330: Viewing flowers through the mist, the battlefield of the Peach Blossom Sect

Without delaying further at White Crane Lake, Liu Xuan stayed for less than an hour with his wives and children to reminisce about the past before the fleet set off again.

Upon entering the Peach Blossom Sect territory, Liu Xuan ordered the flying boat to slow down, wanting to see the actual situation below for himself.

In some fields, the Big Yellow Rice was a lush green, already at the stage of heading. When the wind blew, one could still see scattered Mortal farmers working within.

Big Yellow Rice was only the lowest-grade unranked spiritual rice, but it had no specific growth environment requirements and its yield was quite good.

Fasting Pills refined from Big Yellow Rice were the most cost-effective cultivation Medicinal Pills for low-level Cultivators. Big Yellow Rice was also the main material for Qi Essence Pills and Yuan Replenishing Pills; many Middle Stage of Qi Refining and Late Stage Cultivators would also eat some during their daily cultivation to reduce consumption.

Despite the Low Grade of Big Yellow Rice, its high yield made it a consistently important resource in the cultivation world.

Because Big Yellow Rice required a large number of Mortals to plant and tend to, Mortals were also an important resource in the cultivation world. Regardless of the power, there were more or less regulations prohibiting the mass slaughter of Mortals, and wars would try to avoid affecting Mortal settlements.

“The Beast Taming Sect has begun organizing and restoring order among the Mortals. It seems the outskirts of the Peach Blossom Sect are truly stable now!”

Continuing forward, Liu Xuan also discovered some cultivation markets established on Spiritual Veins, including Artifact Refining workshops, Alchemy rooms, Talisman rooms... including various derivative cultivation industries.

Ore refining, Talisman ink and paper production, preliminary processing of Yao Beast Materials, production of basic Materials for Formation Flags... even before completely occupying the Peach Blossom Sect, the Beast Taming Sect had already begun managing operations.

On one hand, they had no choice; with such a large army of Cultivators coming, everyone needed to eat.

On the other hand, the Beast Taming Sect did not want to work hard to attack the Peach Blossom Sect only to have the Heavenly Sword Sect take all the benefits through trade price differences; developing their own industries was urgent.

“Once the Beast Taming Sect develops, the status of cities like Feiyu City will definitely decline gradually. My choice to come to the Peach Blossom Sect early to develop was correct!”

When the fleet arrived at the former Golden Core Sect, the Bone Fiend Sect, Liu Xuan's thought became even firmer.

The Bone Fiend Sect had now been converted into an immortal city, with countless Beast Taming Sect Cultivators moving through it, its scale being almost the same as Feiyu City.

As long as the Beast Taming Sect successfully took over the Peach Blossom Sect, Feiyu City's business would definitely be affected. Not necessarily a complete decline, but profits would at least decrease significantly.

By then, with the Heavenly Sword Sect's exploitation, the Liu Family would become mere workers, with no spare resources to support the clan's cultivation, let alone resources to expand their industries.

The fleet stopped at Bone Fiend City. Liu Xuan's children and most of the Merchant Alliance people stayed behind; their mission was to develop the Merchant Alliance's business here while the Beast Taming Sect's early industries were still immature.

Using An Yunxi's name, the Merchant Alliance could even participate in the city's construction, offering many benefits.

After stopping at Bone Fiend City for about an hour, Liu Xuan continued flying forward in the Sword Shadow Flowing Light flying boat.

After traveling thousands of miles deeper, the scenery began to turn desolate, with the air filled with the lingering aura of military Formation Evil Qi and traces of great battles visible everywhere.

Some Cultivators were processing the battlefield, collecting various damaged resources, using techniques to smooth out the earth's veins, and organizing manpower to reclaim fields... Seeing a third-rank flying boat fly overhead, these Cultivators were accustomed to it and continued their work, with only a few looking up.

The further they flew into the heart of the Peach Blossom Sect, the thicker the military Formation Evil Qi became, along with a special lingering scent of Demonic Qi.

