Chapter 93

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"Things have been going relatively smoothly in Canglan City, but after the construction of Tianma Lake Fort, hundreds of wandering cultivators have flooded in, leading to more disputes..." Zong Tu said beside him.

"Is that so!" Chen Xun sighed lightly.

This situation was not unexpected.

Cultivation consumes resources.

Even cultivators who have advanced to the Rebirth Realm can absorb the essence of heaven and earth to refine their bodies and cultivate spiritual energy, but they still need spiritual herbs and rare plants to nourish their essence and spirit, and they also need rare and exotic metals to forge magical artifacts.

However, the generation of cultivation resources takes time.

The low-grade spiritual herbs needed to refine the Black Python require a growth cycle of over a decade; herbs like ginseng, which are used to advance in cultivation, need several decades or even centuries to grow in areas rich in spiritual energy. As for the rare and exotic metals used to forge magical artifacts, they are even more scarce, with each use reducing their availability.

The Canglan Wilderness spans three to four thousand miles, with a vast territory. However, after the Su Clan established itself for a thousand years and thousands of tribes multiplied, except for the extremely dangerous areas that even late-stage Rebirth Realm cultivators dare not enter easily, the cultivation resources in the wilderness west of Canglan City have gradually become insufficient, even showing signs of depletion. Expanding outward has become an inevitable trend.

The Python Tooth Ridge and the northern marshes are smaller in area compared to the Canglan Wilderness, but as a buffer zone between the Su Clan and the Xuanhan Sect for thousands of years, they have been sparsely populated, making them undeveloped virgin lands. Naturally, they have become one of the key directions for the Su Clan's expansion.

The Su Clan used the Gui Xi Tribe as a vanguard to establish the Tianma Lake Fort. While the Gui Xi Tribe may have ambitions to integrate the northern tribes, the Su Clan values the cultivation resources of the Python Tooth Ridge and the northern marshes even more.

The northern region and the marshes are vast, and the territories occupied by the nine tribes are just the edges. With countless wandering cultivators and clan forces flooding in, there will be friction with the nine tribes, but it won't lead to intense conflicts.

Only the Tianma Lake Fort is built within the territory of the Black Mountain Tribe. With a large number of wandering cultivators and clan forces flooding in, the Black Mountain Tribe faces a much more severe situation.

After Grandpa Ting and Gu Jianfeng discussed the current perilous situation in the northern mountains, Chen Xun thought for a moment and straightforwardly told Gu Jianfeng:

"To be honest, even if you and Gu Chen rush back, it won't help much!"

Compared to the Canglan Wilderness, which has thousands of tribes and tens of millions of people, the Black Mountain Tribe is just a slightly larger village.

Not to mention a strong tribe like the Gui Xi Tribe, even among the hundreds of wandering cultivators flooding into the northern mountains, there are no shortage of Rebirth Realm cultivators. What ability does the Black Mountain Tribe have to drive them away from around Tianma Lake?

If they anger an evil cultivator, and that person decides to destroy the Black Mountain Tribe, who will they complain to?

Furthermore, what ability does the Black Mountain Tribe have to restrict the actions of those powerful wandering cultivators and clan forces?

"Will the Xuwu Marshal's Office just stand by and do nothing?" Zong Ya asked worriedly, "The Black Python is close to the Black Mountain Tribe. The situation is a bit better now, but as things escalate, the Black Python will inevitably be affected."

"The Xuwu Marshal's Office probably won't directly intervene in this matter..." Chen Xun shook his head and explained his thoughts to Gu Jianfeng and Zong Ya.

The Su Clan and the Canglan Academy have a strict system. They don't need to act personally. As long as the various tribes and clans, as well as the thousands or tens of thousands of wandering cultivators in Canglan, want to obtain purer elixirs, more powerful mystic weapons and armor, and various magical artifacts from the Su Clan, and want to cultivate the Su Clan's secret mystic techniques, the cultivation resources obtained in the northern mountains and the marshes will continuously flow into the Su Clan's hands.

Therefore, from the Su Clan's perspective, they only hope that the area around Tianma Lake will become increasingly lively.

Hoping that the Su Clan will uphold justice for the Black Mountain Tribe is like seeking fish in a tree.

"..." Gu Jianfeng was also worried, looking dejected.

Although he is expected to break through to the eighth layer of the Bone Washing stage in the near future, which would have been enough to be proud of in the mountains within a hundred miles of the Black Mountain Tribe in the past, after broadening his horizons in Canglan City, he realized that his low cultivation level is not much to speak of.

Gu Jianfeng asked Chen Xun again:

"Xun, you are always full of wisdom. What do you think the Black Mountain Tribe should do? Should they just keep yielding?"

