Chapter 133: Disciples of the Qian Yuan Sect

Not long after, Blackwater Nation's border defense General Hong Lie and Blue Wolf Nation's chief of ten thousand Ba Tu received a flying‑arrow message.

"Brave warriors of the Blue Wolf Nation, I am Prince Xi Shuisheng of Xi Nation. Xi Nation and Blue Wolf Nation are brother nations, sister states, long‑standing friends, a model of neighborly harmony.

Xi Nation is a land of minerals and also of livestock. The Blackwater River Valley is rich in water and grass, an excellent pasture, and within a thousand li, the Three Rivers Bay is the most expansive, the finest grazing ground for Xi Nation.

For the sake of the two nations' friendship and the happiness of the Blue Wolf people's folk, Xi Nation intends to make Three Rivers City its secondary capital, designate Three Rivers Bay as its pasture, and Xi Nation's wolf cavalry are the finest choice for Xi's herders.

This is a great opportunity; I hope the Blue Wolf warriors, for the sake of their parents, children, relatives, and clan, will spare their lives and not hastily refuse, otherwise when Xi Nation's great army passes, they will only meet death!

On the reverse side of the letter was a blood‑splattered wolf head; the message could not be clearer.

Blackwater Nation's border defense General Hong Lie is a handsome warrior; his body is as upright as a spear, and his sharply defined dark face radiates resolve and wisdom.

Blue Wolf Nation's chief of ten thousand Ba Tu is an extremely robust, bearded man, his eyes filled with coldness and brutality.

Also with them was a man, the thousand‑rider leader of the wolf cavalry Barza, who had fled during the ambush at Bai.

"Damn, these damned slaves, so arrogant. General Hong, let me take my boys and crush their camp, slaughter these wretches!" Ba Tu raged.

As a vassal of Blackwater Nation, the Blue Wolf Nation's border with Xi Nation is also Blackwater Nation's border with Xi Nation. Regarding Xi Nation, a state founded by Kwang‑worker slaves, Hong Lie paid it no mind, but he worried about the Foundation‑establishment cultivator behind Xi Nation.

Hong Lie was once a cultivator of the Qian Yuan Sect at Mount Jue, but his talent was too mediocre to reach Foundation; he was only a lowest‑grade Refining Qi cultivator, which is why he entered the mortal world for a post. The Blackwater royal family is a branch of the sect, so he naturally became Blackwater Nation's border defense General, commanding fifty thousand Blackwater soldiers and overseeing all Blue Wolf troops.

Hong Lie coveted Xi Nation's Xusi silver mine. To mortal blacksmiths, Xusi silver cannot be forged, but to cultivation sects it is an excellent material for refining artifacts. However, Xusi silver is not scarce, and the Qian Yuan Sect has no interest in controlling this remote mine.

Nevertheless, no one would mind having abundant Xusi silver, a premium refining material. If he hands over the mine's output to the sect, he could easily trade it for a Foundation Pill.

This was a rare great opportunity for him.

Unfortunately, when he took up his post at the Blue Wolf border, Xi Nation was already under the protection of a Foundation‑establishment cultivator. Cultivators know the difference between unestablished and Foundation cultivators is huge, so he certainly dared not clash head‑on with the other side.

Nevertheless, asking him to abandon this great opportunity outright was impossible.

Thus, he sent scouts disguised as merchants or herders to Xi Nation to investigate the cultivator's background. Money makes things easy, and ordinary Xi citizens are eager to flaunt their nation's strength to outsiders.

Soon the cultivator's identity emerged: he was from the Yun Yin Sect, the fifth‑ranked major sect on Bi Yi Island.

Hong Lie was so frightened he abandoned the idea.

The Qian Yuan Sect and the Yun Yin Sect each have their own spheres of influence and do not encroach on each other. Xi Nation and Blackwater Nation have broken off, becoming independent, and then aligned with a Yun Yin cultivator. For a celestial sect, such a situation is utterly unacceptable.

A cultivation sect's sphere of influence is not a mortal nation's territory; a little more or less makes no difference. Sect cultivators care about cultivation and advancing realms, not about seizing land.

It is only rogue cultivators or abandoned sect disciples who care about a few morsels of profit, fighting to the death over resources.

That was the situation, but the scouts made a new discovery.

The Yun Yin cultivator behind Xi Nation did not value the Xusi silver mine; he had not proactively contacted Xi Nation for two years, though the annual tribute was still received without fail.

At that moment, a senior elder of the Qian Yuan Sect approached Hong Lie. He possessed a pill that enhances potential and wanted to conduct experiments. Unsure how to maintain ties with the sect, Hong Lie fully cooperated, which led to the existence of the Blue Wolf Nation's mutated blue wolves.

The power of the mutated blue wolves gave Hong Lie hope. Once these semi‑intelligent creatures, capable of casting the Ice Bomb Technique, are mass‑deployed, even Foundation‑establishment cultivators would keep their distance.

Moreover, Blackwater Nation's new king, Wen Shisan, having ascended the throne, naturally wanted to assert his authority. Though using force against Xi Nation seemed excessive, the new emperor supported Hong Lie, allowing him to act at a low cost.

Thus, Hong Lie began mobilizing the Blue Wolf Nation's army to attack Xi Nation.

Xi Nation's warriors are all former Kwang workers, strong‑bodied, and with abundant domestic mines they lack no armor or weapons; each soldier is armed to the teeth, so the Blue Wolf cavalry gained little advantage in the earlier battles.

But since the mutated blue wolves entered the fight, the tide turned overwhelmingly. Although the front‑line battles went smoothly, Hong Lie remained within Blue Wolf territory, still remembering the Yun Yin cultivator's presence.

More than half a year passed with no sign of the cultivator behind Xi Nation. Just as he prepared to launch a full‑scale reconquest, the enemy's counterattack suddenly arrived.

After hearing from the returning Barza that the cultivator had appeared, he fell into deep unease. Over a thousand wolf cavalry had fled, returning only a few dozen; the cultivator was at least a Foundation‑establishment level, and worse, there was more than one.

One Xi Nation, one ordinary Xusi silver mine—why are so many cultivators appearing?

He felt unwilling—that was his thought at the moment. Not understanding, that was the larger thought in his heart.

Fortunately, he also had the sect as backing.

Blackwater Nation falls within the Qian Yuan Sect's sphere; ordinary mortal nations squabbling is one thing, but the sudden arrival of several powerful external sect cultivators opposing the empire warrants caution.

Moreover, to attract higher‑level attention, Hong Lie deliberately exaggerated the opponent's strength, suggesting they might have Opening‑Light cultivators. He never expected that the statement he himself doubted would turn out true.

After urgently contacting Blackwater's king and the sect elders, King Wen Shisan responded swiftly, immediately stating he would dispatch elite troops.

The sect elder providing the pill gave him a pleasant surprise: two Opening‑Light elders would come to inspect.