Affairs of the Changning Sect

Seeing that Gui Xiang still possessed a faint spiritual aura, Kang Dabao knew that he must be the disciple Yue Feng had mentioned before who had just completed his Dao Foundation.

"It's a pity we found out too late." Kang Dabao narrowed his small eyes slightly, staring intently at Gui Xiang, whose face had become much younger, and sighed inwardly.

If Kang Dabao had arrived at Double Brightness Trade Market a month or two earlier and learned of Gui Xiang's whereabouts, he might have been able to easily eliminate this enemy simply by doing Yue Feng a favor.

But now that his old enemy has reached the Foundation Establishment, his price in the Yue Household has naturally skyrocketed, and Yue Feng is definitely reluctant to part with him.

Sigh, fate is something you can't really explain.

He Dezong was highly anticipated and whose "Foundation Establishment was within reach" had been proclaimed for nearly twenty years, died while attempting to Foundation Establishment. In contrast, Gui Xiang, an unknown figure, was able to attain the Dao Foundation, which is truly lamentable.

Unfortunately, Kang Dabao knew all along that Gui Xiang had joined the Yue Household, but he thought that the latter would live a muddled life and that he Sect Leader Kang Da, could take advantage of him once he had the time.

But little did they expect that this nausea would develop into a serious problem in their own backyard.

The two exchanged a glance. Sect Leader Kang Da's eyes flashed with a cold light, while Gui Xiang's expression remained indifferent. Neither of them uttered a word.

The Yue Household patriarch, who had come to the Chongming Small Pavilion to deliver the spirit items, did not notice anything unusual. Feeling that the matter had been successfully completed, he hurriedly returned to report.

As Gui Xiang and the Yue Household patriarch's departing figures gradually blurred and disappeared from sight, Kang Dabao finally withdrew his gaze.

"What a pity, it would be better if it weren't in the market." Although Kang Dabao is only at the initial stage of Foundation Establishment, his current abilities are definitely among the strongest of his peers.

Taking down a newly promoted Foundation Establishment who hasn't even refined their spiritual essence should be a sure thing.

He sighed deeply, knowing that this was yet another regrettable and futile act.

If Gui Xiang had joined the outlaws on his own, it would have been easy to handle; but unfortunately, he had already become a retainer of the Yue Household.

Foundation Establishment disciples aren't worthless, Kang Dabao didn't think Yue Feng would be willing to bring up Gui Xiang at this point to do him a favor.

Fortunately, there's plenty of time. At least we now know that Gui Xiang has already Foundation Establishment, so we can start making plans early. It's much better than being kept in the dark all along.

"I'll look for another opportunity. Even if you don't kill a snake, it will still cause some harm. You brought this on yourself!" Sect Leader Kang Da cursed himself inwardly. He returned to his private Seclusion Chamber in the Chongming Small Pavilion and examined the items in the Storage Bag sent by the Yue Household one by one.

"Second-Tier Lower-Grade 2 Star-Shooting Crossbow, one stack of Second-Tier Middle-Grade 2 defensive talismans, one stack of Second-Tier Upper-Grade- First-Tier Superior-Grade Tier 2 talismans, one hundred First-Tier Superior-Grade Tier 1 defensive talismans, one hundred and fifty high-grade Tier 1 offensive talismans, and fifty bottles of First-Tier Superior-Grade 1 pills."

Objectively speaking, these supplies were already quite generous, but they were still far less than what Sect Leader Kang Da had anticipated.

However, after being turned away by the Fei Household and suffering a setback, Sect Leader Kang Da went to the Yue Household, but his efforts to gain influence there also failed. Yue Feng was clearly not a fool who could be easily fooled.

However, those two Second-Tier Lower-Grade Star-Shooting Crossbow were quite good supplies. Together, they were enough to be used as a Foundation Establishment disciple against the Qi Refinement disciples of the Changning Sect.

When the Immortal Dynasty withdrew from Cloud Horn Prefecture, the Yue Household seized and captured the armories of many counties and towns, acquiring a great deal of valuable items.

If it were the Dingnan Niu Household, who were once on par with the Han City Yue Household, they certainly wouldn't have been willing to use such a powerful weapon as the Star-Shooting Crossbow as a favor.

Unfortunately, because of Gui Xiang's matter, even though Sect Leader Kang Da received this aid, he couldn't be happy for long.

"Wait three more days. If Deng Baichuan still hasn't come out of seclusion, send someone to summon him. As for Gui Xiang, forget it. There's no need to worry about him. Everything is predestined. I'll deal with him when the time comes."

Kang Dabao composed himself, put away his Storage Bag, and focused on his cultivation.

