Chapter 518 - 488: Garrison

Chapter 518: Chapter 488: Garrison

It was late at night when he returned to the Mist Forest Marketplace.

The marketplace’s lights were sparse. Cultivators from the patrol team walked back and forth along the streets. When they saw Li Yuan’s Escape Light descend, they bowed respectfully.

Li Yuan went straight to the main hall.

Xu Zhang was still awake, sitting in a side hall and looking through a stack of documents. Seeing Li Yuan enter, he immediately stood up.

"Pavilion Master, you’ve returned. I’ve already received word about the matter with the Mingyuan Commerce Association."

Li Yuan sat down in the main seat. "The association head told you?"

"Yes, he sent a message." Xu Zhang closed the documents in his hand.

"I’ve looked over the framework for our cooperation. The terms are much better than what the Mist Forest Marketplace had in its early days. But there’s one thing the association head didn’t mention: where will the branch marketplace be located?"

"It hasn’t been decided yet."

Xu Zhang nodded and didn’t press the matter.

Li Yuan considered it for a moment. ’Choosing a location requires on-the-ground surveys of Liangzhou’s terrain, population flow, Spirit Vein distribution, and the surrounding factions. It’s a lot to handle. I have many other things to do, so there’s no need for me to expend too much energy on site selection.’

"I’ll leave the site selection to you," Li Yuan said.

Xu Zhang accepted. "I’ll make the arrangements as soon as possible."

After briefly discussing the marketplace’s recent business operations, Xu Zhang took his leave.

Li Yuan returned to his Seclusion Chamber and closed the stone door.

In the following days, Li Yuan devoted all his energy to cultivation.

The Burning Wood Evergreen Skill had been in his equipment slot ever since he first learned it. Its blue attribute, Flame of Ceaseless Life, continuously provided a Spiritual Power recovery bonus through its fire-wood symbiotic cycle.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged and began to circulate the Burning Wood Evergreen Skill with all his might.

Fire Spiritual Power and Wood Spiritual Power ran parallel through his meridians, advancing alternately along the path guided by the Cultivation Technique. With every completed Grand Circulation, the two streams of power would converge once in his Dantian, forming a brief symbiotic cycle.

At the introductory level, the cycle was still unstable. The convergence point of the fire and wood powers in his Dantian often exhibited a faint repulsion. But as he repeated the circulation, the sense of repulsion gradually weakened. The paths of the Spiritual Power became smoother with each repetition, and the connection at the convergence point grew tighter.

The learning speed bonus from True Learning of a Myriad Arts and the green attribute, Cultivation Technique Advancement, activated simultaneously, drastically increasing the rate at which he accumulated proficiency.

「Seven days later.」

The fire-wood cycle in his Dantian completed a qualitative leap. The two streams of Spiritual Power no longer repelled each other at the convergence point. Instead, they naturally merged, split, and re-merged, like two streams flowing into the same estuary before parting again to head in different directions.

The cycle’s frequency stabilized, no longer requiring Li Yuan’s conscious guidance.

[Burning Wood Evergreen Skill: Proficient]

His Spiritual Power recovery efficiency increased another notch. The Flame of Ceaseless Life attribute itself provided a fifty percent bonus to Spiritual Power recovery. Now that the skill’s proficiency had risen from Introductory to Proficient, the cycle’s efficiency increased even further.

「Three more days passed.」

The sound of footsteps came from outside the main hall.

Ji Wenyuan’s voice came from outside the door. "Pavilion Master, Zhou Mingyuan, the Sect Master of the Primordial Yang Sect, has come to visit."

Li Yuan slowly withdrew his power and pushed open the door to his Seclusion Chamber.

In the main hall, Zhou Mingyuan was already seated in the guest’s chair, with no attendants by his side. He had exchanged his Sect Master’s robes for a common gray-blue long robe, looking as if he had arrived in a hurry.

Seeing Li Yuan emerge, Zhou Mingyuan stood and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Li Dao You, there is a matter I’d like to ask for your help with."

"Please, speak." Li Yuan sat down opposite him.

Zhou Mingyuan didn’t beat around the bush. "Someone needs to go and hold the line at Skeleton Ridge."

"Hold the line?"

"Just to hold the line," Zhou Mingyuan emphasized. "You won’t need to fight. You can avoid any conflicts that arise. I just need a Golden Core Cultivator to stay there and maintain a presence."

Li Yuan looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Zhou Mingyuan sighed. "Besides myself, the Sect only has four Golden Core Cultivators. We simply can’t spare anyone right now."

Li Yuan considered it for a moment.

"Alright."

A look of delight appeared on Zhou Mingyuan’s face. "Thank you, Li Dao You. I will arrange for the outpost’s supplies. Spirit Stones and resources will be allocated monthly."

