Born with immortal seed

Chapter 134 Opening Up a Vast Land of Spirits
"Thank you for your help, Elder Bai. Otherwise, we really wouldn't know what to do."

The Paper Crane Taoist followed closely behind, thanking them again and again.

Facing Bai Zichen at close range for a short while, he easily killed two iron turtles of the same level, which greatly shocked Paper Crane Daoist.

Previously, he had shown reverence for the title of the Qingfeng Sect elder and treated them with utmost respect.

Now, it's about genuine admiration and putting oneself in the position of a junior, rather than just going through the motions.

Although both are at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, the difference in their strength is too great.

The feeling Bai Zichen gave Paper Crane Daoist was even stronger than that of many mid-Foundation Establishment seniors he had encountered in other counties.

"Fellow Daoist Paper Crane has devoted himself to the great cause of pioneering and opening up new lands for us human cultivators. He is a meritorious person in Black Mountain... As long as you follow the rules of Qingfeng Sect in the future, you will naturally receive the sect's protection."

After becoming an elder, Bai Zichen reviewed the statistics on the number of mortals and cultivators compiled by the Qingfeng Sect every ten years.

Given the current rate of population growth and the influx of independent cultivators, the once-in-a-century pioneering war may have to be shortened to a period of sixty years in the future to accommodate the surging number of cultivators.

If Qingfeng Sect were willing to loosen its requirements for accepting disciples and guide a large number of useless spiritual roots onto the path of immortality, the spiritual lands and cultivation resources required would increase exponentially.

Therefore, the cultivation families and independent cultivators who signed up to participate in the pioneering war this time are lucky. In the future, the requirements for exchanging pioneering achievements for spiritual land will only increase.

"Absolutely, absolutely. From now on, I will act in accordance with the instructions of the superior."

The Paper Crane Taoist still showed some shame, his ears turning red as he thought about how he had almost deserted at the last minute.

Fortunately, being a step behind meant that no one would notice my embarrassment.

"The evil dragon has been beheaded. Fellow Daoists, hold your ground and await reinforcements!"

A grand, ancient voice resounded throughout the entire Jade Moon Lake.

"The overall situation has been decided!"

Bai Zichen flew into the air, and sure enough, the formation had been dispelled where the two Core Formation cultivators had disappeared earlier.

Although the battles continued in various places, everyone knew that the pioneering war was over.

All that's left is to clean up the mess.

Master Yang tossed out a golden bowl, which fell from the sky and directly imprisoned the thousand-year-old tortoise inside.

Clanging sounds occasionally emanated from the golden bowl, but the mountain-sized bowl remained completely still.

With a swift movement, Ge Cang Zhenren appeared above Liang Yu and the other two, reaching out to grab the Hundred Poison Golden Toad.

A five-colored giant hand appeared, moving in unison with Ge Cang Zhenren, and with immense force, it grasped the Hundred Poison Golden Toad in its palm.

With a snap of his fingers, the Hundred Poison Golden Toad instantly fell silent.

"Quickly quell the fighting. Senior Brother Yang and I will go to the small island in the middle of the lake to take a look."

Ancestor Ge Cang tossed the Hundred Poison Golden Toad into Liang Yu's hand, uttered a single sentence, and then transformed into a rainbow of light, flying straight to the small island in the center of the lake.

"I will obey the decree of my ancestor."

Liang Yu glanced at the Hundred Poison Golden Toad, whose belly was still slightly swollen. It seemed that Ancestor Ge Cang had only stunned it and had not killed it directly.

He quickly cast several restrictions, then affixed two talismans to the Hundred Poison Golden Toad and temporarily stored it in his spirit beast pouch.

Capturing a monster alive is several times more difficult than killing it directly.

It's rare to catch the Hundred Poison Golden Toad alive, so I'll definitely go back and study it carefully to see if I can extract more value from it.

"Junior brothers, let's split up and eliminate all the second-tier demonic beasts as soon as possible."

