283: Chapter 283 Enlightening the Demons, Azure Heaven Approaches Core Formation!

The following years passed with increasing tranquility.

Great rain is preceded by a time of peace, but when the storm breaks, it signifies a chaotic world turned upside down; this shift could happen at any moment.

In the Yunjian Mountain Range, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Merchant ships from White Cloud Temple sailed out one after another, returning with crates of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills to support the Sect.

The various branches of the Yao Race were also well-behaved, either absorbing the essence of the sun and moon or expanding their progeny and strengthening their Bloodline, adding a sense of new vitality.

Yet, within this tranquility, there was an unusual undercurrent.

The first strange occurrence happened within the Treasure-Seeking Lineage of the Rat Clan in Fengkou Valley.

At the peak of Wanbao Mountain, a stone nest had been built some years ago. Inside the nest lay countless treasures, from agates and jades to spiritual gold and precious gems.

Such a luxurious nest was built solely for the palm-sized golden-furred mouse before them.

The golden-furred mouse opened its eyes, yawned, and stretched its two front paws.

"Elder Shu Changfeng, what delicious things have you brought?"

The golden-furred mouse spoke in a childish, clear voice.

Upon seeing this, Elder Shu Changfeng did not hesitate; he took a mountain of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and tossed them into the stone nest.

The golden-furred mouse hugged the Spirit Stones and began to gnaw on them immediately. Crunch, crunch.

Elder Shu Changfeng then extended his Divine Sense to silently observe the little mouse's state, but as soon as his Divine Sense touched the yellow-furred mouse, it was repelled by a powerful force.

Elder Shu Changfeng felt a pain in his head and took half a step back.

"Its Divine Soul has grown stronger again; it truly is a born Genius!"

Elder Shu Changfeng sighed inwardly, momentarily stunned. The sacrifice the Old Ancestor made to fill this mountain all those years ago had finally borne fruit today.

"From today on, you shall be called Shu Baoshan."

"You are the future Young Lord of the Treasure-Seeking Lineage. You will shoulder great responsibilities in the future, so do not neglect your Cultivate."

Hearing this, the yellow-furred mouse mumbled a reply, then turned its head to continue stuffing its face, its body radiating treasure light.

Seeing this, Elder Shu Changfeng smiled helplessly. This child still needed proper discipline.

It was not just the Rat Clan; the Five Bear Lineages had also seen strange occurrences in recent years.

On the mountainside of Dark Gold Peak.

Shi Mo stood at the cave entrance, watching the five bear cubs rolling on the grass below.

These five cubs had dark gold fur. Although only a few months old, their eyes were filled with intelligence, and their Dark Gold Qi was quite dense.

Furthermore, they were all early-blooming with intelligence; they possessed Innate wisdom from birth.

This feeling was just like when he was young—muddled, yet suddenly enlightened—it was truly extraordinary.

"Stop playing and roll back to Cultivate."

Shi Mo walked over and slapped a cub on the head.

The cub clutched its head and retorted: "Old Ancestor, you are still stuck at the Perfection of Foundation Establishment. You practice every day, yet we never see you achieve a Breakthrough…"

Shi Mo frowned and raised his hand to strike again.

But he was stopped by an old bear, who sighed: "Clan Chief, don't hit them. These cubs were born with wisdom; they are precious."

"If these cubs aren't disciplined, they'll become lawless!"

Shi Mo withdrew his claw, looking depressed: "In this life, I'm afraid I have no chance at Core Formation. These little cubs have better Aptitude than me; one of them will surely succeed. The Dark Gold Lineage needs hope."

It was not just the Dark Gold Lineage; the entire Five Bear Lineages had seen many cubs born with Innate early wisdom in recent years.

The Thunder Bear Lineage had produced eight such cubs.

The Panshi Lineage had ten, and the Frost-Snow Lineage had seven.

Even the Primitive Lineage, which had always had inferior Bloodline, produced six cubs with outstanding talent. In total, the five branches had over thirty bear cubs with Innate wisdom and excellent bone structure.

This caused a stir throughout the Bear Clan.

The Clan Chiefs of each branch gathered daily to discuss how to nurture these cubs, pouring resources into them as if money were no object.

With the talent and wisdom of this batch of cubs, combined with abundant resources, every one of them had the potential for Foundation Establishment and the hope of competing for the Golden Core. If even one succeeded, it would be enough to elevate the tribe to the next level!

Besides the Rat Clan and Bear Clan, the thirty-six tribes of Mushou Mountain were also in an uproar.

