Chapter 805: Recruitment
After a moment of contemplation, Song Yan did not return to his Immortal Cave, but turned and walked towards the eastern side of Maple Leaf Anchorage.
Amongst the fallen maple leaves, there was a vast, open valley.
It was filled with irregularly built earthen and wooden houses, without any discernible pattern.
A casual glance would reveal some Cultivators sitting directly on the ground, with small stalls set up in front of them, displaying three to five items.
This was the temporary market, Fallen Leaf Anchorage, jointly established by the Nine Pulses Cultivators stationed at Red Maple Plains.
These earthen and wooden houses were all temporarily constructed by the Cultivators themselves using Spells and talismans.
Song Yan casually found a familiar small shop and exchanged the miscellaneous items he had for Spirit Stones.
Then he walked towards a relatively tall pavilion.
In Fallen Leaf Anchorage, most of the houses and pavilions were one or two stories high.
A multi-story building like the four or five-story one in the center was unique.
Stepping into the pavilion, there were many Cultivators inside, all sitting one-on-one.
They were either discussing information or trading items.
Song Yan went directly to the third floor and found Shao Sichao in a corner.
"Senior Brother Song."
Shao Sichao’s Realm was still Qi Refining Perfection, unchanged for over a year.
Shao Sichao was one of the people Song Yan had interacted with since the Middle Stage of Qi Refining. In the past, when Song Yan looked at him, he always felt a misty sensation.
At that time, he attributed it to his insufficient Cultivation Realm, but now that he had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, that feeling had not dissipated.
Instead, it became increasingly obvious.
How strange.
He and Shao Sichao were friends, so naturally, they didn’t bother with formalities, addressing each other as equals.
As one of the most outstanding among the new generation of Qi Refining Disciples, Old Shao was naturally transferred to the front lines for "training."
He himself was extremely unwilling, but the Sect’s orders could not be defied.
Fortunately, the Elders seemed to know his temperament. They were worried something might happen if they sent him to the battlefield, so they assigned him a leisurely position at the war merit exchange office.
Although he was at the front lines, it was relatively safer.
"Here."
As soon as Song Yan sat down, Shao Sichao placed a Storage Bag directly in front of him: "I exchanged it for you directly using your war merits. It’s all inside."
"Thank you."
His Divine Sense probed inside, finding mostly Spiritual Materials used for refining Spiritual Artifacts, and right in the center was a finger-sized piece of metal.
Faintly, there was a light blue-purple luster.
It was indeed Purple Spiritual Miasma Stone.
Before arriving at the very front lines, there weren’t many tasks that required actual movement. Song Yan, having nothing to do, found someone to study the broken sword forged by Uncle Yan.
The information that this broken sword was forged from a fragment of a Spiritual Treasure should be true, but the main material used was a refining material called Purple Spiritual Miasma Stone.
Miasma Stone, this type of material, primarily appeared in places filled with miasma, such as Southern Border, Qi Country, and some parts of Jiang Country.
Speaking of which, Chu Country did not have such places.
Later, when Song Yan was just transferred to the Red Maple Plains front line, he happened to meet Shao Sichao at the war merit exchange office and asked him to help keep an eye out for similar metals when other Nine Pulses Cultivators handed in their spoils of war.
He even directly gave him a portion of war merits, so he could exchange it directly if he found it, to prevent others from getting there first.
Unexpectedly, after just over a month, there was a response.
It seemed that the Mo Xu Cultivator invasion, while bringing turmoil to the Cultivation World, also brought many opportunities.
Who knows how many Heaven And Earth Treasures and Cultivation resources, rarely seen in ordinary Chu Country, were brought here.
"Many people actually know about this item, and its value is relatively high."
Shao Sichao casually said, "However, this amount is too small, and it’s not really worth exchanging war merits for such a small amount. I acted quickly, which is why I was able to get it."
"Thank you."
"Ah, no need to be polite."
Shao Sichao waved his hand: "Senior Brother Song takes such good care of me, I’m just helping to keep an eye on some information and run a few errands. What does that count for?"
The war merits used to exchange these Artifact Refining Materials were all Song Yan’s own; Shao Sichao didn’t have to contribute anything.
He was also given an extra sum of Spirit Stones for keeping an eye on other information.
"However, Senior Brother Song, what you mentioned about... ancient swords, there’s no news on that yet."
Shao Sichao’s expression was a bit strange: "It’s not that I’m lazy, brother, but what you described is too vague and too broad, making it really difficult to find."
Song Yan shook his head: "It’s alright, I was just trying my luck."
He had only asked Shao Sichao to keep an eye out for ancient swords as an afterthought; it was good if he found one, but normal if he didn’t.
How could it be so easy to find?
After checking for a while, he found that there were also some uniquely shaped Spirit Medicines in the Storage Bag, in very small quantities.
