Wang Daoyuan wandered around the old market for a while, but found nothing he needed to buy. By the time he returned to the Pill Talisman Pavilion, Wang Shouye had already come back.
The two arrived at the dock behind Jade Spring Grocery Store, where the spirit ship was already waiting for them.
The spirit ship was still the same cargo vessel they had taken out of the mountains. The difference was that this time they would be traveling upstream, requiring Spirit Stones or a cultivator's spiritual power to drive it.
The spirit ship carried no bulk cargo and was nearly empty. With several clan disciples taking turns powering it, it actually traveled faster than it had when leaving the mountains. In less than a day, Jade Spring Peak was already visible in the distance.
Looking out from the ship, they saw clouds and mist coiling around Jade Spring Peak. Jade Dragon Stream wound through the mountains, truly like a jade dragon appearing and vanishing amid the clouds. Pavilions and towers on the summit seemed both present and absent, carrying the air of an immortal mountain and blessed land.
The spirit ship cleaved through the waves and raced over the river. Before long, it arrived at the foot of Jade Spring Peak.
The clan head had strictly ordered them to return at once, without delay. There had to be an urgent matter. Neither dared tarry. Without even returning to their own caves, they headed straight for the council hall.
The Lineage's core buildings were all located near Jade Dragon Spring. The ancestral temple stood atop a large boulder north of Jade Dragon Spring, the council hall lay to its east, the Executive Hall to its southeast, and the Scripture Repository to its west.
The council hall was where the clan head and elders discussed matters. Affairs great and small within the Lineage were all deliberated there.
The southern bank of Jade Dragon Spring lay lower, and the spring water flowed from there into Jade Dragon Stream. Jade Dragon Spring was a spirit spring, as well as the Spirit Eye of Jade Spring Peak's spirit vein. A Spirit Eye was the place where spiritual energy was most concentrated within a spirit vein.
The spring water was rich in spiritual energy, making it exceptionally effective for irrigating Spirit Fields. The Spirit Fields on Jade Spring Peak were all distributed along both banks of Jade Dragon Stream.
As Wang Daoyuan and Wang Shouye approached the council hall, they heard Clan Head Wang Zhian say, "This time, the Netherworld Sect has issued a Conscription Order, summoning disciples from its subordinate families to Returning Goose Valley on Return Goose Mountain to clear out the Demon Beasts threatening the Returning Goose Valley trade route. Our Wang Clan must send one Foundation Establishment Cultivator and ten Qi Refining cultivators.
Only a few of the Demon Beasts threatening the trade route are Second-Order Demonic Beasts. The rest are First-Order Demon Beasts.
The clearing mission is not particularly dangerous, so I propose sending several disciples with decent aptitude and treating it as practical experience.
I will lead the team myself. Twelfth Brother Zhiming excels at alchemy and healing, so he will come along as well. If any clan disciples are injured, they can receive treatment quickly.
Furthermore, Shouye's cultivation has already reached Qi Refining Peak. Secluding himself for bitter cultivation will not accomplish much, so he should gain more experience as well. He will go with us.
Daoxing has also reached Qi Refining Layer Eight. It is time for him to experience battle and slaughter outside.
And Daoyuan as well. When it came to the Clear River Carp affair, it was fortunate that he was clever enough to make a fool of all those Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Otherwise, our Wang Clan would have suffered tremendous losses. Bringing him along this time should yield quite a few gains.
"Do any of the elders have anything to add?"
Wang Daoxing ranked second among his generation. He possessed Dual Spiritual Roots, with a metal spiritual root as his Primary Spiritual Root. Among his peers, only the third son, Wang Daochang, surpassed him in aptitude. He too had a strong chance of reaching Foundation Establishment.
None of the elders raised any objections.
The clan head continued, "Then it is settled."
Wang Daoyuan and Wang Shouye entered the council hall. When Wang Zhian saw them, he said, "Just in time—you heard it all. Make your preparations and depart as soon as possible."
He glanced at Wang Daoyuan again. "Qi Refining Layer Seven at twenty years old—your second and third brothers were only about this fast. Still, cultivation requires keeping one's feet on solid ground. You must know that haste makes waste. If you blindly pursue speed and your foundation becomes unstable, the trouble will be enormous.
"Your aura is steady and substantial, so you should know the gravity of things. I will not say much more. Also, ordinary pills contain Pill Toxin. If you rely too heavily on pills, Pill Toxin will accumulate within your body. Once it erupts, your foundation may be damaged at best, while at worst, you may lose your life."
