Time flows ever onward, fleeting and impossible to stay.
Years slipped by in the blink of an eye.
Twenty years had passed since Zhou Fuyou joined Tiannan Dao Palace and became a disciple under Fairy Qinglan of Houtu Hall.
During those twenty years, Zhou Fuyou never stepped beyond his threshold and rarely interacted with anyone.
Nor did he have much need to.
Though he had formally taken a master, Master Qinglan seldom instructed the many cultivators of Houtu Hall directly. Her personal guidance was reserved solely for formal disciples who had reached the Golden Core stage. Those Golden Core disciples would then teach the nominal disciples in the Foundation Establishment realm on her behalf.
By all rights, Zhou Fuyou should have received similar instruction.
However, having received more than half a year of direct guidance from Old Ancestor Zhou Yunshen, he had long since mapped out the entire cultivation path from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core with exceptional clarity. As a result, he had little need for the standard lessons of his eight senior brothers and sisters.
Over these twenty years, fellow Foundation Establishment True Cultivators of Houtu Hall occasionally came to call.
Unlike the earlier provocations, most of these visits were well-intentioned gestures aimed at forging ties and making friends.
Yet Zhou Fuyou declined nearly all of them, accepting only a single gathering invitation forwarded to him by Zhou Yuwei.
That occasion had been somewhat special.
The host of the gathering was his "cousin," a female cultivator from the Qingtong Lin family named Lin Qingtong.
Named after the clan's territory, her name alone showed how deeply the Lin family valued and favored her.
She had lived up to their expectations. After cultivating in Yuheng Court for twenty years, she achieved Foundation Establishment at the age of thirty-two, successfully entered Houtu Hall, and became one of Fairy Qinglan's nominal disciples.
Upon being allocated an immortal's cave, Lin Qingtong hosted a modest Foundation Establishment celebration—the very gathering he attended.
Such party-style celebrations were quite popular in the Dao Palace, serving as prime occasions for fellow disciples to bond and ideal opportunities to expand connections.
Especially for the latter, even those with little prior contact could join under the pretext of offering congratulations.
Yet at that gathering, the most prominent guest was not any of the long-renowned Foundation Establishment True Cultivators of Houtu Hall, nor Seventh Senior Brother, who stopped by to see her, but Ninth Senior Brother Zhou Fuyou, who hardly ever showed his face!
At the time, Zhou Fuyou's arrival caught many off guard; no one had imagined that Lin Qingtong, who had only just joined Houtu Hall, could persuade him to attend.
Only later did the details gradually surface.
Zhou Fuyou's mother, Lin Jingshu, hailed from the Qingtong Lin family and was a half-sister to Lin Qingtong's father.
Though it sounded slightly convoluted, by kinship they were genuine cousins.
At the gathering, many went out of their way to curry favor with Zhou Fuyou, yet practically none managed to become his friend.
Just as rumors claimed, the peerlessly talented Zhou Fuyou was solitary by nature and disinclined to mingle.
Once the gathering concluded, Zhou Fuyou went out even less, devoting himself entirely to closed-door cultivation within Zhaoxi Palace.
Until the end of the twenty-year mark drew near.
By this year, Zhou Fuyou was around forty years old.
And his realm?
*Rumble!*
Amid the western mountains of Tiannan Dao Palace, a sudden bolt of thunder cracked across the clear sky.
Then came a deafening, continuous roar, like the cracking of bones or the rolling of endless thunder.
Across the horizon, dark clouds gathered and silver serpents flashed.
*Drip!*
At some unseen moment, a raindrop fell.
Immediately, torrential rain poured down.
Before many could even react, vast amounts of heaven-and-earth spiritual qi converged toward Zhaoxi Palace.
Wind and clouds coalesced at once as dragons and tigers roared in turn.
A swirling vortex formed from the deluge of spiritual qi, expanding outward in all directions.
Numerous nearby second-rank spirit veins were stirred, releasing vast quantities of spiritual qi into the sky-piercing funnel.
Faced with such a scene, even the dullest cultivator realized what was occurring.
"Core Formation!"
"Someone is condensing a Golden Core?"
"But why here? This area is meant for Foundation Establishment True Cultivators. The highest spirit veins here are only peak second-rank, wholly unfit for charging into the Golden Core stage!"
"That direction... could it be?"
"Zhaoxi Palace!"
"Zhou Fuyou—he's already forming a core?"
Amid the clamor of astonishment, a voice echoed from Houtu Hall atop the mountain summit.
"Reckless!"
