Chapter 505: Conditions

The Cangxuan Sect was abuzz with activity and excitement.

Zhou Yuan, however, paid no mind to any of this. He directly retreated deep into the mountains, dedicating all his focus to cultivating the Tai Xuan Saint Spirit Art. This Tai Xuan Saint Spirit Art was a high-grade Heaven Origin Art, almost the highest-grade Origin Art he had acquired in recent years. Naturally, he was full of anticipation, eager to master it and witness its power.

In the ancient deep mountains, Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged on a massive bluestone overlooking a chasm. His expression was solemn as he intently watched the ball of Genesis Qi forming between his palms. Inside the ball of light was a mysterious, somewhat chaotic glow, making it impossible to discern its true form. This chaotic cluster of light was precisely the Saint Spirit Seed Zhou Yuan was attempting to condense.

This Saint Spirit Seed had already refined and fused ten Genesis Beast souls. Zhou Yuan had discovered that with each successful fusion, the difficulty of incorporating the next soul significantly increased. As the number of fused beast souls grew, the gradually forming Saint Spirit Seed became more complex. Even a slight error would cause the entire seed to collapse. All his previous painstaking efforts would then be for naught.

Gazing at the gradually stabilizing Saint Spirit Seed in his palm, Zhou Yuan waved his hand. A Beast Soul Crystal flew out from a bronze box beside him. The bronze box was still brimming with Beast Soul Crystals. Over the past ten days, Zhou Yuan had consumed an unknown quantity of Beast Soul Crystals. If not for the support of Saint Origin Peak, he likely would have found it difficult to afford them by now. This made Zhou Yuan sigh with emotion, acknowledging that cultivation resources were indeed crucial on the path of cultivation.

What astonished him more, however, was that despite consuming so many Beast Soul Crystals, his progress with the Saint Spirit Seed had only reached about ten fused souls. He was still a long way from ninety, not to mention the final nine main ingredients...

Zhou Yuan gazed at the Beast Soul Crystal floating before him, a look of contemplation on his face. This level of progress was already due to his spirit being far superior to that of ordinary people; otherwise, achieving the fusion of ten souls within ten days would have been nearly impossible.

After his moment of contemplation, Zhou Yuan guided the Beast Soul Crystal to slowly descend towards the chaotic Saint Spirit Seed until they made contact.

Humming! The moment they touched, a burst of chaotic fluctuations erupted. Zhou Yuan's expression tightened, and his spirit perception enveloped the seed, working to dissolve the conflicting energies within. However, there were too many conflicting and erosive fluctuations, leaving him somewhat flustered for a moment.

"The fusion between beast souls is too complex," Zhou Yuan thought. "Even after erasing the residual sentience within them, fusion remains incredibly difficult." A hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes as he did his utmost to stabilize the Saint Spirit Seed.

Just as Zhou Yuan was fully engrossed in eliminating the chaotic fluctuations constantly appearing within the Saint Spirit Seed, his expression suddenly changed.

"I wonder... could the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune be of any use?"

He pondered. The Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune was one of the Four Saint Runes, not a combat-oriented one, but rather a functional one. Specifically, it possessed unexpected miraculous effects when applied to Origin Arts. Previously, Zhou Yuan could barely manage the situation by relying on his own spirit perception. But now, as the number of fused beast souls gradually increased, the difficulty was growing exponentially. If Zhou Yuan had enough time, he could slowly work through it, confident he could master the Tai Xuan Saint Spirit Art within a year. However, with the Genesis Pool Festival approaching, he needed to enhance his strength as quickly as possible.

With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Zhou Yuan didn't hesitate. With a thought, mysterious light patterns began to swirl deep within his pupils.

The Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune!

The world before him seemed to shift. Zhou Yuan stared at the chaotic light cluster in his palm, and areas that were previously inscrutable now appeared incredibly clear to his eyes. Most importantly, he could actually see the source of the countless chaotic fluctuations within the light cluster—the numerous resistances generated when the two beast souls merged. It was these uncoordinated resistances that caused problems with the fusion. As long as he precisely eliminated and suppressed these sources of chaos, the fusion would proceed smoothly.

"It really works!"

Zhou Yuan was overjoyed. As long as he could observe these sources, suppressing them would undoubtedly become much simpler. However, in his excitement, Zhou Yuan's control over the seed embryo weakened slightly. A chaotic fluctuation spread out, leading to a chain reaction that instantly caused an explosion.

The chaotic light cluster in Zhou Yuan's hand burst apart, dissipating into green smoke. The Saint Spirit Seed embryo was gone.

Zhou Yuan was momentarily stunned, but he felt no regret. Instead, a smile appeared on his face. His prediction had been correct; the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune indeed possessed unexpected miraculous effects. Now, by leveraging the miraculous properties of the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune to condense the Saint Spirit Seed, his success rate would multiply.

However, the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune could only allow him to sense the source of chaos in advance. To suppress it before the chaos spread, he would still need to rely on his own meticulous perception. Nevertheless, with the Barrier-Breaking Saint Rune, Zhou Yuan now felt confident in condensing the Saint Spirit Seed.

Zhou Yuan looked up at the sky, then rose to his feet, satisfied. With a wave of his sleeve, he put away the box brimming with Beast Soul Crystals, then shot up into the sky.

He darted out of the deep mountains, heading straight for his cave dwelling. Ten minutes later, the dwelling came into view, and his figure slowly descended. As he landed, he was slightly startled. Outside the cave dwelling stood three figures: one was naturally Yao Yao, and the other two, unexpectedly, were Li Qingchan and Ye Ge.

"Why are you two here?" Zhou Yuan asked, approaching Yao Yao and looking at the pair with surprise.

