Almost Three Years

On the fifth day of the ninth month of the 452nd year of the Qianfeng reign, the auspicious day was marked by the Azure Dragon. It was auspicious to go anywhere, and all undertakings would be successful and all requests would be fulfilled.

As the birthday of Sect Leader Kang Da Chongming Sect Zongkang approaches, the people of Ping and Jin counties receive rice, flour, and cooking oil distributed by the local elders, making them as happy as if they were celebrating the Emperor's birthday again.

As the most important place under the jurisdiction of the Chongming Sect, the people of Chongming City enjoy more benefits than those in other places.

Before they arrived at 9:00 AM that day, the black city gates were already wide open.

The Martial Ancestor on duty at the gate lost their usual imposing demeanor, their faces now filled with obsequiousness as they bowed repeatedly to the young-looking cultivators who had entered on spirit beasts, but they didn't receive many smiles in return.

But these Martial Ancestor didn't show the slightest dissatisfaction. What did it matter if they, as worthless mortals, didn't receive a kind look?

Didn't you see how arrogant and unapproachable Daoist Ning, the Rogue Cultivator hired by Lord Jin, usually is? Even with all his flattery, he still couldn't exchange more than a few pleasantries with these immortal masters who came down from Little Ring Mountain?

The people on both sides of the city gate couldn't watch the spectacle for long. After the young-looking immortal masters left, these Martial Ancestor reverted to their usual arrogant and disdainful demeanor.

Daoist Ning's otherworldly demeanor suddenly returned. A whirlwind rose beneath his feet, and he landed back in the Yangting Pavilion above the city gate, sometimes closing his eyes in contemplation, sometimes gazing into the distance.

Not long after the young cultivators entered the city, a chubby boy who looked to be only a little over ten years old came over and bowed to greet them, "Tang Jiu greets all fellow disciples. My master has been waiting for quite some time."

Although the young man was a bit younger, his status was clearly much higher than that of the young disciples opposite him. No one dared not return the greeting, and they all dismounted from their pack animals and bowed repeatedly.

As soon as the young man finished speaking, his gaze was drawn to the spirit beasts beside the group, and he asked, "Are these the Cloud-Treading Colt that Uncle-Master Duan bred last year using the Yellow Wind Beast and the Grass Deer? Can you brothers rent them now?"

The young man with thick eyebrows, who seemed to be the leader among the younger disciples, waved his hands repeatedly and said hurriedly, "Senior Brother Tang thinks too highly of us. This Cloud-Treading Colt is a mid-grade spirit beast; how could we afford to rent it? It's all thanks to Steward Duan's consideration. He told us to keep track of the spirit beast's performance during our time with it so that we can make appropriate adjustments."

"I see. I shouldn't keep Master waiting. Let's talk later." Tang Jiu bowed and led the way.

The Chongming Sect has been thriving in recent years, and almost all of its high-ranking members, relatives, and descendants have gathered in the city. It's no wonder that this large city has also prospered.

Compared to He Yuanbing, Jin Shilun may not have many outstanding skills in cultivation, but because he comes from a wealthy but ordinary background, he is much better at governing and pacifying the people.

More than ten years have passed since they moved in, and Chongming City has become increasingly prosperous and abundant, filled with new and new residents, truly a vibrant and thriving place.

The thick-browed cultivator's family was under the jurisdiction of a Foundation Establishment Lineage in his county. He had visited the mortal territory of that Lineage a few times when he was young, so he could be considered worldly-wise, but he was still slightly surprised by the scene before him.

With their spirit steeds providing transportation and the round-faced youth's gait being quite nimble, and with no mortals daring to disobey them, the group of cultivators soon arrived outside the city lord's mansion.

The Chongming City, a middle-aged man with prominent temples, was dressed in fine clothes and had been waiting there for a long time. Upon seeing the cultivators, he bowed deeply.

These young cultivators, who had just been displaying a haughty demeanor at the city gate, dared not be arrogant upon seeing the mortal city lord, whose martial arts cultivation was not yet at the Martial Ancestor Sect level. They immediately dismounted their Cloud-Treading Colt, bowed and greeted each other, appearing extremely amiable.

After all, this person in front of them is a blood relative of the Sect Leader Kang Da, and in terms of seniority, he is a close descendant of the sect leader. If we really want to measure their worth, these outer disciples who have been out of the Nurturing Qilin Hall for several years and still can't enter the inner sect may not be much more valuable than this mortal city lord.

The Chongming City was already over forty years old, and his temperament was much more composed than when he was galloping through the streets on horseback. After receiving the greetings from these young cultivators, he felt a sense of pride, but still respectfully said, "Immortal Master Tang, Garrison Commander Jin is still talking with Immortal Master He from the Stone Mountain Sect, and asks you immortal masters to go in later."

