"I have seen Junior Brother Yu's hard work with my own eyes, but alas, fate is beyond our control..."
Having served in the Xuanlu Guard, Yuyangzi had seen countless cultivators. Speaking of this with Qin Sang, his tone was quite calm. "Most cultivators are like Junior Brother Yu, and we sect disciples are no exception. In the end, they either recognize that their path to immortality is hopeless and give up on their own, returning to the sect to take up an easy post or going back to their homelands to branch out and multiply. Some can indeed establish an enterprise; most of the cultivation clans subordinate to our sect were founded by such cultivators. The others refuse to give up, spending years braving the Ancient Immortal Battlefield in search of elusive opportunities, only to vanish without a trace one day. Those who succeed are only a tiny minority..."
Yuyangzi suddenly let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "This old man has merely taken one extra step forward. What right do I have to judge them? Ah, forget it, let us speak no more of this..."
The atmosphere turned solemn, and both lost their earlier enthusiasm for conversation. They walked in silence to meet Senior Brother Qi.
At this moment, there was another person in the room.
Surnamed Rong, he was also a senior brother from Shaohua Mountain. His cultivation was impressively at the late Foundation Establishment stage, only slightly inferior to Senior Brother Qi.
This person was a square-faced middle-aged man with bronzed skin and an unsmiling demeanor. When Qin Sang and Yuyangzi bowed in greeting, he returned the salute meticulously.
"You have arrived just in time. Junior Brother Rong has just arrived from the sect, and hereafter the affairs of Xuanlu Pass will be his responsibility."
Qi Yuanshou gestured toward Qin Sang and Yuyangzi, introducing them one by one to the cultivator surnamed Rong.
Then he informed Qin Sang and Yuyangzi that he was actually about to return to the sect, and that they should consult Senior Brother Rong for any affairs in the future.
Yuyangzi was also learning this news for the first time. He was startled at first, then suddenly thought of something, his face lighting up with pleasant surprise. "Has Senior Brother Qi sensed an opportunity for a breakthrough? Junior Brother Qin has just broken through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage, and Senior Brother Qi is about to break through to the Core Formation stage—today is truly a double blessing!"
Qi Yuanshou laughed helplessly. "Junior Brother Qin's breakthrough is indeed a joyous occasion. However, my return to the sect is not for a breakthrough, but for another important matter."
Yuyangzi asked with a serious expression, "Senior Brother Qi, could something have happened in the sect?"
The relationship between disciples like them and Shaohua Mountain was like that of branches and leaves to the trunk.
If the skin is gone, where can the hair attach?
If something happened to Shaohua Mountain, even if they could preserve their lives, losing the sect's backing and being reduced to rogue cultivators would inevitably make their future cultivation path far more difficult.
At the very least, they would never be able to occupy such fine cave abodes outside Xuanlu Pass.
Shaohua Mountain was presided over by a Nascent Soul Patriarch and had Core Formation martial uncles in seclusion back at the sect. Yet now they had summoned Senior Brother Qi back across thousands of li; it was impossible for them not to let their thoughts run wild.
Qi Yuanshou shook his head and said, "There is no need for you two junior brothers to worry; the sect is safe and sound. With Grandmaster presiding and our sect-protecting grand formation, it is as solid as a rock. However, the atmosphere in Tianduan Mountain and Yuncang Great Marsh is somewhat unusual. Master urgently summoned me back to look into the matter."
"Tianduan Mountain and Yuncang Great Marsh..."
Enlightenment dawned on Yuyangzi's face, and he said bitterly, "Have the people of the Heaven-Traversing Alliance started up again?"
Qi Yuanshou gave a nod of acknowledgment. "The spirit tide is approaching. Whenever this time comes, the Heaven-Traversing Alliance becomes restless. Whether they will truly take action remains unknown. This is not solely the responsibility of our Shaohua Mountain; it concerns the entire Lesser Cold Domain. But our Shaohua Mountain occupies a unique position and bears the brunt of it, so we cannot afford not to be cautious. Once I return, conduct the investigation, and confirm the intelligence, I will send word to the various major sects so we can unite against the enemy. You two must also prepare early. If a great war truly erupts, no cultivator in the Lesser Cold Domain will be able to stay out of it."
