The first failure in artifact refining did not dampen Zhouyang's enthusiasm, as he never imagined he would succeed on the first try.
If artifact refining were so easy to master, the profession of an artifact refiner wouldn't be the most sought after in the cultivation realm.
No artifact refiner, not even those regarded as geniuses, could succeed in artifact refining on their first attempt.
Most artifact refiners possess a bit of talent and accumulate artifact refining skills through endless materials.
Thus, within the cultivation realm, among those who are unaffiliated loose cultivators with no clan, it's rare to find artifact refiners and alchemists because they can't afford the material costs required to learn these skills.
Even for the Zhou Family, a clan with Foundation Establishment cultivators, cultivating a Tier Two Refiner who can earn money is challenging. They must select talented children and invest heavily.
Before Zhouyang, the Zhou Family tried to teach artifact refining skills to several "Xuan"-generation cultivators. Only his Seventh Uncle Zhou Xuanlin barely advanced to a Tier Two Refiner, guided hand-in-hand by Zhou Minghan, a Tier Three Refiner, with thousands of spirit stones worth of materials spent.
However, the limit for Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators is Tier Two Refiner. To become a Tier Three Refiner, one must first become a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
So, Zhou Minghan's hope for Zhouyang to inherit his artifact refining skill implies he hopes Zhouyang will successfully establish his foundation.
If Zhouyang succeeds in foundation establishment and shows a bit of talent in artifact refining, Zhou Minghan is confident in investing spirit stones to elevate him to a Tier Three Refiner!
Zhouyang, oblivious to all this, just feels artifact refining materials are hard to come by and regret wasting them. Hence, after failing he wasn't eager to try again immediately but gathered the waste in the Artifact Cauldron and carefully summarized his experience and lessons.
Only when he felt confident did he attempt anew.
Failure followed by summarizing, then failing and summarizing again...
After experiencing seventeen failures, Zhouyang finally successfully refined a complete Cyan Blade, officially becoming a Tier One Refiner.
With the first successful experience, Zhouyang's success rate improved markedly in subsequent refinements, succeeding once in ten attempts.
After refining it over a hundred times and controlling the success rate to two out of ten, he ceased refining Cyan Blade and shifted to refining another Tier One Spiritual Artifact, the Flaming Saber.
The main material for the Tier One Spiritual Artifact Flaming Saber is also Refined Iron, but it requires mixing in two tenths of fire attribute Spirit Gold Red Copper. Once refined, Innate Realm cultivators wielding it and injecting Innate True Qi can ignite flames on the blade, causing burn damage to enemies and dealing with ghosts immune to physical attacks.
The refining process for Flaming Saber is similar to that of Cyan Blade, but the restriction inscribed on the blade is Fiery Flame rather than Sharpness.
Although Zhouyang had successful Cyan Blade refining experience, his first Flaming Saber refinement still failed.
However, upon summarizing the failure, he fortunately succeeded on the second attempt. Then, through dozens of refinements, he controlled the Flaming Saber's success rate to over twenty percent.
By then, he still had many basic artifact refining materials given by the elder clan leader, but he stopped refining further. Instead, he handed his refined spiritual artifacts, artifact refining insights, and letters to his parents, all to fellow clan cultivator Zhou Qi who came to retrieve Refined Iron Ore, asking him to deliver them to the elder clan leader and his distant parents.
Zhou Qi ranked third among the Zhou Family's "Yuan" generation, his parents are ordinary mortals. At thirty-two years old, his spiritual root quality is lower grade, so his cultivation level barely reached the Third-Layer Qi Cultivation this lifetime, with no hope of foundation establishment.
Upon hearing Zhouyang became a Tier One Refiner, he was first surprised and then delightedly accepted the items, nodding vigorously and saying, "Rest assured, Ninth Brother, I will certainly deliver these items and letters to the elder clan leader and your parents."
After that, he paused and earnestly advised, "However, you should diligently cultivate. Don't focus all your energy on artifact refining. You are the hope of the entire Zhou Family. The elders and we, your siblings, are counting on you to successfully establish the foundation and lead our Zhou Family forth!"
"Third Brother is right, I will strive diligently and will not disappoint the elders!" Zhouyang nodded, responding with a solemn expression.
"As long as you keep that in mind, I'll take my leave now."
Watching clan brother Zhou Qi depart, Zhouyang restored the array and shut the door to read the long letter his parents entrusted to the clan brother to deliver.
Zhouyang's father Zhou Xuanhao was wholeheartedly focused on cultivation in his early years. Only upon realizing he was hopeless in foundation establishment at sixty did he heed the elder clan's advice to marry and have children.
At that time, his mother Lin Yuting was being pursued by enemies and, while fleeing near the Yuquan Lake Oasis, was saved by him. This led to their bond and marriage, and within a few years, Zhouyang was born.
Since both were cultivators, their first child luckily tested for a Medium Quality Spiritual Root. From then on, Zhouyang became the apple of his parents' eyes. He was treasured like a fragile gem that might be shattered if held too tightly or melted if kept in the mouth.
