Chapter 70, Zhou Daoyi’s Trust and Revisited the Water Pool

Translator: Raznick

 

Shallow waters couldn’t sustain a Flood Dragon.

 

All demon beasts had certain requirements for their habitats.

 

Adequate food supply was the bare minimum.

 

Zhou Chun concluded that this pool must have something extraordinary within it because its water surface was only three or four acres. It was simply impossible to support the strange fish with such limited space.

 

However, to discover any secrets hidden within the water, one would need to dive in.

 

Zhou Chun knew the superior first-grade mystical art Water Avoidance, but he had yet to train it.

 

He had no problem with that. With his late Qi Refining cultivation, holding his breath for half an hour wasn’t difficult at all. However, without knowledge of Water Avoidance, fighting a demon beast underwater could be risky; one misstep might lead to asphyxiation. The Rock Turtle, his powerful spirit pet, was useless here. This made Zhou Chun hesitate about whether to risk diving into the water.

 

“Never mind. Since I’m here, I might as well investigate.” Zhou Chun touched the Augur Pendant hanging around his neck, then steeled himself. He pulled out the Shooting Moon Edge and plunged into the water.

 

As Zhou Chun suspected, there was more to the pond than met the eye. He descended no more than twenty paces before he spotted a massive black cavern. The water in the pond was actually flowing out of this enormous cave!

 

As he was about to enter the massive cave to investigate, two strange fish suddenly burst out of the cavern and launched a surprise attack on him by spitting water jets.

 

He activated Augur Pendant, releasing a yellow light to shield himself, then raised his hand to brandish Shooting Moon Edge, directing it at the two strange fish.

 

The water posed a significant interference with his Divine Sense. Zhou Chun could control his artifact up to thirty meters while on land, but underwater, he couldn’t even reach half that distance.

 

Fortunately, the two strange fish were only about eight meters away from him, and the two moon blades severed them in two.

 

Nevertheless, Zhou Chun didn’t linger. The smell of blood would attract more strange fish sooner or later. Should too many appear—whether a second-grade demon beast showed up or just dozens of first-grade strange fish—Zhou Chun wouldn’t stand a chance.

 

“The came must be connected to an underground river,” Zhou Chun thought aloud. “But I wonder where that underground river leads…

 

“The cave must have extremely deep water to support so many carnivorous fish demons,” he mused further.

 

“Seems like to uncover the truth, I’ll need either a Foundation Establishment cultivator or a clansman who tames water demons to come and try their luck!” Zhou Chun stood on the shore, his entire body drenched. His gaze was filled with deep concern as he looked at the pond before him.

 

Several days later, after returning from the market where he had purchased Luo Guangshun’s strange fish corpse, Zhou Chun once again took leave to pay a visit to the clan estate.

 

“The few Foundation Establishment cultivators in the clan can’t leave the estate. However, Jiahe’s spirit pet, the Green Scale Crocodile, and Jiahui’s spirit pet, the Swirling Water Turtle, are both superior first-grade demon beasts skilled in water combat. Have them come instead!” Inside the Central Palace, after listening to Zhou Chun’s report on the strange fish den situation, Zhou Daoyi paused for a moment before sharing his strategy.

 

This decision was somewhat within Zhou Chun’s expectations. Since High Elder Zhou Mingshan had passed away, the Zhou Clan—including even Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi—only had three Foundation Establishment cultivators left, and each with importand duties.

 

Second Elder Zhou Chongshan, the clan’s array master, was responsible for activating the estate’s protective array. Only he could unleash its full power, making it unwise for him to leave the estate.

 

Third Elder Zhou Daoquan now oversaw the clan’s beast enclosure, keeping watch over the untamed dangerous demon beasts. Additionally, he must also patrol the surrounding areas of Nine Peaks, intimidating any with second thoughts, making it difficult for him to stray far from the estate.

 

Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi went without saying.

 

Therefore, upon hearing Zhou Daoyi’s plan of action, he immediately responded, “I understand, I will do my best to assist the two seniors in handling this matter.”

 

Unwillingly, Zhou Daoyi heard this and shook his head, saying, “No, it’s not about assisting; this mission will be under your leadership. I will make this clear to them as well.”

 

Zhou Chun was startled, his expression filled with surprise as he looked toward Zhou Daoyi, almost thinking he had misheard.

 

Faced with his astonished gaze, Zhou Daoyi merely waved a hand, saying, “Why so surprised? You are now one of the clan’s core members, and from your previous actions, I have seen your capabilities firsthand. The other clan members who have worked with you also highly commend you.”

