Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Calmly Facing Death

Demon Beast sightings near the Immortal City became more and more frequent.

Gradually, everyone began to realize something was wrong. It wasn’t just the Cultivators; even the mortals living near the Immortal City felt a sense of unease.

The Immortal City had been established here for over two hundred years. Mortal towns and villages radiated outwards from it in concentric circles. Generations of Loose Cultivator descendants had reclaimed the land, long ago turning the area into a paradise.

As humanity expanded, the Demon Beasts retreated.

Perhaps in another few thousand years of continuous human expansion, the territories under the Immortal City’s rule would become tamed lands suitable for mortals to live and thrive. Then, a nation might even be founded here.

Even now, Tier Two and higher Demon Beasts were virtually extinct within hundreds of miles of the Immortal City!

The reason for the mortals’ unease was simple: the Demon Beasts were appearing far too frequently.

Some remote mortal villages had even been destroyed, their entire populations devoured by Demon Beasts!

...

Fortunately, just as their anxiety peaked, the Immortal City issued a Tier Two beast tide warning. It also dispatched Cultivators to evacuate all mortals from outside the city walls, bringing them inside for temporary shelter.

With Flying Ships and large-capacity Storage Bags, the Immortal City evacuated the afflicted mortals with extreme speed.

In less than a month, of the millions of mortals living near the Immortal City, all but a few unfortunate souls who fell prey to the Demon Beasts were successfully brought to safety within the city.

Even the Qi Refining clans under the Immortal City’s jurisdiction abandoned their ancestral lands one after another, seeking temporary refuge inside the city.

For a time, the Outer City was packed to the brim. Even the Inner City, under Fenglan Master’s arrangements, took in a large number of refugees.

Of course, these mortal refugees stayed obediently in their assigned quarters, not daring to wander about for fear of offending the Immortals in the city.

After all, when the Immortal City’s Cultivators evacuated them, they had also used large-capacity Storage Bags to bring along their personal belongings and food supplies.

They wouldn’t starve. They just had to wait for the beast tide to pass before returning to their villages and rebuilding their homes.

...

A Tier Two beast tide meant there would certainly be Tier Two Demon Beasts, but it was uncertain if any Tier Three Demon Beasts would appear.

Under these circumstances, for Cultivation Clans whose strongest members were only at the Qi Refining Stage, the safest course of action was to abandon their ancestral lands, retreat into the Immortal City, and fight the beast tide together under the leadership of the city’s Cultivators.

However, the Foundation Establishment Immortal Races would not be so willing to abandon ancestral lands they had painstakingly managed for generations.

With the aid of an Array, a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator could easily handle two or three Demon Beasts of the same tier.

As long as their luck wasn’t too bad, a Foundation Establishment Immortal Race could not only weather the beast tide with ease but also reap great rewards from it.

But if they retreated into the Immortal City, their unguarded ancestral lands would be utterly destroyed by Demon Beasts, requiring an unknown amount of effort to rebuild. Moreover, the family would be subject to the Immortal City’s authority and forced to accept its commands.

Living under another’s roof, they could become cannon fodder, and the family’s losses might end up being even greater.

The Bai family was one such case. They did not retreat to the Immortal City for refuge like the Qi Refining clans. Instead, they gathered all the mortals of their family within their Tier Two Middle Grade Array, the "Water Veil of Celestial Splendor," which protected the family’s Spirit Vein, preparing to defend their ground and ride out the beast tide.

Some of the bolder Cultivators from the Bai family even formed a Demon Hunting Team and ventured out of the Array to hunt stray, Low-Tier Demon Beasts, reaping handsome rewards!

...

The Immortal City’s announcement of a Tier Two beast tide warning officially sounded the horn for resisting the onslaught!

As vast numbers of Cultivators flooded into the Immortal City, the prices of goods useful for fending off Demon Beasts—such as Spirit Talismans, Dharma Artifacts, and Pills—began to skyrocket.

During this period, Gumu Sheng made a special trip to Immortal Peach Mountain to excitedly inform Li Ping that he had already sold off half of the various goods they bought before the beast tide, taking advantage of the panic to recoup most of their initial investment.

He had come this time to give Li Ping his share of the Spirit Stones. As for the remaining half of the goods, he was waiting for the situation to develop further.

