Hearing Yang Zhiyuan's arrangements, Wang Zhian also breathed a sigh of relief. At least during the demon beast purge, the Jin Clan would not come looking for trouble.
As for afterward, the two clans' territories were separated by tens of thousands of miles, and they had no business dealings. Even if the Jin Clan was a mad dog, it would not travel thousands of miles to Jade Spring Peak to stir up trouble over such a trivial matter.
Yang Zhiyuan took his leave.
"How spineless!" Wang Daoxing flew into a rage. "The Jin Clan caused this mess and received no punishment at all, yet our Wang Clan has to tuck its head into its shell like turtles."
Wang Zhian said, "Daoyuan, what do you think?"
"Endure."
"And what else?"
Wang Daoyuan said softly, "Walls have ears."
Wang Zhian burst into laughter upon hearing this. "I knew I had not misjudged you. At such a young age, Daoyuan can already see the stakes clearly. This time, the Lineage was bullied and swallowed its anger without showing a trace of it. Outside the city, you saw that Jin Yugui intended to attack me. Your ability to read expressions and observe the situation, your caution and care, surpass even mine.
"Though your cultivation aptitude is lacking, you are still a promising talent. I brought you along for this summons precisely so that you could gain more experience.
"Within the Lineage, there are those with high cultivation aptitude, those well-versed in worldly affairs, and those proficient in the Hundred Cultivation Arts. Yet what we lack most are helmsmen.
"Among the Shouye generation, only your Twelfth Uncle has such potential. Unfortunately, Shouye has an easygoing nature and is unwilling to shoulder this burden. In your generation, only you and Daochang possess the potential to be helmsmen. Daochang has the highest cultivation aptitude and devotes all his energy to cultivation, so he is still far too immature in this regard.
"Yet you are so young and already this seasoned. If I had not watched you grow up, I would truly suspect that you were some old monster in disguise. If you can achieve Foundation Establishment in the future, none but you will be the Lineage's helmsman; even if you cannot, you will still be able to stand on your own."
After hearing Wang Zhian's words, Wang Daoyuan was seized by a wave of lingering fear.
In his previous life, from the moment he could remember, he had followed an old Daoist priest around swindling people. He had made his living by seeing through the ways of the world and seizing the right moments; his worldly shrewdness was entirely due to the old Daoist priest's fine training.
He had thought that the mortals of this world were still in the age of agrarian civilization, while cultivators spent their entire lives pursuing immortality. When it came to schemes and mind games, they ought to be inferior to people from the later age of information explosion.
Now it seemed that he had greatly underestimated the people of this world. He had never expected that the clan head had already noticed his abnormality.
Fortunately, the one who had noticed him was the clan head rather than an enemy. It seemed he would have to restrain himself more in the future.
Though his heart was still filled with lingering fear, his face did not reveal the slightest trace of it. He said modestly, "Fifth Uncle-Grandfather overpraises me."
Wang Zhian said sternly, "I am never wrong when judging people. It is good that you know humility. Remember this well: flaunting one's cleverness is not true cleverness. Great wisdom appears foolish; concealing one's edge is true great wisdom. Of course, being this seasoned at your age is already rare enough."
Wang Daoyuan cupped his hands. "I will remember Fifth Uncle-Grandfather's teachings."
The Netherworld Sect was still gathering manpower, and the official operation was set for five days later.
The Wang Clan members were strictly ordered by the clan head not to step a single foot outside the inn. The elders had lived for more than a hundred years; there was no hardship they had not endured and no spectacle they had not witnessed. Being cooped up in their rooms was nothing to them.
Although Wang Shouye liked to wander about, as long as there was wine, he could endure staying anywhere.
Wang Daoyuan had only just spent several years in confinement, so being unable to go out for a few days was nothing. He mixed Spirit Honey with a Spirit Gathering Pill, swallowed it, and began cultivating.
Wang Daoxing, on the other hand, still had the temperament of a youth. The Jin Clan incident had already left him with a bellyful of anger, and now he could not go out either. One could well imagine his frustration.
With no mind to cultivate and nothing else to do, he went to Wang Shouye to compete in drinking. Unfortunately, his alcohol tolerance was truly terrible. After downing one jar of wine, he became so drunk that he lost all consciousness.
Wang Shouye cast a disdainful glance at Wang Daoxing, who lay there like a dead dog. "With that little tolerance, you dared compete in drinking with me?"
