Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

On this day, in the Zhou family hall of Ziyun Mountain.

"Xin'er, Qingshang, Yijie, I'm sorry to trouble you with the things at home."

"This trial in the Youyun Star Region will take half a year."

"If anything happens, you can discuss it with your master and parents."

"Qingshang, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it back in time for you to give birth!"

Zhou Ling said to his three wives that the family affairs were gradually stabilizing and there was nothing to worry about.

What worried him was that Qingshang was due to give birth in three months.

"My husband, this trial is quite risky; you must be very careful."

"Don't worry, my husband, we'll take care of things at home."

"My husband, you don't need to worry about the child."

The three women spoke up.

However, everyone knows that this trip to the Youyun Starfield is quite risky, so it's understandable that I'm a little worried.

After all, these four great grotto-heavens trials all involved facing alien races, resulting in considerable casualties.

Unlike the previous Sword Qi Great Wall trial, Gong Yi naturally cannot go with Zhou Ling this time.

Moreover, within the family, Wang Qingshang is pregnant, and Li Ru and his wife, along with Wang Xin, do not possess high levels of cultivation.

They also wanted her to stay at home.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Zhou Ling's gaze swept gently over his three wives, and he smiled.

"Father, are you going out again?"

At this moment, Mr. and Mrs. Li Ru walked in with Zhou Ying'er. Zhou Ying'er said to Zhou Ling with reluctance.

"Dad has some business to attend to and will be back in a while."

"Ying'er, be good at home. Dad will bring you a gift when he comes back."

Zhou Ling picked up her daughter and said with a smile.

"Father, does Little Golden Dragon want to go with you too?"

Zhou Ying'er asked again.

"Yes!"

Zhou Ling nodded.

The little golden dragon's cultivation is constantly improving, so we should take it out for some trials.

Moreover, this star field is rich in resources, making it extremely suitable for the little golden dragon.

"All right!"

"Dad, you must keep a close eye on Little Golden Dragon and make sure it doesn't get lost!"

Zhou Ying'er gave Zhou Ling some instructions.

"it is good!"

Zhou Ling smiled, put the child down, and then said a few words to her parents.

Tell them to pay attention to matters related to cultivation.

Only then did they leave Ziyun Mountain.

When they arrived at Tianjian Division, Feng Lan, Qi Jianzhi, and others were already waiting for them.

There is no direct spatial teleportation array between the Youyun Starfield and the Dao Alliance.

You need to teleport to the Sword Qi Great Wall first, and then teleport to the Immortal City established by the Dao Alliance in the Nether Cloud Star Domain.

This time, the team was personally led by him, the head of the Tianjian Division.

No other Nascent Soul cultivators from the Dao Alliance went with them.

After all, this trial is meant to test their true strength.

With a Nascent Soul cultivator leading the team, their pressure would actually be reduced.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhou Ling didn't say much and headed directly to the teleportation plaza.

······.

Three days later, in the Netherworld Starfield, in the Nine Nether Immortal City.

This is one of the three immortal cities established by the Dao Alliance in the Youyun Starfield.

In a vast plaza, Zhou Ling and the others emerged from the teleportation array.

There were many cultivators in the Dao Alliance's standard robes patrolling around.

They saw Zhou Ling and the others.

An ordinary-looking middle-aged man came forward, cupped his hands in greeting to Zhou Ling, and said, "I am Xin Yan, the city lord of Nine Nether Immortal City. I respectfully welcome Chief Zhou and everyone to Nine Nether Immortal City."

He was at the Nascent Soul stage, but his position as the city lord of Nine Nether Immortal City was much lower than that of Zhou Lingtian, the head of the Jian Si.

Of course, he was also puzzled. Zhou Ling seemed to be only at the Golden Core stage, so how did he become the head of the Tianjian Division?
The Nine Nether Immortal City and the Heavenly Summer Immortal City are far apart, so news from each other is naturally not as readily available.

He only received some basic information about Zhou Ling and others.

"Greetings, Lord Xin!"

Zhou Ling also bowed in greeting.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the eight people followed City Lord Xin to a magnificent hall.

Along the way, the Nine Nether Immortal City was not much different from other immortal cities of the Dao Alliance.

The immortal city is extremely magnificent and vast.

Within the immortal city, the streets are clean and crisscrossed, with various buildings standing side by side.

People were coming and going, and it looked even more lively than Qingyun Immortal City.

Moreover, from the cultivators he encountered, Zhou Ling could sense that their entire aura exuded a murderous aura.

The aura of killing intent emanating from the armored cultivators and soldiers beside them was particularly pronounced.

It was even more intense than that of the cultivators at the Great Wall of Sword Qi.

Of course, Zhou Ling also knew that the cultivators who came to Nine Nether Immortal City were all there to kill alien races and gain military merit.

The aura of killing intent emanating from him was naturally heavy.

"Zhou Zhishou, the four great grotto heavens have now established a total of ten immortal cities in the Youyun Starfield."

"Our Dao Alliance has two."

