Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 567 Yi Yuan Helps Jiang Yangming Transfer the Power
While the situation in Sizhou had changed, and the advance in Huozhou was not going smoothly, Chief Kang, having received reinforcements from Chief Clerk Buse, granted Third Master Jiang a long leave.

This is because the pills refined by Luan Gong of Sheshan Hall have recently been delivered.

The old cultivator wrote in his letter that the nine Three Elements Fruits entrusted to him by the Great Master Kang had been refined by him into forty-two second-grade top-quality Three Talents Yuan-Boosting Pills.

Perhaps to repay the favor Kang Dabao had previously given to Peng Daoren in the form of alchemy notes, Luan Gongfeng described the refining method and effects of the Sancai Yiyuan Dan in great detail in this letter.

The letter clearly states: "The Three Elements Fruit is the sovereign, the Cave Snow Milk is the minister, and Stardust Sand is the assistant. The moonlight and dew are used to dissolve the stalactite, and the Stardust Sand is used to form a membrane to cover the fruit pulp. It is then simmered over a low flame for seven months. Only when the fruit kernel forms its own Nine Palaces Array to absorb the medicinal power, and the Three Elements Pill Pattern floats to the surface of the pill, spewing forth azure clouds, is it considered a complete pill."

To be fair, if Headmaster Kang hadn't recently acquired so many storage bags of the same rank, even he, as the ruler of a state, would feel a pang of heartache at the cost of the spiritual materials listed in Luan Gongfeng's letter.

However, even a third-tier low-grade alchemist like Luan Gongfeng had to go to such great lengths and use so many spiritual materials to refine this pill, so this Three Talents Enhancing Essence Pill could not be considered an ordinary product.

The aforementioned spiritual materials, combined with the slow-cooking method, are sufficient to completely eliminate the impetuousness of the Three Talents Nourishing Essence Pill and greatly reduce its toxicity. This means that after the Foundation Establishment True Cultivation is completed, one only needs to solidify spiritual power, with almost no aftereffects.

According to what Luan Gongfeng said in his letter, this Three Talents Yuan-Boosting Pill was a superior spiritual pill that he had refined after carefully studying the medicinal properties of the Three Yuan Fruit. It was comparable to some of the first-class pills produced by the Dragon Tiger Sect.

If the user's cultivation techniques are of average quality, their spiritual roots are decent, and they have no bottlenecks, then refining three to five Three Talents Yuan-Boosting Pills will be enough to enable them to achieve the perfect cultivation level of a late-stage True Cultivator.

Afterwards, depending on the individual and after several years of reflection, this true cultivator may be able to attempt to form a core.

While that was what Luan Gongfeng said, this time, Sect Leader Kang once again acted willfully and arbitrarily. As soon as the forty-two Three Talents Yuan-Boosting Pills were in his hands, Kang Dabao handed them all over to Jiang Qing to exchange for his good deeds, but even Yuan Jin did not receive a single pill.

After all, the only one in the Chongming Sect who is currently confident in achieving the Core Formation stage is Third Master Jiang. At this point, to talk about not favoring one over the other would be a joke.

Mo Guangming Sect was riding high, not only because the sect leader was collecting storage bags of the same level everywhere, but also because his disciples were entering various Golden Core sects one after another.

Anyone with discerning eyes could see the fragility beneath this lavish display, because the entire burden of the Mingzong clan rested on Kang Dabao's shoulders.

If something were to happen to him in the future, the great cause that Emperor Chongming had painstakingly created to restore the Ming Dynasty might fall apart in the blink of an eye.

At that time, all the disciples of Chongming Sect will be in the same situation as when Emperor Taizu of Wei was trapped in the ancient forbidden land.

Therefore, Headmaster Kang immediately realized that even if Jiang Qingruo continued to stay here, despite his extraordinary swordsmanship and ability to be compared with alchemists like Yuan Buwen, he would still find it difficult to influence the course of the battle. That is why he specifically instructed Jiang Qingruo to focus on his cultivation.

In fact, even Duan Anle, Kang Rongquan, and other disciples who stayed in Huozhou to lead the army to besiege the Yunze Witch God Temple, Kang Dabao had the idea of ​​recalling them to the sect.

After all, the Chongming Sect has already risen to power and is no longer as desperate as it was back then, forcing the entire sect to go into battle.

However, since this battle was led by Chongming Sect, if it were to happen, it would inevitably cause some trouble and be too ugly among the cultivators who came following the orders of Sect Leader Kang. That's why Kang Dabao gave up the idea.

Although Jiang Qing felt somewhat uneasy, he could not resist the temptation of cultivation, so he found a cave dwelling near the Ghost Sword Sect in Xianzhou to cultivate.

It doesn't matter what this sacred mountain was called before. When Master Kang chopped off Wujian Shang to cultivate his life and destroyed the Ghost Sword Sect, he changed the name of this sacred mountain to "Yangming Mountain".

On the way back, Master Jiang traveled light and simply, with only the long sword on his back and a Tongming Sword Ape riding on his shoulder.

Jiang Qing had not anticipated that the little beast would become so affectionate with him.