Liang Yu and the other two exchanged glances, each choosing a direction, and returned to the scene.

The release of three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and the Dragon Tiger Warriors accelerated the shift of the battlefield in favor of the pioneering army.

Like a snowball rolling downhill, each second-tier demonic beast faced more and more Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they were quickly wiped out.

As the sun set and the evening glow fell upon Jade Moon Lake, the various spiritual lights finally subsided.

Only occasional exclamations rang out as everyone rushed forward, for they had discovered a straggler. Magical weapons were unleashed in unison, smashing the monster into a bloody pulp.

Specialized cultivators were assigned to move the bodies of fallen cultivators onto the Wind-Riding Shuttle.

Afterwards, there will be a process of identifying the individuals and distributing their belongings and due merits to their immediate family members.

Scattered banners, filthy blood, and flames still burning everywhere.

Because of the excessive use of fire-based talismans, spells, and artifacts, nearly half of the land surrounding Jade Moon Lake has been burned to ashes.

Many cultivators, looking at the mutilated corpses and their fallen companions, couldn't help but burst into tears.

This is undoubtedly the most devastating war in terms of casualties among cultivators since the beginning of the war.

"Alas, a sacred place is wonderful, but one must also be alive to enjoy it."

The Paper Crane Taoist saw a group of cultivators, who appeared to be from the same clan, all dressed in uniform.

Almost everyone was dressed in colorful clothes. The leader, who was missing an arm, was leading his people in a ceremony to mourn their deceased kin.

The bodies were laid out together, numbering more than twenty.

"There are too many people and too little land, there is nothing we can do about it... In the vast world of cultivation, the territory that human cultivators actually occupy is still very small."

Bai Zichen sighed. The cultivation world in Liang Kingdom was full of heartless and ruthless cultivators who would turn on each other and kill each other for a cultivation resource.

Ultimately, it's all because of insufficient resources.

In addition, each sect was equally greedy, seizing and plundering resources by force, wishing they could take all the resources into their own pockets.

Following the example set by those above, the strong are respected and interests are prioritized, leading to rampant acts of murder, robbery, and betrayal.

The Qingfeng Sect is slightly better; it has its own bottom line and is already a breath of fresh air in the cultivation world of Liang Kingdom.

Bai Zichen watched as corpses were carried onto the Wind Chaser; one member of the Bai family had also died.

An old man held the hands of the young cultivator who resembled the deceased for a long time, refusing to let go, his body convulsing and trembling, his face already streaked with tears.

A surge of pride welled up within him, and he turned around and declared loudly, "I am willing to open ten more third-tier spiritual veins for the sect, to shelter thousands of Black Mountain cultivators... so that everyone can have a spiritual place to cultivate."

"Elder Bai is very righteous, and I am willing to be his lackey. A hundred years from now, I may be able to benefit from this and leave a mark in the annals of Heishan County."

The Paper Crane Taoist bowed down, filled with boundless admiration.

Bai Xianzong revealed an expression of admiration and pride, saying, "If Brother Chen can really accomplish this, it will be a life-saving grace for the rogue cultivators of Black Mountain and ordinary cultivation families."

If someone else said something like that, they would definitely be considered delusional.

However, given Bai Zichen's current status and position, coupled with his demonstrated formidable combat prowess...

With the labels of cultivation genius and future sword immortal attached to him, people would only think that he has lofty ambitions and grand aspirations.

If Bai Zichen can become the leader of Qingfeng Sect in the future, I am willing to do my best to promote this idea.

Given the continuous improvement and strengthening of Qingfeng Sect's strength, ten third-tier spiritual lands would be an exaggeration; four or five would not be impossible.

Bai Ling followed behind the clan leader Bai Xianzong, having already distanced herself from this clansman of the same age; there was no place for her to speak here.

Thinking back to when she was in the clan, she had even considered competing with Bai Zichen, which now seems a bit funny.

