Chapter 193: Recruitment Meeting

At Qingyang Hall, within the Qingyang Sect ruins in the Qingyang Mountain Range, Li Haifeng and the other four were holding a celebratory meeting, their faces beaming with broad smiles.

"Fellow Daoist Feng, Fellow Daoist Guang, the three sects of Song State have successively withdrawn from Song State. They are relocating to Chu State for refuge. Once the Wang family also withdraws from Song State, this territory will be ours." Li Haifeng spoke with some excitement. As the Huangsheng Palace had been established for thousands of years, he was the first to expand its territory. This alone meant he surpassed all previous Core Formation stage cultivators of Huangsheng Palace. With the expanded territory, increased population under their control, and more resources, his hope of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage had grown.

"Our territory has expanded too much. For a time, the native cultivators of Song State may not obey us and might even resist. We must quickly transfer cultivation families from the rear to relocate them here," Feng Yue suggested.

Sun Junyan scoffed, disagreeing: "Those who obey prosper, those who defy perish. Any cultivation family that dares to resist will be immediately exterminated, serving as a warning to others. Of course, our primary approach should still be appeasement, with extermination as a secondary measure. Exterminating too many families would displease the native cultivators of Song State, which isn't good. I propose we hold a disciple recruitment conference to widely recruit followers. Firstly, this will win over people's hearts. Whether they are cultivators from Song State, Wei State, or other states—even those from Song State who fought against us previously—they can join our five sects. Secondly, this will allow us to observe the attitude of Song State's native cultivators. Those who remain on the sidelines will be severely punished. Cultivation families who send representatives to the recruitment conference should be given some benefits to win them over and bind them to our cause, making them feel the advantages of our five Wei State sects."

"Fellow Daoist Sun's plan is excellent. I suggest we hold the disciple recruitment conference at Qingyang Sect itself. This will serve as a reminder to them that resisting us leads only to death, while those who align with us will receive benefits. I propose we allocate some spiritual fields to win over native cultivation families. With a stick in one hand and a sweet date in the other, I believe they will know how to choose. Additionally, during this time, while the front lines are tense, many rogue cultivators have been burning, killing, and looting in the rear, causing widespread panic. We must immediately send people to suppress these rogue cultivators. Song State is now our domain; anyone who dares to cause trouble is defying us and will be executed without mercy." Guang Dongren expressed deep approval, his aura filled with murderous intent.

The others also agreed. The five of them deliberated for over an hour before gradually leaving.

After Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingjiang assisted the Hundred Spirits Sect in persuading other cultivation families to stay, each family willing to remain had a Hundred Spirits Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator assigned to guard them, preventing them from fleeing en masse. The Chen family's example was glaringly clear: they hadn't even left behind a single spirit stone.

Zhao Ningxiang, with the help of the Wang family, annexed the Zhang family. The Zhang family's Foundation Establishment cultivators had died on the front lines, and some Zhang family members had fled. Several Zhang family elders were unwilling to be merged into the Zhao family, so Zhao Ningxiang killed them on the spot. Furthermore, the descendants of two of these Zhang family elders, over twenty cultivators, were also slaughtered by her. Her methods were extremely cruel. While Zhao Ningxiang's actions certainly suppressed other Zhang family members, her approach was too brutal. If she were absent, the Zhang family members could riot at any time.

In return, Zhao Ningxiang gave the Wang family ten thousand spirit stones, calling it a gift of gratitude. Upon returning to Qinglian Mountain, Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingjiang held solemn funerals for Wang Yaozong and other family members who had died on the front lines.

The Wang family now had three Foundation Establishment cultivators, a fact the Hundred Spirits Sect was well aware of. With the Wang family's original strength and territory, supporting three Foundation Establishment cultivators would have been challenging. Just the materials for Wang Changsheng to refine a mid-grade magic artifact cost over a thousand spirit stones. Now, having acquired fifty mu of spiritual fields and two second-tier spirit veins, supporting even two more Foundation Establishment cultivators would be more than sufficient.

