Two more days passed. That morning, Fang Qingyuan mounted his Flying Manta Ray and flew toward the Zhan Family.
The sparse autumn rain had finally let up. As Fang Qingyuan breathed in the fresh air, his mood lightened considerably.
He had spent the last few days selling Spirit Fruit and working hard to ferry passengers. His savings had now broken the fifty Spirit Stone mark. Furthermore, the Wei Family hadn't mentioned anything about the docking fee for the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace.
'Since the Wei Family isn't in a hurry, there's no need for me to be,' Fang Qingyuan thought. He had only paid the five Spirit Stones for Black River Square.
'If I save for a few more days and pay this month's rent for the Flying Manta Ray, things will get much easier. Every Spirit Stone I earn after that will be mine.'
But the thought of having to pay the sect fifty Spirit Stones in rent every month made his heart bleed.
'When will this Flying Manta Ray finally be all mine?'
Spirit Beasts were already expensive, and those that could be used as transport vessels were even more so. The sect's asking price for a single Flying Manta Ray was three thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.
They only accepted payment in full—no installments. If you didn't have enough Spirit Stones, your only option was to do as Fang Qingyuan did: pay a monthly rental fee to the sect.
The Flying Manta Ray wasn't native to the Southern Border. It was a sea beast. At the local Beast Taming Sect branch where it came from, it sold for just over a thousand Spirit Stones. By the time it got here, the price had doubled.
But alas, if Fang Qingyuan wanted to earn more, his only choice was to rent a Flying Manta Ray from the sect. Even then, it was a privilege only disciples of the Tianshan Villa could enjoy.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Fang Qingyuan looked ahead and saw that he had arrived at the Zhan Clan's location. From the looks of it, however, the situation was not good.
....
"Immortal Master Wei, though our Zhan Family is a vassal to the Wei Family, you can't just take all of our clan's cultivators! If we all leave, how will our mortal clan members fend off the demonic beasts in the woods, or the Loose Cultivators who would take advantage of the chaos to plunder?"
The one pleading was Zhan Zhuangjian, Clan Leader of the Zhan Family. He was a cultivator at the Late-stage Qi Cultivation realm, yet now he was debasing himself, pleading with a Cultivator who was only at the Mid-stage Qi Cultivation realm.
The man addressed as Immortal Master Wei was a thin, middle-aged man in his thirties. Behind him stood seven or eight other Cultivators, who had subtly surrounded the entire Zhan Clan.
Immortal Master Wei listened to Zhan Zhuangjian's pleas with a faint smile, but his entreaties were destined to be fruitless.
For although the man's lips were curved into a smile, his eyes were ice-cold. He said slowly,
"Clan Leader Zhan, watch your words. The order came from above. Your only choice is to obey. What's the point of arguing with me?"
Immortal Master Wei spoke in a relaxed tone, but his words carried an authority that could not be refused. Seeing that Zhan Zhuangjian still wanted to argue, he showed a flash of impatience.
"I'm here to inform you, not to negotiate. If you dare disobey, are you trying to defy our Ancestor's command?"
"You..."
Zhan Zhuangjian glared, his eyes filled with fury. At the mention of Wei Tong, he could no longer hold it in.
"Wei Tong killed our Zhan Yuan! Do you think paying us off with a few spiritual materials settles that debt?"
Seeing Zhan Zhuangjian's fury, Immortal Master Wei felt a flicker of panic. Zhan Zhuangjian was a Late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator, after all. If a real fight broke out, he would definitely not be on the winning end.
So, his tone softened slightly.
"That was just an accident. The Ancestor didn't want it to happen either. Besides, from what I know, that Zhan Yuan was only from a side branch and wasn't close to your main lineage. What's the point of bringing it up now?"
Zhan Zhuangjian's anger subsided slightly. In truth, he wasn't particularly grieved by Zhan Yuan's death. He had only brought it up to try and dampen Immortal Master Wei's arrogance, but his bluff had just been called.
Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, Fang Qingyuan descended from the sky, riding his Flying Manta Ray.
Fang Qingyuan ignored the group of Wei Family Cultivators and addressed Zhan Zhuangjian directly.
"Have you selected the candidate for Tianshan Villa? If so, they should come with me now."
Seeing Fang Qingyuan ignore him, Immortal Master Wei was about to flare up in anger. In this region, who would dare to show the Wei Family such disrespect?