To forge iron, one must first be strong oneself. Once one's self-cultivation is higher, these troubles will naturally decrease.

If he, the Sect Leader Kang Da, were still that street peddler who lived hand to mouth, how could he now be chatting and laughing with the head of the Han City Yue Household, how could he place a plump and beautiful steward of a major sect on his bed for his pleasure, and how could he win even half the heart of a wealthy family's eldest daughter?

While the latter two were indeed loyal to him, this loyalty was also directed towards the already influential Sect Leader of Chongming, who had achieved Double Brightness Ice Leaf Foundation Establishment. Kang Dabao was aware of this, but he didn't see anything wrong with it.

As long as I continue to work hard like this, I will not lose what I have already grasped, and what I will gain in the future will be enough to make people dream.

Even if the road ahead is full of thorns, it doesn't matter; I'll just use my sword and axe to clear the way.

As the sun sets, the warm afterglow spills onto the cliff face, draping the elegant Old Ox Mountain in a golden cloak. The distant sky gradually takes on a rosy hue, and Venus rises in the west, first drawing back a corner of the night sky.

The Changning Sect's headquarters were built on Old Ox Mountain in White Sand County.

Here lies a rare, Second-Tier Upper-Grade Spirit Vein in Jingnan Prefecture, capable of supporting dozens of Foundation Establishment True Cultivator and thousands of Qi Refinement Refining cultivators. It was once the mountain gate of a False Core sect.

However, the fake alchemist had passed away many years ago, and his disciples had been found by the Liangyi Sect to have some dealings with the Immortal Dynasty.

As a result, his disciples were divided into several branches by Jiang Yuan, the Two Instruments Sect leader of the Liangyi Sect's Black Sand Peak, who was in charge of Jingnan Prefecture, and scattered and relocated to various places in Shannan Circuit. The mountain gate that was vacated on Old Ox Mountain was then used for the establishment of the Changning Sect.

This was a major sect of the False Core Sect, yet Jiang Yuan left it all to the newly established Changning Sect without touching a single blade of grass or tree. This treatment was quite generous.

However, Dai Fu, the first leader of the Changning Sect, did not seem to have much of a reaction to this.

Although the sacred grounds of the True Spirit Gate were much smaller than those of Old Ox Mountain, they did not need to be shared with other sects.

However, there was no other way. Because the Two Instruments Sect wanted to redeem the Golden Core Elixir of the Hongyi Sect from Kuang Liuting, the former had already gradually abandoned the entire territory of Cloud Horn Prefecture and even several counties in neighboring Cloud Horn Prefecture.

After this, the Two Instruments Sect almost completely followed the orders of the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion and handed over Cloud Horn Prefecture to the Immortal Dynasty for administration.

The Clear Cloud Alliance, which the True Spirit Gate joined, was a loyal henchman of the Two Instruments Sect within Cloud Horn Prefecture, and had long been a thorn in the side of the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court.

After the battle at Little Wu Mountain, the Clear Cloud Alliance was severely weakened and had no resources to contend with the local forces that were eager to pledge their allegiance to the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court.

True Spirit Gate chooses to remain within its own sect, it will inevitably face the extinction of its lineage sooner or later.

Left with no other choice, Dai Fu accepted the invitation of Jiang Yuan, the leader of the Black Sand Peak of the Liangyi Two Instruments Sect, and moved his entire sect there.

If Dai Fu had known earlier that the Liangyi Sect had been so lenient with the Yunjiao Prefecture Court lately, to the point that several Golden Core cultivators and dozens of Pseudo-Core Pill Masters within the sect had almost not participated in the battle.

He must have made plans in advance to provide his disciples with a good way out.

Now that the True Spirit Gate is advancing alongside the Chang County Lin Household and the Feng Prefecture Ge Household within the Changning Sect, with no way out, Dai Fu doesn't feel it's a good idea.

Some time has passed since the various clans reunited, but the estrangement between them shows no sign of disappearing.

Every quarterly council meeting would bring up disputes such as a member of the Feng Prefecture Ge Household forcibly taking advantage of a mortal woman from the Chang County Lin Household, or a spirit beast raised by a disciple of the True Spirit Gate smashing the spirit corpse of the Feng Prefecture Ge Household.

These internal power struggles, discussed so much, truly annoyed Dai Fu.

Had he known this sect would turn out this way, he wouldn't have been so easily swayed by Jiang Yuan's so-called False Core fortuitous opportunity and taken this so-called position of sect leader.

These high-ranking cultivators are accustomed to making empty promises in front of others.

I wonder if, after all this effort, I've truly eradicated the scourge of the New Cloud Alliance for the Two Instruments Sect, Jiang Yuan will still remember that he was going to give me a False Core fortuitous opportunity?

