nycdaug Chapter 111 Beast Tide 13
Chapter 111 Beast Tide 13
Qin Che and Huo Yan arrived at the courtyard, and Cheng Jiu also came out after recovering. Ying Yue saw her and waved, taking out breakfast from the stove.
Cheng Jiu greeted the three of them, then sat down at the table and began to eat: "Delicious!"
After enjoying their meal, they still hadn't left the palace.
The group sipped tea and exchanged their cultivation experiences. After all, Jiu had many thoughts on his sparring with Gongcheng that morning, and once they started talking, they couldn't stop.
Everyone had their own thoughts on their spiritual practice, which were diverse yet harmonious. Those present were all of good talent and cultivation and could learn from each other.
After a while, Gongcheng came out. He had changed his clothes, and the jade-white robe made him look handsome and refined.
Yingyue couldn't help but sigh, "Junior Brother Gongcheng, this outfit suits you very well."
Gongcheng nodded reservedly: "Senior sister is too kind."
"Alright, we see him every day anyway, bro. We should go!" Gong Yu looked his brother up and down, and thought that his brother was indeed a little more pleasing to the eye than usual. Well, just a little!
Gongcheng was used to it. Although the two brothers had a good relationship, he sometimes felt a little regretful. Gong Yu wasn't the type to flatter him. If Gong Yu didn't say something to tease him, he would feel that his younger brother had improved.
He dressed up so nicely today! Doesn't he look handsome? Miyagi thought to himself, and in the end, he could only sigh, "My brother has no taste!"
But the others were very perceptive.
"Senior Brother Gongcheng, you look so elegant, handsome, and refined today! It suits you perfectly," Cheng Jiu praised.
"Yes, Junior Brother's outfit is quite eye-catching." Qin Che nodded.
"Yes!" Huo Yan slowly uttered a single word. But his serious expression showed that he was not just being perfunctory.
Gongcheng's face immediately lit up with a smile: "Thank you for the compliments, junior sister and senior brother. It's getting late, let's go!"
The other five nodded, and Yingyue handed the food she had prepared for Gongcheng to him.
Miyagi finished quickly and gracefully.
After breakfast, the group headed to the teleportation array.
Upon arrival and entering, one sees a large desk with a woman sitting behind it, and the desk is piled high with documents and books.
With piles of documents and books, Chang Yue was extremely busy.
One pile contained spiritual texts to be organized, and the other pile contained case reports from various cities. Both piles were stacked high, and people continued to deliver more from time to time, stretching as far as the eye could see.
She was so busy she was going crazy, and she even started to regret agreeing to help her senior brother organize the spiritual texts. Neither of these jobs was easy.
She worked day and night, spending her days either reviewing case reports or organizing spiritual texts in her spare time. She felt that even cultivators would eventually die from exhaustion from this.
Chang Yue's eyes lit up when she saw Qin Che among the group of people walking in: "Junior Brother, you've come at the perfect time!"
Although her junior brother is unreliable, he should be more than capable of handling the hard work of organizing the spiritual texts while she supervises him. It would also be a good opportunity for her to share the workload.
"Senior sister, we're going to Youlan City!" Qin Che spoke first.
The light in Chang Yue's eyes vanished instantly. She sat back down blankly, picked up the jade slip and continued reviewing it, asking casually, "Junior Brother, what are you going to Youlan City for?"
"I have some business to attend to in Youlan City." Qin Che nodded. Yes, it's to see a junior brother I don't know. It's business, after all!
Looking at the seemingly endless stack of documents on his desk, he immediately understood what his senior sister had been trying to say.
A wave of relief washed over me; he absolutely shouldn't stay here! There's so much to do, Senior Sister, you should definitely take on more of the responsibilities!
"Then you can go in."
Chang Yue seemed to be just asking routinely. Anyway, she was here, and if her junior brother came back, he wouldn't have any reason to refuse when she asked again! In any case, there was no rush for the spiritual books.
