After leaving Yu Cheng Taoist’s courtyard, Wang Ping stood before the locust tree outside for a long time. This tree was completely devoid of spirituality, just an ordinary tree.

After a long while, Wang Ping silently rose into the sky. He first looked out toward Liu Shuang’s Dao Field. Liu Shuang was alone now, dressed in casual silks and sitting in her courtyard playing her guzheng. Her Spiritual Dog circled happily in front of her.

The town at the foot of the mountain grew increasingly prosperous, eventually absorbing the nearby Wang Family Village. The heart of Yongshan County was also shifting this way; even the County Magistrate’s Office had relocated to the mountain town. City walls had been built along the river on its outskirts, where Government Soldiers patrolled from time to time.

The outskirts were dotted with the mansions of wealthy families, among which stood the many Dao Fields of Qianmu Temple’s disciples. All of these Dao Fields were officially affiliated with Qianmu Temple.

In front of the Inner Courtyard gate.

A constant stream of visitors came and went, people from all walks of life. There were even officials from the Prefecture City, as all official documents sent from there to Shangjing had to be brought here for review first.

"A lot has changed, hasn’t it?"

Yu Lian hovered beside Wang Ping. "Look over there. The main road we took when we first descended the mountain is now the most prosperous part of town. The river next to it has been widened several times over, and at night, there are beautiful flower boats. I heard from Little Yu’Er that most of those businesses are jointly owned by your family and the Daoist Temple. They earn hundreds of thousands of taels a year."

Wang Ping followed Yu Lian’s gaze. The small channel outside Wang Family Village had widened so much it could now be called a river. Its banks were lined with countless pavilions and storied buildings, and on the water, scholars were boating for leisure.

The path that used to lead to a small, spontaneously formed market now opened into a huge plaza. The market itself had been relocated to a designated area further east. Where the plaza met Qianmu Mountain stood a magnificent gate, typically guarded by ten Qi Cultivators.

On the mountain steps between the main gate and the Daoist Temple, the stream of worshippers was nearly constant. The temple’s dilapidated old entrance had long been replaced by a gatehouse pavilion made of large, red-lacquered timbers. Here, the faithful could ascend to take in the view, and food and wine were available if they grew hungry.

Past the gatehouse pavilion was the front hall, where offerings were made to the Saints and True Monarchs of the Taoist Family, as well as the past patriarchs of Qianmu Temple. The incense smoke here had not ceased for decades.

Behind the front hall lay the cultivation area for the Outer Sect, which was now more than ten times its original size and could accommodate at least five thousand disciples.

Further up the mountain was the Inner Courtyard, where several hundred disciples from its various institutes cultivated. Including the disciples from the Metal, Water, Fire, and Earth Institutes, the number of capable Inner Sect Disciples at Qianmu Temple was now approaching one thousand.

These disciples had all been selected by the outlying Dao Fields before being sent here. Every one of them was the cream of the crop, yet there were almost no prospects among them capable of breaking through to the next realm.

’Watching them, I feel pretty lucky.’

With a turn, Wang Ping appeared atop an undeveloped, solitary peak at the very center of the Nine Extremes Array.

Sensing Wang Ping’s mood, Yu Lian asked, "Are you going to build the Alchemy Room here?"

"Yes. This is another massive undertaking. Just channeling the Spiritual Qi from the Nine Extremes Array will be a problem. At our previous pace, it will take at least ten years to complete this project."

Wang Ping landed atop the solitary peak, gazing out at the surrounding mountains and rivers. The once-barren mountain forests now saw the occasional disciple passing through, and in scenic spots, one could even find scholars and poets of special status drinking and making merry.

"What do you think of this place?"

"I don’t know." As she spoke, Yu Lian trotted over to a nearby winter-blooming Ice Blue Flower. She twitched her nose, sniffing it, then licked the nectar from inside.

’To be honest, I can’t stand this kind of work,’ Wang Ping thought. The very idea of having to connect the Spiritual Power of the Nine Extremes Array gave him a headache, because it meant he would have to personally inscribe all the connecting runes.

