Chapter 88: War Breaks Out

With the introduction of Pill Master Zhu Youlong, Xiao Zhangqing quickly grasped the situation.

Taohua Fang is essentially the "next-door" cultivation market of Nanshan Fang, and the distance isn't especially far.

At the speed of Late Stage of Lian Qi cultivators piloting flying boats, if they hurry, they could arrive in five or six days.

A round trip would be just over ten days.

Compared with the Luoxia Sect, or even the more distant sects and immortal cities deep within Da Yu of the Cultivation World that normally take months to reach, this is much nearer.

As for the Sun family being the strongest clan in Taohua Fang, it's more accurate to say Taohua Fang is the Sun family's territory!

Because Taohua Fang has only the Sun family as a Foundation Establishment family.

It is rumored that the Sun family originally came from a prosperous region deep within Da Yu of the Cultivation World, but for unknown reasons later fragmented; the Sun family now in Taohua Fang is merely a branch of that once‑mighty Sun clan that migrated here.

Taohua Fang started out very small, and grew larger over the years through the Sun family's gradual management.

The Sun family's chief method of running Taohua Fang is occasionally auctioning Foundation Establishment Pills—precious pills that lower‑tier Lian Qi cultivators can hardly ever obtain, even if they have money!

Because of the Foundation Establishment Pills, the Sun family's position in Taohua Fang is solid; not only does each branch have two Foundation Establishment cultivators, but there is also a Foundation Establishment guest minister! Thus the Sun family possesses three genuine Foundation Establishment combat forces.

As for why the Sun family has contacts in Character: Liyang Immortal City and knows a Second-rank Superior Alchemist, it naturally stems from the Sun family's ancestral glory.

The alchemist of Character: Liyang Immortal City owes a great debt to the Sun family's ancestors and has promised that every few years to give the Sun family some pills, including Foundation Establishment Pills.

According to Zhu Youlong, the Sun family may not be holding a Foundation Establishment Pill auction now, but their stock certainly still includes Foundation Establishment Pills.

As long as Xiao Zhangqing can produce a bargaining chip that moves the Sun family, exchanging for a single Foundation Establishment Pill should not be difficult.

As for the chip, for Second-rank Talisman Master Xiao Zhangqing, it is naturally a Second-rank Talisman Script.

If the quantity of Second-rank Talisman Scripts is sufficient, the Sun family would likely be willing to part with Foundation Establishment Pills in exchange.

When it came to this point, Zhu Youlong and Ruan Qingzhu looked at Xiao Zhangqing with eyes full of envy.

That's the advantage of mastering Second-rank techniques! Even for Foundation Establishment Pills, there are many ways to obtain them.

If Zhu Youlong's alchemy had advanced to the second rank back then, reaching Foundation Establishment wouldn't have been hard; he would have stacked them up.

Of course, now he is well over sixty years old and has no hope of Foundation Establishment.

Ruan Qingzhu, however, is only just over fifty, has already achieved Late Stage of Lian Qi, and still has hope for Foundation Establishment.

But although she hails from Baihua Valley, early mistakes prevent her from being favored, and Baihua Valley cannot grant her a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Without a Foundation Establishment Pill, she dares not take that step rashly.

However.

Now the situation is turbulent; within the next two years, if Foundation Establishment Pills remain out of reach, even though the risk of failure is great, she fears she will forcibly give it a try.

"Thank you both for the information."

After Xiao Zhangqing discussed some more detailed matters about Taohua Fang and the Sun family, he turned and took his leave.

He decided to go to Taohua Fang in three months.

In three months his cultivation can basically reach Late Stage of Lian Qi, the point at which he should break into the Foundation Establishment Realm; simultaneously, during those three months he must also prepare enough Second-rank Talisman Scripts to sway the Sun family in a Foundation Establishment Pill exchange.

Without the support of the Luoxia Sect, Nanshan Fang is resource‑poor; the Second-rank Talisman Scripts he currently holds aren't many, and he must keep some for his own use.

Only.

What Xiao Zhangqing never imagined was that before he could finish preparing, Taohua Fang was invaded by Demon Sect Evil Cultivators and plunged into dire trouble.

