Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: The Female General

Qi Ziru: "Did that woman teach him cultivation methods?"Shen Youkun: "No, unlike the outside world, exiled cultivators are not scarce here. To survive, one must offer something, so local natives actually have no shortage of cultivation techniques. Shi Chun has been cultivating since childhood; that woman only taught him to read some characters. Ridiculously, after that, he started pretending to be refined, truly seeing himself as a scholar. Later, he somehow got a set of linen robes and often dressed as a literati—it's utterly disgusting..."Qi Ziru suddenly interrupted: "Get to the point."Shen Youkun fell silent for a moment, then continued: "With his duplicitous cunning, he quickly seized control of Dong Jiuyuan after achieving some cultivation success, becoming its leader. After taking charge, he declared that he grew up eating from hundreds of families in Dong Jiuyuan and would never let them down. Later, he actually made great efforts to send many people from Dong Jiuyuan to the city one after another. I exploited this weakness, lured them with bait, and cleared out his eyes and ears."Qi Ziru looked somewhat surprised: "With a chance to leave the exile land, why didn't he go? Was the bait not enough?"As he spoke, the wind picked up again.At this, Shen Youkun's lips twitched slightly. He leaned forward and raised his sleeve to shield his uncle from the blowing sand: "The bait was more than enough—definitely enough to earn him merit to leave. Who knows what he was thinking? I was stunned too. Why stay when he could go, especially without his forces to back him up? Didn't he fear unforeseen troubles? In hindsight, it was most likely because of a woman."It's no secret—he took a fancy to the daughter of the owner of 'Bowang Tower' in the city. Anyone who can run a shop in the exile land's city gate must have an extraordinary background. How could they look at someone like him? He's a toad craving swan meat, utterly ignorant of his own limitations. Besides this, I can't think of any other reason for him to stay. There's nothing else worth clinging to in this wretched place."After stating his conclusion, he observed his uncle's expression. Seeing no reaction, he went on: "As for Wu Jinliang, he's that tall man who likes to swagger around carrying an absurdly large broadsword. In reality, he's worthless—just a lackey of Shi Chun, bullying others and acting as his accomplice. He's no good either."Supposedly, he was tiny and frail at birth, barely surviving, hence the name 'Jinliang' (meaning 'weight'). Later, Shi Chun, eager to show off his literacy, added the surname 'Wu' to it. Wu Jinliang—no weight at all! Haha, Uncle, you can tell what kind of scoundrel he is just from his name."The fact that he knew even these behind-the-scenes details showed he had done his homework.Qi Ziru listened quietly without commenting. After Shen Youkun finished, he asked: "What's Shi Chun's cultivation level? High Martial?"Even though he had estimated it low, Shen Youkun chuckled: "Uncle, you're overestimating this exile land. Cultivation resources are almost non-existent, and it's hard enough just to fill one's stomach. Those who can break through to High Martial are few and far between here. With that kind of strength, who would stay in this prison? They'd have left long ago. Probably Initial Martial—still some distance from High Martial. But he has the strength of a thousand jin, which makes him quite a fighter here."When he said "strength of a thousand jin," a hint of self-mockery crossed his face. Once, when he still had his cultivation, he would never have cared about such trivial "weighty" matters. Now, however, he had to admit that "a thousand jin of strength" was quite impressive.The so-called Initial Martial was essentially insignificant. The reputable cultivation realms were divided into four levels: High Martial, Human Immortal, Earth Immortal, and Heavenly Immortal. Beyond that lay realms beyond "immortality."Naturally, there were countless insignificant people in the world—living beings as numerous as stars.Qi Ziru's tone took on a questioning edge: "If he hasn't reached High Martial, you must have many men with similar strength among those you recruited. Why leave the two of them alive? Could it be that they're in hiding and you can't find them?"Only then did Shen Youkun understand why his uncle had asked about Shi Chun's cultivation. He replied instinctively: "It's not that I can't find them..." He paused, looking somewhat embarrassed.But since they weren't outsiders, he quickly gathered his courage to explain: "Uncle, you don't understand—Shi Chun is truly crafty and hard to deal with. Born and raised here, he grew up fighting and killing for survival, fearing no death. If we move against him, we must succeed in one strike—hit the snake and kill it immediately. Otherwise, he'll cling to us relentlessly. He's always been the type to bite back when wronged."Secrecy is paramount for our mission; we shouldn't get entangled with such scoundrels. That's why I spared no expense to lure him away. Our main task comes first. I planned to let it slide for now and deal with him slowly once he left—there are plenty of ways to get rid of him outside. It should have been foolproof, but who knew this villain would refuse to leave? I was truly caught off guard."Qi Ziru glanced at him sideways: "Since there's an unexpected turn, how can you be sure he won't discover the commotion here? This is after all his long-standing territory."Shen Youkun quickly bent down, humbling himself to assure: "Uncle, rest assured—I know exactly where they are. I've posted people to watch them secretly. They're currently meditating and cultivating in their lair. I'll be