Pre-Battle Arrangements

Wang Zhian breathed a sigh of relief at Yang Zhiyuan's arrangements. At least the Jin Family wouldn't cause trouble during the demon beast sweep.

As for after the operation, their family lands were tens of thousands of miles apart, and they had no business dealings. Even if the Jin Family were a rabid dog, they wouldn't travel such a long distance to Jade Spring Peak to stir up trouble over such a minor matter.

Yang Zhiyuan took his leave.

"So cowardly!" Wang Daoxing roared. "The Jin Family caused trouble, and they get no punishment, yet our Wang Family has to act like cowards."

Wang Zhian asked, "Daoyuan, what do you think?"

"Endure."

"Anything else?"

Wang Daoyuan whispered, "Walls have ears."

Wang Zhian laughed heartily, "I truly didn't misjudge you. Daoyuan, at such a young age, you can see the stakes clearly. You endured the family's oppression this time without showing it. Outside the city, you could tell Jin Yugui wanted to make a move on me. Your observation and caution surpass even mine.

Although your cultivation aptitude isn't outstanding, you are still a promising talent. Bringing you along on this conscription is for you to gain more experience.

The family has those with high cultivation aptitude, those skilled in social graces, and those proficient in the Hundred Cultivation Arts, but what we lack most is a leader.

Among the Shou generation, only your twelfth uncle has this potential. Unfortunately, Shouye is too laid-back and unwilling to shoulder this burden. In your generation, only you and Daocang have the potential to be leaders. Daocang has the highest cultivation aptitude and dedicates all his energy to cultivation, making him too immature in this regard.

You, however, at such a young age, are already so shrewd. If I hadn't watched you grow up, I would truly suspect you were an old monster in disguise. If you can achieve Foundation Establishment in the future, you will undoubtedly be the future leader of the family; even if you can't, you can still handle matters independently."

Hearing Wang Zhian's words, Wang Daoyuan felt a chill of fear.

In his past life, from the time he could remember, he followed the Old Daoist in swindling and deceiving people. He survived by understanding human relationships and seizing opportunities; his shrewdness in this area was entirely due to the Old Daoist's excellent training.

He had thought that in this world, mortals were still in the agricultural civilization stage, and cultivators pursued immortality their entire lives. In terms of scheming, they should be inferior to people in the information explosion era of later generations.

Now, it seemed he had greatly underestimated the people of this world. He hadn't expected his abnormality to be noticed by the Patriarch.

Fortunately, it was the Patriarch who noticed him, not an enemy. It seemed he needed to be more restrained from now on.

A wave of fear washed over him, but not a trace showed on his face. He said humbly, "Fifth Uncle-Grandfather, you praise me too highly."

Wang Zhian said sternly, "I am never wrong about people. It's good that you know how to be humble. Remember, revealing your intelligence is not true intelligence. Great wisdom often appears foolish; not showing your edge is great wisdom. Of course, for you to be so shrewd at your age is already remarkable."

Wang Daoyuan cupped his fists and said, "I will remember Fifth Uncle-Grandfather's teachings."

The Netherworld Sect was still gathering personnel, and the official action was set for five days later.

The Wang family members were strictly ordered by the Patriarch not to leave the inn. The elders, having lived for over a hundred years, had endured all sorts of hardships and seen all sorts of scenes, so being confined indoors was nothing.

Although Wang Shouye enjoyed strolling, as long as there was wine, he could endure being anywhere.

Wang Daoyuan had just been confined for several years, so being unable to go out for a few days was no big deal. He mixed the Spirit Honey with a Spirit Gathering Pill and began cultivating.

Wang Daoxing, however, was still young and spirited. The Jin Family incident had already filled him with frustration, and now he couldn't go out. His unhappiness was understandable.

With no mind for cultivation and nothing to do, he went to find Wang Shouye to drink. Unfortunately, his alcohol tolerance was terrible. After a jar of wine, he was completely drunk and unconscious.

