Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 283 Recruitment
After a moment's hesitation, Song Yan did not return to his cave, but turned and walked towards the east side of Maple Leaf Lake.

Among the fallen maple leaves lies a vast, open valley.

The area is dotted with irregularly shaped mud and wooden houses, with no discernible pattern.

A casual glance reveals some cultivators sitting directly on the ground, with a small stall in front of them displaying a few items.

This is Luoyepu, a temporary market town jointly established by the nine lineage cultivators of the Red Maple Plains.

These earthen and wooden houses were all temporarily built by the cultivators themselves using magic spells and talismans.

Song Yan casually found a familiar little shop and exchanged some miscellaneous items on his body for spirit stones.

They then walked to a relatively high attic.

In this Luoyepu area, most houses have one or two-story attics.

This four- or five-story building in the middle is unique.

Upon entering the pavilion, one finds many cultivators, all seated in pairs.

They might be sharing information or trading items.

Song Yan went straight to the third floor and found Shao Sichao in a corner.

"Brother Song."

Shao Sichao's cultivation level remains at the peak of Qi Refining, unchanged for over a year.

Shao Sichao was someone who had interacted with Song Yan since the mid-stage of Qi Refining. In the past, Song Yan always had a vague feeling about him.

At the time, I thought it was because my cultivation level was not high enough, but now that I have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, this feeling has not dissipated.

On the contrary, it is becoming more and more obvious.

How weird.

He and Shao Sichao were friends, so he didn't care about formalities and addressed each other as equals.

As one of the most outstanding disciples among the new generation of Qi Refining disciples, Lao Shao was naturally transferred to the front line for "training".

He was extremely unwilling, but he could not disobey the sect's orders.

Fortunately, the elders seemed to know this person's temperament and were worried that something might happen if they called him to the battlefield, so they arranged for him to have a leisurely position in the war merit exchange office.

Although we are on the front lines, it is relatively safer.

"Here."

As soon as Song Yan sat down, Shao Sichao placed a Qiankun bag in front of him: "I used your battle merits to exchange for it for you, it's all in here."

"Thank you."

He probed it with his divine sense and found that it contained mostly spiritual materials used to refine magical artifacts, with a piece of metal the size of a finger in the center.

It has a faint bluish-purple sheen.

It is indeed Purple Spirit Miasma Stone.

Before arriving at the front lines, there weren't many missions that actually required action. With nothing else to do, Song Yan had someone study the broken sword that Yan Bo had forged.

The information that this broken sword was forged from fragments of a magical artifact is likely true; however, the main material used in its forging is a type of material called Purple Spirit Miasma Stone.

Miasma stones mainly appear in places where miasma is prevalent, such as parts of the Southern Frontier, Qi Kingdom, and Jiang Kingdom.

To be honest, there was no such place in the State of Chu.

Later, when Song Yan was transferred to the front line of Red Maple Plain, he happened to meet Shao Sichao at the war merit exchange point, so he asked him to help keep an eye out for similar metals when other cultivators from the Nine Meridians handed in their spoils of war.

They also directly gave him a portion of the battle merits so that he could redeem them immediately upon discovery, preventing others from getting there first.

Unexpectedly, a response came in just over a month.

It seems that the invasion of demonic cultivators, while bringing turmoil to the cultivation world, has also brought many opportunities.

Countless rare and precious natural treasures and cultivation resources, rarely seen even in the ordinary Chu Kingdom, have been brought here.

"A considerable number of people actually know about this, and it's quite valuable."

Shao Sichao casually said, "But this is too little. It's not worth exchanging battle merits for such a small amount. I acted quickly, which is why I was able to get it."

"Thank you very much."

"Oh, you're too kind."

Shao Sichao waved his hand: "Brother Song has taken such good care of me, I'm just helping to keep an eye out for information and run errands, what's the big deal?"

He was allowed to exchange these refining materials using Song Yan's own battle merits; Shao Sichao didn't have to contribute anything.

Pay attention to other information; they also gave an extra amount of spirit stones.

"However, Brother Song, regarding the ancient sword you mentioned, there is currently no news about it."

Shao Sichao's expression was somewhat strange: "It's not that I'm lazy, brother, but what you're talking about is too vague and too broad, it's really hard to find."

Song Yan shook his head: "It's alright, it was just a chance."

He asked Shao Sichao to keep an eye out for ancient swords, but it was just a side note; it would be best if he found one, but it would be normal if he didn't.

It's not that easy to find.

After checking for a while, he found that there were some uniquely shaped herbs in the Qiankun bag, but in very small quantities.

Besides the Nourishing Spirit Pill, there are several other pills suitable for Foundation Establishment in the Thousand Pill Formula, but Song Yan has hardly seen those medicinal materials anymore.

