Chapter 202: Chapter 64: Senior Sister’s Pleasant Surprise
The Shushan Shangqing Faction refers to the yearly winter expeditions to the Hundred Thousand Mountains as the “South Expedition.”
It is not a mere raid, but a South Expedition — the difference lies in its righteousness, as the Shushan Shangqing Faction has always regarded the Hundred Thousand Mountains as their domain “since ancient times.”
In Ancient Times, the Hundred Thousand Mountains in the Southern Border were the battlegrounds of the Human and Demon Races, where a large number of Sword Cultivators stationed around Shushan, responsible for repelling Demons attempting to move northward into Sichuan Shu.
By the Ancient Times, with the full rise of the Human Race in Divine Land, the number of Cultivators also began to surge.
A few powerful figures from Immortal Sects began to integrate the forces of the entire Cultivation Realm through discipleship and alliances, gradually forming the massive entities of Clarify Cult and Intercepting Cult.
At that time, Clarify Cult was in the west, and Intercepting Cult in the east, with the middle section of the ancient Xiaohan Path as the boundary of influence. Sichuan Shu remained the preserve of Clarify Cult’s Sword Cultivators—and so began their claim over the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
As for how the power distribution of the Clarify and Intercepting Cults later became interlocked and spread out like stars in a game of Go, and how the Hundred Thousand Mountains came to be “covertly occupied” by Intercepting Cult’s Cultivators, that is another long story.
Within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the temperature remains constant throughout the year. This constancy allows the particularly temperature-sensitive miasma to persist steadily, only briefly receding between the Greater and Lesser Cold each winter.
At that time, the Shushan Shangqing Faction would send out a large number of Sword Immortals on a South Expedition to “harvest” the resources within the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Although Cultivators from the Eastern Emperor Path can navigate through the miasma, they cannot completely ignore it and also need to take advantage of this time to harvest resources.
Moreover, facing competition and threats from Shushan Sword Immortals, it is common to invite other Demon Path Cultivators to assist, turning the entire Hundred Thousand Mountains into a brutal battlefield, a place far more perilous than any secret realm trial.
For this reason, every year, the Shushan Shangqing Faction selectively chooses Sword Immortals for the South Expedition, rather than giving each disciple an equal opportunity to compete, as is the case with trials at the Demon Locking Tower.
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Strong combat ability is a necessary basis, while veiled political status is naturally within the scope of consideration. After all, within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, in addition to enemies, there are all kinds of unparalleled fortunate encounters and harvests…
Therefore, Qingluo Peak is almost always uninvolved in the South Expedition each year. This time, with the help of relations with the Guan Family’s elder, Ling Yunpo was genuinely surprised to catch such a valuable opportunity, feeling as if a joy had descended from the heavens.
Great! Now I can start investigating in advance for relics within the Hundred Thousand Mountains that could accelerate the refining process of the Refining Mansion!
“Where’s Senior Sister An?” Lin Duanshan asked.
Ling Yunpo immediately became alert,
“What do you need Senior Sister for? She’s practicing swordsmanship at this time; you can tell me anything, and it’s all the same.”
Lin Duanshan frowned slightly, while Guan Shanyue immediately caught on, teasingly saying,
“Don’t worry, it’s not a personal matter we’re looking for her for, it’s official business. It’s said that this time the Eastern Emperor Path has unprecedentedly gathered the Asura Path, Heavenly Demon Path, Nether Ghost Path, and Mortal Life Path, intending to ambush our Shushan Sword Immortals in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.”
“All five paths together?” Ling Yunpo asked in surprise, “In the past, wasn’t it only the Asura Path that was involved?”
“They’ve had this planned out for a long time,” Lin Duanshan said seriously, “First, by using the Dragon Clan’s uprising incident at the Demon Locking Tower to weaken our Shushan’s strength…”
“It didn’t weaken us that much though,” Ling Yunpo reminded.
