Beast-Raising Mountain!

Dawn broke over Cangshi Valley, where the smell of scorched earth and blood hung in the air.

In the previous night's battle, more than seven hundred cultivators had fallen on the front lines, over five hundred had been gravely wounded, and the lightly wounded were beyond counting.

The three-thousand-strong cultivator defense line had lost nearly thirty percent of its number in a single night!

The Rogue Cultivators in the front ranks had suffered the worst. They had been dragged in to make up the numbers and fill the gaps, only to be hit by a wave of the beast tide. More than half were dead or wounded, and barely a few intact corpses had been recovered.

Sun Bo'an crouched outside a tent, his face ashen as he watched bodies covered with white cloth being carried past on stretchers.

"What about our people?"

"Seven immortal slaves were injured, two of them seriously, but they're all still alive," Sun Kezheng said quietly. "A few people from the eight lesser clans under us were injured."

"Fortunately, thanks to the old ancestor's protection, not one person died."

Sun Bo'an let out a long breath and glanced toward the tent. His heart immediately became as steady as Mount Tai again. It was good to have the old ancestor; with the old ancestor there, they had someone who could shoulder the burden!

Even if he did nothing, as long as he was here, Sun Bo'an felt at ease.

Meanwhile, in the main tent of Cangshi Valley.

The White Cloud Temple had summoned the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the various clans to discuss matters, and Shi Jian had received a summons as well.

He lumbered into the tent, his massive body swaying. More than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators had already assembled, and the atmosphere was decidedly gloomy...

The head seat was empty. Three Foundation Establishment Late Stage elders of the White Cloud Temple sat to the left, their expressions exceedingly grim.

Shi Jian found a corner and lay down, looking as though none of it had anything to do with him.

"Everyone, you all saw how the battle went last night."

The speaker was Yun Du, chief elder of the White Cloud Temple. He was at the Peak Foundation Establishment Late Stage and was said to have one foot over the threshold of Golden Core.

"The Demon Beasts have retreated, but not far."

"According to reports from our sect's disciples, the main force of the beast tide is still entrenched on the outskirts of the Great Maple Mountain Range. They could attack the camp again at any moment."

A stir ran through the tent.

A middle-aged cultivator spoke, his face grim. "Elder Yun Du, support from the formation was a full quarter of an hour late last night."

"My Chen Clan of Heqing County lost seventeen clansmen last night alone. Surely we deserve an explanation for this..."

"The battlefield changes in an instant. Coordinating the formation takes time."

Yun Du gave a faint sigh, his face expressionless.

"Time?"

The cultivator immediately sneered. "A defense line of three thousand couldn't even withstand the first assault. Was it really a problem with the formation, or..."

Before he could finish, a stern shout suddenly came from outside the tent: "Where is Zhao Qing, master of the White Cloud Temple?!"

The voice was like heavenly thunder, its might like a mountain. Bearing a terrifying pressure far beyond Foundation Establishment, it came crushing down from the heavens!

The sky twisted, and the clouds gathered into a vortex.

The cultivators in the tent all changed color. Several with lower cultivation staggered on the spot, teacups shattered one after another on the tables, and the tent walls snapped and billowed.

Shi Jian's vertical pupils contracted sharply. He knew this pressure all too well.

A Golden Core True Person had descended upon this place!

The tent was ripped away, and a streak of gray light descended into the center of the camp. As the light faded, it revealed an old man in purple-and-gold Daoist robes.

His hair and beard were white, and his face was stern.

With his hands behind his back, he swept his gaze over the crowd as though looking down on a swarm of lowly ants. It wasn't that he looked down on them; he simply didn't care about them at all!

Yun Du and the other two were the first to rise. Their expressions were as grim as could be as they bowed in unison.

"We juniors pay our respects to True Person Luanyuan of the Supreme Purity Sect!"

The Supreme Purity Sect.

Shi Jian's ears twitched. The name rang in his ears like thunder.

It was the White Cloud Temple's superior sect, a major Nascent Soul sect with several Nascent Soul True Lords, and one of the three great Nascent Soul powers in the Wei Kingdom's cultivation world!

White Cloud Commandery was merely a small territory under the Supreme Purity Sect's rule. To put it bluntly, the White Cloud Temple was just a dog guarding someone else's turf.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators in the tent bowed one after another. Some moved faster than others, but none dared be neglectful. Shi Jian also stood, lowered his head, and cupped his front paws, putting on a show of obedience.

True Person Luanyuan's gaze swept over Shi Jian for an instant before moving on.

He was only a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast, and his bloodline was utterly ordinary. Apart from looking a little clever, he wasn't even worthy of notice in Luanyuan's presence.

"Where is Zhao Qing?"

Luanyuan's tone was mild, but every word bore the crushing weight of ten thousand jin. That was no figure of speech; it truly felt like standing before a mountain!

Sweat beaded on Yun Du's forehead. "Reporting to True Person, the temple master... his old injuries have flared up. He is in seclusion at the sect, healing, and cannot come."

"Old injuries?"

True Person Luanyuan scoffed, making no attempt to hide his contempt. "Twenty years ago, that fellow failed to break through to the Golden Core Middle Stage and damaged his foundation."

