Chapter 182: Chapter 143: Mixing This Poison Into the Elixirs, Xiao Chen, What Are You Plotting

"Master Ming Yan has reached an agreement with the Lingyuan Sect’s Thunder Sound True Man. Effective immediately, our two sects will stand together and support each other, jointly attacking the Demon Cultivators of the Divine Fire Sect."

Mei Yong started off with a bombshell.

The outcome itself didn’t surprise Xiao Chen.

The Divine Fire Sect was a formidable power. As fellow Righteous Sects, rushing to Hezhou’s aid was both a matter of duty and a wise decision.

Otherwise, once the Divine Fire Sect conquered Hezhou, Li State would be the next to fall.

And by then, there would be no other allies left to come to their aid.

But the question was, hadn’t this all happened a bit too quickly?

’It’s been less than two years. Is Hezhou already unable to hold on?’

As far as he knew, the Yingyue Immortal Sect had held out for more than three years after their main gates were besieged.

The others were also quite surprised and began to ask about the current situation in Hezhou.

Mei Yong’s expression was a little strange. He wanted to clear up the misunderstanding but wasn’t sure how to explain.

So, he simply unfolded a newly drawn map of the situation in Hezhou in silence.

"The areas within the white circles are the territories currently controlled by the Lingyuan Sect. Red indicates the places already occupied by the Divine Fire Sect."

Xiao Chen looked up and saw at a glance that the situation in Hezhou was not right.

The periphery of the Lingyuan Sect’s northern territory was marked with a dense cluster of red strongholds that nearly formed a solid block.

This was especially true near the two Tier One Spirit Veins, where the red was so dense it looked almost black.

However, central and southern Hezhou only had a few scattered red dots.

Judging by the distribution, they seemed to be completely unorganized and disconnected, more like opportunistic Tribulation Cultivators causing chaos under the Divine Fire Sect’s name.

This was very interesting.

’Looking at this map, it seems more like an invasion of the Lingyuan Sect than an invasion of Hezhou.’

"Ahem!"

Mei Yong cleared his throat. "In any case, the situation is quite grim. We urgently need more people to hold the line."

"The purpose of this assembly is to ask if any of you, my fellow disciples, are willing to go to Hezhou and fight the Demon Cultivators."

"I also have a list of rewards the Lingyuan Sect is offering for exterminating demons."

With that, he waved his hand.

An Inner Sect Disciple standing in attendance immediately distributed freshly copied Exchange Albums to everyone present.

Xiao Chen opened the Exchange Album and took a look.

He had to admit, the rewards offered by the Lingyuan Sect were quite generous.

Not only was there a wide variety, but there were also many rare Treasures that were seldom seen.

They were offering a full sixty-four Upper Grade Magical Artifacts, as well as twenty different Mystic Level inheritances.

All sorts of Middle Grade Magical Artifacts, Tier Two Spirit Pills, Special Spiritual Fruits, Five Elements Spirit Sand, and more were simply too numerous to count.

Xiao Chen flipped directly to the last few pages, where the truly good items were listed.

Twenty portions of top-tier Five Elements Spiritual Liquid, a full five Top Grade Magical Artifacts, eight complete Earth Level inheritances, nineteen different types of Earth Level Magic, and one Tier Two Crocodile Cat Inner Core.

Most importantly, the number of points required to exchange for these items wasn’t exorbitant.

The Lingyuan Sect had listed dozens of missions that could be completed to earn points.

In theory, one year of hard fighting could yield more than ten years’ worth of normal earnings.

To be honest, it was an incredibly tempting offer.

Even Xiao Chen felt the urge to take the gamble. If he could obtain that Crocodile Cat Inner Core, he should be able to directly refine a Fake Pill.

The others were even more thrilled.

Several Honored Guest Elders declared on the spot that the righteous and the demonic could not coexist. They were willing to depart immediately to reinforce Hezhou for the cause of Demon Extermination and Protection of the Dao.

Mei Yong waited until everyone had finished reading before pouring cold water on their excitement.

"Don’t be so hasty, my brothers. I have some bad news."

"According to reliable intelligence, the reason the Lingyuan Sect is being so generous is that there have already been casualties among late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"These high-point missions all come with significant risks." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

At his words, some of the people began to hesitate.

This was especially true for many of the older Foundation Establishment cultivators, or those who came from prominent families; they were reluctant to take such risks.

But another faction, represented by Huang Haoran—composed of younger Foundation Establishment cultivators or those without family backing—declared that they weren’t afraid of the risks.

"Please, my brothers, don’t be so hasty."

Mei Yong began to mediate. "Although time is short, you still have three days to prepare."

"This is a life-and-death matter, after all. Please, everyone, go back and think it over carefully. You can also discuss it amongst yourselves. Those who decide to go should gather in the square in three days, at 11:30 AM."

"Once you go to Hezhou, you can’t back out. But until then, you can change your mind at any time."

Xiao Chen quite wanted the Crocodile Cat Inner Core and the Wood Element Spirit Liquid, but he didn’t make a decision right away.

Instead, the day after the assembly ended, he went to see Elder Chen to ask for his opinion.

The rest of the Chen Family happened to be there as well.

Upon hearing his purpose, Chen Tianyuan immediately advised, "Nephew Xiao, the situation in Hezhou is chaotic right now. This is not a good opportunity."

Elder Chen nodded in agreement. "Your Senior Uncle is right. With your talent, focusing on being an Alchemist is a better path than any other. There’s no need to take such a risk."

Chen Tianfeng also chimed in, "Nephew Xiao, all this fighting and killing is so tedious. Have you ever considered Artifact Refining?"

Huh?

Before Xiao Chen could answer, Chen Tianyuan retorted, "What’s so great about Artifact Refining?"

"Besides, he’s already chosen Alchemy. There’s no sense in giving up halfway."

"Nephew Xiao, as it happens, the Lingyuan Sect has just sent over a large number of orders. If you have the time, you should come by the Alchemy Hall and take a look."

Afterwards, the group discussed the matter of reinforcing Hezhou for a while longer.