Chapter 360 - 320: The Latest Situation

"What a stench! What a stench!" The closer they got, the stronger the odor, prompting Tao Zhongxian to cover his nose and cry out.

This was not a simple smell of rot, but a mix of various strange and unbearable odors. The stench was not only foul but also toxic, and after a few breaths, Tao Zhongxian felt a sharp pain in his lungs.

Tao Boliang hurriedly took out a Treasure Pearl from his bosom. It emitted azure light, enveloping the entire small boat and isolating the foul smell outside.

Tao Zhongxian gasped for breath and asked the Yunshan Sect disciple navigating the small boat, "Senior Brother, why is it so stinky here?"

The disciple’s face was heavy as he sighed and pointed to the far distant horizon, "This stench is nothing else but from our former sect grounds, Bichao Mountain."

The Tao Brothers were surprised by his words and looked afar.

At this moment, the bright moon hung high, and the starlight was brilliant. With excellent visibility, they could see a dark mountain peak standing on the horizon more than a hundred miles away. The closer the verdant vegetation on the ground got to it, the sparser it became until within a few dozen miles, it turned into a barren wasteland.

The former sect grounds of Yunshan Sect had become a barren toxic mountain, with poison gases that could be smelled hundreds of miles away!

Remembering the history of the Yunshan Sect recounted by Half a Front Tooth in the tavern, the Tao Brothers thought of this place as destroyed by Golden Core enemies, never expecting it to be so devastating, and felt a pang of sadness.

"The enemies used poisonous water to destroy Bichao Mountain and wiped out living beings within a hundred-mile radius. Mortal civilians had to relocate elsewhere." The disciple’s voice started low but grew increasingly high, "However, Sect Leader said that with people saved rather than land, both can be preserved. As long as Yunshan disciples unite wholeheartedly, we can reclaim the spirit vein and rebuild the mountain gate!"

"A thousand-foot building rises from the ground, who cares if Bichao Mountain is no more!"

"Our sect now holds Lingsha City, Golden Dawn Peak, and has established numerous outposts centered around Shuangye Square. Our actual territory now spans nearly seven hundred miles, controlling over fifty county cities, with more than 7.5 million mortals residing!"

"We now have 20 new Spirit Seeds annually!"

"Even Golden Core Major Sects dare not underestimate us." The disciple made a heavy sweeping gesture, "Sect Leader said that although Xuanguang Sect’s strength still far surpasses us now, as long as everyone in the sect dedicates themselves, whether thirty years or fifty years later, one day, we will replace them!"

His face was filled with intense confidence, and even the newly joined Tao Brothers felt their blood boiling, filled with a sense of honor and responsibility at this moment.

Even a mere Qi Cultivation Disciple had such ambition and pride; Yunshan Sect truly is a remarkable sect, and Sect Leader Lu is truly an outstanding leader!

The small boat avoided Bichao Mountain from the side and continued to fly north.

When closest to Bichao Mountain, Tao Boliang saw a glimmering azure light on top of the dark mountain peak.

"That is the spirit vein of Bichao Mountain," the disciple said, "Although the entire mountain has been corroded by poison making it uninhabitable, the second-tier middle-grade spirit vein of Bichao Mountain remains intact."

"Sect Leader just visited not long ago and said this spirit vein supports a Pure Land with a radius of one zhang, but its scope is ultimately too small, surrounded by toxic lands, thus useless."

Tao Boliang nodded, watching the lone spirit vein gradually fade into the distance.

Upon crossing into the Bichao Mountain boundary, the disciple navigating the small boat reduced the flying height, extinguished the boat’s lights, and asked Tao Boliang to put away the glowing Treasure Pearl.

"Bichao Mountain to Golden Dawn Peak is over four hundred miles, and within this range, our Shuangye Alliance has not fully occupied the territory. Currently, we’re still contending with Xuanguang Sect." The disciple looked alert as he spoke, "Both sides have many scouts here, so we must be cautious."

