Liu Yu stopped outside Jiang Qiushui's cave abode and told her where his cave abode on Green Spirit Peak was, asking her to look for him there if anything came up. He waved to indicate that she need not see him off any farther.
He took out the Giant Wood Sword and vanished into the horizon in a streak of azure light, bidding farewell to the peak where he had lived for so many years and flying toward Green Bamboo Peak.
The few scattered remarks he had heard from Jiang Qiushui were not enough to give him a full picture of the struggle over the spirit stone mine. With his future in cultivation at stake, Liu Yu dared not be careless in the slightest. He intended to seek out Shang Chuanjiang for more information. After all, the man came from a cultivation lineage and should have access to higher-level, more comprehensive sources.
After flying to the bamboo pavilion he had visited last time, Liu Yu took out a Voice-Transmitting Talisman and sent Shang Chuanjiang a message, then found a clean spot and waited quietly.
About half an hour later, Shang Chuanjiang landed in the bamboo pavilion on a fan-shaped magical artifact.
"Junior Brother Liu-oh, you've already become an inner disciple? Doesn't that mean I should be calling you Senior Brother now?"
Shang Chuanjiang still had the air of a seasoned old hand. He laughed heartily and spoke with a hint of teasing.
"Ah, Senior Brother Shang, we've known each other for so many years. Why stand on ceremony? Let's keep things as they were!"
News of the Spirit Stone Mine War weighed heavily on Liu Yu's heart, but he did his best to maintain a smile as he greeted Shang Chuanjiang.
"To tell you the truth, Senior Brother, I came to see you because I wanted to learn more about the Spirit Stone Mine War!"
Liu Yu spoke slowly, his expression solemn and his eyes fixed on Senior Brother Shang.
The smile slowly faded from Shang Chuanjiang's face, and his expression grew serious. He walked over to a bamboo chair and sat down, weighing his words for a while before speaking:
"Junior Brother Liu, the situation may be even more serious than you imagine. According to the latest information I've received, all five of our Chu Kingdom's great cultivation sects have joined the struggle over this spirit stone mine. None of them wants another sect to obtain it and gain a massive increase in strength!"
"Although the fighting has been kept below the Golden Core Stage, more than a dozen Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators from the five sects have already fallen. Casualties among Qi Refining Period cultivators have been even more devastating. Our sect alone has lost three or four hundred people!"
"The sect will certainly select another batch of disciples to reinforce the front lines. To be frank, I've already used my lineage's connections to accept a rear-area garrison assignment. Junior Brother Liu, if you have any connections within the sect, hurry and pull those strings. Find any long-term assignment stationed away from the sect, and wait until the fighting is over before considering anything else!"
"If you wait much longer, the sect's deployment orders will probably arrive. Once we're on the battlefield, with our limited strength as Qi Refining Period cultivators, whether we live or die will likely come down to luck!"
Shang Chuanjiang carefully explained everything he knew to Liu Yu, then urged him to make his "arrangements" early.
"Senior Brother, don't you know me by now? I'm just a disciple who came out of the Outer Courtyard. What connections could I possibly turn to? At this point, there's nothing I can do but take one step at a time."
Liu Yu sighed, shaking his head with a bitter smile. Yet his thoughts turned to the token in his Storage Bag. I wonder if I could use it...
"Senior Brother Shang, there's no time to lose. Whether there's a way or not, I have to try. I'll come catch up with you another time. When we next meet, I'll definitely treat you to a feast at the Heavenly Fragrance Tower!"
The Heavenly Fragrance Tower was a famous restaurant within the Primordial Yang Sect. Its spirit dishes and spirit wines were made from spirit-infused demon beast meat, spirit herbs, or spirit fruits, and could improve one's cultivation. However, its prices were quite steep, ranging from a dozen or so spirit stones to several hundred. Ordinary disciples could not afford to dine there.
Liu Yu rose and cupped his hands in farewell. Eager to try that approach and see whether it would work, he took his leave.
