Chapter 243: 35 The 100,000 Mountains, Before Departing

The news from White Jade Capital had not yet spread within the Shushan Sect when Qingluo Peak welcomed a group of new guests.

“So this is Qingluo Peak?” Duan Fenhai asked in surprise.

“Does it not match your expectations?” Guan Shanyue asked with a smile.

“I thought it would be some kind of dragon’s lair or tiger’s den…” Duan Fenhai said offhandedly, but upon seeing Ling Yunpo come out of the Taoist temple, he immediately fell silent.

“Brother Lin, Brother Duan, Senior Sister Guan.” Ling Yunpo greeted everyone with a clasped fist salute.

“It has been a while, and your swordsmanship seems to have improved.” Lin Duanshan said approvingly.

“How can Brother Lin tell that my skills have improved?” Ling Yunpo asked curiously.

“In the past, Junior Brother, you were sharp and outstanding, but today your divine light is restrained, hence I know there is improvement,” Lin Duanshan explained.

“Indeed.” Duan Fenhai looked at him with surprise, “It’s said that one should regard someone with a new perspective even after a separation of just three days.”

Ling Yunpo laughed heartily and then invited everyone to enter the temple to sit for a while.

The three of them had come this time to discuss the upcoming southern expedition.

Although Sword Immortals are keen on one-on-one fights, they cannot stand against Demon Path Cultivators who are accustomed to teaming up for group attacks, so the Shushan side also made it a rule that during the southern expedition, Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm need to travel in groups, usually in teams of four to six.

In the previous southern expeditions, Lin, Duan, and Guan would usually team up together, mostly because the other Foundation Establishment disciples could not keep up with them, and would often become a drag on the team; they were better off with fewer people.

This year, thanks to the care from the elder of the Guan Family, both Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu joined the team, so the original trio naturally expanded into a team of five.

Also, because both of them had never participated in a southern expedition before, Lin Duanshan and the others had specially come over to explain the basic situation of the southern expedition to them.

Of course, the main purpose was to familiarize Ling Yunpo. The Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal, that freak, did not need intelligence; he would just obliterate the enemies upon encounter.

“Junior Brother Ling, let me tell you, the Hundred Thousand Mountains are like this…” After sitting down in the hall, Lin Duanshan began to explain the intelligence of the Hundred Thousand Mountains in detail to Ling Yunpo.

Ling Yunpo listened attentively but was almost on the verge of ‘spitting blood’ inside.

He had heard all of this information from Wei Dongliu long ago through Long Xiaoqi and the others, and the details were far more intricate than what was being offered.

Matters of Demonic Beasts in the mountains, mechanisms of miasma, which areas had been explored—Ling Yunpo was nearly dozing off while listening but had to force himself to look attentive and as if he was seriously memorizing everything.

Fortunately, An Zhisu finally came out from the inner chamber and interrupted Lin Duanshan’s briefing:

“We’ll leave other relics aside for now; which ones can improve the Purple Mansion and increase the efficiency of Refining Mansion progression?”

“I was just about to get into that,” Lin Duanshan said earnestly. “Within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, there are currently two Secret Realms of the Purple Mansion that have been discovered by our Shushan Sect.”

“One is exclusively owned by our Shushan, called ‘Langgan Cave’, which contains a Millennium Stone Milk. Drinking it can perfect the Purple Mansion.”

“Equivalent to how much cultivation?” Ling Yunpo inquired seriously.

“One sip can increase one year of cultivation.” Duan Fenhai said in a grave voice, “But the Stone Milk is poisonous and must not be consumed in excess; the exact amount depends on one’s Root Bone.”

“An ordinary Cultivator can drink at most ten sips. Any more than that and they would feel their face turn dark purple, with limbs heavy as if they were filled with lead,” Guan Shanyue also added. “But if you drink only one sip each year, you can slow down the buildup of tolerance in the body, potentially extending up to forty years at most.”

Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu exchanged a glance, clearly understanding Guan Shanyue’s point.

If they were to consume the Stone Milk in one go, they could gain at most a decade’s worth of cultivation before reaching their physical limit.

