Translator: Cinder Translations
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Six flying ships approached and drew near to Song Wen.
"Master Sect Leader, what orders do you have?" Yu Wen asked with an eager expression, clasping her fists.
"Surround Tian Cang Mountain. The Si family members can leave, but they cannot bring a single blade of grass or a single twig from Tian Cang Mountain." Song Wen commanded.
"Understood!"
Yu Wen raised her hand and signaled. The people on the six flying ships quickly descended.
Six Golden Core cultivators hovered in mid-air, watching over every movement on Tian Cang Mountain.
Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages all descended from the ships, landing on important locations such as the alchemy rooms, herb gardens, and treasure vaults on Tian Cang Mountain, ensuring the Si family didn't cause any damage.
Monk Xiao Chan transmitted a sound message to Si Ming. Upon hearing it, Si Ming's face twisted in anger, but he could only helplessly give orders to his clan, instructing them to pack up and leave their ancestral home, which they had lived in for over a thousand years.
Once the Si family members had completely evacuated from Tian Cang Mountain, Song Wen spoke.
"Master Xiao Chan, it's time to hand over Xiao Chen."
"He is in a cave at the top of Tian Cang Mountain. The Ji Yin Sect can go retrieve him themselves." Monk Xiao Chan replied.
Song Wen's spiritual sense swept over the mountaintop, and sure enough, he found a cave.
The cave was protected by a hidden formation, blocking his spiritual sense from peering inside.
"Yu Wen." Song Wen called loudly.
"At your command," Yu Wen responded quickly, flying over to him.
"Xiao Chen is in the cave at the mountaintop. Take your people and capture him." Song Wen instructed.
"Understood!"
Yu Wen's expression sharpened, and she immediately ordered Zhou Siyi and the others to encircle the cave.
"Xiao Chen, come out, you can't escape."
Ding Yan, who held a grudge against Xiao Chen, shouted towards the cave with some satisfaction.
Xiao Chen, realizing he had nowhere to escape, shouted loudly.
"Master Xiao Chan, save me! You promised to take me as your personal disciple!"
Monk Xiao Chan seemed to not hear him. Seeing that all the Si family cultivators had boarded the Si family's flying ships, he turned to Song Wen and said.
"From now on, I hope our two sects can move forward together."
"That is certain." Song Wen smiled and nodded.
"Until we meet again."
Monk Xiao Chan clasped his hands together in a gesture of respect and bade farewell to Song Wen. With the Si family's flying ship in tow, he slowly departed.
As for the Si family's common folk, there were too many to fit onto the flying ships. The Si family had sent some cultivators to lead them along the ground route to safety.
"Master, you can't leave! If you go, what will I do?"
Seeing Monk Xiao Chan leave, Xiao Chen couldn't care about anything else and rushed out of the cave, attempting to follow him. This was his only chance to survive.
However, Monk Xiao Chan, still on the Si family's flying ship, didn't even turn around.
Ding Yan, seeing this, had a flash of cold light in his eyes. A surge of murderous blood energy rose around him, condensing into a blood-red evil serpent that lunged at Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen raised his hand, summoning a mid-tier ghost king, who appeared and confronted the blood serpent.
Taking advantage of the moment, Xiao Chen tried to flee to the skies.
Yu Wen and the others would not let him escape.
Flying swords, soul-piercing drills, vicious ghosts, and corpse puppets—all kinds of attacks rained down on Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen summoned a mid-tier magic treasure shield, which spun rapidly around him, providing protection.
However, despite his higher cultivation than Yu Wen and the others, he could only retreat steadily under their combined assault.
The shield, after enduring continuous attacks, began to lose its brilliance and was clearly on the verge of breaking.
Xiao Chen struggled desperately, shielding himself against the relentless onslaught while screaming hoarsely.
"Master, have mercy! I'm willing to serve as a slave, as a servant—just spare my life!"
High above, Song Wen coldly observed the spectacle, his expression unchanging.
