Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Elder’s Guidance, Flower Seeking Manual

A mountain fire covering less than 10,000 acres was not difficult to extinguish for a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

It had not been an hour since Zhou Chun and the others returned to the marketplace when the green-robed Daoist, through his senses, located the Spirit Beast Restaurant.

With Liu Qingshan actively taking responsibility and Zhou Jiasheng acting as guarantor, Zhou Chun successfully avoided being implicated as an accomplice in the arson.

However, Liu Qingshan and his daughter were each sentenced to five years of labor in the marketplace or to pay a fine of three hundred Spirit Coins.

Of course, the Liu father and daughter didn’t have that much in fines, managing only to scrape together a total of one hundred and fifty-four Spirit Coins.

Zhou Chun, being the good person he was, helped them with the additional one hundred and forty-six Spirit Coins, thus sparing Liu Shiyun from the penalty.

But there was nothing Zhou Chun could do about Liu Qingshan’s share of the fine.

So, at Liu Qingshan’s earnest request, Zhou Chun consulted with Zhou Jiasheng, and they allowed Liu Shiyun to work in the Spirit Beast Restaurant as a servant while also pursuing her cultivation.

Of course, this was only a temporary measure. If during that period, the Zhou Family sent another servant over, Liu Shiyun would have to vacate her position.

And naturally, Zhou Chun wasn’t helping out of pure generosity; he had his eye on the medicinal valley mentioned by the Lius.

Not to mention the immense value of the many wild Spiritual Medicines in the valley, the group of Emerald Crown Flying Serpents was considered excellent Spirit Beast seedlings for the Zhou Family.

As a Demon Beast, the Emerald Crown Flying Serpent wasn’t very strong individually, but taming more than one at a time could significantly enhance a Cultivator’s combat ability.

And with their small size, once contracted and tamed, they could even be hidden in one’s sleeves, often producing a surprising effect when deployed unexpectedly.

Most importantly, as a gregarious Demon Beast, their reproduction was always promising. If the Zhou Family cultivated them successfully, in the future, many Clan Members could contract one or two for self-defense.

Therefore, Zhou Chun had to “redeem” Liu Shiyun, so that she could lead him there to catch snakes and gather medicines.

However, capturing snakes and collecting herbs wasn’t something Zhou Chun could do alone.

Even if he invited Zhou Zhengyong and Zhou Jiapeng, whom he had a good relationship with, they would still fail to accomplish this task.

So he decided to report the matter to Elder Zhou Daoquan as a token of gratitude for the Elder’s help in hatching the Silver Lightning Python in the past.

No sooner had he thought of this plan than he discussed it with Liu Shiyun, gained her consent, and after asking Zhou Jiasheng for leave, he returned to his family alone.

With his current cultivation level, he had no significant problems coming and going alone through the Hongyan Mountain Range.

In just over a day’s time, Zhou Chun had arrived back at the Zhou Family’s Jiufeng Ridge.

Upon returning to the clan, he didn’t bother Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi and didn’t return to his residence on Baozhi Peak. Instead, he went straight to Flying Rock Peak to pay a visit to Elder Zhou Daoquan.

To his surprise, after listening to his report, Zhou Daoquan pondered for a moment and then looked at him saying, “If this old man takes on this task, then the majority of those Emerald Crown Flying Serpents and the Spiritual Medicines in the valley will end up with the clan. In the end, the benefits you and that young girl would receive might hardly be twenty percent!”

Zhou Chun, upon hearing this, was somewhat puzzled and didn’t quite understand why he said this.

But he quickly replied, “The junior naturally understands this.”

He then added with a wry smile and a spread of his hands, “But without an Elder’s help, even if I invited several Clan Members to join me in exterminating snakes and gathering herbs, capturing those Emerald Crown Flying Serpents to send to the clan for breeding would be utterly impossible!”

Zhou Daoquan, hearing this, said indifferently, “In fact, to capture those Emerald Crown Flying Serpents, there is no need for this old man to act personally. Someone is more skilled in that regard than the old man and won’t require such a large share of the benefits!”

Hmm???

Zhou Chun looked at Zhou Daoquan with a puzzled face, not understanding who this person he mentioned was.

Seeing his confusion, Zhou Daoquan elaborated, “Aren’t you well acquainted with Elder Yuan from the Book Collection Tower? Don’t you know that its specialty is snake catching?”

So that’s it!

Zhou Chun finally understood and fully grasped Zhou Daoquan’s intention.

Although the Green Wood Spirit Ape remained with the Zhou Family, it didn’t fully count as one of their own because it had no master. Its relationship with the Zhou Family was more of a mutually beneficial cooperation.

If Zhou Chun asked the ape to help him catch snakes and collect medicines, he would only need to reward it with benefits.

And how many benefits would the Green Wood Spirit Ape actually want?

When the time came, Zhou Chun could just go to the marketplace to buy some Spirit Fruits and Spiritual Wine to offer it, which would leave it quite satisfied.

But why was Elder Zhou Daoquan, the third Elder, so good to him?

There was no need at all for him to offer this guidance on the matter!

Zhou Chun stole glances at Zhou Daoquan, ultimately suppressing his question.

He quickly and respectfully replied, “The younger generation understands, thank you, Elder, for resolving my doubts.”

After speaking, he deeply bowed in gratitude, “For the Elder’s guidance and support extended to the younger generation, I am presently incapable of reciprocating. I can only keep it in mind and repay you in the future!”

