Innate Immortal Seed

The cultivators from the Array Hall swiftly retrieved their pre-prepared Array Plates, setting them up according to the Array Map and the previously scouted flow of Spiritual Qi.

Based on the nature of Monkey Mountain’s Spirit Vein, they chose the Ten Thousand Miles Yellow Sand Formation, which would be most effective.

In less than half a day, the Array was complete. A thick, yellow light rose up and enveloped all of Monkey Mountain.

The materials left behind by the Jade-Eyed Golden-Eyed Ape, a creature just one step away from becoming a Tier Three Demon King, were far more precious than those of an ordinary Tier Two Demon Beast.

Its pair of jade eyes, in particular, could be used to refine a Magical Treasure—or at the very least, a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact—according to an Elder from the Artifact Refining Hall.

As for the iron rod in the Monkey King’s hand, it took a great deal of effort to dig it out of the mountain cliff.

After identification, it was determined to be Taiyi Profound Iron, a Tier Three Ore, weighing several hundred pounds.

At the same time, a large number of Tier Two Vermilion Fruit Trees were discovered on the back of the mountain.

There were nearly a hundred ripe Tier Two Vermilion Fruits, ready for picking at any time.

All things considered, this was the greatest haul since the Pioneering War began.

According to the rules of the Pioneer Decree, Monkey Mountain would be divided up and awarded to meritorious cultivators after the war.

It was unclear if the discovery of these dozen or so Tier Two Vermilion Fruit Trees would make the Qingfeng Sect change its mind.

However, these treasures had little to do with Bai Zichen for now.

He was more concerned with his own Sect Contribution points.

Single-handedly slaying a Tier Two Low Grade White Ape, joining forces to kill a Tier Two Mid Grade Fire Ape...

Not counting the three Hall Masters, Bai Zichen received 1,500 Sect Contribution points, ranking first among all the Elders.

In addition, he had sold all the Demon Beast Materials from the Tier Two White Ape through Senior Brother Zhang.

This time, he only got 600 Sect Contribution points in return.

In the battle at Monkey Mountain, a total of thirteen Tier Two Demon Beasts were killed, causing the value of such materials to drop even further.

Furthermore, with everyone watching, Senior Brother Zhang had no room to maneuver.

He could only take the Tier Two White Ape’s materials back into the sect’s inventory at the current market price.

’Two more times like this, and I’ll have enough Sect Contribution points saved up to repay my debt to Senior Brother Peng... It’s a shame there aren’t many good opportunities like this left.’

With the pioneering army at his side, he didn’t have to worry about being surrounded by Demon Beasts and could just focus on killing his enemies.

As long as he didn’t run into a Tier Three Demon King, the Pioneering War was almost completely without danger for Bai Zichen.

However, the next stop, Feiyue Lake, wouldn’t be so easy.

The last leg of the journey is always the most challenging.

The greatest challenge and the greatest risk in the Pioneering War always lay with the Tier Three Demon Kings.

It was the very existence of these Tier Three Demon Kings that hindered the progress of human cultivators in opening up Black Mountain.

Black Mountain County was considered a harsh and barren land by everyone in Liang Country, with impoverished Spirit Veins and scarce resources.

But if they could truly utilize even half of the Black Mountain Range, Black Mountain County would instantly become one of the top three counties in Liang Country in terms of Cultivation Resources.

Aside from a mysterious Flood Dragon, Feiyue Lake lay hidden deep within Black Mountain, never before disturbed by cultivators.

According to the Qingfeng Sect’s preliminary scouting, there were at least thirty Tier Two Demon Beasts living in the area centered around Feiyue Lake.

The number of Tier Two Demon Beasts alone was double that of Monkey Mountain.

The pioneering army would rest and reorganize at Monkey Mountain for a period, replenishing damaged Battle Array supplies and waiting for a massive number of Fire Element Talismans being rushed into production specifically to deal with Water Element Demonic Beasts.

At the same time, the Sect would dispatch another batch of reinforcements.

These would be composed mainly of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, with a select few Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators.

According to Senior Brother Zhang, the first three waystations would be handed over to Qi Refining Disciples for defense, freeing up the Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The three Wind Shuttles would also be fully committed to the final, decisive battle.

’But my greatest gain wasn’t the few thousand contribution points, but the progress I made in the Sword Dao...’