In the main hall of the teleportation array, the teleportation array in the center is the exit. Light constantly shines from it as disciples come out to report and request support.
Besides the main hall in the center, there are hundreds of smaller teleportation arrays around it. People are constantly going in and out, placing spirit stones in these small teleportation arrays, entering their destination, and arriving instantly.
It only takes one hundred top-grade spirit stones to travel from Guiyuan Sect to Youlan City.
It was much cheaper than when Cheng Jiu returned to the sect from Fengcheng. Thinking this way, Cheng Jiu said it out loud. The difference between one thousand and one hundred was too big.
Qin Che wasn't surprised at all: "Junior Sister, didn't you learn about formations? The teleportation array here is connected to a spiritual vein of our Guiyuan Sect. Most of the spiritual energy for the teleportation array to be activated is provided by this spiritual vein, so the consumption of spirit stones is relatively small."
Cheng Jiu suddenly realized that he had been so engrossed in his studies that he had completely forgotten about it.
The spirit stone is placed in, and the formation is activated.
After emerging from the teleportation array, Cheng Jiu felt slightly unwell, but the others had never experienced such torment before, and their faces were extremely pale.
Cheng Jiu carefully looked around. It was a garden behind a four-story building, and behind that was a row of residential courtyards.
Pavilions, terraces, bridges, and flowing water create an elegant yet magnificent atmosphere.
It's refreshing.
A person walked out from behind and walked from the corridor toward the front of the building. Cheng Jiu immediately saw Wen Sishu, who was wearing a red alchemist's robe, walking over.
"Senior Brother Wen!" Cheng Jiu called out.
Wen Sishu's eyes lit up when he saw the group: "Junior Sister Cheng, Senior Sister Ying, Senior Brother Qin, Senior Brother Huo, and the two Junior Brothers Gong, what brings you all here!"
The other five suppressed their discomfort and greeted Wen Sishu, "Junior Brother Wen (Senior Brother)."
“Senior Sister Ying said she missed you, and we were worried about you and wanted to see you. Since there was nothing wrong in the sect, we came over,” Cheng Jiu said.
Wen Sishu led the five people toward the four-story building in the middle.
Unlike the Guiyuan Sect, the pressure on the Wilderness side was greatly reduced after being hit by the formation.
However, other cities still faced beast tides coming from the mountains. In particular, Youlan City, which is an affiliated city of Qingli City and is close to the Qingli Mountains, was attacked by a third wave of beasts led by monsters with considerable cultivation.
Fortunately, it is also an affiliated city of Qingli City. Qingli City has two Great Ascension Stage Immortal Lords, both of whom are quite powerful. Although they cannot be all-encompassing, if they encounter a demon beast whose strength exceeds the city's defenses, they can still ask the two Great Ascension Stage Immortal Lords for help.
Wen Sishu was not surprised that the six people came; in fact, he was pleasantly surprised. After all, with things easing up in the Wilderness, the sect's defensive pressure had been greatly reduced, and some disciples had been freed up from the Wilderness.
These disciples always have close friends, so when they have free time, they will use the teleportation array to support their friends in various places.
Comparatively speaking, the beast tide from the outside world is definitely not as strong as the beast tide from the wilderness. The ones who come to support us are all elite disciples of the Guiyuan Sect, and the high-level demon beasts are handled by the spirit beast seniors and several elders who patrol the area.
The defensive pressure on cities within the Guiyuan Sect's territory was greatly reduced in an instant.
Like Wen Sishu's sixth senior brother, as well as Tifeng's senior brother Zhao and Zhenfeng's senior brother Liu who previously guarded Youlan City, and several other senior brothers and sisters who retreated to Youlan City.
They all had close senior brothers and sisters. Before the six of them arrived, many senior brothers and sisters had already come.
Wen Sishu, who had been refining pills, was also rescued by the arrival of these senior brothers and sisters.
