At the site of the Sage Master Martial Academy in Grandhaven Prefecture, numerous cultivators could be seen guarding mine shafts.
Mountains loomed in the distance; the former Sage Master Martial Academy was surrounded by many large mountains and numerous spiritual mines.
As the Sage Elder of the Divine Bird Totem, the Flame Sage Elder was more familiar with the mining environment than anyone else.
The atmosphere at the Sage Master Martial Academy was scorchingly hot, with mountain wildfires burning everywhere, yet they were also constructing a well-organized city.
The cultivators intended to transform this place into a mining city.
Within fifty years, a magnificent city would be born here.
At this moment.
Atop a floating, pitch-black mountain that burned with scorching flames like the midday sun, the Flame Sage Elder walked with heavy steps toward a palace filled with magma.
The magma emitted a blistering Spiritual power that even Foundation Establishment cultivators could not withstand.
The Flame Sage Elder wore a grim expression. "Bastards, bastards!"
Amidst his exasperated curses, the Sage Elder sat down on a round boulder surrounded by rolling magma.
"Reporting to the Flame Lord, the Spirit Lord told us to wait."
"Withdraw."
With a darkened face, the Flame Sage Elder dismissed the subordinate who had come to report. He roared furiously within his cultivation ground, "Dogshit Spirit Lord!!!"
It had been over two years.
The black-scaled demons outside harassed him incessantly.
He naturally had countermeasures; those demons were merely at the Half-Step Void Refinement realm and could be eradicated at any time.
Even if the opponents resurrected, after a few months of entanglement, the grand array formed by his subordinates was more than enough to obliterate them.
He had even imprisoned the demons on more than one occasion.
However, the demons had grown smarter and began employing tactics!
Their latest tactic was to suddenly appear out of nowhere, snatch away his kin, and upon returning the next time, leave behind their dismembered body parts.
This kind of humiliation and mockery had lasted for three years.
The Spirit Lord ordered him to guard the spiritual mines and demanded a massive amount of tribute from him every year.
If the tribute fell short, he was punished, yet the Spirit Lord had absolutely no intention of helping him in the slightest!
Just a moment ago, the demon had come again, taking a piss on him right before dying.
The only piece of good news was that he wasn't the only one being harassed; even a fully awakened immortal faced the exact same trouble.
A demon named Li Yunzhe was incredibly vicious with his curses, managing to hurl fresh, new insults every time he resurrected.
Having finally managed to soothe the foul anger in his heart...
The Flame Sage Elder froze.
A thumb-sized, human-like miniature figure with dragonfly wings on her back flew into his cultivation ground like a streak of light, trailing a tail flame of iridescent colors.
Seeming to dislike the surrounding scorching aura, she said in a soft voice, "Flame Sage Elder, the Exalted Immortal has ordered you to support General Wen Yan."
This was the Spirit Lord's personal envoy, the 'Color Fairy'.
The Color Fairy was also the Spirit Lord's most important kin, created by the Spirit Lord himself.
Even half-immortals like him or true immortals had to treat the Color Fairy with the utmost respect.
"Support General Wen?" The Flame Sage Elder was dissatisfied inwardly but dared not show his anger.
"Fairy, could it be that General Wen has also been harassed by the demons?"
"The Exalted Immortal is naturally aware of everyone's dissatisfaction. The matter of the demons' incursions has always been on his mind."
The Color Fairy possessed exceptional insight, causing the Flame Sage Elder to furrow his brows tightly.
She continued, "Everything the Exalted Immortal says and does carries profound meaning. You only need to take your men and go. You also must not have enjoyed a full, satisfying meal in quite a long time."
"Are you saying..."
As the Color Fairy departed, the Flame Sage Elder's eyes lit up brightly. He immediately gathered his kin and subordinates and headed toward General Wen's location.
"The Spirit Lord has always ignored the demons' incursions and the actions of the people outside the Blood Moon.
This is to make those outside lower their guard and think we have no countermeasures, thereby luring out an even bigger fish."
The Flame Sage Elder licked his lips. "I didn't expect the people outside the Blood Moon to target Wen Yan. Do they truly think she's weak enough to be bullied?"
As the Sage Elder of the Divine Bird Totem, he had fought against many Human Race cultivators during the great war in the Western Frontier.
Among them, one of the most terrifying was Wen Yan. Her raw strength was mediocre, but she was unparalleled at setting traps.
Furthermore... she was an array master who had immersed herself in the craft for twenty thousand years, and the over one hundred generals under her command were all her Array Dao disciples!
"It would be best if the Li Clan falls for this demoness's trap, so that I can avenge these three years of humiliation!" The Flame Sage Elder gnashed his teeth as he departed.
When he summoned his cultivators, he saw them pass by a handsome Human Race cultivator in a Daoist robe, who was walking in another direction far away.
A perfectly ordinary thought flashed through his mind: Such a fair-skinned Human Race cultivator, who knows which noble family he used to belong to. I'll find a time to send him to the death mines.
With a single command, numerous cultivators gathered at the mine.
Above the mining city, cultivators mounted their flying swords or boarded spirit boats, creating a boisterous and chaotic scene.
Li Zhiheng walked through the mining city.
"The demonic qi of High Ancestor Yundou... it seems the High Ancestor has already left. The karmic opportunity High Ancestor Yunbing spoke of isn't here either."
There were mines in all directions. Li Zhiheng's Divine Heart beat with a rhythmic thump, thump.
Within the Divine Heart, there were six pairs of eyes perceiving everything in the mining city.
Hidden inside the Divine Heart were the six Masters of the Martial Academy.
Sadly, things had changed, and people had departed in Grandhaven Prefecture; the Sage Master Martial Academy was the same, and the six Masters were no exception.
Li Zhiheng's feelings were complex.
After becoming a half-immortal, he had experienced much—from possessing a Childlike Heart, to nearly losing his human emotions under the influence of the Divine Heart, to his current state of being prone to sentimentality.
And then... carrying debts.
The debts of the commoners and cultivators of Grandhaven Prefecture, as well as the debts owed to the six Masters after the decisions and transactions they had made with him over the past few years.
Amidst his thoughts.
A cultivator in the mining city grabbed Li Zhiheng. "Daoist friend, the Exalted Immortal has ordered us to support General Wen!"
Li Zhiheng looked down at his grabbed hand, inexplicably finding himself pulled onto the mining city's pirate ship. Up ahead was the high-spirited Flame Sage Elder.
"Support General Wen?" Li Zhiheng looked at the enthusiastic cultivator.
He instantly understood that the karmic opportunity High Ancestor Yunbing spoke of might not be a good thing.
He asked, "Daoist friend, what has happened at General Wen's location?"
"I don't know either," the cultivator said in a deep voice.
"It must be the people from outside attempting to deal with General Wen. The people outside the Blood Moon have caused trouble for us more than once.
They are greedy and wicked, destroying our stability and peace. They want to destroy everything we have!"
Li Zhiheng was stunned. The 'people from outside' were referring to them... He felt that these people had truly gone mad. "Daoist friend, is it possible you have it backwards?"
"Hmph, how is that possible?!" The cultivator said angrily, "The ones outside the Blood Moon are demons and monsters. As long as we can drive them away, I am willing to die!"
"..."
Li Zhiheng raised his eyebrows, looking up at the three feet of karmic luck floating above the cultivator's head.
He took a deep breath, and the man's karmic luck instantly vanished. He replied solemnly to the cultivator, "Daoist friend, congratulations. The transaction is complete."
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