After all, to be fair, he had more or less remembered the legend that drinking 120 bowls of blood from the heart of a second-tier Transcendent Sword Ape would lead to enlightenment in swordsmanship.

If one were to develop feelings for this little beast, it would be far too unpleasant.

However, while this is the thought, it is difficult to put into practice.

Jiang Qing has now completely given up on that idea. He doesn't even want to send the little dog to the beast garden for breeding with Duan Anle. He spends a lot of money raising it every day, and he cares about it even more than he does about teaching his disciple He Chang.

Xianzhou and Huozhou are adjacent. After only three days of travel, Jiang Qing arrived at Yangming Mountain and met his fellow disciples who had stayed behind. Ye Zhengwen, who was in charge of the area, had already received the news and made sure Jiang Qing had settled in properly for his cultivation before he was at ease.

Ye Zhengwen was, after all, a cultivator, and it would be a lie to say that he didn't envy Jiang Qing's exceptional talent. / But personal talent is a gift from heaven, and even though the sect members were always friendly, Kang Dabao was willing to secretly subsidize his resources.

But Ye Zhengwen also knew that in this life, let alone the Golden Core Dao, even achieving a false core was only a 50% chance for him.

It is true that taking the false core is a shortcut, but the process of condensing the core is far more dangerous than the process of forming the true core. Most cultivators only have one chance in their entire lives to try, and those who fail will either die or be seriously injured.

Therefore, even if ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators have gathered enough resources and spiritual objects, they may not dare to do this if they are not absolutely certain of success.

Ye Zhengwen had been dealing with mundane matters and educating disciples with Master Kang for many years and had long given up on this idea. Today, he was only moved by Jiang Qing's remarkable progress.

However, after his reflections, the one-eyed elder did not rest for long before heading to the Ghost Sword Sect's storehouse to check the supplies.

This transfer point is considered extremely crucial, so it is true that Ye Zhengwen is in charge of the overall situation, but it is impossible that there is no fake pill guarding it.

There are two fake alchemists who stayed at the Ghost Sword Sect's mountain gate this time. One is Ji Yunsheng, an elder of the Cold Mountain Sect, and the other is Kang Xiangyi, a grandson of the Great Master Kang. They each led their disciples and scions to guard the place.

Ji Yunsheng's thunder magic lineage is exceptionally authentic. Although Xu Liuxian, the head of the Hanshan Sect, achieved alchemy earlier, he is still inferior to Ji Yunsheng in terms of combat skills. Furthermore, Ji Yunsheng has long been acquainted with the leaders of the Chongming Sect and knows them well.
As a stray dog, Kang Xiangyi had finally managed to curry favor with a Core Formation Ancestor, so how could he not fawn over him? This was the perfect time for him to be loyal and devoted.

Therefore, compared to the other forces under the jurisdiction of Chongming Sect, these two households were much more reassuring to Sect Leader Kang. Ye Zhengwen, being merely a True Cultivator, could speak with great ease, without having to worry about matters that might not be convincing to the masses. In addition, Jiang Qing was stationed here, and Wei Gu, who had already advanced to a mid-grade second-tier array master, led a group of array masters to completely repair the Ghost Sword Sect's great array, which was not much damaged to begin with.

Unless the Yunze Witch Lord Palace, whose high-level cultivators are already stretched thin, sends two or three more Golden Core cultivators, taking over Chongming Sect, this place of change, will be an extremely difficult task.

Ye Zhengwen asked Ji and Kang for a while if there had been any unusual occurrences outside. Only after receiving their confident replies did Ye feel at ease.

The disciple leading the guards at the treasury today is Zhu Yunsheng, a student of Sun Fu. Although he is quite senior, his aptitude and lineage are not particularly good.

It was thanks to Kang Rongquan's consideration of their shared lineage that the foundation for their Dao was barely established a few years ago.

Logically speaking, disciples with no hope of a future in the Dao are usually not favored by many prestigious sects, but they are actually valued within the Chongming Sect.

This is because the sect has only recently been restored. Disciples with excellent aptitude are given special attention and cultivation, while disciples with average aptitude can still get some practical benefits and perform some administrative tasks to earn some resources and make a living, so as not to fall too far behind the disciples with superior aptitude.

"Disciple greets Senior Uncle Ye,"

Ye Zhengwen didn't have time to exchange pleasantries with Zhu Yunsheng, but simply asked softly, "Hmm, what kinds of spiritual materials have recently arrived at the Chongming Merchant Alliance?"

The latter picked up the jade slip and answered seriously: "Reporting to Master Uncle, when Patriarch He came last time, he unloaded 20,000 shi of tea-colored grain, 3,000 bottles of Bigu Pill, 1,500 bottles of Blood-Regenerating Pill, 1,000 bottles of Spirit-Returning Pill, and more than 800 Star-Shooting Crossbows on the flying boat."

More than 500 sets of first-tier drums and banners of various ranks, 1,000 sets of first-tier armor of various ranks, 1,000 sets of first-tier spears, halberds, maces, and clubs of various ranks, 100,000 sets of first-tier talismans of various types, and countless other miscellaneous soldiers confiscated.

