Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

Even when Zhou Yu had chosen to stay at Spirit Beast Manor back then, she had never been this disappointed with him.

Perhaps sensing the disappointment in Zhou Jiahe's eyes, Zhou Yu quickly reached out to take the jade bottle from her hand, opened the stopper, inspected the Foundation Establishment Pills inside, and no longer met Zhou Jiahe's gaze.

After a while, she said in a low voice, "Alright, the Black Jade Toad is yours now."

As she spoke, she closed the lid of the jade box containing the Black Jade Toad and handed the box over to Zhou Jiahe.

The nature of the exchange between the two was soon noticed by the bystanders, prompting speculation about whether the two knew each other.

At the same time, their curiosity about the uses of the Black Jade Toad grew even stronger, wondering why such unremarkable Demon Beasts were valued by Zhou Jiahe enough to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Even several Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators felt the same.

Zhou Chun couldn't see the other people, but he clearly noticed a flash of interest in the eyes of the horse-faced elder who had revealed his face.

Clearly, these Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators, not knowing the use of the Black Jade Toad, were also very curious about what made it worthwhile for Zhou Jiahe to exchange a Foundation Establishment Pill for it.

However, they were doomed to be disappointed.

Even someone like Zhou Yu, who knew the use of the Black Jade Toad, couldn't make much use of it since her cultivation level was not at the Purple Mansion Phase, and she lacked the formula to create that particular Spirit Spice. Therefore, the Black Jade Toad was not very useful in her hands.

Even if she disclosed its use, others who obtained the Black Jade Toad and attempted to discover the formula for the Spirit Spice would have little chance of succeeding.

The Zhou Family came to possess the formula for that Spirit Spice because an ancestor who had obtained the Black Jade Toad received the formula from a foreign country, not through their own research.

This might also be a reason why Zhou Yu was now willing to trade the Black Jade Toad for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
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After all, having a treasure but not being able to uncover its use could have frustrated her terribly over the past ten or more years.

The Underground Treasure Exchange Convention continued, and in time, Zhou Chun finally found an opportunity to act, exchanging a second-tier high-quality Magic Artifact for the egg of a middle-ranked Demon Beast Cloud Swan.

The Swan, often referred to as a swan in Zhou Chun's former life, was not powerful in combat as a Demon Beast, but it excelled in long-distance flying and had excellent swimming abilities, making it an excellent choice for a Mount Beast.

In the Underground Cave Hall, clearly, few Cultivators could casually part with a second-tier high-quality Magic Artifact, like Zhou Chun did, to exchange for a mid-level Demon Beast egg that could only be used as a Mount Beast after hatching.

After all, while it was certain that a mid-level Demon Beast could be cultivated to become a second-tier Demon Beast, without a substantial investment of resources, the growth cycle would be at least thirty to forty years.

And a Cultivator who could afford to exchange a second-tier high-quality Magic Artifact would normally be at least in the late Foundation Establishment phase, nearing two hundred years of age.

A Cultivator at that age would not have the time or energy to raise a Mount Spirit Beast that they might not even need.

When it was Zhou Chun's turn to trade, he casually took out a second-tier low-quality Magic Artifact to deal with the matter.

The exchange went on for nearly a day until everyone had had a turn.

When the last Foundation Establishment early-stage Cultivator had also finished displaying the treasures prepared for the exchange, the representative of the event, Red Fox, immediately bowed to everyone present and said, "Thank you, dear fellow Daoists, for gracing the Underground Treasure Exchange Assembly with your presence. This concludes our event. Please hand over your tokens to me and then make your departure."

Upon hearing his words, the Cultivators began to take out their tokens, throwing them into the basket he had brought, and one by one, they started to leave along the path they had come from.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun followed Zhou Jiahe at a leisurely pace, leaving the Underground Cave Hall together.

It was night outside, and upon reaching the backyard of "Blackfire Refining Shop," Zhou Chun and Zhou Jiahe acted as if they didn't know each other, exiting the gate and going their separate ways.

Once in a secluded spot outside with no people around, Zhou Chun found a small grove, doffed the black robe he was wearing, and then walked out from the other side of the grove, returning to his residence.

Not long after, Zhou Jiahe arrived at the inn where Zhou Chun was staying, carrying the Black Jade Toad with her.