So I asked Lao Shao to keep an eye on things, but it seems that the quantity of medicinal herbs is really small.

The materials for alchemy are different from those for weapon crafting.

Even if they don't recognize the alchemy materials, most cultivators will choose to keep them for themselves.

Unless you're dealing in bulk sales of medicinal herbs and plants, you generally won't sell them.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Brother Shao. If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave now."

Not long after, Song Yan waved his Qiankun bag as a signal, then got up and left.

"Okay, walk slowly."

Shao Sichao watched Song Yan's departing figure, his eyes filled with a complex expression.

Muttered to himself.

"Sword cultivator..."

"Master, did you already know all this?"

……

Song Yan then returned to his simple cave dwelling.

Xiao He was cultivating diligently, so he didn't disturb her.

Upon entering the quiet room, the spirit-suppressing array was activated.

He then took out the Qiankun bag given to him by Shao Sichao, took out the finger-sized purple spirit miasma stone, and sent it into the Endless Treasury with a thought.

His consciousness also appeared in the realm of the Endless Treasury.

The strange figure still sits beside the sword-forging fire pool inside the Yin-Yang Pearl, which is now the mountaintop fire pool, constantly repeating the same words.

Song Yan ignored him and took out the Purple Spirit Miasma Stone and threw it into the fire pool.

The blue-purple stone fell into it and began to slowly melt, at a rate many times slower than that of the cloud iron.

At the same time, wisps of sword energy surged out from the Sword Palace and flowed into the Fire Pool.

However, a moment later, a wisp of blue-purple thread, neither mist nor water, flowed directly into Qiu Ren's sword.

Although on the surface, the broken sword remains the same.

But as the owner of the flying sword, Song Yan could truly feel that slight change.

I couldn't help but feel excited.

Song Yan himself didn't have much energy to study the methods of weapon crafting. Just the two things of swordsmanship, alchemy, and sword formations had already taken up a lot of his usual time.

This is based on the premise that these two skills complement swordsmanship. If he were to study weapon crafting as well, he would probably be willing but unable.

However, the Endless Treasury gave him a pleasant surprise.

Previously, I only knew that this fire pool could consume materials and sword energy to nurture flying swords and improve their rank.

He was actually unsure about the broken sword, Qiu Ren.

However, judging from the current situation, perhaps for Wujinzang, this Qiuren weapon is complete in form, just like a wounded companion that needs to "recover".

Therefore, if we provide enough materials, we might be able to repair it completely.

However, this process may be very, very slow. Strands of fire from the pool flow into the sword.

Beside the fire pit, the figure, who had been hanging his head dejectedly, slowly raised his head.

Although he was still repeating the same few sentences over and over, his speaking speed seemed to have slowed down.

Song Yan looked him over for a while, and seeing no change, returned to the present world.

He examined the armored mask again.

About a year ago, when Song Yan was still in the rear of the main battlefield, Nuojing held its first formal meeting.

However, this meeting was basically just to welcome the newcomer, Song Yan.

Aside from the conversations of the other few people, he barely understood most of what they said about things and places.

Then everyone exchanged what they needed, and the meeting ended.

There were no further impromptu meetings, it seems everyone had a very busy schedule that year.

Counting the days, our second meeting is just around the corner.

Song Yan was thinking that this time he could inquire about the situation of the cultivators in the Central Region Demon Ruins.

In this impoverished border region, various countries are fighting each other fiercely. What are the cultivators of the Demon Ruins after?
No matter how you look at it, the Central Region should be the place they care about most.

Just as I was pondering this, someone came to visit from outside the door.

Xiao He had just finished her cultivation and used the restriction to inquire about the other party's purpose.

Snake Baby looked at her with suspicion: "What are you doing?"

The newcomer was a strikingly beautiful female cultivator, dressed in the attire of the Xuan Yuan Sect.

The female cultivator smiled gently: "I have something important to discuss with Fellow Daoist Song Yan."

Just as Song Yan walked out of the quiet room, Xiao He turned around and said, "I said I was looking for you, Xiang Zhang."

"Let him in."

"Oh."

The female cultivator walked in gracefully, greeted Xiao He politely, and then turned to Song Yan.

"Fellow Daoist Song, I apologize for disturbing you."

Song Yan had no goodwill towards the Xuan Yuan Sect cultivators, and said in a flat tone, "Get to the point."

"The Elder Council has issued an order to summon cultivators from the Nine Meridians to Tian Sheng Guan to provide assistance."

She slightly cupped her hands, and a summons from the Nine Veins Joint Elder Council was displayed in front of Song Yan.