Today was, as usual, the day of the monthly meeting. Dai Fu was somewhat listless. He had intended to send a message to the hall with his attendant boy. But after thinking it over, Dai Fu went to the meeting hall anyway.

After all, the military supervisor from Black Sand Peak had brought news that if they didn't go, they might incur resentment for the False Core fortuitous opportunity that Dai Fu had mentioned.

Dai Fu arrived last; two men and one woman were seated inside.

Besides the plain-looking Chen Ye, there is also Ge Qinglan, the head of the Feng Prefecture Ge Household, and Lin Kunxue, the head of the Chang County Lin Household. All three are now council elders of the Changning Sect, and nominally there is no distinction between them, and they are equals.

The former was a disheveled old woman, wearing a black hemp-colored Spirit Artifact robe, with an empty and lifeless expression;

The latter was a tall, imposing man, eight feet tall, with bulging muscles and a pair of sword-like eyebrows.

He should have exuded a heroic air, but when facing the hunched Ge Qinglan and the gaunt Chen Ye, his aura was far less imposing than the two in front of him.

"Greetings, Sect Leader!" Upon seeing Dai Fu enter, the three bowed in turn.

Chen Ye was the most courteous, followed closely by Lin Kunxue.

Ge Qinglan was the slowest to get up, just like an ordinary old woman, struggling to rise with the help of her seven-jeweled cane, and even her waist was difficult to bend when she bowed.

"Ha," Dai Fu sneered inwardly. This old woman still hadn't given up.

Dai Fu knew that during the Battle of Little Wu Mountain, Ge Qinglan had used her natal spirit corpse to kill two or three enemy Foundation Establishment cultivators.

It's only been a few years! Why do you always look so old and frail every time we meet?

"Pretentious!" Dai Fu cursed the old woman in his heart, but showed no sign of it on his face. He walked to the head of the table, returned the greeting, and sat down before the other three also took their seats.

Chen Ye was quite satisfied. Regardless of what happened in private, at least the high-ranking members of the Changning Sect behaved properly in public and didn't make things too ugly.

Otherwise, if Jiang Yuan were to inquire about it, Chen Ye would find it difficult to explain.

Dai Fu sat at the head of the table, and his primary concern was the income and expenses of his household, which had been a mess from the beginning and remained a matter of individual household accounting for their own affairs.

After listening to Lin Kunxue and Ge Qinglan's vague words for a long time, Dai Fu, the head of the Changning Sect, counted on his fingers for a long time before he could barely figure out that this huge Old Ox Spirit Mountain and the fake Dao of Alchemy had been managed by them to the point that they could barely make ends meet.

"That's fine, at least there's no chance of losing money yet." Dai Fu comforted himself, knowing that dealing with the Changning Sect would not be easy.

If the Feng Prefecture Ge Household were like the Chang County Lin Household, it would be better. The latter had already suffered heavy losses in the battle of Little Wu Mountain, losing two Foundation Establishment and many Qi Refinement cultivators.

After the last attack on Shen Baiyue, the Lin Household cultivators retreated too slowly and were surrounded and killed by the New Cloud Alliance, resulting in the deaths of two Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.

This has resulted in the once prosperous Chang County Lin Household now having only two Foundation Establishment remaining, including the family head Lin Kunxue.

The previous war was a recruitment effort; the Two Instruments Sect should provide compensation.

This time, the Liangyi Two Instruments Sect was not as generous as the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court. The compensation was not provided in a timely manner. They only said that they lacked some of the main ingredients for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill and that it would take several years before they could be distributed.

However, the Two Instruments Sect has dominated various states for hundreds of years, so it still has some credibility, and the various families are not worried that it will renege on its promises.

This matter then became an internal affair of the Changning Sect. The Lin Household suffered a great loss in their attempt to assassinate Shen Baiyue, and the Changning Sect compensated them with two Foundation Establishment spiritual items.

However, none of them are as precious as the Foundation Establishment Pill. They are all similar in value to the Reed Flower Pill used for Foundation Establishment based on the Shen Tu, and at most they can increase the probability of Foundation Establishment by half.

The Lin Household has already arranged for two Foundation Establishment candidates to prepare for Foundation Establishment, but it is unknown whether one of them will succeed.

Therefore, the Lin Household was the weakest in the Changning Sect at this time. Although they held the title of council elders, most of the time they actually served as the background for the struggle between Dai Fu and Ge Qinglan, without expressing any opinions.

Although the Feng Prefecture Ge Household had lost many members due to their inability to defeat their nemesis, they had to relocate the entire clan to Old Ox Mountain, and only two members of the family remained at the Foundation Establishment.

