Chapter 851: Recruitment

Fantasy Novel

In the cultivation world of the Nine Provinces, each sect occupies its own territory.

The size of the territory a sect can occupy varies depending on its rank.

When the Blood Sect was at its peak, it was a first-rank sect, allowing it to claim the vast territory of Ao Mountain. Although it has gradually declined in recent decades and its rank has lowered, the ownership of this territory has never changed.

It's not that no one coveted Ao Mountain. New sects frequently emerged in the Nine Provinces, and these sects needed to choose a territory as their foundation. Famous mountains and rivers like Ao Mountain had undoubtedly attracted much attention.

However, Tang Yifeng was a powerful cultivator at the Divine Sea Realm, so how could those emerging sects dare to be presumptuous in front of him? Furthermore, the Blood Sect had an exceptionally close relationship with the Righteous Qi Sect, the leading sect in Bingzhou. Thus, even during the Blood Sect's most desolate period, no new sect dared to settle in the expansive Ao Mountain.

Now, with the Blood Sect showing signs of a resurgence, such an incident is even more unlikely to occur.

Within a sect's territory, under normal circumstances and without permission, cultivators from other sects are not allowed to trespass freely. Doing so is considered a challenge to a sect's authority, an act that can range from minor to severe. If not handled properly, it could lead to extremely dire consequences.

Every sect has cultivators patrolling their territory to guard against petty criminals causing trouble.

However, the Blood Sect lacked this capability. Before Lu Ye joined, there were only Tang Yifeng and Shui Yuan in the sect. Even now, while the number of lower-level disciples is large, they are all in the Spirit Creek Realm and are stationed in the Spirit Creek Battlefield to cultivate and improve their cultivation.

Therefore, for the past few decades, Ao Mountain has largely been unsupervised. Although it nominally belongs to the Blood Sect, anyone could freely enter.

This particularly attracted many rogue cultivators to stay here. Some even chose spiritual peaks and opened their own cave dwellings.

As for the spiritual flowers and exotic plants growing in Ao Mountain, they were also cherished by many rogue cultivators because they could pick them and exchange them for the cultivation resources they needed.

The Sect Master was aware of this but never drove these rogue cultivators away.

Rogue cultivators face difficult lives. While disciples of sects, regardless of their number, at least receive a monthly stipend and the protection of elders, rogue cultivators must acquire all their cultivation resources themselves. Sometimes, they fight tooth and nail for even a small amount of merit. When they encounter danger, they have no elders to protect them and must bear everything alone.

The two individuals before them were undoubtedly rogue cultivators.

That's why the older man, upon hearing Lu Ye announce his sect, hurriedly tugged at the middle-aged man's clothes, urging him to leave immediately.

Firstly, Lu Ye was renowned, and the older man remembered Lu Ye's identity.

Secondly, everything within Ao Mountain's territory belonged to the Blood Sect. Their actions, strictly speaking, amounted to theft. Now caught red-handed by Lu Ye, they felt awkward and too ashamed to remain.

Just as the two were about to leave, Lu Ye suddenly spoke, "Wait!"

Both stopped in unison, looking at Lu Ye vigilantly. The older man said, "Does Fellow Daoist have any further instructions?"

Sneaking into someone else's territory to steal spiritual herbs and getting caught—by rights, even if Lu Ye had killed them, there would be no issue.

Recalling various rumors about Lu Ye, the older man's heart sank. Could this person be contemplating murder?

If so, that would be truly dire.

"You two are rogue cultivators, right?" Lu Ye asked.

There was no point in denying it.

Both nodded.

Pang Huanyin, standing nearby, showed a curious expression. She had never heard the term "rogue cultivator" before; there was no such designation on the Seamless Continent.

However, she roughly understood what the term implied.

She secretly wondered, with the Nine Provinces being so vast and the cultivation world so prosperous, how could there still be rogue cultivators?

"How long have you two lived here?" Lu Ye asked again.

Seeing that Lu Ye did not seem intent on making things difficult for them, but merely asking questions, the older man's expression softened. He said, "I've lived here for almost ten years."

He had reached his personal limit, so even going to the Cloud River Battlefield wouldn't yield many benefits, and he would face more dangers. It was better to stay in Ao Mountain for his twilight years.

"Three years," the middle-aged man replied. His situation was somewhat different from the older man's. Three years ago, he was severely injured in the Cloud River Battlefield, with nowhere to go, so he returned to the Nine Provinces to heal and settled in Ao Mountain.

"So, it seems you two are very familiar with the situation here."

"What does Fellow Daoist wish to ask?" the older man's expression remained cautious.

"How many rogue cultivators are staying in Ao Mountain?"

The older man pondered silently, while the middle-aged man couldn't help but frown, both clearly misunderstanding something.

"There's no need for you two to hide anything. I can easily get this information by asking someone else, and even if no one tells me, I have ways to find out."

"Alas!" the older man sighed. "Fellow Daoist, there's no need. I will immediately send word to them to leave Ao Mountain within a day and never set foot here again."

He thought Lu Ye was first trying to ascertain the number of rogue cultivators before driving them out.