notified immediately of any movement; they'll never detect anything unusual here."Qi Ziru looked down at the busy workers in the mountain gully. There was no point in pursuing the matter further, so he changed the subject: "Are the people you recruited reliable?"Shen Youkun bent even lower: "Reliable. They're all recruited from other regions and barely know each other. Before coming here, they had no idea they were heading to Dong Jiuyuan or what they'd be doing.""As I said before, this matter must not be leaked..." Qi Ziru spoke slowly, turning his gaze back to the afterglow of the setting sun. Pausing for a moment, he added weakly: "After it's done, leave no one alive.""Uncle, don't worry—I've prepared a backup plan." Shen Youkun whispered in his ear. Straightening up slightly, he suddenly thought of something and asked in confusion: "Uncle, what exactly is that dragon bone dug up underground? What use can a pile of bones be, worth you paying such a heavy price?"He naturally knew his uncle hadn't truly been exiled here for committing a crime. Instead, his superiors had no confidence in him, fearing he couldn't hold the line, so they sent a more capable person to take charge. The exile land wasn't a place just anyone could enter or leave casually—the price was deliberately committing a crime, then being stripped of cultivation and exiled in accordance with the rules.That meant abandoning years of hard-earned cultivation!"Who knows what use it is?" Qi Ziru even mocked himself, a hint of sorrow flickering in his eyes. He raised a hand toward the setting sun, grasping at the void as if muttering to himself: "Since ancient times, there have been various doubts about the claim that ancient sages separated heaven and earth. Many believe there is no distinction between heaven and earth at all—chaos still exists, and we have always lived in it. It's just that our mortal eyes see so little, and what we can touch is negligible. In truth, there are many things we cannot see or touch, and many powers we cannot feel."Shen Youkun looked puzzled by this exclamation, wondering what it had to do with his uncle's trip.Immediately afterward, Qi Ziru gave him the answer: "Before being ordered to come here, your grandmother did give me some instructions. Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a divine beast—extremely long, resembling a snake—called the 'Female General.' Born from chaos, it lived within chaos itself."Later, the clan accidentally discovered an ancient cave mansion. In an ancient book found inside, there was a record stating that a certain ancient god's mount was a giant spiritual snake. Wingless and unable to fly, it could traverse between the tangible and intangible realms of heaven and earth, and even predict disasters in advance. Its description matches the 'Female General.' Unfortunately, it was killed in a great war."For this reason, the clan secretly spent a great deal of effort searching for a long time before finally locating the burial place of the ancient god's mount." As he spoke, he pointed down at the excavation site.Even without the gesture, Shen Youkun, who had been listening in a daze, had already guessed. But he still didn't understand: "What's the point of finding it? Can it be used as medicine, refined into treasures, or aid cultivation?"Qi Ziru said calmly: "If the 'Female General' truly existed, it would verify whether chaos really persists."Shen Youkun exclaimed: "Just for that?"Qi Ziru added: "That's what they say—do you believe it? Obviously, they also want to bring it back to see if it has any other extraordinary effects."Shen Youkun couldn't believe it: "For such an uncertain possibility, grandmother was willing to let you abandon your lifelong cultivation and be exiled here?""If it were definitely something significant, would it be our turn to oversee this matter? We wouldn't even be qualified to know about it. Do you think I wanted to come? When you got into trouble, your mother cried and begged me to find a way to help you survive here. I secretly broke the exile land's rules, and the clan found out. What else could your grandmother do?" Qi Ziru lost his temper and slammed his hand on the armrest of the recliner.Shen Youkun fell silent. So his uncle had been exiled here because of him. He understood—saying they "discovered" his uncle broke the rules was just an excuse for the clan. After all, no one was willing to have their cultivation stripped and be sent here. Someone had to be forced to take charge. For a moment, he didn't know what to say."Sigh." Qi Ziru sighed slowly: "It's done now—dwelling on it is useless. Just focus on getting the job done properly. Your grandmother will keep an eye out outside, and the clan has promised that once the matter is resolved, they'll find a way to get us out early, restore our foundations and cultivation abilities, and reward us generously."Seeing his nephew's eyes suddenly light up with joy, he quickly warned: "You know the consequences of leaking the news. It's not about worrying about losing the bones underground—it's that our actions have broken the exile land's rules. That 'warden Nie' who was exiled here to guard the place is a ruthless character who dares to defy heavenly laws. If he gets serious, even the clan can't withstand it. In the end, we'll have to take the blame ourselves. You should know what fate awaits us.""Uncle, don't worry. We've already found that dragon bone. At this scale, we should be able to dig it all up in half a day. We've been digging for over a month without incident—what could go wrong now that we're wrapping up? My only worry is how to move such a huge thing out.""Our job is to secretly confirm and find the item. As for how to move it out, that's not our concern—someone else will handle it."