The voice carried a touch of reproof, yet was tinged with relief and delight.
Accompanying the voice, a beam of emerald light descended from the sky.
Following the arrival of the emerald light, the earth trembled with a thunderous rumble!
As if unbound, the spirit veins buried deep in the crust unleashed a torrential surge of spiritual qi.
Like fresh reinforcements, this spiritual qi poured into the vortex, driving the cultivator within a step further.
Inside Houtu Hall.
Fairy Qinglan, having awakened from seclusion, let out a sigh of relief as she observed the scene.
Her eldest disciple, Shi Miaoyin, who had hurried over, felt the same. "Junior Brother is far too reckless, forcing his Core Formation without giving any word beforehand. Fortunately, Master emerged from seclusion to assist him, or all his efforts might have gone down in vain!"
Fairy Qinglan had originally thought so as well, but once her divine sense encompassed a thousand li around them, her perspective shifted.
She looked up through the window at the sky shrouded in dark clouds and murmured, "I fear he was not being reckless."
Shi Miaoyin froze, not grasping her master's meaning.
Fairy Qinglan offered no further explanation. Instead, with knitted brows, she continued surveying the surroundings with her divine sense, the confusion on her face deepening.
The turbulence of the surrounding spiritual qi covered a full thousand li and continued to expand outward.
This was far too bizarre.
The restriction she had unsealed on the spirit veins had merely served to accelerate the process; it was not the root cause.
From what she observed, even without her aid, Zhou Fuyou would hardly have failed. At most, it would have taken him a bit longer.
*Resonating with heaven and earth?*
*How is that possible? He has only just begun condensing his Golden Core!*
*Could it be because of the Xuanming Dao Body?*
*Yet two hundred years ago, even when Shi Ju condensed his Golden Core with the Nine Yang Dao Body, nothing like this ever happened!*
Though bewildered, Fairy Qinglan did not hesitate to make the best judgment.
Zhou Fuyou could no longer be allowed to absorb external spiritual qi so unrestrainedly. Otherwise, the secondary would overtake the primary, compromising the purity of his Golden Core.
With a shift of her intent, she formed an incantation gesture.
Instantly, a hazy orb of emerald light was pushed slowly from her palm.
Standing to the side, Shi Miaoyin watched the green radiance and felt the magic power throughout her body surge with vitality, her flesh and blood suffused with comfort.
Her eyes widened, and an involuntary cry escaped her lips. "That's Master's divine ability—the Great Creation Seal!"
Fairy Qinglan seemed deaf to the gasp. Having thrust the green light forward, she flipped her palm.
In an instant!
The violent turbulence of the external spiritual qi was suppressed and began to recede slowly.
The spiritual qi vortex was halted within the span of a thousand li.
"Enough!"
Witnessing this, Fairy Qinglan made a quick estimate and nodded with gentle satisfaction.
Then she instructed, "Miaoyin, once Zhou Fuyou finishes his Core Formation, tell him to come to Houtu Hall."
"Yes, Master!"
...
"Enough!"
"Stop!"
Inside Zhaoxi Palace, Zhou Fuyou sat cross-legged in midair, his robes billowing and his black hair whipping like serpents.
His body was now like a bottomless pit; immense amounts of spiritual qi surged inward, only to vanish completely.
Only within his qi sea did a massive Golden Core bob and drift, shining brilliantly.
He had already succeeded in forming his core.
Yet the mysterious connection to the outside world persisted, preventing his body from halting its absorption of external spiritual qi.
Zhou Fuyou felt as though his body were on the verge of bursting.
Yet his abyss-like qi sea clearly told him that it could take more!
*I can't go on like this!*
*I must stop!*
Directing his Golden Core, Zhou Fuyou used the derived magic power to seal his meridians and acupoints, cutting off the outside world.
The backlash from such a defiance of nature was equally obvious.
With muffled pops, finger-sized holes burst open across his body.
Right at that moment, a hazy emerald light fell over him, enveloping his entire form.
Bathed in the green glow, he felt an immense warmth, and the wounds across his body began to heal rapidly.
*Master has stepped in!*
Zhou Fuyou was momentarily taken aback before immediately reining in his mind to address the condition inside his body.
Time ticked by.
The dark clouds over Houtu Hall thinned considerably, though a light drizzle continued to fall.
Everyone's attention remained fixed on Zhaoxi Palace. Some even wished to visit, but with the Master of Houtu Hall overseeing the mountain, no one was permitted near.
Thus, three days and three nights passed.
A white-robed figure stepped out from Zhaoxi Palace.
