Cultivation begins with harvest.

"I heard that a black, rotten bamboo stalk was recently unearthed in Fanglin?"

"I asked the cultivator from the Zhao family."

"Yes, that is indeed the case. Since you have come here for this reason, you must already know what the effects of black bamboo are," the Cang clan cultivator said, not surprised. "To enter Fanglin, you need a pass. It only costs three thousand grains of rice to enter Fanglin for one day."

"Three thousand yuan, just for one day?" Chen Guang asked.

"Yes," the Cang Clan cultivator said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "within the Qingheng Sect, as long as you accumulate spending of 6,000 Sui Yuan, you can receive a certain number of freebies, and you can also enjoy the special privilege of purchasing at an 80% discount. However, that only applies to Xingfeng Market. Here, you can only buy by price."

The Zhao family cultivator spoke gently to Chen Guang, saying, "With the Dongdu Token, there are a certain number of free passes in Fanglin every year. Young friend Chen has the highest-level Cloud Pattern Dongdu Token, which grants him five days of access to Fanglin each year."

Chen Guang shook his head: "That's unfortunate. I have plenty of Fanglin travel time myself, which is enough."

Just kidding, I've spent tens of thousands of yuan at Cang's Fanglin Hall, plus the accumulated rewards from the transactions I participated in after getting to know Cang Yunxian, my time in Fanglin is almost a hundred days.

The two Zhao clan cultivators exchanged a very discreet glance.

The Cang clan is different from the Zhao clan. The Zhao clan has four mountains and one river, with abundant spiritual energy, while the Cang clan is inferior in this respect. The overall level of the cultivators is also not high enough to set up a large operation, so they only have external sentry posts and internal city walls.

There are three cities in total, built around Fanglin, each protected by an array. This is the entire spiritual foundation of the Fanglin Cang Clan.

Beneath Fanglin lies a spiritual vein of extremely high quality, but let alone the Cang Clan, even if the Zhao Clan and the Dongfang Clan were to unite, they wouldn't dare to disturb it lightly. The Golden Core cultivator who created Fanglin back then has already passed away, yet this dense forest still possesses vibrant life. Even if his creation were still in operation, a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators might not be able to shake it.

This spiritual vein is visible but unusable. The only indication of its existence is the prosperity of Fanglin. Many cultivators have designs on it, but very few actually dare to act recklessly.

In reality, no rogue cultivator dared to act recklessly, because Fang Lin was the work of a Golden Core cultivator from the Qingheng Sect. Even if they felt contempt for him, they wouldn't show it excessively. Who knew whether the disciples of the Qingheng Sect cared or not, or whether the descendants of the Golden Core cultivator cared or not?

The Cang family greatly favored the title "Forest Guardian" because it saved them from the troubles of many other independent cultivator families without Foundation Establishment cultivators, thus allowing the Cang family to firmly control Fanglin.

Cangshi City has become a place that many independent cultivators yearn for.

Chen Guang and his group didn't even enter Cangshi City. They only made a brief stop at a market street not far from the city. The market had all kinds of facilities and services. After handing over their horses to the people of Cangshi and verifying their travel qualifications, Chen Guang and his group changed into ordinary horses provided by Cangshi and headed towards Fanglin.

"This map is still useful." The Zhao clan cultivator glanced at the map that had been sent along with the pass. "The situation inside Fanglin can be described as chaotic. Some areas have bred powerful demonic beasts or formed some unapproachable landforms. It is undeniable that such places are more likely to contain precious treasures, but they are also very dangerous."

Chen Guang was also looking at the map carefully. This was a precious treasure of the Cang Clan. Although every cultivator who could enter Fanglin would have a map, the one he had was undoubtedly more accurate.

Fanglin is not vast, but it is divided into hundreds of areas. The smallest area is only a few miles in circumference, while the largest central area is over four hundred miles long, and no one knows what is inside.