"Thank you for informing me, City Lord," Tang Jiu bowed again, then turned around and apologized to the outer sect disciples behind him before leading everyone to the selection hall to wait.

The thick-browed cultivator and the others dared not object. They had never expected that someone like Jin Shilun would specifically wait for them. Tang Jiu's previous words were merely polite and humble.

The cultivators entered the selection hall in a harmonious atmosphere and waited for a while. Tang Jiu had been cultivating in Chongming City with Jin Shilun for over a year, and the other cultivators were also receiving their first assignments from the Merit Points Hall.

Both were curious, and as soon as they sat down, they began asking and answering questions, chatting happily.

"I heard that Elder Yuan emerged from seclusion before the New Year and finally forged a high-grade Law Artifact, but he is still not entirely satisfied. He spends his days drinking and feasting with the Fei Household's retainers at the Hundred Arts Pavilion, all in an attempt to acquire more skills."

"Some time ago, Steward Wei of the Formation Hall went to Xuanwei City. It is said that he found a manual on array techniques at Rogue Cultivator's stall. He was greatly inspired and returned as a top-grade array master."

The sect leader praised him after hearing this, and it was rumored that he had even begun to accumulate Merit Points to prepare for his future Foundation Establishment. It was possible that his Foundation Establishment speed, as inner disciple and array master, would surpass that of many True Disciple within the sect.

"Elder Pei recently promoted the position of head of the Nurturing Qilin Hall to that of a steward. The Deacon Ye also took on a disciple a month ago; the disciple possesses Triple Spirit Root and is exceptionally talented in water magic, though his appearance is rather... unpleasant."

"Senior Brother Yuan of the Alchemy Hall encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation, which even the elixir could not overcome. He requested to be transferred to Jin County as a county magistrate. Elder Yuan and the sect leader both refused and sent him to Heng Mountain instead."

It seems that Mo Ku, the acting disciple of Heng Mountain Lingtian, planted a season's worth of Tea-Colored Grain there, but the quality was poor and it wouldn't fetch a good price. The sect leader intends to refine it into Grain Avoidance Pill and distribute them as New Year's gifts to all the disciples.

"Elder Jiang went to Hong County some time ago, and returned looking rather disheveled. He was even scolded by the sect leader, apparently because he got involved with a romantic affair."

"Shut up!! What the hell are you spouting?!" The thick-browed youth stood up abruptly, then glared fiercely at the outer disciple who was chatting excitedly and speaking without restraint.

Seeing that everyone in the hall was looking at him, the latter realized he had misspoke. He was so frightened that his hair stood on end, and he hurriedly spun around and bowed, stammering, "It was my mistake... I misspoke. I hope my fellow disciples will not hold it against me."

"You're too kind, senior brother," Tang Jiu, who had been listening with great interest, suddenly realized what was happening and his expression changed. He awkwardly offered tea to everyone, and then the hall fell silent.

Fortunately, Jin Shilun's personal attendant, who was employed by the city lord, quickly came to invite them, preventing the young cultivators from remaining speechless for too long.

"Come quickly," Jin Shilun said with a smile as he saw the disciples enter. He introduced them to a middle-aged cultivator beside him who bore a striking resemblance to He Dezong, "Brother, please look, these are the disciples of my Double Brightness Sect."

The middle-aged cultivator nodded and smiled, then praised again, "Truly a heroic young man."

Jin Shilun smiled, then urged softly, "Why don't you all quickly pay your respects to the senior?"

Tang Jiu dared not be negligent and hurriedly led the outer disciples in bowing and saying, "Greetings, Senior."

The middle-aged cultivator smiled and said "good" a few more times. With a flick of his finger, several beams of spiritual light appeared in his Storage Bag. A mid-grade Law Artifact, along with several low-grade magic Law Artifact, fell into the hands of the juniors in the hall, immediately making them beam with joy.

A barely perceptible glint appeared in Jin Shilun's eyes as he thought to himself, "This senior brother isn't exactly straightforward. If it He Household in person, even if he knew they were just outer disciples, he wouldn't show favoritism."

He couldn't reveal his thoughts at all, so Jin Shilun first concealed his intentions before apologetically saying, "If I had known earlier that you would spend so much, Brother, I wouldn't have sent you and your servants to pay your respects."

The middle-aged cultivator showed some displeasure and waved his hand, saying, "Brother Jin, what are you saying? Uncle's kindness to Yuanhe Like a Mountain. Can what I have done even compare to a fraction of that?"