Gazing at the gloomy sky, the Daoist in white frowned slightly, then let out a carefree smile.
At his smile, the drizzle somehow ceased, and the lingering dark clouds slowly dispersed.
The sky cleared into an azure expanse, washed clean of all haze.
"Hoo..."
Exhaling a breath of turbid air, the Daoist in white paid no mind to the mounting gazes around him. With a single stride, he ascended to the mountain summit.
...
Zhou Fuyou arrived very early, and the doors of Houtu Hall remained shut.
Only his eldest senior sister waited there specifically for him.
"Master wishes to see me?"
"Yes."
"Just as well. I also wish to thank Master for her help during my Core Formation."
Though Zhou Fuyou had not known what would happen had he continued absorbing heaven-and-earth spiritual qi three days ago, he understood the peril of excess.
Even having forced a stop, he sensed his current condition was somewhat beyond the norm.
"Before you see Master, here is a letter from your homeland."
"Oh?"
Zhou Fuyou took the envelope from his eldest senior sister and unraveled the seal using the Zhou family's unique restriction taught to him by the old ancestor.
He skimmed the contents in a flash.
Standing beside him, Shi Miaoyin saw the young man break into a radiant smile unlike anything she had ever seen on him—purer and clearer even than the bright sky overhead.
"What is it? Good news?" Shi Miaoyin asked curiously.
Zhou Fuyou could not suppress the grin spreading across his face. "My little sister succeeded in Foundation Establishment."
Shi Miaoyin was taken aback, finding it both amusing and endearing.
Her junior brother had hardly looked this elated upon completing his own Core Formation, yet his sister's Foundation Establishment made him lose his composure entirely.
Perhaps the bond between brother and sister ran that deep.
Choosing pleasing words, Shi Miaoyin said, "Your sister is quite young, and this letter was sent three years ago while you were in seclusion. It seems her aptitude is rather remarkable to achieve Foundation Establishment so early."
*Remarkable aptitude?*
The corners of Zhou Fuyou's lips curved slightly, though he did not explain.
A heavy stone had truly been lifted from his heart.
By his estimate, the elixir spiritual root was on the verge of losing its efficacy; that his sister Zhou Qingyu had managed to reach Foundation Establishment before then was a great stroke of fortune.
Moreover, he had now formed his Golden Core.
A thought struck Zhou Fuyou. "Eldest Senior Sister, do you think my sister could audit here at Tiannan Dao Palace?"
"This..." Hesitation appeared on Shi Miaoyin's face.
Striking while the iron was hot, Zhou Fuyou continued, "Though Little Sister has missed the foundational training of the Seven Stars Court, she could directly join Houtu Hall and receive guidance from you all and Master. Entering an apprenticeship with prior cultivation—you all did the same back then, did you not?"
Shi Miaoyin pondered for a moment. There indeed was precedent for that.
However, as the Dao Palace's systems had matured, such instances had become rare.
After some thought, she said, "That depends on Master's intention. But given your standing in Master's heart, Junior Brother, as long as you ask, it shouldn't be an issue."
Zhou Fuyou's mood brightened even further.
When the other senior brothers and sisters subsequently arrived, he offered smiles to each of them.
Accustomed to Zhou Fuyou's usual cold detachment, they were somewhat surprised, yet each sincerely congratulated him on his successful Core Formation.
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone discussed the reason for Master's sudden summons.
"Master called us here today, but it isn't the scheduled day for her lecture. What could it be for?"
"Perhaps because of Junior Brother's successful Core Formation?"
"In my view, it might be related to the demon beast raids along the coast."
As they chatted, the heavy doors of Houtu Hall slowly opened.
Tidying their robes, they filed inside one after another.
Zhou Fuyou walked at the rear, his cheerful mood tinged with nervousness.
Would Master agree to his request?
Upon stepping inside, Zhou Fuyou saw his master seated above—graceful as an orchid, noble as a lotus.
"Greetings, Master!"
Everyone bowed in unison.
"Mm."
Fairy Qinglan gave a soft hum, her beautiful eyes fixing straight upon Zhou Fuyou.
Sweeping him with her divine sense, she suddenly let out a soft gasp.
"Hm?"
Puzzled, the others turned their eyes to Zhou Fuyou as well.
At this moment, Zhou Fuyou made no effort to conceal his realm, making his early Golden Core aura distinctly clear.
That was hardly surprising.
Yet under close inspection, they discovered something unexpected.
