Wei Ji took the storage pouch, his expression filled with emotion. "Good, good. As long as I have something, it's enough. If I use it sparingly, I should be able to ensure my cultivation doesn't regress to the early stage of Golden Core within the next two months."
He said no more, immediately sitting down to meditate, maintaining his Spiritual Qi. Not even sparing Shang Xingchen a second glance. He seemed to harbor no suspicion about the number of spirit stones. For deep inside, he knew very well.
What was the point of suspicion? Shang Xingchen was stronger than him. Whatever Shang Xingchen was willing to give, he would take. A fist too weak to claim more gains would only lead to death.
Meanwhile, Shang Xingchen watched Wei Ji meditate, smiling silently. Both of them pretended ignorance, though fully aware of the truth.
...
At the great spirit stone mine, Chu Xuan gently caressed Gangsi, feeding it two low-grade magic treasures.
In Song Lingfeng and Miaochan's storage pouches, there were many magic treasures, both righteous and demonic. Now, all of them had fallen into his hands.
"One cannot live on magic treasures alone," Chu Xuan muttered. "The nutrition is unbalanced. I'll need to get you some metal ores."
With a flick of his hand, he took out a jade slip inscribed with spiritual sense from his pouch. This jade slip had come from Song Lingfeng's belongings. It contained a map of the Heavenly Metal battlefield, a much more detailed one, showing even the various outposts surrounding the cities.
Chu Xuan's gaze immediately landed on the several metal mines around Heaven-Three City.
"Thousand-Year Gold. Bloodstained Copper Sand. Coldheart Iron. Not bad, not bad. These three mines will do. Monks usually target spirit stone mines first, followed by spirit herb gardens, then spirit wood forests, and lastly, metal mines. The difficulty of conquering these three mines shouldn't be too high."
With a thought, Chu Xuan summoned Long, Hu, and Bao, who led a large group of corpse generals into action.
Less than two days later, when Chu Xuan returned to the great spirit stone mine, three storage pouches were now filled to the brim. Each pouch contained over ten thousand pounds of metal ores—enough to satisfy Gangsi's hunger.
"It's been a while since I checked on the situation in the Cave World," Chu Xuan mused. "Now that I have the time, I should go back and take a look."
He stepped forward, returning to Blue Star. His spiritual sense connected with the Myriad Realm Mirror, and the scene of the Cave World appeared before him.
...
The Cave World had now passed nearly twenty years. The Holy Ant Tribe and the Fire Ant Tribe held a collective vote. In the end, the vote decided that the two tribes would merge and be called the "Fiery Holy Ant Tribe."
Of course, there were some voices against the merger, as it touched upon their own interests. However, Lie Xin still held a firm control over the two tribes. Those discordant voices were swiftly and physically eliminated. The merging of the two tribes went smoothly, exactly as she had planned.
"Not enough, still not enough. To surpass the Myriad Insects Tribe, a single large tribe cannot achieve it."
At this moment, Lie Xin was holding a fishing rod, fishing leisurely. But her thoughts remained focused on how to expand the Fiery Holy Ant Tribe and how to devour the Myriad Insects Tribe.
Yet, the more intelligence she gathered, the more she felt a sense of dread toward the Myriad Insects Tribe. A tribe-nation, it truly deserved the name. It was far too vast.
The Royal Guard of the nation was the most elite military force of the Myriad Insects Tribe. It boasted a permanent force of five thousand. These were five thousand Silver Insect Masters! Not to mention the Golden and Platinum Insect Masters who led them. The power disparity was immense.
Besides the Royal Guard, the ruler of the Myriad Insects Tribe also had the authority to summon Insect Masters from large tribes under his banner. Once fully mobilized, the numbers would be staggering!
Though the current ruler had been immersed in alchemy and had not managed the affairs of the court for many years, the ruler's residual influence still remained. With a single order, the large tribes dared not disobey.
The Fiery Holy Ant Tribe would need at least another hundred years of growth to stand against the Myriad Insects Tribe. Lie Xin didn't believe she could live to see that day. Thus, she had to change her strategy.
If I cannot conquer you, then I shall merge with you.
Lie Xin looked at the two bone fragments to her left. The blue bone fragment was engraved with a man's name. The red bone fragment was engraved with a woman's name. In total, there were twenty-two names.
All were young men and women from the Fiery Holy Ant Tribe, aged sixteen to thirty. Their appearances and physiques were all excellent. Moreover, they were deeply loyal to the tribe.
Lie Xin had long sought out the most handsome men and beautiful women in the tribe, preparing for future needs. Now that the path of forceful conquest had become unfeasible, she had no choice but to turn to this backup plan.
Among them, she had two children she was particularly fond of. One was named Lie Xiao, aged eighteen. The other was named Lie Chen, aged twenty.
