Chapter 389

"Deputy Director Xu, that man was just a deputy director?"

"His strength is probably around thirty manes—this is the eighth top expert over thirty manes after Xia Chuan, Brother Brother Director Yu Wen Tao, Liu Liu Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Yue Feng, Lin Kai, and Shi Ping. How many more top experts does Great Xia even have?"

"The key is, this Deputy Xu isn't even old—he's astonishingly gifted!"

"There are certainly more than this. I heard very few have even been to Great Xia's town city—only the core elites of the nine towns. They must know far more than we do."

"Just look at how the nine towns treat Great Xia!"

"Exactly. Great Xia openly trades with all our village camps—clearly draining the nine towns dry. The port's been open for over two months, yet the nine towns haven't reacted at all. Isn't that proof enough?"

"These eight are surely just the tip of the iceberg. I suspect Great Xia's strength far exceeds our imagination."

……………

The base strength of a Digging Earth cultivator ranges from ten thousand catties at breakthrough to no more than a hundred thousand catties at its peak, excluding extreme cases—strength varies by cultivation progress by at most this margin.

Unlike Digging Earth, the Cold Resistance stage measures base strength in manes—one Snow Snow Mane equals one hundred thousand catties—and is further constrained by battle body potential, making its strength range vastly wider.

For example, a one-Snow Snow Mane and a fifty-Snow Snow Mane Cold Resistance cultivator may both be called Cold Resistance, but their power gap is nearly insurmountable.

In the Jiuzhen, Cold Resistance cultivators are generally divided into three tiers by strength: those above eight manes are called skilled hands, above twenty-four manes are called experts, and above thirty manes are called top experts.

Anyone with even basic knowledge of battle bodies quickly understands why this division exists: without drugs, an ordinary Cold Resistance cultivator's strength peaks at eight manes; those who reach twenty-four manes rival peak Cold Resistance cultivators with supreme battle bodies; those who surpass thirty manes can dominate the entire Cold Resistance stage regardless of their battle body potential.

In the nine towns, Cold Resistance cultivators above thirty manes can be counted on one hand—roughly ten per town on average.

Great Xia only emerged in Mo'ao in April, yet already eight have surfaced—who knows how many more lurk in their town city?

Thus, the shock on everyone's faces is understandable.

As Liu Liu Yuan Cheng and Xu Ning led the Cloud Dragon soldiers away, Yang Ning and Li Hu stood staring at each other, their pupils filled with horror and dread.

"It's him. Though his clothing and aura have changed completely, I'm certain—nine years ago that night, among the six men Xia Hong brought to Luo Ge's camp, that burly youth was one of them!"

Li Hu whispered, leaning close to Yang Ning, his tone utterly certain.

Yang Ning said nothing, but the tremor in his pupils confirmed his certainty was even greater than Li Hu's.

Nine years isn't a long time.

And nine years ago, their mission to map Seeing Hong Mu Ridge with the aid of Chuishan Town was a desperate gamble—they both remembered it vividly.

Li Hu recognized Liu Liu Yuan Cheng; he could recognize him too.

"Over thirty manes? How is that possible? Nine years ago, Xia Hong himself was only Digging Earth, and his six men were all Woodcutting Level. Nine years—that's only nine years…"

Yang Ning was nearly dazed. Though he'd prepared mentally for this trip, now that he confirmed Great Xia—the town that had become famous across the nine towns—was the same small camp they'd encountered on Seeing Hong Mu Ridge nine years ago, his mind reeled. He even began doubting himself.

He was thirty-three, a peak Cold Resistance cultivator with twenty-four manes—undoubtedly a prodigy among his peers in Beishuo. But compared to that Liu Liu Yuan Cheng, what was he?

The key was, Liu Liu Yuan Cheng was merely one of the six young men Xia Hong had brought to Luo Ge's camp nine years ago.

What of the other five? And what of Xia Hong himself?

Thinking of the rumors about Great Xia's lord, Xia Hong, Yang Ning's whole body trembled.

"It's a ghostly anomaly—definitely a ghostly anomaly. No normal camp could grow this fast. Brother, wasn't our reason for coming here to confirm exactly this? Now we have the answer—we should be relieved!"

Hearing Li Hu, Yang Ning looked up and saw not just horror but also fear on his face. After a moment's thought, he instantly understood what Li Hu feared.

Nine years ago, Li Hu nearly killed one of Xia Hong's subordinates over ownership of a wooden puppet ghostly anomaly.

