To everyone’s surprise, however, Elder Song, who was leading the group, chose to actively avoid them.

Not only did he lower the Flying Boat, but he also sent someone to inform the other cultivators not to initiate an attack.

He then gathered several cultivators at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment to deal with any sporadic attacks.

After a standoff that lasted about an hour, the black eagles in the sky seemed to realize the prey below was not to be trifled with after a few probing attempts. They then chose to turn back and leave.

Once everyone had returned to the cabin, Elder Song explained his reasoning.

As it turned out, those black eagles were from the nearby Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Range.

What they had seen was just a small portion of the flock, circling the area in search of food. Provoking them would inevitably draw more of their kind.

And most importantly, this flock of black eagles had a Tier Three leader with a mutated bloodline.

Although it usually stayed within the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Range, if it discovered its flock was under attack, it would very likely come to their rescue personally.

Simply put, if you attack the young, you’ll draw out the old.

The reason he knew this was because a Golden Core True Man from the Cyan Cloud Sect had once exploited this very trait, setting a trap to lure the Eagle King.

Unfortunately, the creature seemed to possess some kind of innate sense of danger.

Before it even neared the trap, it sensed the danger and decisively turned back.

.

But the matter didn’t end there. The Eagle King had actually memorized the design of the Cyan Cloud Sect’s robes.

For the next several years, it would even fly thousands of miles into Cyan Cloud Sect territory specifically to attack their disciples.

Furthermore, it knew to bully the weak and fear the strong, only picking on the easy targets at the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages.

In the end, it forced the Cyan Cloud Sect to change the style of their robes before the attacks finally ceased.

Hearing this, everyone immediately understood. This Eagle King was not only protective of its kin but also vengeful.

"Well, in that case, no problem. What’s a little waiting? It’s fine if we have to wait a bit longer."

However, Elder Feng and the others were still somewhat puzzled.

Logically, this should have been a major incident, yet in all their years, they had never heard of anything like it.

So, Steward Chen went to ask for more details. "I’ve asked around," he reported. "It happened five hundred years ago. Elder Song learned about it from the sect’s historical records."

Elder Feng’s confusion cleared instantly. "So it was five hundred years ago. No wonder I’ve never heard anything about it."

After five hundred years, the Golden Core True Men of that generation would have all passed away from old age by now.

Naturally, the events of the past had gradually faded into obscurity. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Hey, wait a minute. Something’s not right."

Someone asked curiously, "If five hundred years have passed, surely that Eagle King can’t still be alive?"

Steward Chen immediately answered, "The lifespans of Demon Beasts are unique, completely different from those of us cultivators."

"Some Demon Beasts are born with short lives. Even if they reach Tier Two, they only live for a few decades."

"But these black eagles are a long-lived species. A Tier Two black eagle can often live for more than three hundred years. And since the Eagle King has awakened an ancient bloodline, I estimate it could live for over a thousand years without a problem."

Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with envy.

Everyone present was at the Foundation Establishment stage and normally possessed a two-hundred-year lifespan. If they could take life-extending Spirit Pills, they might be able to live for a few more years.

But compared to the Eagle King, even that was less than a fraction of its lifespan.

But they were cultivators, after all, and wouldn’t dwell on such feelings. They exchanged a few rueful comments, and the small interlude passed.

「Four days passed in a flash.」

By now, they were within the territory of the Lingyuan Sect.

Xiao Chen leaned against the edge of the Spiritual Boat, gazing down at the mountains and terrain through gaps in the clouds and carefully comparing what he saw to the records he had studied before his departure.

For the most part, the topographical information he had specifically looked up in the Scripture Pavilion matched perfectly.

This was undoubtedly good news.

"Fellow Daoists, we are about to reach the Lingyuan Sect."

Elder Song’s voice rang out. "Please come to the cabin. There are a few things I need to brief you on in advance."

Soon, all the cultivators on the Spiritual Boat had gathered.

Elder Song took a small flag from his robes. With a gentle wave, a Water Curtain rose, displaying the latest topographical map.

"Everyone, please look. According to the latest intelligence from the Lingyuan Sect, the Divine Fire Sect’s Demon Cultivators are currently focusing their main offensive around Seeking Plum Mountain and Luoyan Mountain."

As he spoke, two mountain peaks on the previously black-and-white map on the Water Curtain began to glow red.

Elder Song continued, "The Lingyuan Sect’s territory is currently divided into five types of zones."

"Gray represents insignificant areas. Green is for Elemental Magnetic Peak, which is absolutely safe and guarded by several Golden Core True Men."

"The blue points represent relatively safe resource strongholds, while the purple markers indicate relatively dangerous ones."

"And red represents extremely dangerous strategic locations."

The remaining four colors appeared in succession, clearly delineating the current war situation.

Compared to the map of the situation in Hezhou that he had seen in the sect’s main hall a few months ago, this Water Curtain was undoubtedly far clearer and more intuitive.

Xiao Chen noticed that the Lingyuan Sect had already lost a relatively important Tier Two Spirit Vein and over a dozen resource strongholds.

All in all, the last few months had not been easy for them.

’No wonder they’re offering better rewards this time, even a Rank-Breaking Spirit Pill,’ Xiao Chen thought. ’They must be getting truly desperate.’

Elder Song continued his explanation. "The missions for earning points are also divided into five categories, corresponding to these five zones."

"The safer missions involve garrisoning the various resource strongholds to secure the supply lines, especially those in the rear."