They had stayed in Ao Mountain for years without being bothered, but if the Blood Sect truly wanted to expel them, they wouldn't be able to remain.

"You've misunderstood, elder." Lu Ye perceived his thoughts and explained, "I am not trying to drive you out. Ao Mountain's territory is vast, with countless spiritual peaks. You are welcome to stay here if you wish."

The Sect Master hadn't interfered with this matter, so how could he? Although he was fortunate enough to join the Blood Sect, he also understood the hardships of rogue cultivators.

Hua Ci used to be a rogue cultivator, working from dawn till dusk in nearby markets to treat the sick and injured, all for a bit of cultivation resources.

"Is Fellow Daoist serious?" The older man looked at Lu Ye in astonishment, and the middle-aged man also showed a grateful expression.

"Of course, it's true. Not only that, but I also have a great opportunity to offer you."

"An opportunity?" The older man was puzzled.

Lu Ye spoke, "Before long, a sect called the Ziwei Dao Palace will establish itself within Ao Mountain. This sect has a vast number of disciples, so it generally does not recruit externally. However, if any rogue cultivators are interested, you may go and pay respects to the mountain, and you might have a chance to join the Ziwei Dao Palace!"

"Ziwei Dao Palace?"

The two individuals before him both looked confused. They hadn't heard of this sect's name; it must be a new emerging sect. However, Lu Ye's mention of a vast number of disciples left them unsure of the Ziwei Dao Palace's true nature, as emerging sects usually didn't have many members.

Although most rogue cultivators longed to join a sect, they weren't desperate. Among the lower three-rank sects, they generally looked down on eighth or ninth-rank ones, unless they were seventh-rank.

Being bound by such a sect was often considered less appealing than being free and independent.

So, despite Lu Ye saying this was an opportunity, the two were not tempted; instead, they became more cautious.

"May I ask, Fellow Daoist, what rank is this Ziwei Dao Palace? And what is the strength of its powerful cultivators?"

"At least sixth-rank, and the Ziwei Dao Palace is an affiliated sect of my Blood Sect!"

"An affiliated sect!"

Both the older man and the middle-aged man were swayed. As for whether it was sixth-rank or not, they no longer cared.

The previous affiliated sect of the Blood Sect was the Danxin Gate, which is now a massive second-rank power. Although the Blood Sect has declined, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. There are still two powerful cultivators at the Divine Sea Realm in the sect, and it has intricate connections with many major sects in Bingzhou.

The Blood Sect also shows signs of a resurgence.

An affiliated sect of the Blood Sect is bound to have a bright future.

Not to mention it's a sixth-rank sect, which means it must have at least a few True Lake Realm cultivators.

Being able to join such a sect is a dream come true for many rogue cultivators.

The happiness came so suddenly that the two were somewhat at a loss, wondering if Lu Ye was playing a trick on them.

"Is Fellow Daoist perhaps joking?" The older man truly couldn't understand how this Ziwei Dao Palace would recruit rogue cultivators like them.

"Whether I'm joking or not, time will tell." Lu Ye said no more, took a step, and soared into the sky.

Pang Huanyin followed closely behind.

Watching them leave, the older man and the middle-aged man no longer had any thoughts of competing for the three-petaled sandalwood flower. After some discussion, they decided to quickly spread the news.

Rogue cultivators in Ao Mountain had connections with each other, and through long periods of interaction, they had formed a tacit understanding of mutual assistance. Now that such good news had arrived, they naturally wouldn't hide it from others. Besides, such a matter couldn't be concealed anyway; once the Ziwei Dao Palace truly established itself, the news would certainly spread.

Soaring at a low altitude, Pang Huanyin mused, "Brother Lu, do you want me to recruit those rogue cultivators?"

Lu Ye replied, "After all, you are not native to the Nine Provinces and only have a superficial understanding of its affairs. The Blood Sect currently has a thin population and cannot offer much assistance. Recruiting a group of local cultivators will not harm you. These rogue cultivators come from various backgrounds: some lack talent and couldn't join a sect, some are homeless after their original sects were destroyed, and some gained opportunities by chance to embark on the path of cultivation. But no matter what, their lives are extremely difficult, and most won't miss the chance to join a sect. I'm sure you won't have trouble discerning the character of these rogue cultivators during the selection process."

Pang Huanyin nodded, "Although the Seamless Continent isn't as rich and prosperous as the Nine Provinces, we've seen enough of the complexities of human nature. Brother Lu, you don't need to worry about this. I won't let those with ulterior motives enter the Dao Palace."

"Good. Just remember one thing: these rogue cultivators can be used, but not heavily relied upon."

"Understood, Brother Lu. I'll remember that."

She suddenly recalled something else, "Brother Lu, what did you mean earlier when you said the Dao Palace would be at least sixth-rank?"

"This requires me to explain the ranking system of sects here in the Nine Provinces..." Lu Ye then meticulously recounted what he knew.

Pang Huanyin was puzzled, "According to what Brother Lu said, my Dao Palace would at most be a seventh-rank sect, not reaching the sixth-rank level."

A sixth-rank sect must have cultivators at the True Lake Realm overseeing it; this is the most basic requirement.