"There are three each in the other immortal sects and the Heavenly Palace, and two in the Desolate Region."

"Another place where we fought against the alien races was Cloud Sea Immortal City."

"Currently, there are four major grotto-heavens with an army of over 20,000 cultivators stationed in Yunhai Immortal City."

"This is also your trial ground this time."

After the maid served the spirit tea, Lord Xin explained the trial to Zhou Ling.

The Youyun Starfield is a starfield jointly developed by the four major grotto heavens.

The various immortal cities are basically in a semi-autonomous form.

Each grotto-heaven was developed and managed independently.

This star field is also extremely rich in resources; for example, Nine Nether Immortal City is a sixth-grade immortal city.

There are two large sixth-order spiritual veins within the Immortal City.

However, this is merely their temporary immortal city.

The Cloud Sea Immortal City is the actual site of this trial.

This is also the front line of the battle against the alien races.

Afterwards, City Lord Xin gave everyone a detailed introduction to the situation of Youyun Starfield and Yunhai Immortal City.

The Youyun Starfield consists of four star seas: East Youyun, West Youyun, South Youyun, and North Youyun.

Among these, Dongyou and Xiyou are occupied by the Star-Eyed Alien Clan and the Blood-Patterned Alien Clan, respectively, while Nanyun and Beiyun are battlegrounds fought over by various races.

The Southern Cloud Star Sea, in particular, has relatively abundant resources.

The competition was the most intense.

After more than a century of development, the four great grotto-heavens now occupy one-third of this starry sea.

However, it is not stable.

The other two major alien races also frequently send troops to fight against the human race.

The Cloud Sea Immortal City was a defensive immortal city built by the human race to deal with other races.

Zhou Ling carefully wrote down all this information.

After introducing Zhou Ling, Lord Xin hosted a banquet to welcome everyone.

The next day.

"Chief Zhou, fellow Daoists, we have arrived at Cloud Sea Immortal City."

A warship slowly descended upon a magnificent, vast, and awe-inspiring star-field immortal city, enveloped in spiritual light.

On the deck of the warship, City Lord Xin spoke to Zhou Ling and the others with a smile.

"Thank you very much, Lord Xin, for personally bringing us here!"

Zhou Ling bowed and thanked him.

"This is my duty!"

Lord Xin replied with a smile.

The warship landed in a square.

The entire Cloud Sea Immortal City is like a Great Wall of Sword Qi, built in the star field and connected by star stones as strongholds.

The area was entirely populated by cultivators; there were no ordinary people there. Led by City Lord Xin, they quickly arrived at a grand hall.

When they entered the main hall, they saw that many monks were already sitting on prayer mats.

"Zhou Zhishou, they are disciples from the Desolate Region participating in the trials!"

Lord Xin then whispered to Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling smiled and nodded. From the man in the lead, who was burly and had an amazing aura, he could tell that he was a cultivator from the Desolate Region participating in the trial.

This person is Qin Yi, who ranked second on the list of the four great caves' most outstanding talents.

His murderous aura was indeed astonishing, but it was perfectly in line with the atmosphere of the Youyun Starfield.

"Qin Yi from the Desolate Region, this brother must be Fellow Daoist Chen from the Dao Alliance!"

Seeing Zhou Ling's gaze sweep over him, Qin Yi stood up and bowed to Zhou Ling.

The other seven cultivators from the desolate region behind him also turned their gazes toward Zhou Ling and the others.

They all looked surprised, especially when they looked at Zhou Ling.

Among the four great grotto-heavens, their strengths differ.

The Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Palace are stronger than the Dao Alliance and the Desolate Domain.

As with previous trials, the immortal sects and the Daoist palaces were basically vying for first and second place.

The Dao Alliance and the Desolate Domain are vying for third place.

Therefore, the two sides are actually the biggest competitors.

Overall, however, the Dao Alliance is slightly stronger than the Desolate Domain.

Especially this year, the desolate region has produced a prodigy with astonishing combat power, Qin Yi.

Therefore, they believe they have a great chance of defeating the Dao Alliance this time.

After all, Qin Yi ranks second in overall strength.

They might even get second place.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Qin. I am Zhou Ling from the Dao Alliance!"

Zhou Ling smiled and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Yan Yutian and the others also sized up Qin Yi and his group.

Observing the strength of the opponent.

"It is said that Fellow Daoist Zhou, with his Golden Core cultivation, killed two fifth-tier Star Sea aliens at the Sword Qi Great Wall. He is truly admirable!"

Qin Yi smiled with curiosity.

Although he was ranked ahead of Zhou Ling, he had never killed a fifth-tier alien.

Even against a fifth-tier alien race, he wasn't very confident.

After all, his Divine Ape Thunder Body can usually unleash twice the combat power, making him capable of fighting against late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

If the bloodline's origin is activated, it can be improved even further.

However, consuming one's bloodline essence will damage one's constitution, so this method should only be used as a last resort.

Therefore, I was quite curious about how Zhou Ling, with his Golden Core cultivation, could kill a fifth-tier Star Sea alien.

