Four figures walked at a steady pace along a winding mountain path.
The man and woman in the lead chatted continuously, their voices bubbling with excitement.
"The boss is finally here! From now on, we won't have to walk around the court with our tails tucked between our legs!"
"That's just you, Zhou Yuhao, not the rest of us. I have no idea what you're so terrified of. We're all around the same age, in roughly the same realm, and receive the same guidance and instruction. There's no reason to think we're any worse than them!"
"Sister Yuwei, that's not how it works! I wasn't scared; I just didn't want to bring trouble upon the clan. But now everything is different. With the boss here, we have a backer in Yuheng Court—in fact, throughout the entire Seven Stars Court!"
Zhou Yuwei shook her head. "I'm afraid that might not be the case."
Zhou Yuhao looked puzzled, but as they traveled deeper into the mountain range, realization gradually set in.
The boss had been granted an independent cave abode the moment he arrived. Could he have skipped the Seven Stars Court's foundational curriculum entirely?
If that was true, his plan to ride his coattails was bound to fall flat.
Feeling gloomy, he turned around and barked, "You two, hurry up!"
Zhou Yuwei stopped him. "There's no need to rush them. Neither of them has been in high spirits lately. Consider this outing to visit Brother Fuyou a chance for them to unwind."
"Them? In low spirits?" Zhou Yuhao snorted. "Zhou Ping'an caught the martial instructor's eye as soon as he arrived and was pulled aside for private lessons every single day. His cultivation making no headway is purely his own lack of ambition. And as for Zhou Yuqi?"
Zhou Yuhao looked past the plain-looking Zhou Ping'an, his gaze falling upon the sorrowful young man trailing behind, his face brimming with distaste.
In his eyes, even though Zhou Yuqi was a fellow member of the Zhou clan, he was wholly unworthy of joining Tiannan Dao Palace. Heaven only knew what connections he had leveraged to squeeze his way in.
Even after gaining entry, his performance had lagged far behind his and Zhou Yuwei's.
Yet what truly made Zhou Yuhao detest him was that ever since entering the Dao Palace, this fellow refused to get close to his own kin, actively ingratiating himself with scions of other aristocratic clans instead.
This infuriated Zhou Yuhao!
Once they met the boss, he was determined to have the boss teach Zhou Yuqi a harsh lesson!
The four pressed forward until the plaque of Zhaoxi Palace finally came into view through the mist.
However, upon reaching the square before the palace gates, their footsteps ground to a halt.
Gathered there were dozens of cultivators, men and women, none appearing particularly old.
Yet the ripples of spiritual power emanating from them far surpassed anything the four Zhou clansmen could muster.
Zhou Yuwei's expression tightened slightly. "They're all Foundation Establishment True Cultivators!"
Zhou Yuhao asked timidly, "Why are they gathered here? Did they come to cause trouble for the boss?"
It was hardly Zhou Yuhao's fault for jumping to such a conclusion; the scene before them seemed to suggest nothing else.
"Kuang Pingzhang requests an audience with Junior Brother Zhou!"
"Zhou Fuyou, what are you hiding inside for?"
"Yuan Xuesong of Li Mountain asks Senior Brother Zhou to step outside for a meeting!"
Similar shouts rang out from time to time.
Some were vicious taunts, while others were polite requests to meet, rendering the area outside Zhaoxi Palace utterly clamorous.
Yet in the face of these calls, Zhaoxi Palace remained as tranquil as before, offering no response whatsoever.
Standing at the very back of the crowd, the four Zhou clan youths shivered slightly.
"Maybe... maybe we shouldn't see the boss today?"
Zhou Yuwei hesitated, also feeling that today might not be the right time to visit Zhou Fuyou.
Before they could turn back, however, someone in front suddenly pivoted and spotted them.
"Oh? If it isn't Junior Sister Yuwei and Junior Brother Zhou. What brings you here?"
Zhou Yuwei tensed up and bowed respectfully. "Yuwei greets Senior Sister Xiang!"
The other three Zhou clan members followed suit with respectful salutes.
They knew this Senior Sister Xiang. She was an exceptional disciple of Yuheng Court who had successfully established her foundation two years ago and gained entry under Houtu Hall, serving nominally as a registered disciple to Hall Master Fairy Qinglan.
