Chapter 112 Boarding and Departure

Inside the main hall of the Yun Family estate in Liangxi County.

"Old Ancestor, must you really go?" Yun Chengyue tried to persuade Yun Tiancheng.

Yun Tiancheng's expression was solemn. "My mind is made up. I haven't achieved anything significant in the first half of my life; the rest is just wasting time. I'm going to secure some resources for the Family!"

Yun Tiancheng handed him a sound transmission stone. "This is a contingency plan I've left for the Family. If the Family is ever destroyed, contact this item to preserve our Bloodline. You can trust the person on the other end."

Yun Chengyue nodded. "Understood, Old Ancestor!"

Yun Tiancheng gave a few final instructions. "Alright, stop persuading me. If I can return alive, the Family can reach a new height!"

Yun Chengyue accepted the sound transmission stone and could only say, "Old Ancestor, take care and be cautious in everything."

...Three more days passed, and the people leading the Beast Hunting Sect's departure team were announced: the Beast Hunting Sect's newly promoted Golden Core, True Person Lu.

Another three days passed, and the Alliance released another mission: recruiting Cultivators skilled in producing Medicinal Pills, Talismans, Formations, Puppets, Artifact Refining, and other related crafts.

This mission required a Fourth Grade skill level or higher. The Alliance provided the Materials. Different disciplines were categorized differently; for example, in Formations, they provided Materials for three Fourth Grade Formation Arrays; two sets would go to the Alliance upon completion, and the remaining set would belong to the craftsman!

The assembly point was a large city located behind the eastern front lines of the Southern Border. The completed finished products would be sent directly to the front lines for immediate use. The signing-up Cultivators would follow the liaison person from each Sect, who would be a Golden Core True Person. However, the assembly point was different from the one for Cultivators signing up for the infiltration mission.

Soon, the Beast Hunting Sect announced that Cultivators signing up for this mission should register in a building outside the Sect.

When this mission was announced, it appealed to many Cultivators who were not skilled in combat. Many Cultivators proficient in Formations, Medicinal Pills, and Talismans finally had a chance to utilize their skills. After this news spread, quite a few craftsmen signed up enthusiastically.

Seven more days passed. In Chen Li's Sea of Consciousness, the Place of Opportunity entry, "Taixuan Sect — Fifth-Rank Talisman Master — Yang Ziyang," showed its location information moving eastward, towards the rear of the eastern Sects.

Half a month later, the location information for "Qingyun Sect — Alchemy Pavilion Inner Sect Disciple — Wang Zhian" also moved eastward, heading in the same direction.

On this day, Chen Li set foot on the Beast Hunting Sect's territory; he had come to register.

When he learned that the two individuals linked to the Place of Opportunity information were also heading towards the rear of the eastern front line, he realized they had most likely signed up for this very mission, so he signed up without hesitation.

The registration point was in a pavilion outside the main gate of the Beast Hunting Sect. Quite a few people were present. The number of Cultivators signing up for the infiltration mission was significantly higher than those for production crafts.

This was because the skill requirement was Fourth Grade or above, and one still had to pass a test to successfully register.

The person receiving them was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Sect. Upon seeing Chen Li approach, he scanned his cultivation level—Eighth Level of Qi Refining—and said dismissively, "State your identity! It must be verifiable. Loose Cultivators require three guarantors, as per Alliance requirements, to prevent Demonic Path spies from infiltrating!"

Chen Li's current visible cultivation was Eighth Level of Qi Refining, and he was a Fourth Grade Formation Master. He intended to pretend to compete for a spot to make his Family background appear more normal, which would allow him to use the Alliance's endorsement to reveal his true identity.

"A Cultivator from the Chen Family in Liangxi County, Yuanwu Prefecture, Nanwu Kingdom."

Then, Chen Li presented the letter of recommendation from the Zhu Family of Yuanwu Prefecture. It contained the aura of True Person Zhu Zelin, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage. Recently, every Prefecture's Foundation Establishment powers were required to report their auras to a Golden Core Family for retention. The Golden Core Yang Family and the Luo Family would also compile a list to report to the Beast Hunting Sect!

Layer upon layer, the specific Foundation Establishment Cultivator receiving applications checked the documents and found no issues.

"What skill?"

"Formation!"

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator looked up at Chen Li, handed him a token, and then said, "Go to this room. Use the Formation Materials inside to construct a Formation you are proficient in. Complete it within the specified time. After the Formation is made, take it to the third floor to the Formation verification area; they will inspect it."

"Understood." Chen Li took the token and started heading to the second floor to find a room door.

At this moment, he could see quite a few people holding tokens looking for rooms, and he could also hear the faint fragrance of Alchemy.

