Ye Family Stockade

On an extremely steep, winding mountain trail.

Two figures hurried forward. In front was a dark-skinned youth built like a block of iron, followed by a slender youth. Both raced along at astonishing speed, the steep mountain path seeming like level ground beneath their feet...

Before long, they had reached the summit.

"Hey! Let's take a break!" the dark-skinned youth said hastily, panting a little. He was none other than Ye Shisan, and the other was, of course, Wang Yan.

"Sure!" Wang Yan was somewhat tired as well. He answered readily and plopped down on a large rock.

But Ye Shisan's Black Iron Rod was nowhere to be seen now. Had he already given it to Wang Yan?

Of course not.

Ye Shisan's mind was nowhere near as nimble as Wang Yan's. With honeyed words and relentless coaxing, Wang Yan had soon wormed out of him where the Black Iron Rod made of black mother iron had come from. According to Ye Shisan, there was an enormous cave on the Back Mountain of their stockade. Deep inside it lay a considerable amount of black iron ore, and his Black Iron Rod had been refined from that ore...

However, Ye Shisan's village was isolated from the world and did not readily allow outsiders in. Most of its people possessed innate prodigious strength and extraordinary martial prowess, and were masters of worldly martial arts.

Getting inside would not be easy for Wang Yan.

Still, relying on his status as Ye Shisan's lifesaver, Wang Yan alternated between persuasion and pressure until he convinced Ye Shisan to take him into their stockade for a look.

Wang Yan knew, however, that Ye Shisan's black mother iron staff was a treasure. Ye Shisan carried it around on his back, and since there were relatively few high-level cultivators at the Lü Family Marketplace, hardly anyone had recognized it. But if he encountered a high-level cultivator, they might identify it at a glance...

Ordinary cultivators did not carry weapons on their backs, but kept them in Storage Bags instead. Ye Shisan had no Storage Bag, while Wang Yan had acquired quite a few over the past few months, so he gave Ye Shisan one and told him to put the black mother iron staff inside. Naturally, Ye Shisan was delighted...

After all, a Storage Bag was not cheap. Even one cost at least twenty or thirty Spirit Stones. Ye Shisan had only possessed ten Spirit Stones in total, and he had already spent them on Spiritual Energy Pills, so naturally he had none left to buy a Storage Bag...

"Ye Shisan! How much farther is it?" Wang Yan asked, looking at the distant mountains.

"We'll be there after crossing three more peaks!" Ye Shisan answered promptly. Then he paused, suddenly remembering something, and hurriedly asked, "Hey! Big brother! Are you a disciple of one of those sects? Is that why your spells are so powerful?"

"No!" Wang Yan replied. After a pause, he quickly added, "Tsk! I'll say it again: don't call me big brother!" Being called big brother over and over by the old-looking Ye Shisan felt rather strange...

"But you are my big brother!" Ye Shisan said casually, then quickly asked, "Then why are your spells so powerful?"

"Well... I'm not that powerful! I just seized an opening those two Lü Household cultivators left!" Naturally, Wang Yan would not mention his Immortal Card. He answered offhandedly, "My cultivation is at minor completion of the cultivation realm, just like yours!"

"Huh! You're at minor completion of the cultivation realm too?" Ye Shisan exclaimed in surprise, looking somewhat incredulous. "I always thought you'd reached full completion of the cultivation realm, big brother! Then you could join the Firecloud Sect!"

"Uh! Can't you sense my aura?" Wang Yan asked with a wry smile. Then he paused and suddenly looked at Ye Shisan again. "You just mentioned the Firecloud Sect! Do you know about their disciple recruitment?"

"Hehe! I don't know why, but I tend to fail when practicing spells, so I've only been able to practice body-refining techniques!" Ye Shisan replied with a chuckle. After a pause, he hurriedly asked, "Don't you know about the Firecloud Sect's recruitment, big brother?"

"That's right! I've heard about it, but I don't know much!" Wang Yan did not bother asking why Ye Shisan could not practice spells. That was none of his business. Perhaps Ye Shisan simply had an unusual constitution. With that thought, he quickly continued, "Tell me the details!"

"I don't know all that much about the Firecloud Sect either!" Ye Shisan answered promptly. He paused before continuing, "I only know that the Firecloud Sect is one of the five great sects of our Cloud Nation, with tens of thousands of cultivator disciples. Apparently, they're expanding recruitment over these next few years. Anyone under fifteen with two immortal roots or a mutant immortal root or better can join directly. And anyone under twenty who's already reached full completion of the cultivation realm can join directly too!"

"That generous?" Wang Yan asked in surprise. "Then do you know why they suddenly decided to recruit more disciples?"

In truth, these requirements were already extremely demanding. Someone at major completion of the cultivation realm could easily join one of the great lineages, to say nothing of those with exceptional aptitude. In fact, a fifteen-year-old with two immortal roots or a mutant immortal root would generally have reached at least major completion of the cultivation realm. Yet great sects did not usually expand recruitment so freely. To enter one, applicants normally had to pass through round after round of selection...