Although the Sun family has deep resources, with three Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivators and many treasures, Taohua Fang, unlike the earlier Silver Leaf Peak which had almost no resistance, was quickly breached.

Nevertheless, the current situation in Taohua Fang is far from optimistic.

The Evil Cultivators' assault is fierce; Taohua Fang is precarious and could collapse at any moment.

Fortunately, this time the Luoxia Sect and Baihua Valley responded promptly and quickly dispatched reinforcements to Taohua Fang.

However, the war between Da Yu of the Cultivation World and the Demon Sect Evil Cultivators has not officially begun, so the major Pill‑forming sects cannot easily intervene now.

Thus Taohua Fang solicits reinforcements from several nearby cultivation market towns.

Nanshan Fang, being the closest market to Taohua Fang, naturally falls within the aid‑request range.

Moreover, Nanshan Fang has Cao Hao and Xiao Zhangqing stationed there; the number of cultivators in the market is large, its safety factor far exceeds that of the other markets, so it can muster the greatest number of troops.

It isn't forced conscription.

When Taohua Fang recruits aid, it is very generous, placing no restrictions on a cultivator's level; anyone who signs up and dares to go is accepted, even those at the Early Stage of Lian Qi are not turned away!

More importantly, even Early Stage Lian Qi cultivators who reach the battlefield, dare to fight, are immediately rewarded with five Low-grade Spirit Stones! If they slay an Evil Cultivator, there's an extra bonus! Five Low-grade Spirit Stones is no small amount for the vast majority of Early Stage cultivators.

Just like Xiao Zhangqing back then, he earned only two Low-grade Spirit Stones a month!

As for Mid‑to‑Late Stage Lian Qi cultivators, if they go to Taohua Fang to fight, the rewards are even greater.

The Sun family issued a list of rewards; besides Spirit Stones, there are various Magic Treasures and Pills.

If one's battle merit is great enough, a Foundation Establishment Pill also appears prominently on the reward list!

Ranked first!

Thus, although cultivators fear death and are extremely cautious, faced with the Sun family's lavish payouts, few can resist.

In the Cultivation World, Spirit Stones are far more important than ordinary money.

For Spirit Stones, many cultivators risk everything without regard for their lives! Moreover, there are the coveted Foundation Establishment Pills that every Lian Qi cultivator dreams of.

One should know that ordinarily, background‑less scattered Lian Qi cultivators have no chance of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill; this war, however, has become a great opportunity in many cultivators' eyes! If they seize it, it might be their chance to ascend to Foundation Establishment.

When the three large flying boats recruiting cultivators for Taohua Fang arrived at Nanshan Fang and announced the recruitment pay and reward list, the required number of people was reached in just one day!

Moreover, in the end, the early‑stage scattered cultivators from Peng Hu Qu could not be accommodated and were simply discarded; only Mid‑to‑Late Stage cultivators were accepted.

The number exceeded nine hundred people!

Even high‑ranking cultivators residing in the Yizi Cave had a dozen‑plus individuals answer the call!

Jia Yi Cave.

While Taohua Fang was recruiting cultivators, the head of the Cao family, Cao Hao, came to visit Xiao Zhangqing.

The two exchanged opinions on the matter, considering how to respond.

"Sun family's move is really ruthless. They only think about strengthening their Taohua Fang's defenses, without considering that after our Nanshan Fang is weakened, we'll also be in danger," Cao Hao said angrily.

While speaking, he observed Xiao Zhangqing's expression.

"Indeed. Who says it isn't?" Xiao Zhangqing said, a little worried.

He had originally planned to go to Taohua Fang after a while to see if he could purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Now it turned out that Sun family publicly announced that they indeed have Foundation Establishment Pills, and apparently more than one.

But to get a Pill from them, one must go to Taohua Fang to help repel the Demon Sect's invasion and kill Evil Cultivators!

The more killed, the higher the reward.

If one can slay twenty Late Stage of Lian Qi Evil Cultivators, or more than five Late Stage of Lian Qi Ninth‑Tier Evil Cultivators, a Foundation Establishment Pill will be awarded!

These conditions immediately dissuaded Xiao Zhangqing.

It's not that he thought his strength insufficient; he simply didn't want to take the risk.

