Cultivation Begins From The Desert

The Zhou Family's finances have encountered problems!

This was Zhouyang's first reaction after listening to Zhou Xuanhe, the Elder in charge of finances, report.

On the surface, the Zhou Family has a yearly surplus of Spirit Stones, accumulating over fifteen thousand Spirit Stones in a decade, which looks impressive.

But in reality, considering the yearly clan contribution points distributed by the family, it becomes apparent that the Zhou Family's finances have actually entered a deficit situation.

If Zhouyang hadn't devised the method of using clan contribution points as a replacement for Spirit Stones in clan welfare offerings, not only would there be no surplus on the family's accounts now, but Spirit Stones owed to clan cultivators would have mounted!

However, Zhouyang also understood that the emergence of this situation couldn't be blamed on anyone, because no one expected the cultivator population in the Zhou Family to increase so much in just a decade or two, nor did they anticipate so many Foundation Establishment Cultivators appearing all at once.

Those contribution point expenditures, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators occupy nearly one-third of them.

It can only be said that the current territory and industries of the Zhou Family no longer match the power and status they hold, failing to keep up with the speed of population growth. Therefore, developing new industries and expanding the family's territory is the Zhou Family's next top priority.

Zhouyang's thoughts turned to these considerations, but he maintained a calm expression as he nodded at Zhou Xuanhe and said, "I am aware of the situation, Fourteenth Uncle, please sit down first. I will pose some questions below, and I hope you and the clan members can earnestly clarify these for me!"

After speaking, he turned his gaze to the new Elder of the Ministry Hall, Zhou Xuanying, and asked, "Thirteenth Aunt, your Ministry Hall is responsible for overseeing the issuance of clan tasks. Regardless of whether clan cultivators go out for training or are stationed somewhere, they have to report their experiences to you when they return. So, do you know how many clan cultivators have had encounters involving magical combat over these ten-plus years? How many have battled against demon beasts of the same tier, and how many have successfully killed peers or demon beasts of the same tier?"

Zhou Xuanying hadn't expected him to ask this, and she was somewhat at a loss upon hearing it.

However, she was a cultivator for over a hundred years after all, and she quickly suppressed her inner panic, calmly saying, "I didn't prepare for this matter, so I ask the Clan Leader to allow me to check the records before responding."

"Then Thirteenth Aunt, please check the records first; I will question others first."

Zhouyang nodded, without blaming this clan aunt, as the Zhou Family hadn't paid much attention to such matters in the past, and keeping records was mainly so that when making a record for a cultivator in the future, there would be evidence to consult.

Therefore, his gaze shifted and landed on the rising figure among the younger generation, Zhou Guangxiang, asking, "Guangxiang, you've been in charge of Jade Spring Tower for a few years now. Tell me, how many items inside Jade Spring Tower are for consignment by clan members, and how is the sales rate for these items?"

Perhaps because he was only in charge of a shop, or perhaps because as a young person with initial authority, he wanted to personally handle everything for the sake of doing well, Zhou Guangxiang was only slightly startled upon hearing Zhouyang's question, then thought for a moment before standing up and saying, "With the Clan Leader's insight, it isn't certain regarding specific counts, but roughly, the items consigned by clan members account for about thirty percent of the shop's merchandise. The items sold likely don't reach half of the total!"

"Very well, Guangxiang, you answered excellently. Now sit down; I still have another question for Fourteenth Uncle."

Zhouyang was pleased as he nodded, then looked back at Fourteenth Uncle Zhou Xuanhe and solemnly asked, "Fourteenth Uncle, you previously reported the clan's financial income and expenditure. Now I ask you, besides us three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, who are the five individuals with the most contribution points in the clan, and how many contribution points do they have?"

This question was relatively simple, perhaps because Zhou Xuanhe usually paid special attention to this aspect. Upon hearing it, he immediately responded, "In response to the Clan Leader, the five individuals with the most contribution points currently are Eighth Brother-in-law with 5123 points, Eleventh Brother with 3785 points, Thirteenth Sister with 3350 points, myself with 2970 points, and Seventeenth Brother with 2360 points."

Upon hearing this, Zhouyang pondered briefly and continued asking, "Eighth Uncle has that many because he combines Eighth Aunt's and his contribution points, but the rest of you, aside from Seventeenth Uncle being specially rewarded a thousand contribution points by the clan for successfully rearing Golden Rock Sheep and Flame-devouring Spiders, the others having so many contribution points should be due to transactions with clan members, right?"

"Yes, we exchanged our previously accumulated Spirit Stones and some items with younger clan members for contribution points, but I can assure you that our transactions were fair and absolutely not due to relying on authority or elder status to force others to trade with us!"

Afraid that Zhouyang might misunderstand, Zhou Xuanhe emphasized "fair transaction," then cast his gaze toward the old clan leader, Zhou Minghan.

Although he managed family finances, any transaction involving contribution points, no matter how small, must be approved by the Clan Leader. Therefore, Zhou Minghan was aware of these matters.

"I can vouch for Xuanhe and the others regarding this matter."

Zhou Minghan nodded slightly, finally speaking his first words since entering the Council Hall.

Seeing this, Zhouyang nodded without further comment and turned his gaze toward the Ministry Hall Elder Zhou Xuanying, who had just finished reviewing the records, and asked, "Thirteenth Aunt, have you finished compiling the data?"

"Clan Leader, after checking the records, I found that over the past decade, five clan cultivators have engaged in magical combat, with two managing to kill their opponents."

