Chapter 110: Affairs of Changping
Even if beaten to death, Song Yan would never have imagined that the day of his promotion to the inner sect would end in complete drunkenness.
He was forbidden from using spiritual energy to disperse the alcohol. As a complete lightweight who barely drank, he did not know how many sips he had taken before collapsing and passing out.
The next day, Song Yan woke up at the counter desk.
Qin Xijun was still lying in her chair snoring loudly, with wine jars rolling on the floor.
“Ugh…”
He channeled spiritual energy to disperse the lingering headache from the hangover, and his mind gradually returned to clarity.
Looking at his master’s extremely ungraceful sleeping posture, Song Yan chuckled.
He casually draped a small blanket over her and left the place.
Returning to Green Leaf Peak.
Before entering his cave dwelling, he noticed a voice transmission talisman.
It was from yesterday’s steward disciple.
He lightly touched it with his fingertip.
“Junior Brother Song, the matter of your cave dwelling has been arranged.”
“Within one month, you may come to Forgetting Peak at any time to complete the transfer of cave dwelling affairs.”
He pondered for a moment, first using spiritual energy to disperse the alcohol scent. He sniffed himself and checked thoroughly before stepping into the cave dwelling.
“Xiao He! Get ready to move!”
Although the General Affairs Hall had given generous time, since he had already been promoted to the inner sect and had no important matters at hand, he planned to move to Sword Trial Peak today.
Xiao He poked her head out from the pile of toys, her eyes filled with confusion.
“Move?”
“Yes, stop dawdling. Quickly pack your toys. We’re moving into a big cave dwelling!”
“Alright!”
Looking at this familiar cave dwelling, he could not help but feel that time had passed so quickly.
In a blink of an eye, it had been four or five years since he entered the sect.
He had lived here for so long as well.
He gently patted the stone table. “I wonder which junior brother will live here in the future.”
But Song Yan was not someone who could not move on from memories. He simply packed his personal belongings.
He then packed Xiao He’s toys separately into a Cosmos Bag. The two of them, one human and one snake, left Cave Dwelling Xuan-39.
First, they went to Forgetting Peak to complete the transfer of cave dwelling affairs.
Then, following the jade slip map, they searched for his “new home.”
Sword Trial Peak.
Many cultivators came and went here, but most walked with their heads down, and few greeted each other when they met.
“Sword Trial Peak, Di-21.”
Passing through mountain paths, he followed the markings on the map to find the new cave dwelling.
“Oh…”
Bamboo shadows swayed gently, a courtyard like something out of a dream.
He channeled spiritual energy, and the restriction in his hand made a sound.
The bamboo branches in front of the fence parted at the command.
He stepped through, and a courtyard paved with green stone appeared before Song Yan.
Ink bamboo grew in scattered arrangements around, actually more serene and elegant than the small bamboo courtyard in the Cold Flower Valley.
“Wow…”
Even Xiao He was deeply attracted by the scenery here and that sense of freedom.
He gathered his thoughts and arrived at the true entrance of the cave dwelling.
A flash of spiritual light, and the stone gate opened wide.
The scene inside the cave dwelling came into view.
Daylight poured down from the skylight, and the entire cave dwelling was bathed in a faint golden glow.
In the middle was a warm pool, slightly larger than the one on Green Leaf Peak.
Nameless luminous stones floated at the bottom of the pool, making it even more beautiful.
Wooden windows were embedded in the walls beside the pool. Pushing them open and looking out, the scenery of the Eastern Abyss Sect came into sight.
“This place is wonderful!”
Xiao He splashed into the warm pool with a plop, then leaped onto the windowsill with a whoosh.
“This place is really great!”
Song Yan naturally felt the same way.
However, business came first. He arranged some miscellaneous items in the new cave dwelling and also set aside a small room specifically for Xiao He to play in.
The biggest difference between the new cave dwelling and the outer sect one was that there were more empty rooms.
Previously on Green Leaf Peak, his Qi Refining breakthroughs had all been done on the stone bed in the cave dwelling.
Here, there was a dedicated cultivation room, and even alchemy and artifact refining rooms…
After finishing everything, Song Yan finally took out a special jade slip from his Cosmos Bag.
He had picked it up at the Mission Hall on Taiping Peak while passing by earlier.
It contained much information about the Changping matter.
Song Yan was a practical person.
Once he decided on something, it was not just empty talk.
Within three months at the latest, he would head to Changping.
It was better to understand the specifics now so he could plan ahead and make preparations in advance.
Actually, the contents of this jade slip did not contain much more information than what Senior Brother Lin Qing had told him.
“Chen Prefecture, Guan Zhao Mansion, Changping.”
At first, it was just a cultivator from the Talisman Sect who had passed by Guan Zhao Mansion and mysteriously disappeared, triggering an investigation by the Talisman Sect.
The Buddhist Huadu Temple in nearby Danyang Prefecture heard of this and voluntarily joined the Talisman Sect to investigate.
This investigation uncovered a major discovery.
Not only did they find traces of rogue cultivators from the Central Region near Changping, but they also discovered a large number of demonic cultivator marks.
Guan Zhao Mansion and Changping, due to their unique geographical location, were already a mixed bag of people.
Demonic cultivator activities rose and fell repeatedly.
It was also one of the three major gathering places for yokai cultivators, where the Corpse Bone Abyss was located.
Additionally, some rogue cultivators had learned a move or two here and there, and obtained ghost banners and soul bells from various sources.
They had also formed a certain “rogue cultivator” force.
Aside from the Eastern Abyss Sect and Sun-Shooting Sect, which occasionally sent people to assist Huadu Temple, the other three major sects had maintained an attitude of it not being their concern.
However, this time the large-scale activity of the demonic cultivators made all the major sects unable to sit still.
None of them were fools.
They all clearly understood the principle that when the lips die, the teeth grow cold.
The six major sects all sent disciples to take turns garrisoning Changping.
But after more than three months had passed, still no one knew what these demonic cultivators were secretly planning in this place.
“Demonic cultivators, rogue cultivators, yokai cultivators from the Corpse Bone Abyss…”
“Mortal cities…”
“The six major sects actually gathering ahead of time outside Longtan Mountain…”
“Most importantly…”
“Even now that the Chu Kingdom’s cultivation world has made such a huge commotion, that group of demonic cultivators in Changping still occasionally causes disturbances.”
“They show no fear or intention to leave.”
The entire Changping was truly in chaos right now.
He continued reading through all the content, roughly understanding the so-called “special contributions.”
The so-called special contributions were the contribution points accumulated by each disciple within a large-scale, long-term mission.
Among some senior cultivators, this thing was also called “merit.”
It was specifically used for exchanging items from independent treasuries.
This time, the six major sects had combined, merging all the treasury rewards together.
As long as one had merit, they could exchange for almost anything a Qi Refining Stage cultivator wanted.
However, the quantities were probably not that large.
He saw in the treasury list many rewards such as high-level techniques, talismans, pills, and artifacts.
The most attractive high-level technique reward was probably out of reach for him.
Basically, one needed to participate in the entire mission to have enough merit to exchange for it.
Song Yan put away the jade slip and began calculating in his mind what preparations he needed to make before heading to Changping.
This journey would be fraught with danger…
He would need to face it prudently.