That's why Cheng Jiu could see him so relaxed. Now that Cheng Jiu and the others have arrived, he is even more pleasantly surprised. He does have people helping him!
Upon reaching the fourth floor, walk through the middle and you can see Hualien sitting in front of the counter.
Upon seeing Wen Sishu and the six people behind him, including Cheng Jiu, she immediately stood up: "Fellow Daoist Wen, are you here to register these six fairy immortals for accommodation?"
Wen Sishu introduced the six people behind him: "This is Hualien, Mayor Hua. She was sent by the city lord to receive us. This is the residence of our Guiyuan Sect. The city lord's mansion arranged for people to receive our senior brothers and sisters. I chose Mayor Hualien because I knew her well."
Because there were many disciples who came, the accommodation originally arranged for the Guiyuan Sect disciples who came to provide support was too small.
They couldn't just end up occupying the city lord's mansion! This long-abandoned Guiyuan Sect residence was renovated.
Because the management was done suddenly, there was a lack of personnel and facilities.
The disciples of Guiyuan Sect themselves didn't mind, but the City Lord's Mansion did. These disciples were here to support Youlan City, and they couldn't be allowed to live in such a shabby place.
No matter what, they were cities under the jurisdiction of the Guiyuan Sect.
We must definitely take the disciples from Guiyuan Sect seriously.
After some discussion, it was decided that the city lord's mansion would send people to manage the residence and receive the arriving disciples.
Of course, the city lord of the city lord's mansion had also joined the Guiyuan Sect. Small cities don't care so much, but in medium-sized cities, if the five major sects don't send elders to reside there, the city lord is a disciple of the five major sects.
Although he is called the city lord, he is actually an elder dispatched by the Guiyuan Sect to manage the city.
So initially, the disciples of Guiyuan Sect lived in the City Lord's Mansion, and this vacant residence was later renovated.
“Please move closer to me,” Wen Sishu said.
He didn't know how many days Ying-shijie and the others would stay here, but he hoped they could stay closer to him during these few days.
Hualien quickly arranged several courtyards around Wen Sishu for Cheng Jiu and his group.
The fact that she was assigned to this reception work does not mean that the city lord's mansion does not value her; on the contrary, it shows that they value her highly.
Guiyuan Sect is a superior sect, and she also represents the City Lord's Mansion.
Being recommended here and chosen by Wen Sishu is enough to show how much the City Lord's Mansion values her. Several city lords died in this beast tide, and perhaps she can take this opportunity to advance further.
Wen Sishu led them out. Just like its name, Youlan City is famous for its orchids. As they walked along the street, they saw many flower pots placed on the eaves and walkways. However, due to the beast tide, some people had no intention of taking care of them, leaving only withered orchids and fallen leaves.
However, some people have orchids blooming beautifully in the walkways outside their windows. These orchids are of high quality, blooming leisurely and refreshingly.
These well-maintained orchids are even more beautiful in shape and color, half-hidden and half-revealed like shy fairies, showing their beauty to the world while still in bud.
Cheng Jiu couldn't help but be moved; she was truly beautiful. They walked out of the residential area.
Every two or three shops along the commercial aisle sell orchids. There are many people on the street, but it feels strangely desolate. Even so, these shops are not short of customers.
Besides these shops, there are a few other places with the highest foot traffic, namely teahouses, where the beast tide is a crisis sweeping across the entire cultivation world.
Amid the crisis, talented disciples from various sects also began to shine.
They created their own legends amidst the crisis, and these legendary stories of fighting against the beast tide are very popular among people in the cultivation world.
The cultivation world is not only filled with cultivators who pursue the Great Dao; the majority are ordinary cultivators with low aptitude and low cultivation levels, and these people make up the majority of the cultivation world.
They live in the world of cultivation, where a child with good aptitude is born in one or several generations and sent to a sect to cultivate immortality.
