The Difference Between Immortals and Mortals, An Unexpected Discovery

Chapter 68 The Difference Between Immortals and Mortals, An Unexpected Discovery

Jiufengling.

When Zhou Chun was assigned by the shopkeeper Zhou Jiasheng to return to the Zhou family to attend the funeral on behalf of the Spirit Beast Pavilion, he saw that all the Zhou family cultivators had white cloths wrapped around their heads and the whole clan was holding a funeral for the deceased Great Elder Zhou Mingshan.

Upon seeing this, he hurriedly asked someone for a piece of white cloth to wrap around his head, and then went to the Pagoda Peak to pay homage to the remains of the Grand Elder Zhou Mingshan.

It has been five or six years since the Zhou family established itself in Jiufeng Ridge, but this is the first time a cultivator like Zhou Mingshan has passed away due to old age.

The procedures for handling the funeral also need to be discussed and formulated by Zhou Daoyi, the clan head, and the elders.

After discussion, it was decided that, based on Zhou Mingshan's status as an elder, the mourning period would be set for nine days.

During these nine days, apart from the unavoidable tasks such as guarding the Jingling Pavilion, all Zhou family cultivators within the family's mountain gate were required to chant scriptures and incantations for Elder Zhou Mingshan outside the ancestral hall on Pagoda Peak to pray for the deceased.

During these nine days, the other four major cultivation families, as well as some other forces in Lanzhou, who had also received news of the death, sent people to offer their condolences.

Some independent cultivators who live and cultivate near the Zhou family in Jiufengling will also stop by to pay their respects when they come to the Zhou family for cultivation.

After nine days of such a grand funeral, Zhou Mingshan's body was finally laid to rest in the clan cemetery behind Baota Peak.

Once the body is buried, the funeral arrangements are complete.

Most of the Zhou family cultivators' lives returned to normal, just like before.

Only then was Zhou Chun able to meet with the clan leader, Zhou Daoyi, in private.

He came with a mission: to inquire whether the clan could still reliably supply the Spirit Beast Pavilion with various Zhou family-exclusive pills.

"You can rest assured, Jiasheng. Before the First Elder passed away, he had already refined and stockpiled enough pills for the family to last for several years. The supply from the shops will indeed decrease in the future, but not by much!"

At this point, Zhou Daoyi asked with concern, "Is the number of customers in the shop still declining? Or is the Spirit Beast Pavilion up to something new again?"

"Clan leader, you are wise to say that the number of guests is indeed continuing to decline. The Spirit Beast Pavilion hasn't come up with any new tricks yet; they're probably just laughing at us!"

Zhou Chun's face was also full of bitterness as he spoke.

Seeing this, Zhou Daoyi couldn't help but sigh, "Alas, there's nothing we can do about it. You should all try to take it easy. The family is currently supported by the income from the Crimson Iron Mine, which should be enough for a few more years!"

Hearing Zhou Daoyi say that, Zhou Chun did feel a little better.

Now, he and Zhou Jiasheng are afraid that their family will misunderstand them and think that the sharp drop in store revenue is due to their incompetence, which would leave them with no way to defend themselves.

He bowed deeply with gratitude and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Clan Chief. I will relay your words to Uncle Sixteen when I return."

After saying that, he brought up another matter.

"Clan leader, I recently received a strange fish carcass from a rogue cultivator. I have never seen this strange fish before, even after reading through all the monster illustrations in the Zhou family's collection. I also do not know what the materials on its body are for. Therefore, I would like to ask the clan leader to appraise it and see if this fish has any special value."

As he spoke, Zhou Chun reached into his storage pouch and took out the wooden box containing the strange fish's corpse.

Because he used a lot of ice to preserve it, the strange fish carcass inside the wooden box still maintained a good level of freshness, not much different from when it was acquired.

At this moment, Zhou Daoyi's gaze sharpened slightly as he looked at the strange fish corpse that he had taken out, and he began to examine it carefully.

After examining it closely, he nodded slightly to Zhou Chun and said, "It is indeed a new type of demonic beast that the family has never recorded. Please tell me more about this demonic beast!"

"Yes."

Zhou Chun responded and immediately repeated what the rogue cultivator Luo Guangshun had said.

"As that rogue cultivator said, this strange fish should be a kind of gregarious monster that lives underwater, which means that their reproductive ability must be quite good."

"If they don't have high requirements for their habitat or food, even if they have no other use, some can be caught and kept in the rivers and ponds inside and outside the family's mountain gate as food reserves for other carnivorous monsters!"

After listening to Zhou Chun's words, Zhou Daoyi pondered for a moment before expressing his own opinion.

Social monsters have always been highly valued by beast-taming families like the Zhou family.

Because social monsters are easy to breed, they can often help families avoid the awkward situation where family cultivators don't have monster contracts.

However, social monsters also have their drawbacks. Once the population becomes too large, it becomes difficult to provide enough food to feed them for a long time.