The Tao Brothers were unfamiliar with the situation, so the disciple quietly explained.

Previously, Shuangye Alliance concentrated all cultivators and Spirit Seeds from Kongming Mountain, Qingli Mountain, Liuhua Valley, Spirit Snake Peak, Shouzhuo Sect, and Zhuquan Sect into Lingsha City, abandoning these spirit veins to keep Lingsha City secure.

Subsequently, Xuanguang Sect attacked Lingsha City but retreated unsuccessful due to Master Cangfeng’s intervention. However, the spirit veins were occupied by Xuanguang Sect. Fortunately, before retreating, Shuangye Alliance gathered most of the Spirit Seeds from the spirit veins’ subordinate territories, and all sects stored their wealth in Meihua Square’s Sea Abyss Pavilion, preventing major losses.

Thereafter, the northeast of Zhongming, Yunshan Sect, with Master Cangfeng’s help, reclaimed Golden Dawn Peak, using Lingsha City and Golden Dawn Peak as bases to gradually expand outward.

In the southeast of Zhongming, sects from Liangxiang County stationed troops at Shuangye Square, building outposts around and gradually encroaching on Xuanguang Sect’s territories.

Xuanguang Sect’s forces weakened to the brink after the great battle between the two counties. From Master Fengfeng to Qi Cultivators, everyone was injured, unable to guard the entire county.

Now, in the southeast, focused efforts around Shuangye Square have secured original Spirit Snake Peak, Shouzhuo Sect, and Zhuquan Sect’s three first-tier spirit veins to the west, reclaiming Qingli Mountain and Liuhua Valley’s two first-tier spirit veins to the north.

These five first-tier spirit veins encircled are all under the control of Liangxiang County and Shuangye Alliance.

Liangxiang County troops guard the three original sect spirit veins, while Shuangye Alliance troops guard Qingli Mountain and Liuhua Valley.

Meanwhile, Shuangye Square is jointly garrisoned by law enforcement teams from both sides, primarily led by Liangxiang County, though marketplace management rights belong to Yunshan Sect.

Xuanguang Sect tightly holds the branch spirit vein of the former Zhou Family’s Yuqing Mountain, Lotus Peak, which used to be a spirit medicine cultivation base developed by Yunshan Sect, blocking Liangxiang County’s westward expansion.

In the northeast, originally, there were five Qi vassals from Lingsha City and Golden Dawn Peak, but Xuanguang Sect forcibly evacuated them. At that time, the sect leaders and elite of these five families were in the Xuanguang Sect’s army, making it convenient.

When Shuangye Alliance regained some vitality and started exploring from Lingsha City and Golden Dawn Peak, they discovered those five mountain gates were empty, and so they transformed the five spirit veins into outposts, stabilizing the surrounding territories.

Sandwiched between the northeast and southeast, roughly the hundreds of miles between Bichao Mountain and Golden Dawn Peak became the contested zone between Xuanguang Sect and Shuangye Alliance.

Although neither side has engaged in large-scale conflict, espionage, assassination, and even Foundation Establishment Feather Scholar raids frequently happen here.

Today, this county may belong to one side, and tomorrow it might change flags. At this point, neither side sends cultivators to mortal county cities anymore, instead filled with covert scouts all over, dynamically seeking Spirit Seeds.

For mortal civilians living in the area, life naturally became chaotic and disorderly. It’s the mortals who suffer when immortals fight. Opportunists and those taking advantage of chaos gradually emerge, bringing more trouble, with violent incidents occurring more frequently and even expanding.

But there’s nothing that can be done; Lu Qian had once considered relocating mortals, but Shuangye Alliance has less than six hundred cultivators in total. There’s no way to relocate millions of mortals under the watchful eyes of Xuanguang Sect.

Listening to the disciple’s detailed explanation of the current situation, the small boat traversed this tranquil yet dangerous land, revealed their identities and passed through several Shuangye Alliance outposts, with Golden Dawn Peak now in sight.