But for most people, those who are hailed as cultivators are too far removed from reality, and these geniuses are even further away, which is why they are so fond of talking about these legendary stories.
Especially when the beast tide threatens the entire cultivation world, the stories of these geniuses fighting against the beast tide, who are at the bottom of the food chain, often bring them an indescribable sense of security.
If there are people who like it, there will be a market, and people will promote and tell these stories.
So, despite the overall market downturn, the teahouse business was surprisingly good.
Besides teahouses, there are also grain pavilions. Cultivators who have not reached the Foundation Establishment stage cannot abstain from grains and must eat whole grains.
The agriculture sector was most severely impacted by this beast tide. People in the cultivation world all possess a certain level of cultivation, and they are more than capable of casting a spiritual rain spell, let alone anything else.
The cultivation world is vast and sparsely populated. All the land under the jurisdiction of the five major sects belongs to the five major sects by default, and families and individuals cannot privately own these lands.
Therefore, the people pay taxes to the Five Great Sects, which are also immortal sects. They don't have much demand for the spiritual rice they grow, and their income doesn't depend on it, so the tax rate is ridiculously low.
These people have more than enough to eat and wear throughout the year by farming.
However, because of this, Ling rice is not valuable, and it is impossible to become very wealthy.
Spirit rice in the cultivation world has always been priced low, but this time the beast tide was too sudden, and the spirit rice planted by these people had no harvest at all, and they still need to eat.
Even if they escaped into the city, the various city lords' mansions provided them with food, but they were basically just barely alive. If they wanted to be full, they would definitely need to add more food.
Fortunately, the city lord's mansion was able to maintain basic order during the patrols, otherwise these people would have had to experience the law of the jungle much earlier, and the situation would have been even more tragic.
With increased demand, grain shops in the city took the opportunity to raise prices, causing the price of spirit rice to soar. Some people tried to profit from the disaster, and the price of grain once skyrocketed.
Then they were dealt a blow by the city lord's mansion! Not only were the people gone, but their grain shops were also taken over by the city lord's mansion, and the price of grain was controlled within a range that was neither too high nor too low.
At least these people can afford it, and it's within their means.
Of course, this is only a privilege enjoyed by people within the jurisdiction of the five major sects. As for the areas outside the jurisdiction of the five major sects, this beast tide has probably shown the full extent of the evil in human nature.
Walking along the relatively bustling street, some girls on the upper floors saw Wensi Bookstore passing by below as they stepped onto the street. They didn't know who started it, but many orchid petals began to flutter down from the upper floors.
The girls' charm, the fragrance of orchids, and the inexplicable romance were all present, but Wen Sishu was quite disheveled, dodging left and right, managing to avoid being touched by any petals.
Despite their lack of romantic understanding, the girls upstairs smiled and didn't seem to care at all.
Only after watching them leave the street did they close the windows again and start playing around.
Wen Sishu wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was so enthusiastic!
Cheng Jiu gathered the petals that had fallen on her, smelled their fragrance, and said, "These are all spirit flowers. Let's fry them up later. Fried orchids will definitely taste delicious!"
Gong Cheng and Gong Yu, who were originally about to discard the orchids they were wearing, gathered them up and placed them in Cheng Jiu's arms upon hearing this: "Here you are, Junior Sister!"
Seeing this, the other three also handed the orchids to Cheng Jiu. Although they didn't know if the so-called fried orchids were tasty, Cheng Jiu supported them, thinking of them: "Junior Sister, if it's not enough, do you want to go buy some more?"
Cheng Jiu looked at the small pile of orchids in his arms: "That's enough, that should be enough!"
After seeing this, the group withdrew their idea. If it wasn't enough, they would go and buy more now. If that didn't work, they would recommend Wen Sishu and make another trip.
Wen Sishu: "..."
Doesn't anyone think about him?
Yingyue said that her senior sister's love had expired and she wanted to recharge and renew it.