This time, however, there had been no mention of selection, so naturally there might be some other purpose behind it.

"That I don't know! But I heard it seems to have something to do with the other four great sects! Apparently, those four are expanding recruitment the same way!" Ye Shisan answered promptly. After a pause, he continued, "I want to hurry up and improve my cultivation so I can cultivate in the Firecloud Sect too. That's why I went to buy spiritual pills!"

"The other four great sects are recruiting too?" Wang Yan's heart stirred. Naturally, he knew there had to be something fishy about this, but joining the Firecloud Sect would indeed bring many benefits. He quickly continued, "Then do you know how much longer the Firecloud Sect will be recruiting?"

"They should still have a little over two years left!" This time, Ye Shisan answered confidently.

A little over two years? Wang Yan thought upon hearing this. I should still have enough time! With that thought, he looked Ye Shisan up and down and asked, "So you want to join the Firecloud Sect too?"

"Yes! You want to go too, don't you, big brother? How about we join the Firecloud Sect together?" Ye Shisan asked eagerly.

"Well, I'll have to see! I might not be able to advance to full completion of the cultivation realm by then!" Naturally, Wang Yan would not agree to Ye Shisan's request. He had no desire to bring along someone with such a terrible sense of direction that he could get lost even in the woods...

"But we still have two years! If we work hard, maybe we can do it!" Ye Shisan said, brimming with confidence.

"We'll see when the time comes!" Wang Yan replied evasively.

"Then it's settled!"

"...!"

"By the way! You practice an earth-element cultivation method, right?" Wang Yan could not be bothered arguing with Ye Shisan over the matter and changed the subject.

"Yes!"

"...!"

After talking a little longer, the two continued on their way...

The farther they went, the harder the path became to traverse. It looked like somewhere ordinary people could scarcely reach.

The next morning!

Before two enormous mountains lay a crooked, fissure-like gorge, barely wide enough for two or three people to pass through side by side. Wang Yan and Ye Shisan stood before its entrance...

"Big brother! We'll be there once we pass through this gorge!" Ye Shisan told Wang Yan. With that, he went in first, and Wang Yan hurried after him...

The floor of the gorge was damp and slippery, and droplets of water fell from above from time to time. It clearly looked as though people passed through here frequently. Ye Shisan hurried forward. Some stretches of the gorge were so narrow that a single person could barely squeeze through, and it was extremely long. Even after they had gone several hundred zhang inside, they still had not seen the exit.

When they reached a somewhat wider opening, they saw a wooden pavilion overhead. A wooden gate blocked the entire gorge, and a figure could faintly be seen above...

From far away...

"Halt! Who goes there?" a rough voice shouted.

With a whoosh, a figure flashed into motion and leaped down from the pavilion, landing on the ground with a dull thud. He was a tall young man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, holding a long spear and dressed in animal skins. His bulging muscles were covered in exceptionally healthy, bronze-colored skin!

"It's me! Shisan!" Ye Shisan hurriedly called out. Clearly recognizing the young man, he shouted, "Is that you, Brother Shi?!"

"Oh!? It's Foolish Shisan!" the young man called Brother Shi said with a laugh. Then he suddenly noticed Wang Yan behind Ye Shisan. His brow furrowed, and he said coldly, "Who's that behind you? How could you bring an outsider here?"

"Well...!" Ye Shisan faltered, then hurriedly said, "This... this is the man who saved my life! Big Brother Wang Yan!"

"Tsk! You Foolish Shisan! Why do you call everyone big brother?" Brother Shi smacked his lips. Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he hurriedly asked, "Foolish Shisan! How did he save you?"

"Let me explain!" Wang Yan had already sized up the young man called Brother Shi. He was not a cultivator, merely a mortal martial artist. His martial skills were clearly considerable, but naturally Wang Yan did not regard him as a threat. Seeing Ye Shisan's troubled expression, he gave a detailed account of how the Lü Household cultivators had followed Ye Shisan intending to kill him. He concluded, "...And I offended those Lü Household cultivators too, so Brother Ye brought me to your Ye Family Stockade to lie low for a while!"

Exactly!

Having offended the Lü Household cultivators and needing to lie low was precisely the excuse Wang Yan had used to hoodwink Ye Shisan. Only after much persuasion had he convinced Ye Shisan to bring him inside. Surely Ye Shisan could not simply walk away after Wang Yan had saved him and offended those Lü Household cultivators in the process? An ordinary cultivator might have ignored him, but someone as honest and kindhearted as Ye Shisan naturally could not...

"Is that so?" Brother Shi frowned at Ye Shisan upon hearing this and quickly asked, "Is that really what happened?"

"Yes! Big Brother Wang saved me. I couldn't just leave him to fend for himself, could I?" Ye Shisan answered promptly.

"All right!" Brother Shi nodded. Then he suddenly addressed Wang Yan. "Although I don't know what your purpose is, our Ye Family Stockade is grateful to you for saving Foolish Shisan!" He paused, then continued, "But cultivators aren't welcome in our Ye Family Stockade. Leave!"