"Central Plains."
"If I get the chance, I must go and see it."
Standing atop Bi Luo Peak, Meng Nan gazed through the clouds veiling the mountains at the elite troops in the three camps below. For a moment, his heart soared.
Compared to the South Frontier,
the cultivation atmosphere in the Central Plains was much richer.
Back in the day, Cha Mountain had only a little over thirty Qi Refining Immortal Masters in all. The so-called Five Ancestors of Chashan were each merely at the peak of Qi Refining.
There was simply no comparison.
Among the thirty mountain territories in the northwest of the South Frontier, quite a few rogue cultivators in Qi Refining like Meng Nan had chosen to join the Star Picking Sect. Half were after the sect's unique arts and secret teachings; the other half hoped for a chance to receive guidance from one of its senior ancestors.
When all was said and done, they were after cultivation.
The Star Picking Sect knew this, too. So it made no appeals to their feelings, only dangling benefits before them to keep them hooked and temporarily in its service.
But setting the Star Picking Sect aside,
for now, thoughts of how to gain benefits and advantages from it would have to wait. The urgent matter was dealing with that Red Robe General.
"Ah!"
"I have to call in reinforcements again!"
Meng Nan really didn't want to, but he had no choice.
He patted the Storage Bag at his waist. One after another, Crane Talismans flew out. Beating their wings, they streamed from Cang Mountain and flew off in every direction.
Southwestern Dragon Ridge Mountain Territory.
More than ten years ago, several Immortal Masters had arrived in the Thousand Lock River Mirror Mountain Basin of Dragon Ridge Mountain. They dispelled the poisonous miasma along the river, swept away poisonous insects, subdued the demons, and built a great city to shelter the local tribespeople.
More than ten years had passed.
The city had grown ever more prosperous. Tribespeople kept migrating there, and now its population stood at eight hundred thousand.
The Thousand Lock River had flooded into the area, forming Mirror Marsh Lake. Since the city had been built beside the lake, it was called Guangjiang Pass!
The Immortal Masters on Mirror Mountain were not known by name. People only knew that their leader's surname was Meng, and that his friends called him "Second Brother." So the people of Guangjiang Pass affectionately called him Second Brother Immortal Master, and every household worshiped him.
On this day,
on Mirror Mountain,
Second Brother Immortal Master, Meng Jian, was cultivating in his cave abode.
Suddenly, a paper crane flapped its wings and flew inside.
"Cang Mountain!"
After reading the message, Meng Jian rose to his feet. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he dispelled the cave's wards and headed straight out, sending several streaks of spiritual light ahead of him along the way.
Before long,
clouds gathered and Yao Wind swept in. They landed before him and transformed into two married couples and four mighty warriors.
The first four—
were all Qi Refining Immortal Masters and close friends of Meng Jian. One couple was Tao She and Jiang Li; the other was Qi Jia and Xie Ze. The people of Guangjiang Pass called them the Four Immortals of Mirror Mountain.
The four mighty warriors were great demons from the South Frontier. After rising to Immortal Master, Meng Jian had traveled far and wide, making friends without regard to status. White Snake, a mountain goat, Wild Boar, and Water Buffalo had all been won over by him and willingly pledged to follow him. They were known as the Four Monsters of Mirror Mountain, and all possessed Qi Refining strength.
Four Immortals.
Four Monsters.
Together with Meng Jian, the Second Brother Immortal Master, they had made it possible for Guangjiang Pass to carve out a city in a territory like Dragon Ridge Mountain and resist the demons.
Even now, with the Star Picking Sect having arrived to take charge of the mountain territory, Guangjiang Pass remained a force that could not be ignored. Though it lay within Dragon Ridge Mountain Territory, it retained a great deal of autonomy.
At that moment—
"Second Brother."
"Second Brother."
The Four Immortals and Four Monsters arrived and looked at Meng Jian, wondering why he had summoned them.
"Has some blind fool come to Guangjiang Pass to stir up trouble? Where is he? I'll beat him until he runs for the hills!"
