Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Red Fox Ridge was the name Zhouyang and the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan decided upon, for the Tier Three Spirit Mountain associated with the New Oasis.

It is a common practice for cultivators to name a Spiritual Mountain Blessed Land after the beast species originally occupying it, or sometimes after the cultivator's own names.

As for the name of the New Oasis, it has yet to be decided, but there's no urgency for this.

Upon leaving the spirit mountain allocated to the Lu Family and returning to Red Fox Ridge, Zhouyang first instructed the Eagle Lion Beast to lead the Wind Shadow Leopard, previously trapped in a mountain cave, to frolic over the oasis.

Then he took out the Tier Four Lower Grade Array "Heaven Wind Cloud Thunder Array" and the Tier Three Top Grade Illusion Array "Mirage Sea Cloud Wave Array", purchased from Profound Sun Pavilion, and handed them to Zhou Guangxiang, jointly setting up the arrays on Red Fox Ridge.

Both the "Heaven Wind Cloud Thunder Array" and the "Mirage Sea Cloud Wave Array" are superior in rank to the arrays set up by the Zhou Family at Jade Spring Peak's "Array of Ten Thousand Trees Holding Up the Heavens" and Haoyang Mountain's "Earth Spirit Profound Gang Array".

The higher the rank of the array, the more powerful it is, and the larger the range it can cover.

Jade Spring Peak's "Array of Ten Thousand Trees Holding Up the Heavens" could only cover the area from the mountainside to the summit, but once the two arrays were set up on Red Fox Ridge, they could encompass the entire main peak of the ridge.

Moreover, once these arrays are set up, as long as three or more Foundation Establishment Cultivators host them, they can withstand an attack from an Early-Stage Purple Mansion Cultivator for over a day. If a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator doesn't recognize the array's power and recklessly enters the array, they might even be injured by the "Heaven Wind Cloud Thunder Array".

After setting up the arrays, Zhouyang looked at Zhou Guangxiang and said: "Guangxiang, from now on, you will be cultivating here for the long term, and since your sister Guangxian is also here, go explore the mountain together now. Decide where you'd like to open a cave abode, and settle down there."

With Zhou Guangxiang, an Array Master, present at Red Fox Ridge, it greatly aids in unleashing the power of the Mountain Protection Array. This was why Zhouyang assigned him to stay here.

In fact, according to Zhouyang's plan, he also intended for his foster mother Zhou Xuan Yu, who resides at Haoyang Mountain, to come and cultivate in seclusion here.

Compared to the already exposed Haoyang Mountain, Red Fox Ridge is undoubtedly more concealed and safer.

"Nephew understands."

Zhou Guangxiang didn't have any objections to Zhouyang's arrangements. He had just succeeded in reaching Foundation Establishment, with much yet to learn, and was eager for the opportunity to retreat and cultivate peacefully at Red Fox Ridge.

After sending off Zhou Guangxiang, Zhouyang took the hand of his Dao Companion Xiao Ying and pointed at the mountain cave previously inhabited by the Three-tailed Demon Fox and said: "Ying'Er, from now on that will be our permanent cave abode. However you wish to arrange the abode, you can decide!"

Women generally have higher standards for their living spaces than men, so upon hearing Zhouyang letting her decide the setup of the cave abode, Xiao Ying felt unusually happy and immediately brought out her Flying Sword to start working on the space.

At that moment, those not tasked with assignments on Red Fox Ridge included only the Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators such as Zhou Xuanzhao and Zhou Guangxian.

For these people, Zhouyang directly issued orders and assigned tasks.

"Guangxian, start by surveying the Spirit Mountain to find spots suitable for turning into Spirit Fields, Fruit Gardens, and Medicinal Gardens. After measuring the areas, demarcate them for gradual development."

"You Seventeenth Uncle and Fifteenth Brother, come with me to the Fire Bat Cave to figure out how to tame those Flying Fire Bats!"

The Fire Bat Cave is located at the mountain foot of Red Fox Ridge, within a dark, dry shaded ravine. The cave extends over a hundred zhang underground, with its entry being a horizontally split fissure in the ground, about a zhang wide and over ten zhang long, unclear whether formed naturally or carved out by some Demon Beast.

Zhouyang had sealed the cave mouth with the "Small Five Elements Maze Array", leaving a deliberate aura here, preventing the Flying Fire Bats from daring to venture out and inspect the surroundings for the time being.

Zhouyang arrived outside the cave with Seventeenth Uncle Zhou Xuanzhao and Fifteenth Brother Zhou Yuanliang, both Beast Tamers, without removing the array at the entrance. Instead, he restrained his aura using the "Golden Cicada Concealment Technique" to the early Foundation Establishment level, and provided each with a Tier Three Defense Spell before leading them into the cave.

The cave was very dark, without illumination from Light Jade as in the Three-tailed Demon Fox's cave.

This is normal.

Bats are naturally nocturnal animals with inherent dark vision. Although Flying Fire Bats don't fear sunlight like ordinary bats, their nature definitely leans towards preferring dark environments, as it makes them feel secure.

In contrast, though cultivators have decent night vision, in such dark settings, they still need to rely on the "Celestial Eye Technique" to see the cave environment clearly, including Zhouyang, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Of course, with Zhouyang's powerful Divine Sense, the entire Fire Bat Cave was within his sensory range, allowing him to perceive everything inside without needing to use his eyes.

