Pure and Innocent

Chapter 66 Pure and Innocent

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, are you really sure you don't want to sign up?"

"Actually, with your cultivation level and background, Fellow Daoist Zhou, you have a very high probability of successfully joining the Qinglian Temple if you sign up."

"If we could enter the Azure Lotus Temple, our success rate in Foundation Establishment would increase significantly, not to mention all the other benefits!"

In the backyard of the Spirit Beast Pavilion, Liu Qingshan, who was "on vacation" visiting his daughter, was talking to Zhou Chun about the Qinglian Temple opening its gates to recruit disciples.

He had no hope of signing up, because Qinglian Temple had strict requirements for recruiting disciples.

First, there is an age limit. In principle, cultivators over the age of thirty are not accepted, unless they possess superior spiritual root aptitude.

Secondly, one must consider one's background. Those who are purely unorthodox cultivators with too much turbid and malevolent energy accumulating in their bodies should be completely avoided.

Finally, cultivation level is also a factor. Cultivators aged 15 or older whose cultivation level is below the mid-stage of Qi Refining are not accepted.

As for cultivators under the age of fifteen, they will be selected based on a comprehensive examination of their background and spiritual root aptitude, with the best candidates being admitted.

Liu Qingshan is over the age limit, so he naturally has no chance to register.

However, when faced with Liu Qingshan's advice, Zhou Chun calmly replied, "Of course I know the advantages of being a disciple of a major sect, but I also know the limitations of being a disciple of a major sect. Compared to that, staying in the Zhou family to cultivate is more suitable for me."

These were his exact words when he rejected the clan chief Zhou Daoyi.

In fact, for the Zhou family, whether Zhou Chun joins the Qinglian Temple or stays with the Zhou family, it would be of great benefit to the Zhou family, and it is hard to say which is better.

If Zhou Chun joins the Qinglian Temple, given his current age and cultivation level, and having already contracted and tamed a mid-level demon beast like the Silver Lightning Python, his chances of successfully establishing his foundation in the future are extremely high. At that time, the Zhou family will have someone who can speak for them within the Qinglian Temple.

Similarly, if he stays in the Zhou family, the Zhou family may gain a powerful Foundation Establishment stage elder, which can greatly enhance the family's overall strength.

Therefore, when Zhou Daoyi learned that he had no intention of joining the Qinglian Temple, he did not try to persuade him, but respected his choice.

After hearing Zhou Yang's answer, Liu Qingshan remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly and saying, "Perhaps. For a family cultivator like Fellow Daoist Zhou, staying in the family is indeed a good choice!"

After saying that, he changed the subject and said solemnly, "However, for us independent cultivators, joining a major sect is the best choice, so I, Liu, intend to have my daughter also register for this grand event!"

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Liu, are you planning to have your daughter register?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Zhou Chun's eyes, and he frowned, saying, "But your daughter is only at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage. Aren't you worried about her safety, Fellow Daoist Liu?"

Thanks to him, Liu Shiyun has been able to cultivate in the market every day for the past six months, and her cultivation level has now broken through to the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage.

However, Liu Shiyun is already twenty years old. If she were to register at this age, she would have to compete with many cultivators at the seventh or eighth level of the Qi Refining stage, many of whom are even family cultivators.

Zhou Chun had doubts about whether she could successfully qualify.

Having spent decades in the cultivation world, how could Liu Qingshan not understand the underlying meaning in Zhou Chun's words?

He immediately explained, "Shiyun has a good spiritual root aptitude. Although it is not a top-grade spiritual root, it is considered outstanding among mid-grade spiritual roots. Moreover, I, Liu, have paid attention to cultivating her in all aspects since she was a child. She is not as weak as Fellow Daoist Zhou imagines."

"Moreover, this is a rare opportunity. If we miss it, it will be impossible for her to join the Qinglian Temple in the future. I, Liu, will have no choice but to travel over mountains and rivers to take her to other sects in Jingguo to try. At that time, the risks will probably be much greater!"

Is that so?

Zhou Chun nodded slightly, indicating her acceptance of his explanation.

But then he frowned, as if he had thought of something, and looked at Liu Qingshan, asking, "But why did Fellow Daoist Liu and I discuss these things?"

Upon hearing his question, Liu Qingshan couldn't help but smile wryly and spread his hands, saying, "As Fellow Daoist Zhou knows, I am currently a criminal and cannot leave the market. Naturally, I cannot take my daughter to the Qinglian Temple in Lianzhou to participate in this grand event."

"Therefore, I, Liu, would like to earnestly request that Fellow Daoist Zhou help to speak to your family on my behalf, so that my daughter may accompany your family's cultivators who wish to join the Qinglian Temple to Lianzhou."

Is that all?

Hearing this, Zhou Chun felt a sense of relief.

He was afraid that Liu Qingshan would make unreasonable demands and ask him to help Liu Shiyun join the Qinglian Temple, in which case he would be powerless to help.

He nodded and replied, "I understand. If it's just this matter, then I'll take care of it."

Since the Zhou family was going to send someone to the Qinglian Temple anyway, sending Liu Shiyun was no big deal.

As a core member of the Zhou family, Zhou Chun still has some influence.