Xiao Chen had to die.
And he had to die in plain view of everyone.
Only then could this serve as a stern warning to others.
Despite his struggles, Xiao Chen soon succumbed. His body was shredded by Ding Yan's blood serpent and exploded into a gory mess.
His soul was torn apart by a ghost creature and devoured on the spot.
The six cultivators flew to Song Wen and presented their report.
"Master, Xiao Chen has been executed. Here is his storage ring; we present it to you for inspection," Yu Wen said with a respectful bow.
"Well done. This is the fate of traitors. If any of you ever wish to leave the Ji Yin Sect, you may do so openly and honorably. As for the storage ring, divide its contents among yourselves," Song Wen said coldly.
"Understood!" the six replied in unison.
"Yu Wen."
"At your command."
"Lead a team to inventory the resources on Tian Cang Mountain and report back to me afterward."
...
An hour later.
Yu Wen found Song Wen, who was gazing into the distance from the mountain summit.
"Master, the inventory is complete. The Si family treasury contains approximately one million spirit stones and another million worth of various spiritual materials. The spiritual fields are planted with a large number of medicinal herbs, mostly first- and second-tier, with only a few third-tier herbs. The total value does not exceed 400,000 spirit stones," Yu Wen reported.
Song Wen responded, "Yu Wen, let me remind you: it is no longer the Si family's treasury and spiritual fields—it is now the Ji Yin Sect's."
Yu Wen's expression shifted slightly. "Understood, Master. I was wrong."
Song Wen asked, "The Si family was a Golden Core clan, yet they had so little?"
"Master, it is quite a lot already. The Si family rose to prominence only due to the support of Smiling Monk's (Xiao Chan's) sect and lacked deep foundations of their own," Yu Wen explained.
Song Wen nodded slightly, though disappointment flickered across his face.
Such meager resources were hardly enough for a sect with Nascent Soul cultivators. They would be depleted in no time.
"What did the Si family rely on for income?" Song Wen asked.
"About 500 li from Tian Cang Mountain, there is a Starlight Ore mine. The stones are of decent quality, and occasionally Starstone are discovered. This mine generated an annual income of 300,000 to 400,000 spirit stones for the Si family. The bulk of the treasury's wealth is stored as Starlight Ores," Yu Wen replied.
Starlight Ores are low-tier materials, primarily used for crafting defensive artifacts.
Starstone are mid-tier materials, mainly used for crafting defensive spiritual tools.
"A mere Starlight Ore mine is far from sufficient to sustain the Ji Yin Sect. Do you and the other Golden Core elders have any suggestions?" Song Wen asked.
"Master, there are several small-scale low-tier material mines scattered across the Yishi Ridge. There are also two or three micro spirit stone mines. Should we seize them?" Yu Wen inquired.
"Are there no higher-grade mines?" Song Wen pressed.
"There is one. Thirteen thousand li east of Tian Cang Mountain lies Dongyuan Mountain, which has a medium-sized spirit stone vein. It reportedly produces two to three million low-grade spirit stones annually, tens of thousands of mid-grade stones, and dozens of high-grade stones. However..."
Yu Wen hesitated before continuing, "However, this mine is controlled by the Ghost Soul Sect."
"Ghost Soul Sect?"
Song Wen frowned, puzzled. He had never heard of this sect.
"The Ghost Soul Sect is not based in the Yishi Ridge but operates near its border within Nine Palaces Sect's territory. They act as a frontier guard for Nine Palaces Sect. Ghost Soul Sect annually pays tribute to Nine Palaces Sect and enjoys its protection. The sect has five Golden Core cultivators, making it a medium-sized cultivation power. Two of their Golden Core cultivators are permanently stationed at the Dongyuan Mountain mine," Yu Wen explained.
"I'm concerned that forcibly seizing the mine might provoke Nine Palaces Sect," she added cautiously.
(End of the Chapter)
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