His fluctuations of magic power were not turbulent or unstable like those of freshly ascended Golden Core cultivators; instead, they were calm and profound as an abyss, showing not the slightest trace of restlessness.
This sight elicited a wave of muffled gasps throughout the hall.
"Enough. Your junior brother possesses extraordinary talent and achieved success in his cultivation. What is there to make a fuss about?"
Fairy Qinglan chided lightly, and everyone fell silent.
Her gaze remained on Zhou Fuyou as she said slowly, "It was too fast. Fuyou, you formed your core too quickly, leaving many preparations undone."
Zhou Fuyou asked respectfully, "Does Master refer to the magic treasure embryo?"
"Indeed." Fairy Qinglan nodded slightly. "The Dinghai Bead you wish to forge is an extraordinary treasure once crafted by an ancient elder of our sect. It possesses the power to suppress the heavens and calm the vast oceans! Naturally, the materials required are exceedingly complex and precious. Even with my authority, I have only managed to requisition a portion of them so far."
Zhou Fuyou was not surprised; having reviewed the catalog of magic treasures, he knew well how precious and complex the forging materials for the Dinghai Bead were.
With a thought, Zhou Fuyou retrieved several boxes and opened them one by one.
"Master, I have some materials here that may serve to supplement the forging of my natal magic treasure."
Everyone looked over together, their expressions shifting once more to shock.
The most eye-catching item was a remarkably lustrous water lotus seed that radiated a tremendously potent aura.
Beside it lay a sparkling, translucent red rhombic crystal, a fist-sized iron ingot, and a handful of fine, glittering sand.
"A top-grade water lotus seed!"
"A top-grade Fire Spirit Diamond!"
"Could that iron ingot be Nine Yang Gengjin? And that sand—surely that is the fabled Star Sand!"
Fairy Qinglan named the materials one by one, demonstrating her extensive knowledge.
Yet toward the end, everyone could clearly hear the astonishment in their master's voice.
In truth, none of them had imagined Zhou Fuyou would possess so many precious materials.
Every single one of these items was a peak fourth-rank material—things that even Nascent Soul True Persons yearned for but could rarely obtain!
Zhou Fuyou said candidly, "My family's old ancestor doted on me greatly, leaving these items behind before his departure."
"This goes beyond doting; he practically emptied his pockets for you!" Fairy Qinglan remarked with a sigh before collecting the materials. "With these supplements, forging the Dinghai Bead can now be scheduled. Rest assured, I will engage the finest weaponsmith of the Tianyuan Dao Sect to craft your natal magic treasure!"
"Thank you, Master!"
Zhou Fuyou bowed deeply once again.
After stowing the materials, Fairy Qinglan waved her hand, sending a beam of light drifting before Zhou Fuyou.
Zhou Fuyou focused his gaze and knew at once what it was.
It was the sequel manual to his natal cultivation technique, the Dew Cicada Art. Master had truly managed to find it for him.
"Take it and look through it when you have time."
Before he could voice his gratitude, Fairy Qinglan cut him off, her expression turning solemn.
"I summoned you all today for the sake of the coastal demon menace!"
Everyone straightened up, listening attentively.
"Ever since the collapse of the Central Plains, the demons of the Eastern Sea have grown restless, appearing with increasing frequency throughout the ocean waters."
"Had it ended there, it would be one thing, but they have grown brazen enough to reach into the territory of our Tianyuan Dao Sect!"
"Moreover, some have spotted traces of the Northern Sea demons among them!"
"In recent years, sightings of coastal demon beasts have grown ever more frequent, with high-tier demon kings stirring up wind and waves from time to time. Relying solely on the clans and humble houses for defense and extermination has grown inadequate. Therefore, the time has come for our Tiannan Dao Palace to intervene."
"This time, I shall dispatch five Golden Core disciples from among you to coordinate with the other three halls. Together, you will form a force of twenty Golden Core experts and one hundred Foundation Establishment True Cultivators to journey to the shore of the Eastern Sea, slay demons, and purge the demonic blight!"
With these words, everyone's questions were answered, and excitement appeared on their faces.
Evidently, this mission was not merely about slaying demons; it was also meant to temper them.
Bitter cultivation alone, fueled merely by accumulated resources and guidance from renowned teachers, could never produce a top-tier powerhouse.
The crucible of blood and fire was the true birthplace of the strong!
Thus, they had long been prepared.
Each waited eagerly for Master to call their name, hoping to be one of the five.
Yet the first name Master spoke next defied all expectations.
"Zhou Fuyou, are you willing to march?"
Chapter 1045