Chapter 41, Whitey and Pushy Clan Leader

Translator: Raznick

 

According to Zhou Daoquan’s account, the demon beast currently developing within the snake egg he held was a type of average demon beast known as the Silver Thunder Python.

 

The Silver Thunder Python proficient in thunder mystical arts was extremely strong.

 

Even more remarkable was that, just like Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi’s Sky Cloud Python, the Silver Thunder Python also possessed the Flood Dragon bloodline, and had the potential to ascend to a greater demon beast and even a top demon beast.

 

As for why the Silver Thunder Python inside this snake egg had not developed earlier, Zhou Daoquan speculated that it might have been because this was an premature egg.

 

Some pythons did not lay eggs directly but instead allowed their eggs to hatch inside them into baby snakes.

 

The Silver Thunder Python was of the same category.

 

However, for some unknown reason, the serpent egg had been expelled prematurely, and it ended up not being reinserted by the female serpent.

 

This complicated matters.

 

Because it needed a host to hatch by itself, after attaching itself to the surrogate mother, without the proper hatching conditions, the prematurely laid egg would naturally fail to continue developing.

 

However, this may be because the blood of the demon beast was too powerful, or for other reasons, after a long period of time without normal development and hatching, its vitality had not been exhausted and turned into a dead egg.

 

As for how Zhou Daoquan made it regenerate, he didn’t elaborate. It likely involved some confidential information.

 

In any case, the serpent’s egg had now completed its normal development and could be contracted and hatched by a cultivator.

 

After explaining the situation to Zhou Chun, Zhou Daquan handed Zhou Chun the egg he had been holding and said reluctantly, “Go ahead then. I insist that you make a contract here in front of me. This treasure is just too valuable to let you take it without one.”

 

While speaking these words, he genuinely felt an overwhelming sense of reluctance.

 

The Silver Thunder Python, which possessed immense cultivation potential as an average demon beast, was precisely the type of demon beast most cherished by beast-taming cultivators like him. Not to mention that it was a descendant with Flood Dragon bloodline in its veins.

 

If hatched, he was confident that within ten years it could be promoted to a second-grade demon beast, and within fifty years further promoted to a high second-grade demon beast.

 

Upon confirming that this was the egg of a Silver Thunder Python, the elder was tempted to claim it for myself and conceal it.

 

But in the end, he won over his inner desires and did not commit the disgraceful act of seizing treasures meant for their juniors.

 

Zhou Chun did not know about Zhou Daoquan’s internal struggles. He merely harbored immense gratitude and admiration for him.

 

After Zhou Daoquan explained, he came to understand just how valuable the Silver Thunder Python Egg in his hand truly was.

 

Without exaggeration, if this item were to be put up for auction, it would fetch at least several thousand spirit coins, and might even reach ten thousand.

 

However, Zhou Daoquan was able to return this item to him without any charge. Such noble personal morals and character, of course, deserved his respect and gratitude.

 

He was right to come to Zhou Clan!

 

“Yes, I will make a contract now.”

 

Zhou Chun nodded firmly, then proceeded to draw the Soul Controlling Blood Array in front of Zhou Daoquan.

 

After he completed the contract with the Silver Thunder Python egg, Zhou Daoquan’s lingering attachment was finally severed.

 

An egg can only be contracted once. Even if someone were to kill Zhou Chun now, this particular Silver Thunder Python egg would also no longer be able to be contracted again.

 

“Here’s all the information regarding the Silver Thunder Python, as well as some training techniques I’ve summarized. It’s all in this jade slip. Take it back and carefully study it. If you encounter any issues or uncertainties in the future, feel free to come back and ask me.

 

Zhou Daoquan spoke as he reached to pat his storage bag, retrieving a slender jade slip about one foot long and two feet wide, shaped like an ancient bamboo scroll, and handed it over to Zhou Chun.

 

This type of jade slip was a medium for cultivators to record knowledge. Only cultivators could read the information within them through their Divine Sense.

 

Compared to paper books and stone tablets, which were traditional mediums for storing information, this new medium offered portability and held a large amount of information. However, its disadvantage was that it couldn’t be preserved for long periods.

 

At this moment, Zhou Chun was moved as he received it. He bowed to the other party from the bottom of his heart and said: “Elder, your kindness is deeply engraved in my heart. I will surely repay you someday!”

 

Then he respectfully extended both hands and received the jade slip.

 

Zhou Daoquan had lived for more than a hundred years and saw all kinds of people. Of course, he could tell whether what he was saying now was sincere or just a courtesy.

 

He smiled and patted the boy encourangly on the shoulder. “Work hard. As long as you train this Silvet Thunder Python well, it won’t be hard to reach Foundation Establishment.”

 

“Yes, junior will surely remember Elder’s teachings.”

 

Zhou Chun nodded repeatedly, then expressed his gratitude to Zhou Daoquan multiple times. Only after doing so did he depart joyfully, taking the serpent’s egg with him atop Ganoderma Peak.

 

Over the next month, Zhou Chun would look at the snake egg he had brought back each day, hoping it would hatch soon.

 

After forty-seven days, during his training of secret arts, the snake egg finally hatched on its own.

 

Once he returned to his bedroom from the meditation room, a sudden mental connection instantly drew his attention to the space beneath the bed.

 

Looking down, he noticed a white snake as thick as a thumb coiling around one of the wooden bed’s legs, its tongue flicking as it watched him.