Senior Sister Xiang smiled as she received their bows, then remarked, "Taking a walk on a rest day is all well and good, but this isn't a place for leisure, Zhou... Hm? Your surname is Zhou?"
As if something had just clicked, the smile on Senior Sister Xiang's face vanished.
Her sudden realization came out somewhat abruptly and rather loudly, drawing the attention of several people nearby.
Before long, the noisy crowd fell quiet.
Gaze after gaze turned toward them, subjecting the four Qi Refinement youths of the Zhou clan to pressure as heavy as a mountain.
Paling, Zhou Yuwei forced herself to say, "Senior Sister Xiang, we took a wrong turn. We shall take our leave!"
The corner of Senior Sister Xiang's mouth twitched. "You didn't take a wrong turn. Since you're already here, why not go meet your Zhou family relative?"
As she spoke, the crowd parted, making way for them.
Zhou Yuwei swallowed hard, knowing that leaving was no longer an option today.
Steeling herself under dozens of watching eyes, she walked toward the grand gates of Zhaoxi Palace.
Her heart pounded with dread and uncertainty.
If Brother Fuyou opened the doors, it would only bring massive trouble upon himself.
Yet if he refused to open them, what were the four of them supposed to do?
Amid this turbulent mix of anticipation and terror, the grand gates of Zhaoxi Palace slowly swung inward.
A figure in white stepped out with a serene bearing.
"It's the boss!"
Zhou Yuhao cried out and dashed forward.
Zhou Yuwei, along with Zhou Yuqi and Zhou Ping'an, hurriedly offered their bows and greetings.
"Come inside," Zhou Fuyou said indifferently, ushering the four into the main hall of Zhaoxi Palace.
He then turned, intending to head back inside.
From behind him, however, snide voices rang out.
"Junior Brother Zhou, how is it that you see a gathering of senior brothers and sisters yet offer no greeting? Could it be that a dignified Nascent Soul clan like the Zhou family hasn't even taught you basic manners?"
This drew a chorus of agreement from the crowd.
"Indeed. The Zhou family is merely a minor overseas clan, after all, lacking the refined etiquette of our Central Plains families."
"In my view, Junior Brother Zhou ought to study diligently in the Seven Stars Court for a while, if only to learn our Tianyuan Dao Sect's rules of hierarchy and propriety."
"Occupying an exalted position overnight makes it easy to let pride go to one's head. Still, this senior brother must offer a word of advice: a young man shouldn't be overly arrogant!"
These sharp voices cut through the surrounding silence, distinctly audible over the gathering.
The figure clad in red coral turned slowly around, revealing the young man's frigid countenance.
Zhou Fuyou stared at them coldly. "What do you want?"
This single question caught the crowd off guard.
Zhou Fuyou took a step forward, standing atop the stairs to look down upon them.
"First, I have already formally bowed to my Master. By the laws of seniority and hierarchy, those of you who remain unapprenticed registered disciples ought to bow respectfully and address me as Senior Brother!"
"Second, if you look down on my Zhou family, why didn't a single one of you utter a peep when our Zhou family ancestor visited the mountain days ago?"
"And finally!"
Zhou Fuyou placed one hand behind his back and extended the other forward.
"If you came to provoke me, then strike! Who's first?"
His sharp retorts flushed the faces of the Foundation Establishment cultivators red with indignation.
Even those who had merely come to watch the spectacle felt that Zhou Fuyou was acting far too brazen.
He had only just joined Tiannan Dao Palace. How could he possibly compare to seniors who had cultivated here for decades? He was truly courting death!
Yet before anyone could respond, Zhou Fuyou made his move.
Both his hands formed incantation gestures simultaneously.
The next instant—
Boom!
Plumes of black qi surged toward the heavens, instantly blanketing the sky above.
Qi Sea Floating Heaven; dark clouds pressing upon a city!
As Zhou Fuyou pressed one hand downward, everyone present was seized with shock.
"How dare he?"
"Taking on everyone single-handedly?"
"He's courting death!"
Yet the moment that torrential gale came crashing down, all their fury dissolved into screams of agony.
Spells collapsed upon contact.
Magical instruments lost their luster.
Even those who wielded magic treasures found them wobbling and tottering under the onslaught of black qi, utterly unable to break free from the dark firmament.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Zhou Fuyou thrust another palm forward through the empty air.