"Meanwhile, in ten years, twelve clan cultivators have battled demon beasts, killing six Tier Two demon beasts and twenty-three Tier One demon beasts, mostly during mining camp defense and oasis protection!"

Zhou Xuanying recounted the findings from the records, then looked at Zhouyang with puzzled eyes, not understanding why he wanted to know these things.

Upon seeing her gaze, Zhouyang couldn't help but smile and say, "Thirteenth Aunt, Fourteenth Uncle, and Eleventh Uncle, are you curious about why I suddenly asked these questions at today's family meeting?"

"Yes."

The few people he pointed out nodded in agreement, then held their breath and focused, waiting for his explanation.

"I can't explicitly tell you the specifics. I can only say that during my travels, I gained insights and truly understood how to make a clan strong and united."

"I ask you about these matters to analyze and extract some information I want to know. Now I will share my analysis, and you all can see if it is correct."

Zhouyang glanced over everyone in the hall, then said in a low tone, "From the frequency of clan cultivators killing demon beasts and engaging in magical combat, it is evident that the clan cultivators seldom take the initiative to hunt demon beasts or adventure in the Cultivation Realm. From the number of treasures consigned by clan members at Jade Spring Tower, it can be seen that their savings are quite sparse."

After saying this, he pointed to the "Yuan"-generation and "Guang"-generation cultivators who were born after the Zhou family's implementation of the contribution point system and asked, "I dare say if you exclude the clan contribution points distributed to you by the family, you Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Mid-Stage Qi Cultivation cultivators probably don't even have a hundred spirit stones between you, right?"

Hearing this, the young cultivators looked at each other but dared not answer.

Finally, it was Zhou Guangxiang, a representative figure of the younger generation, who stood up and said, "I can help the Clan Leader confirm this. Even my sister Xiang'Er has no more than a hundred spirit stones in her storage bag!"

"That's exactly the case!"

Zhouyang nodded, gestured for Zhou Guangxiang to sit down, and then looked at the crowd with bright eyes, saying, "Due to the unique nature of the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, and the past lack of a sufficient number of high-tier cultivators holding the fort, along with the small number of clan members, the clan rule was that cultivators who hadn't reached Late-Stage Qi Cultivation were not allowed to go out for training indiscriminately!"

"This rule was certainly correct back then, to protect the clan members from harm, but its existence severely hindered the younger clan members' ability to earn spirit stones, forcing most of them to rely on the clan's welfare for the first fifty or sixty years!"

"But now, things are different. We now have many high-tier cultivators, and the number of cultivators grows every year. We are no longer afraid of taking losses!"

"I know everyone wants to accumulate clan contribution points to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills, but look at Eighth Uncle: even he and the deceased Eighth Aunt together only collected a little over five thousand contribution points. If you wish to accumulate points slowly for a Foundation Establishment Pill, how many years will it take to reach twenty thousand points?"

"I'm not afraid to tell you: I have two Foundation Establishment Pills in my hand right now, and after the Chen Family refines more, we can get one more for free. Even if we allocate one for Guangxiang, we still have two left!"

"These Foundation Establishment Pills in my hands are no different from stones, but if distributed, you're all clan members of Zhou family with similar spirit root talents. Whom should I give them to? Who shouldn't I give them to?"

"So, the first thing I want to announce today is that the clan rule that has been in place for two hundred years will change. From now on, the constraints on going out for training and adventures will be lifted. As long as one achieves Mid-Stage Qi Cultivation and possesses a Tier Two Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact, one can apply to a clan elder to go out for training and adventure!"

"What I want to tell you is that the Cultivation Realm is cruel. If you want to reach the Foundation Establishment, and for your descendants to do so too, you must start venturing out and fighting from a young age!"

"Moreover, I promise you that even if you perish while venturing out, the clan contribution points will still be inherited by your designated relatives, and the spiritual resources you obtain will be bought back by the clan at the market equivalent value in contribution points!"

Zhouyang eagerly expressed his thoughts and plans, feeling extraordinarily refreshed in his heart.

This idea and plan took root after he listened to the life experiences of Dong Jianping in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

Dong Jianping only had middle-grade spiritual root talent, yet he, as a loose cultivator, managed to gather enough spirit stones by the age of sixty to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill and successfully establish a foundation due to his daring and fighting spirit, as well as extraordinary luck.

In Zhenyue Immortal City and other immortal cities within the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, thousands of loose cultivators like Dong Jianping fight desperately for foundation establishment.

If even these loose cultivators can do so, why can't the Zhou family's cultivators?

Although the resources in the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm are not as abundant as those in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, the conditions Zhou family cultivators have are certainly better than what Dong Jianping faced when he first started cultivating.

Zhouyang personally experienced the "Beast Tide" assaults on the city and witnessed countless Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators being harvested like wheat by demon beasts, which led to his realization.

To truly seek longevity and live longer than others, cultivators must first have the courage to face death!

If you're not a descendant of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, don't expect a Foundation Establishment Pill to fall into your lap.

If you're born ordinary, with average spiritual root talent, yet you wish for longevity and foundation establishment, you must be more daring and less fearful of death than those born privileged!

Zhouyang wants the Zhou family to produce more Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators and to transform into the Purple Mansion Clan or Golden Core Clan, but he absolutely does not hope that those Foundation Establishment cultivators would merely rely on the protection of clan legacies to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills for foundation establishment.

Despite the fact that he himself established his foundation this way in the past!