For instance, when the Demon Beasts began to attack the city, or if a Tier Three Demon Beast appeared, he would sell off the rest of the goods. At that point, turning Li Ping’s 2,000 Spirit Stones into more than 3,500 would be no problem at all!

Earning 1,500 Spirit Stones in a single month made Li Ping sigh in admiration. ’Finance really is the fastest way to make money.’

Of course, they were just making a small fortune on the side. The ones who were truly raking it in were those who had started hoarding goods long before.

...

At the Meng family’s ancestral land, the Meng Ancestor couldn’t help but smile, his eyes crinkling into crescents as he thought about his recent maneuvers.

After sensing that a beast tide was about to erupt, he had quickly dispatched the family’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators to leave the city and gather firsthand information. He had also learned about the internal situation in the Immortal City through Meng Qingyi.

Then, he had decisively hoarded goods. Not long ago, after prices reached their peak, he began to sell them off to reclaim his Spirit Stones. It was now a foregone conclusion that the Meng family would make a huge profit from this beast tide.

He could almost see the image of the Meng family’s influence expanding rapidly in the century after the beast tide ended.

The thought of it made his heart race with excitement.

But for now, he did his best to maintain a calm facade, because he was currently receiving a guest.

...

The one sitting in the hall, conversing with the Meng Ancestor, was the Wang Ancestor.

Ever since Wang Xingwei failed to reach Foundation Establishment two years ago, despite using two Foundation Establishment Pills in succession, the Wang family’s situation had gone from bad to worse.

Worse still, it was his own arbitrary decision to give both Foundation Establishment Pills to Wang Xingwei.

Many clansmen had begun to complain about their ancestor in private, accusing him of damaging the entire family’s interests for his own selfish reasons.

They believed that if someone else had tried for Foundation Establishment back then, they might have succeeded.

The Wang Ancestor had heard these rumors within the family, but he no longer had the time or energy to care about them.

He had a premonition that he did not have many years left to live. Therefore, he desperately hoped to do something more for the family in his remaining time, so that they would not fall into decline after his death.

Now, with the Immortal City facing the impact of the beast tide, he had finally found his opportunity.

After some small talk, the Wang Ancestor stated his purpose directly, "Brother Meng, I plan to resign from my position as steward of the Secret Skill Pavilion and go to the front lines to fight the beast tide."

The Meng Ancestor looked at him in surprise. "Oh? Brother Wang, your health... Wouldn’t it be better for you to rest and recuperate?"

"Heh..." The Wang Ancestor shook his head. "My Origin was damaged when I failed to break through to the late stage. Unless I can obtain one of those legendary Treasures, I’m just clinging to life for another couple of years at best. What good would recuperating do?"

He looked up at the Meng Ancestor and said frankly, "I’ve already decided to die in battle during this beast tide. I will use my death to win a measure of grace and honor for the Wang family!"

The Meng Ancestor was aghast. "This... You absolutely mustn’t! It hasn’t come to this!"

"My mind is made up. Brother Meng, you don’t have to persuade me," the Wang Ancestor said. "Our ancestors were both old hands from the time of the Celestial Profound Sect. We followed the Master in the great retreat and later rendered meritorious service in the establishment of the Immortal City. Our families’ friendship goes back a long way and has lasted for generations. After I die, I must ask you, my fellow Daoist, to look after the younger generation of the Wang family."

Seeing his friend’s frank gaze, the Meng Ancestor opened his mouth to speak, then stopped, finally letting out a sigh. "Ai... If you had successfully broken through to the late stage, the two of us together would have been enough to suppress Dai Sangyu. But forget it, forget it... You can go with an easy mind. I will look after the Wang family."

Seeing his old friend agree, the Wang Ancestor finally showed a smile and began to explain the arrangements for his family’s affairs after his passing.

In this matter, he believed that as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who died in battle defending the Immortal City from the beast tide, his would be a sacrifice in the line of duty. This would capture the Master’s attention, and the Master was a person who valued sentiment and loyalty.

Therefore, for a long time to come, even if someone wanted to move against the Wang family, they would not dare to do so openly!

He might have made some mistakes in his life, but everything he did was for the sake of his family.

No matter what his clansmen or outsiders thought of him, his conscience was clear!

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