Outside the array, Wang Erniu and his son quietly waited.

Suddenly, the mist before them churned, revealing a person-height passageway. A moment later, a blue flying shuttle emerged from it.

Standing atop the flying shuttle was a man in green robes, serene and unpretentious, as warm and refined as jade.

"Big Brother!" Wang Erniu exclaimed with joy at the sight of Zhou Xun.

"Greetings, Uncle Zhou!" Lin Youhe bowed deeply, showing heartfelt respect.

"Erniu, it's been a year, and your cultivation has advanced quite a bit again!"

Zhou Xun smiled warmly at the honest man before him.

Wang Erniu's current demeanor was sharper, even more so than before.

The unstoppable vigor was undeniable.

Half a year ago, Wang Erniu successfully broke through to the second-layer Foundation Establishment, progressing slightly in his cultivation.

"Big Brother, you flatter me. I've only made a little progress, not comparable to you!"

Wang Erniu chuckled straightforwardly.

At the moment of seeing Zhou Xun, that unfathomable sensation was stronger than in the past.

"Big Brother seems to have advanced his cultivation quite a bit!"

In Wang Erniu's mind, Zhou Xun had always been an immensely mysterious figure.

Except for the time when they tested their spiritual roots, he was once ahead of Zhou Xun. Since then, whether it was alchemy or cultivation,

Zhou Xun quickly caught up to him.

Not to mention alchemy now.

He reached Foundation Establishment much earlier than himself, and even his ability to achieve Foundation Establishment was inseparable from Zhou Xun's help.

"The scriptures say that in every era, there is a Child of Fortune born with the times!"

"Even if such a person has inferior spiritual root talent, they still have the ability to reach the Nascent Soul stage!"

"Perhaps my Big Brother is such a person!"

Wang Erniu thought to himself.

"Is this Youhe? The young boy I met for the first time when he was merely eleven or twelve has now grown into a handsome young noble!"

Zhou Xun examined the man in white before him, whose appearance was similar to Wang Shun's but with a slightly different temperament.

His disciple Wang Shun was slightly more lively, while Lin Youhe appeared somewhat more delicate and refined.

It was likely due to the lack of experience from growing up in a major family.

However, with a cultivation reaching the fifth-layer Qi Refining at just over twenty, it was indeed not low.

This was not unrelated to his 27-point wood spirit root sensitivity.

Speaking of which, among Wang Erniu's children, each possessed spiritual roots, and their talents were decent, reaching middle-grade spiritual root levels.

This was extremely rare throughout Xui Country.

If it weren't for Wang Erniu's reluctance, the Lin Family had even considered marrying several women to him, hoping he would produce many children with such excellent talents.

Such a talent for procreation made him an ideal candidate for a son-in-law.

Unfortunately, Wang Erniu himself had excellent talent and had become a Sword Cultivator.

Even though he was only at the second-layer Foundation Establishment, his true combat power was not inferior to a middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. In the Lin Family, only the Grand Elder could suppress him.

With such strength, the Lin Family naturally did not dare to force him into such things.

...

In Jingxin Pavilion, Zhou Xun and Wang Erniu sat facing each other.

On the stone table, a jar of Peach Blossom Brew was placed.

"Big Brother, here are three thousand Spirit Stones. Thanks to you lending me the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object in the past, I wouldn't have advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly without it!"

Wang Erniu took out a pile of Spirit Stones and handed them to Zhou Xun.

Zhou Xun nodded and accepted them.

It was not easy for Wang Erniu, having broken through Foundation Establishment just a few years ago, to earn several thousand Spirit Stones.

Zhou Xun took out three jade wine cups and placed them on the stone table.

Then he picked up the jar of Peach Blossom Brew and lightly tapped away the clay seal with his palm.

An intoxicating aroma of wine pervaded the entire Jingxin Pavilion.

"Good wine!"

Even Wang Erniu, who was not fond of drinking, couldn't help but marvel.

Beside him, Lin Youhe's eyes widened, gulping his saliva.

Zhou Xun smiled faintly, lifted the wine jar, and poured it into the wine cups.

The milky white wine flowed down like a waterfall from the heavens, falling into the cups.

In a moment, all three cups were filled.

"Please!"

Zhou Xun pointed at the spirit wine before him.

"This wine is called Peach Blossom Brew, made from the blossoms of a Tier One High-Grade Spiritual Peach Tree, and its annual yield is extremely low,"

"I have only three jars in stock, and I never take them out except for close friends!"

"Youhe's cultivation is somewhat low, so you should sip just a small amount when drinking, otherwise the spiritual qi will collide and it'll be harmful to you!"

"Yes, Uncle Zhou, I understand!" Lin Youhe's eyes gleamed, and he promptly took a small sip.

Wang Erniu laughed heartily, raised his cup, and drank it all in one go, displaying the boldness of a sword cultivator.

