Celestial Official!

"It turns out that Qu Ying and Yan Mo had fallen out with Xu Hui. The reason for this was actually because of me. It's truly a case of cause and effect, and retribution is inevitable!"

"As for the secret letter that these two men disguised themselves to secretly send to Supervisor Lü of the Engraving Institute, there is something worth mentioning. I wonder what their intention was?"

"And there's the 'Qingsheng Sect' mentioned between the lines by Qu Ying and Xu Hui... The name sounds grand and imposing, but it's probably the heretical sect that the Jade Sleeve Sect talks about."

"Otherwise, Qu Ying wouldn't have so readily called them 'Crimson Cultivators'."

……

I glanced at the several lines of cause-and-effect information and digested the essence within.

Yan Chen rubbed his temples, muttering a headache to himself.

The original intention was to use Qu Ying to glean some information about the material supply area in advance, so as to make preparations and prevent any unforeseen problems.

Who would have thought it would be these trivial matters?

It's not that this information is completely useless, but it's too fragmented, and trying to find a plot thread from it is indeed a rather brain-racking task.

"However, based on the previous insights into cause and effect, it can be roughly judged that there must be some kind of nepotism between Qu Yan and Xu Hui, most likely the so-called 'Qing Sheng Sect'."

"And the old business of Qu Yan and his companion robbing mortal servants must have been orchestrated by the 'Qing Sheng Sect' behind the scenes."

"Although Yuxiu doesn't care much about these heretics, she shouldn't just sit idly by and watch them run rampant, should she?"

Yan Chen's mind raced, and he stopped, suddenly realizing:

"Yes, the resource site!"

"For the Jade Sleeve Sect, all disciples are 'materials'. When one batch dies, another batch is recruited. Countless villagers and Taoist students fight tooth and nail to join the sect."

"But resources and land are different; they are monopolized by the orthodox tradition and are related to the real interests of the 'superior cultivators'."

No one cares about flies and maggots swarming around filthy and useless things, but if they try to cling to pearls and jade, they are courting death.

"Could it be that we are to be pawns? To probe the strengths and weaknesses of these heretical cultivators?"

"No wonder Senior Brother Li hesitated to speak..."

Yan Chen exhaled a breath of stale air, his mind gradually calming down.

The initial sense of pride and satisfaction that arose from the successful breakthrough vanished in an instant.

Wang Guian's words resurfaced in my mind—

With two levels of Qi Refining, he can be considered a "talent"!

However, once he reaches the first level of Qi cultivation, he can barely be considered a "material," still a step below a "human."

Yan Chen suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and continued walking, but his steps lacked some spirit and seemed even heavier.

"The first level of Qi Refining is far from enough. I need to obtain the 'Qi Guiding Technique' as soon as possible and join the ranks of 'talents' so that I can have a foothold in the Jade Sleeve Daoist lineage!"

"However, before that... we need to be alert and steadily overcome the hurdle of the 'resource area'."

"Perhaps there will be a turning point, who knows!"

……

……

The next day at dawn, the sky was already bright.

Outside the gate of the Jade Sleeve Sect.

The land-based vehicle, shaped like a magic shuttle, was surrounded by a beam of light, breaking through snow, sand, dust, and fog. It sped along the eight-hundred-mile winding mountain road, heading towards Mount Gumang, more than a hundred miles away.

The interior of the land vessel is spacious and bright, with a total of thirty-two seats arranged in four rows and eight columns, with a clear order.

At this moment, a dozen or so ordinary servants were sitting scattered around, all sitting upright and looking reserved, not daring to speak.

Yan Chen sat in the corner by the window. After two days of hard work, his true energy was now well contained. Unless one was deliberately observing, no one would be able to tell that he had reached the first level of Qi Refining.

He raised his hand and stroked the sandalwood tabletop intricately carved with cloud patterns, thinking to himself:

"The Jade Sleeve Sect truly lives up to its reputation as the leader of the righteous path in Nanzhuo. They are indeed wealthy, and even ordinary mortals can travel by land boat."

"I had thought it would be something as simple as 'riding a horse,' but now that I think about it, it really doesn't match the status that the Jade Sleeve Sect projects to the outside world..."

The so-called "land boat" is like a cloud shuttle, a means of transportation that Yu Xiu created using complex techniques to facilitate travel.

As its name suggests, the boat can only be used on land, and it is good at crossing mountains and traversing wilderness.

Compared to the lightweight and convenient Yunshuo, which can ride the clouds, it is less agile but more stable, and more convenient and affordable.

It is the first choice for most ordinary servants, and even disciples of the Three Valleys, when traveling.

Apart from the dozen or so ordinary servants, Qu Ying, Yan Mo, and Lü Mao, the three supervisors, also accompanied them.

This trip to the material supply location, excluding the round-trip travel time, will take approximately three days.

The specific process is roughly the same as it was in the engineering school.

Upon arriving at Mount Gumang, the three supervisors will meet with the villagers who have designated the land for materials, assign tasks, and finalize the land reclamation and logging arrangements before departing.