Bai Zichen sat cross-legged in his mobile Cave Mansion. He took out the Ghost-Slaying Peach Wood Sword, which he hadn’t used for combat in a long time, and placed it across his lap.

The Second Realm of Sword Dao: Sword Qi Thunder Sound.

Back when he had watched the recording in the *True Explanations of the Taibai Sword Sect*, he had wondered why the Sword Techniques of the Second Realm looked less exquisite than those of the first.

Only after truly reaching this Realm did he realize how naive his question had been.

Beyond the slight increase in the Sword Light’s speed and power, the most important change was that every sword strike now borrowed from nature’s spiritual energy, reducing the Magical Power consumed when Controlling Flying Swords.

Channeling Sword Light was a bottomless pit that devoured Magical Power.

Simultaneously controlling even one additional Flying Sword would multiply the Magical Power consumption.

This was also the biggest reason why a normal Sword Cultivator could not set up a Sword Array by themselves.

After mastering Sword Qi Thunder Sound, he could unleash his full power with only thirty percent of the Magical Power. This meant the cost of using Dual Swords was now equivalent to what it previously took to control a single Flying Sword.

For a Sword Cultivator like Bai Zichen, his strength had effectively doubled.

’It’s a pity I only have the Sound Bamboo Sword. If I had two matching Flying Swords, it would be Perfection...’

Bai Zichen immediately thought of the Celestial Xin Sword from the Sword Refining Secret Method. If he could ask Senior Brother Dai Hui of the Artifact Refining Hall to refine one for him, his set would be complete.

’Among the materials needed for refining the Celestial Xin Sword, the auxiliary components are easy enough to find. The difficult part is the ten pounds of White Iron Elite...’

He had already inquired at both the Artifact Refining Hall and the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, but neither had this special, tempered ore in stock.

The only remaining place in the Qingfeng Sect that might have this ore was the Secret Hall.

White Iron Elite itself was only a Tier Two Top-Grade ore, but the final step required a Core Formation True Man to temper it with their Pill Fire for three years just to produce a ten-pound portion.

This alone skyrocketed the value of White Iron Elite.

Bai Zichen knew he didn’t have enough face to ask a Core Formation Ancestor to spend three years tempering a portion of White Iron Elite just for him.

For now, he could only wait and see if he could obtain this special ore through other means.

He pointed at the Ghost-Slaying Peach Wood Sword, and a gentle, milky-white Sword Light circled around it.

Although it flew extremely slowly, it was accompanied by the sound of gathering wind and thunder.

Taking advantage of the time before the attack on Feiyue Lake, Bai Zichen used the Ghost-Slaying Peach Wood Sword—his weakest in terms of killing power—as a test subject to improve his mastery of Sword Qi Thunder Sound.

This was to avoid his Sound Bamboo Sword flying out with too much power and destroying his temporary Cave Mansion.

...

Seven days later, a message came through his Elder Token, summoning all Foundation Establishment Cultivators to the main hall for a meeting.

Bai Zichen put his things away, stood up, and summoned a Water Mirror. He used a Cleaning Talisman to tidy his appearance before leaving the temporary Cave Mansion.

With several thousand cultivators providing labor, seven days was enough to bring about earth-shattering changes to Monkey Mountain.

Ancient trees were felled, rugged peaks were leveled into large clearings, and a majestic hall was erected out of thin air.

On either side, low, three-story pavilions were densely packed together.

At a time like this, efficiency was paramount; no one bothered with spatial aesthetics or ornate carvings.

Bai Zichen had done another Visualization of the Glazed Fire Jade that morning, so he was already considered late by the time he arrived.

The grand hall was filled with cultivators. This time, in addition to the Qingfeng Sect Elders, Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Cultivation Families and Loose Cultivators had also been invited.

With the addition of a few more cultivators from Noble Families and powerful Loose Cultivators who wished to settle down and start their own clans, the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators on Monkey Mountain reached a new peak.

The topic of everyone’s focus was, naturally, Feiyue Lake.

A few cultivators from Cultivation Families were also discussing amongst themselves what kind of rewards they could choose after the war based on their current merits.

When Bai Zichen walked into the hall, the surroundings suddenly became much quieter, and the noisy discussions ceased.

Numerous gazes turned toward him, filled with a mixture of awe, curiosity, and a desire to curry favor.

