Under the Red Maple Tree
In the spacious hall, Taihao True Person sat upright, announcing the final matter.
"Five days from now, I will leave Dragon Valley County and return to my sect."
"Although the fighting in the Three Counties has gradually subsided, the fighting at Luochuan Pass remains fierce, so the Merit Exchange Ranking will continue indefinitely."
"During this period, all forces under the jurisdiction of Luochuan Commandery will need to send personnel to fight at Luochuan Pass."
"Given the significant losses suffered by the Three Counties, the sect's leadership has decided to change the personnel mobilization to a material mobilization."
"The amount of supplies to be requisitioned is based on this List. Different supplies correspond to different Merit Points. You can submit more, but the basic quota for each month must be met."
After speaking, Taihao True Person waved his sleeve, and dozens of List requisitioned supplies flew out and landed in the hands of dozens of Foundation Establishment Cultivators below.
Yang Haoyu took the List, opened it to check, and the other cultivators did the same.
Yang Tianyou looked up and saw hundreds of kinds of supplies densely packed together: Pills, Formations, Law Artifacts, Talisman, spirit medicine, Spirit Materials, Spirit Gold...
From First-Tier to Third Tier, each tier indicates the number of Merits that can be earned.
As he looked at them, he frowned slightly. These requisitioned supplies seemed rather cheap.
If the number of Merits is converted into Spirit Stones at a ratio of 1:15, and based on the prices of the materials listed on this List, it is clear that the various forces in Dragon Valley County will suffer losses, and quite significant ones at that.
Take a First-Tier Middle-Grade Talisman as an example. Its market price is generally around 30 Spirit Stones, with the price fluctuating depending on factors such as the quality and rarity of the Talisman.
30 Spirit Stones are equivalent to 2 Merits Merit. However, according to List price list, if the Yang Household pays for a First-Tier Middle-Grade Talisman, they will only receive 1 Merit, which is 15 Spirit Stones.
Between the two losses, the Yang Household lost about ten Spirit Stones. After deducting the cost of raw materials and various other expenses, they made almost nothing.
It's no wonder Yang Tianyou's expression changed, but thankfully, there are limits on the number of people that Luochuan Sect can conscript.
You only need to pay a certain amount; it's not an unlimited requisition.
Moreover, this List does not specify the types of goods to be paid; as long as the value meets the minimum monthly standard, it is acceptable.
Taking the Yang Household as an example, as Foundation Establishment Lineage with considerable strength, the Yang Household is required to provide resources worth about 500 Merits every month.
The 500 Merit merits can be a variety of materials, such as 500 First-Tier Middle-Grade Fireball Talisman, or even several hundred kilograms of the same type of Spirit Gold.
As long as you accumulate 500 Merits, you've completed the mission; there are no other restrictions.
Soon, the many cultivators below finished reading the List, their expressions varied, but none of them raised any objections.
Compared to being conscripted to that terrifying meat grinder at Luochuan Pass, paying money to avoid disaster seems easier to accept.
Moreover, the Merits of the Luochuan Sect are indeed very useful, as they can be exchanged for treasures like the Foundation Establishment Pill, which are rarely seen in ordinary times.
In addition, the amount allocated by the Luochuan Sect, when calculated carefully, is not actually that strict; it is all based on the overall situation of each Lineage.
For example, the monthly quota for the Zhuang Household in Dengzhuang Town is only 80 Merits, which Zhuang Beisheng alone can easily collect.
In that case, there's even less reason to object.
Even worse, some people thought of paying more for supplies to earn more Merits, which they could then exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills to enhance their Lineage's strength.
There were more than just one or two people with this idea, after all, the major Lineage suffered great losses in the Cold Tide and urgently needed to recover their Origin Qi, Foundation Establishment Pills were indispensable.
After scanning the crowd below and seeing that no one had any objections, Taihao True Person nodded in satisfaction, "Then that's settled. The Crouching Ox Pass Assembly is now concluded!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Taihao True Person stood up and left the hall with Fairy Yunhua and Song Xuhui.
"Respectfully bidding farewell to Taihao True Person!" The crowd behind bowed in respect.
Time flies, and ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Quite a few things happened in these ten days.
First, three days after the Crouching Ox Pass meeting, the Formation Master sent by the Luochuan Sect finally arrived.
They spent two days rearranging the city's defensive Formations, and then left Dragon Valley County together with Taihao True Person, Song Xuhui, and the cultivators from the Duke of Ying Zhang Household, returning to the Luochuan Sect.
Taihao True Person's somewhat hurried attitude, many people speculated that the Luochuan Sect was probably about to launch a major operation.
In addition, during these ten days, the city of Crouching Ox Pass was also repaired and improved, and shops of all sizes once again stood in the city.
Yang Haoyu, Yang Tianyou, and Red Cloud True Person also took this opportunity to finalize the locations of the twelve shops that the latter had promised to allocate to the Yang Household.
These twelve shops are all located at the border of Eastern District and Southern District, forming a sizable commercial area together with the Yang Household's shops in Southern District.
As we all know, compared to scattered shops, commercial areas with a complete range of goods are definitely more attractive to cultivators.
Besides being busy with Lineage matters, Yang Tianyou also took time to attend to his own important life events.
Especially after Taihao True Person left, Yang Tianyou would visit the City Lord's Manor every day, and he would stay for longer and longer periods of time.
That evening, as the sun set, the sky was ablaze with crimson clouds.
In the backyard of the City Lord's Manor, under Red Maple Tree, a man and a woman were nestled together; they were Yang Tianyou and Yunhua.
After spending several days together, the two finally confessed their feelings to each other and naturally became a couple.
All they lack now is the title of dao companion, and a proper marriage ceremony with the Yang Household, including a grand dual cultivation ceremony.
A gust of wind blew by, and the Red Maple Trees rustled and whispered in his ears. Yang Tianyou rested his head on Yunhua's slender legs, his eyes slightly closed, his expression serene.
Now, another person has entered his heart—a seemingly aloof but incredibly passionate and stubbornly foolish woman.
Yunhua, dressed in a long gown, her long black hair cascading down like a waterfall, gently and carefully smoothed the strands of hair at Yang Tianyou's temples with her slender, jade-like fingers, her beautiful face filled with tenderness.
Someone else has also taken up residence in her heart—a man with a calm, resilient, upright, and incredibly affectionate personality.
In a daze, a strange image appeared in Yunhua's mind.
In a familiar courtyard, under the same Red Maple Tree, a man and a woman nestled together in the same way.
Thunder rumbled in the sky, divine sounds resounded, and golden divine light shone on their faces, revealing their features to be none other than her and Yang Tianyou.
At this point, the image shattered, Yunhua's fingers paused slightly, and her brows furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Yang Tianyou opened his eyes and asked.
"It's nothing, I just remembered something!" Yunhua smiled gently, not telling him about the images that had just flashed through her mind.
"Thirty years from now, I will break through to the Golden Core stage and enter the Guanghan Realm with you!" Yang Tianyou said softly.
He thought Yunhua was worried about this matter.
"Yes! I believe you." Yunhua smiled slightly, her red lips curving upwards.
The two remained silent, quietly enjoying the peaceful moment.