As expected, it was Gu Zhengshun calling out. The other man seemed eager to tie Wang Yu firmly to his cause. Considering their prior agreement and the lack of immediate need for conflict, Wang Yu simply smiled and said:
"Senior Brother Gu, it's been a while. You look as impressive as ever."
"Where, where? Just look at these people, Junior Brother Wang, and you'll understand why I am so fixated on Profound Bone Mountain."
Wang Yu nodded in agreement, the very picture of a respectful junior brother getting along with a senior.
The square where the crowd had gathered was the front plaza of the [Halls District]. The Profound Bone Mountain assignment was an official sect duty, and the handover between the two groups had to be processed through the Mission Hall.
Hence, quite a few people were standing around.
Gu Zhengshun discreetly pointed out two individuals who were the center of attention, introducing them in a low voice:
"Junior Brother Wang, look at that woman in black with green hair. She is an inner disciple of the sect's third peak, [Gu Poison Peak].
"Her name is Liu Jinxian, eighth level of Qi Refining. Her father is the Core Formation Elder, 'Green Snake True Person'. She holds one of the Profound Bone Mountain Master Tokens. Those surrounding her are all her subordinates from Gu Poison Peak, numbering over two hundred. Among the three Mountain Masters of Profound Bone Mountain, her faction has the most members."
Wang Yu raised an eyebrow... *Liu Jinxian (Golden Immortal Liu). A rather boastful name.* "And the other one?"
"Si Tu Hong. This one is an inner disciple of the seventh peak, [Five Yin Peak]. He has an adoptive mother who is also a Core Formation cultivator, known as the 'Peach Blossom Ghost Mother'. Her strength far surpasses that of the Green Snake True Person.
"He himself is only at the seventh level of Qi Refining, having just entered the late stage. The Five Yin Peak disciples surrounding him number one hundred and twenty-nine."
*Good grief.* The two factions combined totaled exactly four hundred people. If he had come to this meeting ignorant, he would have been the only Mountain Master without a single follower. He'd probably have been eliminated on the journey itself.
*That bastard Zhao Shang deserves to be devoured piece by piece!*
Then again, while Gu Zhengshun had a Core Formation master's master, the relationship certainly wasn't as close as that between a direct master and disciple. And in the demonic path, the master-disciple bond wasn't as sacrosanct as one might imagine.
Compared to Liu and Si Tu, Gu Zhengshun's status was much lower.
So, when Wang Yu looked behind him, he saw only about twenty people. Their cultivation levels were uneven, the weakest merely at the third level of Qi Refining. They carried elm wood coffins, looking rather shabby.
*With these resources... he wants to compete with those two?*
Wang Yu gave Gu Zhengshun a questioning look, then silently moved away.
"Ahem—"
"Junior Brother Wang, don't be hasty. The sect issued over five hundred ordinary Profound Bone Tokens. There are also about eighty ordinary disciples. We can recruit a few. You did promise we'd weather the storm together~"
Wang Yu paused, but didn't leave. Instead, he blended into the group of Heavenly Corpse Peak disciples, found someone to get a spare coffin from, and slung it over his back, fitting right in.
From today onward, he was a disciple of the Heavenly Corpse Peak~
*Blending with the dust, becoming one with the light.*
Seeing this, Gu Zhengshun didn't stop him; in fact, he was pleased. Wang Yu was his hidden trump card, so it was best to keep him concealed for now.
He himself went among the crowd of ordinary disciples, using his eloquence to recruit hands, while also taking the opportunity to gather information from the returning veterans.
Five years was not a short time for a Qi Refining cultivator.
The situation might differ from the intelligence he possessed, so he had to clarify things. Asking more couldn't hurt.
The area of a single province was vast. Blood Abyss Province was approximately twenty million square kilometers. The Reverse Spirit Blood Sect was located at its center, a few hundred *li* away from the holy land for cultivating blood path techniques—the [Blood Abyss]!