For several li around, the earth trembled. The Foundation Establishment cultivators could no longer mount any resistance, their defensive measures shattering layer by layer.
Some of the weaker ones took on a grotesque, bruised hue across their faces, clearly struck by poison.
Still not enough!
Suppressing dozens of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators all by himself was no easy feat for Zhou Fuyou.
That was why he had deployed his most lethal technique from the very outset.
Since he had made his move, he would make them all feel the pain! He would let them know that he, Zhou Fuyou, was not someone to be trifled with!
Zhou Fuyou's expression turned ruthless, and his hand shifted to press down a third palm strike!
Just then, a voice drifted down from above.
"Little Junior Brother, that is enough."
Zhou Fuyou's brows twitched slightly, and he formed a hand seal with one hand.
Instantly, the pitch-black canopy suppressing the entire square broke apart into streams of black qi, flowing back into Zhou Fuyou's body like swallows returning to their nest.
Having narrowly escaped with their lives, the crowd felt overwhelmed with relief.
The gazes they cast toward Zhou Fuyou were now filled with reverence and terror.
"Eldest Senior Sister!"
Shi Miaoyin nodded at Zhou Fuyou with a smile, then turned to snap at the crowd, "Get lost!"
The Foundation Establishment True Cultivators who had come seeking to size up Zhou Fuyou scrambled to retreat in utter disgrace.
Once Zhaoxi Palace regained its quiet, Shi Miaoyin said apologetically, "I am sorry. I have been lax in disciplining them lately."
"It is of no consequence." Zhou Fuyou was not particularly angered; he had anticipated this sort of trouble.
After all, the moment he arrived, he had smoothly joined their Master's tutelage and secured the peak cave abode, Xuan-Jia-One, which all Foundation Establishment True Cultivators coveted. It was inevitable that some tactless fools would come looking for trouble.
The only thing he had not expected was that the commotion would be this large!
It likely had something to do with the grand stir the ancestor had caused when arriving at the mountain.
Zhou Fuyou looked at Shi Miaoyin and asked curiously, "Eldest Senior Sister, did you hear the news and come specifically to bail me out?"
Shi Miaoyin gave a wry smile. "With your abilities, Little Junior Brother, why would you need me to bail you out? I came today on Master's instructions to ask whether you have already refined a natal magic treasure embryo."
Zhou Fuyou's eyes lit up at once.
"I haven't! What I currently use is a killing treasure bestowed by the ancestor. As for this coral dharma robe I wear, it was tempered by the ancestor and possesses the grade of a True Artifact, with defensive capabilities on par with a high-grade magic treasure."
Having grasped the general situation, Shi Miaoyin nodded slightly.
"Just as Master anticipated. In that case, I will have some catalogs of famous water-attribute magic treasures of the Tianyuan Dao Sect brought over to you. Look through them carefully and take your pick. Houtu Hall will forge it for you, and you needn't worry about the materials."
Zhou Fuyou could ask for nothing better.
Ordinary cultivators could nurture a magic treasure as their natal magic treasure upon forming a Golden Core, turning it into an item bound to their life and cultivation.
Those looking for convenience naturally chose to nurture pre-existing magic treasures directly.
However, true disciples of great sects never took such shortcuts, opting instead to tailor-make a natal magic treasure tailored to themselves.
From the looks of it, Master held him in extraordinarily high regard, already planning to forge a treasure embryo for him before he had even formed a Golden Core.
"I won't disturb your family reunion any longer. If anything like this happens again, you can contact me directly."
Shi Miaoyin glanced toward the four people peeking out from inside Zhaoxi Palace, left behind a voice transmission talisman, and took her leave.
After she departed, Zhou Fuyou brushed his sleeves and stepped into the hall.
Greeting him were four pairs of eyes filled with worship, reverence, and even flashes of envy and jealousy.
"Boss!"
"Brother Fuyou!"
"Fuyou..."
Zhou Fuyou waved a hand and took the high seat.
"It has been a long time. How have you all fared over these years?"
At these words, the four immediately poured out their grievances.
Evidently, the cultivation life within the Dao Palace, so envied by young outsiders, was far from the breezy idyll they imagined.
Here, too, factions formed, cliques clashed, and people competed and suppressed one another.