She had only just broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining, while Bai Zichen had already become a Foundation Establishment senior, and one with a promising future and a high chance of achieving the Great Dao.

During the war of reclamation, if Bai Zichen had not arrived in time, the Bai family would have suffered heavy casualties.

Now, the Mozhu Bai family has been added to the list of immortal cultivation families weeping and mourning.

"Open up ten third-tier spiritual lands so that all Black Mountain cultivators can have a place to live..."

Bai Ling stared intently at Bai Zichen's back, bathed in the glow of the sunset, feeling how tall and imposing he seemed.

She had never heard such bold words from other cultivators before.

Everyone's grand ambition is to achieve Foundation Establishment and aspire to become a True Immortal of Core Formation.

……

The approximate casualty statistics for the Battle of Feiyue Lake have been released.

More than 900 Qi Refining cultivators were killed or wounded, including more than 130 sect disciples, nearly 300 family cultivators, and more than 500 independent cultivators.

Six Foundation Establishment cultivators perished, along with one sect elder, three Foundation Establishment family members, and two Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators.

"What? Senior Brother Zhang is dead?"

Bai Zichen was utterly astonished, never expecting that the only elder to fall in the sect was his familiar senior brother, Zhang.

He had just arrived at the sect elders' temporary assembly point when he received this shocking news.

"After Uncle Zhang killed a water snake while cooperating with the battle formation, he was ambushed by a poisonous scorpion hiding in the shadows. We were all too late to help him... We gave him a detoxifying pill as soon as possible, but we still couldn't save him."

The deacon stood below the stage, trembling with fear. Senior Brother Zhang had already been beheaded by the dragon, and the battle was nearing its end.

To die at this time can only be described as fate.

Liang Yu strode closer, lifted the white cloth, and revealed Senior Brother Zhang's corpse.

There was a round hole on his forehead, with black markings spreading outwards.

"He didn't die from scorpion venom, but from a needle piercing his skull, which destroyed his soul..."

Liang Yu gently turned Zhang Shixiong's head around, and there was also a round hole in the hair bun at the back of his head.

The scorpion stung him, piercing his skull. By the time the venom entered his body, Senior Brother Zhang was already dead.

"Where is the poisonous scorpion?"

"They disappeared in a few flashes; judging from the direction they fled, they must have left Jade Moon Lake."

"It turns out that in Jade Moon Lake, there are not only the thousand-year-old tortoise and the hundred-poison golden toad, but also a third peak-level second-tier demonic beast lurking in the shadows..."

Liang Yu looked dejected. The departure of a fellow disciple who had worked with him for nearly a century and had always been dedicated to the Enforcement Hall had stirred his emotions.

"Pass down the order to strengthen vigilance everywhere to prevent attacks from hidden monsters."

"In addition, make sure Junior Brother Zhang's body is properly preserved. I will personally hold his funeral after we return to the sect... His belongings and contributions to the sect must not be moved. We will find his family descendants and then distribute them."

Since that peak-level second-tier scorpion has escaped, the probability of it returning to fight is not high.

However, there are still hidden second-tier demonic beasts in the entire Feiyue Lake that have not been forced out of the lake by the Demon-Locking God Fire Drum.

“That’s right, dying for the sect deserves a certain honor… If any descendant of the Zhang family has the talent to be blessed, they can be granted an inner disciple position.”

The sect leader, Wei Dao, was also present, his face pale. Even with a continuous supply of high-grade spirit stones to assist him, activating the Demon-Locking Divine Fire Drum, a mid-grade magic treasure, was an immense burden for him.

After a brief search of Feiyue Lake, Ancestor Ge Cang returned to the mountain gate.

Whether or not he, as the sect leader, needs to rush back becomes less important.

Bai Zichen looked at Senior Brother Zhang, who was being carried away after being covered with a white sheet again, and was filled with emotion.

Just a day ago, the two were talking side by side on their way to Feiyue Lake; now they are separated by life and death.

(End of this chapter)