Born with immortal seed

Chapter 113 A Trip Back to the Clan

Jade Moon Lake is a top-grade third-tier spiritual vein, rich in spiritual herbs and hundreds of acres of third-tier spiritual fields, but the strength of the dragon hidden in the lake is unknown.

Green Ox Valley, a third-tier low-grade spiritual vein, is resource-scarce, the strength of the Demon King is controllable, and the risk of pioneering wars is relatively low.

Having discussed this far, the advantages and disadvantages of both locations are quite clear.

The former is radical, the latter is conservative.

"What does Junior Brother Bai think about this?"

Gu Xisheng turned slightly to the side, a faint smile on his lips.

"I have little experience and have never even been deep in the Black Mountain... so what opinion can I offer? I should just listen to the insightful views of my senior brothers."

Bai Zichen shook his head.

In his view, since the two ancestors did not directly specify the target of the pioneering war, it means that they had a plan in mind, and the third-tier demon kings of Jade Moon Lake and Green Ox Valley were within their range of response.

After all, no matter how exciting the battle is beforehand, the moment to truly decide the outcome still requires the intervention of a Core Formation cultivator.

Sending a Foundation Establishment cultivator to fight a third-tier demon king is truly risking their life.

Even if they manage a Pyrrhic victory, a third-tier demon king can simply leave without any means of keeping the demon in place.

Thinking about it that way, Feiyue Lake is the obvious choice.

Moreover, Liang Yu, who proposed the Jade Moon Lake, showed him goodwill before he even reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and Pei Dongyong, who had a close relationship with him, even gifted him a spiritual artifact.

Bai Zichen still hasn't recognized all the elders in the Alchemy Hall and the Talisman Hall.

If he were really allowed to choose, there would be no question about it.

"In my opinion, Jade Moon Lake is better... Green Ox Valley is more than 6,000 miles away from the sect. Establishing such a long logistics supply line would put too much pressure on the General Affairs Hall."

Gu Xisheng expressed his opinion, but the reason for his choice was extremely obscure and had not been mentioned by any of the elders.

"After clearing out the monsters along the way, the army arrived at Qingniu Valley. This does not mean that the original spiritual lands will be empty. Other monsters will soon come to occupy them."

"With a third-tier demon king and dozens of second-tier unicorn oxen, the final battle could easily last for months. Such a large army of cultivators, the daily consumption of spirit rice, talismans, and pills, the maintenance of damaged magic artifacts and array flags, the treatment of injured cultivators... unless I am assigned a few Foundation Establishment cultivators with a large number of storage bags specifically for resupply, logistics will become a major problem."

Gu Xisheng's expression was solemn, clearly indicating that he had considered this matter long ago.

“In the previous pioneering wars, this problem was not prominent because it was not far from the sect’s main mountain. Compared to Qingniu Valley, Feiyue Lake is at least more than a thousand miles closer, which can greatly reduce logistical pressure.”

"Has Senior Brother Gu reported this matter to the Sect Leader?"

Bai Zichen was greatly surprised; this elder in charge of general affairs looked shrewd, but he had unexpectedly gained extraordinary knowledge.

"It was mentioned before. The sect leader only said that more manpower should be allocated and stations should be set up along the way to protect the logistics team..."

Gu Xisheng sighed. The disciples of the General Affairs Hall were certainly no less capable in handling affairs, but when it came to strength, they were nothing to brag about.

"Alright, since everyone has their reasons, let's have a vote by all the elders."

Seeing the elders on both sides locked in a fierce battle, Wei Dao struck the jade chime again.

Each elder's token had two lines of text: "Jade Moon Lake" and "Green Ox Valley." Simply tapping either one was enough to cast a vote.

Bai Zichen glanced at Gu Xisheng beside him, who pressed hard on 'Feiyue Lake', and another line of text disappeared.

Lan Hong followed Gu Xisheng's choice and pressed 'Feiyue Lake' as well.

"This voting method is still anonymous, so I wonder if the sect leader will be able to see each elder's choice..."

Bai Zichen no longer hesitated, pressed his index finger on 'Feiyue Lake', and made his choice.

