Chapter 283

With elixirs from Yu Danzong and precise locations provided by Ji You's spiritual sense scanning the mountains, the survival rate of disaster-stricken civilians across the Five States of Qingyun increased significantly.

Following this came the resettlement and distribution of relief grain, all proceeding in orderly fashion.

At every mealtime—morning, noon, and evening—smoke curled steadily from makeshift shelters erected throughout the city, white mist rising into the air.

Many young children had been terrified by the snowstorm; upon first entering the city, they wandered as if soulless, and countless suffered night sweats and high fevers, but over the following days their condition gradually improved.

Some of the rescued civilians, once slightly recovered, began voluntarily clearing snow from the streets, and even some able-bodied men joined search-and-rescue efforts outside the city walls.

Indeed, over these thousands of years, the people of Qingyun had been hardened like wild grass.

As long as there was a single glimmer of hope, they would strive to survive.

Meanwhile, the second batch of relief grain arrived in Luyang Commandery, the central commandery city among the Five States, where the grain would be redistributed for shorter-distance transport.

Zhang Pingyang and Guo Ziyi leapt down from the wagon's shafts and exchanged a glance as they watched the newly rescued civilians entering the city.

They had lived in Fengzhou and were among the first to learn of the spirit stone supply cutoff, having even seen the noble youths who traveled to Fengzhou's prefectural office to demand accountability; along the way, they had feared the matter would escalate further.

Cutting off spirit stones for cultivators while transporting grain to civilians was an unprecedented act in Qingyun's history.

Yet seeing the relief efforts still ongoing within the city, they realized this shocking act had not triggered any visible consequences.

At that moment, the two suddenly heard the sound of hooves and turned to look.

Under the frozen, white expanse of sky, several carts laden with goods traveled along the main road away from the city, the horses panting heavily as they exhaled clouds of vapor, then galloped swiftly into the endless blizzard.

In fact, Zhang Pingyang and his companions had seen such carts before, traveling in the opposite direction as they drove toward the disaster zone.

But the heavy snow and wind along the route had obscured the identities of those inside.

Only now did the banners embroidered with various family crests come into view.

And not far from Zhang Dongping's group, people from the nearby Immortal Estate gazed down from a teahouse toward the scene.

"Which batch is this?"

"About the fifth: first the Chen, Zhang, and Long families… this one is farther away—Miao and Xu from Yongzhou."

"Even from that far?"

"I heard there's a caravan from Lingzhou still on the road."

As the words faded, everyone raised their teacups and looked toward the opposite grain yard.

Beneath the white, snowy sky, a white-robed swordsman sat atop a collapsed wall crushed by snow and wind, watching a group of children whose spirits had calmed, kicking a ball woven from bamboo strips.

Since the spirit stone supply in Fengzhou ceased, spirit stone merchants across Qingyun had begun redistributing their stock, prioritizing major cities guarded by immortal sects or millennia-old noble families, so our region's cutoff came earlier than others'.

We had assumed that after the unified delegation gathered in Shengjing to demand accountability, the spirit stones would be quickly restored.

But the expected spirit stone caravans never appeared; instead, noble family carriages kept arriving to fetch supplies themselves in the north.

Nearby, in the same grain yard, Peng Dongyang and Mu Jing of the Imperial Cultivation Supervision stood watching the passing carriages, their hearts easing slightly.

Yet as their tension eased, they felt more bewildered than ever—that the crushing pressure of an immortal rebellion had truly been borne.

At this moment, Peng Dongyang could not help but recall the figure on the snowfields: Ji You leaping from the top of a carriage under the night sky, slashing forty-nine swords at the barbarian warlord.

Ji You's gaze now shifted from the children playing cuju to the lines of carriages, staring for a long while.

Even without the relief effort, such a massive snowstorm would have forced Fengzhou to halt spirit stone shipments anyway—he did not wish the Fengzhou carters to die for the sake of cultivators.

Now, most noble families have chosen to fetch supplies themselves; though unexpected, it is not without benefit.

For those sheltered on mountains protected by arrays, or in manors warmed by charcoal fires, they will never truly comprehend the scale of this snow.

Only when they set out on the road and witness the heavy snowflakes falling like goose feathers, and see the endless white plains stretching beyond sight, do they finally understand why this winter's great snow is called a disaster.

Thereafter, relief efforts continued steadily, advancing according to the original plan without disruption.

Although rescue teams still brought in new refugees from outside the city each day, the numbers were clearly dwindling.

Then came the arrival of the third relief grain shipment, and physicians conscripted by the Imperial Cultivation Supervision from nearby cities began moving actively among the shelters.

Ji You now had free time, so he joined the Imperial Cultivation Supervision's men to cut timber on the mountain.

Afterwards, he helped the disaster victims build shelters together.

He also played cuju with the children and taught them how to play cat's cradle and hopscotch.

Many eyes had watched him closely, especially the young nobles of the Immortal Estates, who found his actions baffling—unable to fathom how a man who could bear the pressure of cutting off spirit stones across the Nine States could engage in such trivial deeds, or why he did them at all.

Could it deepen his understanding of the Dao? Enhance his cultivation base? Or lead to transcendence and ascension?