I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

"We eagerly await good news!"

After hearing Zhou Yuan's words, the twelve Nascent Soul cultivators, including Ancestor Yunlu, Daoist Fufeng, and Wei Xian, finally felt a huge weight lifted from their hearts, a weight that had been hanging over them for months.

They straightened their clothes, solemnly bowed to Zhou Yuan, and expressed their heartfelt gratitude.

After that, they did not bother them any longer, and each took their leave, transforming into a streak of light and hurriedly returning to their sect.

They wanted to bring this exciting news back as soon as possible to reassure the sect disciples and elders who were worried day and night and unable to eat or sleep, so that they could also put their minds at ease.

Meanwhile, after seeing off the visiting guests, Zhou Yuan began to seriously consider the location of the teleportation array.

He knew very well that the teleportation array he was about to build was not a small teleportation array for his personal use.

Rather, it is a public facility to be provided for all cultivators in Tiannan, which is of great significance as it relates to many aspects such as future transportation, personnel flow, and resource sharing between Tiannan Continent and the overseas Yuanhai.

There is no room for carelessness or perfunctory work.

The most suitable location for this teleportation array is naturally in the central area of ​​Tiannan.

Only by placing it in the central area can cultivators from any sect, whether from the demonic path, the righteous path, or the Nine Kingdoms Alliance, travel relatively short distances, thus maximizing the effectiveness of this teleportation array.

The monks who benefited the most.

After much deliberation, Zhou Yuan went over the map of Tiannan in his mind again and again, carefully weighing the pros and cons of each location. Finally, he set his sights on a place that was both familiar and full of memories.

—The State of Yue.

That place has an exceptionally advantageous geographical location.

It is located on the edge of the territory of the Demonic Path, not far to the west is the territory of the Heavenly Path Alliance, and not far to the south is the territory of the Nine Kingdoms Alliance. It can be described as a natural hub connecting the major forces in the south.

Regardless of which faction a cultivator belongs to, the journey to use this teleportation array will not be too far, making it arguably the most ideal choice, bar none.

Moreover, Zhou Yuan understood that the establishment of this teleportation array was only the beginning, a temporary solution for a transitional phase.

With the wisdom and resources of the cultivators in Tiannan, it won't take more than a decade for those array masters who focus on the art of arrays to thoroughly study the technology of those ancient teleportation arrays and master their principles and techniques.

By then, they will build more teleportation arrays on their own, leading to the Yuanhai Sea and forming a teleportation network that covers the entire southern region.

This is an inevitable trend, beyond doubt; he has only just begun.

Having made up his mind, Zhou Yuan did not delay any longer and immediately set off alone, transforming into a streak of light and flying towards the Yue Kingdom.

Near the famous spirit stone mine teleportation array in Yue Kingdom, a large number of cultivators are still guarding it, and the area is bustling with activity.

Most of these cultivators were disciples and stewards from various sects stationed here. Although they had vaguely heard rumors that the other end of the teleportation array might have been destroyed, they still held onto a sliver of hope.

They were unwilling to give up.

They stayed here day after day, eagerly hoping that the teleportation array would one day be miraculously reactivated, allowing them to contact their fellow disciples and elders who were stranded overseas and had lost all contact with them.

"Everyone, disperse!"

Zhou Yuan's figure appeared abruptly above the teleportation array like a god descending from the heavens. He looked down at the eager, haggard cultivators below, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable authority, clearly reaching everyone's ears, as if resounding directly in their minds.

"I will choose a new site in the Taiyue Mountains to build a brand new teleportation array. At that time, you will be able to travel overseas through the new teleportation array. This place is no longer useful and need not be guarded. Go back and cultivate in peace, and wait for news."

Hearing Zhou Yuan, the legendary Nascent Soul cultivator, speak in person, the cultivators who were waiting there, though still harboring some doubts and unease, dared not disobey in the slightest.

After bowing respectfully to Zhou Yuan in the sky, they packed their things and dispersed in small groups, each going home to their own families.

After dismissing everyone, Zhou Yuan turned and leisurely flew towards the Taiyue Mountains.