At this thought, Yang Ning's brow darkened.

He himself had once wanted to take that subordinate of Xia Hong's to Beishuocheng. Only after pressure from the Seeing Hong Mu Ridge group did he reluctantly retreat with Li Hu.

"Don't worry. That Liu Liu Yuan Cheng didn't recognize us. Since they're using false identities to infiltrate, let's gather all the intel we can—bring back more information. The town chief will be delighted!"

Li Hu's eyes lit up at once, nodding vigorously.

Both he and Yang Ning were commanders of Beishuo Town's Defense Army, so they knew much. Great Xia's recent prominence, combined with its open trade policies, had severely harmed the interests of all the towns. Except for Mu Yin and Lord Lord Jiang Xia, the other six towns were deeply hostile to Great Xia—especially the northern three, who saw it as a thorn in their flesh.

And as Great Xia's reputation as Mo'ao's First Town spread,

another rumor had begun circulating among the nine towns.

The rumor claimed Xia Hong had replaced Beishuo's Yang Zun as the strongest warrior in the southern slopes of Mo'ao Mountain.

The reactions of the other seven towns were unknown, but Beishuo Town reacted violently.

How could the name of the great lord Yang Zun be defamed?

When this rumor reached Beishuocheng in mid-July, Town Chief Yang Fa flew into a rage, executing over a dozen main spreaders, then strictly forbidding anyone from repeating it.

When Yang Ning first heard this rumor from soldiers in the barracks, he reacted with equal fury—nearly killed the man. In the end, seeing the soldier was only gossiping, he spared his life but gave him a hundred military strokes, leaving him critically injured.

Now, the core leadership of Beishuo held extreme hostility toward Great Xia—including Yang Ning and Li Hu.

They had traveled thousands of miles to Hong Sect to investigate Great Xia—partly to resolve their own doubts, partly to ease the burden on their lord and town chief.

"The three people who entered the city behind Deputy Director Xu—I recognize the middle one. His name is Xiang Xiang Xiang Tianyang. The two beside him resemble him—they're likely Xiang clan members."

Having decided to stay in Hong Sect and gather more intel, Yang Ning no longer hesitated. Recalling the three men Xu Ning had brought in, his eyes darkened.

"At the Hong Sect Banquet in late April, Great Xia seized Jiǔqū Camp from us and Basha City from Chuishan Town. Now they've invited Xiang clan members here—clearly because of the over a million people in Basha City refusing to relocate."

Li Hu nodded immediately.

He too had heard of Basha City's refusal to relocate.

"The Yinhe Valley lot will likely stay in Hong Sect for several days. Let's stick close to Han Peng during this time—see if we can spot any other familiar faces besides Liu Liu Yuan Cheng."

"Good!"

Li Hu nodded in agreement.

Nine years ago, Xia Hong had brought six Woodcutting Level men to Luo Ge's camp. Confirming just Liu Liu Yuan Cheng's identity wasn't enough. If they could confirm more familiar faces, it would be far more certain.

As they whispered their plans, they stayed close to Han Peng's group.

They didn't notice that Han Peng, at the front of the line, had glanced back at them—his eyes flickering with a shadow of suspicion.

…………

Hong Sect City, Office Building, top-floor main hall.

Xiang Xiang Xiang Tianyang led his two younger cousins, Xiang Xiang Tianqing and Xiang Xiang Tian Yu, behind a golden-armored soldier, slowly entering the main hall. All three wore grim expressions, lost in thought.

"Gentlemen, my deputy minister is occupied with other matters and will see you shortly. Please wait a moment."

The soldier who led them in bowed, then swiftly exited the hall.

The three stood silently in the main hall for a long time, none speaking.

Finally, Xiang Xiang Tianqing on the left couldn't hold back.

"Brother, Fourth Brother—no matter how strong Great Xia is, we will never move our Xiang clan from Basha!"

Xiang Xiang Tianqing, in his early forties and the youngest of the three, had the fiercest temper. He voiced his stance, then added sternly: "Not just our Xiang clan—Zhang, Zheng, Wang… over a dozen families in the city, plus over sixty thousand others, have lived in Basha for generations. How can Great Xia simply order over a million people to leave? That's unjust!"

Xiang Xiang Xiang Tianyang and Xiang Xiang Tian Yu both opened their mouths to respond, then paused, remembering something, and fell silent.

