51: Set off

"Husband, did everything go smoothly today?"

At night, after Lu Xuan and Su Jing had shared an intimate exchange, they slept in each other's arms, whispering private words.

"Mhm, the County Magistrate said we will enter the mountains in three days."

Lu Xuan didn't hide it from Su Jing; he couldn't have even if he wanted to.

"Then, are you confident, Husband?"

Su Jing was familiar with Lu Xuan's methods, so she wasn't as worried about every little thing as she used to be.

"Don't worry, it's just going through the motions; it's nothing significant."

"That's good. Swords and spears have no eyes; Husband, please do not be careless."

In the middle of the night.

[Tomorrow's Immortal Fate: After entering the mountains tomorrow, you will encounter a tiger demon. In its cave, you can obtain earth core profound jade marrow, which contains flame marrow earth core qi. It can be used for Foundation Establishment!]

Over the years, Lu Xuan had stayed in West Mountain Village and hadn't traveled much, so this Immortal Fate Whispers talent hadn't activated many times.

Most of them were minor opportunities; the biggest one was finding a three-hundred-year-old herb in the mountains.

But now, Lu Xuan saw an Opportunity for Foundation Establishment.

Good heavens, he hadn't even begun cultivating yet, so how would he know what this flame marrow earth core qi was for? To think it could lead to Foundation Establishment.

Although he didn't cultivate, he knew just how powerful Foundation Establishment was. If word got out about a Foundation Establishment Opportunity, those Cultivators would likely turn Pingze County upside down to find it.

Setting everything else aside, a three-hundred-year lifespan alone was something ordinary people couldn't even imagine.

This message instantly chased away all of Lu Xuan's sleepiness. Throughout the night, only two words occupied his mind: 'Foundation Establishment'.

"Husband, you're entering the mountains today. Be careful in everything and don't take risks. We'll be waiting at home for your safe return."

Su Jing helped Lu Xuan put on his light armor and checked his food and weapons.

"Don't worry, wife, I will be careful."

"Wen Tao, Da Fu, Wei Feng."

"Family Head!"

"While I am away, the Mistress will have the final say in all matters. I have already notified Jing'an, and he will return today."

"Azure Cloud Workshop will temporarily be managed by Ye Feng."

"After I leave, focus all efforts on training the Martial Guards. Also, draft two hundred villagers for daily training. This time, West Mountain Village wasn't required to provide men, but that might not be the case next time."

"Yes! Rest assured, Family Head. If anyone dares to cause trouble while you're away, the three of us will surely execute them."

"I'm at ease with you here. If something major happens, you can come find me. The imperial court will have communication channels set up, so finding me won't be difficult."

"Yes!"

"I'm off!"

Outside, Lu Xuan vaulted onto his horse and cracked his whip.

His voice gradually faded into the wind... "Lu Xuan, Grandmaster cultivation, Grade A-5."

The registrar respectfully handed an iron waist token to Lu Xuan.

"Grandmaster, this is your credential for moving within the military camp and recording merits. Do not lose it."

"Thank you!"

Lu Xuan took the waist token; it read 'Grade A-5'.

Waist tokens for those at the Grandmaster level were all prefixed with 'Grade A', and he was the last number.

It meant there were five Grandmasters, but they had actually ranked him last. It seemed they thought he was the weakest among them.

But it made sense. Lu Xuan had only recently announced his Breakthrough to Grandmaster. Everyone likely assumed he was only at the Early Stage Grandmaster level, which would be a bit inferior compared to those long-established Grandmasters.

However, Lu Xuan didn't have any issue with this ranking; it was just a credential, after all.

He observed that Innate Martial Artists all had tokens starting with 'Grade B', while those below Xiantian started with 'Grade C'.

Furthermore, there were more people in the Martial Artist camp today than yesterday. With a quick glance, Lu Xuan saw over two hundred people gathered here.

Sensing their presence, most were below Xiantian, with only twenty to thirty Xiantian experts.

When the Hour of Chen arrived, Grandmaster Li came out with ten Xiantian personal guards.