Especially since his status is so unique and his reputation is well known, he might already be on the Evil Cultivators' red list, and going there would invite an ambush.

Even if his power truly stood out, he could not withstand a coordinated attack by Evil Cultivators.

He seeks a Foundation Establishment Pill as a safeguard against possible life‑threatening danger during the Foundation Establishment process; risking his life for the Pill would be putting the cart before the horse.

"If it truly fails, I'll have no choice but to force the Foundation Establishment myself."

Xiao Zhangqing thought this to himself.

"Symbol Master Xiao, why don't you report to the Luoxia Sect and prevent Taohua Fang from recruiting cultivators to our Nanshan Fang? Nanshan Fang is so close to Taohua Fang; if the Demon Sect's Evil Cultivators find Taohua Fang hard to bite and notice our Nanshan Fang weakened, they might turn to besiege Nanshan Fang, which would be disastrous," Cao Hao asked tentatively.

Xiao Zhangqing glanced, spread his hands and said, "Not to hide from you, Master Cao, I have already spoken with Wu, the shopkeeper of our Lingfu Pavilion. But Wu said this is a direct command from the sect, and no one can stop it…"

Cao Hao sighed at the words.

Indeed, this matter is difficult to handle.

The Luoxia Sect and Baihua Valley certainly do not want Taohua Fang to fall.

Even resorting to the 'tear down one wall to repair another' method is a last resort; they cannot just watch Taohua Fang collapse.

As for persuading Nanshan Fang's cultivators to stay and not rush to Taohua Fang, what resources do Cao's family or Xiao Zhangqing have to motivate them? Where could they obtain so many Spirit Stones to reward them?

Where could they get Foundation Establishment Pills?

Nanshan Fang's cultivators come and go freely; they answer to no one.

After waiting a while, Cao Hao finally broached the serious matter: "Taohua Fang serves as a warning; although Nanshan Fang has not yet been invaded, once the Demon Sect's Evil Cultivators strike, it will be without warning, so we should prepare early. I wonder how many Second‑rank Talisman Scripts Symbol Master Xiao currently has? Could you sell some? Among the Late Stage of Lian Qi cultivators of our Nanshan Fang, most have Second‑rank Talisman Scripts as a fallback. Though they cannot match Foundation Establishment cultivators, if used wisely in a surprise attack they can still threaten Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivators."

Xiao Zhangqing thought for a moment before speaking, "The Luoxia Sect has not sent any Second‑rank Talisman Script materials to Nanshan Fang during this period, Master Cao, as you should know. Therefore, the number of Second‑rank Talisman Scripts I have is limited, but to support Nanshan Fang's defense I am willing to part with a portion…"

Since the plan to purchase Foundation Establishment Pills from Sun family at Taohua Fang fell through, he can indeed sell a portion, aside from the scripts he needs for himself.

In any case, it counts as supporting Nanshan Fang's defense, which also enhances his own safety.

"Great!" Cao Hao exclaimed delightedly.

Second‑rank Initial Stage Talisman Scripts, though not as strategic as Foundation Establishment Pills, are no less valuable in wartime! Although he persuaded the senior elder of the Cao family not to underestimate Xiao Zhangqing, he must learn from the earlier mistake of underestimating Mu Renjie.

But in his heart, his view of the Cao family's senior elder is much the same.

He does not think his own strength is great enough to truly threaten the later stages of Foundation Establishment.

However, his status as a Second‑rank Symbol Master can indeed be put to great use!

Just on that basis, Xiao Zhangqing's contribution would not be far behind his own mid‑Foundation Establishment level! Therefore, Cao Hao is willing to relinquish the Jia Yi Cave Residence, cooperate with the Luoxia Sect's plan and elevate Xiao Zhangqing as Nanshan Fang's number one, without any resentment.

On the contrary.

If Evil Cultivators truly attacked Nanshan Fang, they would not send Xiao Zhangqing to the front lines; they would instead focus on protecting him from danger.

He needs Xiao Zhangqing alive to continuously supply Nanshan Fang with Second‑rank Talisman Scripts.

He himself cannot use them, but many of the Cao family's Late Stage of Lian Qi members can, as can the large group of cultivators in the Yi Zi Cave Residence!

(End of chapter)