"Junior Brother Zhou Yuan."

Ye Ge smiled faintly at him, his handsome face appearing gentle and polite. Zhou Yuan had a rather good impression of him, as he didn't sense the typical arrogant aura of a Saint Son from Ye Ge. Compared to Zhao Zhu and Kong Sheng, Ye Ge was undoubtedly much easier to approach. Of course, the only thing that made Zhou Yuan a little uncomfortable was that this guy... always seemed to covet Yao Yao, trying to win her over.

Li Qingchan's exquisite face was as icy as ever, like a goddess of ice. She glanced at Zhou Yuan and said, "Your Saint Origin Peak will face considerable trouble at this Genesis Pool Festival."

Zhou Yuan merely smiled, noncommittally.

Seeing his unconcerned demeanor, Li Qingchan's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "Don't think that just because you involved Yao Yao, your Saint Origin Peak can contend with Sword Coming Peak," she said.

Zhou Yuan chuckled. "Then what else can we do? They want to vent their anger on our Saint Origin Peak at the Genesis Pool Festival. We can't just sit here and wait for death, can we?"

Li Qingchan and Ye Ge exchanged a glance. "Our Snow Lotus Peak and Spirit Rune Peak can assist this time," she offered.

Zhou Yuan was somewhat surprised to hear this. Although both were Saint Sons, the Genesis Pool Festival concerned the ultimate opportunities for all disciples of their respective peaks. If they chose to help Saint Origin Peak, they would undoubtedly oppose Sword Coming Peak, which, from the perspective of their two peaks, seemed somewhat unwarranted. While he had a tentative connection with Li Qingchan, it certainly wasn't enough for her to defy all objections just to help Saint Origin Peak.

"Of course, there are conditions," Li Qingchan said calmly, noticing Zhou Yuan's surprise.

"What conditions? Is it another protection fee of a certain percentage?" Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"With so few people from your Saint Origin Peak, how much Genesis Marrow could you even obtain...?" Li Qingchan rolled her eyes at him, then her beautiful gaze turned to Yao Yao. "The condition for our two peaks' assistance is that after the Genesis Pool Festival, Yao Yao must choose to join either of our two peaks. As for which one, our respective Peak Masters will discuss it at that time."

Zhou Yuan was stunned. So, after all that, it turned out Snow Lotus Peak and Spirit Rune Peak were here for Yao Yao, and from the sound of it, it was even the will of their two Peak Masters.

Li Qingchan gazed at Yao Yao and said slowly, "I myself would be happy to assist, but as a Saint Son of Snow Lotus Peak, I must prioritize the interests of our disciples, so I cannot offer private help." She undoubtedly admired Yao Yao greatly and sincerely hoped she could join Snow Lotus Peak. She believed that the Peak Master would certainly value her immensely, and in her opinion, it would be infinitely better than remaining at Saint Origin Peak.

"If Junior Sister Yao Yao needs it, I wouldn't mind," Ye Ge interjected with a soft chuckle, looking at Yao Yao with a composed demeanor. "Even if it meant risking punishment from the Peak Master, I could still help."

Li Qingchan gave the guy an exasperated glare.

Zhou Yuan frowned. "Yao Yao is not a bargaining chip. As long as she likes it, she can go anywhere. Similarly, if she doesn't like it, I'm not interested, no matter how good the conditions you offer."

Li Qingchan glanced at him in surprise, then said with interest, "If your performance at this Genesis Pool Festival is too poor, your chief position might draw criticism."

Zhou Yuan smiled casually. "It's just a chief position. It's not even one ten-thousandth as important as Yao Yao."

Li Qingchan felt a pang of annoyance. "That's enough, you two!"

Yao Yao, standing by, gave Zhou Yuan a sideways glance, though a faint, almost imperceptible smile played at the corner of her lips.

Li Qingchan looked at Yao Yao, knowing that ultimately, it would depend on Yao Yao's decision. Meeting her gaze, Yao Yao gently shook her head. Her eyes fixed on the cave dwelling before her, and her voice was uncharacteristically soft as she said, "I like it very much here; I don't want to go anywhere else." As for the so-called importance from a Peak Master, to her, it genuinely couldn't compare to even a single flower or blade of grass within the cave dwelling.

Hearing this, Li Qingchan sighed helplessly, saying with some concern, "Even with your help, your Saint Origin Peak simply cannot contend with Sword Coming Peak. Saint Origin Peak's foundation is too weak."

Yao Yao's slender, jade-like fingers brushed back a strand of dark hair, and her clear eyes held a faint, chilling glint. "Originally, I didn't have much interest in this Genesis Pool Festival," Yao Yao said. "But constantly hearing you claim that Sword Coming Peak is irresistible, it actually piques my interest..."

"So be it then. This time, I truly want to see how Sword Coming Peak intends to vent its anger on Saint Origin Peak!"

Outside the cave dwelling, the beautiful girl's tone was light, yet a rarely seen sharpness, quite unlike her usual languor, emerged. This left both Li Qingchan and Ye Ge, who had never witnessed this side of her, staring in astonishment. Zhou Yuan, standing by, also gazed at her radiant, jade-like face, his mouth slightly agape, feeling a mix of amusement and helplessness.

If before, Yao Yao had only intended to attend the Genesis Pool Festival because she'd promised him, now, it seemed she was truly getting serious... Zhou Yuan had genuinely only seen a serious Yao Yao a few times. However, facing Yao Yao's sharp, queen-like aura at this moment, Zhou Yuan couldn't help but want to give a thumbs-up, silently cheering in his heart.

"Sister Yao Yao, you are truly formidable!"