Among the Medicinal Pills suitable for Foundation Establishment in the Qian Dan Yi Fang (Thousand Pill Exotic Recipes), besides Spirit Nurturing Pills, there were several others, but Song Yan had basically never seen those medicinal ingredients before.
So he had also asked Old Shao to keep an eye out, but now it seemed that the quantity of these medicinal ingredients was indeed small.
Alchemy Materials and Artifact Refining Materials are different.
Alchemy Materials, even if unrecognized, most Cultivators would choose to keep them for themselves.
Unless it’s for bulk selling in the business of Spirit Medicines and Spirit Plants, they generally wouldn’t sell them.
"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Shao. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first."
Without lingering, Song Yan gestured with the Storage Bag and then got up to leave.
"Alright, safe travels."
Shao Sichao watched Song Yan’s departing back, his gaze filled with complex emotions.
He muttered to himself.
"Sword Cultivator..."
"Master, oh Master, did you know all of this long ago?"
...Song Yan then returned to his simple Immortal Cave.
Xiao He was diligently Cultivating, and he did not disturb her.
He went into the quiet room and activated the Spirit Suppression Formation.
Then he took out the Storage Bag Shao Sichao had given him, directly removed the finger-sized Purple Spiritual Miasma Stone, and with a thought, sent it into the endless treasury.
His Divine Sense also appeared in the Realm of the endless treasury.
Beside the Sword Forging Fire Pool within the liangyi pearl, which was now the Mountain Peak Fire Pool, the strange figure still sat there, continuously repeating the same words.
Song Yan ignored him, directly took out the Purple Spiritual Miasma Stone, and threw it into the Fire Pool.
The blue-purple stone fell into it and began to slowly dissolve, its speed countless times slower than that of yun iron.
At the same time, wisps of Sword Qi emerged from the Sword Mansion and converged into the Fire Pool.
However, after a short while, a wisp of blue-purple thread, neither mist nor water, flowed directly into the sword body of Qiu Ren.
Although on the surface, this broken sword remained the same.
But as the Master of the Flying Sword, Song Yan could truly feel the subtle changes.
His heart couldn’t help but fill with excitement.
Song Yan himself didn’t have much energy to research Artifact Refining methods; just Sword Dao Alchemy and Sword Formations already took up much of his usual time.
This was also on the premise that these two skills complemented Sword Dao; asking him to research Artifact Refining would probably be beyond his capacity.
However, the endless treasury gave him a surprise.
He only knew before that this Fire Pool could consume Materials and Sword Qi to nourish Flying Swords and improve their grade.
He was actually unsure about the broken sword, Qiu Ren.
But from the current situation, perhaps for the endless treasury, this Qiu Ren was complete in form, just like an injured companion who needed to "recover from injuries."
So as long as he provided enough Materials, it might be possible to repair it completely.
It was just that this process might be very, very slow.
In the Fire Pool, threads of power converged into the sword body.
Beside the Fire Pool, the figure, who had been dejected, slowly raised his head.
Although he still repeated the same few phrases, his speech seemed to have slowed down.
Song Yan observed him for a while longer, saw no changes, and then returned to the present world.
He then checked the Jia Zuo mask again.
About a year ago, when Song Yan was still behind the main battlefield, the Nuo Realm held its first official meeting.
However, this meeting was basically just to welcome Song Yan, the newcomer.
Most of the things and places discussed by the others, besides him, were completely incomprehensible to him.
Then everyone exchanged what they needed, and the meeting ended.
After that, there were no impromptu meetings, so it seemed everyone’s schedules were very busy this year.
Counting the days, the second meeting was coming soon.
Song Yan pondered that this time, he could inquire about the situation of Mo Xu Cultivators in the Central Region.
In this poor Border Region, where various countries were fighting fiercely, what were the Mo Xu Cultivators after?
No matter how he thought about it, the Central Region should be the place they cared about most, right?
As he was pondering, someone visited outside the door.
Xiao He had just finished Cultivating, and she inquired about the visitor’s purpose through the Restriction.
Snake Babe looked puzzled: "What are you doing?"
The visitor was a beautiful female Cultivator, dressed in the attire of Profound Origin Sect.
The female Cultivator smiled gently: "I’m looking for Fellow Daoist Song Yan, I have an important matter to discuss."
Song Yan had just walked out of the quiet room, and Xiao He turned her head: "She said she’s looking for you about a ’key fragrant deer’."
"Let him in."
"Oh."
The female Cultivator gracefully walked in, politely greeted Xiao He, then turned to Song Yan.
"Fellow Daoist Song, I apologize for the disturbance."
Song Yan had no particular fondness for Profound Origin Sect Cultivators, and his tone was flat: "State your business."
"The Elder Council has issued an order, conscripting Nine Pulses Cultivators to Tiansheng Pass for assistance."