 

Speaking of this, Zhou Daoyi looked at him with encouragement and said, “Our clan teaches our members to respect our elders and seniors. It is through such respect that the clan can grow stronger. I have full confidence that you, as the leader, will surely bring me more surprises!”

 

These words deeply moved and inspired Zhou Chun.

 

Indeed, his years of hard work had not been in vain. Now, with Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi’s trust, it was the best recognition of his efforts over the past few years.

 

He no longer held back but spoke firmly, “I understand, I will never let Clan Leader down or fail your expectations!”

 

Zhou Daoyi heard this and was very satisfied as he smiled and said, “I shall wait for the good news.”

 

Zhou Jiahe was Ganoderma Peak’s Peak Head. She was at the Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining and was seventy-two years old. In terms of age ranking within the clan, she was number thirteen, so Zhou Chun should refer to her as Thirteenth Aunt.

 

Compared to her, Zhou Jiahui was younger and ranked nineteenth among her peers with a Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining cultivation. Zhou Chun should address her as Nineteenth Aunt.

 

When they found out that this mission would be led by Zhou Chun, both of them were very surprised.

 

Especially Zhou Jiahe.

 

Zhou Chun was once under her when he was part of Ganoderma Peak!

 

Of course, that was before Zhou Chun became a core clan member.

 

Now that both were core clan members, she had no authority over Zhou Chun. Only the Clan Leader and the clan elders had that right.

 

But even so, it made no sense for her to be under Zhou Chun!

 

However, seeing Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi’s firm demeanor, both of them, despite their surprise and discomfort, had no choice but to follow the Clan Leader’s instructions.

 

After all, while they were Zhou Chun’s seniors, Zhou Daoyi was their senior and the Zhou Clan’s Clan Leader.

 

But Zhou Chun knew that even if these two seniors followed Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi’s orders, he must not abuse his position to bark orders.

 

Or all his hard work cultivating his reputation within the clan would be ruined, and he’d be seen as an arrogant upstart who’s success went to his head.

 

So, after riding the Horned Goat out of the clan, he plastered a smile on his face and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture toward the two women: “Please rest assured, Aunts. Though Clan Leader has given orders, I assure you that I will not show any disrespect toward you. This mission is mainly for reconnaissance, so there’s little risk involved.”

 

The two Zhou Clan cultivators, who had been wearing stern expressions, visibly relaxed.

 

Zhou Jiahe cast him a glance and replied with a smile: “Zhengchun, you’re too polite. Since Clan Leader has entrusted you with this task, there must be a reason. I trust Clan Leader’s judgment.”

 

Zhou Jiahui also nodded slightly, saying: “Jiahe is right. If the Clan Leader holds you in such high regard, Zhengchun, it’s no wonder—you must have some talent we are unaware of.”

 

These two cultivators, who were decades older than Zhou Chun, were not naive. They understood perfectly well how this worked.

 

Zhou Chun, being a junior, had already shown his respect and willingness to accommodate them. If they, as seniors, ignored him completely, it would only invite trouble.

 

“Seniors, you’re kind. I am still young and have much to learn from you. Such lofty commendation is undeserved.”

 

Such was human nature.

 

When Zhou Chun, a junior, took the lead in directing the two Seniors, those Seniors were not happy about it. However, when Zhou Chun set aside his leadership role and treated them with respect, they felt flattered and satisfied, more so than usual.

 

In a good mood, they found Zhou Chun, much easier on the eyes. They no longer dwelled on being led by Zhou Chun. In fact, they even thought about cooperating Zhou Chun as much as possible to demonstrate their noble character as seniors.

 

After traveling together for several days, the three arrived once again at the edge of the deep mountain pond.

 

“This is the pond,” Zhou Chun pointed to the emerald-green water, looking hopefully at the two Zhou Clan Seniors. “This time, it’s up to you.”

 

“Zhengchun, rest assured. We’ll handle this!”

 

Zhou Jia and Zhou Jiahui exchanged a glance before each removing the spirit beast pouch from their waists and flinging them aside. This released their respective spirit pets.

 

Zhou Jiahe’s spirit pet was a massive black-and-brown crocodile, measuring over twenty-three feet in length, its body covered in sleek scales, exuding an aura of immense power and ferocity.

 

Zhou Jiahui, on the other hand, summoned forth a large black tortoise. The tortoise was slightly smaller than Zhou Chun’s Rock Turtle, with a smooth shell unlike the Rock Turtle’s spiny ridges. Its tail was unique, resembling that of a pangolin.

 

Once both spirit pets emerged, they were given a series of commands and dove headfirst into the water pool.