After burying the fallen family members, the Wang family began dispatching personnel to the former strongholds of the Chen and Huang families to cultivate spiritual grains and raise spiritual fish. The mountains where the Chen and Huang families were located were both renamed, becoming Qingyun Mountain and Qingfeng Mountain, respectively.

Twenty family members were settled on Qingyun Mountain and Qingfeng Mountain each. The majority were Huang family members responsible for cultivating spiritual grains, guarded by Wang family members carrying second-tier puppet beasts. The Huang family members' storage bags were also confiscated, and with their relatives residing on Qinglian Mountain, they dared not resist. Naturally, due to Huang Shengwen's cooperation, the Huang family members did not react violently. However, the Zhang family, annexed by Zhao Ningxiang, saw several of its members launch a sudden midnight raid, killing multiple Zhao family members. Many Zhang family members escaped with valuables, leaving behind blazing fires that burned down a small portion of the Zhao family compound. Fortunately, Zhao Ningxiang suppressed the situation in time, preventing greater losses.

After this incident, Zhao Ningxiang's methods became somewhat gentler; she only executed the principal instigators. However, after this riot, the Zhang family's able-bodied members were reduced to just over ten, with more than thirty women, children, and elderly left. For a cultivation family to develop, the first essential is territory, and the second is population. Because of this incident, the Zhao family suffered heavy losses.

When the Wang family learned of this, their strategy softened. Huang family members who assisted the Wang family would receive a fixed monthly stipend, with additional rewards for good performance. Simultaneously, the Wang family encouraged intermarriage between Huang and Wang family members, and the commoners of the Wang, Chen, and Huang families also frequently intermarried. It is foreseeable that within a century, the Chen and Huang families will be integrated into the larger Wang family, provided the Wang family continues to prosper.

After news of Song State's defeat spread, Su Cheng and other disciples of the Hundred Spirits Sect departed. Wang Changxue also left. Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingjiang personally saw them off. Two months later, Wang Mingzhong and seventeen other family members returned to Qinglian Mountain. They brought back astonishing news: the five sects of Wei State were holding a disciple recruitment conference. All cultivators with true spiritual roots under the age of fifty could participate. As for the specific recruitment standards, the five Wei State sects had not disclosed them.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingjiang deliberated repeatedly, deciding that Wang Changsheng would lead a team of five family members to participate in the disciple recruitment conference. The five family members were Wang Minglong, Wang Changfei, Wang Changping, Wang Changting, and Wang Qinglei. These five family members represented the 'Ming', 'Chang', and 'Qing' generations, comprising four males and one female. Among the Wang family's cultivators, their aptitudes were considered quite good, clearly demonstrating the Wang family's emphasis on the Wei State Five Sects' disciple recruitment conference.

Liu Leyun pleaded with Wang Changsheng to let Wang Qingze participate in the disciple recruitment conference, but Wang Changsheng refused. Wang Qingze had little interest in cultivation and lacked any specific skills, though he was skilled in handling social interactions. Wang Changsheng intended for him to take over Wang Yaozu's role, managing external relations. Even if Wang Qingze could genuinely join the Hundred Spirits Sect, his chances of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage were low, providing little benefit to the Wang family.

Considering the chaos outside, Wang Mingzhan and Wang Mingzhong would accompany them as escorts. The Zhao family also wanted to participate in this recruitment conference, but Zhao Ningxiang was unable to leave. She entrusted Wang Changsheng to take two Zhao family members to attend the disciple recruitment conference held by the five Wei State sects.

Wang Changsheng did not refuse and agreed. He knew about Zhao Ningxiang's agreement with Huangsheng Palace. Whether Li Haifeng would renege on it was not his concern.

And so, the Blue Lotus Boat carried Wang Changsheng and the others, flying towards the Qingyang Mountain Range.