Chapter 83: Entering the Mountain

Back at the Wang Artifact Forging Shop, Wang Changsheng took out the beast hides from his storage bag and cleaned them. He had harvested over thirty beast hides, but the second-tier demon core was the most valuable.

It was Wang Changsheng's first time seeing a second-tier demon core. Just as he finished cleaning it, the spirit beast pouch at his waist began to stir. Wang Changsheng released the Twin-Eyed Rat and scattered a handful of first-tier low-grade spirit grains on the table. The Twin-Eyed Rat ignored the spirit grains. Instead, it stared intently at the second-tier demon core in Wang Changsheng's hand, chirping strangely. Although it couldn't speak, Wang Changsheng could sense its intense craving for the second-tier demon core. The Twin-Eyed Rat was a spirit rodent; this second-tier demon core, perhaps from a demonic rat, might help it advance.

After a moment of hesitation, Wang Changsheng used a small knife to cut off a fingernail-sized piece of the demon core and fed it to the Twin-Eyed Rat. After consuming the small piece of demon core, the Twin-Eyed Rat became extremely excited, wagging its tail back and forth. Wang Changsheng fed it two more fingernail-sized pieces of the demon core before it finally calmed down.

Just then, Wang Yaolong's voice came from outside the door: "Changsheng, are you free right now?"

Wang Changsheng put the Twin-Eyed Rat back into its spirit beast pouch, opened the door, and invited Wang Yaolong in. Wang Yaolong scrutinized Wang Changsheng from head to toe, asking with concern, "Changsheng, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Uncle Twenty-Fifth. Is everyone else in the clan alright?"

"Too many demonic beasts broke into the city. Two Qi Refining cultivators from our clan unfortunately perished. Fortunately, neither you nor Mingcan were injured. If I'm not mistaken, the Four Great Sects of Great Song will definitely send people to clear out the demonic beasts in the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range. There are three third-tier demonic beasts in the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range, and if they aren't eliminated, future beast attacks on the city will still occur. What you need to do is forge as many puppet beasts as possible; this is a great opportunity to make a fortune."

"Understood, Uncle Twenty-Fifth. By the way, here are thirty-two beast hides. They should fetch a good number of spirit stones."

Wang Changsheng kept one second-tier beast hide for himself and handed the rest to Wang Yaolong. Wang Yaolong accepted the beast hides and then left.

As Wang Yaolong had predicted, three days later, the Four Great Sects posted a notice in Xianyuan City, recruiting cultivators to clear out the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range. Cultivators could sign up to participate. To encourage participation, the Four Great Sects announced reward measures. The highest reward was a Foundation Establishment Pill, but these pills were limited. Whoever accumulated enough contribution points first would be able to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill. It was rumored that there were only twenty Foundation Establishment Pills available, and once exchanged, they would be gone.

The corpse of a first-tier low-grade demonic beast could be exchanged for one contribution point, a mid-grade for two points, and a high-grade for five points. A second-tier low-grade demonic beast was worth one hundred points, a mid-grade two hundred, and a high-grade three hundred. Exchanging for a Foundation Establishment Pill required ten thousand contribution points. Even hunting thirty-plus second-tier high-grade demonic beasts would be required, and the cumulative value of these corpses already far exceeded that of a Foundation Establishment Pill. Even so, a large number of cultivators were still drawn to participate.

Contribution points could be accumulated, and if one person's points were insufficient, multiple people could pool theirs. However, demonic beast corpses needed to be as intact as possible; if too severely damaged, they could not be exchanged for points. Besides Foundation Establishment Pills, contribution points could also be exchanged for other Foundation Establishment spiritual items, such as artifacts, elixirs, and talismans.

Immediately after the announcement, cultivators began signing up and forming teams to enter the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range to hunt demonic beasts. Upon hearing this news, Wang Changsheng wanted to enter the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range to hunt demonic beasts, but Wang Yaolong firmly opposed it.

"Changsheng, I've already sent someone back to notify Mingyuan. If the clan truly intends to participate, they will send people. You just need to stay in the shop and forge puppet beasts."

"Uncle Twenty-Fifth, this is a Foundation Establishment Pill, not just anything else. I can wait for the clan to send people, but I must participate. Besides Foundation Establishment Pills, there's also Purple Jade Spirit Water. These items are extremely precious and rarely appear on the market. If I miss this opportunity, it will probably be even harder to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill or Purple Jade Spirit Water."

Wang Changsheng's attitude was resolute. For other items, he wouldn't enter the mountains, but since it concerned Foundation Establishment, he had to take the chance! He didn't even aspire to get a Foundation Establishment Pill; obtaining a portion of Purple Jade Spirit Water would also be good. Even if the clan sent people to participate and managed to obtain Purple Jade Spirit Water, it wouldn't be Wang Changsheng's turn to consume it, as several clan members had better talent than him.

