Linyuan City

Though it was expected, it was also only reasonable. The various powers would never stand by and let the Southern Wilderness demon beasts ravage the Eastern Domain, and Tianlan Sect, foremost among the Eastern Domain's sacred lands, would not sit idly by either. Raising the number of Foundation Establishment Pills from two hundred and forty to five hundred this time was meant to encourage disciples to go exterminate demons.

Ever since the sect issued the Monster Slaying Token to its various Outer Courts, disciples of every Outer Court had been gathering supplies and actively preparing for battle. Mingxuan Outer Court's notice followed soon after and was announced to the many disciples as well.

Mingxuan Outer Court would be heading this time to Linyuan City, directly north of the Beast Tide. It was assumed that all late Qi Condensation Stage disciples would go; anyone unable to do so due to special circumstances had to report it themselves. Monster Slaying Tokens would be distributed on the day of departure, and any special assignments would be conveyed through the Identity Token.

As a Sword Cultivator, Fang Xiao absolutely had to go on this demon extermination campaign. Since beginning cultivation, most of his battles had been limited to sparring matches under the protection of elders. What he needed was a battle with no road of retreat, the kind where either you died or they perished.

Of course, if he encountered demon beasts that were too powerful, he would not charge at them head-on. He could use formations to trap and kill them; at worst, he could abandon the formation and still escape safely.

Before long, the day of departure arrived. The Outer Court's Cross-Domain Flying Boat hovered above the plaza, the Monster Slaying Tokens had already been distributed, and over a thousand disciples stood assembled on the plaza, ready to depart.

"Demonic creatures run rampant in the south. On this journey to Linyuan City, disciples, you must use the three-foot green blades in your hands to slay every demon and fiend. Do not bring disgrace upon the mighty name of our Tianlan Sacred Sect."

Court Master Li Daoyuan stood at the forefront and instructed the disciples.

"Your disciples obey."

"Disciples, heed my command. Depart."

The many disciples rose into the air on their artifacts and boarded the Cross-Domain Flying Boat one after another. Once Li Daoyuan became the last to board, the Cross-Domain Flying Boat slowly turned. Then, in a blur, it vanished from its original position. Looking again, it was already at the edge of the sky, and wherever it passed, space itself gave off a humming roar.

Fang Xiao stood with Xiao Yan, while Fatty Han had been left behind at the Outer Court because he had not reached the late Qi Condensation Stage.

"Junior Brother Xiao, remember what Senior Brother told you. Refine pills in the rear, and turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to everything else."

"Yes, Senior Brother. But do you really not plan to team up with anyone?"

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I'll act carefully."

Before coming, he had already learned that cultivators handling logistics could also earn contribution points. Xiao Yan's combat abilities were too weak; refining pills in the rear would better bring out his strengths. Thus, Fang Xiao had instructed him in advance to focus solely on pill refinement and ignore everything else.

Knowledge gained from books always felt shallow in the end. Fang Xiao himself planned to act alone and use the demon beasts to properly temper his Sword Dao.

As for why he would not form a team, on one hand, doing so would fail to achieve the purpose of tempering himself. On the other, he did not trust anyone with his back, not even fellow sect disciples.

After flying at top speed for ten days, the Cross-Domain Flying Boat finally arrived at Linyuan City. Linyuan City lay near the edge of the Southern Wilderness. Tianlan Sect was located in the central-western Eastern Domain, near the Central Lands. Though it was not the sect closest to Linyuan City, it was the first sect to arrive.

When the cultivators of Linyuan City saw Tianlan Sect's Cross-Domain Flying Boat arrive, they all breathed a sigh of relief. The tense atmosphere within the city also eased somewhat.

The high-ranking cultivators of Linyuan City were either discussing countermeasures or carrying out their respective tasks. Li Daoyuan was no exception. Before leaving, he instructed the disciples that they could accept missions within the city and act in teams, or they could act alone. In short, they were to decide according to their own circumstances; their own lives were their own responsibility.

Demon beasts could appear at any moment, and the entire city was on edge, as if every rustle of wind and cry of a crane signaled danger. Fang Xiao was not worried. Since they had been assigned to Linyuan City, this place must suit the strength of Qi Condensation Stage cultivators—dangerous, but not a dead end.

