Chapter 58: Source Material

"So now, what is your choice?"

Inside the fragrant pavilion, Yaoyao's bright eyes fixed on Zhou Yuan. The words she softly uttered from her red lips plunged Zhou Yuan into a struggle, his gaze shifting continuously.

Both choices were difficult to make. Of course, from a stable perspective, choosing the "Heavenly Genesis Scroll" would undoubtedly be better. Its reliable seventh-grade Genesis Qi would allow him to look down on opponents of the same level. Furthermore, relying on the quality of this Genesis Qi, he would even have the capital to contend with enemies stronger than him.

Compared to the stable "Heavenly Genesis Scroll," the mysterious "Ancestral Dragon Scripture" was full of countless unpredictable variables. From Yaoyao's words, Zhou Yuan could sense the difficulty of cultivating this technique. It was even highly probable that he would be stuck at the first stage for his entire life, and that first stage only yielded fifth-grade Genesis Qi, which clearly wouldn't satisfy Zhou Yuan's ambitions.

Most importantly, once he cultivated the Ancestral Dragon Scripture, there would be no turning back. With other techniques, if he found them unsuitable, he could switch to another. However, once he started cultivating the Ancestral Dragon Scripture, it was irreversible; he would have to see it through to the end on this path. The Ancestral Dragon Scripture only allowed for continuous advancement.

This undoubtedly required immense courage and determination. Although the Ancestral Dragon Scripture was fraught with danger, its boundless growth potential captivated Zhou Yuan, making it impossible for him to give it up.

Therefore, faced with such a choice, even the usually decisive Zhou Yuan found himself in a dilemma, his expression changing as he struggled to reach a decision.

Yaoyao did not rush him, simply watching him in silence. The quiet in the fragrant pavilion persisted for a long time, finally broken by Zhou Yuan's long sigh.

Zhou Yuan opened his slightly closed eyes, looked at Yaoyao, and slowly said, "I choose... the Ancestral Dragon Scripture!"

Yaoyao's delicate hand seemed to tremble slightly, clearly surprised by Zhou Yuan's choice, as the Ancestral Dragon Scripture was full of uncertainty compared to the Heavenly Genesis Scroll.

Zhou Yuan looked at Yaoyao, giving a somewhat self-deprecating smile. "Sister Yaoyao," he said, "I don't want to go through what happened in my childhood again—having others take what belongs to me and causing immense harm to those closest to me, while I was powerless to stop it."

Every time he saw his mother Qin Yu's pale face, Zhou Yuan felt a stab in his heart. He knew that if Qin Yu hadn't continuously nourished him with her essence blood in the past, he would have likely died prematurely.

And then there was Zhou Qing, who suffered betrayal, had his dynasty stolen, and ended up not only losing an arm to King Wu while protecting him, but also sinking into constant self-reproach for failing to protect his own son. All of this was due to a lack of power.

"The enemies I face in the future may become increasingly strong. Therefore, to protect myself and my family, I need the most powerful strength!"

"I want to become so strong that no being can pose even the slightest threat to those I care about!"

"The Heavenly Genesis Scroll is also strong, but it's not strong enough to get me to that level. So..." He stared at Yaoyao, enunciating each word: "I choose the Ancestral Dragon Scripture!"

Yaoyao could see the determined flame in Zhou Yuan's eyes. She nodded slightly and handed him the mottled bone fragment she held.

Zhou Yuan reached out and took it. He tried to pull it gently, but it didn't come loose.

"Zhou Yuan, once you choose this, you'll have no other path. So, don't regret it later," Yaoyao said, a hint of solemnity appearing on her beautiful face.

Zhou Yuan smiled. "Sister Yaoyao," he said, "ever since childhood, I've been tormented by the Resentful Dragon's poison and later couldn't open my meridians, experiencing both warmth and cold. So, I know exactly how firm my resolve is."

"This path might be difficult, but... I will see it through to the end!"

Zhou Yuan's voice was firm, no longer hesitating. With a strong pull of his hand, he drew out the mottled bone fragment and solemnly placed it into his embrace.

The path of cultivation prioritizes one's resolve and character. His experiences over the years had taught Zhou Yuan that to possess power, he must have an unyielding heart. Once a goal was set, he had to exert his utmost effort to achieve it. Thus, he possessed great perseverance!

Yaoyao watched Zhou Yuan carefully put away the mottled bone fragment, then let out a soft sigh and said, "To successfully cultivate the first stage of the Ancestral Dragon Scripture, you must acquire four specific Genesis materials."

Yaoyao took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zhou Yuan. Zhou Yuan glanced at it, seeing elegant handwriting, but when he clearly saw the four Genesis materials listed, his face couldn't help but twitch.

"'Genesis Devouring Stone'? 'Heavenly Gold Marrow'? 'Nine Nether Profound Spring Crystal'? 'Fourth-grade Python-type Genesis Beast Soul'?!" Each of the four materials made Zhou Yuan gasp in astonishment, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

Whether it was the Genesis Devouring Stone, Heavenly Gold Marrow, or Nine Nether Profound Spring Crystal, all were extremely rare Genesis materials. Among them, he was slightly familiar with Heavenly Gold Marrow; the royal treasury happened to have some, but only a few drops. Just one drop of this substance, when added during the forging of a Genesis weapon, could make it much sharper and even potentially elevate its grade, making it incredibly precious.

Moreover, what made Zhou Yuan's heart tremble the most was the fourth-grade Python-type Genesis Beast Soul. Fourth-grade! That was comparable to a Grand Prime stage expert among humans! There were only a few Grand Prime stage experts in the entire Great Zhou. Obtaining the soul of a fourth-grade Python-type Genesis Beast now was almost no different from trying to kill a Grand Prime stage expert. The sheer difficulty of it made Zhou Yuan's heart pound just thinking about it.

Cultivators in this world, after entering the Qi Nurturing stage, need to use their own bodies as a furnace to refine their personal Genesis Qi. The pure Genesis Qi absorbed from the world serves as the primary ingredient, the cultivation technique acts as the blueprint, and Genesis materials are the auxiliary ingredients. Following the blueprint, these components are refined, fused, and tempered within the body to finally cultivate one's own unique Genesis Qi.

None of these elements could be missing, so the auxiliary ingredients also had to be fully prepared.

"Are you regretting it now? It's not too late," Yaoyao said, observing Zhou Yuan's pale face and letting out a chuckle.

Zhou Yuan let out a wry smile. He really was regretting it a little. This was just the first stage of the Ancestral Dragon Scripture, and it already required such rare Genesis materials. He couldn't imagine what mysterious materials would be needed for the second, third, or even fourth stages.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan truly understood how difficult cultivating the Ancestral Dragon Scripture was, simply because its prerequisites were so unattainable.

However, his gaze quickly became firm. "I will find a way to obtain all these Genesis materials," he declared.

Since he had already made his decision, he naturally wouldn't waver because of these difficulties; otherwise, it would have been better to give up early.

Yaoyao, somewhat admiring Zhou Yuan's unwavering resolve, said, "If you don't want to rely solely on the most basic Genesis Qi to fight others after entering the Qi Nurturing stage, then you'll need to speed up your collection efforts."

Genesis Qi that hasn't been cultivated through a specific technique has no attributes or special effects, making its combat power far inferior to Genesis Qi refined by a technique.

Zhou Yuan nodded with a wry smile. It seemed he would have to bother Zhou Qing next, as he probably wouldn't be able to gather all these materials on his own currently.