Unfolding the map, Lechuan pointed to the deep red dots and three black skulls marked on it and said gravely,

"Each of these red dots represents a Golden Core Demon Beast, and these three black skulls mark the lairs of Nascent Soul Demon Beasts. Nascent Soul Cultivators can’t descend onto White Mountain, so the most powerful cultivators here are only at Late-stage Golden Core. That’s why even they don’t dare to trespass into the depths of the Barbaric Wilderness. The Pill Alliance has seven Golden Core Cultivators, but they’re unwilling to let them take such a risk. This is the reason the Pill Alliance has come to us for help."

Lechuan was breaking down the situation for Fang Qingyuan. There were some things Fang Qingyuan didn’t understand, and as his master, Lechuan would often give him pointers in their daily interactions.

"Golden Core Cultivators are in greater danger in the Barbaric Wilderness. Because of the nature of their Golden Cores, they are more likely to attract the attention of Golden Core Demon Beasts, and even Nascent Soul Demon Beasts. In comparison, Foundation Establishment Cultivators are actually much safer."

Lechuan pointed to the black skull closest to the border of the Land Realm and began to explain the origins of this Nascent Soul ancient beast to Fang Qingyuan.

"The Cloud-Clawed Lizard, an ancient beast at the Mid-stage Nascent Soul level. It’s an Earth Attribute beast residing in Moyun Valley. Its territory spans a seven-hundred-li radius and contains eight Golden Core Demon Beasts. It’s the closest to the border and very dangerous. However, this ancient beast loves to slumber and rarely awakens. It generally won’t be roused unless a Cultivator of a similar level enters its territory."

After describing the Cloud-Clawed Lizard, Lechuan continued to tell Fang Qingyuan about the other two ancient beasts: the Wind Breath Returning Soil Beast and the Golden Reng Bear.

These three Nascent Soul ancient beasts lay between Awakening Lion Valley and the territories of the nine Golden Core Sects of Nine Stars Square, occupying a Land Realm spanning three thousand li. If human Cultivators wanted to enter Awakening Lion Valley, they would have to cross the territories of these three ancient beasts.

In addition to these three Nascent Soul ancient beasts, Lechuan also went over the many Golden Core Demon Beasts marked on the map for Fang Qingyuan. Looking at the densely packed notes, Fang Qingyuan felt a surge of emotion.

The disciples of the Beast Taming Sect had spent immense effort, some even paying with their lives, to obtain this information, yet Lechuan was sharing it all with him directly.

If Vice Master Ling Ziqing saw this, he would probably curse Lechuan for his blatant favoritism.

"Did Han Ping say what the exact destination is?"

Lechuan asked casually. Fang Qingyuan shook his head.

"He refused to say. He only said we won’t be going too deep. I imagine we won’t be going as far as Awakening Lion Valley."

"It’s best you don’t. Qingyuan, you should know, the Old Lion in Awakening Lion Valley is no simple Divinity Transformation existence. Back then, after our three sects jointly pioneered Silver Elephant Mountain, several Divinity Transformation Cultivators tried to probe the Old Lion to gather firsthand intelligence in preparation for the next pioneering campaign.

"But the result was that those Divinity Transformation Cultivators were sent packing in defeat. As things stand, that Old Lion is one of the most powerful known beings in the part of the Barbaric Wilderness that borders human territory. The Great Zhou Academy strictly forbids this information from being leaked, fearing it would cause mass panic.

"But after being disturbed by human forces for the first time since the last pioneering war, the Old Lion only woke up, threw a fit, and then fell back into a deep sleep. Just keep this to yourself and don’t spread it around. I doubt the Pill Alliance or the Spirit Wood Alliance know any of this. What can I say? Our roots run deep."

As he finished, Lechuan smiled smugly, his tone dripping with contempt for the "White Mountain natives."

During the last pioneering campaign, the strongest powers on White Mountain to take part were only a few Nascent Soul Cultivators, and even they had to use a Secret Technique to descend. Meanwhile, the true Master of White Mountain never made an appearance.

As a result, even though this pioneering campaign is taking place on White Mountain’s own turf, these White Mountain natives are acting like a guest army. The main force consists of Cultivators summoned by the Great Zhou Academy from the South Sea.

Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan chuckled along. The White Mountain Beast Taming Sect certainly had the pride to look down on the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Pill Alliance, but they were helpless at the moment. It was never pleasant to live under someone else’s roof; all they could do was find some humor in their predicament.

"Han Ping revealed that they’ve secured passage through Yan Nanxing, the Sect Leader of the Yan Gui Sect. The party will cut straight through the Yan Family’s territory, saving over two thousand li of travel. The Pill Alliance needs five people at the Foundation Establishment realm from our side. Music Master, what are your arrangements?"

Lechuan pondered for a moment before his gaze fell on Fang Qingyuan.

"Ah, Qingyuan, you know the situation in the sect. We only have about ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators in total, and all of them are swamped with work. The Pill Alliance wants five all at once; I can’t just pull them out of thin air. How about... you and Wanqin help your master out and fill two of the spots?"