Jin Shilun didn't thank him further, but turned to Tang Jiu and said, "Jiuer, you and your fellow disciples should take care of the matters that were arranged earlier. Your He Household and I will be leaving later to return to the sect to celebrate our master's birthday, and we'll be back a few days later."

The duties of the town garrison commander of Chongming City are quite numerous, including driving away Demon Beast, suppressing Evil Cultivator, promoting agriculture, and controlling the weather. These are all simply his responsibilities.

Jin Shilun is forty-six years old and has cultivated to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining. This speed is not too slow. However, it is still quite difficult for him to catch up with Kang Rongquan, who is currently in seclusion to Foundation Establishment, and to get past the group of rising stars led by Kang Changyi who have emerged behind him.

Therefore, for many miscellaneous tasks, he not only applied for a regular allowance of Spirit Stone from Pei Yi, who was in charge of the treasury, to hire independent Rogue Cultivator to do them, but also requested several task quotas from Ye Zhengwen, the elder in charge of foreign affairs of the Merit Points Hall, specifically for matters of great and small concerning Chongming City.

These tasks are not particularly difficult; as long as they are properly arranged, ordinary outer disciples can complete them. They can both enhance the disciples' training and give Jin Shilun a lot of free time, making it a win-win situation. This is the advantage that the mortals under the jurisdiction of Chongming City have over other places.

Tang Jiu obeyed and stepped forward. After seeing the two elders off, he turned to discuss serious matters with the outer disciples. His previously amiable expression turned solemn.

"Brother Ma, who practices puppetry, said that two water-spreading puppet machines in Dongwen Village, sixty miles west of the city, were attacked by water beasts and have been broken for quite some time. If this continues, it may delay the farming."

Therefore, it is ordered that the damage be completely repaired within ten days. For each day of delay, the corresponding Merit Points will be reduced by 10%, until all merit points are exhausted. In addition, the water beast is still lurking in the lake outside Dongwen Village. It should be of ordinary First-Tier Lower-Grade quality. Senior Brother Ma should be able to handle it, but please still be careful.

"Brother Niu is cultivating the Dao of Alchemy. There's an outbreak of disease near a mortuary on the outskirts of the city. All the doctors in the city who have treated him have been ineffective and have even contracted the disease themselves. This matter must be handled perfectly within five days, without any perfunctory work or delays. If any other discoveries or thorny issues arise during this period, report them immediately without delay."

"Senior Brother Lü is skilled in array formations. There are several low-grade array formations in remote areas of the city that have been neglected for years and are somewhat incomplete. Many of the residents there are descendants of sect elders and deacons. We need to acquire them."

Tang Jiu arranged a whole host of tasks in a grand and efficient manner. Although he was young, he had a commanding presence when it came to serious matters, which made the inexperienced outer disciples in front of him somewhat afraid to look him in the eye.

Even if Tang Jiu weren't so mature for her age, these outer disciples wouldn't dare to show her the slightest disrespect.

After all, the person in front of them was a deacon disciple and the first grand-disciple of the Sect Leader Kang Da, whose status far surpassed that of outer disciples like them, whose futures were uncertain.

If it weren't for the fact that the sect leader and elders were all busy with their own cultivation, Tang Jiu, with her Dual Spirit Root, should never have been taken under the wing of Jin Shilun, a Qi Refinement steward who hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet.

After Tang Jiu finished speaking, he said with a stern face, "Logically speaking, all of you senior brothers entered the sect earlier than Tang Jiu, so there are some things that shouldn't be elaborated on. However, I still need to remind you: Double Brightness disciples must not cruelly oppress or abuse the people. Otherwise..."

Tang Jiu's tone turned serious as he spoke, scanning the faces of all the cultivators before continuing, "From the elders and True Disciple to the inner and outer disciples, everyone must go to the Punishment Hall. You senior brothers should also think twice before acting, considering whether you have the ability and influence to survive under Martial Uncle Jiang's flying sword."

The young man with thick eyebrows, leading the group of outer disciples, trembled with fear and immediately bowed, saying, "We will certainly abide by our conscience and duty, and would never dare to violate it!"

On the way to the Chongming Sect, He Yuanhe praised Jin Shilun's disciple again, "Brother Jin's disciple is truly remarkable. Disciples with Dual Spirit Root are rare indeed. Our Stone Mountain Sect has many more mortals under its jurisdiction, but it still takes ten or even several decades to produce just one."

Jin Shilun laughed after hearing this, "That's lucky. Jiu'er's family wasn't originally under my clan's jurisdiction. His father was an orphan who was taken in by a lame bandit. He was rescued by my master and moved to Chongming City with my family."