“Ahem, although it didn’t weaken us much, our Sword Immortals’ thirst for revenge has been ignited,” Lin Duanshan added. “With five paths gathered together, our Shushan is at a disadvantage. But if we avoid battle or seek help from the Taiqing Sect and Yuqing View, we fear it will damage morale.”
So can we stop being so obsessed with saving face? Ling Yunpo thought critically to himself, but aloud he said,
“That’s right! If the Eastern Emperor Path thinks they can succeed like this, then we must disappoint them! We Shushan Sword Immortals have never feared strong enemies; we worry only that the enemy isn’t strong enough!”
[Unyielding character setting, Synchronization Value +1.]
“Well spoken, Younger Brother Ling!” Lin Duanshan greatly appreciated his stance, “With only the five paths of the Demon Cult gathered, what is there for us Sword Immortals to fear? Even if myriad gods and spirits block the way, I would cut them down with a single sword strike!”
Guan Shanyue, however, did not respond, only staring suspiciously at Ling Yunpo, wondering how this guy could also have a rash side?
I thought he was rather deep… It seems it’s just that he was made to look good by An Zhisu, after all, the Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal is the very epitome of rashness.
“But to respond to the situation, in addition to great courage, we also need to do our homework on intelligence in advance,” Lin Duanshan added, “That’s why we planned to come to you and Senior Sister An to discuss preparations in advance.”
“Understood,” Ling Yunpo nodded, thinking there was no harm in that.
After all, Lin Duanshan, Senior Brother Lin, likes to do intelligence investigations in advance.
Before the Great Comparison among the Shushan peers, he made me memorize all the battle intelligence of the top fifty Sword Immortals by rote.
The three arrived at the courtyard of the Taoist temple and saw An Zhisu, with a flushed face slightly inebriated, sprawled over the stone table in the pavilion, fast asleep, with a few slender jade porcelain wine bottles rolling around next to her.
Everyone: ………
Lin Duanshan, astonished, looked at Ling Yunpo, as if to say, “Is this what you call practicing swordsmanship?”
Ling Yunpo hurriedly took three steps and made them into two, rushing to the pavilion to shake An Zhisu’s shoulders vigorously:
“Senior Sister! Wake up!”
But An Zhisu refused to wake up and even burped with her eyes closed, a strong aroma of alcohol wafting in the air.
Ling Yunpo, out of options, could only whisper into his senior sister’s ear:
“Master has exited seclusion!”
An Zhisu almost instinctively sat up, and it took her a while to come to her senses, realizing she had been tricked by her junior brother. She could only silently circulate her True Yuan to refine all the alcohol, then, as if nothing had happened, she spoke to Guan Shanyue and Lin Duanshan, who were already staring dumbfounded:
“What’s going on, any issue?”
Lin Duanshan was still in a daze, but Guan Shanyue quickly steadied his nerves and smiled:
“The miasma of the Hundred Thousand Mountains is about to dissipate, and the faction has already begun preparations for the southern expedition.”
“Oh,” replied An Zhisu in the same manner as Ling Yunpo, which was essentially “What does that have to do with me?”
“As a reward for the last sword-seeking mission, the elder secured two spots for both of you,” Guan Shanyue continued.
“Really?” An Zhisu was overjoyed and turned to Ling Yunpo, “That’s great, Junior Brother! There’s a site in the Hundred Thousand Mountains that should be able to expedite the refinement process in the Refining Mansion, we must go this time!”
“I was about to tell Senior Sister An another piece of bad news,” Lin Duanshan began, “The Eastern Emperor Path has almost summoned the entire Demon Path to come to the Hundred Thousand Mountains to confront us from the Shushan, so the danger level is likely far greater than before…”
“Even better,” An Zhisu said, beaming, then turning to Ling Yunpo she continued, “Junior Brother, this is a rare opportunity, we can go all out and have a full-fledged battle with the Demon Cult.”
Lin Duanshan: ………
Guan Shanyue: ………
Ling Yunpo: ………
So, staying in Shushan all this time, there hasn’t been anyone worth your full effort, has there?