Infiltration
"Perhaps I could make a trip to Jingxiu Mountain myself." The thought suddenly occurred to Mo Wen.
His current identity was that of a Rogue Cultivator and talisman master in Red Leaf Market. Aside from his old friend Song Xuan, few people knew he came from the Mo Clan. Besides, he could use the Hundred Transformations Heart Sutra to change his appearance and presence, making it even less likely that anyone would uncover his true background.
He assessed his strength and methods, judging them enough to protect himself at the Qi Refining level. With a little more preparation, even if he encountered a Foundation Establishment High Person, he would not be entirely powerless to fight back.
So, over the following days, he went full throttle making talismans, planning to gather a large sum of Spirit Stones in a short time.
Half a month later, Mo Wen made another trip to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and added two trump cards to his arsenal: a Wind Escape Talisman and three Yin Thunder Seeds.
The Wind Escape Talisman was a lower-grade, second-tier talisman. Once used, it granted an escape speed comparable to that of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea. The Yin Thunder Seeds contained the Qi of thunder, fire and poisonous miasma, and were extraordinarily powerful.
It was not that Mo Wen did not want to prepare more trump cards, but he lacked the Spirit Stones. In the end, he could only leave the Hundred Treasures Pavilion with regret.
Before setting out, Mo Wen informed Song Xuan that he was leaving, and only then did he depart Red Leaf Market. Ever since he had transmigrated, his old friend had taken good care of him, and the two also had business dealings, so he naturally could not leave without a word.
Jingxiu Mountain was a small mountain range spanning more than ten li. Its matchlessly beautiful scenery had given it the name "Jingxiu Mountain." Beneath its main peak lay a mid-grade, second-tier Spirit Vein, enough to support the cultivation needs of at most five Foundation Establishment High Persons.
Two hundred and forty years ago, the Mo Clan's founding ancestor, High Person Mo He, slew a mid-grade, second-tier Demon Beast, the Golden-Eyed Ape, which had occupied Jingxiu Mountain for many years. He then established his foundation and founded the Mo Clan.
Through the painstaking efforts of several generations, thirty mu of high-grade spirit fields and a small spirit medicine garden had been developed on Jingxiu Mountain. In addition, the Mo Household owned shops, mines and other assets elsewhere. Together, they brought the Lineage an annual income of more than thirty thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones.
Of course, the Mo Household's expenses were considerable as well. The stipends paid each year to the Lineage's elders and younger members alone came to twenty-four thousand Spirit Stones. With other communal expenditures added, a surplus of three or four thousand Spirit Stones counted as a "bountiful year."
In fact, this was the norm for most cultivation Lineages. For a Lineage to prosper, it had to devote more effort to nurturing its younger members. But greater investment required sufficient financial resources. Thus, a Lineage had to live within its means, neither being too stingy nor spending without leaving a reserve.
The Mo Household's younger members had originally lived quite comfortably, but after Ancestor Yifeng passed away, their good days came to an end.
Recently, the Mo Household's nearly one hundred Qi Refining cultivators had all been forced to maintain only the most basic cultivation, so as to reduce the strain on the Lineage's Spirit Vein. Even so, the Golden Wind and Raging Fire Grand Formation protecting the mountain was drawing more and more Spiritual Qi.
This was mainly because the Rogue Cultivators lingering outside Jingxiu Mountain had stepped up their probing and begun attacking the Golden Wind and Raging Fire Grand Formation.
In truth, everyone knew that the Rogue Cultivators leading the charge were hidden agents planted by cultivation Lineages. But no one would say it openly, because the reputation of wiping out a Lineage and seizing its property sounded truly unsavory. If they donned the skin of Rogue Cultivators, though, it no longer mattered. After all, there were too many Rogue Cultivators in the cultivation world, like wild grass, and few cared about their reputations.
As the situation at Jingxiu Mountain grew increasingly chaotic, more and more Rogue Cultivators gathered there.
By the time Mo Wen arrived at Jingxiu Mountain, more than five hundred Rogue Cultivators had assembled around it. Even the weakest among them had a cultivation above the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer, and there were dozens of experts at Qi Refining Great Perfection.
Mo Wen displayed a cultivation of the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining. A Rogue Cultivator of that strength would neither make others wary nor be bullied.
I wonder how many of these Rogue Cultivators are members of cultivation Lineages?
Mo Wen sat beneath an old pine tree, quietly watching the Rogue Cultivators attack the mountain-protecting formation. These Qi Refining-level attacks could do nothing to the formation except consume the Spiritual Qi of Jingxiu Mountain's Spirit Vein.
Yet every one of them was having a grand time, hurling the foulest insults, seemingly hoping to provoke the Mo Clan's younger generation into coming out and thereby create an opening.
Perhaps the mountain-protecting formation blocked the sound, for Jingxiu Mountain remained silent, with no response whatsoever.
As long as Foundation Establishment cultivators don't enter the fray, this Golden Wind and Raging Fire Grand Formation is as solid as a fortress of metal and a moat of boiling water. I wonder which Lineages have set their sights on Jingxiu Mountain. My experience is limited; I'm afraid I wouldn't recognize them even if I met them face-to-face.
Mo Wen pondered for a moment, then sprang to his feet and walked toward the edge of the Golden Wind and Raging Fire Grand Formation.
When he drew close, he said nothing. He took out the Purple Star Sword and chopped at the formation's curtain of light.
With a bang, the Purple Star Sword sent a ripple across the curtain of light, which took quite a while to settle. The strength he displayed with that strike far exceeded the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, immediately drawing the attention of some nearby cultivators.
A short while later, Mo Wen struck again, the blow a little stronger than the first.
Since obtaining the Purple Star Sword, he had used it no more than two or three times in total, so this was a good chance to get accustomed to it.
Mo Wen wore a cold, fierce expression and spoke to no one. Every so often, he struck the Golden Wind and Raging Fire Grand Formation with his sword.
After he had struck a dozen or so times in succession, a young man dressed in green, with a trace of arrogance between his brows, approached Mo Wen. He cupped his fists in greeting and said, "Fellow Daoist, please rest a moment. My young master would like to see you."
"I don't know any damned young master. Get lost!" Mo Wen cursed impatiently and continued swinging his sword at the formation.
Hearing Mo Wen's words, the young man flew into a rage. Although he came from a branch family, as the young master's personal attendant, he held a fairly respectable position in the Lineage.
When he ventured outside the Lineage, he often heard people flatter him, and he considered his status beyond that of ordinary Rogue Cultivators. He could not help but be somewhat arrogant.
Who would have thought he would meet someone so blind to the situation today, someone who dared look down on his young master? For a moment, his chest swelled with indignation, and he wished he could hack this insolent fool a few times to vent his hatred!
Fortunately, he did not dare jeopardize his young master's important business. He could only force down his anger and explain, "Please don't misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. My young master wishes to meet you so that everyone can join forces and break the Mo Household's mountain-protecting formation in one stroke."
Hearing this, Mo Wen gave a cold laugh and said disdainfully, "The Golden Wind and Raging Fire Grand Formation is a second-tier formation. Does your young master have a way to break it? I'm afraid he just wants to use me as a spear. Dream on!"