Zhou Daoquan, upon hearing these words, couldn’t help but roll his eyes and said, “If I didn’t find you somewhat agreeable, I wouldn’t bother telling you all this. Among the younger generation in our family, there are very few I actually take a liking to!”

Having said that, he waved his hand, “Alright, I am going to meditate and cultivate. You may leave now!”

Zhou Chun, by now accustomed to his way of speaking, knew the Elder, despite his age, still had the heart of a child and disliked too many formalities.

Regrettably, in the family, formalities had to be observed, otherwise Zhou Chun really wished to become an intimate friend with this Elder regardless of age!

Leaving Zhou Daoquan’s dwelling, Zhou Chun immediately went to the Book Collection Tower to meet with the Green Wood Spirit Ape.

For “Elder Yuan,” Zhou Chun found no need for scheming; he forthrightly spoke the truth, revealing all relevant details.

Listening to his words, the Green-Haired Giant Ape slightly bowed its head as if in thought.

After contemplating for a good while, the Green-Haired Giant Ape nodded to Zhou Chun, agreeing to his request for help.

“Young one is grateful to Elder Yuan!”

Zhou Chun, with joy on his face, promptly bowed respectfully with clasped hands.

Then, he took the Green-Haired Giant Ape straight to Pagoda Peak to report the matter to the Clan Leader, Zhou Daoyi.

“Being able to persuade it to leave the family with you is also your ability. I only hope that you will be careful and cautious, not to let it or yourself come to any harm!”

Inside the Central Peace Hall, after hearing about Zhou Chun’s plan to take the Green Wood Spirit Ape out of the family for an adventure, Zhou Daoyi was first surprised that he managed to convince the old ape to help him, but then readily approved the matter without inquiring what Zhou Chun intended to do.

Facing Zhou Daoyi’s instructions and warnings, Zhou Chun also showed proper reverence as he solemnly responded, “Yes, the younger generation will surely keep the Clan Leader’s teachings in mind.”

After obtaining the special permission from Zhou Daoyi to leave, Zhou Chun borrowed a few items, then, leading the Green-Haired Giant Ape, departed from Jiufeng Ridge.

Outside, the Green-Haired Giant Ape initially wanted Zhou Chun to ride on its shoulder so it could carry him quickly on their journey.

However, Zhou Chun felt that this was improper regarding seniority and respect for “Elder Yuan,” and it would also be too ostentatious.

Therefore, he asked the Green-Haired Giant Ape to rest inside the Spirit Beast Pouch and wait until they reached the destination before coming out to hunt the serpent.

The Green-Haired Giant Ape did not mind whether it walked or rested in the Spirit Beast Pouch. Since Zhou Chun preferred it to sleep in the pouch, it naturally did not object.

Having stored the Green-Haired Giant Ape in an empty Spirit Beast Pouch, Zhou Chun then used a Flying Artifact to head towards the Marketplace.

In order not to arouse Zhou Jiasheng’s suspicion by returning too quickly, Zhou Chun rested for a good part of the day outside the Hongyan Mountain Range and took the opportunity to check his gains from killing Guo DaHu and the others.

Since he and the Rock Earth Turtle had killed the people, Liu Qingshan did not have the heart to clamor for the spoils, so all the belongings of the three men went to him.

Although he destroyed several Magic Artifacts with the Moon Blade Meteor Wheel, Zhou Chun still ended up with two middle-grade first-order Magic Artifacts and three lower-grade first-order Magic Artifacts.

In addition, the Storage Pouches of the three contained some harvested Spiritual Medicine, various materials such as Demon Beast hides, claws, teeth, several common low-grade Talismans, along with Cultivation Techniques, miscellaneous books, medications for healing and detoxifying, and so on, plus a total of one hundred and seventy-seven Spirit Coins.

Leaving aside the Magic Artifacts and Talismans, the item in the three Storage Pouches that truly caught Zhou Chun’s attention was a book titled “Flower Seeking Manual” found in He Sangu’s pouch.

The “flower seeking” mentioned here does not refer to flora but is a euphemism for female Cultivators with special constitutions.

The book recorded over twenty methods to identify such women, but it only included identification methods and lacked explanations of the benefits of these special constitutions, which seemed deliberately omitted.

When Zhou Chun saw the illustration and accompanying description for the “Profound Yin Charm Bone” constitution, his expression became peculiar, staring at the illustration for quite some time before turning the page.

On the last page of the “Flower Seeking Manual,” two secret techniques were listed: one taught how to harvest Yin to supplement Yang or Yang to supplement Yin, and the other detailed how to influence and control the mind of a dual cultivation partner during the fusion of spiritual desire, gradually turning them into a servant.

Both techniques were unsavory and could be considered sinister magic.

Zhou Chun decided it was best to keep this item in his own hands, lest any Zhou Family Cultivator be tempted and attempt to practice it in the future.

After tallying his spoils and judging that enough time had passed, he returned to the Marketplace.

“Now that Elder Yuan accompanies you, I won’t say much else. In any case, make it a quick trip; the shop can hardly do without you these days.”

Inside the Spirit Beast Restaurant, Zhou Jiasheng was taken aback upon learning that Zhou Chun had brought the Green Wood Spirit Ape out of the family. He looked at him with an astonished face, seemingly having much to say yet refraining.

After hesitating for a long while, in the end, he didn’t ask further nor say much. He just gave Zhou Chun a brief instruction to “make it quick” and approved his and Liu Shiyun’s temporary leave from the shop.