Aside from navigating human relationships, the cultivation itself was an agonizingly difficult path.
The one who had received the greatest attention was Zhou Ping'an, possessor of five spiritual roots.
Yet he was also the most dejected person in the entire Yuheng Court.
His cultivation progress was exceedingly sluggish. Immense amounts of resources were poured into him like clay oxen into the sea, yet his realm always advanced the slowest of all.
While Zhou Yuwei and Zhou Yuhao were already in the late Qi Refinement stage, Zhou Ping'an was only at the third layer of Qi Refinement, still far from the middle stage. Rumor had it that Yuheng Court was already contemplating giving up on nurturing him.
Cultivating five elements simultaneously placed immense strain on a youth.
At only twenty-one years of age, Zhou Ping'an already looked somewhat weathered.
Zhou Yuqi was hardly better off. His spiritual root aptitude was ordinary, and he had only been admitted because his father pulled strings to secure an auditing slot.
Subjected to discrimination from the start and slow in his cultivation, he had recently received grim news.
"Fuyou, are my father and mother truly dead?"
Facing those sorrowful eyes, Zhou Fuyou remained entirely calm.
"You may inquire with the clan elders regarding this matter."
Zhou Yuqi opened his mouth, but ended up slumping limply into his chair.
Zhou Fuyou cared little for his thoughts; in truth, he did not care much about the circumstances of the other Zhou clan members either.
Meeting them today was merely to fulfill clan ties and nominally lend them some backing.
To cultivate in Tiannan Dao Palace, one ultimately had to rely on oneself.
After joining the Dao Palace, one laid foundations in the Seven Stars Court, and upon reaching Foundation Establishment, selected a hall to become a registered disciple.
Only upon ascending to the Golden Core stage could one formally become a disciple of the four Hall Masters.
For those Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, daily cultivation relied mostly on guidance provided by Golden Core senior brothers and sisters on their masters' behalf, along with their own personal comprehension.
That was precisely why so many people had banded together to come to Zhaoxi Palace today.
Zhou Fuyou had reached the heavens in a single bound, bypassing the years, decades, or even centuries of effort required of ordinary people to apprentice directly under Fairy Qinglan. How could that not drive them mad with jealousy?
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the four Zhou clan members took their leave, not daring to disturb Zhou Fuyou any further.
Toward evening, Eldest Senior Sister sent Zhou Fuyou a catalog.
It was a catalog of magic treasures!
Most of the pages were sealed, but one-fifth had been unlocked.
Clearly, this was what Master had provided so Zhou Fuyou could select an appropriate magic treasure in advance.
Zhou Fuyou took great pleasure in reading such texts. They broadened his horizons, allowing him to acquire a depth of knowledge far beyond his years.
None of the items recorded in the magic treasure catalog were ordinary objects.
Beyond descriptions of their names, powers, strengths, and weaknesses, the catalog also chronicled the past achievements of the cultivators who had wielded them.
The more Zhou Fuyou read, the more delighted he became. Every treasure seemed well-suited to him, yet each seemed to lack that final touch.
"My future can never be confined to mere Golden Core or Nascent Soul realms. A treasure bound to my very life and cultivation must possess immense potential!"
"Those who only reached the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages must have had flaws in their magic treasures."
"I want a natal magic treasure that was once forged by a Soul Formation almighty!"
Zhou Fuyou turned to the very last page.
Upon it, a pearl shone with brilliant radiance.
"The Sea-Calming Pearl!"
***
Deep within the Azure Void.
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed, and the cosmos felt like an endless primordial chaos.
A Daoist sat cross-legged in meditation.
He sat there in utter stillness, yet his aura felt like a sharp sword poised to pierce the vault of heaven at any moment.
Suddenly!
The black-robed Daoist snapped his eyes open, and hundreds of acupoints across his entire body trembled in unison.
Countless strands of sword qi erupted ceaselessly, forming a crimson tempest within the void.
At the very center of the storm, the black-robed Daoist stared in astonishment at a seed resting in his palm.
"After twenty years of effort, the sword scripture has finally reached the Grandmaster level."
"Yet what is this seed condensed of sword qi? There is no record of it in the Thousand Heavens Myriad Transformations Sword Scripture."
"Could it be a unique variation brought about by the system, just like when I advanced various spells in the past?"
Chapter 1044