So a few days later, Zhou Chun asked Zhou Jiasheng for leave and escorted Liu Shiyun to the Zhou family in Jiufeng Ridge. He also bought some new varieties of spirit fruits to give to the [Green Wood Spirit Ape] who had helped him a lot.

Upon arriving at the Zhou family, the clan chief, Zhou Daoyi, readily agreed to Zhou Chun's request to have Liu Shiyun join the team.

The number of cultivators from the Zhou family who wanted to join the Qinglian Temple this time was much smaller than Zhou Chun had expected, with only three people, two of whom were junior members of the "Zheng" generation who were under fifteen years old.

Because the number of people was too small, the Zhou family did not prepare to send any Foundation Establishment cultivators to escort them this time. They only sent Zhou Jiapeng, who was already at the eleventh level of Qi Refining, to escort the group to the Sun family in Golden Maple Ridge, and then they went to Lianzhou together with the Sun family's cultivators.

After watching Liu Shiyun and the others leave the Zhou family, Zhou Chun also prepared to leave the family and return to the market.

Upon learning that he was about to leave, Zhou Zhengyong insisted on taking him home for a meal.

"Your sister-in-law's cooking skills are quite good now. We've invited you over today to have a taste."

When Zhou Zhengyong said this, his face was full of smugness.

Zhou Chun knew why he was so smug.

Because when I visited his home before, I personally cooked a few dishes.

Judging from his smug look, he clearly wants to show off that he has married a virtuous Taoist partner.

After all, it's no easy feat to get a Daoist partner who's a cultivator to set aside their pride and learn mortal cooking skills!

In his past life, if Zhou Chun encountered a friend like this who wanted to show off, he would probably leave immediately, not giving him the chance, and making the friend furious.

However, that's definitely not how you should do things in this world; it would be too impolite.

At that moment, all I could do was go to Zhou Zhengyong's house.

To be honest, after eating the seven or eight dishes made by Zhou Zhengyong's Daoist partner Sun Yujiao, Zhou Chun was actually a little envious of this guy.

Having a wife who can cook and warm your bed was his biggest dream in his past life.

"Actually, Thirteenth Brother, you should find a Daoist partner. I think that Fellow Daoist Liu Shiyun is quite good. If she doesn't manage to join the Qinglian Temple this time, you might as well give her a try."

Zhou Zhengyong seemed to sense Zhou Chun's envy, and at that moment he winked and gave him some advice.

For some reason, when Zhou Chun heard Zhou Zhengyong's words, the first thing that came to her mind was an illustration from the book "The Flower-Seeking Treasure Mirror".

He quickly shook his head, extinguishing such evil thoughts, and rolled his eyes at Zhou Zhengyong, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. Fellow Daoist Liu and I are completely innocent. Don't ruin that young lady's reputation!"

Innocent and pure?

Zhou Zhengyong's face was full of disbelief.

"Really, I haven't even seen Fellow Daoist Liu's true face yet!"

Seeing that Zhou Zhengyong still didn't believe him, Zhou Chun simply shrugged and said, "If you don't believe me, that's fine. Anyway, the reason I sent Fellow Daoist Liu here this time was mainly because she was entrusted by her father."

In total, the Liu father and daughter had gained a total of two thousand spirit coins.

Zhou Chun has always been clear about his gratitude and grudges. He is willing to help those who have made him a lot of money, even in a fair transaction, to the best of his ability.

Seeing that he said that, Zhou Zhengyong didn't want to say anything more about the matter, otherwise it would seem like he didn't trust him enough.

So she quickly changed the subject, saying, "Did you know? It's said that Seventh Brother was originally planning to join the Qinglian Temple, but the Supreme Elder forcibly kept him there, forbidding him from leaving the family, and even grounded him!"

Is that true?

Zhou Chun looked surprised, as this was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

After a moment's thought, he shook his head and said, "I truly don't know anything about this, but since it's the Supreme Elder's decision, it's best if we don't discuss it on our own!"

"Of course I know that, but we're not strangers, so I'm telling you about it."

Zhou Zhengyong nodded and smiled at him with an "I understand" look.

Then, unable to contain himself, he sighed, "Sigh! I used to envy all the special treatment he received, but now it seems that people like him who enjoy so much support and resources from their family and elders don't necessarily come without paying a price!"

But is that really the case?

Zhou Chun shook his head slightly again, but didn't say anything more.

What is Zhou Zhengkang's so-called "price" compared to the special treatment he enjoys within his family?

If we really let him go to Qinglian Temple, that would be letting him enjoy all the benefits, and it would probably become a source of criticism for the clan for the Supreme Elder Zhou Mingde throughout his life!

Of course, there was no need to tell Zhou Zhengyong these things.

After having a hearty meal at Zhou Zhengyong's house, Zhou Chun left Jiufengling as the couple watched him go.

P.S.: Speechless, I made a mistake with the timer, it's set for tomorrow morning now...

I'll be at 200,000 words in two days, and then I'll be off the new book charts. Will I be able to climb a few more places? If any readers who like this book encounter other readers looking for similar titles, please recommend it to them! Thank you!!

(End of this chapter)