As the wine entered his throat, the fragrance of peach blossoms lingered between his lips and teeth.

Soon, an indescribable feeling surged in his chest; the wine's rich and mellow aroma carried a touch of sweetness, making one feel like they've walked into a world full of stories.

Upon reaching his stomach, a surge of pure spiritual power rose, rampaging within.

Wang Erniu immediately closed his eyes and circulated his spell to refine it.

This cup of wine surprisingly saved him nearly a month of arduous cultivation.

"Big Brother, this spirit wine, one cup is equivalent to half a Yuan Condensing Pill!" Wang Erniu exclaimed in wonder.

"This wine is not only excellent in taste, if used to aid cultivation, it is also an eminent spiritual object," Zhou Xun nodded.

After chatting for a long while, Zhou Xun then asked about Wang Erniu's purpose in coming.

"I came here mainly for two matters,"

"The first is to ask for the Spirit Gathering Pill for Xiuyin! Xiuyin is now nearing thirty years old, and has been stuck at the peak of Sixth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivation for three years; I can't bear to see her struggling here, so I must ask for Big Brother's help!"

Lin Xiuyin is Wang Erniu's eldest daughter, and her talent is slightly higher than Lin Youhe's.

"Xiuyin is also my niece, this matter is on big brother's shoulders!"

Zhou Xun nodded, and directly took out a delicate medicine bottle about two inches high, handing it to Wang Erniu.

Wang Erniu took the medicine bottle and brought out spirit stones to give to Zhou Xun.

He was sharply refused by Zhou Xun, who said without pleasure:

"This elixir is my gift to Xiuyin niece, don't obstruct this!"

"Thank you, Big Brother!" Wang Erniu had no choice but to put the spirit stones back into his storage bag.

"And what about the second matter?" Zhou Xun asked.

"The second matter relates to Hundred Savage Mountain!" Wang Erniu seemed to show a hint of recollection.

"A year ago, when my cultivation broke through to the second layer of Foundation Establishment, and I had initially learned a Sword Dao Secret Technique, I entered Hundred Savage Mountain to hunt some demon beasts to make up for the deficiency when I broke through to Foundation Establishment!"

In order to reach Foundation Establishment, Wang Erniu practically used up his entire family's wealth. Not only did Zhou Xun support him with Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects, he also borrowed many spirit stones from the family.

After breaking through, he expended a significant amount of spirit materials for refining his lifebound spirit sword.

These were all borrowed from his family.

"As soon as I entered the mountain, I noticed something abnormal,"

"In the originally outer areas, there were Tier One High-Grade demon beasts appearing!"

"Not only this, the density of demon beasts in the mountain was at least twice as much as before; whereas previously you might encounter a Tier Two demon beast once in ten or more days, now it only takes a few days,"

"Strangely enough, the demon beast groups, which used to be at odds, suddenly became peaceful with each other!"

"I killed one Tier Two demon beast, soon several surrounded and besieged me; if it weren't for my skillful sword control technique, I'd have had difficulty escaping!"

"After hastily killing four Tier Two demon beasts, I immediately returned!"

"Upon return, I found out that the demon hunting cultivators from Red Leaf Square had suffered heavy losses over the past two years; many were even too frightened to enter the mountain!"

"After discussing with the Grand Elder, I learned this situation resembles a Beast Tide prelude!"

Wang Erniu spoke worryingly.

"This is also why I urgently requested a Spirit Gathering Pill for Xiuyin!"

"Beast Tide!" Zhou Xun showed shock all over his face.

According to scriptures, over five hundred years ago, a Beast Tide occurred in Xui Country, during which half of Xui Country fell, and at least a quarter of cultivators perished in that battle.

Red Leaf Square was established after the Beast Tide receded, and the Four Great Clans also rose at that time taking advantage of the opportunity.

Therefore, their family has complete records of the Beast Tide.

If it truly is a Beast Tide, the forces near Hundred Savage Mountain, one by one, all become the front line.

Such as Red Leaf Square, such as White Cloud Immortal City.

Zhou Xun, although located behind White Cloud Immortal City, once a Beast Tide occurs, he will certainly be engulfed in the sea of demon beasts here.

"When we were still at Red Leaf Square, wasn't there an incident of demon beast outer expansion at Hundred Savage Mountain, could this be similar to that?"

"Highly unlikely!" Wang Erniu shook his head.

"Demon beast outer expansion is for seizing territory, the fighting among demon beasts is more intense; it would never be like now, where hostile species become peaceful with each other!"

"This situation only appeared before the Beast Tide erupted years ago!"

Wang Erniu explained.

"If that's the case, we should prepare early!" Zhou Xun mused thoughtfully.

"I came here to give Big Brother an early warning, after all, Wangchuan Lake is less than a hundred thousand miles from Hundred Savage Mountain!"

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