"The Black Mountain Tribe is too weak to compete for the benefits of Tianma Lake. If they take a strong stance, they won't gain any benefits and will suffer instead. A wise person wouldn't do that," Chen Xun said, "The Xuwu Marshal's Office represents the Su Clan's position and won't take any clear actions in Tianma Lake, but there are still ways to be flexible."

"How can we be flexible?" Gu Jianfeng asked.

"The Black Mountain Tribe can cede the area around Tianma Lake to the Northern Mountain Alliance. I think that if the Northern Mountain Alliance can rely on Su Lingyin, the teacher of Qianlan, it might be possible to slightly restrict the wandering cultivators flooding into Tianma Lake and to gain some benefits from the various clan forces..." Chen Xun said.

Including the Black Python, the Northern Mountain tribes have always been too direct in their approach.

If they want something, they just come and take it by force; if they don't want to give something, they just start a fight, without any strategy, which is quite frustrating for Chen Xun.

The establishment of the Northern Mountain Alliance has initially united the nine tribes, but they hope that the Northern Mountain Alliance, the Zuo Ji Tribe, and the other eight tribes will stand together to support the Black Mountain Tribe in this matter and turn the benefits around Tianma Lake into a shared interest of the nine tribes.

At the same time, the combined strength of the nine tribes is still too weak. To restrict the Gui Xi Tribe, the hundreds of wandering cultivators, and the clan forces, they need to rely on Su Lingyin.

Chen Xun has never met Su Lingyin, but he thinks that as an elder of the Canglan Academy's Inner Court, even if she can't compare to Qingyangzi, she is probably on the same level as Su Junyuan.

For now, they can only rely on Su Lingyin.

Chen Xun patiently explained the pros and cons to Gu Jianfeng.

Gu Jianfeng was excited and slapped his thigh, saying, "That's right! Why didn't we think of this before?"

This matter still needs to be discussed and agreed upon internally by the Black Mountain Tribe, and then they need to negotiate with Zuo Chonggu. Chen Xun will help with the planning; it would be best if the Black Python can share some of the benefits, but if not, they should at least try to control the situation from worsening.

**************

After Gu Jianfeng left, Chen Xun and Grandpa Zong Tu sat in the study and talked through the night.

In the morning, Zhao Tu came to pay his respects and brought the financial records of the past nine months for Chen Xun to review.

Chen Xun has established his own household in Canglan City, and Zhao Tu, whom he appointed as the manager, has been handling the Black Python and the Black Mountain Tribe's affairs.

Low-grade spirit elixirs are prone to losing their efficacy if not stored properly. Zhao Tu exchanged the four hundred Black Python Pills for over thirty True Yang Essence Nourishing Pills, which he stored in a small bronze bottle.

Chen Xun only showed up at the Xuwu Marshal's Office once when he registered, and for the next nine months, he was in seclusion in the courtyard.

However, the Xuwu Marshal's Office sent the monthly salary of five Essence Gathering Pills on time, which was just enough to cover the daily expenses of the courtyard.

"Mainly, Qing has been quite provocative, refusing to eat anything but wild beast meat. In the first two months, he even stole three Essence Gathering Pills..." Zhao Tu held the accounts, his forehead slightly sweating, afraid that Chen Xun wouldn't believe him.

Chen Xun has been in seclusion for nine months. The daily expenses of the courtyard, with five Essence Gathering Pills per month, were actually quite high, especially since Zong Tu and Zong Ya's cultivation doesn't require much expenditure.

"Qing?" Chen Xun kicked the green-furred leopard lying beside him and asked with a smile, "You named this beast Qing?"

"It was Cai'er who called him that," Zhao Tu said with a guilty smile.

There are other places in the city to buy cultivation resources besides Huayang Market, and there is also a specialized beast market.

In the beast market, exotic beasts like mystic leopards and scale horses can occasionally be seen, but Qing's body is the same size as a mystic leopard, and his sky-blue fur is as smooth as silk, making him a rare breed in Canglan City.

When Chen Xun and Su Tang found the cub in the wild, it hadn't even grown its milk teeth, and they had to feed it Essence Gathering Paste. They didn't expect that it would develop such a picky appetite.

However, these exotic beasts only reach adulthood after a hundred years and become truly powerful. Before that, they can eat a small clan into bankruptcy.

Chen Xun considered whether to slaughter the beast and make a soup to supplement his body.

As Chen Xun was lost in thought, Qing seemed to sense it and growled at Chen Xun in dissatisfaction.

"This glutton," Chen Xun laughed and said to Zhao Tu, "Qing is still growing. Besides wild beast meat, give him one Essence Gathering Pill per month, and keep the rest tightly. Don't let him steal any more. Also, Grandpa wants to take Zhao Jun and Zhao Jun back to the Black Python for cultivation. All expenses will still be covered by the courtyard, don't skimp..."