Having grown up on charity food, she didn't even know her original surname, so she simply took the surname of that lame bandit. Afterwards, she settled down to have children, and then, along with Jiu'er, her Spirit Root were discovered at the Immortal Ascension Assembly a few years ago.

"Uncle's kindness is truly admirable. The saying 'A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings' perfectly describes this situation." He Yuanhe praised repeatedly, his eyes lighting up as he felt more confident about his plans.

Jin Shilun could tell that He Yuanhe's thoughts were not right, but he did not ask any further questions. Instead, he chatted with He Yuanhe about cultivation in a casual manner.

In Jin Shilun's view, after only a few days of conversation with He Yuanhe, the latter was indeed unworthy of the position of True Disciple of a major sect like False Core Stone Mountain Sect.

Jin Shilun was never an arrogant person, but to be fair, He Yuanhe was far inferior to him.

"I wonder what position this fellow disciple holds among the True Disciple of the Stone Mountain Sect." Jin Shilun concealed his thoughts. The willow-leaf-shaped flying boat that the two of them rode was quite fast, and soon they landed outside the gate of the Chongming Sect.

The disciple in charge of guarding the archway this month was Liu Ya, Ye Zhengwen's second disciple. Upon seeing Jin Shilun return to the sect, she came to greet him after he activated the formation with his token.

After introducing He Yuanhe to Liu Ya, Jin Shilun didn't exchange pleasantries with his junior brother for long, and instead led this elder brother to see the sect leader.

Upon reaching the council hall, the two were stopped by Song Cheng, a disciple of the Punishment Hall who had also come to see his master.

Jin Shilun's face showed some surprise. He calculated the time with his fingers and found it to be correct. He then asked doubtfully, "Junior Brother Song, I did speak with Master before coming here."

Song Cheng first bowed slightly apologetically to He Yuanhe before speaking to Jin Shilun, "Senior brother, please don't be offended. I was just reporting the quarterly inspection report of the Punishment Hall to our sect leader on time, but Martial Uncle Jiang came in and kicked me out."

Later, Uncle Yuan and several other elders entered the council hall one after another. Martial Uncle Jiang even told me, his junior brother, to stay here, saying that unless they adjourned the meeting, no one else was allowed to enter.

Upon hearing this, Jin Shilun and He Yuanhe frowned just like Song Cheng, and wondered at the same time, "What has happened this time that has made the commanders so nervous?"

----Inside the council hall of the Chongming Sect

"The information my senior brother received last time should be correct. The elder of the Fei Household's Juntian Bird Clan has indeed seized the nest of a mid-grade Third-Tier Middle-Grade Demon Beast in the Cold Crow Mountain Range near Hong County, and it seems he also took the Demon Beast's core."

A rare look of regret crossed Jiang Qing's face. Third-Tier Middle-Grade Demon Beast was comparable to Middle Stage of Golden Core cultivator. How many years had it been since a figure of such stature had perished in the Shannan Circuit?

These people from the capital region were ruthless; they didn't just make empty threats. They killed the Third Tier Demon Beast without hesitation, truly giving the cultivators of Mountain South a solid lesson.

Ye Zhengwen and Pei Yi frowned simultaneously, thinking to themselves, "I wonder if it's because of the departure of Uncle Black Shoes, but our sect leader, as the Fei Household's son-in-law, has to get information about such an important matter from another family. This is not a good sign."

Sect Leader Kang Da sighed as well. Nearly three years had passed since the departure of the Daoist Black Shoes. While Kuang Liuting had been living in seclusion and focusing on his cultivation, the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court, led by the Capital Region Faction headed by the Fei Household's old bird, had gained considerable influence.

Not only did they lavishly settle various cultivators who had migrated from the capital region in Ye Prefecture, suppressing the Yang Household family's collateral branches into hiding under the combined forces of local and immigrant groups; they also carried out a large-scale purge of families who disobeyed the state court in newly restored areas like Ding Prefecture and Pu Prefecture.

Among these families that were purged, many did not actually commit the crime of extermination, and some even had varying degrees of connection with the surrounding Golden Core forces.

But Juntian Bird didn't care about any of that. After receiving confirmation from the Prince of the South that the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion wouldn't usually act rashly, he showed no fear whatsoever in this rural area of Shannan Circuit, and some of his methods could be described as cruel.

According to him, "Only after countless heads roll can there be no cleanliness."

It was during these nearly three years of deaths that Sect Leader Kang Da truly understood why the Great Wei Immortal Dynasty, despite having so many incredible trump cards and backup plans, was still defeated and brought to such a state by the combined forces of various True Person in just over a thousand years after the fall of the Great Ancestor.

