Opening Up Spirit Soil (I)

According to the ancestral rules of Great Wei, whenever there was war, each household would contribute one out of three provisions to make a great fortune.

This time, the scale of the magistrate of Kangda County's conscription is much lighter than this "big deal," and it may be less than one in seven.

Since Sect Leader Kang Da has been so lenient, it's natural that prominent figures from all walks of life would have to give him face and refuse.

After all, the magistrate who now oversees the affairs of Ping and Jin counties is not someone to be easily fooled. Although the lives of ordinary people in the two counties have improved considerably, many cultivators who have broken the rules have also died.

Initially, Kang Dabao even hung the heads of these criminals on the crossbeams of the archway in Double Brightness Trade Market.

Later, perhaps feeling that business was ruined, or perhaps because there was no more room to hang the memorial archway on the beam, Kang Dabao sent people to seal it with spirit wax and distribute it to the various village elders' offices as a warning.

No one can truly resist Evil Method practices. Just as ordinary cultivators would risk their lives to obtain a single elixir, Evil Cultivator only need to raid a few unguarded villages, kill a hundred or so people, and spend half a day absorbing their Blood Qi. They might even progress faster than righteous cultivators.

Greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt—these five poisons of the human heart have a long history and are deeply rooted. Not to mention a True Cultivator like Kang Dabao with some skill, even the countless gods and Buddhas above him cannot cure them.

To find the root of this problem, perhaps we should blame the Lady Nüwa for not washing her hands before flicking the mud off with her whip.

However, in the previous period of unbridled growth, not only were ordinary people living hand to mouth, but even cultivators had to be constantly careful, worrying that one day their head might be taken by a passing Evil Cultivator.

Therefore, the cultivators were more or less grateful that Sect Leader Kang Da was able to allow everyone to live a relatively peaceful life. Not to mention that during this recruitment, the county temples of both counties distributed money and grain according to the number of people and reduced or exempted taxes, which was an exceptionally thoughtful and benevolent policy.

Kang Dabao had no time to care about what the people in the training ground were thinking; he was not as benevolent as most of them thought.

To mobilize troops from two counties without the authorization of the Sima Office seal and the governor's official document is, strictly speaking, already an overreach of regulations. Not to mention that they used the resources stored in the treasuries of the two counties to cultivate sacred land for their own benefit, this is a clear case of misusing public resources for private gain.

However, Sect Leader Kang Da had no intention of not returning this sum of money; it would simply be returned to the treasury once the profits from the newly developed spiritual land were tallied.

In addition, the state government has never paid much attention to such matters. How could those high-ranking officials be as dedicated as Magistrate Kang in ordinary times? It is enough that they can draw on local soldiers during wartime and collect money and grain during peacetime.

The saying "the more you do, the more mistakes you make; if you do nothing, you make no mistakes" isn't a rule that applies only to one particular small world.

Therefore, Sect Leader Kang Da was not worried about being reprimanded by his superiors for this matter. He only glanced at the list presented by Ye Zhengwen. Seeing that in addition to the troops gathered by the small families in Ping and Jin counties, there were also elites selected by various families of the Double Brightness Alliance, he began to read it aloud:

"Three hundred people from the Ma family of Changxian County, one hundred from the Chongming Sect, one hundred from the Hanshan Sect, one hundred from the Qiaogong Fortress, one hundred from the Shan family of Feiyue, one hundred from the Hemu Dao Sect, sixty from the Ming family of Xuelin Mountain, eighty from the He family of Hongxian County, and fifty from the Lu family of Caishi."

These figures are currently only on paper; it will take time for them to be collected from the various counties.

Each organization obviously has far more than just this many people on the surface.

However, if only the Chongming Sect, there are situations where the young men and women in the Nurturing Qilin Hall cannot leave, those who guard the mines cannot leave, those who tend the spirit fields cannot leave, and those who are in seclusion to break through cannot leave. It is already quite good that other families can send so many people.

"This Ma Yanwen is quite proactive," Kang Dabao. Just by looking at the numbers, he knew that this was probably most of the capital left over from the Chang County Ma Household.

From this, it can be seen that although Ma Yanwen is a useless privileged person who cannot Foundation Establishment, he is not entirely without merit. He still has some courage. Knowing that his family is in dire straits and he has no way to change it, he also has the courage to take a desperate gamble.

After handing the roster Jade Slip back to Ye Zhengwen, Sect Leader Kang Da asked, "There are only about a thousand people from both sides combined. That's not enough. Has the news of recruiting Rogue Cultivator been spread?"