"Have you ever seen the Black Jade Toad before, Thirteen? Can you tell if this Black Jade Toad is any different from the one you saw in the past?"

Inside the inn, Zhou Chun carefully inspected the Black Jade Toad given to him by Zhou Jiahe and then asked her about the situation with a grave expression.

After all, it was truly the first time he had seen the Black Jade Toad, and now, apart from being able to verify its identity based on the family records and Zhou Mingde's description, he could discern nothing more.

Confronted with his inquiry, Zhou Jiahe also shook her head immediately, saying, "I have never seen it. Such a Spirit Beast was always personally nurtured by Foundation Establishment Cultivators or even Purple Mansion Cultivators of our family; it was not something I, who was still in the Qi Refinement Realm at that time, could come into contact with."

"If that's the case, then let's first send a message inviting the Supreme Elder to come here for his personal identification," Zhou Chun said.

Zhou Chun nodded his head in agreement and made his decision on the spot.

Now that the Black Jade Toad was in hand, even if Zhou Mingde's cover was blown, he no longer feared startling the snake by hitting the grass.

Zhou Mingde was hiding not far outside the Jinchang Marketplace, and upon receiving the transmission talisman from Zhou Chun, he quickly arrived inside the marketplace to meet him.

After Zhou Mingde and Zhou Chun met, and Zhou Mingde saw the Black Jade Toad that Zhou Chun handed him, his face changed abruptly, and he immediately became furious, shouting, "As expected, I knew that Zhou Yu, that bitch, couldn't possibly have a change of conscience. That damn bitch has tortured the Black Jade Toad to this state!"

Upon hearing his furious words, Zhou Chun felt a pang of alarm in his heart and hurriedly asked, "Supreme Elder, what have you discovered? What is wrong with the Black Jade Toad?"

"Vitality, the Black Jade Toad's vitality has decreased a great deal!"

Zhou Mingde spoke with a heavy tone, revealing the situation.

"Its vitality has decreased a great deal?"

Zhou Chun was slightly stunned, then looked carefully at the pair of toads inside the jade box but still could not discern anything.

"Stop looking; you have never seen the Black Jade Toad in its normal state. Without a point of comparison, it's very difficult to see the crux of the matter here."

"It seems that Zhou Yu, that bitch, knew that only the three of us Purple Mansion Cultivators in the family have seen this Black Jade Toad, which is why she forbade us from coming to trade with her!"

At this point, Zhou Mingde's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

The Zhou Family currently had three Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators, and to the current Zhou Family, the Black Jade Toad was definitely a tremendously useful treasure.

But now that the Black Jade Toad had ended up like this, it was unknown whether it could continue to produce Toad Cream or even survive in the future.

This engendered in Zhou Mingde a strong intent to kill Zhou Yu.

Zhou Chun, noticing this, immediately said, "I will use the Blue Moon Butterfly to ascertain her location, we must catch her and make her explain the situation!"

He then slapped the insect pouch at his waist and released a palm-sized sky-blue Butterfly Demon Insect.

Zhou Chun's insect pouch was the very same one left behind by Han Yuan.

After obtaining the Storage Pouch and Spirit Beast Pouch, Zhou Mingde kept the Storage Pouch for himself but gave the other Spirit Beast Pouch for Zhou Chun, who cultivated insect control techniques, to use.

Currently, Zhou Chun's insect pouch contained three Demon Insects he had formed a contract with.

Zhou Chun had the sky-blue Butterfly Demon Insect stay on his shoulder and issued orders to it, and soon the Butterfly Demon Insect flew off his shoulder toward a certain direction.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun at once told Zhou Jiahe to stay behind to inform Zhou Mingde about their experiences at the Underground Treasure Exchange Convention, while he himself went out in search of Zhou Yu, guided by the Blue Moon Butterfly.

Guided by the Blue Moon Butterfly through the marketplace for a while, Zhou Chun arrived at the edge of the Cultivation Area under its direction.

The Cultivation Area was a restricted zone in the marketplace, teeming with Cultivators, so it was not suitable for Zhou Chun to enter with the Blue Moon Butterfly.

Therefore, he could only wait patiently outside, looking for a spot to catch Zhou Yu when she emerged.

He did not believe that Zhou Yu would hide in this Cultivation Area forever!