The facts were just as he had guessed. Tianlan Sect cultivators at Foundation Establishment and above had all gone to the front of the Beast Tide. This area was on the flank, with only large numbers of first-rank demon beasts and a small number of Foundation Establishment Realm demon beasts. As for demon beasts with Golden Core Stage strength, there were Golden Core cultivators here too. If you truly ran into one, then you could only blame your bad luck.

No longer bothering with the other disciples, Fang Xiao asked around and arrived at Linyuan City's mission hall. It was an enormous stone stele. He stepped forward, placed a hand against it, and extended his Spiritual Sense inside to read the mission information.

There was a vast sea of mission information, with every sort of task available: finding people, finding objects, patrolling outside the city, scouting and reconnaissance, as well as technical work such as maintaining formations, artifact refinement, and pill refinement.

He filtered through them and ultimately accepted an ordinary reconnaissance mission. There was no fixed reconnaissance location, granting great personal mobility, while the reward would depend on the value of the intelligence gathered.

After accepting the mission, he took a detour on the way out of the city and arrived at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

"What would the customer like to purchase?"

"I need an artifact for storing Demon Souls, as well as a comprehensive illustrated record of Southern Wilderness demon beasts and a terrain map covering a million li around Linyuan City."

"It seems the customer is leaving the city for demon extermination. Artifacts for storing souls lean somewhat toward the demonic path and were rarely seen in the Eastern Domain in the past. With the Southern Wilderness demon beasts invading, our pavilion has refined some as well, though they only possess soul-storage functions."

The Eastern Domain was dominated by righteous-path powers, so naturally, demonic-path artifacts had not been allowed to proliferate in the past. However, Demon Souls had many uses as materials, so restrictions had recently been loosened. Under the clerk's introduction, Fang Xiao, flush with funds, chose the Soul Storage Banner with the largest storage capacity.

He also chose the most detailed versions of the Southern Wilderness demon beast record and terrain map. However, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion clerk stated that the demon beast record did not include every Southern Wilderness demon beast and might have omissions. Moreover, with demon beasts rampaging recently, it was impossible to determine whether certain terrain had been destroyed. Still, it could guarantee that he would be able to determine his own location at any time.

He understood that such was the nature of demon beasts running rampant. He then paid over five hundred Spirit Stones and left the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

When leaving the city, he also paid twenty Spirit Stones and learned some recent information about the area outside the city from the cultivators on guard duty.

After considering the cultivators' information, Fang Xiao flew on his sword toward Yunmeng Marsh in the southwest.

At first, within a hundred thousand li of Linyuan City, he still frequently encountered cultivators traveling back and forth. Whenever he met someone approachable, he would exchange information with them.

From what he learned, beyond the hundred-thousand-li range, one would encounter scattered demon beasts, perhaps stragglers separated from their demon beast herds. Between two hundred and fifty thousand and five hundred thousand li out, one would encounter small groups of demon beasts. Beyond five hundred thousand li, the situation was still unclear, but one could imagine that even if it was not a Beast Tide packed thick as a forest, there would still be vast herds of demon beasts, perhaps with high-rank demon beasts mixed among them. Only Golden Core cultivators likely could emerge from there unscathed.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed, and Fang Xiao had reached the two-hundred-thousand-li mark. Over the past few days, he had encountered some demon beasts, but most were early- or mid-stage first-rank. There had only been two late-stage first-rank beasts, both casually slain by him, then skinned and stripped of their souls.

Gradually, he had become quite proficient at the entire process of skinning, pulling tendons, dismantling bones, draining blood, and collecting Demon Souls. He was beginning to wonder whether he was actually better suited to be a demonic cultivator.

Taking out the Monster Slaying Token, he saw that his contribution points had reached two hundred and twenty. Killing first-rank demon beasts earned ten, twenty, or forty points respectively. The accumulation rate was far too slow.

He felt no pressure whatsoever within this range. After killing several more ordinary demon beasts, he decided to continue pressing forward.

However, it was better to be careful in all things. Though this place was called Yunmeng Marsh, it also contained vast stretches of mountains and forest. He decided to abandon flight, simultaneously cast the Breath Concealment Technique and Wind Riding Technique, and silently weave through the dense woods as he gradually advanced toward the two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-li mark.