The latter replied, "The Dragon Beast Master dispatched disciples from Green Lotus Courtyard yesterday, riding Golden-Feathered Owl, to spread the message in the bustling areas of several nearby counties. While Ping and Jin counties haven't been finished yet, over five hundred people have already gathered in each county today. It seems that in a while, Rogue Cultivator from other counties will arrive."

"Well, even if it costs more resources, it's better than losing more of our own disciples' lives." Kang Dabao was quite satisfied with the figures. He then turned and asked Mo Wen, the leader of Ingenious Craftsman Fort, to come over and have his disciples find some places to use the mechanical puppets to build temporary residences for the troops at the training ground.

Afterwards, Jin Shilun, the Chongming City, Zhou Xinran, the disciple in charge of the goods, were also entrusted with important responsibilities.

The former requires gathering able-bodied men and women to provide meals for the Rogue Cultivator and the local militia of the two counties. Sect Leader Kang Da no longer has the magnanimity to provide unified spiritual meals for such a large number of people. If they want to eat, they can simply go to the newly established dining hall outside the mountain gate of the Chongming Sect. It's half-price, half-gift, and the price is absolutely fair.

The latter would need to prepare the supplies that Kang Dabao had instructed them to stockpile in advance.

After all, with so many cultivators from other places suddenly lingering near the Chongming Sect, wouldn't it be a shame if they couldn't put some effort into earning back the settling Spirit Stone that Sect Leader Kang Da had given them?

This business was beyond the capacity of the Chongming Small Pavilion's family to handle; he had even consulted with Deng Baichuan beforehand.

Double Brightness Trade Market was ultimately a business established by the two Sima, and even though they are not as kind to Kang Dabao as they used to be, the filial duties they should perform cannot be reduced.

Otherwise, the relationship would truly be ruined, and it would be difficult to salvage.

After more than a month, the elite troops of the Double Brightness Alliance, more than 600 soldiers from the two counties, and Rogue Cultivator from various counties, totaling more than 2,000 people, were finally assembled and trained.

When it comes to reputation, it can be both useless and useful.

Otherwise, how could Sect Leader Kang Da, who is only a mid-stage True Cultivator, possibly gather more than three thousand cultivators with a single order? This performance is far better than that of Huo Bing, a nominal but useless governor back then.

With so many practitioners gathered together, how can they be properly managed?

After all, those unruly and wicked Evil Cultivator are still a rarity in Ping and Jin counties, but they still live comfortably in other counties.

If Kang Dabao had been less capable, he might have been caught off guard and the paradise that Chongming Sect had painstakingly built up would have been ruined by these people.

Jiang Qing and Ji Yunsheng selected elite disciples from various families and trained them into an enforcement team.

They had no other way to make a living each day, so they simply categorized those cunning rogue Rogue Cultivator who had received the Anjia Spirit Stone from the Sect Leader Kang Da but wanted to sneak out of the formation, those disciples from various families who couldn't understand the strict rules and regulations, and those brave and violent wandering knights, and assigned them crimes with iron rulers and spirit shackles.

This time, Sect Leader Kang Da was quite merciful and spared no one's life. Those with minor offenses were sent to various mines to serve as miners, while those with serious offenses still had a few Enlisted Army Talisman left.

Although these First Tier items can be described as rare, they are not considered precious to the Chongming Sect at present; once they are used up, they are gone.

After the prevailing atmosphere in the military was properly established, the next step was to reorganize the troops.

If the local militia of the two counties had undergone several military exercises, they might still have some semblance of discipline when on the battlefield. However, the newly recruited Rogue Cultivator from various counties would be nothing more than a rabble if they were not organized into a cohesive unit.

Kang Dabao would not allow them to ruin things. Otherwise, it would be a small matter if the Rogue Cultivator lost their lives, but it would be a big deal if he, the Sect Leader Kang Da, spent Spirit Stone and got no results.

They also selected some capable individuals from various families to join the ranks of the Rogue Cultivator as officers of various ranks. For those who couldn't send anyone, they chose the tallest among the short. There were always some outstanding Rogue Cultivator who could take on important responsibilities. As long as the law of collective punishment was strictly enforced, there was no need to worry too much.

Then came the method of church-wide battle, explaining the golden gongs and flags, and how practitioners are generally more wise than foolish.

After more than a month, the group of Rogue Cultivator gradually became more organized and disciplined, no longer resembling the initial impression that their two thousand-plus men would be easily overwhelmed by six hundred local militia.

This time, as usual, Sect Leader Kang Da left Yuan Jin to guard the house, while Ye Zhengwen and Pei Yi stayed behind to assist him. There should be no worries about anything happening.