Ye Zhengwen frowned slightly: "Only these things? They are indeed much less than what we asked for last time. And why haven't the second-tier items listed on the list arrived yet? If we rely solely on the skilled craftsmen in the camp to repair and maintain the damaged and captured armor and weapons, how long can they last?"
The Yunze Witch Lord's Palace has been operating in Huozhou for many years, but it's far superior to the Ghost Sword Sect. The army at the front sent word yesterday that progress is slow; that damned Ten Thousand Blood Nether Swamp Formation has already claimed the lives of many disciples within the sect.

Now it is said that the director of the Hongfen Temple in Sizhou was injured by Huang Mi with a third-level bronze corpse, which has made even the monk Shexinjia of Qianfolin silent and dare not make a move.

These two families are terrified and might not dare to continue delaying the Yunze Witch Lord Palace. If Huang Mi returns with his people, what will happen to the sect leader? What did Yuan Jin do in Yunjiao Prefecture?!

Zhu Yunsheng claimed he was on duty, but in reality, he was just a checkpoint officer. Besides, Ye Zhengwen's questioning involved Yuan Jin, so how could he dare to answer?!
Seeing Zhu Yunsheng shrink back from being drunk, Ye Zhengwen finally calmed down and realized that it was wrong of him to question the former.

However, after Pei Yi's death, Ye Zhengwen took on the responsibility of instructing disciples for a long time. He could only relinquish this responsibility after Ye Yaoling, Han Xundao, and the other disciples had grown up.

Therefore, his status was self-evident to a Chongming disciple of Zhu Yunsheng's seniority.

In other words, even if Ye Zhengwen wanted to express his apology in a tactful way, Zhu Yunsheng didn't dare to accept it, so the former simply asked again, "Where is Brother He?"

Zhu Yunsheng immediately replied, "Patriarch He just asked me, saying that after my master affixes his signature to the goods, he will return to Yunjiao Prefecture."

"Go and invite him over carefully,"

"Yes, disciple will go immediately."

"Yes, be polite, and don't be arrogant in the slightest,"

"This disciple dares not,"

When He Degong came up, he saw that Ye Zhengwen looked unwell and immediately knew what was wrong. Before the latter could ask, He Degong said with a smile, "Brother Ye, are you upset because the goods were not all prepared?"

Ye Zhengwen glanced at him and asked in a calm voice, "You know that too, brother?"

"I can probably guess it," He Degong said with a hint of weariness in his old eyes, after a sigh.
"Brother, please forgive my bluntness, but this war has been going on for too long, and we really can't collect many supplies. Brother Yuan has also gone to great lengths to manage to gather so many supplies."

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhengwen's expression darkened, and his tone became angry: "Did I hear that right? Brother He, is this considered excessive?"

Unexpectedly, He Degong remained calm and composed upon hearing Ye Zhengwen's feedback, and replied softly, "Brother Ye, are you aware that the five prefectures south of the mountains, most of Huangpi Road, and the entire territory of Shanbei Road are currently on high alert?!"
Elixirs, talismans, magical artifacts, array plates, spiritual plants, spiritual tools, puppets—which one isn't in high demand? Even the Fei family of Yingzhou has been buying them up on a massive scale since they settled in Yunjiao Prefecture. How much can we possibly snatch?"

He Degong's words left Ye Zhengwen speechless for a moment. After a few breaths of silence, the latter muttered to himself, "...Has things really come to this?"

Seeing that Ye Zhengwen's expression had finally changed, He Degong, who was actually trying to smooth things over for Yuan Jin, spoke up again: "Let me let you know, brother, that the reason we were able to gather so much is not only because of your discerning eye, brother Kang, but also thanks to the kindness of the sect in teaching the cultivators within its jurisdiction various arts."

To repay this kindness, all 230 alchemical cauldrons and 96 alchemy furnaces within the jurisdiction of Yunjiao Prefecture were kept ablaze with fire, with people working non-stop. They practically sent in every alchemist and craftsman they could find, and only then could they barely gather this many. It is truly a considerable amount.

In fact, as He Degong said, it's not just the cultivation portals within Yunjiao Prefecture that are like this.

Today, in the dozens of prefectures and counties of the three southwestern provinces, few families are not working together with one heart and one mind, bearing heavy burdens for the sects they serve. Even those who have paid off their last fragment of spirit stones are numerous. Moreover, in many places, the hardships are far greater than those in Yunjiao Prefecture.

Their master's household lacked even basic magical artifacts and talismans; they could barely provide their subordinate cultivators with complete sets of robes, let alone any array formations to train them. One wonders how many lives would be left if such a group were to enter the battlefields experienced by the Chongming Sect disciples!
Ye Zhengwen finally understood the situation in Yunjiao Prefecture, but the front lines were severely lacking in supplies, so he had to send them. Therefore, he instructed He Degong to write them down:

“Junior Brother Yuan still has local militia to recruit. Although the armor and weapons they have issued in the past are far inferior to military supplies, they can still alleviate the immediate crisis. I would appreciate it if you could explain this to Junior Brother Yuan after you return to Yun.”

"Brother Ye, rest assured, I will certainly live up to your expectations."

(End of this chapter)