Three days later, he returned to fulfill his duties of inspection and surveying, and coordinated the transportation of materials to the Institute of Engineering.

The details had been explained to the general staff of the three academies by the supervisor before their departure.

Since joining the Jade Sleeve Daoist lineage and becoming a mortal servant of the Forging Academy, this was Yan Chen's first time traveling far from home.

Feeling curious, I peered out the car window.

The land of Nanzhuo is characterized by towering mountains and deep valleys, and is dotted with rivers and large lakes.

Now, in the depths of winter, the sky is clear and the earth is barren. Outside the window, snowflakes flutter and scatter like jade fragments, creating a desolate and chilly scene.

When spring arrives and all things burst forth, perhaps another wondrous sight will appear.

……

Lu Zhou was extremely fast; he covered a distance of over a hundred miles in just half an hour.

The speed gradually slowed down, and the scenery outside the window froze, stopping between a cliff and steep walls.

Inside the boat, as the voices of the three supervisors rang out, more than ten ordinary servants stood up and filed out along the corridor, stepping onto the boat ladder to come to the outside world.

Yan Chen followed behind, glancing up slightly. The sky was also gray and gloomy, as if it were covered in smoke and dust.

Looking beyond the crowd, one sees a distant, undulating mountain range with towering peaks and jagged, craggy cliffs. Wooden huts and thatched huts appear to be built along the mountain path, with wisps of dark smoke rising from them. From afar, the mountain exudes a sense of oppression and gloom.

Is this Mount Gumang?

"Looking at this poor, remote place... I wonder if it's harboring some unruly people?"

Not only Yan Chen made wild guesses, but even the remaining dozen or so mortal servants couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Brother-in-law, this Gumang Mountain... it feels a bit eerie?"

Xu Hui was among the dozen or so ordinary servants.

Then he moved closer to Lü Mao, adopting his usual submissive posture, and asked in a high-pitched voice.

Lu Mao remained calm, looking straight ahead, and replied:

"Mount Gumang was a place where local ash-burning households dug mountains and burned ash decades ago. Although my Jade Sleeve Sect has designated it as a resource area, the burning of ash has been repeatedly prohibited but not stopped, which has caused great headaches for the local villagers."

"The superiors, being people-oriented, readily accepted good advice. As long as the ashe households paid the corresponding taxes, they were allowed to burn ashes. Over time, the feng shui environment naturally deteriorated."

"However, the local people are simple and honest, which does not hinder the mining and logging of minerals and timber."

As the two were talking, they could hear the clattering of horses' hooves in the distance.

As everyone turned their gaze, they saw several tall horses galloping from the distant mountain path, followed by what appeared to be a large group of people.

Amidst the billowing dust, the group tightened their reins and dismounted when they were about ten feet away from Lu Zhou.

Yan Chen stared intently and saw that the leader was a middle-aged man in a black robe with fair skin, a mustache, and an elegant demeanor, clearly indicating that he came from an extraordinary background.

"So it's Elder Chen. We're just a dozen or so ordinary servants; why trouble you to come all this way?"

Qu Ying dared not be negligent and immediately bowed to greet them, as did the other two.

"My Chen family is merely a fifth-rank clan, entirely dependent on the Jade Sleeve Sect for survival. You three are supervisors of the Imperial Academy; how can you possibly show disrespect?"

Chen Xuyang shook his head and chuckled.

Under the rule of the Jade Sleeve Dao, the various clans in the Southern Zhuo region were divided into five ranks based on a comprehensive evaluation of factors such as the level of resources they controlled and the clan leader's cultivation level.

First-rank families, second-rank families, third-rank families, fourth-rank families, and fifth-rank families.

The Chen family of Gumang was a fifth-rank official clan, in charge of the resources and land of Gumang Mountain.

"Elder Chen, you are too kind. The junior disciples who came this time have only been practicing for half a month and are still quite inexperienced. We will need Elder Chen's help in cultivating this resource-rich land!"

The two exchanged pleasantries back and forth.

Before long, the three supervisors returned to the land vessel and, just as they had said, delivered more than ten ordinary servants there before immediately turning back.

It seemed as if they were unwilling to stay in this place for even a moment longer.

Yan Chen took a deep breath of the mountain air and coughed a few times unexpectedly.

Regardless of the purity of the spiritual energy, the pervasive smell of burning ash in the mountains is enough to make one's chest feel hot and dry.

Even though he cultivated the Bing Fire element, he felt quite uncomfortable.

"Distinguished disciples, I am Chen Xuyang, an elder of the Chen family of Gumang, here to oversee the reclamation of the resource-rich land by imperial decree."

Chen Xuyang waved his hand casually.

"The elegant lady in jade sleeves has arrived. What are you mortals still doing, cowering in fear? Why don't you step forward and pay your respects?"

mortal?

Greetings?

Yan Chen raised an eyebrow and looked at the dense crowd in the distance.

Then these people stepped forward one after another, bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the dozen or so ordinary servants, shouting—

"I, a humble commoner from Mount Gumang, humbly pay my respects to the esteemed Lady Yuxiu!"

……