"Everyone, the rules have already been stated, so I won't say more. Life and death are fated; wealth and honor are in the hands of Heaven."

"But if anyone violates military orders, do not blame this Grandmaster for being merciless."

"Set out!"

Having said that, Grandmaster Li took the lead, mounting his horse and riding at the front.

Lu Xuan and the others also mounted their horses to follow. The Martial Artists without horses trailed behind, but fortunately, Grandmaster Li's pace wasn't fast, so they weren't left behind.

As the main force left the city, news of the imperial court entering the mountains to suppress the Barbarians spread throughout the city.

"Those Barbarians should have died long ago."

An old man said resentfully, watching the city gate.

"Exactly. Not long ago, they came down the mountain and killed so many of our Yue people, and kidnapped so many others."

Someone nearby immediately agreed.

"I just wonder how many Barbarians they can kill this time."

"This is no small operation. They'll have to kill at least a thousand, killing enough so they won't dare come down the mountain when the village season starts next year."

...Mu Family.

The Mu Family was famous for Alchemy in their original location, with a Peak First-Grade Alchemist in their ranks.

However, among those stationed here in Pingze County, there was only one Alchemy Apprentice.

Even many Cultivation Families claiming to be Foundation Establishment Families mostly had Qi Refinement Stage members stationed in the Yue Kingdom; the Foundation Establishment Elders of the families hadn't come at all.

Otherwise, how could the Prince of Zhennan, a Martial Saint with Foundation Establishment strength, possibly intimidate several Foundation Establishment Families?

Nevertheless, the Mu Family still had one Seventh Layer Qi Refining Cultivator and several others ranging from the First to Fifth Layers of Qi Refining here.

"Elder, Lu Ying has already set out and sent someone to notify us."

"This time, Mu Xuan will lead the team. You two must listen to him."

Standing before him were one Qi Refining Fifth Layer Cultivator and two Third Layer Qi Refining Cultivators.

"Don't worry, this is just a probe. It's mainly those Mortals fighting to the death. Take a few Lightning Strike Talismans and Earth Shield Talismans with you; even if you encounter a Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator, you'll be able to escape."

"Elder, I don't understand. Why are we getting involved in this?"

"You're still young and don't know. You only need to know that many legacies and treasures are buried within these ten-thousand-mile Thousand Peaks Mountain Range."

The Purple Sun Sect is now allowing us to reclaim the land. If we don't keep up this time, we won't even get the leftovers later."

"Then why cooperate with those Mortals? We could explore on our own."

"Hahaha, Xuan'er, you must understand that in these several commanderies, the only true Foundation Establishment combat power belongs to that Martial Saint from Prince Zhennans Estate."

"Even those Foundation Establishment Families only have one or two Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivators stationed here."

"Although that Martial Saint doesn't dare to act recklessly, the consequences of provoking a Martial Saint with Foundation Establishment strength are not something my Mu Family can bear."

"As long as we agree to cooperate, we can divide territories with those families in the mountains afterward."

"In a few decades, we might even find a Foundation Establishment Opportunity,"

"If we can collect 'spiritual essence' within it, that would be a truly immense Opportunity."

"Alright, I've said enough. I'm simply telling you three: safety first, just show your faces."

"Yes."

Similar things were happening in the Lü Family.

After all, it was just the beginning; there was no need for them to act. Their purpose was merely to intimidate Loose Cultivators and the Cultivators in the mountains who supported the Barbarians.

The cold sun hung in the sky.

Lu Xuan and the others entered the mountains and set up camp early.

Moving alongside the Martial Artist camp were several hundred logistics soldiers used for transporting grain, pitching tents, cooking, and so on.

Lu Xuan was a Grandmaster, so he was assigned a tent of his own.

"Where is this tiger demon? I don't know how strong it is, but that's a Foundation Establishment Opportunity. Could the tiger demon guarding it be weak?"

Lu Xuan rested in his tent, but his mind was on the Opportunity he had been alerted to last night.

Having no clues either way, he didn't know for a moment whether he should wait for it to come to him or take the initiative to attack.