The Celestial Sword Sect was also originally poor, with its overall strength being low and having to find ways to survive in the Wilderness World, lacking sources of spirit stones.

Under Ouyang Qing's meticulous calculations, a small amount of wealth was accumulated over the years. After he failed to advance and retreated completely due to the blow of losing his daughter, after Sect Leader Fang Shouye took over, he didn't possess Ouyang Qing's management talent, and the accumulated wealth gradually got spent.

Fortunately, as luck would have it, his grandson, in search of relatives, not only found the only kin but also befriended the powerful and unpredictable Mr. Jiang. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Throughout the summer, Ouyang Qing gathered all the disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect, diligently mining the spirit stone vein found by Mr. Jiang, resulting in a rich harvest.

At long last, the sect had the wealthiest foundation since its establishment.

Yet, even so, it was hard to solve the urgent crisis - the number of suffering people and the vastness of the affected region were unprecedented.

The common people's crops had low yields, and they had to offer tributes to the "gods" protecting the regions, while also paying taxes to landlords and the government, which spread them too thin. As the harvest season faced floods and resulted in no grains, even the big grain merchants' stored grains became increasingly scarce due to repeated mass purchases.

Ouyang Qing knew that those wealthy families surely had grain piled in their granaries, but they were unwilling to sell, and it wasn't appropriate for him as a first-level cultivator to rob them.

And the problem of firewood, fabric, cotton, and other winter supplies was even more troublesome. During non-disaster times, poor people might not be able to wear cotton clothes made from cotton and cloth; now that disaster struck, houses needed to be rebuilt, and fields repaired; where would the winter cotton clothing come from?

"The sect is busy, couldn't accept the invitation to visit Mr. Jiang's courtyard; I wonder how much land he has, could it be mere politeness?" Ouyang Qing muttered to himself.

After all, as a cultivator, would he willingly lower his status to dig for food in the fields? It doesn't seem very realistic.

No matter how great the cultivation technique, it's just about fighting; more about controlling water and soil. Could he use all his spiritual power to control crops, promoting their growth so that ordinary people can eat the harvest?

One would have to be very free to do that!

He sighed heavily and muttered to himself, "Maybe he likes planting some flowers and grass; cultivators, after all, prefer tranquility and elegance. Better think of other ways and avoid troubling Mr. Jiang for now."

Having decided, Ouyang Qing hurriedly went to instruct the sect's disciples to head to Southern Province, where there was an abundance of grain, to make contacts with merchants, with disciples ensuring to personally escort the transportation team.

As he was speaking, suddenly a panicked shout came from afar, "What sect is ahead? Demon Cultivators are attacking! Quickly activate the Sect Protection Array!"

As the words fell, Ouyang Qing already sensed dozens of strong auras coming from the northwest, and his expression changed immediately, "Celestial Sword Sect disciples, listen to my orders! Raise the Sect Protection Array to the highest defense level; disciples on duty, protect the people; Law Enforcement Hall disciples, come with me!"

As one of the cultivators with a relatively high realm in Central Province, he could sense that these auras were much stronger than his, at least in the Golden Core Realm.

Yet the situation remained dire, because dozens of demon energies closely following were comparable, even seemingly stronger!

"Buzz~"

The Sect Protection Array fully operated, emitting a faint yellow glow under the harsh sunlight.

"Senior Brother Zhao, lead everyone to temporarily retreat, I'll cover the rear!" Qingfeng Hall disciple Xue Lin was already injured, with blood still at the corners of her mouth, sensing the necessity of someone to buy time for everyone, she immediately stepped forward.

The long sword in her hand hummed, she pinched a formula with her left hand, and a group of false images appeared around her, while the real bodies of dozens of members from the ancient Ten Great Sects had already vanished.

"Senior Sister Xue, I'll stay and lend you a hand." A slightly hoarse voice murmured in her ear, "Hopefully, Senior Brother Wei's divination technique is accurate; hopefully, this place indeed has a chance of survival, otherwise..."

He didn't finish the sentence, everyone knew if the nearby human sect wasn't strong enough, they might all perish here today.

Disciples from the ancient Ten Great Sects originally hadn't gathered in one place. The Human World and the Wilderness World were roughly equivalent in size; to stop demon cultivators from attacking the human race, they had to scatter, each responsible for overseeing one region.

However, recently demon cultivators unexpectedly set out en masse, not only wreaking havoc on newly risen cultivation families and sects in the Human World but also not sparing ordinary people, seemingly intent on annihilating the entire human race.

Members of the alliance each pursued their investigations, gradually converging at one point, discovering they had fallen for the evil cultivators' trap—these cultivators deliberately committed crimes everywhere, drawing disciples from the ancient Ten Great Sects together, intending to seize the opportunity to wipe them out!

The opposing side carried heavy treasures, making it impossible to send out distress signals to the sects, but fortunately, all disciples were brave and valiant, and with Cloud Concealment Sect disciples adept at divination techniques, they managed to entangle with the enemy for quite some time.

If they could break free from the enemy's magical treasures' constraints for the time of burning a stick of incense, they would be able to summon the sect leaders for support. Senior Brother Wei from Cloud Concealment Sect determined this direction to be the door to life, thus leading everyone to flee swiftly.

"Have we gained enough distance for help?" Xue Lin recognized this person as Chen Junior Brother from Black Tortoise Pavilion, skilled in stealth and assassination, influenced by the sect to fight fiercely against demon cultivators, and didn't force him to join the down-bound sect for refuge.

"The distance is probably enough; although severely disrupted, the sects received the distress signal, it's challenging to pinpoint precisely for now." The person replied solemnly, "Everyone has been chased for days without time to rest, many having lost their combat power. We just need to hold out for a moment, let some senior brothers and sisters catch their breath, and there'll be reinforcements."