Chapter 297: Chapter 284: The Second Profession
Red Tiger Mountain.
Zhou Yuanchen descended from the sword light, gazing at the spirit mountain ahead, half-covered in array mist, with a complex expression in his eyes.
Of course, it was not his first time here, but every time he came, his feelings were quite different.
The last time he was at Red Tiger Mountain was when Zhouyang held the Purple Mansion celebration, and at that time, he came with feelings of joy mixed with pride.
He was happy for the Zhou Family’s promotion to a Purple Mansion Clan and proud to be a member of the Purple Mansion Clan.
But this time, his feelings were very different.
"Husband, why did you stop? Didn’t we already send a message to the Clan Leader and the others, informing them that we would come today to recognize our ancestors and return to our roots?"
Beside Zhou Yuanchen, a white-dressed woman with Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation level, holding a two or three-year-old boy, asked her Dao companion with a face full of confusion.
It turned out this woman was Zhou Yuanchen’s recently found Dao companion from the Yellow Sand Sect, and the little boy in her arms was their first child.
According to the agreement made when the Zhou Family supported Zhou Yuanchen in his Foundation Establishment, Zhou Yuanchen had to marry, have children, and leave behind descendants, and then let his descendants return to recognize the ancestors of the Zhou Family.
So today Zhou Yuanchen came to do just this.
Hearing his Dao companion’s question, Zhou Yuanchen, with a somewhat dazed look, sighed gently in his heart and shook his head, saying, "It’s nothing, just suddenly remembered something. Alright, let’s go up the mountain!"
With that, he immediately sent a Sound Transmission Talisman to the cultivators on the mountain, then holding his Dao companion’s hand, began to walk up the mountain.
Meanwhile, on Red Tiger Mountain, Zhouyang, upon receiving the message, quickly left his cave mansion and descended to the mountainside to greet the Zhou Yuanchen couple.
"Brother Yuanchen, why didn’t you send a flying sword message in advance to inform your little brother? So that I could come out to greet Brother and Sister-in-law!"
Upon seeing Zhou Yuanchen and his wife, Zhouyang half-jokingly, half-seriously complained.
Though he knew the Zhou Yuanchen couple would come to recognize their ancestors, and had instructed the preparation of the ritual items, he certainly couldn’t wait at the foot of the mountain for them, could he?
Zhou Yuanchen was very moved upon hearing this and hurriedly explained, "I heard that Ninth Brother, you’ve been in secluded cultivation these years, how could I bother you over such a small matter?"
Zhouyang could afford not to be condescending due to his Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator status, but Zhou Yuanchen could not overlook the disparity in their cultivations.
Having a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator waiting outside for him, Zhou Yuanchen knew he didn’t have such a qualification, unless the Sect Leader Zhang Yunpeng and his wife were visiting.
Upon hearing this, Zhouyang repeatedly shook his head with a serious look, saying, "Brother Yuanchen, you are mistaken, recognizing ancestors and returning to the roots is such a significant event, as the Clan Leader, I must personally handle it."
Zhou Yuanchen, tongue-tied by these words, could only cough lightly and repeatedly nod in acknowledgment, "Ahem, Ninth Brother is right, it’s Brother’s oversight."
To avoid Zhouyang dwelling on the matter, Zhou Yuanchen immediately took the little boy from his Dao companion’s arms and said to him, "Guangde, be good, this is your Ninth Uncle, quickly greet him."
The little boy was obedient and immediately greeted Zhouyang, "Hello, Ninth Uncle, I am Zhou Guangde, broad as the sky, virtuous and moral."
"Hello Guangde, what a good child, let Ninth Uncle hold you."
Zhouyang’s face lit up with a smile as he reached out to take the little boy that Zhou Yuanchen handed over.
Holding little Zhou Guangde in his arms, a flash of golden light appeared in Zhouyang’s eyes as he used the "Separation Fire Golden Eye" to discern the boy’s spiritual root talent.
With both parents being cultivators, and the father a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, little Zhou Guangde’s spiritual root talent was quite decent, though not a Top-grade Spiritual Root, it was a Middle-grade Spiritual Root leaning towards earth and wood attributes.
With this talent, as long as he puts in the effort and receives the focused cultivation from his Foundation Establishment Stage father Zhou Yuanchen, the kid stands a good chance of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in the future.
With that, Zhouyang personally carried little Zhou Guangde and walked with the Zhou Yuanchen couple towards the ancestral shrine.
After the Zhou Family moved their foundation to Red Tiger Mountain, they established an ancestral shrine here, even more majestic than the one on Jade Spring Peak. The spiritual tablets of the ancestors from the Jade Spring Peak shrine were also relocated here.
As Zhouyang said, returning to one’s roots and acknowledging one’s ancestors is a major family affair.
After receiving Zhou Yuanchen’s transmission a few days earlier, Zhouyang summoned all the "Yuan" generation cultivators and some late-stage Qi Cultivation "Guang" generation cultivators from the Red Tiger Mountain Oasis to attend the ceremony. All cultivators on the mountain, regardless of age, gathered in the ancestral shrine to witness the event.
