Chapter 2

The State of Ju is located in the southeastern part of the Qionglei Peninsula, with the Ji family as its royal surname. The capital is Miyang City, occupying most of the southeastern corner. It shares the southeastern region with the State of Teng in the northwest and the State of Wei in the northeast. Within the state, there are three major sects: Qiyang Sect, known for its righteous path; Feimo Mountain, known for its demonic cultivation techniques; and Qiwang Sect, primarily composed of members of the Ju royal family with the Ji surname.

These three major sects form the cultivation world of Ju, controlling the fate of this small country where mortals are the majority, and leading the changes in the realm.

On this morning, Yuan Dian finished helping his grandfather clean the shop and organize the wooden carvings. He then bid farewell to his grandfather and, with a nervous heart, began his trouble-seeking cultivation. This time, his target was no longer the scattered cultivators but the cultivators from the three major sects, who seemed like a regular army.

Even though his grandfather had never taken the three major sects seriously, Yuan Dian, who had been in the cultivation world for two years, knew the power of the cultivators from these sects. Therefore, from the beginning, Yuan Dian told himself to be extremely cautious.

"Yuan Dian, are you going out to find wood for Old Niu again? I must say, Old Niu often lets you go into the deep mountains and forests alone, with wolves and tigers around, and he's not worried at all."

"Hehe, it's fine. I just take a look and don't go too far."

"You must be extra careful. If things get bad, run as fast as you can."

"Yuan Dian, the statue of the Child-Giving Guanyin that I asked your grandfather to carve was incredibly effective! Your second sister-in-law is pregnant, and it's definitely going to be a big, healthy boy. I'll definitely send two jars of good wine to your grandfather."

"Thank you, Brother Zhang. It's nothing. The key is that you are sincere. Sincerity makes it effective. Besides, you are in the prime of your life, right?"

"That's true, hahaha... Good boy, you're young but know a lot."

"Brother Yuan Dian, Brother Yuan Dian, Pipi broke my wooden monkey. Can you carve me another one someday?"

"Of course, when I have time, I'll carve you a bigger and better one."

...

Yuan Dian didn't know his grandfather's name, only that the neighbors called him Old Niu, perhaps because of his stubborn personality. The people living on this street in the outer city of Miyang were all simple and kind, and they had a good relationship with each other. From the moment Yuan Dian left the wooden carving shop, people kept greeting him, and he responded with a smile.

While responding, Yuan Dian casually touched the gray storage bag and a round, emerald-green jade pendant hidden under his robe.

A storage bag is an essential item for cultivators, available in gray, white, blue, green, and purple. The gray one is the lowest level, with a capacity of about ten to several dozen cubic feet. The capacity increases tenfold with each color, with the white one having a capacity of one hundred to several hundred cubic feet but not exceeding a thousand.

However, so far, Yuan Dian had only seen a blue storage bag once in Miyang City. He had once wanted to see what color his grandfather's storage bag was, but unfortunately, he had never seen his grandfather wear one.

As for the round, emerald-green jade pendant, his grandfather called it a Concealment Jade. Wearing it, ordinary cultivators would not detect that he was also a cultivator, and mortals would be even less likely to notice. Here, his grandfather did not want the neighbors to know they were cultivators, as it would disrupt the harmonious neighborhood.

After all, to mortals, cultivators are considered immortals, a lofty and distant existence.

While chatting with the neighbors, Yuan Dian turned the corner and quickly walked out of the outer city gate, arriving at the entrance to a vast, desolate mountain range. Mortals would enter here to search for herbs, cut wood, and hunt for their livelihood. Cultivators, especially low-level cultivators, would also frequently enter to find spiritual herbs, hunt demon beasts, and obtain other materials for cultivation.

Yuan Dian often waited here to ambush and trouble cultivators. When he encountered suitable scattered cultivators, he would start a fight, either beating them up and taking their meat or being beaten and desperately fleeing. Relying on the Disguise Technique and the Heaven's Path Technique, and with a measured approach, he only sought to fight and train himself, never seeking to kill or rob. Thus, he rarely faced life-threatening situations.

Today, as usual, he entered the forest, cut a bundle of dry wood, and then used the Disguise Technique to transform into an ordinary woodcutter. He then came to a large rock, put down the wood, and waited.

Seeing groups of two or three, or even solitary scattered cultivators pass by the large rock, Yuan Dian often shook his head. None of these were suitable for him to trouble. Some were only at the first or second level of the Condensation Qi stage, just entering the cultivation world, not worth troubling. Others were at the fourth level of the Condensation Qi stage, which he couldn't afford to trouble. His target today was cultivators from the three major sects.

"They're here, Qiyang Sect cultivators, fifth level of the Condensation Qi stage, mid-stage cultivators. Are they kidding? Fifth level and they come to such a desolate mountain range. Why not go to Feilai Forest? Really, are they just showing off here?"

When four cultivators in blue robes appeared in the distance, Yuan Dian's spirit was lifted. However, when he saw that two of them were twenty-year-old youths at the fifth level of the Condensation Qi stage, he immediately gave up the idea of troubling them, angrily cursing to himself, and then retreated to the large rock, pretending to rest.