Jiang Qing led the "Cloud Horn Volunteers," a group of over two thousand Rogue Cultivator, at the forefront, clearing the way. Ming Hun led the militia from two counties in the center, while Kang Dabao led the elite troops of the Double Brightness Alliance at the rear.

There aren't many Demon Beasts on the edge of the Cold Crow Mountain Range near ** and Jin counties. After all, if there were more, there would be no reason for the Chongming Sect to re-establish its mountain gate here.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for the more than two thousand independent Rogue Cultivator to stay together. Jin Shilun relayed Jiang Qing's order, and the large group dispersed in units of hundreds.

Each of the generals should take the maps that were distributed beforehand. This was obtained by Sect Leader Kang Da through exchanging Merit Points with the Fearless Tower.

The elite team in the building collected a great deal of information from mountain explorers over the years, and then eliminated the contradictory, bizarre, and unbelievable information. It took them a year to complete the drawing, and it is hundreds of times better than the crude maps circulating in the market.

The cultivation quality of the Rogue Cultivator varied greatly. Many of them were only at the first or second level Qi Refinement Refining. Not only did they lack one or two high-grade magic Law Artifact, but many of them didn't even have a single Dao technique that they had mastered to the rudimentary stage.

Such people, suddenly entering the infamous Cold Crow Mountain Range, would naturally feel a sense of awe.

You Xiaobao, who came from Chongming City, was one such person. He was holding an iron bone hammer, which was known as a "top-grade Talisman Artifact," and walked forward with the group with trepidation.

Speaking of You Xiaobao, who embarked on the path of cultivation at a young age, he had never fought with anyone before. Even this iron bone hammer was taken from the pocket of his Rogue Cultivator master who was still lying on his sickbed.

The You Household were not originally from this area; for generations, they had been farmers and tenants in ordinary villages elsewhere.

After being fortunate enough to move to Chongming City, You Xiaobao's father, You Ersheng, was recruited to work as a teacher at the Spirit Stone mine in Tanggu County for several years because he knew a little bit of martial arts.

Because of his outstanding performance during his military service, and the fact that he obtained some extraordinary elixirs and secret manuals that were considered extraordinary by ordinary people, he became Martial Ancestor and thus gained some foundation in Chongming City.

By the time it came to You Xiaobao's generation, there were already over a hundred of his brothers, which made it incredibly fortunate for him to emerge as a prodigy with such Spirit Root.

The You Household has a Changsheng tablet for Sect Leader Kang Da in front of and outside the main hall. You Xiaobao also has Spirit Root, You Household naturally hopes that he can join the Chongming Sect.

However, You Xiaobao's spiritual root was too inferior, and his temperament was also far from excellent, so he was rejected at the Ascension Conference. You Ersheng then spent ninety percent of his family fortune to get You Xiaobao the opportunity to become a disciple of a rogue cultivator who lived in Chongming City.

However, his good fortune was short-lived. After You Xiaobao had cultivated for ten years and finally broken through to the Qi Refining Second Layer, his Rogue Cultivator master almost died in his meditation room because he had disrupted his Middle Qi Refinement of Qi Refining. He desperately needed spirit medicine to save his life.

If it weren't for this connection, You Xiaobao wouldn't have been so greedy for the twenty Spirit Stone that the Chongming Sect had given him as a resettlement allowance, and wouldn't have thrown himself into this extremely dangerous war.

Not everyone has the ambition to become an immortal or ancestor. You Xiaobao, who was not yet twenty, felt that living a good life and having many wives and concubines and many children like his father You Ersheng would be quite pleasant.

He was only in a daze for a moment, and his steps slowed slightly, when he was glared at by his fire chief, a young man dressed in the outer disciple's robes of the Chongming Sect.

"Don't slow down! Hurry up!!"

You Xiaobao trembled at the young man's urging, almost dropping his slippery iron hammer. But he dared not delay for a moment and immediately used his not-so-skilled Desolate-Tier Lower-Grade Flying Bird Movement Method to catch up.

This unusual movement naturally drew the attention of the leader of the hundred-man force.

This general, who wore a jade talisman bearing the True Disciple of the Ingenious Craftsman Fort at his waist, glanced at You Xiaobao only briefly before turning to the young man and saying, "It's still early, Fellow Daoist Xing, there's no need to be in such a hurry."

Upon hearing this, Xing Bing immediately bowed and apologized, saying, "Brother, you are right. I was too hasty."

If it were any other True Disciple from the Ingenious Craftsman Fort, he, as a disciple of the Chongming Sect with a formal master, would not need to be so respectful.