Fang Qingyuan immediately wanted to shake his head and refuse. He didn’t mind cultivating a few hundred li into the Barbaric Wilderness, but he didn’t want to go any deeper. Besides, he didn’t trust working with the Pill Alliance. If the Spirit Wood Alliance decided to cause trouble, he would be in grave danger.

And what good would the promised rewards be? The Demon Beasts of the Barbaric Wilderness wouldn’t care about any of that. He was confident he could escape from a Golden Core Demon Beast, but that didn’t mean it was a risk worth taking.

’I need to think of a tactful way to decline,’ he thought. But since Lechuan himself had asked, a blunt refusal would look terrible.

Just as Fang Qingyuan was searching for an excuse, Lechuan chuckled.

"I won’t have you work for free. Take a look, what’s this?"

The next moment, Lechuan produced a gleaming, plump, perfectly round fruit from his storage bag. It looked as if it were forged from pure gold, and he dangled it in front of Fang Qingyuan.

"A Tier Three High Grade Geng Metal Forest Dao Fruit. A wonderful item for enhancing the aptitude of a Metal Spirit Root. I believe your Jinbao has been stuck at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment for many years, hasn’t it? With this, it’s guaranteed to advance. Care to reconsider?"

The moment Fang Qingyuan saw Lechuan produce the fruit, he snatched it away. He then patted his chest and declared:

"Master, rest assured! Qingyuan will not fail this mission. Just wait for my good news!"

After Fang Qingyuan left, Lechuan stroked his beard and thought to himself,

’Silly boy. As if I couldn’t handle you. This fruit was originally your reward for bringing me the news of Chai Ping’s Nascent Soul Transformation. I sold that information for a hefty price; this is just a portion of your cut.’

Leaving the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, Fang Qingyuan was in an excellent mood. He had just gotten a Tier Three High Grade Spirit Fruit for free, and the rewards promised by the Pill Alliance were still waiting for him.

But he couldn’t feed the fruit to Jinbao just yet. They were heading into the Barbaric Wilderness in a few days, and he had a great need for Jinbao. With his Spirit Beast by his side, his journey would be much easier.

Aboard the Spiritual Boat, Jinbao, beside Fang Qingyuan, remained blissfully unaware of the hardship that awaited it.

「Half a month later.」

In front of the Qingyuan Sect’s main gate, Jiang Wanqin stood behind Fang Qingyuan, her expression betraying a hint of nervousness. She hadn’t been away from the sect much over the years, and ever since Fang Qingyuan had told her she would be accompanying him to the Barbaric Wilderness, her heart had been filled with anxiety.

Fang Qingyuan, on the other hand, looked perfectly composed. He was no stranger to the Barbaric Wilderness. He had made countless trips there over the years to cultivate his Five Elements Undying Body. This time, he was just going a little farther than usual.

The other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect stood quietly behind Fang Qingyuan. Among the five of them, Fang Qingyuan was the undisputed leader.

This was partly due to his long-standing status and his identity as Lechuan’s closed-door disciple, but also because among the five, Fang Qingyuan had the highest cultivation and was the strongest fighter.

Years ago, while only at Early-stage Foundation Establishment, he had challenged Qu Jianyan, the head of Instructor Peak. Now, more than twenty years later, no one doubted his battle prowess.

The party of five, along with their three Foundation Establishment Spirit Beasts—a total of eight units of Foundation Establishment Battle Power—waited in silence. After several hours, an unremarkable-looking Spiritual Boat flew in from the distant horizon and landed softly before them.

Aboard the Spiritual Boat, Han Ping revealed his annoying face. Upon seeing him, Fang Qingyuan gave a wave of his hand and led the group forward.

The Spiritual Boat didn’t look large, but when Fang Qingyuan and his group stepped inside, they discovered it was a world of its own. The interior space was more than three times larger than it appeared from the outside.

The Spiritual Boat carved an arc through the sky, changed direction, and began to fly toward the Pill Alliance’s own Spiritual Land. A day later, at the border between the Pill Alliance and the Yan Gui Sect, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Yan Gui Sect boarded as well.

Then, under this person’s guidance, the Spiritual Boat crossed the Yan Gui Sect’s Spiritual Land, traveling straight from the edge of the Pill Alliance’s territory to the border of the Barbaric Wilderness.

Once they reached the Barbaric Border, the Spiritual Boat could go no further. The flying Demon Beasts that patrolled the skies of the Barbaric Wilderness did not permit any inanimate objects to intrude upon their airspace.

The party disembarked from the Spiritual Boat. The group from the Pill Alliance consisted of eleven Foundation Establishment Cultivators and about twenty Qi Cultivation Cultivators. Their leader was a man named Han Yunlong, who was at Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation.

’So many Cultivators,’ Fang Qingyuan thought, ’no wonder they needed five disciples from the Beast Taming Sect to provide cover.’ He eyed the group before him and began planning his escape route. If things went south, how was he going to run?