sinovels Chapter 161 - 139: Council in the Hall
Chapter 161 - 139: Council in the Hall
As the end of the year approached, Yuanling Mountain grew bustling with activity. In winter, the sky darkens quickly and lightens slowly. When the first pale light of dawn appeared on the horizon, the sounds of many voices began to rise from a large manor at the foot of Yuanling Mountain’s ridge.
The early risers gathered inside the manor grounds, beside several newly dug wells. Some drew water for cooking, others laundered clothes, some washed themselves, and still others led horses to drink. They stood in small groups, occasionally laughing and chatting in low voices.
Just then, a figure on a Flying Boat rose into the air from above the manor, flying toward the Grand Council Hall on Yuanling Mountain. Seeing this, everyone below stopped what they were doing and looked up, only turning away once the figure had vanished into the distance.
Upon arriving before the Grand Council Hall, the figure disembarked from his Spiritual Boat. After landing, he saw several other people already waiting. The one leading them was none other than his own Patriarch, Liao Wenlamp.
Liao Wenlamp glanced at the newcomer before turning away. The man stepped forward and joined the group, taking his place behind Liao Wenlamp to wait in silence.
After a long while, a bell chimed, and the doors to the Grand Council Hall slowly swung open, revealing the vast, empty space within.
Once everyone had entered the hall and taken their positions, Fang Qingyuan entered from the rear. As he took his seat at the head of the hall, everyone below spoke in unison.
"We greet the Mountain Master."
Fang Qingyuan gestured for them to rise and surveyed the assembly. In the hall, there were the six members of the Liao Family led by Liao Wenlamp, Nong Shouyuan, Zhang Yuan, Liu Xun, and Qu Wujie. Including himself, the number finally exceeded ten, making the vast Grand Council Hall feel a little less empty.
In truth, two other members of the Liao Family were absent. They were stationed at the four mining pits, responsible for tending to the Earth-Drinking Dragon Worms. The Liao Family had pledged the allegiance of their entire clan, so Fang Qingyuan had given them a means of living by entrusting them with the business of raising these Dragon Worms.
Fang Qingyuan had set an annual quota. As long as the Liao Family delivered the required number each year, the business of raising Earth-Drinking Dragon Worms would remain under their control.
This was also a move by Fang Qingyuan to win their loyalty. The Liao Family had migrated with their entire clan from the White Mountain area, bringing the old and young alike. With a mortal population exceeding ten thousand, they had instantly become the largest family on Yuanling Mountain, surpassing the seven thousand members of the Jiang Family.
In addition, Nong Shouyuan, the Spirit Plant Cultivator, had also arrived, bringing with him over a thousand mortal relatives from his farming clan. Meanwhile, that Shopkeeper Jiang from Jiang Kui’s main family had only brought a few dozen Servants and several beautiful concubines.
As a result, the total mortal population on Yuanling Mountain surpassed the twenty-thousand mark, and the number of Cultivators reached fifteen.
After that, Fang Qingyuan began the meeting. This type of council was held once every half-month, and all Cultivators were expected to attend unless they had urgent business.
Fortunately, everyone lived on Yuanling Mountain, so the distances weren’t great. With the exception of that Shopkeeper Jiang, everyone else attended willingly.
With the year’s end approaching, there were a few matters to discuss. The first was the annual Ascension Ceremony. This was the Liao Family’s first year on Yuanling Mountain, and with over ten thousand members, there was a high probability of finding at least one Immortal Seedling among them.
As for the Jiang Family, they hadn’t produced a new Immortal Seedling in the three years since Jiang Wanqin—a girl with a Middle-grade Water Spirit Root—had been discovered. He hoped they would have better luck this year.
As for the mortals Fang Qingyuan himself had brought, besides Liu Xun and Qu Wujie—two Immortal Seedlings who owed their awakenings to the Nascent Soul Giant Beast beneath Qingfeng Mountain—not a single person with even a Lower-grade Spirit Root had appeared over the years.
Besides the Ascension Ceremony, there was the matter of the three thousand acres of tobacco fields planned by Nong Shouyuan. Previously, Fang Qingyuan and Zhang Yuan had merely leveled the land and planted the Thousand Soul Grass, considering the job done. But now, with the addition of Nong Shouyuan, who had spent his life tending Spirit Plants, the yield from those fields was a full twenty percent higher than in previous years.
Under Nong Shouyuan’s care, the Spiritual Land and Spirit Plants on Yuanling Mountain had taken on a new vibrancy, no longer giving the impression of being chaotic and disorderly.
Fang Qingyuan also had plans for the Liao Family. He looked at Liao Wenlamp and said,
"For the better part of the last half-year, your family has been busy relocating your kin. It was a long, hard journey from White Mountain to Yuanling Mountain. Now that your relatives are settled, it’s time for the Liao Family to provide some manpower to help me."
Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s words, Liao Wenlamp stepped forward.
"Mountain Master is right. Everyone in the Liao Family has been waiting for the chance to serve you and share the burdens of Yuanling Mountain. Just give us the command, and we will do anything you ask."
Seeing Liao Wenlamp’s grand display of loyalty, Fang Qingyuan chuckled.
"We’re all family here; no need to speak so formally. Right now, the Marketplace at the foot of the mountain needs a few more guards. Pick two of your sharpest people to go work under the She Family. Also, I want to open a trade route between Yuanling Square Marketplace and Jiuye Marketplace. Jiuye Marketplace has been open for years, and they have many goods that we lack. Opening a trade route for mutual exchange would benefit us both."
Hearing Fang Qingyuan’s vision for the future, Liao Wenlamp immediately replied,
"This subordinate obeys. I will not fail the trust you have placed in me, Mountain Master."