The names of the six major sect leaders and the prominent elders of the nine lineages are all included.

Tian Sheng Guan is a relatively important pass, mainly because it has a spirit stone mine and also produces some materials that can be used for refining weapons.

"The Elder Council has ordered that Fellow Daoist Song serve as the team leader for this support mission for one month."

This female cultivator from the Xuan Yuan Sect is at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but she doesn't have the arrogant sense of superiority that other Xuan Yuan Sect members have.

This made Song Yan a little more polite.

"Okay, I understand." Song Yan nodded. "I'll set off immediately."

The female cultivator breathed a slight sigh of relief, exchanged a few more polite words, and then left Song Yan's cave.

This is not because she is humble and polite.

Nowadays, everyone in the younger generation of Chu knows the name of Song Yan…

If you don't have the strength of the late Foundation Establishment stage, would you dare to speak loudly in front of this person?
Have you not seen the vast immortal city atop Dragon Pool Mountain, where a single sword strike covered a hundred miles, resulting in the death of one and the escape of the other of two mid-Foundation Establishment stage Demon Ruins cultivators?

Meanwhile, Zhou Liu, the peerless genius in everyone's eyes, was seriously injured by the two of them working together.

In a place like the State of Chu, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage is something that is unexpected, not foolish.

not to mention……

Having a history of conflict with the Xuan Yuan Sect, she dared not provoke Song Yan.

This is Red Maple Plain, the main battlefield between the Chu Kingdom's cultivation world and the Demon Ruins' cultivators.

One day she will also participate in all sorts of dangerous missions, and the sect's protection is greatly weakened here.

……

Unlike missions within a sect, here, you must set off on the very day you receive the summons.

Outside the Maple Leaf Lake's protective barrier, twenty-three or twenty-four cultivators had gathered, with representatives from various sects among them.

Song Yan stood at the front, closing his eyes to rest.

Two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators stood to his left and right, while the other cultivators occasionally exchanged whispers, discussing and speculating about the mission.

"Fellow Daoist Song, everyone has arrived."

"it is good."

Song Yan opened his eyes and said loudly, "Please follow me, everyone."

He took out an ordinary flying boat from his Qiankun bag, and the other cultivators followed him inside.

This flying artifact was issued to him, the squad leader, by the Elder Council, and he had to return it afterward.

The group then flew away from Maple Leaf Lake.

The natural pass is strategically important, but its original defenses were very weak.

On the spirit boat, many cultivators were speculating whether the demonic cultivators had made some moves, which was why they had been sent here to support the defense.

For most cultivators, staying away from Red Maple Plains meant staying away from most of the dangers.

However, the conscription mission made this danger even more unpredictable.

Whether the demonic cultivators are about to launch an attack on Tian Sheng Guan is anyone's guess.

A day later, the group arrived at the location of Tiansheng Pass.

Outside the pass are mostly high mountains, while inside the pass is a large canyon, and the mineral vein is located in the middle of the canyon.

From a distance, five or six monks stationed there could be seen coming forward to greet them.

The original garrison commander of Tiansheng Pass was named Shi Ping, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator who was quite old.

In addition, there was a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator named He Huan who assisted.

The arrival of Song Yan and his group greatly strengthened the defenses of this pass.

Shi Ping beamed with joy upon seeing the arrival of these reinforcements.

"Oh dear, Fellow Daoist Song, fellow colleagues, you've finally arrived."

He warmly grasped Song Yan's hand: "These days, I've been living in constant fear, and even my cultivation hasn't been peaceful."

In fact, Song Yan was only there to support the garrison; Shi Ping should still be in charge of matters here.

But everyone could see that this old man, Shi, wanted to be a hands-off manager and let Song Yan make the decisions.

Fortunately, the cultivator named He Huan was very capable. Before they arrived, he was basically the one managing the affairs in Guanzhong.

With the arrival of reinforcements, he was able to relax a little.

"Senior Brother Song."

After discussing the defense of Tian Sheng Guan, as everyone dispersed, He Huan handed Song Yan a list of names privately.

"These are the Qi Refining cultivators who were recruited here with me in the previous batch. One of them is a junior sister from your Dongyuan Sect."

He Huan, who looked middle-aged, was very shrewd: "I'll transfer these people to your place so you can take care of them."

Song Yan was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "Okay."

"Fellow Daoist He is very kind."

This is just a trivial matter and does not violate any rules, but it is indeed very effective in making people feel good about him.

When Song Yan opened the list, he found this unlucky little fellow from the Dongyuan Sect.

"Zhou Mengdie?"

I thought about it carefully for a while.

I don't think I've ever heard of it.

(End of this chapter)