Chapter 508 - 363: Scavenging Hyenas
At the edge of the Barbaric Wilderness Land Realm, a sky-blotting fleet of Humpback Rays flew through the air high above a range of lofty mountains, steadily drawing closer.
The lead Humpback Ray was massive, but what was even more eye-catching was the cargo stacked upon its back.
Upon its seventeen-to-eighteen-zhang flat body, countless bags of Spirit Rice were neatly stacked. At a rough glance, there were at least ten thousand bags.
The Humpback Rays following Yinbao were much the same. They all transported vast quantities of Spirit Rice and various other supplies urgently needed by the Pill Alliance, such as talisman hides for crafting, various materials for repairing arrays, and ores for mending magical artifacts.
These supplies were all taken from the Qingyuan Sect’s Storage Room by Fang Qingyuan, with another portion purchased at a fair price from the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect.
Before attacking the Cloud-Clawed Lizards’ territory, the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect had already accumulated over a decade’s worth of supplies. Even after the past three or four years, they hadn’t used everything up; on the contrary, much of it remained.
The price at which the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect had gathered those supplies was only a third of the current market rate, which showed just how much the great war in White Mountain had driven up the cost of these materials.
Currently, supplies needed for peaceful cultivation were depreciating, while the prices of materials for combat—like Talisman Paper and Array Discs—were skyrocketing. Many items were now completely sold out on the market.
Han Ping was astonished that Fang Qingyuan could so easily assemble such a massive fleet of beast-ships and gather so many supplies. But when he remembered that Lechuan was backing Fang Qingyuan, it all made sense.
But what Han Ping didn’t know was that a large portion of the supplies transported by this fleet of Humpback Rays was produced by Fang Qingyuan himself.
Sitting cross-legged atop Yinbao’s head, Fang Qingyuan released his spiritual sense, vaguely scanning for any abnormal fluctuations in aura within a hundred-li radius.
The Spirit Wood Alliance and the Li Huo Alliance would absolutely not want to see such a massive shipment of supplies reach the Pill Alliance’s territory. If Fang Qingyuan’s transport succeeded this one time, it would render the last several months of their blockade completely useless.
In truth, the Pill Alliance had already completely withdrawn its borders. Their original territory of roughly one hundred thousand square kilometers had shrunk to fifty or sixty thousand. They were barely holding on, relying on defensive lines built previously. The Spirit Wood and Li Huo Alliances hadn’t launched a major offensive, preferring to use a long-term, sustained blockade to gradually weaken the Pill Alliance’s strength.
The two alliances continuously sent their various Loose Cultivator vassals to harass the front lines and deplete the Pill Alliance’s reserves. At the same time, they maintained a powerful and resolute blockade, preventing even a single talisman hide from reaching the Pill Alliance.
The Spirit Wood and Li Huo Alliances controlled the key transportation routes connecting the Pill Alliance to the outside world. Sixty years ago, during the Pioneering War, the Great Zhou Academy had assigned the Pill Alliance territory in Silver Elephant Mountain—the former domain of the Divinity Transformation Ancient Beast Silver Elephant. However, just like the Spirit Wood Alliance, the Pill Alliance’s territory did not directly border the Barbaric Wilderness. Instead, it was separated by several Golden Core Sects from Nine Stars Square.
Now, all of the Pill Alliance’s channels to the outside world were blockaded. With the enfeoffed Golden Core Sects blocking their rear, they couldn’t even take a detour through the Barbaric Wilderness. Thus, they were left completely isolated.
In reality, if the Pill Alliance truly wanted to, they could have forced their way through the Golden Core Sects behind them and opened a detour through the Barbaric Wilderness. After all, those few Golden Core Sects wouldn’t dare to offend the Pill Alliance.
However, the few sects led by the Yingxia Sect were even more afraid of offending the Spirit Wood Alliance. If they cleared a path, the Spirit Wood Alliance would absolutely have an excuse to attack them. Therefore, the Yingxia Sect and the others could only take a hard-line stance and refuse to let the Pill Alliance pass through their territory, lest they provoke the Spirit Wood Alliance’s retaliation.
This was the situation the Pill Alliance now faced. In order to hold out longer and wait for the Hehuan Sect to enter the fray, the Pill Alliance had dispatched disciples like Han Ping to search all over White Mountain for support.
Han Ping had dealt with Fang Qingyuan a few times in the past. His natal ability was the ’Delusory Wind Bell,’ which made him unafraid of Soul Search. Even if captured by the Spirit Wood Alliance, he wouldn’t be able to give up any useful information. People like him were naturally suited for matters of diplomacy and intrigue.
Initially, Han Ping hadn’t held out much hope for Fang Qingyuan. Even though Fang Qingyuan had reached the Golden Core Realm, the Qingyuan Sect’s scale was what it was—fewer than two hundred Cultivators in total and a territory of less than three thousand square kilometers. ’How much help could they possibly provide to the Pill Alliance?’
But the supplies Fang Qingyuan was now able to provide far exceeded Han Ping’s expectations. So when Han Ping returned to the Pill Alliance with Fang Qingyuan’s promise, he immediately garnered the great attention of the Pill Alliance’s Sect Leader.
The Pill Alliance’s Vice Sect Leader, Elder Han Yan, had given Han Ping a direct order: he had to appease Fang Qingyuan. No matter what demands Fang Qingyuan made, he was to agree to them for the time being. They absolutely could not let him get away.
Fang Qingyuan could clearly sense Han Ping’s thoughts. ’As things stand now,’ he mused, ’I’m probably the only one who can give the Pill Alliance a lifeline.’
’Or rather, it is the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect that could give the Pill Alliance a lifeline. It’s just that no matter who—the Pill Alliance or the Spirit Wood Alliance—sends people to find Lechuan, he refuses to see any of them. His only thought right now is to conquer Moyun Valley as quickly as possible and relocate the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect’s territory there.’
’Years ago, when Lechuan had migrated his people from the Southern Border to White Mountain, the territory they occupied was very small. That piece of land had been purchased from some Independent Cultivation Sects back then only after a Nascent Soul Ancestor from the Beast Taming Sect had personally come forward to mediate with the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Li Huo Alliance. All told, it was no more than five thousand square kilometers.’
’For a Golden Core Sect, a territory of this size is barely adequate. But for the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, it is far from enough.’