The entire sky appeared a murky dark red, the Spiritual Qi was chaotic, and the atmosphere was disturbing to one's mind.

Staying in such an environment for a long time would gradually make one irritable, prone to destruction, and dismissive of life, including one's own!

Looking down from high above, as a top-tier third-rank Formation Master, Liu Xuan could clearly feel the entire world shrouded under the connection of Formation auras, and more than one layer.

This was not a Formation built upon mountain ranges or earth veins, but a grand array composed of a vast number of Cultivators.

“A grand array of such scale, covering no less than a hundred thousand miles and involving at least ten million, or even a hundred million cultivators—it's simply terrifying!!”

However, the stability of a grand array of this scale was not actually high; it could not concentrate its power in one place. It was more like a large-scale status buff, or a sturdy giant net.

From the perspective of Formation complexity, this kind of grand array was far inferior to the exquisite Rank 4 top-tier Star Array; a Rank 4 Low Grade Military Formation Master could preside over its arrangement. Its power was entirely supported by the massive number of Cultivators.

“With such a grand array, and a Nascent Soul True Lord taking action, it would be enough to injure or even kill a Late Stage Nascent Soul True Lord. The Peach Blossom Demon Lord is in danger!”

“Hmm?!!”

“Why is there no smell of blood here?”

Liu Xuan cultivated the Kunpeng Swallowing Heaven Body Refining Method and had consumed countless blood transformation demon pills of various grades, making him extremely sensitive to the smell of blood.

This was a battlefield where countless Cultivators and Yao Race had died; logically, the smell of blood should be very thick.

“That's not right!”

“There is also a Formation underground!”

Activating the Eye of Delusion Breaking, Liu Xuan's gaze penetrated deep underground, seeing the flow of energy within.

“There is a suction force underground; all blood, vitality, and souls are converging toward... the Peach Blossom Sect!”

“This must be the so-called Myriad Spirits Grand Array! Using countless battlefield lives as the price, the Peach Blossom Demon Lord is planning something big!”

Liu Xuan had heard the name 'Myriad Spirits' from Yun Xian, but she hadn't explained it in depth.

The Beast Taming Sect clearly knew the Peach Blossom Demon Lord's plan, yet they still expended a large number of Cultivators' lives. Was it a forced compromise, or... was the Beast Taming Sect actually helping the Peach Blossom Demon Lord, or did they have some other purpose?

Liu Xuan didn't have enough information, and his own level was insufficient; everything was like looking at flowers through a mist, unclear.

About thirty thousand miles into the Peach Blossom Sect, a massive military Formation fortress appeared before Liu Xuan's eyes, with countless flying boats of all sizes filling the horizon.

A phantom of a giant green feather-shaped sword spanned the left side of the fortress, with terrifying Sword Intent rampaging.

A black panther phantom crouched on the right side, its ferocious aura even surpassing the Sword Intent.

This was one of the grand array's nodes. Liu Xuan came here because this was where Shen Yunshu was stationed; that black panther phantom was the contracted beast of a Late Golden Core Great True Person from the Beast Taming Sect.

Besides her, Xiao Changfeng was also here. Liu Xuan planned to stay here using Wang Qiao's identity first, and then use his Incarnation to visit True Lord Haoran.

With her Late Golden Core Stage cultivation, Shen Yunshu had hope of forming a Nascent Soul in this life. Military merits from the Beast Taming Sect were very important to her, making her one of the most active participants.

Staying in the Heavenly Sword Sect, she would have almost no chance of forming a Nascent Soul. In fact, she was quite similar to Liu Xuan; once she became a Nascent Soul True Lord, she would likely leave the Heavenly Sword Sect immediately and join the Beast Taming Sect.

However, unlike Liu Xuan, her ties to the Heavenly Sword Sect were too deep, and the Heavenly Sword True Monarch could not easily let her leave.

Half of the military merits she earned had to be handed over to the Heavenly Sword Sect, and the Heavenly Sword Sect held the industries she had accumulated over her lifetime.