The Cang Clan was clever. By selling the quotas for entering Fanglin, these rogue cultivators were essentially helping the Cang Clan explore Fanglin. Moreover, the benefits were borne by the rogue cultivators, so as not to accumulate too much resentment. The threshold of three thousand Sui Yuan ensured that each rogue cultivator who entered had some unique skills, so that they would not easily lose their lives and become a burden instead of exploring successfully.

After discussing it, the four decided to enter from a relatively safe area.

Safety means there's not much to gain.

"We've arrived. This is the 'Blackwood Jia Chen District.' You enter from here. The spiritual plants inside have a unique aura that is difficult to conceal even with a mid-grade storage artifact. If you are confident in hiding them, the Cang Clan is willing to accept this challenge," the Cang Clan cultivator reminded them. "Generally speaking, you have the first right to deal with any spiritual plants you dig up inside. As long as you pay, you can take away the spiritual plants you choose. There will be no extra fee for the first ten plants, but for every ten more plants you choose, you will need to pay an extra day of passage time. You can also use the passage time to buy spiritual plants instead of Sui Yuan. Within three days, you can specify which spiritual plant you bring back."

"Of course, both of you will have a 20% discount on your travel time. You can use that discount to buy the spiritual plants you dig up, but that's only for spiritual plants. If you bring back enough spiritual plants, you can also take other types of spiritual items found in Fanglin with you."

"What a heartless person! They help you find and transport spiritual plants, and they still want to charge you?"

Chen Guang inwardly scoffed, but undeniably, such business was thriving and highly sought after. The fundamental reason was the scarcity of resources. Fang Lin's origins determined that the resources produced here were irreplaceable for Qi Refining cultivators. Leaving here meant risking their lives in the endless wilderness.

The Zhao family cultivator quickly replied, "When needed, the time of the Eastern Box Token can be used to offset it."

A cultivator from the Cang clan chimed in, "The only way to travel is by buying a day's worth of supplies for 3,000 coins. Our Cang clan has a purchase list. Bring back spiritual plants from the list, and once a certain quantity is reached, we'll give them away as gifts..."

Chen Guang ignored the latter's words.

The Cang family has many tricks up their sleeves. They've used the Fanglin and travel time to their advantage, solving a lot of problems such as targeted acquisitions, recruiting sons-in-law, and manufacturing.

Indeed, many independent cultivators have taken advantage of the Cang Clan, as there are many ways and means to obtain travel time. However, overall, they have all suffered minor losses and can only hope to find precious spiritual plants in Fanglin to reverse the situation.

Wan Longjing was quite tempted. As far as he knew, Fang Lin had six kinds of spiritual plants that could improve aptitude. Apart from the impractical Black Rot Bamboo and the [Harmony Fruit] whose place of origin was fixed and controlled by the Cang Clan, there were four other spiritual plants that might be discovered during the exploration. These were just the spiritual plants that could improve aptitude; there were also quite a few other precious spiritual plants.

Such temptation has drawn many monks to follow in its footsteps.

"This is the Blackwood Jia Chen District." The Cang Clan cultivator stopped in front of a dark, dense forest. The forest was already a mixture of blue, green, and black, and under the unique canopy of trees with bark that resembled iron plates on chainmail, it could only be described as dark.

It was dark and slightly dry, and although well-ventilated, it was too quiet.

It nurtures some light-avoiding spiritual plants, and in this environment, even illusory flowers and trees can be planted and grow directly.

"Let's go."

After consulting Chen Guang's opinion, the Zhao family cultivators escorted him into the darkness, one in front and one behind.

The Cang clan cultivator muttered to himself, quite curious about Chen Guang's identity. To have two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Zhao family accompany him all the way was not something any random Qingheng Sect disciple could do.

"Ring ring"

The bell at the waist of the Cang clan cultivator suddenly rang.

"More people have arrived so soon?"

Although reluctant, the Cang clan cultivator hurriedly left after tying the horse to the wooden stake. The ringing of the bell was a signal that he needed to go and greet the horse.