Monsters like the Red-tailed Monkey and the Green-crowned Flying Serpent are a bit better; they either eat fruits and plants or have very small appetites.

If it were large carnivorous beasts like lions, tigers, wolves, and leopards, the consumption of meat would be too great.

Moreover, these kinds of monsters are picky eaters, generally only eating live animals and fresh meat, making large-scale breeding a real challenge.

Therefore, the Zhou family has not dared to capture and raise these kinds of monsters on a large scale.

If the strange fish that Zhou Chun brought doesn't have high requirements for the aquatic environment or food, then raising them as a high-level monster food wouldn't be bad.

"I understand. I will try to contact that rogue cultivator later to see if I can find out the location of this strange fish's lair from him!"

Zhou Chun nodded, indicating that she knew what to do.

After leaving the strange fish's corpse in the family for research, Zhou Chun went to a nearby mortal town to visit his parents and others.

Since he went to the market, he has rarely had time to visit his parents, brothers and sisters.

When I went back this time, I found out that my fifth brother had already gotten married and his wife was pregnant, and my fourth sister's family had also welcomed a big, healthy baby boy.

Unfortunately, he is still a mortal without spiritual roots!

"My son, it is enough that you remember us and come to visit us once in a while, but please don't neglect your cultivation because of it."

"We have family to take care of us, and your brothers and sisters to support you. Everything is fine!"

In the side hall reserved for Zhou family meals, after Zhou Chun's family had a reunion dinner around the long table, Zhou's father looked at Zhou Chun with loving eyes and said these words.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Chun's second brother, who was the quickest-witted among his siblings, immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, Father is right. Third brother, you are the only cultivator in our family for generations. You must not neglect your cultivation because of us mortals. We will take care of Father and Mother, so you can rest assured."

Then the eldest sister hurriedly chimed in, "Second brother is right. Third brother, your own cultivation is the most important thing. We can take care of our parents. We can't let these things interfere with your cultivation."

Once the eldest sister and second brother spoke, even if the remaining fourth sister and fifth brother had poor eyesight, they knew they had to say a few words in response.

Immediately, many others echoed similar sentiments.

Upon witnessing this scene, Zhou Chun's feelings became extremely complex.

It's not that he has a particularly deep relationship with these family members; it's just that he feels guilty and, out of a sense of compensation, he often finds time to visit them.

Unexpectedly, his enthusiastic behavior has caused misunderstandings among his family members.

He really didn't know what to say.

However, he did find that when he was the only cultivator in the family, the way the family got along was indeed a bit strange.

Zhou's parents were alright, but his siblings and their spouses and children were all very reserved, to say the least, extremely cautious.

If he doesn't talk to them, they don't dare to talk to him much, even though he always has a smile on his face.

It was as if Zhou Chun wasn't their brother, but a superior who could decide their future and even their life or death with a single word.

This feeling of being treated like a leader and subordinate did not make Zhou Chun, the "leader," happy; on the contrary, it made him feel very awkward and uncomfortable.

Seeing his brothers and sisters trying so hard to please him, Zhou Chun remained silent for a long time.

Then, without saying anything more, he simply nodded and said, "Father and Mother, don't worry. I know everything and will not slack off in my cultivation."

After saying that, she turned to her brothers and sisters and said, "From now on, I'll have to trouble you, eldest sister, second brother, fourth sister, and fifth brother, to take good care of our parents. If you encounter any difficulties or lack anything, please let me know in time, and I will do my best to help you solve them."

Upon hearing his words, Zhou's parents and siblings all smiled with joy.

Zhou Chun, who originally wanted to stay in the family for two more days, had to return to the market ahead of schedule.

Back in the market, Zhou Chun relayed the instructions from clan leader Zhou Daoyi to shopkeeper Zhou Jiasheng, which relieved the shopkeeper, who had been in a bad mood lately, and made him look much better.

Without pressure from his family and with assurances that the shop's supply wouldn't decrease significantly, he, as the shopkeeper, would indeed face much less pressure.

So the two of them continued to run and maintain the shop while racking their brains to figure out how to win back the lost popularity.

That day, Zhou Chunxin was thinking about the strange fish that Luo Guangshun, a rogue cultivator, had discovered, so he asked for leave to go to Liu Qingshan and ask if he had any way to find the other party.

However, since Liu Qingshan was confined to the market, he has had less contact with these friends and could not offer Zhou Chun any help.

On his way back to the shop, as Zhou Chun passed by the Spirit Beast Pavilion, his gaze suddenly sharpened as he saw a familiar cultivator emerging from the pavilion.

Why would he go to the Spirit Beast Pavilion?

Behind a large tree, Zhou Chun watched the retreating figure of the cultivator who had come out of the Spirit Beast Pavilion and quickly left, his eyes filled with astonishment and doubt.

(End of this chapter)