But Xiu Ming in front of us is no ordinary person. Not only is he the closed-door disciple of Mo Wen, the head of Ingenious Craftsman Fort, but he can also operate several First-Tier Superior-Grade mechanical puppets with his Sixth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation. He can be considered a rising star among the current generation of Ingenious Craftsman Fort.

Furthermore, when it comes to his relationship with the high-ranking members of the Chongming Sect, Xiu Ming is much closer to them than Xing Bing's master Niu Kuang, who serves as an outer sect steward.

Xing Bing took out some palm leaf petals to offer, but Xiu Ming politely declined. His gaze then shifted to the marching procession, his Divine Sense sweeping over the distributed map before he said:

"We are still 120 li from the old site of the Black Sand Tribe. The sun is not strong today. When we travel another 16 li and pass through the bushes, we should encounter the Four-Flower Miasma. Please inform the group, Fellow Daoist Xing, to take the prepared Miasma-Warding Pill in advance."

"Your foolish brother obeys." Xing Bing responded and then rode off on his Cloud-Treading Colt to deliver the message.

Even with thorough preparations made beforehand, casualties still occurred when passing through the Four-Flower Miasma.

Several rogue Rogue Cultivator, who thought themselves capable of warding off miasma, did not take Higher Vehicle Miasma-Warding Pill in order to save it for later. As a result, one of them died and two others were injured.

These three were all from Xing Bing's fiery group, which made him so angry he almost laughed out loud.

But whatever the case, the deed is done, so we must first think of a solution.

The dead were relatively easy to handle; they could be cremated on the spot, and their ashes and compensation could be sent to their family later. The living, however, were much more troublesome, since advanced Alchemist were extremely rare, and none of their volunteer troops were equipped with them. The few Pill-Refining Apprentice in the group could only scratch their heads in disbelief at the poisonous miasma.

Upon Xiu Ming this, Bai Jiangxiuming murmured, "It seems they can only be saved if someone sends them back to the central army's militia headquarters."

Xiu Ming's words made You Xiaobao's eyes light up, and he looked on expectantly as the other two were Xiu Ming by Xiu Ming. Before You Xiaobao could sigh for long, Huo Xing Bing urged him and his comrades to quicken their pace with a dark face.

The cultivators became much more cautious along the way. Apart from one person being bitten by a poisonous insect that could block Divine Sense and turning into a puddle of pus, they were all relatively safe.

Xiu Ming expressionlessly marked the dangers of the place on the Jade Slip, then picked up a poisonous insect and stuffed it into a jade bottle for later use in writing battle reports. Afterwards, he looked at the ruins of a fortress built of spirit wood and giant stones on the mountainside in the distance.

Although he was young, it was not difficult for him to tell from the common sense he had gained from reading books and travelogues in his spare time that this must have been the stronghold of a tribal chief in the Mountain Barbarians back then.

According to the map, this Mountain Barbarians tribe should have had dozens of cultivators and a population of 100,000 back then, but now...

"Grunt. Roar."

A strange cry rang out clearly. Xiu Ming glanced sideways and saw several gray-haired figures.

"Just as the map shows, this place has become a hiding place for a small group of Fire-Fang Tree Yaoguai!" Xing Bing was overjoyed and looked at Xiu Ming with bright eyes, almost wanting to rush over with his men to make a name for themselves before the other party could speak.

"Fellow Daoist, do not be anxious," Xiu Ming Xiu Ming his finger, and several mechanical puppets of various shapes rushed Cloud Horn Volunteers, charging towards the swarm of tree demons.

These brutal and ugly beasts seemed to have already sensed the arrival of their hostile guests, and were not frightened by these several enormous Tie Household.

A First-Tier Supreme-Grade tree demon, accompanied by its servants and wives, came straight at them. The tree trunk in its hand, as tall as a person and as thick as a vat, had not been tempered by spiritual fire, but due to its great strength and weight, it still smashed the few not-so-outstanding mid-grade puppets, sending sparks flying.

The mechanical puppet was unexpectedly blocked, Xiu Ming's expression changed slightly, but he was not in a hurry. He gave a wink to an old and experienced cultivator behind him, and then changed his hand seals.

The mid-grade mechs risked their lives to flee back, drawing most of the Fire-Fang Tree Yaoguai out of the fortress.

The leader of the tree demons had good reason to dare to attack. It dodged most of the hundred or so talismanic spells that came straight at it with its agile footwork, and the remaining few were swept away by the spirit wood in its hand.

With their leader displaying such power, the tree demons were naturally invigorated. They beat their chests and stamped their feet, their sharp fangs wreathed in large flames, looking extremely fierce.

Xiu Ming watched coldly as the last puppet he had released was caught up by the tree demon leader. The puppet's body, made of several pieces of spirit metal, shattered on the ground, but he showed no panic.