Lie Xiao was the epitome of excellence in appearance, physique, emotional intelligence, and talent. However, he was a bit carefree in his actions, often lacking seriousness. He was easily distracted, with a tendency to lose interest after a short time.
Lie Chen, on the other hand, had it all—looks, intellect, and the perfect physique. He was intelligent in both mind and body.
The ruler had many princes and princesses. The young men and women Lie Xin had selected were meant for those very princes and princesses.
She wasn't worried about Lie Xiao. With his innate foundation, entering the royal palace wouldn't be difficult for him. But for Lie Chen, the conditions for entering the palace were far more stringent.
Lie Xin knew that the Ninth Princess didn't place much importance on appearance. Instead, she valued intelligence more than anything.
"Soon it will be the day of the grand selection. I hope these children I've chosen will all have the chance to enter the royal palace."
Lie Xin sighed softly, placing the two bone fragments down.
Five days later, the grand selection arrived as promised. The ruler issued a decree, calling for young men and women from various large tribes to be selected as potential partners for the princes and princesses. This had been an ancient tradition.
Originally, it was meant to establish a strong bond between the royal family and the large tribes under its command, to ensure the large tribes wouldn't rebel. But as time passed, the royal family grew ever stronger, while the large tribes weakened. Yet, the tradition had not changed.
Even for the ruler, casually altering the customs passed down by ancestors was a burden he couldn't bear lightly. Among the twenty-two individuals Lie Xin had chosen, eighteen passed the selection and entered the royal palace.
At the gates of the Fiery Holy Ant Tribe, Lie Xin watched as the young men and women were taken away by the royal carriages. She sighed deeply.
To vie for favor, the competition within the palace was even more intense than the outside world. Once inside the royal palace, one was often lost in its depths. But if she wanted to continue expanding the Fiery Holy Ant Tribe, she had no choice but to send them in.
"I hope you all can survive and return safely," Lie Xin sighed heavily.
Chu Xuan watched all of this unfold. His expression remained unchanged, for he was merely an outsider. As long as Lie Xin could provide him with better and more advanced methods to cultivate the insects, everything else was negotiable. To him, the events of the Cave World were little more than a game. He could slightly influence the course of its story.
In his eyes, Lie Xin's decisions made perfect sense. For survival, for growth, for development, certain things simply had to be done. It was true for individuals, tribes, and even nations.
The Heavenly Metal Battlefield. Another six months had passed.
Chu Xuan stepped forward with long strides, returning to the great spirit stone mine. He had originally planned to continue his cultivation, but the Heart-Linking Stone in his hand had developed a crack. It was clear that Shang Xingchen had received new intelligence.
Just as Chu Xuan was about to leave the mine, he suddenly paused in his tracks. He seemed to be deep in thought. "Since six months have passed, my Spiritual Qi level should have dropped somewhat."
The spirit stones around him had never been in short supply, so his cultivation hadn't diminished. However, others by now should have experienced at least some decline.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Chu Xuan activated the Returning Void Technique, suppressing his aura to the late Golden Core stage, and then made his way toward the agreed meeting spot.
Outside of Heaven-Three City, Shang Xingchen and Wei Ji waited behind a cluster of rocks. Wei Ji appeared somewhat anxious. Shang Xingchen, on the other hand, remained calm and composed. After a while, Chu Xuan finally appeared within their line of sight.
The three met.
Chu Xuan glanced over and noticed that Wei Ji's strength had dropped further, now at the early Golden Core stage. Shang Xingchen was in slightly better condition, still at the late Golden Core stage. However, it was impossible to tell whether Shang Xingchen was hiding his true strength or if his cultivation had indeed dropped to the late Golden Core stage.
"Has your Spiritual Qi also declined?" Wei Ji sighed lightly. "It's inevitable."
Chu Xuan didn't pay much attention to it and casually asked, "What's the information?"
Shang Xingchen lowered his voice. "Some strange tree roots suddenly appeared in Heaven-Five City, but no one knows where they came from."
Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Did you bring them with you?"
Shang Xingchen took out a twisted, gray root from his storage bag. Chu Xuan glanced at it, and his heart jolted. Wasn't this a root of the Taotie Tree?
Could it be that the Taotie Tree had appeared in the Heavenly Metal Battlefield as well?! He had already experienced firsthand how terrifying it could be. If allowed to grow unchecked, it would devour all the vitality in the entire battlefield. All of them, including the cultivators, would be doomed.
Yet Chu Xuan didn't show any hint of alarm on his face. He only displayed a look of confusion. "What is this?"
Shang Xingchen shook his head. "Neither Wei Ji nor I have seen such a tree before, but it gives off an extremely sinister feeling."