"It was all by chance, relying on external forces!"

Zhou Ling smiled and said.

He didn't want too much attention on this issue, so he changed the subject, saying, "I've also heard that once Fellow Daoist Qin's battle body is fully activated, it's enough to fight against a fifth-order alien race."

While he was speaking, Lord Xin instructed everyone to sit on the prayer mats and wait.

"No, my Divine Ape Thunder Body is not yet fully developed, and it cannot pose a significant threat to fifth-tier alien races."

Qin Yi said calmly.

"I'll be staying in Cloud Sea Immortal City for a while longer. If I have the chance, I'd like to have a friendly spar with Fellow Daoist Zhou!"

Qin Yi clasped his hands in a fist salute again and said in a sincere tone.

"Very well, if there's a chance, I'd also like to learn about Fellow Daoist Qin's Divine Ape Thunder Body!"

Zhou Ling replied with a smile.

He himself possessed the Five Elements Thunder Body and also cultivated the Purple Heaven Thunder Technique, condensing the Purple Heaven Emperor Image.

He was also extremely curious about how the Divine Ape Thunder Body was enhanced.

Moreover, if I fight against him, I can absorb his lightning rules through my talent, which will also help my own lightning rules.

"Alright, Fellow Daoist Zhou is straightforward."

"I think it's settled then. Once things are settled here, we can have a friendly spar in the square."

"I have never killed a fifth-tier alien race before. If I can defeat Fellow Daoist Zhou, then at least it will prove that I also have the ability to defeat a fifth-tier alien race!"

Upon hearing Zhou Ling's agreement, Qin Yi's face lit up with joy.

He was also worried that Zhou Ling would be hesitant to accept his challenge because he was ranked second.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Ling agreed so readily.

Looking at the other person, Zhou Ling's gaze sharpened. He couldn't tell whether the other person was intentionally provoking him or genuinely wanted to spar with him.

However, since that's what they said...

As the head of the Dao Alliance's Tianjian Division, he naturally could not back down.

After all, his identity represented the Dao Alliance.

Moreover, thousands of Dao Alliance cultivators are stationed in Cloud Sea Immortal City.

If I don't agree, others might make a fuss about it.

In a place like Cloud Sea Immortal City, only strength matters.

Zhou Ling knew this perfectly well.

He also wanted to understand the other person's constitution and bloodline.

Learning through practical experience, and then using intermediate observation and analysis techniques, is just the right approach.

The other cultivators on both sides also showed expressions of interest when they heard that the two intended to have a spar.

After all, they are both leaders.

This also represents the strongest power of the two grotto-heavens.

"Brother Zhou, this guy is ranked second, he's not someone to mess with!"

Qi Jianzhi reminded Zhou Ling telepathically.

After spending a lot of time with Zhou Ling, he learned some things about her.

Given Zhou Ling's personality, he would never accept Qin Yi's challenge without a reason.

Since Zhou Ling agreed, he was probably confident.

However, he still wanted to try asking.

"rest assured!"

Zhou Ling replied telepathically.

Upon hearing Zhou Ling's words, Qi Jianzhi's eyes lit up.

He knew that Zhou Ling was quite confident in his abilities.

Lord Xin glanced at the two men but remained silent.

After all, in Cloud Sea Immortal City, such sparring is a perfectly normal thing.

However, one of them is the number one genius of the Dao Alliance, and the other is the number one genius of the Desolate Region.

This kind of competition is quite extraordinary.

If they really take action, it will probably attract a lot of attention.

After all, the Dao Alliance and the Desolate Domain are also competitors.

No one wants to be ranked last among the Four Great Grotto-Heavens.

At that moment, a dozen or so more figures entered the main hall.

The leader was a tall, imposing, and composed middle-aged man.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Jin."

Upon seeing the visitor, Lord Xin bowed to him.

"Greetings, Lord Xin!"

The man smiled and bowed to Lord Xin.

Zhou Ling glanced over and knew that the newcomer was a disciple from the Immortal Sect participating in the trial.

They were all wearing the white robes of the immortal sect.

The woman at the head of the group was Xia Ruohe, who ranked third.

This woman is even more lively than the one I saw in the photograph.

However, his expression seemed somewhat languid.

After scanning the crowd, the cultivators from the immortal sect sat down on the prayer mats to the side.

City Lord Xin then introduced the background of Fellow Daoist Jin to Zhou Ling.

Like him, he was the city lord of the Immortal City in the Youyun Star Domain of the Immortal Sect, named Jinhe, with a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation level, and he was in charge of leading the team this time.

Now, three of the four great grotto-heavens have arrived, and all that's left is for the cultivators from the Heavenly Palace.

Another stick of incense passed.

Then a group of monks dressed in gold and white patterned robes entered the main hall.

The leader was a middle-aged man in a black and yellow robe, of medium build, with bright and piercing eyes.

Behind him stood a wise and refined-looking young man, none other than Wu Daoyuan, who was ranked first. (End of Chapter)