With a wave of his hand, the only two remaining disciples of the Ingenious Craftsman Fort in the group released a few more low-to-mid-grade mechanical puppets to briefly block the attack.

The cracking sound of metal exploding around him made Xing Bing, who had just been eager for battle, tremble slightly. However, she forced herself to remain calm and raised a golden shield as tall as herself, standing in front of the crowd along with the other fire chiefs.

The screams of dozens of ferocious beasts nearly paralyzed You Xiaobao with fear. He watched as Xing Bing withstood a blow from the tree demon leader's staff, shattering his shield and nearly tearing his body to shreds.

Even as the latter fell, you could hear him repeatedly urging, "Keep going, keep going!"

The joint training over the past month has yielded results. Without the previous True Cultivator, how could the front line composed of more than ten Middle Qi Refinement cultivators have withstood such a long and fierce attack from the tree demon swarm?

You Xiaobao shakily summoned several talismans. Perhaps due to their poor quality or lack of skill, the water arrow talisman dissipated into gas after catching up with the Fireball Talisman, leaving only a ball of flame accompanying the golden spear talisman as it rushed forward.

Ironically, the tree demon leader, who had anticipated this, was caught off guard and accidentally struck in the left eye socket by a golden spear that was slightly deflected by the fiery aura.

"Roar!" The tree demon leader, writhing in pain, let out a shriek and became even more frenzied. With a frenzied swing of its spirit wood, it swept away two or three key members of the formation, including Xing Bing, leaving their fates unknown.

Then he opened his mouth wide, and a stench mixed with flames gushed out. An ordinary Qi Refinement would be roasted to a crisp the moment he was hit, how could he possibly survive?!

"Are you ready?!"

The answer to Xiu Ming's question was a silver crossbow bolt, ten feet long and as thick as an arm. The experienced cultivator pulled back the trigger and flicked it, sending the silver crossbow bolt, carrying spiritual light, whistling through the air and striking the tree demon leader heavily in the chest.

Without any incident, the solid body of a mid-level cultivator, which even ordinary magical Law Artifact couldn't break, was completely blasted into fragments.

As a result, the tree demons' rampant offensive suddenly halted. The group of ferocious beasts were momentarily dazed as they stared at the debris formed by their leader, and thus experienced a very brief moment of stunned silence.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Xiu Ming had no time to check on the injuries of those in the field; he immediately released his prized puppet to charge into the horde of Demon Beast.

You Xiaobao didn't know whether his own fire chief was dead or alive. Now he felt no joy at having injured the Demon Beast leader. After randomly unleashing a few more Dao techniques that almost hit his own people, he trembled as he held his Talisman Artifact and was dragged to the front of the battle by the people behind him.

Not long after the battle began, You Xiaobao's brocade robes were stained red. He didn't know whose blood it was, nor did he have time to tell. He just imitated the foul-smelling beasts opposite him and screamed loudly.

"Don't think of yourself as human. The Demon Beast are ferocious; you have to be even more ferocious than them to have any chance of returning alive!"

His master's earnest admonitions echoed in his ears. You Xiaobao felt his eyes turn bloodshot, and daring not to hold back any longer, he swung the Iron Bone Hammer heavily and smashed it into the Hardness skull of a mid-grade Fire-Fang Tree Yaoguai.

The Talisman Artifact shattered into pieces, but the skull remained intact. Enraged Fire-Fang Tree Yaoguai sought revenge, only to be evenly split apart from top to bottom by a sword-wielding mechanical puppet.

You Xiaobao's face was splattered with the stench of the entrails, but he didn't feel nauseous; instead, he felt fortunate.

Coming to his senses, he realized that, apart from the spot where he was standing, the dozens of Fire-Fang Tree Yaoguai had all been scattered by the other cultivators who had outnumbered them, which was why he was lying on the ground, unable to get up.

Jade Slip Xiu Ming, then thought to himself, "There's still a lot of inaccurate or outdated information on this map; I need to send someone to report it to Uncle as soon as possible."

He glanced at the blood and mud on the ground, at the chaotic scene, and thought to himself, "I can't rest for too long. There are still many places to conquer. Fortunately, I've already tackled the toughest challenges."

He used the mecha's loudspeaker to broadcast his message: "Rest for half a day, depart tonight, no delays allowed!"

The Cold Crow Mountain Range is still quite vast.

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This guy was the only author who actually read my book and left a message after I couldn't get a contract back then, and I left messages everywhere. I'm still grateful to him. I hope you Lao Bai can take a look when you have time. Thank you everyone!