It was precisely because his parents showered him with meticulous love since childhood that Zhouyang, a reincarnator with memories of past lifetimes of 20 to 30 years, gradually let go of everything in his past lives, wholeheartedly accepting and recognizing his parents in this life and acknowledging the entire Zhou Family.
To ensure their son could progress further on the path of cultivation than they had, Zhou Xuanhao and Lin Yuting decided not to have any more children, devoting all their energy to earning Spirit Stones and taking care of Zhouyang.
Later, upon discovering Zhouyang's precocious talent and his ability to take care of himself, they entrusted him to the care of the elders in the clan and settled at a shop in a Cultivator Marketplace, utilizing their Alchemy and Brewing Techniques to earn Spirit Stones for the clan and their son.
As someone who has "been through it," Zhouyang fully understood the thoughts of Zhou Xuanhao and Lin Yuting.
Just like in his past life, when his parents worked hard from a young age for his education, Zhou Xuanhao and Lin Yuting were now doing everything for his chance at Foundation Establishment and to walk further on the path of cultivation.
So he never resented the fact that he could not see his parents for years. Instead, he would write multiple letters every year to be delivered to his parents through clan elders, sharing his daily life experiences, knowing these seemingly mundane things were what his parents most wanted to know.
"Yang'Er, the Cyan Ping Mountain is far from the clan, always think thrice before acting and prioritize your own safety in all matters..."
"Son, the business at the tavern here is getting better and better, all thanks to your idea last time. My son is indeed a genius. You'll definitely become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, no, a Golden Core Stage Ancestor in the future!"
Reading the letters from his parents word by word, Zhouyang's face was filled with a heartfelt smile. The simple letters from his parents were far more motivating than a thousand words from others.
After finishing the entire letter, he carefully stored away the letter paper and softly murmured, "Only two more years until I complete this remaining guard duty, then I'll return to the clan to make preparations for breaking through to the Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation. Once I reach Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation and advance to Late-Stage Qi Cultivation, I will apply to the old Clan Leader to go guard the Marketplace area, and then our family can be reunited!"
Elsewhere, when Zhou Qi returned to the clan with the Magical Artifacts and insights refined by Zhouyang and handed them over to the old Clan Leader, it immediately attracted Zhou Minghan's keen attention.
He personally checked each of the Magical Artifacts refined by Zhouyang, pointed out the inadequacies, and provided improvement suggestions. He also went through each problem recorded in Zhouyang's artifact refining insights and provided solutions. Then, he arranged for an elder from the clan, bearing the "Light" ancestral title, to personally deliver higher-tier artifact refining materials and insights to Zhouyang.
"Hahaha, Xiao Jiu, you're really impressive! This old man has lived for over a hundred years, and it's the first time seeing the old Clan Leader so happy and paying so much attention to a junior! Now the title of the Zhou Family's Qilin'Er has spread throughout the clan, and even the clan members in the mundane world are talking about your achievements!"
The elder who delivered things to Zhouyang from the "Light" branch was named Zhou Quan, ranked third among his generation, and was the Second Elder of the eight Zhou Family elders.
He was already one hundred and twelve years old, drawing near to the life limit for Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators. If it weren't Zhou Minghan personally ordering him by name, no one in the clan would dare disturb this elderly man close to the end of his life.
"Tiring Third Grandpa to make this trip, your nephew really feels guilty, truly feels guilty!"
Seeing the elder, who smiled so wide that his lips parted, Zhouyang felt deeply moved, and sighed quietly to himself.
He knew that if all the Late-Stage Qi Cultivators in the clan weren't occupied, the old Clan Leader would never have asked Zhou Quan, who was nearing his end, to make the trip.
Zhou Quan's arrival not only displayed the importance the old Clan Leader and the clan placed on him but also exposed the lack of available manpower in the clan.
"Hehehe, I'm old, and whether I pass tomorrow doesn't matter. Being able to see such an outstanding younger generation in the clan before I go, I can die peacefully!"
Elder Zhou Quan chuckled, reaching out to gently pat Zhouyang's shoulder to show his closeness, having long accepted life and death.
However, even though he said this, the next second, he couldn't help but show a regretful look and sighed, "What a pity, what a pity! I won't live to see the day you reach Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, I would have the face to see the Yuquan Ancestor in the afterlife!"
Zhouyang remained silent as his mood grew heavier.
Over the past hundred years, successive generations of Zhou Family cultivators have been stuck at the Foundation Establishment barrier, causing elders like Zhou Quan to bear a profound obsession. Their only wish is to see the Zhou Family produce another Foundation Establishment Cultivator in their lifetime to protect the family.
His father Zhou Xuanhao also had this obsession, driving him to earn Spirit Stones tirelessly for Zhouyang's future Foundation Establishment.
Just as Zhouyang was contemplating how to break the heavy atmosphere, a flash of fire suddenly pierced through the clouds outside Cyan Ping Mountain, landing in front of him. From it came the panicked voice of a Zhou Family steward from the Refined Iron Ore site, exclaiming, "Lord Immortal Master, help! A formidable Demon Beast is attacking the mine!"