In Yuan Dian's experience, most of the cultivators entering the desolate mountain range around Miyang City were at the early stage of the Condensation Qi stage. Those with mid-stage or higher cultivation mostly entered the Feilai Forest to the north of Miyang City, where high-quality demon beasts, spiritual flowers, and herbs could be found, and there was a good chance of encountering significant opportunities.

This desolate mountain range was suitable for early-stage cultivators and mortals, while the Feilai Forest was a fertile ground for cultivators and a forbidden zone for mortals. Mid-stage and late-stage Condensation Qi cultivators mostly entered there to find what they needed. The appearance of these cultivators here indeed surprised Yuan Dian.

The four Qiyang Sect cultivators ignored the seemingly mortal woodcutter Yuan Dian and quickly passed by. Over the next two hours, five more groups of cultivators quickly passed by Yuan Dian. One group was from Qiyang Sect in blue robes, and four groups were from Qiwang Sect in green robes with a bright yellow crown on their chests. Each group consisted of four or five people, with fifth or sixth-level Condensation Qi cultivators leading them.

In addition, numerous early and mid-stage scattered cultivators, in groups of two or three, hurriedly rushed into the desolate mountain range.

At this moment, Yuan Dian knew that something must have happened in the desolate mountain range. Otherwise, Qiwang Sect, Qiyang Sect, and so many scattered cultivators would not have entered in such large numbers. Thinking of this, Yuan Dian put away the Concealment Jade, revealed his third-level Condensation Qi cultivation, and stopped two second-level Condensation Qi cultivators passing by, asking, "Fellow Daoists, what happened in the desolate mountain range? Why are so many fellow cultivators rushing in?"

"Fellow Daoist, Prince Feng, the eldest son of the Ju royal family, Prince Feng, went hunting in the desolate mountain range yesterday and encountered danger. His guard team suffered heavy casualties. Two ninth-level Condensation Qi guards from Qiwang Sect transmitted the message that Prince Feng was in danger and needed rescue."

"The Ju royal family has offered a substantial reward, promising a thousand low-grade spirit stones to anyone who discovers Prince Feng's whereabouts. They have also invited Qiwang Sect and Qiyang Sect to send cultivators to search the forest. We are also going to try our luck. If we really find Prince Feng, it will be a thousand low-grade spirit stones!"

After explaining to Yuan Dian, the two cultivators bowed and quickly rushed into the desolate mountain range. Hearing this news, Yuan Dian was also greatly surprised.

Prince Feng, the eldest son of the Ju royal family, Ji Fengyi, is the first in line to inherit the throne of Ju. He is a mortal, and Yuan Dian had seen this crown prince in Miyang City. He is handsome and kind, and according to the people of Miyang City, Prince Feng is well-read, upright, and skilled in statecraft. The people of Miyang City love him, and the call for his ascension has always been high.

Although Prince Feng is loved by the people, he is not skilled in warfare and has few military achievements. However, his younger brother, Prince Ming, Ji Minghong, is also a mortal but is brave and skilled in battle. Despite his young age, he has achieved significant military success in conflicts with the States of Wei and Teng. He is ruthless and decisive, making him a strong contender for the throne.

"Prince Ming hunting and encountering danger, that's new. But a reward of a thousand low-grade spirit stones shows that the royal family values Prince Feng highly." Looking at the vast desolate mountain range not far away, Yuan Dian sneered and then took a step forward, rushing into the forest.

The Ju royal family has the surname Ji. Anyone with a spiritual root and the ability to cultivate joins Qiwang Sect, while mortals remain in Ju to govern the country. Unless the ruler is tyrannical and the people are in deep resentment, Qiwang Sect does not interfere in the succession of the royal family. They only send some cultivators to protect important members of the royal family, limited to ensuring their safety.

However, this time, Prince Feng, who was accompanied by two ninth-level Condensation Qi cultivators, encountered danger while hunting. It was clear that this was likely the work of Prince Ming. After all, killing Prince Feng would make Prince Ming, who has military achievements and the support of the army, the first in line to inherit the throne. This kind of scheme would not be interfered with much by Qiwang Sect.

With Prince Feng in danger and missing, the Ju royal family directly offered a substantial reward of a thousand low-grade spirit stones, which excited many scattered cultivators, including Yuan Dian. After all, a thousand low-grade spirit stones is a huge sum, even for a late-stage Condensation Qi cultivator.

Spirit stones come in four grades: low, medium, high, and supreme, with a hundred-to-one exchange rate. They are extremely useful, as they can be directly absorbed for cultivation or used to purchase anything needed for cultivation, just like gold and silver in the hands of mortals, making them the most valuable currency for cultivators.

In the cultivation world, while having spirit stones doesn't mean having everything, not having spirit stones means having nothing, which is absolutely unacceptable.

Even with his grandfather's support, Yuan Dian's gray storage bag only contained twelve low-grade spirit stones, showing how valuable a thousand low-grade spirit stones were to him. This was the reason he abandoned his trouble-seeking cultivation and entered the desolate mountain range. After all, if he could get a thousand low-grade spirit stones, it would be worth it, even if he didn't eat or drink for three days. Maybe his grandfather would even praise him.

Finding Prince Feng's whereabouts in the desolate mountain range would make everything worth it.

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