Shang Chuanjiang nodded, walked over, and patted Liu Yu on the shoulder. He said:
"Junior Brother Liu, take care. We'll definitely meet again. Then we can warm our wine and debate the heroes of the world at the Heavenly Fragrance Tower!"
His tone was sincere, and his words came from the heart.
Liu Yu nodded firmly, then tapped his Storage Bag and took out the Giant Wood Sword, vanishing into the horizon in a streak of azure light.
Flying more than a dozen zhang above the ground, Liu Yu took a yellow token from his Storage Bag, his gaze somewhat complicated. He had not expected the token he had received after saving Yan Qun'er almost in passing that day to prove useful so soon. He hoped it would let him obtain a rear-area garrison assignment.
A war in the cultivation world could easily involve hundreds of thousands of cultivators and last anywhere from a few years to several centuries. Between the five great sects' own cultivators and those of their subordinate smaller sects and lineages, hundreds of thousands would take part. One Liu Yu more or less would make no difference. His significance was like that of a single water molecule in the vast ocean: utterly negligible.
It was not that Liu Yu was unwilling to serve the Primordial Yang Sect. Rather, adding him would merely give the sect one more piece of cannon fodder, someone of no consequence on the battlefield. Although he owed the sect some affection and gratitude, that was not enough for him to stake his life on it.
But once the sect issued its orders, changing them would be all but impossible unless he intended to desert. Yet how far could a mere Qi Refining Period cultivator run? Escaping pursuit by one of the Chu Kingdom's five great sects would be harder than hard-ten paths to death, with not one leading to life. Under the rules, anyone caught betraying the sect would suffer the torment of having their soul extracted and refined, then placed in an oil lamp to burn for a hundred years.
Thus, although Liu Yu did not want to go to war, he had never considered deserting the sect. He only wanted to find an assignment guarding the rear or stationed somewhere else, so long as it kept him away from the front lines.
The Chu Kingdom's five great cultivation sects were the Primordial Yang Sect, the Hehuan Sect, the Void Clarity School, Crescent Moon Valley, and Drifting Snow Tower. Each had Nascent Soul Realm cultivators presiding over it. Together, they controlled ninety percent of the Chu Kingdom's cultivation resources. Other powers could only serve as their subordinates, eking out an existence in the cracks between them.
All five great cultivation sects of the Chu Kingdom belonged to the neutral camp, neither righteous nor demonic. They did not interfere in conflicts between the righteous and demonic paths. If the righteous path or the Demonic Path invaded, they would temporarily set aside their differences and join forces against the outsiders. Without an invader, they kept one another in check, none willing to see any single sect become especially powerful.
Among them, the Hehuan Sect excelled in dual cultivation and explored the Great Dao of yin and yang. The Void Clarity School was a gathering of Daoists who, at least on the surface, observed every courtesy. Crescent Moon Valley consisted of sword cultivators who believed in breaking ten thousand arts with a single sword; most of its disciples wore cold expressions, unmoved by external things. Drifting Snow Tower, meanwhile, consisted mostly of female cultivators. Every fairy within it possessed beauty fit to topple a kingdom, and it was said that appearance was even one of its admission criteria.
As he traveled, Liu Yu slowly recalled the state of the Chu Kingdom's cultivation world. These five cultivation sects united against outsiders while also keeping one another in check. The Primordial Yang Sect had relatively good relations with Crescent Moon Valley, while the Hehuan Sect was closer to the Void Clarity School. Because Drifting Snow Tower had two Nascent Soul patriarchs, it had subtly drawn deliberate and inadvertent pressure from both sides, though neither was willing to provoke it lightly.
The state of the cultivation world passed through Liu Yu's mind, but such matters were still far too distant for him. His immediate priority was to obtain a rear-area garrison assignment as quickly as possible so he could cultivate in peace.
He did not even have time to take a look at his new cave abode. He feared that if he was too late in pulling strings and fell a step behind, he would fail to secure a rear-area assignment. Then he would have no tears left to shed.
At that thought, Liu Yu put away the yellow token and surged all the magical power in his body, becoming a faint streak of azure light as he sped toward Green Elegance Peak.
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