This journey required heading north out of the sect, traversing [Qiongye Province] to reach [Maple Province], essentially the northernmost part of the Crimson Kite Demon Domain, in a remote corner to the left.
Further north lay the [Endless Ice Plains]. Not only were they desolate and uninhabited, but they also featured a natural disaster known as the Polar Ice Storm, which even Nascent Soul monsters found difficult to cross.
The straight-line distance for this trip exceeded fifty thousand kilometers, longer than the Earth's circumference, making it a truly long journey.
At the speed of a Qi Refining cultivator, even flying full tilt on a magical instrument, it would take at least twenty-six days, averaging eighty kilometers per hour.
But that was the straight-line distance. They would have to detour around numerous dangerous areas, stop to restore magic power, and take regular rests. It was normal for the travel time to multiply several times over. It would take nearly three months to reach Profound Bone Mountain.
By then, it would be just in time to welcome the new year. The guard duty period would be calculated from the time of arrival.
Fortunately, they were passing through territories controlled by the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect. Otherwise, forget reaching their destination; surviving the journey halfway would be a matter of sheer luck.
Someone like Wang Yu would find it difficult to obtain a map of the Crimson Kite Demon Domain. Maps were precious resources, highly valued by all sects. Ordinary maps were useless; they had to mark spiritual veins, powers, danger zones... and so on. The risks involved in cartography were extremely high.
Therefore, the lower one's status, the more "blind" a cultivator tended to be. They might know the route to a place, but the dangers they might encounter remained only partially known, the full picture elusive.
For cultivators, long-distance travel was a challenging endeavor.
The waiting time always felt drawn out.
When Gu Zhengshun returned to the group, he hadn't managed to recruit a single person. Instead, he held a scroll in his hand. He said,
"Junior Brother Wang, the handover at the Mission Hall is complete. The five-year remuneration is five hundred contribution points and five hundred spirit stones. Just imprint your disciple token."
This amount was paltry, downright shabby compared to the tasks from the Ice Snow Pavilion. No wonder those people preferred to be exploited for sixty percent and only took tasks from within the Pavilion.
"Acceptable."
The real gains from Profound Bone Mountain didn't lie in the task itself, but in the opportunities the place offered. Therefore, a little more or less in remuneration made no difference.
After Wang Yu completed the imprint, Gu Zhengshun handed them out to the others one by one, then went back to submit the task scroll before finally saying,
"Alright, it's all settled. Let's go."
Wang Yu looked surprised, pointing towards the two groups led by Liu and Si Tu.
"Not going together?"
"They look down on us. Let's go."
"Alright then..."
Just as Wang Yu was about to take out the flying magical instrument, the Black Silk, which he had never used since obtaining it, Gu Zhengshun instead produced a bone ship. He tossed several dozen mid-grade spirit stones into it, and the bone ship instantly enlarged, large enough to carry all twenty-two of them.
*It seems he lacked experience.*
As they departed, Liu Jinxian and Si Tu Hong each displayed their own methods. One was a pavilion wreathed in poisonous smoke, containing a space larger inside than out. The other was a screaming skull, which also enlarged rapidly after spirit stones were embedded.
What surprised Wang Yu was that neither group had a Foundation Establishment cultivator accompanying them. The disciples who had obtained the "Mountain Master Tokens" were traveling freely on their own.
Aboard the bone ship, flying out of the sect, Gu Zhengshun, as if reading his thoughts, remarked teasingly,
"Maple Province is remote. The Profound Bone Mountain we're going to is close to the Endless Ice Plains. Not many Foundation Establishment cultivators are assigned there. And once assigned, it's hard to move for forty or fifty years."
"So that's how it is—"
It could be summed up in two words: [Exile]!
After exiting the sect, Gu Zhengshun handed control of the bone ship to a subordinate. He sat with Wang Yu on the upper deck, sharing a drink, and began relaying more specific intelligence about Profound Bone Mountain and what they needed to do upon arrival.
**(End of Chapter)**