 

More conservative clans were even looking to economize, unwilling to spend money and incur obligations.

 

This only made the Zhou Clan’s generosity all the more valuable.

 

Therefore, when the celebrations began, Mu Yunshan changed his original decision and treated the Zhou Clan as the first object of gratitude and delivered a toast, publicly toasting Zhou Jiarui and Zhou Chun first to thank Zhou Mingde and the Zhou Clan for their support of the Mu Clan.

 

This gesture also drew the attention of many of the guests present.

 

But considering Zhou Mingde’s incredibly generous rescue of the Mu Clan that day and the assistance he provided in killing the Black Dragon Guardian, which was also a form of revenge for the Mu Clan,

 

These people simply found a reason to rationalize this and no longer felt it was strange.

 

After enduring this obligatory celebration and listening to Mu Yuntian speak about how he would revitalize the Mu Clan going forward, the ceremony, which was just a formality anyway, concluded.

 

It was truly a formality to begin with.

 

The Mu Clan estate had been rebuilt, but the scars of the war scattered throughout the estate hadn’t been cleared and organized yet; how could they possibly hold a celebration?

 

This so-called rebuilding celebration today was merely meant to send a signal to the cultivation world of Mist Province.

 

The Mu Clan of Green Cloud Mountains had suffered a great calamity, but the clan legacy hadn’t been extinguished, and they possessed the ability to safeguard the Mu Clan’s original assets and maintain the Mu Clan’s dignity.

 

Whether they could truly accomplish this remained to be seen.

 

In any case, since the various factions were willing to send representatives to attend this celebration, it indicated a willingness to maintain old ties with the Mu Clan and acknowledge this new Mu Clan.

 

However, as they prepared to depart after the event, Zhou Chun suddenly caught sight of a familiar face.

 

He immediately took his leave from Zhou Jiarui and Mu Yuntian and departed alone to approach that acquaintance.

 

He hurried forward and spoke to a purple-robed cultivator who was tidying up inside the hall: “Are you Fellow Daoist Ziying? Do you remember me?”

 

Upon hearing Zhou Chun’s words, the purple-robed cultivator looked at him with a complicated expression: “I haven’t forgotten, Fellow Daoist Zhou. I heard that Fellow Daoist Zhou has now become the acting Clan Leader of the Zhou Clan. Congratulations, Fellow Daoist!”

 

She was Mu Ziying, whom Zhou Chun had once taught beast-taming at the Mu Clan. The two clans had even intended to play matchmaker for them at the time.

 

However, Zhou Chun had no intention of getting married, so he firmly rejected Mu Ziying’s affections.

 

As Zhou Chun came to the Mu Clan, Mu Ziying had actually seen him.

 

It was just that she knew the two’s status differed greatly, and the clan that had once given her support had suffered a great misfortune, so Mu Ziying hadn’t approached and acknowledged him.

 

She hadn’t expected that at this time, Zhou Chun would come over himself.

 

But this made her mood even more complicated, and various thoughts began to arise in her heart.

 

To such an extent that when she spoke, her tone was strange, tinged with bitterness.

 

Unfortunately, her mind was filled with distractions, and she was unfocused, so she didn’t even notice the wrongness in her words.

 

Fortunately, Zhou Chun saw that her gaze was flickering and realized she was likely just absentminded, so he didn’t hold it against her.

 

Instead, he felt a bit of pity for her.

 

He then spoke softly, “I heard that the Mu Clan was attacked, and I was also the first to think of Fellow Daoist Ziying and the safety of the other Mu Clan Fellow Daoists. Now that I see you are alright, I’ve put my mind at ease.”

 

Perhaps the gentle voice did have the ability to comfort people’s hearts.

 

After hearing his words, Mu Ziying’s heart also calmed down, and she finally recovered her normal thinking.

 

She couldn’t help but reveal a look of relief and said, “I was also fortunate, because at the time, I was staying with my husband at his parents; otherwise, I would probably have no escape!”

 

“Oh, Fellow Daoist Ziying is married? I wonder whose clan’s genius it is?”

 

Zhou Chun’s eyes flashed with surprise, and he couldn’t help but look at Mu Ziying and ask.

 

It was at this time that he realized that Mu Ziying’s hair was indeed somewhat different, and her face was indeed more beautiful than before, possessing a woman’s charm.

 

But his intense gaze made Mu Ziying somewhat uncomfortable.

 

She unconsciously lowered her head and spoke softly, “I was betrothed to the He Clan of Bamboo Grove five years ago by the Clan Leader; his name is He Chengli.”

 

“So he’s a talent from the He Clan!”

 

Zhou Chun nodded, his curiosity satisfied.

 

And it was at this time that he noticed Mu Ziying’s tension and realized his earlier rudeness.

 

Coupled with the faint gazes of Mu Yuntian and Zhou Jiarui, he knew that this wasn’t a time to continue chatting with people.

 

Thus, after a moment’s thought, he reached out and patted his waist storage bag, taking out a pill vial to offer to her.

 

He said, “This vial of pills is my wedding gift from you, Fellow Daoist Ziying. If Fellow Daoist Ziying and her esteemed husband have time to visit the Zhou Clan in the future, you are welcome to find me, and I will certainly entertain you with the hospitality of a host.”