’Still, no matter how difficult, it has to be done.’ He didn’t know what this "great chaos" everyone talked about would entail. It could be strife between Cultivators, conflict among the major sects, or perhaps wars between regions like those fought at the founding of the Xia Dynasty. Whatever it was, conflict was inevitable, and an ample supply of Elixirs would be crucial in a fight.

With that in mind, Wang Ping took out a sufficiently large sheet of Xuan paper. He planned to first sketch a blueprint based on the surrounding landscape, a step that required immense patience. Yu Lian, who knew this well, watched him for a moment. Her vertical pupils blinked, and then she said, "I’m going to Baisui Lake to see if Little Qianqian is back."

Wang Ping found this amusing. After giving a sound of acknowledgment, he poured all of his focus into the blueprints.

’As for upgrading the Purgatory Banner, there’s no need to rush.’

Before he knew it, ten days had passed. After numerous revisions to his blueprints, he finally had a basic outline, but it was still far from complete.

Yu Lian came to visit once a day, each time bringing him different fruits that had been offered as tribute by the wealthy families nearby.

「One day.」

While Wang Ping was contemplating the routing for the Fire Institute’s Spiritual Qi, the Inspiration Realm suddenly gave him a deeply uncomfortable feeling. He put away his half-finished blueprint and looked toward Yu Lian, who was draped over a tree branch, sunbathing.

Yu Lian remained calm, apparently not sharing his feeling.

Wang Ping raised an eyebrow. He took out two Copper Coins and casually performed a divination. The result was normal. Puzzled, he looked up at the sky. The winter sun was captivating.

Suddenly, a flash of cyan light flared in the northwest.

Wang Ping’s and Yu Lian’s gazes sharpened. That was the spiritual disturbance caused by a battle between Great Realm Cultivators. It reminded Wang Ping of the incident at Yongming Port.

Yu Lian immediately scrambled onto Wang Ping, and they ascended into the sky. Just then, an incredibly pure aura of Taiyin Qi appeared on the horizon. Wang Ping hastily drew upon the Spiritual Qi of the Nine Extremes Array, then extended a finger and tapped lightly. A Protective Shield formed from Wood Spirit Qi instantly enveloped Qianmu Mountain and the town below.

Unlike the incident at Yongming Port, the two distant lights didn’t vanish quickly. Instead, they were locked in a dogfight across the sky, moving rapidly. Though their power diminished as they moved, their trajectory was aimed straight for Shang’an Prefecture. It seemed someone was trying to escape by sea. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Wang Ping’s heart sank. He took out the Copper Coins and performed another divination. The result was auspicious. Feeling slightly relieved, he glanced down at the town, which was showing signs of panic. He then descended to the edge of the light barrier and summoned his Soldier Talisman and Sword Talisman.

「More than an hour later.」

Hu Qianqian from Wudao Prefecture and Guangxuan from Sanhe Prefecture arrived at his side. The wealthy households from the mansions outside the town below had also taken the first opportunity to enter the protection of the light barrier.

The battle—or rather, the chase—to the northwest was still ongoing. Wang Ping sensed that they were about to cross into the territory of Shang’an Prefecture.

A dense Taiyin Qi rained down upon the earth with the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi, corrupting vast swaths of vegetation. The plants withered and died at a rate visible to the naked eye. Wang Ping extended a hand and sent out two streams of Wood Spirit Qi, dispelling the corruption in a hundred-li radius around them.

"Are they coming?" Hu Qianqian asked, a little nervous.

"Don’t worry. There’s no way a Taiyin Cultivator could be at the Third Realm, and it’s even more impossible for one at the Fourth Realm to show up here." Wang Ping had no idea what they were about to face, but he had to remain composed.

He wasn’t wrong. All Third Realm Taiyin Cultivators were in a state of slumber, and the Third Realm experts within the Evil Cultivation Organization were mostly Artifact Cultivators or Star Gods.

The moment the words left his mouth, the auras of the combatants became tangible. It wasn’t a duel between two people, but a chaotic free-for-all involving more than a dozen individuals.

"Fellow Daoist Changqing, quickly, stop them!" The voice of High-level Patrol Envoy Dan Chen carried across several hundred li, reaching Wang Ping’s ears.