Zhou Yuan was extremely familiar with every blade of grass, every tree, every mountain, and every stone here!

It carries his deepest memories. Once, when he was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he stayed in the sect of Yellow Maple Valley to cultivate. Every day, he racked his brains to break through a small realm, carefully calculated for a few spirit stones, and risked venturing deep into the mountains for a few spiritual herbs. Later, the demonic path invaded, and war raged throughout the Yue Kingdom, causing immense suffering. He had no choice but to leave his homeland and travel to the Chaotic Star Sea to seek development, thus embarking on a path full of thorns and opportunities, life and death and challenges.

Now, centuries have passed, the world has changed, and the world has transformed. When he returned to this familiar yet strange homeland, his heart was filled with a myriad of emotions. The ignorant and naive boy who struggled for survival had now become a renowned Nascent Soul cultivator, whose mere presence shook the entire southern region, capable of influencing the fate and future of all human cultivators. Truly, life is unpredictable, like a dream.

Zhou Yuan hovered above the mountain range for a while, his eyes sharp as he slowly scanned the rolling, lush mountains below, carefully sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy in various places. Finally, he selected a mountain peak with abundant spiritual energy and a spiritual vein running through it underground as the construction site for the teleportation array.

He landed on the summit, looked around, and felt the rich spiritual energy emanating from beneath his feet. He nodded in satisfaction. The terrain here was open, with excellent visibility, and the concentration of spiritual energy was sufficient to support the operation of a large teleportation array. It was an ideal location, impeccable.

Without hesitation, Zhou Yuan began laying a solid foundation at the mountain's summit. He first used his flying sword to level the peak, clearing a flat area. Then, he took out various rare materials he had prepared in his storage bracelet and, following the array diagram he had already planned in his mind, began to arrange them methodically. Inscribing the array patterns required extremely precise control; he was completely focused, his fingers moving like butterflies flitting through flowers, tracing profound lines on the ground. Inlaying spirit stones required precise placement and angles; he carefully embedded each high-grade spirit stone into the array's core. Setting up the restrictions required rigorous logic and thorough consideration; he laid down layer upon layer of protective arrays to ensure the safe operation of the teleportation array. He performed each step meticulously, striving for perfection and allowing no mistakes.

Time passed day by day, spring came and autumn went, flowers bloomed and withered. The trees at the foot of the mountain turned yellow and green again, green and yellow again. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed in this busy and fulfilling time.

Throughout the year, Zhou Yuan devoted almost all his time and energy to the construction of this teleportation array, even temporarily setting aside his cultivation. The once barren, overgrown mountaintop has undergone a dramatic transformation, completely changing its appearance. A massive and exquisite six-pointed star array, tens of meters in diameter, stands silently atop the peak. The array's patterns are intricate and profound, layered upon layered, shimmering with a faint, soft spiritual light, emitting a deep and mysterious spatial fluctuation, as if connecting to another distant world. And the other end of this teleportation array is connected to the corresponding teleportation array on the Origin Island of the Yuan Sea overseas. A stable spatial channel has been established between the two.

Zhou Yuan stood beside the newly completed teleportation array, brushing off non-existent dust from his hands. Looking at this creation, the culmination of a year's work, a satisfied smile spread across his face. However, he didn't rush to leave, nor did he immediately test the array's functions. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back, calmly gazing at the distant horizon, and suddenly spoke, uttering a seemingly inexplicable sentence:

"After watching for so long, shouldn't we get out and move around a bit...?"

There was no one around, only the mountain wind howling past, making his robes flutter. Zhou Yuan's words were clearly not just a soliloquy. Sure enough, the moment his words fell, a voice drifted out from a small, unassuming, ancient cauldron hanging at his waist:

"So what if we found out?"

The voice sounded as innocent and childlike as a seven or eight-year-old child's, with a natural purity that made one instantly fond of it. However, despite its childlike tone, the child also possessed a mature air that was completely incongruous with his age, as if an old monster who had experienced the vicissitudes of life was deliberately feigning innocence, giving people an extremely strange and contradictory feeling.