Compared to the flat-haired, sharp-beaked Marquis of Fengcheng, Kuang Liuting, the Earl of Nan'an who was of royal lineage, was truly kind-hearted and benevolent.

"Those who lack benevolence and only resort to cruel methods deserve this fate!"

After finishing his comments, Kang Dabao composed himself. Now that Jiang Qing had confirmed the information he had obtained from Fearless Tower was true, it was time to think about his next move.

He asked Jiang Qing, "Have those people from the Cold Mountain Sect received any news? Has the Fei Household or the state court sent them any missions?" As he expected, the Juntian Bird had found a Third Tier Demon Beast's nest without any foundation as its foothold, so it must have a next move.

If he truly wanted to establish a clan territory and a new Daoist She Mountain Hall, it wouldn't be enough to simply occupy a Third Tier Spirit Vein. Clearing out the miasma-ridden wastelands and eradicating the demonic mountains and caves in between would require countless deaths.

Juntian Bird would definitely not want the Fei Household cultivators to do the dirty work, so it would certainly require the help of Dafa cultivators for the trip to proceed.

After hearing what Sect Leader Kang Da, Jiang Qing shook his head and said, "Brother Xu only said that he hasn't received any orders yet, but Fei Household retainers have already started purchasing large quantities of supplies near Hong County."

Kang Dabao frowned again and turned to Yuan Jin, saying, "Afterwards, ask Xinran if there's anything unusual happening in Double Brightness Trade Market."

The latter responded, and then the Sect Leader Kang Da said again, "There will definitely be some action after this. The newly opened spiritual land is not a good way to make a living. The Fei Household will definitely not be willing to send their own people. After this, there will definitely be something big happening."

Whether it's dispatching troops from Ping and Jin'er counties or mobilizing our own clan's forces, the official order should arrive soon. We need to prepare as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, senior brother."

"I'll go and make the arrangements then."

After his fellow disciples responded, Kang Dabao said, "Let's stop here for today. Once this matter has progressed, we'll devise a new strategy."

"Senior brother, would you like to pay another respect to the Marquis of Gucheng?" Pei Yi asked, turning back before leaving.

After listening, Sect Leader Kang Da nodded again, and then said, "Junior Brother is quite right. I do have the same thought, but I don't know if my Boyue still sees me now."

Pei Yi remained silent for a moment after hearing this, then said calmly, "It's probably more than that. Perhaps Senior Brother is overthinking it."

"Ever since my Uncle Black Shoes went to the distant sea, the Earl of Earl of Nan'an has not summoned me for a long time, and more and more members of the She Mountain Hall have moved away, my attitude towards me as your Boyue has become much colder." Although what Kang Dabao said was not a good thing, there was not much dejection in his words.

Seeing Pei Yi's gloomy expression, Sect Leader Kang Da instead offered words of comfort:

"Junior brother, don't worry. It's not that he looks down on me; he just doesn't want to show me any more favors. He only wants Chongming Sect to serve him wholeheartedly. He can give you benefits and supplies, but you have to be obedient, as obedient as a dog."

Kang Dabao's words were so blunt and offensive that Pei Yi was momentarily speechless. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke up to advise, "Senior brother, how many families in this world don't act as lackeys for others?"

Sect Leader Kang Da nodded in agreement, saying calmly, "I understand this principle, and I also know that in my Boyue's eyes, the fact that my family is willing to be his dog, a direct descendant of the prestigious Fei Household, is already an act of kindness out of consideration for our past relationship."

Pei Yi trembled upon hearing this, his eyebrows slightly raised, but before he could speak, Kang Dabao continued, "That is indeed true. I never said I was unwilling to do it, it's just that my Boyue hasn't given me the chance yet."

The Sect Leader Kang Da paused, his voice growing even softer, echoing ethereally in the hall. "Using the blood and bones of sect disciples to earn the chance to be a dog."

Pei Yi was truly at a loss for words, and could only sigh, "Everyone is like this, Senior Brother, there's no need to worry about it."

Kang Dabao's expression changed, and he chuckled lightly, "Junior Brother is right. If given the chance, we should be even more resolute! I've learned my lesson before. If I'm afraid of dying now, I'll only cause more deaths. If the Fei Household were to include me in their ranks to fight the Star-Picking Pavilion, I wouldn't dare utter a single word of dissent."

"Senior brother," Pei Yi said, slightly worried upon seeing the reaction of Sect Leader Kang Da.

"Hehe, it's nothing. Please invite my nephew Yuanhe in from outside; he probably has something to ask of me."