Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

The half-month deadline set by the Huoyang Hermit quickly passed. And when the time was up, his figure did not appear at the Hongyu Peak Stronghold. This almost confirmed to Zhou Chun that this person likely did not dare to make a move against the Hongyu Peak Stronghold for the time being. As for breaking his word and losing face, a high-ranking loose cultivator like Huoyang Hermit who had risen from the lower ranks certainly wouldn't care too much about such face. After all, it was unlikely that this matter would spread. Since the threat from the Huoyang Hermit seemed to be temporarily resolved, Zhou Chun immediately had Lin Wan'er start to reopen the mining of the Earth Origin Crystal Jade ore. All the cultivators at the Hongyu Peak Stronghold were unaware that behind the cavern dwelling of Hongyu and on the mountains outside the formation, there actually lay a vein of Earth Origin Crystal Jade ore. This was partly because it was right next to the residences of the higher-ups of the Hongyu Peak Stronghold, where few cultivators came by, lest they arouse the suspicion of some Foundation Establishment loose cultivator, or even Hongyu herself, and be seen as having ulterior motives. It was also because it was so close to their own dwellings, that a sense of "darkness under the lamp" formed in the minds of those Foundation Establishment cultivators of Hongyu Peak Stronghold, and no one would suspect that there were Spirit Ore veins right near where they lived. Since the entry and exit to the stronghold were on the other side, these Foundation Establishment cultivators did not venture into these rear mountains in their usual comings and goings from the stronghold. Thus, for a long time, no one discovered the existence of the Earth Origin Crystal Jade ore vein. That night, under the protection of Zhou Chun who had secured absolute control of the stronghold's Guardian Great Formation, Lin Wan'er quietly left the stronghold from the rear mountain without alarming the guarding cultivators at the front. It was not until the following night that she returned under Zhou Chun's cover. "Alright, I've gotten those people to start mining again, and from now on, we just need to collect the accumulated ore every half month!" Upon returning to the stronghold, Lin Wan'er reported the progress of her trip to Zhou Chun as soon as they met. Hearing her words, Zhou Chun was also reassured. He then said to Lin Wan'er, "Next, I need to take a trip to the Marketplace of the Dayun Nation, which might take a few days. I'll leave the stronghold to you, Elder Lin." "Clan Leader, rest assured and go, I will take good care of our home," Lin Wan'er responded with a light nod. So, Zhou Chun handed over the control of the Guardian Great Formation to her and left the stronghold on his own. A day later, Zhou Chun appeared in a marketplace within the Dayun Nation. Zhou Chun's visit to the Dayun Nation was to purchase a set of formations to assist him in taming the Wood Charm. The Wood Charm's ability to flee was just too powerful, and without a formation to restrain it, even if Zhou Chun released several Spirit Pets to guard it, it might not be secure. Therefore, he must use the power of formations to restrict it and limit the effectiveness of its Wood Escape Technique. If he were at the Zhou Family, Zhou Chun could have simply asked the family's Array Masters to set up such a formation, but now he had to buy a set himself. "This 'Minor Eight Gates Golden Light Formation' might meet your requirements, fellow Daoist. Once activated, anyone entering the formation will be bound by layers of golden light, making it difficult to discern direction and greatly restricting movement. Without knowledge of formations, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would struggle to free themselves quickly!" "Then there's this 'Three Talents Binding Spirit Formation,' which also has a strong enemy-trapping effect. Once activated, it can restrict and suppress the Mana circulation of cultivators within the formation, making it hard for them to exert their full strength, essentially reducing a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's cultivation level to that of the mid-stage." "However, the best restraining formation in our store is this 'Heavy Profound Magnetic Light Formation.' Once activated, it can generate a gravitational magnetic light to suppress the cultivators within, making their physical bodies unable to move. It's especially effective against Demon Beasts!" Inside a store, upon learning Zhou Chun's purpose, the Shopkeeper personally took out the store's treasured high-quality goods for him to choose from. Among the four types of treasures—pills, instruments, talismans, and formations—formations are actually the hardest to sell. Most cultivators cannot afford them, and those who can usually have ways to acquire them from their backing powers or other channels at a much cheaper price. Unless it's a rare masterpiece, it's hard to sell at the normal price. Moreover, formations have one major limiting factor that prevents their circulation—that is the method of arranging them. Even with a complete set of Formation Flags, Array Plates, and other Formation Arrangement Tools in hand, if one does not understand the method of arranging them and is not a person of deep formation accomplishment, they would find it very confusing and difficult to arrange. Most cultivators who buy formations tend to memorize the arrangement methods and then destroy them. These restrictions make it very difficult for loose cultivators to emerge as Array Masters because even those with good innate talent for formations find it hard to make money from this skill. Under these circumstances, encountering a big customer like Zhou Chun, the Shopkeeper naturally treated him with great enthusiasm. Zhou Chun was also clear about the market for formations. Over the years, he had obtained many formations, but most of them had been put aside for his family members to study due to his lack of knowledge in arranging them, with very few being sellable. So, even though he urgently needed formations to assist in taming the Wood Charm, he looked over the formations presented by the Shopkeeper with a critical eye, unreservedly pointing out their weak points.