In a short while, all the elders had finished voting.

Wei Dao glanced at the results, his expression unchanged, and said, "All twenty-nine people present have voted. Sixteen votes to thirteen, Fei Yue Lake wins."

Not to mention the joy on the faces of the elders of the Law Enforcement Hall, while the elders of the Alchemy Hall and Talisman Hall were indignant, the Guardian of the Dao had already sent the results to the Core Formation Ancestor.

"Ancestor Yang's decree: Reclaim the land of Jade Moon Lake, approved!"

After an incense stick had burned, a flying letter talisman carrying Elder Yang's handwritten letter arrived at the Ancestral Hall. It contained the opinions of a Core Formation cultivator on the results of the elders' meeting.

The elders' deliberation and vote have been completed. The Core Formation Ancestor nodded in approval, and the Sect Leader immediately mobilized troops.

"Issue a reclamation order to all cultivators in Black Mountain County. The target of this reclamation war is Jade Moon Lake... There are seven second-tier spiritual lands and fourteen first-tier spiritual lands along the way. The Azure Maple Sect will not take a penny. After the war, the rewards will be given according to the ranking of contributions."

"All listed cultivation families will send 20 people each in the first phase, and each cultivation clan will send 10 people, led by Foundation Establishment cultivators. The more the better... Independent cultivators are welcome to sign up. As long as you make a contribution, you will be generously rewarded."

"The Enforcement Hall has formed its first pioneering war team, with a three-month training period to develop the disciples' battle formation coordination..."

"The General Affairs Hall is to compile a list of resources needed for the reclamation war within three years, and at the same time, prepare the first batch of supplies..."

"Alchemy Hall, Weapon Forging Hall, Talisman Hall, halt all current tasks and arrange the refining tasks according to the list provided by the General Affairs Hall..."

"Fellow disciples, now that our goal is set, let us put aside our past grievances and join hands... to take over Jade Moon Lake and add another third-tier spiritual vein to our Azure Maple Sect!"

All the elders bowed in unison.

With various tasks assigned and the great battle approaching, the elders were all in a hurry.

The sect leader, Wei Dao, deliberately kept Bai Zichen and Lan Hong behind to reassure them to focus on their cultivation.

Because they are newly promoted to Foundation Establishment, they will not be conscripted in the early stages of the war, so that they have enough time to familiarize themselves with the strength of the Foundation Establishment stage and prepare spiritual weapons.

"We'll be setting off in three months. The monsters ahead are easy to deal with, but there are just too many of them... According to my senior brother, the time it will be my turn to be assigned a mission will be at least a year from now."

Just now in the Ancestral Hall, Wei Dao was jokingly saying that he had planned to take Bai Zichen as his disciple, but before he could make up his mind, the two of them became fellow disciples of the same generation.

Bai Zichen could only repeatedly say that he dared not.

When Bai Zichen first joined the Qingfeng Sect, one of his goals was to become the sect leader Weidao's personal disciple, which aroused Mo Changfeng's jealousy.

Who would have thought that, years later, Bai Zichen would become a Foundation Establishment Elder, while Mo Changfeng would become a wandering soul in the Black Mountain.

"Senior Brother Peng left in a hurry to expedite the refining of a batch of low-grade, one-time-use magic artifacts... Since I have nothing else to do, I'll go back to the family first. It's been so many years since I left."

Bai Zichen rode on a colorful white cloud robe and flew out of the mountain gate towards the place where he grew up in his youth.

Besides visiting his relatives, he also needed to discuss the matter of the reclamation war with the clan chief, Bai Xianzong.

"It's exactly the same as when I left..."

With the speed of the colorful white cloud robe, Bai Zichen sat on it, considering his future cultivation plans, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at their destination.

When Han Xiufeng appeared in his sight, a complicated emotion inexplicably arose.

"If any senior is visiting, please leave your ritual implements and announce your name so that I can pass on the message to the clan."

When the two Bai family cultivators on duty saw a flying magical artifact appear, even though they couldn't distinguish between a magical artifact and a magic weapon, they could tell from the speed of flight that the person was quite powerful.