"Before his injuries had healed, he risked hunting Demon Beasts, only to make his injuries worse."

"He lost quite a few years of his lifespan. He certainly kept that well hidden."

As soon as he said this, dead silence fell over the tent.

Shi Jian didn't so much as twitch an eyelid.

Sure enough, it was much as he had judged before. He simply hadn't expected Zhao Qing to court death so persistently: after failing to break through to the Golden Core Middle Stage,

he had rushed off to hunt Demon Beasts with his foundation damaged, ultimately losing a great deal of his lifespan. He was quite the talent!

No wonder he had been in such a hurry to recruit fighting strength, and no wonder the conscription order had been issued so hastily.

That old Daoist probably wouldn't last many more years.

"The Great Maple Mountain Range."

True Person Luanyuan turned his gaze to Yun Du, his tone suddenly icy. "It is a beast-raising ground of my Supreme Purity Sect. In previous years, there was mostly peace."

"The Demon Beast spiritual materials your White Cloud Temple submits each year account for twenty percent of the tribute paid to the Supreme Purity Sect. Now the beast tide has erupted..."

"An entire county has been slaughtered, and two Foundation Establishment cultivators have perished as a result, leaving a shortfall in the spiritual tax. You've made such an enormous mess..."

"Is this negligence, or dereliction of duty?"

Yun Du and the other two bent their backs nearly to the ground.

Negligence meant a cut in pay and demotion. Dereliction meant the extermination of one's entire household and the confiscation of its property.

A single word made all the difference between heaven and earth.

"Please see the truth, True Person!" Yun Du's voice trembled. "A level-five Demon General suddenly appeared in the Great Maple Mountain Range. It happened so suddenly..."

"A Demon General?"

"A Beast Pasturing Mountain stocked for three hundred years, and you managed to raise a Demon General right under your noses?"

"Tell me, how has the White Cloud Temple been patrolling the mountain these past three hundred years? How have you been controlling the Demon Beast population?"

"And how have you been carrying out the Mountain-Clearing Order issued once every fifty years?"

Yun Du opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

Shi Jian listened silently in the corner, his mind racing.

Beast Pasturing Mountain.

He had only known that the Great Maple Mountain Range had many Demon Beasts and that the interests of various powers interlocked like dogs' teeth. He had never imagined that the mountain range itself was also a pasture for the Human Race...

Regular slaughter for materials, regular mountain clearings to control their numbers...

It was no different from raising pigs.

And he, Shi Jian, had become a demon on Mingqiu Mountain all those years ago and had nearly been slaughtered with a single stroke by a passing Rogue Cultivator. He was nothing more than one of the livestock in this pasture.

Something Shi Jian couldn't quite name surged in his heart, but his face remained as wooden as ever. He even yawned.

"The sect's intentions are clear."

True Person Luanyuan tossed out a Jade Slip, which landed on the table with a smack. "Quell the beast tide within three months."

"Within six months, complete a full clearing of the mountains and kill every Demon Beast above level three in the Great Maple Mountain Range!"

"As for that Demon General..."

"The sect will send another True Person to assist, but the White Cloud Temple will still bear the main burden itself. Consider it a chance to atone for your crimes through merit."

"If the beast tide has not been quelled in three months..."

He didn't finish, but everyone understood the consequences...

The White Cloud Temple would be wiped off the map of White Cloud Commandery. Its entire legacy would perish, reduced to a wisp of dust.

Yun Du and the other two assented in unison, their voices hoarse.

Without so much as a glance at them, True Person Luanyuan turned and shot into the sky as a streak of light. His visit had lasted no longer than a cup of tea.

It was as though the air had been sucked from the tent. For a long time, no one spoke.

At last, Yun Du straightened and swept his gaze over the crowd. When he spoke, his voice was weary but carried a ruthless edge. "You all heard clearly?

"The Mountain-Clearing Order has been issued. For the next three months, none of the conscripted Lineages may withdraw!"

"In three days, each clan will enter the Great Maple Mountain Range according to its assigned formation and exterminate all Demon Beasts of level three and above. Eighty percent of the spiritual materials obtained will be submitted to the White Cloud Temple; the remaining twenty percent will be distributed by the clans themselves..."

"Those who earn merit will be rewarded. Those who shrink from battle-"

"Beheaded!"

Silence filled the tent.

After the meeting ended, Shi Jian slowly walked out of the main tent. A wind blew from the direction of the Great Maple Mountain Range, carrying the distinctive sweet, bloody scent of the deep forests.

Shi Jian drew a deep breath.

Clearing the mountains.

The ones to be killed were Demon Beasts; the ones to be cleared out were his own kind.

And he, Shi Jian, a genuine native bear demon, was about to lead Human Race cultivators back to slaughter their way through the very home where he had become a demon.

If he refused to go, he would be defying orders.

The White Cloud Temple was already desperate for a scapegoat. It would probably make an example of him first, sacrificing him to consecrate its banner!

If he went, and happened to run into Demon Beasts he had known in the mountains, or was swept by that Demon General's Divine Sense...

Then defying orders would be the least of his worries.

He would be a traitor despised by all Demon Beasts, even if that wasn't what Shi Jian himself intended...