However, Ge Qinglan, like Dai Fu, was a genuine Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator. Her methods were also formidable, as evidenced by the fact that those Foundation Establishment were chewed up by her natal spirit corpse.

What's even more remarkable is that she's much younger than Dai Fu, only a hundred and fifty years old, yet she's already at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. If she can continue this pace of cultivation, then pursuing a future as a False Core isn't out of the question.

Therefore, while Dai Fu could easily subdue Lin Kunxue, whose family was declining, it would be difficult for him to control the old woman Ge Qinglan.

As the military supervisor dispatched by Jiang Yuan, the peak commander of Black Sand Peak, to the Changning Sect, Chen Ye could clearly see the undercurrents hidden within.

But he was ultimately just an ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator. Perhaps he would be looked up to by the people in the hall because of his feat of defeating Foundation Establishment while Qi Refinement Refining. Dai Fu and Ge Qinglan would also be polite to Chen Ye out of respect for the Two Instruments Sect.

But that was all in the context of official business. If Chen Ye wanted to interfere in how the two parties got along in private, he would be overstepping his bounds.

"Our master is being a bit too hasty. The Changning Sect hasn't even fully cultivated its internal strength yet. If they rashly start a war with the New Cloud Alliance, they probably won't gain any advantage."

Chen Ye sighed inwardly, rallied his spirits, and took out another bright yellow silk scroll, saying briefly, "Master said that the Changning Sect, should strive to achieve merit in the first battle. But having just killed Shen Baiyue, we have now lost two Elders Lin. How can this be tolerated?"

The Master's letter asks, "Have we truly been doing our work diligently? When will we finally see the New Cloud Alliance, these lackeys of the Immortal Dynasty, fall apart?"

Chen Ye remained silent at first, but as soon as he spoke, Lin Kunxue could no longer suppress the sorrow on his face, and tears welled up in his eyes, truly showing the tenderness of a tough man.

How could one not be heartbroken? If the Chang County Lin Household fails to produce any capable successors in the next few generations, then even after another hundred years, the Lin Household might not be able to cultivate two more Foundation Establishment True Cultivator. To have them all wiped out in a single day—how could one not feel resentment?

Dai Fu looked sorrowful, Ge Qinglan shed tears. Both of them seemed to have been touched by Chen Ye's words, their faces filled with grief.

"Jiang Feng is right. We have suffered a great loss in this battle, with two Elders Lin losing their lives at the hands of the enemy. Seeing that morale has plummeted, it is not wise to launch a campaign rashly. We need to make more preparations."

Chen Ye's words sounded nice, but Dai Fu had already prepared his own words to shut him up.

"Master wrote in his letter that if the Changning Sect does well this time, not only will our Changning Sect be exempted from half a century's worth of taxes, but the previously owed pensions will also be paid out first."

"It's still just wishful thinking." This remark couldn't fool the seasoned Foundation Establishment True Cultivator. After Chen Ye spoke, no one responded for a long time.

Chen Ye showed no anger, but simply put away the silk scroll in his hand and said solemnly:

"My master also said in his letter that if any fellow Daoists are inconsiderate or merely go through the motions, I, Chen, may write them down and report them to him. I imagine such people must greatly admire the grandeur of the Immortal Dynasty, so it would be a good opportunity to have a good chat with them."

"Phew, just as I thought." Dai Fu and Ge Qinglan, these two old rivals, sighed in unison.

This is the true intention revealed; the methods used by the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty to govern its subordinates are ruthless, but the Two Instruments Sect is no less so.

Even if Black Sand Peak had given them some face and negotiated a price, and even if he hadn't agreed to a single word, none of the people present would have had the strength to contend with the fake Pill Master.

If they continue to drag their feet and refuse to deal with the New Cloud Alliance, then they can just wait for Black Sand Peak to send people to deal with them. They have plenty of ways to handle those unruly subordinate forces.

Dai Fu was rebuffed by Chen Ye, and Lin Kunxue was speechless. Ge Qinglan had no choice but to stand up shakily again and said in a hoarse voice, "Elder Chen, military affairs are of utmost importance. It will take some time before we can make proper preparations."

How long will it take?

"It won't be long, about a year."

"Too long, too long. Three months is enough." Chen Ye made an unquestionable gesture, silencing Ge Qinglan's rebuttal, and then stated directly:

"Fellow Daoists, the longer we wait, the more trouble we may encounter. It's better to finish this quickly. Rest assured, although I, Chen Ye, am a disciple of the Peak, I will not desert my post. I will stand with you all and strive for a better future!"

After a moment of silence in the hall, the three men exchanged glances, then stood up solemnly. "We dare not disobey!"

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