 

Hearing his words, Mu Ziying repeatedly shook her head to decline, “This is not allowed; I cannot accept…”

 

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw that Zhou Chun had already placed the pill vial on the next table and gracefully turned and left.

 

This left her stunned, staring at the pill vial on the table.

 

After Zhou Chun left, he didn’t explain anything to Mu Yuntian and quickly left the Green Cloud Mountains with Zhou Jiarui.

 

“Zhengchun, do you know that girl from the Mu Clan? You looked close!”

 

On the way, Zhou Jiarui was returning to Nine Peaks with Zhou Chun, and he couldn’t help but curiously inquire about the relationship between Zhou Chun and Mu Ziying.

 

If Zhou Chun had fallen for Mu Ziying, he wouldn’t believe it.

 

It wasn’t merely that Mu Ziying clearly wasn’t the same person as before; even her cultivation at the Fifth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage wouldn’t have caught the eye of Zhou Chun.

 

But if they weren’t connected, why would Zhou Chun send pills to her?

 

Upon hearing Zhou Jiarui’s words, Zhou Chun immediately knew the older man had gotten the wrong idea.

 

He responded with a touch of annoyance, “Eleventh Uncle, don’t misunderstand. I know Fellow Daoist Ziying because I once taught her beast-taming at the Mu Clan. And that vial of pills was a wedding gift for her and He Chengli.”

 

“Oh, so the young lady is now part of the He Clan?”

 

Zhou Jiarui nodded thoughtfully, seeming to have abandoned any further fanciful connections.

 

But he quickly turned to Zhou Chun and said, “Even if you have no relationship with the young lady, Zhengchun, you’re not getting any younger. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, you can start thinking about settling down.”

 

“Our Zhou Clan is now a significant clan in Mist Province, with considerable strength and reputation. If you want to find a Dao companion, there will certainly be many eligible female cultivators from other clans willing to marry into the Zhou Clan!”

 

He hadn’t been the first to say such things to Zhou Chun.

 

Aside from previous advice from Zhou Zheng Yong, the Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi and other familiar Zhou Clan seniors had also expressed their views on the matter concerning Zhou Chun.

 

However, Zhou Chun lacked a strong desire to marry and didn’t want to settle for just anyone. He respectfully declined such suggestions.

 

He repeated, “Eleventh Uncle, I understand your meaning. I’ll consider that matter after I reach Foundation Establishment.”

 

He’d put it off for now. After all, as cultivators, they couldn’t be as insistent as old men and women.

 

In this way, after returning to the Zhou Clan, Zhou Chun quickly put the matter of the Mu Clan behind him, focusing on cultivating and handling clan affairs.

 

After a period of time passed, Second Elder Zhou Chongshan suddenly found Zhou Chun.

 

“Zhengchun, you gave me this array some time ago. I have already studied it and sorted out the related deployment arts. You should study it when you have time.”

 

Inside Central Palace, Zhou Chongshan reached out and patted the storage bag at his waist, handing a set of deployment tools almost forgotten by Zhou Chun and a jade slip to him.

 

As he handed the items to Zhou Chun, he also lamented, “It’s really thanks to the few array records you offered that I was able to understand the usage of this array so quickly! Without the abundant gains from those array records, I certainly wouldn’t have figured it out so fast!”

 

“Is that so? Then I truly thank Elder!”

 

Zhou Chun accepted the items and thanked him profusely.

 

After seeing off Second Elder Zhou Chongshan, he examined the jade slip left for him.

 

The jade slip contained not only array deployment and control arts but also an introduction to the array’s purpose.

 

It turned out that this set of deployment tools could set up an array called the Eight Mystic Water Array, a killing array designed to trap and kill Foundation Establishment cultivators!

 

However, this Eight Mystic Water Array was somewhat complex to set up, quite time-consuming, and required a cultivator to preside over its operation to function properly.

 

Therefore, when Zhou Chun severely injured the Dragonized Sect Black Dragon Envoy back then, the opponent, who was already severely wounded, had not been able to set up this array.

 

Zhou Chun, having now obtained the method for deploying and controlling this array, could either sell it or keep it as his own trump card, effectively acquiring a treasure out of thin air.

 

Time passed swiftly, and another six months elapsed.

 

Of the one hundred and eight acupoints within Zhou Chun’s body, one hundred and five were open. Only the final three acupoints remained before he could take the Foundation Establishment Pill to undergo Foundation Establishment.

 

It was also at this time that a major battle broke out in Cloud Province, allowing Zhou Daoyi to successfully kill two Dragonized Sect Envoys, earning him a Foundation Establishment Pill reward for his merits.

 

With another Foundation Establishment Pill obtained, Zhou Daoyi, considering his own safety and to avoid retaliation by the Dragonized Sect, did not stay on the Cloud Province frontline but instead had Fourth Elder Zhou Jiarui replace him.

 

“Now Zhengchun, you only have one thing to do, and that is seclusion until you can take the Foundation Establishment Pill!”

 

On Pagoda Peak, Zhou Daoyi, returning from the battlefield with a Foundation Establishment Pill, gazed sternly at Zhou Chun, directly issuing him the command to seclusion.