"Now that you've awakened your intelligence, let's have a chat!" Zhou Yuan smiled slightly, not caring about the other party's pretentious tone, and spoke to himself in a calm and casual manner, as if he were greeting an old friend.

Having said that, he reached down and patted his waist, summoning the seemingly unremarkable small cauldron—the Void Heaven Cauldron. The Void Heaven Cauldron expanded in the wind, instantly transforming into a gigantic cauldron several meters tall, its entire body shimmering with azure light, radiating an ancient and profound aura. It landed steadily on the ground, causing the ground to tremble slightly. Zhou Yuan stepped forward, grabbed the cauldron lid, forcefully pried it open, and casually deactivated the powerful restriction he had used to bind the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast.

Just as the restriction dissipated!

Suddenly, a dazzling azure light shot into the sky from the cauldron, like a dragon breaking free of its cage, escaping from the cauldron at an incredible speed! In a flash, the azure light had already traveled more than two hundred feet, its speed astonishing, almost like teleportation!

With such terrifying speed, if it were to flash a few more times, even if Zhou Yuan wanted to catch up, he would have to put in a lot of effort, and it might even escape.

However, Zhou Yuan had no intention of chasing after him at all. Instead, he stood there with his arms crossed, looking calm and confident, as if he were watching a good show.

Just as he expected.

The azure light, just four hundred feet away from the Void Heaven Cauldron, suddenly changed! A dazzling azure light simultaneously shone from both the Void Heaven Cauldron in Zhou Yuan's hand and the azure escape light, as if a mysterious and inseparable connection had been established between them. The next moment, the figure of the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast inexplicably vanished from its spot, as if it had evaporated into thin air. Then, it strangely reappeared within the Void Heaven Cauldron, as if its desperate escape had been nothing but a futile illusion.

It was unable to escape the control of this treasure!

This Celestial Beast was quite peculiar in appearance, possessing a bull-like head with a pair of curved horns on its head, and a dragon-like body covered in dark blue scales that shimmered with an eerie light. Its limbs were thick and powerful, and its tail was long. Its golden pupils currently revealed a hint of surprise and disbelief, clearly not expecting this outcome. However, it was no ordinary beast; it was a demigod of a great demon from the spirit realm, possessing vast knowledge. It quickly regained its senses and realized the problem.

"So that's how it is... I've been assimilated by this cauldron and can't escape this treasure anymore, damn it!"

The beast uttered that childish voice again, but its tone was filled with frustration and resentment, even a hint of dejection. After saying this, it drooped its head and lay there, looking dejected, seemingly showing no intention of communicating with Zhou Yuan, adopting a posture of non-violent non-cooperation.

Zhou Yuan understood. He knew that this beast's true form was a wisp of the spirit of a renowned demon from the Spirit Realm—the Cave Heaven Rat King. Years ago, it had used some extraordinary means to break through the boundary and possess this Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast. Previously, this wisp of spirit had been dormant, lacking sentience and living in a daze. Now, after nearly a hundred years in this Void Heaven Cauldron, absorbing sufficient spiritual energy, it had finally awakened its intelligence and regained its memories of its past life.

Moreover, because the main body of this avatar has an extremely high cultivation level and is a hegemon of the Spirit Realm, dominating a region and having a very high standard, it naturally looks down on Zhou Yuan, a Nascent Soul cultivator from the lower realm, and considers him nothing more than an ant. That's why it puts on this arrogant attitude and ignores him.

"Don't you want to leave this cauldron?" Zhou Yuan wasn't angry. Instead, he took the initiative to start a conversation, speaking in a calm tone, as if he were coaxing a child.

"Of course I want to leave this godforsaken place." The Heavenly Azure Beast finally spoke again, its tone still carrying a hint of arrogance and stubbornness, but it had softened considerably compared to before. "However, do you have a way to break the Void Heaven Cauldron's assimilation of me? With your meager cultivation? Don't talk big and get your tongue stuck."