Since the battle seven days ago, all the participants had heard of his achievements. They knew that this new genius cultivator from the Qingfeng Sect not only had an astonishing Cultivation speed but also possessed unparalleled combat strength.

Perhaps in a hundred years, he would become another great figure like Master Ge Cang.

The few newly arrived Foundation Establishment Cultivators who didn’t know the full story quietly asked their acquaintances about him, and soon, a few muffled gasps could be heard.

"Clan Leader, how is the Bai Family faring in this Pioneering War?"

Bai Zichen saw Bai Xianzhong chatting with a few other cultivators near the edge on the left side, and he went up to greet him.

"It’s been alright. Only two people have been injured so far... It’s all thanks to that batch of Magical Artifacts you sent back last time, Brother Chenn. They greatly improved the strength of our Clan Cultivators."

Bai Xianzhong had mixed feelings. Every so often, this young clansman of his would make big news.

From becoming a True Inheritance disciple and succeeding in his Foundation Establishment to now possessing astonishing combat strength that surpassed many veteran Elders...

The Bai Family simply couldn’t keep up, unable to provide him with any meaningful assistance as he left them further and further behind.

Now, it was Bai Zichen who had to support the Clan instead.

"That’s good to hear. But Feiyue Lake is several times more dangerous than Monkey Mountain, so you must be extremely careful."

"Brother Chenn, let me introduce you. These are fellow Daoists who are on good terms with the Bai Family."

Seeing the pleading look in Bai Xianzhong’s eyes, Bai Zichen stayed where he was to lend the Bai Family some face.

"This is the Ancestor of the Chen Family. He is highly respected and was a sworn brother to our Bai Family’s previous Clan Leader."

Bai Xianzhong first beckoned forward a hunched-over old man who leaned on an Immortal Crane Wooden Crutch and exuded a dense aura of death.

"Chen Yizhong greets Elder Bai. In the future, I hope you will look after the younger generation of the Chen Family, for the sake of the century-long friendship between the Bai and Chen Families."

Bai Zichen quickly supported the old man, who was about to perform a grand salute, and repeatedly said he wouldn’t dare accept it.

’Back when I was still in the clan, they were already saying the Chen Family’s Ancestor didn’t have many years left... To think that more than a decade has passed, and he’s still stubbornly hanging on.’

The Chen Family’s Ancestor was now indistinguishable from a mortal old man, his face covered in age spots, his teeth all gone, and his hands trembling nonstop. It seemed he could reach the end of his life at any moment.

The Fragrant Pig Chen Family had no successor. Once this Ancestor passed away, the clan couldn’t even find a single promising clansman with any hope of reaching Foundation Establishment soon.

That was why they had sought out the Bai Family, with whom they had an unbreakable bond, willing even to hand over their heirloom Fragrant Pig rearing techniques just to tie themselves to the Bai Family and weather the storm.

According to Bai Zichen’s earlier speculation, the Chen Family’s plan was to survive as a vassal clan of the Bai Family after their own Ancestor passed on, at least until the next Foundation Establishment Cultivator was born within their ranks.

In his current state, the Chen Family’s Ancestor couldn’t possibly fight; he was purely there for show.

But the presence or absence of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator completely changed the level of reception one received from the Qingfeng Sect.

It was no exaggeration to say that as long as the Chen Family’s Ancestor was still breathing, the chances of Chen Family cultivators surviving the Pioneering War were several times higher than that of an ordinary Loose Cultivator.

"This is the Clan Leader of the Red Leaf Fang Family..." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator who looked like a simple, honest farmer squeezed forward and bowed respectfully, completely positioning himself as a junior.

"This is the Paper Crane Daoist..."

"Fellow Daoist Gan Miao of the Nine Talisman Gan Family..."

Toward the next few Foundation Establishment Cultivators who were introduced, Bai Zichen’s attitude was more perfunctory. He gave a slight nod, which counted as his response.

None of them took offense; on the contrary, they felt this was a normal attitude for him to have.

On a normal day, when interacting with ordinary Elders from the Qingfeng Sect, they already had to act deferentially and deliberately curry favor.

What’s more, Bai Zichen’s talent was so obvious that even a blind person could see it. He was an unstoppable rising star who would undoubtedly become an important figure in the Qingfeng Sect in the future.