He quickly stepped forward and shouted loudly, while simultaneously using a talisman to inform the clan of the news.

"This senior is visiting the Bai family. Is there an appointment with any elder...?"

In recent years, the number of new cultivators migrating to Black Mountain has increased significantly, and independent cultivators often appear in the vicinity. Some have even occupied several mountain peaks.

The Bai family can only ensure that a few hilltops around Hanxiu Peak are not occupied by others; they are powerless to control anything further away.

One of the Bai family cultivators was still talking to himself when a clansman next to him tugged at his sleeve, and he realized something was wrong.

The young man who stepped off the flying artifact looked remarkably like that legendary figure from his family.

"Is that Chen-ge'er?"

An older Bai family cultivator tentatively asked, "Although there are photos of the people in the clan, their appearances have changed quite a bit in just a few years."

Bai Zichen nodded slightly. He still remembered these people. There weren't many members of the Bai family to begin with.

Even when he was in the family, he rarely cultivated and had little contact with his clansmen.

"My God, it really is Brother Chen back... Shouldn't we call you the Foundation Establishment Ancestor now..."

The Bai family cultivators were in a flurry of activity, so excited and at a loss that they quickly cleared the way up the mountain.

Bai Zichen walked onto the familiar mountain path, and even the scenery on both sides was almost the same as it had been back then: "We are all clansmen, there is no need to be so formal."

That being said, the Bai family members would never take it seriously.

When the news of Bai Zichen's successful Foundation Establishment reached the Bai family, the first reaction of the clansmen was whether the news was wrong.
He's only been at Qingfeng Sect for a few years, how could he have reached the Foundation Establishment stage so easily?

Every clan leader has gone through countless hardships to become a Foundation Establishment Ancestor, and then protected the clan for hundreds of years.

The deterrent power of Foundation Establishment cultivators has been firmly imprinted in the deepest part of the hearts of every member of the clan.

It wasn't until the clan chief, Bai Xianzong, personally came out to confirm it that the Bai family members finally believed it.

The incident involving the Bai family's prodigy was brought up again one by one and discussed wildly. In the hearts of the younger generation, his status even surpassed that of the clan leader.

"Brother Chen, why didn't you let us know you were coming back? We couldn't even come out to greet you."

Bai Xianzong led several elders of the Bai family to the scene, where they met halfway up the mountain.

"Clan leader, there's no need to be so polite. We're all members of the Bai clan, just go home and visit."

Bai Zichen looked at the people behind Bai Xianzong. In the past few years, there have been new faces among the elders of the Bai family.

Cherie Chung has clearly aged. She used to be considered a middle-aged beauty, but now she has gained weight and wrinkles have appeared on her face.

Besides my uncle Bai Jiu'an, there were two new faces in the elders' group. I vaguely remember them as clansmen who were in the late stage of Qi Refining back then.

"Are there other guests here?"

Bai Zichen noticed that behind the Bai family members was a group of cultivators dressed in completely different clothes.

"Liu An has met Fellow Daoist Bai... Fellow Daoist is exceptionally talented, having achieved Foundation Establishment at the young age of twenty, which has already become a celebrated story in Black Mountain."

The leader, a dark-faced Foundation Establishment cultivator, came forward to pay his respects, his demeanor and actions quite courteous.

"They are a newly settled family in Black Mountain. The Liu family is famous for their weapon crafting skills, and Brother Liu An himself is a second-level weapon crafter."

Bai Xianzong explained from the side.

The newly relocated cultivation families have a strained relationship with the original top five families, but they interact with the other cultivation families on an equal footing.

The Liu family, in particular, has frequent dealings with the Bai family of Mozhu. Today, Liu An has brought several of his younger disciples to Hanxiu Peak for exchange and learning.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Liu. I've long admired your name."

Bai Zichen was indeed someone whose name he had long admired. Back then, at the sect leader Weidao's 100th birthday celebration, he had even received a water-purifying bottle magic artifact from him as a gift.

(End of this chapter)