Qin Sang listened in silence to Qi Yuanshou and Yuyangzi's conversation, and was able to grasp the general picture.
The Heaven-Traversing Alliance was another major power beyond the Lesser Cold Domain, directly bordering it. Between them lay Tianduan Mountain and the Yuncang Great Marsh, and the cultivation world took these two natural chasms as the boundary, keeping them sharply divided.
The Lesser Cold Domain and the Heaven-Traversing Alliance had been on hostile terms since ancient times; calling them sworn enemies was no exaggeration. Most of the great wars Qin Sang knew of had taken place between the two.
At the most catastrophic point, more than half of the Lesser Cold Domain had fallen, and it was only when the three factions—righteous, demonic, and monster—joined forces that the Heaven-Traversing Alliance was finally repelled.
However, a long time had passed since the last great war. For hundreds or thousands of years, the Lesser Cold Domain had remained quite stable, both sides coexisting peacefully and maintaining an unspoken truce.
In the past, Qin Sang's cultivation had been low, and his mind had been solely fixed on breakthroughs, breakthroughs, and more breakthroughs. There were so many high-level cultivators in the Lesser Cold Domain that even if the sky fell, it would never fall on him to hold it up, so he had never looked into these matters in detail.
He had never imagined that in his journey of cultivation, he might actually experience a war between the two domains!
This caused Qin Sang to frown deeply, filled with secret worry.
He had experienced mortal wars, and several gruesome scenes were still fresh in his memory; a war between cultivators would undoubtedly be even more terrifying!
Once war began, the general trend would surge forward like a raging torrent.
Only the Nascent Soul experts at the pinnacle of the pyramid could extricate themselves at will. Even Golden Core Masters could be swept away by the crashing waves with a single misstep.
Foundation Establishment cultivators like them could not even dream of being the mantis stopping the chariot; they could only drift along with the tide of events.
There might be opportunities within, but there was far more danger.
What was most terrifying was that he would have no control over his own future, life, or death!
Though he pursued the Dao through slaughter, he had no desire to plunge himself into a great slaughter tribulation.
The path he had chosen did not require him to enter such a tribulation to glean any insights; all he needed was to cultivate dutifully in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, and he could smoothly cultivate all the way to the False Core stage.
At this thought, Qin Sang hurriedly inquired about the details.
"When the spirit tide arrives, we must reserve manpower at the Seven Heroes Passes to resist the maddened cloud beasts. If the Heaven-Traversing Alliance invades at such a time, the Lesser Cold Domain will effectively be attacked from both front and rear. For the Heaven-Traversing Alliance, that is the best opportunity. Thus, looking back at history, nearly every great war occurred when a spirit tide appeared."
Qi Yuanshou gave a soft sigh. "As for the cause of war, it is nothing more than fighting over cultivation resources. Although the Ancient Immortal Battlefield is dangerous, it is a treasure land. It has been monopolized by us cultivators of the Lesser Cold Domain—do you really think outsiders aren't envious? What is more, deep within the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, there is also..."
Speaking to this point, Qi Yuanshou paused, then changed the subject. "You need not worry too much either. When the last spirit tide appeared, the Heaven-Traversing Alliance also made moves, but before we could organize a counterattack, they ceased their hostilities on their own. It seemed more like an indignant harassment; presumably, the lessons left by that great war a thousand years ago were deep enough for them. It is the same this time: they may not truly dare to strike, but the necessary precautions must still be taken."
Following this, Qi Yuanshou gave a brief explanation and entrusted them with a few necessary tasks.
Qin Sang still intended to return to the Tianjing Secret Realm to cultivate, so he declined Senior Brother Rong's invitation to remain at Xuanlu Pass. After conversing for a while, he took his leave alone.
Filled with heavy worries, Qin Sang walked toward the Taiyi Elixir Pavilion.
He also knew that with his meager strength, he could not change anything. No matter how the situation unfolded, he could only accept it; the only thing he could do was raise his strength as quickly as possible.
Chapter 312