In front of over a hundred clan witnesses, Zhou Yuanchen led his son Zhou Guangde by the hand, bowing in front of each spiritual tablet of the deceased Zhou family elders in the ancestral shrine, offering spirit incense. Finally, clan leader Zhouyang personally took out the family register and added Zhou Guangde’s name to the "Guang" generation cultivators.
From that moment on, Zhou Guangde became a true member of the Zhou Family, with no further ties to the Yellow Sand Sect.
"Now that Guangde has returned to acknowledge his ancestors, I’ve also taken leave from the sect. In the next five years, my wife and I will stay with the family to take care of Guangde. Ninth Brother, if you need anything from me during this time, just let me know."
After the ancestor acknowledgement ceremony was over, Zhou Yuanchen had his Dao companion take their son to tour the mountain and get familiar with the environment, while he himself went with Zhouyang to a secluded spot behind the ancestral shrine to discuss his plans.
"This is a good thing. Elder Brother Yuanchen, it’s rare for you to spend such a long time with the family, and it’s a good chance to bond with the clan members."
"As for needing Elder Brother Yuanchen’s help, if you have the time, perhaps you could guide the clan cultivators in the Hundred Arts Hall on talisman-making techniques and help the clan make some Tier Three Spirit Talismans."
Zhouyang nodded lightly and straightforwardly assigned tasks to Zhou Yuanchen.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuanchen immediately agreed, saying, "No problem at all. I will not hold back in sharing my talisman-making experience and insights with the younger generation of the clan."
He then took a Jade Scroll from his storage bag and handed it to Zhouyang, saying, "Also, here is a manuscript of my talisman-making insights and writings I’ve compiled over the years. Ninth Brother, please add it to the family Scripture Cave for the clan to study!"
Zhou Yuanchen is now a Tier Three Middle-grade Talisman Master. His manuscript, although not including some of the Yellow Sand Sect’s secret talisman-making techniques, is still of great value for study and research.
Zhouyang solemnly accepted the Jade Scroll with both hands and said, "Rest assured, Elder Brother Yuanchen, I will ensure the clan knows of your contributions to the family!"
To show his respect for Zhou Yuanchen, Zhouyang allocated the remaining A-level Cave Mansion on Red Tiger Mountain for his temporary stay, and also instructed the family members who had learned or were interested in talisman-making to take this opportunity to seek his guidance.
Even Zhouyang himself set aside some time to attend the specialized classes Zhou Yuanchen conducted for the Zhou family’s talisman makers.
That’s right, after careful consideration, Zhouyang decided to focus his secondary cultivation skill on talisman-making.
He didn’t need to consider alchemy, as his Dao companion Xiao Ying was an exceptionally skilled alchemist, and array mastery is widely acknowledged to be the most time-consuming and energy-intensive profession, leaving him with few choices.
Choosing talisman-making offered several benefits for him.
Firstly, using spirit talismans could compensate for his deficiencies in magical practice. Despite years of cultivation, many of his spells were only at the stage of being usable but not well-mastered, not suitable for practical use in magical combat.
If he learned talisman-making, he could use spirit talismans to cover this flaw, making his combat capabilities more comprehensive and better equipping him to handle various complex and dangerous situations.
Second, with his cultivation being the highest in the Zhou family, and likely to remain so, if he could learn talisman-making and elevate it to Tier Four, he could leave the family numerous Tier Four Spirit Talismans as trump cards, ensuring the family wouldn’t be easily wiped out by a Purple Mansion Cultivator or a demon beast even if he had to leave for distant travels.
Third, talisman-making does not demand high materials. Besides the talisman brush, whether it’s blood ink or spiritual ink, or talisman paper, they can all be made from demon beast spirit blood and beast hides, unlike alchemy or artifact refining, which require considerable time to seek out specific materials.
The Zhou family does not lack materials for talisman-making. They have abundant stocks of blank talisman paper and blood ink, although only Tier One and Tier Two materials. Even though they have Tier Three materials, they could not be squandered or freely given to just any talisman maker like the lower-tier materials.
With his Purple Mansion Stage cultivation studying talisman-making, coupled with ample material supply, he advanced rapidly. In just three months, he elevated talisman-making to Tier Two Top Grade, and after two more months of intense practice, he successfully created his first Tier Three Lower-Grade Spirit Talisman.
However, after becoming a Tier Three Talisman Maker, he found it impossible to rapidly progress in talisman-making as he did before.
The Zhou family’s inventory of Tier Three talisman materials was limited, so he could not waste it like lower-tier materials.
Moreover, the difficulty and skill requirements for making Tier Three Spirit Talismans far exceeded those of Tier Two, demanding considerable time and effort even from him to practice and master.
And he couldn’t devote all his time to talisman-making. Both the second layer cultivation of the Great Derivation Sword Technique and the cultivation of "Qianyang Divine Thunder" ranked higher in his priorities than talisman-making.
After all, he was soon to travel afar, traversing dangerous places like the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, where the only things that could save his life in peril were these two powerful magical techniques, not the Tier Three talisman-making that was practically useless at the Purple Mansion level.