She slightly cupped her hands, and a conscription order from the Nine Pulses United Elder Council floated before Song Yan.
The Sect Masters of the Six Major Sects, and the prominent Elders of the Nine Pulses, all had their names signed on it.
Tiansheng Pass was a relatively important pass, mainly because it had a Spirit Stone mine, and also produced some Materials usable for Artifact Refining.
"The Elder Council has ordered Fellow Daoist Song to serve as the captain of this support mission for one month."
Speaking of which, this female Cultivator from Profound Origin Sect was in the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm, yet she didn’t have the arrogant sense of superiority typical of other Profound Origin Sect members.
This made Song Yan slightly more polite.
"Understood," Song Yan nodded: "I’ll depart immediately."
The female Cultivator subtly breathed a sigh of relief, exchanged a few more polite words, and then left Song Yan’s Immortal Cave.
This was not due to her humble and polite nature.
Now, who among the younger generation in Chu Country didn’t know Song Yan’s reputation? Without the strength of the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm, who would dare to speak loudly in front of him?
Did they not see the vast Immortal City on Dragon Pool Mountain, where a single sword strike covered a hundred miles, resulting in one Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm Mo Xu Cultivator dead and another fleeing?
And Zhou Liu, the peerless Prodigy in everyone’s eyes, was severely injured by the combined efforts of these two.
In a place like Chu Country, once one reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, there were only those who were unexpected, not those who were foolish.
Moreover... this person had many past grievances with Profound Origin Sect, so she dared not incur Song Yan’s displeasure.
This was Red Maple Plains, the main battlefield between the Chu Country Cultivation World and Mo Xu Cultivators.
One day, she too would participate in various dangerous missions, and the Sect’s protection was infinitely weakened here... Unlike missions within the Sect, here, one needed to depart on the same day the conscription order was received.
Outside the Restriction of Maple Leaf Anchorage, twenty-three or four Cultivators were gathered at this moment, with representatives from various Sects among them.
Song Yan stood at the very front, eyes closed in meditation.
On his left and right stood two Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators, while the other Cultivators occasionally exchanged secret messages, discussing and speculating about the mission.
"Fellow Daoist Song, everyone is here."
"Good."
Song Yan opened his eyes and said loudly: "Everyone, please follow me."
He summoned an ordinary flying boat from his Storage Bag, and the other Cultivators followed him into it one by one.
This flying Spiritual Artifact was issued to him as a squad leader by the Elder Council and would have to be returned afterward.
Then the group flew out of Maple Leaf Anchorage.
Tiansheng Pass had a strategic and dangerous terrain, but its original defense forces were very weak.
On the Spirit Boat, many Cultivators speculated whether the Demonic Cultivators had made a move, which was why they were sent here to reinforce and guard.
For most Cultivators, being far from Red Maple Plains meant being far from most dangers.
However, the conscription mission made this danger elusive.
No one could say for sure whether Mo Xu Cultivators were about to launch an attack on Tiansheng Pass.
After a day, the group arrived at Tiansheng Pass.
Outside the pass were mostly high mountains, and inside the pass was a large canyon, with the mine located within the canyon.
From afar, five or six Cultivators stationed there could already be seen coming forward to greet them.
The original guardian of Tiansheng Pass was named Shi Ping, a Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator, who was quite old.
In addition, there was a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator named He Huan assisting him.
The arrival of Song Yan and the others greatly strengthened the defensive capabilities of this pass.
Shi Ping was beaming with joy upon seeing the arrival of these reinforcements.
"Oh, Fellow Daoist Song, fellow colleagues, you’ve finally arrived."
He warmly clasped Song Yan’s hand: "These past few days, I, an old man, have been on tenterhooks, unable to Cultivate in peace."
Actually, Song Yan was only there to provide support and guard, so the affairs here should still be primarily managed by Shi Ping.
But everyone could see that this Old Shi wanted to be a hands-off manager and let Song Yan take charge.
Fortunately, the Cultivator named He Huan was very capable; before their arrival, he had essentially been managing the affairs Within the Pass by himself.
With the arrival of the reinforcements, he could relax a little.
"Senior Brother Song."
After discussing the defense of Tiansheng Pass, as everyone dispersed, He Huan privately handed Song Yan a roster.
"These are the Qi Refining Cultivators who were conscripted with me in the last batch. One of them is a Junior Sister from your Cave Abyss Sect."
He Huan, who looked middle-aged and very astute, said: "I’ve transferred these few to you, so it’ll be easier for you to look after them."
Song Yan was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "Alright."
"Fellow Daoist He is thoughtful."
This was a very trivial matter, and it didn’t violate any rules, but it indeed made people feel favorably towards him.
Song Yan opened the roster and found the unfortunate little Disciple from Cave Abyss Sect.
"Zhou Mengdie?"
He pondered for a while.
It seemed... he hadn’t heard of her.