Wang Daoyuan repeatedly voiced his agreement, but inwardly he did not take it seriously. He had an ample supply of Spirit Honey. Though First-Order Spirit Honey could not remove Pill Toxin already present in the body, taking pills and Spirit Honey together could greatly reduce the absorption of Pill Toxin while also suppressing the Pill Toxin within the body.
Therefore, although Wang Daoyuan often consumed pills, very little Pill Toxin had accumulated in his body. Given his condition, even if he continued taking pills and Spirit Honey together for decades, there would be no danger of a Pill Toxin eruption.
A day later, Wang Shouye led Wang Daoyuan and nine other Qi Refining cultivators away from Jade Spring Peak, heading for Golden Goose City, more than five thousand li to the west.
Golden Goose City stood at the southern end of Returning Goose Valley. It was an "immortal city," where most residents were cultivators, while the few mortals were descendants of cultivators.
Golden Goose City had originally been a fortress.
Return Goose Mountain towered into the clouds, separating north from south. After several thousand years of conflict, humanity had completely occupied the land south of Return Goose Mountain.
Under humanity's repeated sweeps, the Demon Race in the eastern part of Return Goose Mountain had become insignificant. Most Demon Beasts had fled to the western part of Return Goose Mountain, tens of thousands of li away. That region was sparsely populated and remained the territory of the Demon Race.
Thus, Return Goose Mountain became the boundary between humanity and the Demon Race. South of the mountains was human territory, while north of them was inhabited by humans and the Demon Race alike.
Return Goose Mountain as a whole rose high in the west and sloped low in the east. Its main range disappeared more than ten thousand li west of Golden Goose City. By the time one reached the Golden Goose City region, there were few long, unbroken mountain ranges left. Most were relatively isolated peaks, connecting eastward with the scattered peaks on the outskirts of the Skyrend Mountain Range. Even so, the eastern part of Return Goose Mountain was filled with steep and rugged paths, still an impassable natural moat for humans.
Of course, Return Goose Mountain was not without flaws. Several relatively gentle mountain paths ran through the range, linking north and south. Returning Goose Valley was one of them.
To prevent the Demon Race from using these mountain paths to launch sneak attacks, humanity had built fortresses at the southern ends of every route.
Among the many fortresses, Golden Goose City was somewhat special.
Returning Goose Valley was the widest, flattest, and shortest mountain route through Return Goose Mountain.
Wild geese flying south from the north could not cross Return Goose Mountain. They could only travel back and forth between the northern and southern sides through Returning Goose Valley, from which the valley got its name.
Over the past several centuries, conflict between humanity and the Demon Race had decreased, and trade had begun between the two races. The easily traveled Returning Goose Valley became the most important trade route.
Every year, vast quantities of goods traveled north and south through Returning Goose Valley. This trade route brought the Netherworld Sect enormous profits.
However, beginning two years ago, Demon Beasts had frequently attacked merchant caravans. The Netherworld Sect cultivators escorting those caravans suffered severe losses, and the lost goods made the Netherworld Sect's heart bleed as well.
More seriously, Returning Goose Market at the northern end of Returning Goose Valley was a place for large-scale trade between the two races. The repeated attacks on merchant caravans severely affected trade between them.
Once trade was cut off and the two races could no longer obtain what they needed through exchange, they would likely resort to war to seize the resources they required.
Thus, the Netherworld Sect expended great effort investigating the attacks.
The investigation showed that the attacks might merely have been spontaneous actions by some lingering Demon Beasts in Return Goose Mountain. Where there were spirit veins and vegetation, there would naturally be Demon Beasts. Even at its narrowest, Return Goose Mountain spanned nearly two or three thousand li from north to south. Demon Beasts could hide within it, impossible to kill them all or root them out entirely.
Demon Beasts attacking merchant caravans was a common occurrence on the various trade routes through Return Goose Mountain, nothing unusual.
Their investigations found that this group of Demon Beasts occupied the forests within several hundred li of Returning Goose Valley, numbering over ten thousand.
Fortunately, there were no Demon Beasts at the third order or above. Otherwise, the trouble would have been immense. Even so, exterminating this group of Demon Beasts would require considerable effort.
The hardest part was not defeating the Demon Beasts, but ensuring none slipped through the net. If they merely scattered the beasts, they would flee in all directions and return after some time, making the attacks on merchant caravans endless.
To resolve the problem once and for all, the Netherworld Sect conscripted three thousand cultivators from its subordinate forces, hired one thousand Rogue Cultivators, and dispatched one thousand of its own cultivators, for a total of five thousand cultivators. With three Purple Palace elders added to the force, they sought to accomplish everything in a single battle.
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