Chapter 86: Summoning Order

After carrying Ba Jiang back to the wooden cabin he had rented, Chen Mobai prepared to take his leave.

"Brother Chen, great kindness needs no thanks. I will prepare a generous gift once I recover."

Ba Jiang lay weakly on the wooden bed, smiling bitterly as he spoke.

"After all, we have known each other for a while. I couldn't bear to see you die without helping."

Chen Mobai just shook his head and then asked about the situation with the demonic beasts, but Ba Jiang didn't know much.

He and his sister had hunted a black-armored turtle and then took a detour to hunt another type of demonic beast. However, before they could succeed, they encountered a large group of black plague birds.

The second-stage bird king hadn't even acted, but the nearly thousand black plague birds spewed gales, creating a dense rain of arrows that covered all possible escape routes.

Ba Jiang had a second-stage defensive spirit talisman for protection, but his sister wasn't so lucky. She was riddled with holes and died in the water.

"Do the demonic beasts of Yunmeng Marsh often attack the islands?"

Chen Mobai was a complete outsider and only had a basic understanding of the situation here.

Although Ba Jiang was also new, he came from a cultivation family in the Eastern Wasteland and had grown up hearing legends about Yunmeng Marsh, so he knew some details.

"According to legend, the deepest part of Yunmeng Marsh has fourth-stage demonic beasts. A hundred years ago, the Mixed Yuan Ancestor of the Five Elements Sect, along with several fellow cultivators, suppressed them."

"After the Mixed Yuan Ancestor passed away fifty years ago, the seal became increasingly unstable. Powerful demonic beasts often break out from the seal, leading their respective clans to wreak havoc. If not for the constant presence of the True Man Nujiang of the Five Elements Sect's Water Vein, who guards the seal at Fengyu Fort, Yunmeng Marsh would have long become a paradise for demonic beasts."

"Even so, the seven major sects of the Eastern Wasteland still organize large-scale hunts in Yunmeng Marsh from time to time. Otherwise, if the demonic beasts inside and outside the seal attack Fengyu Fort together, the legendary fourth-stage demonic beasts might really break out."

"In the past thirty years, the demonic beast armies have become smarter. They attack the major market islands in Yunmeng Marsh before the seven major sects of the Eastern Wasteland launch their joint hunts. This is usually the time of the most intense battles."

After hearing this, Chen Mobai fell silent and then asked a question.

"Can Qingguang Island withstand the attack?"

"The Divine Wood Sect is one of the seven major sects of the Eastern Wasteland, with a profound foundation. It is likely to withstand the attack, but many people will probably die."

Ba Jiang's words made Chen Mobai sigh. "Likely" means there's still a chance it might not withstand the attack.

"At this time, we, as scattered cultivators, can do nothing but hope for the Divine Wood Sect. They will also issue a summoning order to ask us to help defend the island."

"Oh, is the summoning order mandatory?"

"That depends on the attitude of the Divine Wood Sect. But even if it's not mandatory, we scattered cultivators will still help defend the island. If the island falls, the disciples of the Divine Wood Sect might be able to leave via the teleportation array, but we scattered cultivators will definitely be abandoned as cannon fodder."

Ba Jiang said this with a bitter expression, and Chen Mobai's face showed understanding.

Indeed, with the teleportation array, the Divine Wood Sect can preserve its forces and retreat to the main sect.

But he quickly realized something else.

Qingguang Island is one of the best market islands operated by the Divine Wood Sect in Yunmeng Marsh. The monthly rent for the caves and wooden houses on the island, plus the various shops and business profits, amounts to at least ten thousand spirit stones.

If they retreat now and let the demonic beasts ravage and destroy everything, even a Core Formation realm cultivator would be heartbroken.

So, the Divine Wood Sect will only retreat via the teleportation array when they are out of resources and have no other choice.

In that case, the scattered cultivators will also hope the Divine Wood Sect doesn't retreat and will help defend the island.

Chen Mobai, however, was considering whether to leave immediately.

He has Turtle Treasure, which allows him to retreat at any time.

But the demonic beast attack is a rare experience. Since he already has a safe way out and the Divine Wood Sect will prioritize defending the island, he might observe the situation and use it to hone his combat skills.

"Brother Ba, you should rest and recover. I'll go find Daoist Brother Qihou and see if he's on the island."

After saying this, Chen Mobai got up and left.

He had gone on several demonic beast hunting missions with Qihou and knew where the Divine Wood Sect disciple lived. It was in the highest and best cave on the island, with the best spirit vein, even better than the water cave, a second-stage superior cave.

"Oh, it's you."

Qihou's luck was good. Today, his junior brother Xi had something to attend to and didn't leave the island, thus avoiding a disaster.

But Chen Mobai's luck was even better. He left the island and met the Ba siblings, but he chose the right direction and returned safely.

After hearing about the Ba siblings from Chen Mobai, Qihou sighed and took out a "Revival Talisman" for Chen Mobai to give to Ba Jiang.

"Daoist Brother Qi, if the demonic beasts attack the island, how should we scattered cultivators handle it?"

Chen Mobai took the talisman and asked about these matters.

If the Divine Wood Sect is harsh on scattered cultivators, he plans to leave.

"Right, I just came from Senior Uncle Zheng. The summoning order will be issued soon, so I'll tell you in advance."

"Our Divine Wood Sect will hire all the scattered cultivators on the island with spirit stones. Late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators will receive 5 spirit stones per day, mid-stage 2 spirit stones per day, and early-stage 1 spirit stone per day. As long as everyone fights to the death, the spirit stones will be issued on the same day."

"Furthermore, if anyone performs exceptionally well in the island defense, our Divine Wood Sect will make an exception and recruit them as disciples after the battle."

After Qihou finished speaking, Chen Mobai couldn't help but admire the魄力 (courage) of this Zheng surname Core Formation cultivator.

Even without spirit stones, the scattered cultivators on the island would help defend it to save their own lives. But with this generous summoning order, almost all scattered cultivators will fight to the death.

Even Chen Mobai himself was tempted.

"Junior Brother Chen, you are already at the seventh level of Qi Condensation at such a young age. I hope you can join our Divine Wood Sect, and we can become true fellow disciples."

After encouraging him, Qihou said he needed to go to the eastern side of Qingguang Island to set up defenses. After waiting for three fellow disciples to form a small team, he hurriedly left.

Chen Mobai took the Revival Talisman back to Ba Jiang's wooden cabin, gave him the talisman, and told him about the Divine Wood Sect's summoning order.

"If the spirit stones are issued on the same day, even the most suspicious scattered cultivators will be reassured. This Senior Uncle Zheng Deming is indeed one of the most likely to reach the Core Formation realm in the Divine Wood Sect. He is very courageous and understands our mindset, as he is also a scattered cultivator by origin."

After hearing this, Ba Jiang sighed.

Sure enough, some scattered cultivators were preparing to pack their bags and leave. After all, the target of the demonic beast army is Qingguang Island. As long as they leave the island and hide in various places in Yunmeng Marsh, they have a good chance of surviving unless they encounter the demonic beast army head-on.

But after the summoning order was issued, almost all scattered cultivators chose to stay.