Basha City originally held only eighty thousand people. After suffering repeated defeats against the Dajue Temple, they had no choice but to relocate all village camp residents into the town city, swelling its population to over one million five hundred thousand in a short time.

Later, the Dajue Temple's five senior masters unleashed the Five-Headed GhostMask Maitreya, slaughtering a third of the city's population. Now, Basha's population stood at just over one million.

The fall of the Dajue Temple brought no victory's dawn to Basha City.

Lord Xiang Xiang Fuhai's body was never found. Military commander Xiang Fanyun and town chief Xiang Xiang Tianlin were both dead. The upper echelons were wiped out. Xiang clan members perished in vast numbers. Of Basha's Cold Resistance cultivators, only five hundred remained—just one-sixth of their pre-war strength.

After the war, Basha City could only watch helplessly as six towns emptied its treasuries, divided its entire territory, and even took Basha City itself, assigning it to Chuishan Town.

But less than a day later, they received word that Basha City had changed hands again—now under Great Xia.

Though stunned and heartbroken, most of Basha's people were secretly relieved—especially after learning Xia Hong was the one who destroyed the Five-Headed GhostMask Maitreya and saved the city. Their resistance faded.

In early May, the Long Wu Army entered Basha City without resistance—a clear sign of their inner acceptance.

But by mid-May, when Great Xia's appointed deputy director, Xu Ning, demanded all one million plus people relocate to Xia Cheng, their resistance flared instantly.

The five hundred Cold Resistance cultivators, tens of thousands of Digging Earth cultivators, and every resident of Basha City refused.

They lived well in Basha—why move elsewhere? No matter how dazzlingly Xu Ning and Great Xia described Xia Cheng, not a single person agreed.

The dozen families, five hundred Cold Resistance cultivators, and all Digging Earth cultivators united. No matter how Great Xia pleaded, they refused to move. Even when Great Xia invited them to tour Xia Cheng, only a few—mostly former village camp residents—left. The overwhelming majority of Basha's original inhabitants stayed. Now, over nine hundred thousand remained.

"Four months of delay—Great Xia's patience must be exhausted."

Xiang Xiang Xiang Tianyang thought this, sighing softly.

He had come to Hong Sect at the invitation of Deputy Minister Xia Chuan.

With Great Xia's patience gone and ready to force relocation, he could think of no other reason why Xia Chuan himself would invite him to Hong Sect.

Among the Xiang clan's Tian-generation members, Xiang Xiang Xiang Tianyang was neither outstanding in talent nor cultivation. At over sixty, he had only twenty-eight manes—once, this meant nothing in Basha City.

Now, he represented not just the entire Xiang clan, but even stood with his two cousins as the voice of over a million people from Basha City negotiating with Great Xia. In the past, such honor had been beyond his dreams.

Yet if he could choose, Xiang Xiang Xiang Tianyang would rather never bear this honor.

"Xiang Tianqing, you can't fight fate. Great Xia has too many ways to deal with us—kill, co-opt, threaten… They haven't used force yet because they're giving us a way out. If we—"

"Brother, I know you're right. But I've lived in Basha for decades. Every blade of grass, every brick, every tile—every inch of this place was built by generations of our Xiang clan and the people of Basha. What right does Great Xia have to make us leave?"

Xiang Xiang Tian Yu, usually cold and silent, could no longer hold back. He nodded and spoke gravely: "Basha's fall is inevitable—we accept we'll now be part of Great Xia. But Great Xia has no right to force us to abandon Basha. I know Xia Cheng is excellent—just look at the cultivation resources the Basha Supply Office has produced. But even so, to me, it can never match Basha…"

Seeing Xiang Xiang Tian Yu, so usually reserved, speak so passionately, Xiang Xiang Xiang Tianyang shook his head and fell into thought.

In the end, it came down to four words: hard to leave one's homeland.

Once a person grows accustomed to a place, they resist moving elsewhere—the hardship and danger of long journeys, adapting to a new environment, changing lifestyles, the feeling of being a guest under another's roof…

Reasons vary, but the situation was now deadlocked.

The final nine hundred thousand people of Basha City refused to move.

Xiang Xiang Tian Yu and Xiang Xiang Tianqing's words reflected everyone's stance. Even though Xiang Xiang Xiang Tianyang knew Great Xia was showing restraint toward Basha's people, he dared not defy their collective will.

"Fine. Since both of you are resolved, I won't say more. Whatever conditions Deputy Minister proposes, we refuse relocation—not for ourselves, but for those nine hundred thousand…"