One of the Four Monsters, Zhu Zhen, a great demon who had attained the Way as a wild boar, brandished the rake in his hands. He had a fat head, big ears, and a fierce expression.
"Brother Zhu, don't be hasty. Nothing has happened at Guangjiang Pass."
Meng Jian turned to them. "My father is in trouble at Cang Mountain, to the southeast. He has summoned me to help. But I can't do much on my own. I'll have to trouble Brother Tao and Daoist Jiang to come with me this time. Brother Jin and Brother Chang, I'd like you to come as well."
"Fine."
The two Immortals and two Monsters answered in unison.
Nearby,
Zhu Zhen grumbled unhappily, unable to hold back. "Second Brother, do you look down on me?"
"Of course not!"
Meng Jian shook his head. "But if we all leave, what will happen if Guangjiang Pass is attacked?"
As he spoke, he clasped his hands to Qi Jia and Xie Ze, the married couple among the Four Immortals, and to Yang Xian, the mountain goat who had attained the Way and was one of the Four Monsters. "After I leave, I'll have to trouble the four of you to keep a close eye on Guangjiang Pass."
"We watched Guangjiang Pass rise from the ground. We'll do our utmost," Qi Jia said with an easy smile.
Xie Ze was spirited and decisive. She offered Meng Jian her advice. "My husband and I should be enough to hold things here at Guangjiang Pass for a while. Since the situation at Cang Mountain is dire, Second Brother, why not bring Brother Yang and Brother Zhu along as well, just to be safe?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Take me along! I'll smash every bull demon and snake spirit in our path!"
Zhu Zhen was eager to go.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Daoist Xie and Brother Qi."
Meng Jian wasted no time.
He left Qi Jia and Xie Ze, the two Immortals, behind to guard Guangjiang Pass, then set out from Mirror Mountain with the Tao and Jiang couple and the Four Monsters of Mirror Mountain.
The clouds were light, the Yao Wind swift.
They headed straight for Cang Mountain!
Farther north,
in Blood Lotus Mountain Territory,
stood Fish Dragon Mountain, where He Weiyang cultivated.
On this day,
He Weiyang was entertaining a close friend—Cao Baoju, a Qi Refining Immortal Master from Star Mountain.
The two were far apart in age, yet they got along well. They had roamed the depths of the South Frontier together for decades and shared an unbreakable bond.
"My time is nearly up. There's no use keeping all this magic power to myself. If you have any promising disciples, call them here. This old man will help them once."
Cao Baoju was nearing three hundred years old, with little time left.
He had lived alone all his life, with no children and no disciples. Rather than let his magic power go to waste, he would rather give his friend's disciples a chance at good fortune.
Though the Dan Yuan Wandering Veins was a Lower Method, if one succeeded, one would still become a Qi Refining Immortal Master. With the right opportunities in the future, there might yet be a chance to glimpse the Immortal Dao.
"Ah!"
Looking at his friend, He Weiyang couldn't help sighing.
Qi Refining was no easy path.
In the end, it all came to nothing.
Could Cao Baoju's fate today not be his own tomorrow?
He Weiyang shook his head, about to say something more.
Just then, a streak of spiritual light shot in from the sky and landed in He Weiyang's hand.
"Cang Mountain."
A glint entered He Weiyang's eyes as she looked at her friend. "There's no hurry about the promising disciples. Brother Cao, would you come with me to Cang Mountain in the southeast of Dragon Ridge Mountain Territory?"
"Is there a fight?"
Cao Baoju asked.
"Seems likely."
He Weiyang nodded.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Let's go, let's go!"
Cao Baoju burst out laughing. A blade of sword energy surged into being, swept him up, and carried him into the sky.
He Weiyang laughed as well.
Her wide sleeves billowed as she soared skyward and headed for Cang Mountain alongside Cao Baoju.
Not just Guangjiang Pass.
Not just Fish Dragon Mountain.
In Dragon Ridge Mountain Territory, at Qing Le Mountain,
a great camp.
Lü Shiwu suddenly rose with his sword in hand. He pursed his lips and blew; clouds gathered at once, and he rode them away.
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