After they settled a few more details, Zhou Mingyuan took his leave.

The next morning, Li Yuan set off for Skeleton Ridge.

Skeleton Ridge was located in the northeastern part of Liangzhou, about two hundred li from the Mist Forest Marketplace. It was an area of low, rolling hills stretching for dozens of li. The terrain wasn’t very rugged, but the rock formations contained a large number of Tier Two Spiritual Material veins, making it one of the few stable resource production sites in Liangzhou.

Li Yuan’s Escape Light landed on a highland on the west side of Skeleton Ridge.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his Divine Sense swept across the surroundings.

Three Golden Core Level Spiritual Waves were distributed in different locations around Skeleton Ridge.

’Two to the northeast have gloomy auras with distinct fluctuations of Demonic Qi. The Abyss Sect. Two Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivators, not far from each other—they must be stationed together.’

’One to the due north has a calm and steady Spiritual Wave. The Celestial Peak Sect. A Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator.’

’To the due east, there is another extremely faint fluctuation. It isn’t a Golden Core, but the collective aura of more than a dozen Foundation Establishment Cultivators gathered together. These must be the Foundation Establishment disciples from the various factions, responsible for daily resource gathering and message relay.’

Li Yuan headed in the direction of the Celestial Peak Sect’s Golden Core Cultivator.

The outpost was located halfway up a small hill on the northern side of Skeleton Ridge. A few simple stone houses were built against the mountain, surrounded by a Defensive Array. The array’s grade wasn’t high, roughly Tier Two Middle Grade. It was adequate for repelling incursions from Low Tier Demon Beasts and Loose Cultivators, but a Golden Core Cultivator could break it with a casual strike.

Two Late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples from the Primordial Yang Sect stood at the entrance of a stone house. Seeing Li Yuan approach, they hurriedly bowed.

"Li Tributor."

Li Yuan nodded and walked into the stone house.

The furnishings inside were extremely simple: a stone bed, a stone table, and a few crates of supplies stacked in the corner. A pot of cold tea and several message-transmitting jade slips sat on the stone table.

The Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator from the Celestial Peak Sect was already waiting.

A man who looked to be in his forties was leaning against the wall, dressed in the deep blue robes of the Celestial Peak Sect. His expression was cold, his aura restrained. When he saw Li Yuan enter, he just nodded slightly in greeting.

"Chen Qi. Celestial Peak Sect."

"Li Yuan."

There were no further pleasantries between them.

Chen Qi briefly explained the current situation at Skeleton Ridge.

"There are quite a few factions vying for control. The Abyss Sect and the Evil Slaying Sect are on one side; the Celestial Peak Sect and the Primordial Yang Sect are on another. Besides them, the Qi Shui Sect and the Bitan Sect have also sent people, and several other smaller sects are watching from the sidelines. Word has gotten out that the amount of resources in Skeleton Ridge is greater than previously estimated."

"The Qi Shui Sect?" Li Yuan asked.

"They’re from Yunzhou," Chen Qi said, his tone flat.

"The Qi Shui Sect was originally on the verge of being crushed by the Evil Slaying Sect in Yunzhou. But then news spread that a Golden Core Cultivator from the Evil Slaying Sect had died at some unknown point. Now, the Qi Shui Sect is slowly pushing back and also wants to take this opportunity to try their luck."

"Did they send a Golden Core Cultivator?"

"No. Just a few Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. They’ve occupied a small area on the outskirts to mine."

Li Yuan committed this information to memory.

The situation at Skeleton Ridge was a bit more complicated than he had expected. Multiple factions were intertwined, but the core conflict remained the standoff between the Abyss Sect and the Celestial Peak Sect. The other factions either weren’t strong enough or were just there to pick up scraps; they couldn’t influence the overall situation.

After explaining the situation, Chen Qi returned to his own stone house without further conversation.

Li Yuan settled in at the outpost.

The Spirit Gathering Array on the outpost’s perimeter was active, but its effect was mediocre. The array was only Tier Two Middle Grade, and the Spiritual Qi concentration wasn’t much higher than outside. The difference was stark compared to cultivating in seclusion at the marketplace or near a Spirit Vein.

As for resources, a batch of supplies was brought from the rear by Foundation Establishment Cultivators every few days. Spirit Stones, pills, and Talismans—all of them were Tier Two. There were no Tier Three resources whatsoever; the Primordial Yang Sect’s reserves couldn’t support it.

Li Yuan paid this no mind. ’My personal Spirit Vein and the passive recovery from Myriad Spirits Returning to Veins are enough to meet the Spiritual Qi demands of my daily cultivation. I don’t need to rely on an external Spirit Gathering Array.’

In the days that followed, Li Yuan cultivated at the outpost during the day and used his Divine Sense to monitor the overall situation at Skeleton Ridge at night.