Soon, Chen Li found Room Number 36. After opening it with the token, he saw a pile of miscellaneous Formation Materials.

The majority were bones and hides from Yao Beasts, some spirit wood Materials, some Ore, and a few strange and unusual Materials.

Chen Li inspected them one by one. They were all old Materials, the lowest grade among those used for Fourth Grade crafting, but still usable.

For ordinary people, this was a huge test of skill! But for him, it was all the same—a piece of cake!

At this point, Chen Li closed the door, and a countdown appeared on the token.

Seven days to complete a set of Fourth Grade Formations!

In case there were any surveillance methods, Chen Li deliberately delayed until the fourth day to successfully craft a Fourth Grade Attack Array.

The token flashed again, and the room door opened. He could see some Cultivators who had overstayed their allotted time still lingering in the room but were being forcibly escorted out by Sect Cultivators.

Chen Li went up to the third floor. There were far fewer people on the third floor than on the first floor where people were registering. Those on the third floor had all passed the crafting test on the second floor, filtering out another batch—those with excessively low production efficiency were also rejected.

Chen Li found the relevant station and presented the Formation he had crafted.

The Formation Materials provided by the Beast Hunting Sect were all recognizable; he couldn't use a random Formation found elsewhere to pass off as his own.

The inspector was another Foundation Establishment Cultivator, middle-aged in appearance. He carefully examined Chen Li's Formation, then glanced at Chen Li's Eighth Level of Qi Refining cultivation, feeling a hint of surprise!

Although there were people in their Sect at the Eighth Level of Qi Refining who could refine Fourth Grade Formations, few could complete one in just a few days. In the Beast Hunting Sect, this person would certainly be considered a Formation expert!

"Fellow Daoist, your Attack Array has no issues. You have passed the test!"

"Very well, thank you, Fellow Daoist!"

Chen Li successfully registered.

It was good that he could hitch a ride with the Beast Hunting Sect this time. With his two Breath Concealment techniques, he was very confident that unless a Golden Core Early Stage Cultivator investigated him one-on-one, his true cultivation level would be almost impossible to detect.

After successfully registering, he received another token, this one belonging to the Alliance. It contained information such as the assembly point and departure time; his personal information was also recorded within the token by the Alliance.

However, departure was not immediate, as each batch of registered Cultivators had different schedules. His departure was set for one month later.

...Returning to Black Magpie Mountain, Chen Li informed Zhu Lingyue of the news.

Inside Concentric Heart Hall, Zhu Lingyue said to Chen Li, "Husband, rest assured, I will manage things here!"

"Mhm. This trip might be quite far. You can make decisions on all household matters. Communicate often with the children!"

"Understood, Husband!"

Chen Li gave a few more instructions, and the next day, he went to the Beast Hunting Sect's market to cautiously sell goods, accumulating one hundred thousand Spirit Stones for the Family.

He also bought quite a few Talismans this time. With all preparations complete, he just had to wait for departure.

On this day, Chen Li was drinking tea at Zizai Pavilion. He summoned the few members of the song generation. Except for Chen Songli, who was in seclusion, and the younger Chen Songmei, the three song generation siblings were all present.

Chen Li informed them at Zizai Pavilion that he was going on a long journey, making sure they were all aware.

Chen Songxuan said, "Father, everything at home is normal now. Mother, Eldest Sister, and I will look after the Family!"

Chen Li was gratified. "Mhm, you brothers and sisters must help each other!"

Chen Songxiao said, "Father, there are quite a few Magical Artifacts in the Artifact Refining Residence's warehouse. Why not take a few more with you?"

"Haha, alright, I understand. Don't worry about me!"

Chen Li gave a few more instructions, and the siblings left.

Finally, Chen Li left a message for Chen Songli, confident that she could handle the Family affairs.

On this day, Chen Songmei seemed to have learned that Chen Li was leaving for a long journey.

She personally came to find Chen Li and steamed a spirit fish for him to eat if he got hungry on the road.

Chen Li was left speechless and had no choice but to accept his little daughter's affection!

Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Li was fully prepared. Formations, Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, Talismans were all ready, along with a large number of Spiritual Plants he needed to sell.

Outside the Beast Hunting Sect, a Sixth Grade spirit boat was already anchored beside the Sect's grounds.

Many Cultivators waiting to board were chattering excitedly, eager to set off.

This spirit boat had three decks. The uppermost deck was where the Golden Core True Person Lu was stationed. The middle deck was for the infiltration Cultivators to reside in. The lowest deck was for them, the immortal crafting artisans.

He mingled with the crowd while waiting to board. He activated his two Breath Concealment techniques, and no one suspected his cultivation level.

At this moment, True Person Lu's voice reached everyone's ears, "Time is up! Board according to your token type!"