He shouldn’t have let her travel alone. The next time Jiang Wanqin left, he would definitely have to assign a few disciples to accompany her for his own peace of mind.

The rest of the journey passed in silence. Upon returning to the Qingyuan Sect, Fang Qingyuan held a banquet to thank the Cultivators from the Far East Alliance and his fellow disciples from the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect who had come to help. He gave each of them a small reward, earning praise from all for his generosity.

After his guests departed, Fang Qingyuan returned to his Quiet Chamber, where he finally had the time to reprimand Jiang Wanqin. His harsh scolding left her weeping into her hands. Fang Qingyuan punished her with one year of seclusion to reflect on her actions, after which he considered the matter closed.

He held Jiang Kui’s handwritten letter. In it, she wrote that she had originally planned to abandon Yuanling Mountain and split her family into three. One part would stay on Yuanling Mountain, another would return to her ancestral home in Qi Yun, and the third would join Fang Qingyuan.

However, the grand arrival of Di Yuanpu and his entourage had given her hope. After hearing the rumors Di Qing had put out, she wanted to observe the situation a little longer before making her plans.

At the end of the letter, Jiang Kui mentioned that she had already advanced to the Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer and that she might even live to see the scenery of the Golden Core Realm.

She was sustained by the resources from Yuanling Mountain and Yuanling Square Marketplace, so of course she had no desire to come to the Qingyuan Sect and live in poverty. These two assets now provided her with dozens, if not hundreds, of Top-grade Spirit Stones annually. It was only natural that Jiang Kui was reluctant to leave.

He remembered the days when the three of them had first arrived at Yuanling Mountain. The entire mountain, young and old, had relied on the two or three Top-grade Spirit Stones from the mines just to survive. They had been poor, but happy.

But happiness was nothing compared to cultivation. Jiang Kui had enjoyed this level of wealth for decades, and as long as the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect stood, she would continue to do so. To no longer have to scramble for Spirit Stones—that was the extent of her ambition.

After finishing the letter, Fang Qingyuan silently burned it and watched the ashes scatter. He had given Jiang Kui another chance, but just like those ashes, it was fated to dissipate. The bond they had shared years ago was now little more than a fading memory.

With Di Qing in power, Jiang Kui would certainly be unwilling to come to the Qingyuan Sect, so there was no need to ask again. As for Yuanling Mountain and Yuanling Square Marketplace, the foundation Fang Qingyuan himself had built from scratch—more than twenty years had passed, and they no longer had any connection to him.

’So be it, Senior Sister Jiang. You’re on your own now.’

Inside the Quiet Chamber, Fang Qingyuan stood silently for a moment, then went to the Jade Couch and began to cultivate. He was still seven or eight years from reaching Foundation Establishment Sixth-Layer Perfection, at which point he, too, would become a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation was the standard for being a minor hegemon in White Mountain. Even within the Far East Alliance, it would grant him significant influence.

In the next seven years, the Qingyuan Sect would surely be better off than it was now, and it would only continue to improve. Yuanling Mountain, on the other hand, had a ceiling. No matter how it developed, it could never escape the shadow of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect.

For some unknown reason, his thoughts had drifted to these matters. Fang Qingyuan exhaled a long breath, cleared his mind, and began to cultivate in earnest.

...

「Three years later.」

Jiang Wanqin successfully achieved Foundation Establishment. She awakened her Water Element Lifebound: an Ice Cup Flower with Divine Techniques for healing and dispelling poisons.

「Five years later.」

The Far East Alliance was formally established. The Qingyuan Sect occupied one of the top eight seats, granting it three votes in all resolutions, whereas the other Foundation Establishment Sects in the alliance had only one.

The Alliance Leader was the Sect Leader of the Dongming Sect, a decrepit old man who, despite his Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation, didn’t have more than twenty or thirty years left. His appointment was the result of a compromise among all parties involved.

To secure the Qingyuan Sect’s votes, the Dongming Sect gifted it a valuable storefront in Nine Stars Square. With that, the Qingyuan Sect gained yet another stream of revenue.

「Eight years later.」

Fang Qingyuan reached Foundation Establishment Sixth-Layer Perfection. Just as he was preparing to break through to the late stage, he received a piece of news that caused him to lose his composure: Qi Wushuang, the Master of the Shandu, was dead. The alleged killer was Yu He from the Beast Taming Sect’s Main Mountain.

As a result, Yu He was detained by the combined forces of the Spirit Wood Alliance, Lihuo, and Lianshui, all three demanding an explanation.

The Southern Border Beast Taming Sect was the closest, so Di Qing had no choice but to lead his men to the front lines and hold the position, waiting for reinforcements from the Main Mountain to arrive and take charge. The White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, which had merely been an observer, was also caught in the crossfire as the three powers began to deliberately target them.

Disciples from the sect began to die or be injured. Lechuan’s investigation only revealed the culprits to be White Mountain Tribulation Cultivators. In response, he could only recall the sect’s disciples, seal the gates, and wait for the turmoil to pass.

But the tree may wish for calm, yet the wind will not subside. Fifteen years after putting down roots in White Mountain, the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect was facing its first true test.

It was at this time that Fang Qingyuan was summoned back to the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect. Lechuan needed to activate the mole that Fang Qingyuan had planted within the Spirit Wood Alliance years ago.

Years ago, while serving as the head of Miscellaneous Affairs Peak, Fang Qingyuan had traveled to Artifact Talisman City to persuade Qi Wushuang on behalf of Huo Bai, who wanted to meet Huo Hu. On his way back, he was ambushed by the Spirit Wood Alliance. Fortunately, Huo Bai was secretly protecting him, killing several of the attackers and allowing Fang Qingyuan to turn one of their Foundation Establishment Cultivators into his personal mole.

That man was Chai Miao. The original plan had been for Chai Miao to pass intelligence to the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect in order to deal with the Spirit Wood Alliance. But man proposes and Heaven disposes; just as the operation was about to begin, Zhao E Lian rose to power.

The two sides were already on bad terms, and Lechuan had no intention of generously sharing such a hard-won asset with Zhao E Lian. Thus, the spy was left dormant. Now, however, it was clear the three powers harbored ill intentions toward the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, making it crucial to ascertain the Spirit Wood Alliance’s true plans.

More than twenty years had passed in a flash, and in all that time, Lechuan had never contacted Chai Miao. Since Fang Qingyuan was the one who had personally handled the agent’s recruitment, Lechuan felt he could only be at ease if Fang Qingyuan was the one to make contact now.