But if they were to drink just one sip each year and come back the following year, letting the benefits accumulate slowly, they could keep increasing their cultivation for nearly forty years, which was undoubtedly much more advantageous than the former approach.

However, the reason Guan Shanyue specially brought this up was another.

The southern expedition to the Hundred Thousand Mountains was not the same as the grand competition with Shushan; not every disciple could participate.

In essence, it was a partitioning of resources by those in high positions, involving the contest and compromise between the powers of the Various Peaks, where Qingluo Peak was undoubtedly a weak contender.

Owing to a favor from the Guan Family’s ancestor, they secured the qualifications to join this year’s southern expedition, but there might not be such an opportunity next year.

Therefore, following in Lin Duanshan’s footsteps, joining the expedition each year to take just a sip was rather unrealistic… If there would hardly be a chance to join the expeditions in the future, it would be better to drink their fill at once and extract the maximum benefit.

Guan Shanyue reminded them of this point so the two could discuss and make a clear decision on how to choose.

“Many thanks to Senior Sister Guan for the information,” Ling Yunpo said, clasping his hands in gratitude.

“Besides Langgan Cave, there is also the Misty Forest that is rumored to enhance the Refining Mansion’s cultivation,” Lin Duanshan continued.

“Rumored?” An Zhisu asked, frowning.

“Not every cultivator who enters the Misty Forest perfects their Purple Mansion,” Duan Fenhai said coldly, “Only one or two out of ten encounter such fortune, and they generally cannot describe exactly what encounter they experienced.”

“That’s rather curious,” Ling Yunpo said with a laugh, “Does it mean that Refining Mansion stage cultivators entering this Misty Forest could lose their consciousness?”

“Exactly so,” Guan Shanyue nodded in confirmation.

Everyone: ………

“No consciousness?” An Zhisu said with knitted brows, “Then what if they encounter misfortune? How would they cope?”

“So far, it seems that none of the cultivators entering the Misty Forest have fallen or gone missing; they wake up outside the forest when the time comes,” Lin Duanshan explained, “Some increase their Refining Mansion cultivation, while others gain nothing.”

“The Jade Capital Sect Leader once entered the Misty Forest alone to investigate; upon returning, he claimed it was essentially harmless, which eased everyone’s concerns,” Lin Duanshan added.

Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu then understood; if the Sect Leader had investigated and said there was no problem, then there should indeed be no problem.

“But there is a crucial issue with the Misty Forest,” Duan Fenhai suddenly said, “Every year after the miasma dissipates, the location where the Misty Forest appears is uncertain.”

“You mean…” Ling Yunpo immediately came to an understanding.

“If it appears in territories controlled by our Shushan, naturally, there is no issue; however, if it emerges in the core heartlands of the Demonic Path, we can basically forget about it,” Duan Fenhai continued, “But if it is within the boundaries of both powers, it is almost certain to cause a bloody storm.”

“Will Golden Core Cultivators be involved?” Ling Yunpo asked in a low voice.

“Hard to say,” Lin Duanshan shook his head, “The Misty Forest is too vast; to dispatch Golden Core Cultivators to patrol the periphery, specifically to ambush Refining Mansion stage cultivators from the opposing camp, would be too inefficient.”

Being ‘inefficient’ meant they would not conduct such operations on a large scale, but whether or not they would send some idle immortals over, that was uncertain.

“If one hits the jackpot in the Misty Forest, they can advance their Refining Mansion cultivation by thirty years,” Guan Shanyue concluded, “But it is more likely that you come out with nothing. Thankfully, it’s an opportunity available every year, so one can try their luck. Therefore, it is also a path we must take.”

“In the remaining unexplored areas, some are clear and open for the collection of Spiritual Herbs and Elixirs, Demonic Beast materials, and such; and there are also many areas still unexplored, with unknown relics and encounters. What do you think we should prioritize this time?”

Although the question was seemingly directed to both, it was actually intended for Senior Sister An.

An Zhisu did not immediately answer but turned her gaze to her junior brother.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

After pondering briefly, Ling Yunpo replied without hesitation:

“Obviously the latter!”