But when he heard Fang Qingyuan speak and realized he was a disciple of Tianshan Villa, he swallowed the rebuke that was on the tip of his tongue.
Others might not have known, but as a member of the Wei Family's main line, he was well aware of the inside story. After the last conflict, the Wei Family's Ancestor had ordered the entire clan to mobilize its full strength, shifting its focus from the west to advance eastward.
In other words, the Wei Family was going to war, and the primary reason was the Beast Taming Sect.
His current task of conscripting Cultivators from the surrounding families was also on the Ancestor's orders—to gather all available forces, practice Battle Arrays, and prepare for an offensive.
Anyone who disobeyed would be immediately taken into custody. Anyone who dared to resist would be made an example of—a sacrifice to consecrate the war banners.
Of course, Fang Qingyuan was oblivious to Immortal Master Wei's inner turmoil. He had his own reasons for pointedly ignoring the Wei Family Cultivators.
'More than a dozen of my fellow disciples died at the hands of Wei Tong. Some of their funeral rites haven't even been completed. Am I supposed to greet the Wei Family's Cultivators with a smile?'
'But I can't bring myself to trade vitriol with them,' Fang Qingyuan thought. 'I'm just a Qi Refining Fourth Level cultivator. If I piss off this group of Wei Family Cultivators and they decide to just kill me, who could I possibly complain to?'
'So, it's better to just ignore them and avoid any interaction.'
Sure enough, since Fang Qingyuan paid the Wei Family Cultivators no mind, they didn't come over to make trouble.
The Cultivators from the Zhan Family, however, looked at Fang Qingyuan as if he were their savior. They rushed over and began to air their grievances.
"Immortal Master Fang, help us! The Wei Family is forcibly conscripting us! When our liege family gives an order, we must obey. But by custom, a Qi Cultivation Clan is only required to send three Qi Cultivation Cultivators. The Wei Family wants to draft all of us! This is completely unreasonable!"
"Our Zhan Yuan died for the Beast Taming Sect! The Beast Taming Sect can't just stand by and watch us perish!"
'Listening to their pleas, Fang Qingyuan felt a headache coming on. The Wei Family obviously had the backing to act so boldly. It was even possible that the two Grand Martial Uncles from the Beast Taming Sect were fanning the flames from behind the scenes.'
'As for Zhan Yuan dying for the Beast Taming Sect... that's true. But it's precisely because he's dead that there's no one to look out for you people anymore.'
'If he hadn't died, the Wei Family wouldn't have dared to be so outrageous. People forget you once you're gone, let alone once you're dead. His influence was like an extinguished lamp, unable to shelter any of you now.'
But Fang Qingyuan couldn't say any of this out loud. He could only remain silent. After the members of the Zhan Clan had calmed down a bit, he repeated his earlier statement:
"If the candidate has been selected, they can come with me. If not, you can make your own way to the villa once you have made your choice."
With that, Fang Qingyuan made to leave. Seeing that he wouldn't get involved, Zhan Zhuangjian said hastily,
"She's been chosen! We've already chosen! Quick, bring her over!"
A moment later, a little girl was timidly shrinking behind Zhan Zhuangjian. He pulled her out in front of Fang Qingyuan, then squatted down to her level and said,
"Zhi'er, you are going to Tianshan Villa. Don't come down from the mountain for at least ten years. I don't expect you to achieve great things. Just live a good life in the Beast Taming Sect."
'Listening to this, Fang Qingyuan felt as though Zhan Zhuangjian was giving his last words.'
Zhan Zhi fought back tears, clinging to Zhan Zhuangjian and refusing to let go. Hardening his heart, Zhan Zhuangjian pried her away and pushed her toward Fang Qingyuan, saying,
"Zhan Yuan had no descendants who could cultivate. This girl has the best aptitude in the Zhan Family. For the sake of the departed Zhan Yuan, I implore you, Immortal Master Fang, to look after her. If I am fortunate enough to survive the coming war, I will reward you handsomely."
After speaking, Zhan Zhuangjian pushed away Zhan Zhi's hand as she gripped him tightly, then turned his head, unable to watch any longer.
Fang Qingyuan gave a slight nod to the man's retreating back. He then pulled Zhan Zhi onto the Flying Manta Ray, leaving the two opposing groups of Cultivators behind as they instantly shot up into the sky.