In his Divine Sense perception, the Flying Fire Bats inside the cave clearly noticed outsiders entering. They are now all huddling at the deepest part of the cave, in the Bat King's Nest, seemingly trying to find a sense of security through the lingering aura of the Flying Fire Bat King. However, looking at their trembling and anxious appearance, it's evident that this method isn't as effective as they imagined.

"Clan Leader, we can gather the bat guano on the ground later. It's the best fertilizer for Spirit Fields. If the clan's White Jade Grape Tree seedlings can use this to boost growth, the yield could increase by at least thirty percent!"

The Fire Bat Cave is silent, with only the footsteps of Zhouyang and the other two echoing. Due to the accumulation of bat guano in the cave, the sound made by their steps is actually not very loud.

At this moment, Zhouyang hearing Seventeenth Uncle Zhou Xuan Zhao's words, couldn't help but glance down at the thick layer of bat guano at his feet. He then twitchingly nodded and said, "Seventeenth Uncle is right, then this task will be left to you to oversee later."

Zhou Xuan Zhao originally suggested from a professional standpoint, not expecting Zhouyang to respond this way. His old face couldn't help but turn red, awkwardly stammering, "Um, better let the youngsters do this. It's good to instill the habits of diligence and frugality in them from a young age!"

After all, he is one of the few remaining elder members of the "Xuan" generation in the Zhou Family. If it gets out that he personally collected guano, where would he put his old face!

"Hmm, then this matter will be arranged by Seventeenth Uncle later."

Zhouyang held back his laughter, nodded, and spared this family uncle.

The fact that bat guano can be used as fertilizer, he of course knew. However, as a dignified Foundation Establishment Cultivator and clan leader, how could he discuss this matter while stepping on bat guano?

Zhou Xuan Zhao, due to long-term involvement in Spirit Beast taming, instinctively considered matters from the perspective of maximizing benefits when encountering matters related to his profession and forgot the issue of context.

After Zhouyang's small joke served as a reminder, he immediately understood where the problem lay and promptly replied, "Clan Leader, rest assured, this matter will certainly be well handled by this old man."

As they spoke, the group soon reached the depths of the Fire Bat Cave.

Swish, swish, swish!

Inside the Fire Bat Cave, when Zhouyang led Zhou Xuan Zhao and Zhou Yuanliang to the cave's deepest part, the Flying Fire Bats hiding there finally couldn't restrain their fear any longer and shrieked harshly, launching an attack on the trio.

The Flying Fire Bats' attack methods are nothing but two types: sound wave attacks and Fire Element magic attacks. As for melee abilities, they can almost be ignored.

The Flying Fire Bats in the cave are all juvenile. Apart from the attack of the four pregnant female Flying Fire Bats being somewhat noteworthy, the attacks from the others are merely ticklish to Zhouyang and the others.

However, the bats' hostility was more than Zhouyang and his companions had anticipated.

"Clan Leader, we should retreat first. This matter requires strategic planning!"

Having years of experience in beast taming, upon seeing such a situation, Zhou Xuan Zhao immediately suggested Zhouyang withdraw first to avoid alarming the bat swarm and causing greater stimulus to them.

Although Zhouyang possesses the Eagle Lion Beast, a Tier Three High-Grade Demon Beast as his mount, he is genuinely inexperienced in beast taming. Hearing Zhou Xuan Zhao's professional advice, he immediately complied, leading the two out of the Fire Bat Cave.

Once they exited the Fire Bat Cave and cleaned the dirt off their shoes, Zhou Xuan Zhao solemnly looked at Zhouyang and said, "Wise Clan Leader, based on this old man's experience in beast taming, the chances of taming those juvenile Flying Fire Bats are not promising. I suggest separating them for taming, isolating the four pregnant Flying Fire Bats first and taming their offspring once they are born."

"As for those juvenile Flying Fire Bats, we can try capturing them individually for separate taming. Even if taming them fails, we can at least keep them confined in the Fire Bat Cave for breeding purposes."

Listening to this, Zhouyang couldn't help but turn his gaze to the other Zhou Family Beast Tamer who hadn't yet spoken, Zhou Yuanliang, and asked, "Fifteenth Brother, what about you? Do you have any different suggestions?"

"I also support Seventeenth Uncle's proposal for differentiated taming. However, I suggest that if we are to capture the Flying Fire Bats, it'd be best not to have us cultivators do it personally, as this might increase the Flying Fire Bats' resistance towards us as cultivators."

"Fortunately, our Zhou Family's Flame-devouring Spiders can handle this task. The webs sprayed by adult Flame-devouring Spiders are definitely something those juvenile Flying Fire Bats cannot escape, and even the four pregnant female Flying Fire Bats, whose strength has decreased temporarily, would find it hard to break free quickly."

"When the Flame-devouring Spiders capture and bring out the Flying Fire Bats, if we Beast Tamers personally rescue them, it would be very beneficial to the subsequent taming process."

Zhou Yuanliang thought for a moment and quietly shared his suggestion.

This suggestion is undoubtedly very effective. Even Zhouyang, though not knowledgeable in beast taming, could tell the suggestion made a lot of sense.

Upon hearing it, Zhou Xuan Zhao clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Brilliant! Yuanliang's words make absolute sense. Using Flame-devouring Spiders to restrain Flying Fire Bats, using Demon Beasts to subdue Demon Beasts, is a method often used by veteran Beast Tamers."