Tribes like the Moon-Gazing Rhinos, the Clear Water Cattle, and the Shadow Pythons all had cubs with outstanding bone structures born to them.

Dozens of other tribes experienced the same thing.

One after another, Yao Prodigies were born, causing panic among the various tribes, who hurriedly hid these early-wise cubs to raise them in secret.

These were the hope for the future of these small tribes.

"After accumulating for so many years, releasing fifty or sixty Enlightenment opportunities at once is enough to create a generation of Prodigies for our race…"

Shi Jian dismissed the Enlightenment System and yawned.

He used to think that stacking Enlightenment opportunities to continuously strengthen his own Divine Soul was his greatest trump card, but looking at it now, the Enlightenment System's true value lay in the word 'Enlightenment.'

For Yao Beasts to open their wisdom and Cultivate is no different from human Cultivators possessing Spiritual Roots. Like these past few years, enlightening many Yao talents at once was about strengthening the Foundation of the race and the future of his forces!

The early-wise geniuses emerging in the various tribes were all enlightened by him one by one. Perhaps the difference wasn't immediately apparent.

But accumulated over time, this was the base for the future of the Yao Race.

The older generation of Yao had limited Aptitude.

Like Shi Mo, Elder Rat, and Ancestor Cang Ya, they could reach the Perfection of Foundation Establishment, but that was the limit of their lives…

Going any further was too difficult.

He needed fresh blood—geniuses capable of breaking through to the Golden Core, or even the Nascent Soul.

If the Yao Race were to be independent, it could not rely solely on him, a bear. As the saying goes, a lone tree cannot support itself; he needed enough branches to share the burden.

The reason the Qingguang Sect had fallen to its current state was largely due to the lack of successors—a major taboo!

Now, under Shi Jian's Enlightenment, all things in the various tribes were flourishing, and Prodigies were emerging. Perhaps their individual achievements would be limited, but the sheer quantity made up for it.

Among this future generation, as long as a few could achieve the Golden Core, it would not be a loss.

Among them, Shu Baoshan was the Nascent Soul seedling he had selected. Shi Jian was very optimistic about this lineage's treasure-seeking ability.

Therefore, during the Enlightenment process, he had used ten Enlightenment opportunities on Shu Baoshan.

This gave it an innately powerful Divine Soul; after just a few years of growth, its Divine Soul was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. It was the core seed of this batch of Enlightenment.

As long as White Crane achieved the Nascent Soul, this batch of excellent seedlings could become the backbone of the Yao Race's future rise!

With his thoughts collected, Shi Jian emerged from the Thunder Pool.

At this moment, Shi Pan had been waiting respectfully for a long time…

"Old Ancestor." Shi Pan saluted.

"What is it?"

"Bi Luo has returned and wishes to see the Old Ancestor."

Shi Jian nodded slightly, clearly aware of the other's intention: "Let him come up."

"Yes, Old Ancestor."

Before long, Bi Luo ascended Zixiao Peak, kowtowing with every step as if climbing a sacred mountain, not daring to overstep in the slightest.

He was dressed in a grey robe, dusty from travel, but his spirit was excellent.

"Green Ape Bi Luo pays his respects to the Old Ancestor." Bi Luo knelt on both knees and kowtowed heavily.

Shi Jian looked at him: "Are you ready?"

"I am ready. This subordinate intends to use the power of the Xunmu Forest to assist in Core Formation."

The Xunmu Forest was the embryonic form of a Wood Dao blessed land formed after the Dao manifestation of the three Moon-Gazing Rhino Yao. Achieving Core Formation there would yield twice the result with half the effort.

Shi Jian nodded: "Go. I hope you succeed…"

"If you fail, the task of the Holy Blood Sect will be handed to Qingling. I will also remember the contributions of your Green Ape Clan in my heart."

"This subordinate will not fail the Old Ancestor's trust!"

Bi Luo rose to pay his respects before turning to descend the mountain.

Shi Pan watched Bi Luo's back and asked: "Old Ancestor, do you think he can succeed?"

"It is a fifty-fifty chance, but he possesses the obsession for the Golden Core."

"The Green Ape Clan now has only him as its pillar. He dare not die easily. If he falls, the Green Ape Clan will inevitably suffer."

"His obsession is deep. Those without obsession have no hope for the Golden Core, but those with obsession who cannot find release also have no hope for the Golden Core."

"At the very least, in his case, there is a glimmer of possibility."