Ba Commandery
Ba Commandery is about the same size as Luochuan Commandery, but it has a much larger population and is much more prosperous.
The reason is simple: during the Cold Tide of the Jiazi Cycle, Ba Commandery will only send a certain number of Cultivators to Mountain and River Pass to fight against the Foreign Races in response to the call of the Mountain and River Hall. The local area will not be greatly affected.
Luochuan Commandery, due to the Cold Tide that occurs every 60 years, has never had a population exceeding 300 million, while Ba Commandery has maintained a population of around 500 million year-round.
The number of Mortals is closely related to the number of Cultivators within the territory. Normally, it is not easy for Mortal to have Spirit Root; the ratio is about one in a thousand.
In other words, only one in a thousand Mortals will become Cultivator, and three hundred million Mortals would mean three hundred thousand Cultivators.
Of course, Cultivators have a longer lifespan, and the chances of Cultivators combining with each other to create Spirit Root cultivator are higher. So normally, the number of Cultivators in Luochuan Commandery is generally maintained at around 500,000 to 600,000.
Ba Commandery has more, with around a million Cultivators.
Of the millions of Cultivators, seven or eight out of ten have to pay tribute to the Xiang Household, the lord of Ba Commandery. Even if it averages out to five Spirit Stones per person per year, that's still a huge sum of four million Spirit Stones, if not more.
The way of man is to take from those who have less and give to those who have more. Precisely because of this, the strong become stronger, so one can imagine how powerful and well-founded such a force must be.
Yang Tianyou never intended to challenge the Xiang Household, so he had to deal with them before the Zhao Household could successfully contact Xiang Household.
With this in mind, after entering Ba Commandery, Yang Tianyou's gaze almost never left the Blood Soul Altar, constantly keeping an eye on the movements of the Zhao Household Remnants.
Unlike waiting at a fixed location when boarding the Flying Boat, the process of Flying Boat is extremely simple.
There is no rule about stopping at stations on the Cross-Commandery Flying Boat. As long as passengers want to Flying Boat, they can simply tell the Cloudglow Sect disciple and ask them to help open the Flying Boat's Formation, and then they can fly away.
Just like now, as the Flying Boat enters Ba Commandery, every now and then one or more figures fly out of the Flying Boat, either riding a magical Law Artifact or flying on their own, and soon disappear into the Yun Hai.
Time flew by in this waiting period. Two days later, the Flying Boat once again traversed a distance of 20,000 li. Finally, the Zhao Household made their move.
Seeing the barely perceptible change in the blood-red arrow, Yang Tianyou's eyes blazed with intensity, "Fifteenth Brother!"
"Understood! I have awakened the Giant Mountain," said Yang Tianwang, sounding slightly excited.
After a short while, the blood-red arrow suddenly lengthened. This almost visible change confirmed Yang Tianyou's suspicion that the Zhao Household had left the Flying Boat.
"Shall we chase after them now?" Yang Tianwang asked impatiently.
"Chase!" Yang Tianyou shouted.
Afterwards, the two brothers greeted Hong Qing and asked him to open a gap in the Formation before disembarking from the Flying Boat.
Call!
High in the sky, the wind howled. Yang Tianyou did not choose to pursue in the sky, but instead plummeted to the ground.
Thump!
The Giant Mountain appeared, causing the ground to tremble violently and sending earth and rocks flying.
The two then climbed onto the back of the Giant Mountain. With a deep moo, the Giant Mountain activated its Earth Vein Evasion Technique and slowly merged into the earth.
At this moment, in mid-air, a Second-Tier Middle-Grade Flying Boat was moving rapidly, carrying more than twenty members of the Zhao Household family.
Although they possess Tier 2 Supreme-Grade Bianhe Boat, they certainly wouldn't dare use it in this unfamiliar environment; it would attract too much envy.
Second-Tier Middle-Grade Flying Boat is just right, matching Zhao Zongkun's Foundation Establishment Late Stage strength.
Inside the Flying Boat, the Zhao Household were overjoyed. Upon entering Ba Commandery, their hearts were finally at ease, and the heavy pressure they had felt earlier dissipated. Some of the younger members even started humming tunes.
At the bow of the boat, Zhao Zongkun stood with his hands behind his back. His imposing figure was as tall and straight as a mountain, exuding a dignified and composed aura, a stark contrast to his violent and reckless personality of a few years ago.
This visible growth not only greatly surprised Zhao Zongbin, who served as the strategist, but also reassured the other Lineage.
"Third Brother, we've arrived in Ba Commandery. Shall we head straight to Ba City now, or find a place to rest for a bit first?" Zhao Zongbin asked softly as he approached Zhao Zongkun.
"Let's find a nearby city to rest for a while and inquire about the Xiang Household's basic situation. With our Old Ancestor gone, our only blood connection with the Xiang Household now is Tingfeng and his child. Given that many things are still unclear, it would be bad if we rushed in headfirst and made a mistake." Zhao Zongkun's deep voice came out unhurriedly.
"Third Brother is wise. That's what I was thinking too. We're new here, so we should first find out which faction of the Xiang Lineage our Old Ancestor's mother belongs to. That way, we can target her more effectively when we approach her," Zhao Zongbin said solemnly.
In fact, despite having the keepsake left by Zhao Leicong, Zhao Zongkun and Zhao Zongbin were not entirely confident.
Who knows if the Xiang Household, such a behemoth, would even bother with them, based on this mere token?
More than a hundred years have passed, and things have changed. It is still unknown whether the closest relatives of the Old Ancestor's mother are still alive.
Even if they were still alive, it was inappropriate for them to come to the Xiang family's door so rashly. It was only natural for the other party to help Zhao Tingfeng, after all, blood is thicker than water, but the other members of the Zhao Household had no relation to the Xiang Household.
Ultimately, the token is just a stepping stone; what follows is far more complicated.
At the very least, the necessary gifts and Spirit Stones for bribing superiors and subordinates cannot be omitted.
"How much further until we reach Xuanshui City?" Zhao Zongkun asked, tilting his head.
"About a thousand li."
"It's a pity that the Cloudglow Sect's Flying Boats don't pass through Xuanshui City, otherwise we wouldn't have to travel on our own."
"The Cloudglow Sect's Cross-Commandery Flying Boat is destined for Spirit Commandery; it only passes through Ba Commandery and naturally won't go to Ba City. Xuanshui City is the only way to Ba City, so that's normal," Zhao Zongbin explained with a slight smile.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zongkun nodded slightly and said nothing more.
Unbeknownst to them, directly beneath the Flying Boat, deep beneath the earth, a colossal Giant Beast was rapidly advancing.
On the back of the Earth Vein Rock Rhino, Yang Tianyou carefully examined a map, then frowned slightly after a moment.
"It seems the Zhao Household Remnants intend to head to Xuanshui City. There's an 80% chance that Golden Core Cultivators will be guarding the city. We can't make a move." Yang Tianwang was also looking at the map. After seeing Yang Tianyou's expression, he sighed and said.
"That's right, since that's the case, let's not wait any longer. Fifteenth Brother, you ride the Giant Mountain to the front and block them, Yuan Ba will go with you, I'll take Wolf Ancestor Fengling and find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack."
As Yang Tianyou spoke, he gently patted the Spirit Beast Bag to release Yuan Ba, and made the latter slightly change its size and appearance.
This was done to conceal their identities and prevent the Yang Household's existence from being exposed; otherwise, the Zhao Household would definitely be on high alert.