Seeing that Liao Wenlamp didn’t hesitate, Fang Qingyuan nodded in approval. Yuanling Square and Jiuye Square were separated by over a thousand li; establishing a proper trade route between them would be no easy task.
A trade route wasn’t as simple as a few Cultivators flying back and forth with storage bags. It required clearing a path the entire way—carving roads through mountains and building bridges over rivers—to create a path that even mortals could travel.
The largest storage bags Cultivators could carry only held about ten cubic meters of space. How could that possibly compare to the transport capacity of hundreds, even thousands of mortal carts? High-grade spiritual materials could be delivered by Cultivators, but the transport of bulky, low-grade spiritual materials had to be left to mortals.
Jiuye Square was rich in various Spirit Woods, with each log having a volume of ten to twenty cubic meters. Fang Qingyuan wanted Liao Wenlamp to open a proper trade route precisely to transport these low-grade Spirit Woods and other materials.
Previously, Yuanling Mountain had been a remote and isolated place with no real roads connecting it to the outside world. Now, with Yuanling Square open for business, many merchants were complaining about the difficulty of stocking their goods. As the Workshop Master, Fang Qingyuan felt obligated to solve this problem.
Fang Qingyuan decided to start by establishing a route to the nearest marketplace, Jiuye Square, and then open another to the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace. With these two major arteries in place, Yuanling Square was sure to become far more lively.
But establishing a trade route was grueling work. Fang Qingyuan glanced at the handful of Qi Cultivation Cultivators behind Liao Wenlamp. At that moment, he suddenly thought of Yinbao. Ever since he had returned from the Chaotic Star Sea Region, that creature had been lazing around on Yuanling Mountain, just getting fatter. The more it ate, the bigger it grew, and its flying speed had slowed down quite a bit.
’This can’t continue,’ he thought. ’If I keep pampering it like this, Yinbao will become useless.’ So, Fang Qingyuan spoke up.
"Establishing a trade route is hard work, and I can’t very well offer you no support. How about this: I have a Flying Manta Ray that is strong and can carry heavy loads. Take it with you. For any jobs that involve moving mountains or hauling stone, you can just leave it to the Ray."
Seeing the delighted look on Liao Wenlamp’s face, Fang Qingyuan discussed a few more matters before concluding the meeting. When he returned to his small courtyard on the summit and told Yinbao the news, the huge creature immediately lowered its head in fear, refusing to go no matter what.
Of course, Yinbao didn’t dare defy Fang Qingyuan’s will in the end. It tearfully followed Liao Wenlamp away. After Yinbao was gone, Fang Qingyuan looked at the now quiet and empty courtyard, a slight smile touching his lips. ’Finally,’ he thought, ’I can have some peace for a while.’
.....
Inside the Immortal Mansion, over twenty Iron-Seeking Rats were kept in a wooden cage, each with a different demeanor. Some were frenzied, some were listless, and a few even appeared joyful.
These were Mutated Iron-Seeking Rats, the survivors of multiple infusions of Gold Spirit Power. Compared to ordinary Iron-Seeking Rats, their bodies were much larger—each was about the size of a mongrel.
The largest among them was nearly the size of a full-grown wolfhound. Every hair on its body glinted with a cold light, like a coat of sharp steel needles.
If its fur was like that, its fangs and claws were even more formidable. If such a creature were let loose, an ordinary Early-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator would be no match for it.
But now, upon seeing Fang Qingyuan, these terrifying mutant rat beasts all showed expressions of fear. A single casual movement from him was often enough to make the Iron-Seeking Rats instinctively shrink back to the deepest corner of the cage.
These Iron-Seeking Rats were the fruits of Fang Qingyuan’s labor over the past year. Each time, he would collect the survivors and wait until he had a group of thirty before conducting another infusion of Gold Spirit Power. After repeating this process several times, he was left with these champions.
All of the current Iron-Seeking Rats had mutated. Now, Fang Qingyuan’s task was to find the true king among them.
As Fang Qingyuan extended his spiritual sense and channeled the Gold Spirit Power within the Immortal Mansion into the rats, they began to squeal in agony. After a quarter of an hour, one of the rats could finally take no more. It collapsed to the ground, silent and still.
After the first Iron-Seeking Rat died, the others began to fall one after another. Soon, only a mere few were left, desperately holding on.
In the past, he would have stopped the infusion at this point. But today, Fang Qingyuan did not stop.
’Let me see your limits, my little Iron-Seeking Rats,’ he thought. ’Your moment of evolution is now.’
The rather melodramatic words flashed through Fang Qingyuan’s mind. As he unleashed an even more turbulent wave of Gold Spirit Power, the remaining Iron-Seeking Rats were pushed to the very brink of life and death.
POP! POP! The remaining Mutated Iron-Seeking Rats exploded one by one, their flesh and blood shimmering with a metallic luster. Only one remained, its face a mask of pure, intoxicated bliss.
In fact, when Fang Qingyuan finally stopped the flow of Gold Spirit Power, the rat even looked disappointed.
Fang Qingyuan paid the surviving rat no mind. Instead, he gathered the souls of the Iron-Seeking Rats that had just died and began to practice his Soul Dao Technique.
A moment later, Fang Qingyuan opened his eyes, which now seemed even more profound, and let out a sigh of satisfaction. After a year of this culling process, the quality of the souls was significantly higher. The combined souls of these twenty-odd Iron-Seeking Rats were nearly comparable to the soul of a single Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator.
Only then, once he was finished, did Fang Qingyuan finally have a moment to examine the survivor—the newly crowned Mutated Rat King.