Chu Xuan nodded. "Is there any other information?"
Shang Xingchen and Wei Ji exchanged a glance before speaking solemnly. "Three righteous cultivators, each with Nascent Soul early-stage strength, are planning to hold a small gathering to exchange various resources. The time is five days from now, and the location is at a spiritual wood forest about a hundred miles east of Heaven-Five City. This information came from the soul of a righteous cultivator I searched. I also saw in his soul that they had already held one such gathering, and there were no unexpected incidents."
Wei Ji voiced his concern. "But we're worried that those three righteous cultivators might have set a trap, which is why we came to find you."
Chu Xuan gave a slight nod. Such concerns were entirely reasonable. As time passed, resources within the Heavenly Metal Battlefield would inevitably grow scarcer. Though the three cultivators claimed to be holding a trading gathering, they might actually be waiting for others to fall into their trap. Just because nothing happened at the first trade meeting didn't mean the second would be safe.
However, as long as his strength was sufficient, why would he need to worry about the opponent's schemes? If they hadn't set up anything, that was great—he could acquire the treasures he needed at a bargain. But if they had set a trap, even better—he could just crush through it!
After a moment of thought, Chu Xuan nodded. "I'll go with you."
When participating in such trade meetings, it was always better to go in groups of three or five. Lone wolves were the easiest targets. The more people there were, the more they could intimidate any would-be troublemakers. And, at crucial moments, his teammates could help him escape.
As the saying went, as long as I run faster than my teammates, death won't catch me!
Seeing Chu Xuan agree, Wei Ji immediately felt a weight lifted off his chest. The strength Chu Xuan demonstrated was evident to both him and Shang Xingchen. With Chu Xuan agreeing to join, their safety was assured.
...
Five days later.
Chu Xuan met up with Shang Xingchen and Wei Ji, and together they made their way toward the spiritual wood forest.
Ancient beasts still attacked places where cultivators gathered, but they only ventured out at night, retreating back into underground caves by day.
Now, many Nascent Soul cultivators had already fallen to the Golden Core stage. If they found themselves surrounded by large groups of the Nether Crocodiles, they were as good as dead.
Thus, daylight was a precious time for cultivators. Every day, subtle tremors and changes occurred across the outer battlefield. A hill that stood yesterday might have turned into a plain today. Long-dead cultivators' corpses, ancient demonic beast remains, or even entirely new veins of spirit stones could suddenly surface on the earth. If one happened upon these discoveries by chance, their safety would be ensured.
This was why cultivators had to be active during the day. There were limited resources, and without working tirelessly to acquire more, survival was impossible.
Not long later, a towering cluster of spiritual trees appeared before the trio. They had arrived at the spiritual wood forest.
This place produced two types of spiritual wood: Cold Iron Wood and Yin Wood. Both hundred-year-old and thousand-year-old varieties were present. Normally, these trees would be excellent materials for forging. But now, spiritual wood held little value for most cultivators, only being used to repair wooden puppet beasts.
However, because spiritual wood absorbed Spiritual Qi to grow, it contained a substantial amount of Spiritual Qi within. The forest had also become saturated with Spiritual Qi. Thus, taking control of the spiritual wood forest was a highly desirable option.
When Chu Xuan and his companions arrived, they saw several figures hurrying toward them from the distance. These cultivators didn't use escape techniques. Instead, they walked on foot or relied on puppet beasts and other vehicles. After all, Spiritual Qi was precious—every bit used meant less for cultivation. It was impractical to waste it on traveling.
Wei Ji gazed at the approaching figures, unable to suppress a sigh. "A Nascent Soul cultivator, a figure who would be a sect leader or even a patriarch in any other place... Now, they can't even use escape techniques, walking on foot like common mortals... If other cultivators found out, they'd surely laugh at them."
The three reached the entrance to the forest. There, two Golden Core early-stage puppet guards stood watch. Upon seeing the three approach, the puppet guards extended their spears, blocking the way.
Chu Xuan and Shang Xingchen exchanged a glance, then turned to Wei Ji. It seemed to say, You go ahead. You handle it.
Wei Ji sighed, stepping forward reluctantly. "We come to attend the trading gathering."
After a long pause, a voice suddenly came from the left puppet. "You three don't seem like righteous cultivators."
The voice from the right puppet was even more severe. "Demonic cultivators, entry forbidden."
Shang Xingchen chuckled lightly. "We have enough spirit stones to prove our worth." With that, he took out a storage bag and casually pulled out a large handful of spirit stones. They were all large, transparent spirit stones.
The two puppet guards fell silent for a moment, then suddenly stepped aside, allowing them to pass. "This gathering has nothing to do with righteous or demonic paths. It's just a trade. Fellow Daoists, please enter."