 

Zhou Chun saw this and couldn’t help but show a happy smile and said, “Finally, you little brat, you’ve decided to come out!”

 

Then he walked over to the bed and reached out his hand toward it.

 

Because of the contract, the white snake showed no signs of fear or repulsion toward him. Instead, it quickly pressed its cool head against his palm and then crawled up his wrist, coiling around it several times with an air of familiarity and trust.

 

It seemed as though Zhou Chun had several silver bracelets on his left hand.

 

“From now on, I’ll call you Whitey, my own little Whitey.”

 

Zhou Chun gently touched the white snake’s head with his finger, smiling as he gave it a name.

 

A newborn python required meticulous feeding and care.

 

Zhou Chun strictly followed the dietary schedule formulated by Zhou Daoquan, carefully feeding it birds’ eggs each day—each egg of an appropriately size—and also offering it snake ration. No different then meat sausages to be honest.

 

Half a month later, when Whitey had grown to about two fingers thick, Zhou Chun finally began adding young birds and mice to its diet.

 

Like turtles, snakes also preferred stillness over movement.

 

Therefore, Whitey would always wrap itself around Zhou Chun’s wrist to sleep when free.

 

The contractual relationship between them made it instinctively regard Zhou Chun as its mother. Only by sensing Zhou Chun’s aura would it feel safe and relaxed.

 

However, Zhou Chun, after the initial adjustment period, also gradually got used to having a snake coiled around his arm.

 

On this day, Zhou Chun received an invitation to attend the one-month old party at Incense Peak three days later.

 

The host was Zhou Zhengjie, ranked ninth in their “Zheng” generation, and like Zhou Chun, also a cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage.

 

This person married a female cultivator from Gold Maple Peak’s Sun Clan more than two years ago. A month ago, that female cultivator gave birth to a son, thus inviting Zhou Chun and other relatives of the same generation over for a one-month old celebration.

 

Such matters Zhou Chun, of course, could not possibly refuse. As a result, he also prepared a gift and three days later, Zhou Chun went to Incense Peak with Zhou Zhengyong.

 

Upon arriving, Zhou Chun realized that Ninth Brother had invited not only their peer cultivators but also several Seniors, with even the Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi in attendance.

 

Moreover, before the banquet began, Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi personally named the child of Nine Brother and delivered an opening address.

 

“Today is a day of great significance for our Zhou Clan. Zhengjie’s child, Zhou Xinyuan, is the first Zhou Clan member to be born since we established ourselves at Nine Peaks. Moreover, he is also the first Zhou Clan descendant in the Xin generation to possess a spirit root.

 

“Whether a clan can thrive and prosper not only depends on how many high-level cultivators they have at the top, but also whether the clan has a thriving population and whether it can consistently produce exceptionally talented youngsters!”

 

“Zhengjie’s son serves as proof that the Zhou Clan has capable successors. It demonstrates that the roots of our Zhou Clan have taken firm hold, allowing us to multiply into bountiful and lavish fruit!

 

“As Clan Leader, I am deeply gratified and pleased by this matter, and on behalf of the clan, I grant Zhengjie and his wife each a hundred merits. I also sincerely hope that other members of our Zhou clan will contribute their own part to the continuation and prosperity of our lineage.”

 

At the banquet, Zhou Daoyi, the Clan Leader, looked with great joy upon all the guests from the clan and delivered an inspiring speech.

 

No doubt, Zhou Chun had figured out that Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi would attend this one-month old party to urge them on.

 

Nowadays, most cultivators from the Zhou Clan within the “Jia” generation either were too old to continue or had already reached their limit.

 

But among the cultivators from the “Zheng” generation, there hadn’t been many that had married and had children.

 

If it were back in the Three Absolute Sect era, this wouldn’t have been an issue. After all, with Feng Kingdom’s thousand-year legacy, the number of Zhou Clan ordinary clan members had long since reached over fifty thousand.

 

Even if cultivators did not beget offspring, there were still many ordinary people who did.

 

This way, if mortals proliferated enough, there would inevitably be Zhou Clan descendants with spirit roots.

 

But now the Zhou Clan was completely unable to relocate all those Zhou clan members. They were also unable to conduct frequent large-scale spirit root tests for Zhou clan members born there, as they did before.

 

Thus, to replenish fresh blood for the clan, they could only resort to urging the current clan members to start a family.

 

After all, if both parents were cultivators, the chances of their offspring having a spirit root were still quite significant.

 

Therefore, nurturing clan cultivators was far more efficient than betting on probabilities with ordinary people.

 

But the premise of all this was that these Zhou Clan monks were willing to follow along with it.

 

Zhou Chun thought about this and couldn’t help but look at the many “Zheng” generation cultivators present, as well as some of the “Jia” generation members who were under sixty years old.

 

It turned out there were actually quite a few people influenced by Zhou Daoyi’s words, showing thoughtful expressions, including his companion Zhou Zhengyong as well.

 

He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly felt ashamed and lowered his head.

 

He assumed others thought like him and ended up mistaken.

 

This was not his world from his previous life. In this world, even among ordinary people, the influence of clans was strong, and the saying that “many children bring happiness” was by no means an exaggeration.

 

Even Zhou Clan, a cultivating clan, would likely fare better within their own clan if they had several direct blood relatives.

 

So, when it came to having more children, people no longer felt any hesitation or aversion.

 

Perhaps what truly prevented them from having children was the challenge of first finding a Dao companion that suited their heart.