Zhao Tu's two sons are only seven or eight years old and haven't joined any other clans. They are just starting to learn witchcraft from Zong Tu, and their consumption is minimal, with one Essence Gathering Pill every six months being more than enough.

Zhao Tu was deeply grateful for this.

He had worked as a clerk in Lianxian Hall for over twenty years and was just promoted to store manager, with an annual salary that couldn't even buy two Essence Gathering Pills.

Now, his two sons can learn witchcraft from the witch of the Black Python, Zong Tu, and the necessary elixirs for cultivation are fully supplied by the courtyard. Where else could he find such a generous employer?

**************

The Su Clan mainly produces two types of elixirs for True Yang Realm cultivators to replenish their vital energy: Essence Gathering Pills and True Yang Essence Nourishing Pills.

True Yang Essence Nourishing Pills are a higher grade, and when consumed by late-stage True Yang Realm cultivators, they absorb the medicinal power more fully and have a slight effect of nurturing the spirit.

Grandpa Zong Tu is returning to the Black Python to attempt to cultivate spiritual energy, and the elixirs to replenish vital energy and nurture the spirit are essential. He left a dozen Qingyang Pills for emergencies and insisted that Grandpa and Zong Ya take the rest with them.

The Su Clan's patriarch has lived for several hundred years and may have even broken through to the Heavenly Yuan Realm, yet he still can't transcend the mortal world and continues to operate his forces with great effort. There must be deeper reasons behind this that are beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

Not to mention the great kindness of the Black Python in taking him in, even for future contingencies, Chen Xun will do his best to support the rise of the Black Python.

Gu Jianfeng returned to discuss with Gu Chen, who decided to set out for the northern mountains with Zong Tu and Zong Ya.

Whether Chen Xun's strategy will work still needs the Black Mountain Tribe to reach a consensus internally, and it will take at least ten to fifteen days to get a response.

Chen Xun also doesn't want to leave any traces of his cultivation of the Void Essence Pearl that might arouse suspicion from outsiders.

After Grandpa left, he didn't rush to find Ge Yi or return to the Xuwu Marshal's Office. He stayed in the courtyard to continue his cultivation.

Although the wandering cultivator who sold the Void Essence Pearl to Yue Lun mixed it with the Green Flame Pearls to get a higher price, Chen Xun, knowing that the Void Essence Pearl is a high-grade storage magical artifact, separated it.

Chen Xun found a fine rope made from exotic silk and tied the Void Essence Pearl around his neck, then put the bronze alchemy furnace, the small bronze bottle containing Nine Yuan Essence Nourishing Pills, True Yang Essence Nourishing Pills, and Essence Gathering Pills into the Void Essence Space.

Besides the Void Essence Pearl, the other eighteen Green Flame Pearls from the string of magical pearls taken from Yue Lun are relatively common. Chen Xun spent five days successfully refining them.

Each Green Flame Pearl, when fully charged with spiritual energy, can store a spell of Fiery Impact.

From the spellbooks stolen from Lianxian Hall, there were related incantations. After learning them, Chen Xun could use the Green Flame Pearls to cast Fiery Impact.

After successfully refining the Green Flame Pearls, Chen Xun injected a bit of his spiritual consciousness into one of the Green Flame Pearls and discovered a very weak spiritual connection between his soul sea and the Green Flame Pearl.

As a low-grade talisman, the Green Flame Pearl cannot be compared to the Void Essence Pearl. After refining, the connection with the soul sea is extremely weak, even if there is a spiritual connection.

The spiritual connection is so weak that if Chen Xun had not refined the Void Essence Pearl and advanced the first layer of the Dragon Binding Technique to a new level over the past nine months, he might not have noticed the existence of the spiritual connection.

With the experience of refining the Void Essence Pearl, Chen Xun tried to inject his vital energy and divine essence along the spiritual connection into the Green Flame Pearl and found that the speed at which the Green Flame Pearl absorbed spiritual energy from the surroundings increased dramatically.

The faster the vital energy and divine essence were injected, the faster the absorption of spiritual energy, almost completing the casting of Fiery Impact in the blink of an eye.

Indeed, the function of talismans is not just to store spells.

His previous understanding of talismans was too narrow.

Having one or two talismans in hand, when fighting an enemy, while injecting vital energy and divine essence, can also maximize the absorption of spiritual energy from the surroundings, greatly reducing personal consumption.

Fiery Impact is not a particularly advanced spell. Chen Xun, with his current level of vital energy purity, can only continuously cast it three times, but with the Green Flame Pearls, he can continuously cast it six to seven times, effectively doubling his personal strength.

The Mystic Armor, when its protective power is exhausted in battle, doesn't necessarily need to wait for the next absorption of spiritual energy to be used again. As long as the enemy can't break through the defense in one hit and as long as his own vital energy is strong enough, the enemy will never be able to break through the defense.