Wang Shouye glanced disdainfully at Wang Daoxing, who lay like a dead dog. "You dare to challenge me to a drinking contest with such a low tolerance?"

In the blink of an eye, it was the day to set out to clear out the demon beasts. Wang Zhian gathered everyone and warned them to stick together and not act rashly.

Afterward, Wang Zhiming took out the pills and distributed them to everyone. 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 couldn't compare to Spirit Wine. Especially the Crimson Blood Brew, whose main ingredient, Crimson Blood Ginseng, had the effect of replenishing Blood Essence.

Drinking Crimson Blood Brew not only quickly restored spiritual power but also replenished Blood Essence, eliminated physical fatigue, and healed external injuries. Moreover, Crimson Blood Brew did not have the pill toxins like Spirit Recovery Pills.

Wang Daoyuan also took out Talismans, giving everyone five offensive Talismans, five defensive Talismans, five Divine Movement Talismans, and five Earth Evasion Talismans each.

Wang Zhian looked at the Talismans in his hand and asked, "Daoyuan, where did you get so many Talismans?"

Wang Daoyuan chuckled, "After being confined for four years, besides cultivating, I didn't have much else to do, so I refined a lot more Talismans. Don't worry about me; I still have several hundred first-tier high-grade Talismans. Anyone who needs Talismans can come to me."

Wang Zhian nodded with satisfaction, "It seems Daoyuan's Talisman Crafting talent is extraordinary! You still have time to refine so many Talismans while completing the monthly crafting tasks.

You need cultivation resources more. The family won't let you contribute for free. I'll allocate you a thousand Family Contribution Points when we get back."

First-tier high-grade Talismans ranged in price from two to three Spirit Stones to ten Spirit Stones, with an average price of around five Spirit Stones. Defensive Talismans and Earth Evasion Talismans were more expensive, while offensive Talismans were cheaper, as survival was more important.

One Family Contribution Point from the Wang family was equivalent to one Spirit Stone. Two hundred Talismans were worth a thousand Contribution Points, so it wasn't a loss.

The Netherworld Sect issued an order, commanding all participating cultivators to gather at the central crossroads of the city.

After the assembly, they saw three Violet Mansion cultivators standing side-by-side in the center of the crossroads. Coincidentally, Wang Daoyuan knew all of them.

The person in the middle was Elder Zhou from Qingli Market. To Elder Zhou's left was Liu Jinhui, and to his right was the old man in the black robe who had stopped Liu Jinhui from punishing Jin Yugui at the city gate.

Elder Zhou stepped forward and cupped his hands to the surrounding cultivators, "I am Zhou Qi, the overall commander of this clearing operation. On behalf of the Netherworld Sect, I thank all fellow cultivators for coming to assist.

I hope all fellow cultivators will work together with one heart to sweep away the demon beasts. I guarantee that anyone who performs meritorious service during the operation will be heavily rewarded by the Netherworld Sect.

However, let me be clear upfront. Anyone who disobeys orders, acts rashly, flees from battle, or harbors fleeing enemies will be executed!"

The cultivators responded in unison, "Yes!"

After Zhou Qi finished speaking, Liu Jinhui stepped forward and said, "I am Liu Jinhui, the deputy commander of this operation. Elder Zhou has said what needs to be said, so I will proceed directly to assigning tasks."

With that, he took out several jade slips and summoned the leaders of several powerful families. These were descendants of Netherworld Sect Elders, including Yang Zhiyuan, Jin Yugui, and Liang Jiaxing.

A moment later, Yang Zhiyuan, holding a jade slip, walked back to the Wang family cultivators and selected a dozen or so families with good relationships to act together.

The families Yang Zhiyuan approached were all old families, and the Wang and Li families were among them.

After the leaders of those major families had made their selections, Liu Jinhui spoke again, "The leaders who came up to receive their tasks just now are the captains of each small team. Any family chosen by a team captain will be under their command.

The captain's orders are the orders of us three. Any disobedience will result in immediate execution! Each captain will proceed with their respective tasks."