"Of course I can," Zhou Yuan replied with a smile, unconcerned about the other party's sarcasm and doubt. "However, this matter can only be accomplished before I ascend to the Spirit Realm. Until then, you'll have to stay in this cauldron for a while longer. Don't worry, I won't mistreat you."

"Alright!" The Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast agreed almost without hesitation. With its nearly endless lifespan, why would it care about a mere few thousand years before a human cultivator ascends to immortality? To it, that time was merely a fleeting moment, the time it would take to doze off. It could afford to wait.

"Speak, what do you need me to do?" the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast asked directly, its tone becoming crisp and decisive. It knew in its heart that since this cunning human cultivator had taken the initiative to talk to it, he must have something to ask for; otherwise, he would never have been so kind as to chat with it.

Zhou Yuan smiled slightly and, without beating around the bush, reached into his robes and took out a milky-white jade tablet. The jade tablet was warm and smooth, with faint silver runes constantly flowing across it, emanating an ancient and mysterious aura, as if containing the ultimate truths of heaven and earth. This jade tablet was the treasure he had received from the Golden Flower Ancestor years ago, and he had always carefully preserved it.

"Silver Tadpole Script? Golden Palace Jade Book?"

Sure enough, when the Heavenly Lan Sacred Beast's gaze fell on the silver runes on the jade tablet, its pupils suddenly contracted, its breathing became more rapid, and its tone was filled with shock and disbelief as it blurted out the names of the two things.

Clearly, as a demigod of a great demon in the spirit world, it was knowledgeable and familiar with this ancient and mysterious silver script, as well as the renowned name of the Golden Jade Book.

Then, it examined the jade tablet more closely, its tone becoming even more shocked, muttering to itself, "How could something like this... possibly appear in a low-level plane like the human realm?... Oh, it's just a fragment. No wonder it remained in the human realm and wasn't taken away by the upper realm. That makes sense."

Zhou Yuan then directly stated his intentions: he needed the help of this Fellow Daoist Tianlan Sacred Beast to teach him the Silver Tadpole Script. The fragment of the Golden Jade Book in his hand contained some extremely important information in the Silver Tadpole Script, which was likely a heaven-defying cultivation technique or secret art. However, he couldn't recognize a single word of it and urgently needed a teacher proficient in this field to guide him.

As for why not directly use the Soul Searching Technique to acquire knowledge, Zhou Yuan had considered it, but quickly dismissed the idea. It was simply impossible. The true form of this wisp of spirit was, after all, a demon king of the Spirit Realm, whose strength was enough to crush a Nascent Soul cultivator. Its soul was incredibly resilient, with extremely strong defenses. The chance of forcibly searching its soul was extremely slim, almost zero. Even if it succeeded by chance, it would leave a huge hidden danger—if it risked self-destructing its soul before dying, planting a soul imprint in Zhou Yuan's body, its true form, the Cave Heaven Rat King, would naturally follow this imprint to find him after Zhou Yuan ascended to the Spirit Realm. At that time, even if Zhou Yuan ascended with the cultivation of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he would be far from being a match for the Cave Heaven Rat King, and his fate would be predictable—certain death.

At this moment, the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast's eyes darted around, and it seized the opportunity to propose several conditions. It needed Zhou Yuan to find a way to help its split-spirit body transform into human form! Although its Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast body possessed excellent bloodline and extraordinary talents, it was not human after all, making cultivation inconvenient and preventing it from fully utilizing some of the exquisite supernatural abilities of its original form. Only by transforming into human form could it better comprehend the Great Dao and accelerate its cultivation speed.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan immediately declared that it was simple and he would take care of it. Back in the Chaotic Star Sea, he had obtained some extremely precious Cold Marrow, a treasure of heaven and earth, which had miraculous effects on demonic beasts undergoing the tribulation of transformation. Giving it a drop or two would easily help it overcome the powerful and life-or-death tribulation of transformation and successfully transform into a human.

"Alright! Since that's the case, then I'll teach you the Silver Tadpole Script!" Seeing that Zhou Yuan agreed so readily, and that the conditions he offered were indeed very tempting, the Heavenly Azure Sacred Beast stopped being coy and readily agreed. For it, this deal was a sure win.