In the blink of an eye, the day to set out and wipe out the demon beasts had arrived. Wang Zhian gathered everyone and warned them that they had to stick together and not act on their own.
Afterward, Wang Zhiming took out pills and distributed them among the group. Each person received ten Detoxification Pills, ten Rejuvenation Pills, and ten Spirit Recovery Pills.
Wang Daoyuan and Wang Shouye did not take the Spirit Recovery Pills. Those things could not compare to Spirit Wine. Crimson Blood Brew in particular had Crimson Blood Ginseng as its primary ingredient, which replenished qi and blood.
Drinking Crimson Blood Brew not only restored spiritual power quickly, but also replenished qi and blood, relieved bodily fatigue, and treated external injuries. Moreover, unlike Spirit Recovery Pills, Crimson Blood Brew did not contain Pill Toxin.
Wang Daoyuan also took out Talismans, giving each person five offensive Talismans, five Defense Talismans, five Divine Movement Talismans, and five Earth Evasion Talismans.
Looking at the Talismans in his hand, Wang Zhian asked, "Daoyuan, where did you get so many Talismans?"
Wang Daoyuan chuckled. "I was confined for four years. Other than cultivating, I had nothing much to do, so I refined a few more Talismans. Do not worry about me—I still have several hundred Tier One High-Grade Talismans on hand. Whoever needs Talismans, just come ask me for them."
Wang Zhian nodded in satisfaction. "It seems Daoyuan's talent for talisman crafting is quite extraordinary! You completed your monthly talisman-crafting assignments and still had time to refine so many Talismans.
"You need cultivation resources even more, and the Lineage cannot let you contribute for nothing. When we return, I will allocate you one thousand Family Contribution Points."
Tier One High-Grade Talismans ranged in price from two or three Spirit Stones to ten Spirit Stones, averaging around five Spirit Stones. Defense Talismans and evasion Talismans were more expensive, while offensive Talismans were cheaper. After all, preserving one's life was more important.
One Family Contribution Point in the Wang Clan was worth one Spirit Stone. Two hundred Talismans were worth one thousand Contribution Points, so it was not a loss.
The Netherworld Sect issued an order commanding all cultivators participating in the battle to gather at the crossroads in the city center.
Once the assembly was complete, three Violet Mansion Cultivators stood side by side at the center of the crossroads. By coincidence, Wang Daoyuan knew all of them.
The man in the middle was Elder Zhou of Qingli Market. To Elder Zhou's left stood Liu Jinhui, while to his right was the Black Robe Elder who had stopped Liu Jinhui from punishing Jin Yugui at the city gate.
Elder Zhou stepped forward and cupped his hands toward the surrounding cultivators. "I am Zhou Qi, and I have the undeserved honor of serving as the commander-in-chief of this purge. On behalf of the Netherworld Sect, I would like to thank all fellow cultivators for coming to lend your aid.
"I hope that all fellow cultivators will join hearts and strength, and wipe out the demon beasts in one stroke. I guarantee here that anyone who renders meritorious service during this operation will be richly rewarded by the Netherworld Sect.
"However, let me put the ugly words first. Anyone who disobeys commands, acts without authorization, flees in the face of battle, or aids the enemy and brings disaster upon us—execute them!"
The cultivators answered in unison, "Yes!"
After Zhou Qi finished speaking, Liu Jinhui stepped forward. "I am Liu Jinhui, deputy commander of this operation. Elder Zhou has already said what needed to be said, so I will directly assign everyone's tasks."
With that, he took out several Jade Slips and summoned the leaders of several powerful clans. They were all descendants of Netherworld Sect elders, including Yang Zhiyuan, Jin Yugui, and Liang Jiaxing.
Before long, Yang Zhiyuan returned to the clan cultivators with a Jade Slip in hand and selected more than a dozen clans with whom he had good relations to act together.
The clans Yang Zhiyuan chose were all old clans, and the Wang Clan and Li Clan were among them.
After the leaders of those major clans had finished making their selections, Liu Jinhui spoke again. "The leaders who came forward to receive their tasks just now are the captains of each squad. Any clan chosen by a squad captain falls under his command.
"The orders of a squad captain are the orders of the three of us. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without pardon! Each captain, proceed separately according to your assigned task."
Before you continue