Wang Yaolong frowned deeply, feeling troubled. The Four Great Sects of Great Song offering twenty Foundation Establishment Pills as rewards this time meant that fewer Foundation Establishment Pills would be circulating in the market in the coming decades, making them even more valuable. Furthermore, even if the clan obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill, it might not be given to Wang Changsheng, as several clan members had better aptitudes than him and a higher chance of successfully establishing their Foundation. Cultivation sects tightly controlled Foundation Establishment Pills, rarely allowing them to circulate externally, which caused their price to continually rise. Disciples of cultivation families, if their aptitude wasn't exceptional, could only rely on their own efforts to purchase Foundation Establishment spiritual items. While Mystic Gold Ore, spirit veins, and beast hides could be handed over or reported, Wang Changsheng could not and would not yield on the Foundation Establishment Pill.

"Fine, I'll discuss this with Mingyuan. For now, you should continue forging puppet beasts! Until Mingyuan replies, you are not to run around or enter the mountains on your own."

Wang Changsheng agreed. Even without Wang Yaolong's urging, he would still diligently forge puppet beasts.

Initially, cultivators' goal was to hunt demonic beasts, but later, some began to bully the weak and snatch others' storage bags. The beast-clearing operation devolved into infighting among cultivators, forcing the Four Great Sects of Great Song to intervene. Great Song comprised nine provinces. They divided the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range into ten regions: cultivation families were responsible for clearing seven, cultivation sects for two, and rogue cultivators for one. Infighting among cultivators was strictly prohibited, and those who plundered others' possessions would be executed without mercy. An enforcement team was dispatched to patrol, and after executing over a dozen cultivators who violated the rules, the situation improved. The enforcement team would not interfere if cultivators battled demonic beasts, but they would intervene if cultivators fought among themselves.

Four months quickly passed. Cultivation families began to successively send people to Xianyuan City to enter the mountains and clear out the demonic beasts. Within these four months, several cultivation families accumulated enough points to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills, and the number of available pills steadily decreased.

Wang Yaohuan, fifty-two years old, with a cultivation of Qi Refining Layer Nine, ranked twelfth in the clan. Upon receiving Wang Yaolong's message, Wang Mingyuan immediately dispatched Wang Yaohuan to lead fifteen clan members to Xianyuan City. Wang Yaozong was in secluded cultivation and unable to leave. Upon arriving in Xianyuan City, Wang Yaohuan brought the fifteen clan members to the Wang Artifact Forging Shop and explained the situation to Wang Yaolong. Green Lotus Mountain was too far from Xianyuan City. With a four-month round trip, it was estimated that all Foundation Establishment Pills would be gone. However, being able to exchange for other spiritual items would still be beneficial.

Learning of Wang Changsheng's desire to participate, Wang Mingyuan did not object. However, he instructed Wang Changsheng to stay close to the elders and not act on his own. Liu Qing'er also wrote Wang Changsheng a letter, reminding him to prioritize safety and avoid acting alone. Wang Changsheng was very pleased to learn that he could accompany his clan members into the mountains to hunt demonic beasts.

The Four Great Sects would promptly announce the remaining quantities of Foundation Establishment spiritual items. Currently, fifteen Foundation Establishment Pills remained, along with sixty bottles of Purple Jade Spirit Water. Exchanging for one bottle of Purple Jade Spirit Water required five thousand contribution points.

Besides Wang Yaohuan, there were also two Qi Refining Layer Eight clan elders: Wang Yaoqing and Wang Yaotao, ranked thirteenth and fifteenth respectively. Ten members from the 'Ming' generation arrived, with Wang Mingyi, at Qi Refining Layer Seven, being the highest cultivated among them. Three members from the 'Chang' generation arrived, the highest cultivated being Wang Changge. Wang Changge was now at the peak of Qi Refining Layer Seven. The other two from the 'Chang' generation were his tenth brother, Wang Changbin, and eleventh brother, Wang Changhui, both cultivating at Qi Refining Layer Five.

Wang Yaohuan's group consisted of sixteen people. Adding Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingzhan, there were a total of eighteen people, divided into three small teams of six each. Wang Changsheng, Wang Changge, Wang Mingzhan, Wang Mingxiao, Wang Mingfeng, and Wang Yaohuan formed one team of six.

After signing up, all eighteen entered the mountains. The area assigned to Ningzhou cultivators was in the western part of the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range. As they journeyed, Wang Changsheng saw many cultivators, even witnessing others battling demonic beasts. Occasionally, cultivators from the enforcement team flew overhead.