Several Elders had shown interest in leading this trip to the Five Mountains Temple.

However, Sect Leader Wei Dao made the final call. He stated that Peng Chong had been a reliable leader last time, securing the Sect several top-tier True Inheritances, and that replacing him would hardly be a fitting reward for his accomplishments.

With Peng Chong continuing as the lead Elder, his influence over the selection list grew considerably.

Over the past few months, many people had come to him asking for favors.

The numerous corrections on the list were changes made to accommodate favors from people he couldn’t easily refuse.

"No."

Bai Zichen shook his head without even looking closely at the list. Among the people he knew, there really wasn’t anyone who met the requirements.

Otherwise, with his current status, if he were to suggest a candidate or two, Peng Chong would almost certainly not refuse and would find a way to squeeze them onto the list.

"The lists from the Cultivation Families won’t arrive for a while yet. In three months, I will have someone notify you, Junior Brother Bai, and we will all depart for the Five Mountains Temple together."

Peng Chong put the long list away. He controlled at least three of the slots himself. Whether he should use them to trade favors or just accept the gifts from those who had made requests was something he could figure out later.

"That works. I’ll just make sure to free up my schedule then."

Bai Zichen wondered who his Clan would send this time.

According to the letters his uncle had sent over the past few years, ever since his generation with Bai Ling and Bai Wei, the Bai Family hadn’t produced any other outstanding junior disciples to take their place.

This was the norm for a Cultivation Family.

With only tens of thousands of members, the number of Immortal Seedlings they found each year was minuscule. Producing several talented disciples in a row was already a blessing from their ancestors.

It was just that Black Mountain was perilous and its resources were scarce. The areas suitable for farming almost all had Spirit Veins running through them, so naturally, they had to be prioritized for use by Cultivators.

With the exception of the Fire Phoenix Mo Family, which was an anomaly, the mortal populations of the other clans all grew slowly.

"I heard that Spirit Stone Ore Vein on the border is causing quite a stir. What’s the situation now?"

At the Elder level, sources of information were naturally different from those available to disciples.

Even though many of a True Disciple’s privileges were on par with an Elder’s, major Sect matters like this wouldn’t be reported to Bai Zichen, nor could he attend the Elder Council meetings to observe. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"It’s a bit tricky. We’ve already sent five of our sect brothers and hundreds of disciples. We organized another survey a while back. Junior Sister Mingluan’s estimate of the Ore Vein’s size was correct, but we never expected its depths to hold another secret!"

Peng Chong licked his lips, a flash of greed crossing his dark face.

"This Spirit Stone Ore Vein contains a deposit of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones... According to the latest survey, there are at least close to a thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"It’s actually producing Mid-Grade Spirit Stones? In that case, the Ghost Spirit Sect will be even less willing to back down..."

Bai Zichen had only asked casually and hadn’t expected a new development, so he sat up straighter.

When most cultivators in the Cultivation Realm spoke of Spirit Stones, they were referring to Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Ninety percent of cultivators would never encounter a higher-grade one in their entire life, so there was usually no need to specify.

But for High-Tier Cultivators, especially those at the Core Formation True Man level, Low-Grade Spirit Stones were actually somewhat inadequate.

Whether for aiding Cultivation, recovering Magical Power, or operating Arrays, Mid-Grade Spirit Stones were required.

This wasn’t a gap that could be bridged by sheer quantity; it was a fundamental difference in quality.

For instance, when the Bai Family’s Clan Protection Array, the Four Symbols Heaven Element Array, was attacked by the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators, it had relied on Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to hold out for a long time.

Furthermore, a Tier Three Array could only be powered by Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Thus, in terms of pure Spiritual Qi content, one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, but in practice, the exchange rate was at least one hundred and ten to one.

If this Spirit Stone Ore Vein truly contained a thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, its overall value would increase by nearly half again.

"The Ghost Spirit Sect probably doesn’t know about this yet, but I’m afraid we won’t be able to keep it hidden for long... A Tier Two Top-Grade Ten Thousand Miles Yellow Sand Formation has already been deployed over the Ore Vein. Unless the Ghost Spirit Sect attacks with a full-blown army, it should be able to hold them off for a while."

Peng Chong didn’t hold back, recounting the details of the Elder Council’s discussion.

"The Sect Leader intends to dispatch more people to quickly excavate the Spirit Stones, trying to get as much as we can before the Ghost Spirit Sect reacts. Otherwise, if a war breaks out, the daily cost of just maintaining the Ten Thousand Miles Yellow Sand Formation will be astronomical."

"However, this will stretch the Sect’s manpower thin. Pulling away too many people at once might affect other arrangements. One Elder suggested we could conscript the Cultivation Families and Loose Cultivators. We could also use the opportunity to practice with Battle Arrays and prepare for future wars of reclamation."

"The great war between the Righteous and Demonic Dao ended only a few years ago. Surely another one won’t break out here in Black Mountain."

Bai Zichen was slightly worried. He was currently in the preparatory stage before attempting his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment and didn’t want to be delayed for even a moment.

If a war really broke out between the two sects, it would definitely affect his original plan for reaching Foundation Establishment.

"Relax. The enmity between us and the Ghost Spirit Sect goes way back. If a real war was going to break out, it would have happened back when Ancestor Yang returned heavily injured from his great battle with the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Core Formation True Man. The fact that a real war hasn’t started after so many years means we’re wary of them, and they are just as wary of us. They can only resort to dirty tricks behind our backs."

Peng Chong didn’t seem concerned. In any case, he held a position in the Artifact Refining Hall. If a war started, the demand for Magical Artifacts would skyrocket, and he was unlikely to be sent to the front lines.

"Rest easy, Nephew Bai. With our two Ancestors watching over things, nothing can go wrong."

Bai Zichen could only nod silently. No matter how highly regarded a True Disciple was, in a situation like this, he could only go with the flow.

After leaving the Artifact Refining Hall, Bai Zichen had originally planned to make a trip to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.

His two bottles of Blood Circulation Pills were long gone. A month ago, he had sent Su Lie to pick up two bottles of the more potent Dragon Power Pills.

Although its name contained the word "Dragon," it had absolutely nothing to do with Dragon-Kind Demon Beasts.

It was refined using Spirit Grass like Fire Spirit Blood Reishi and Centennial Dragon Beard Grass and was considered the most effective Body Refining Elixir available during the Qi Refining Stage.

After taking them, Bai Zichen could indeed feel that the effects were several times stronger than what he got from refining Blood Circulation Pills.

However, once he had started practicing the Five Crystal Glaze Body, his cultivation speed had become fast, and his efficiency at absorbing the medicinal power from elixirs was equally impressive.

Bai Zichen had used up two bottles of Dragon Power Pills in just over a month.

’Forget it. I’ll just head to the Market.’

After taking two steps, Bai Zichen changed his mind and switched his direction.

The last time Su Lie returned, he mentioned what had happened when he went to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to request the Dragon Power Pills. The Hall Steward had been stone-faced and complained at length about the hall’s difficulties and limited resources. Then, he made Su Lie wait a long time while he submitted a request to Elder Gu before finally letting him take the two bottles.

Thinking back on it, he had to admit he had been requesting quite a few Spiritual Objects from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall lately.

He had taken several pounds of just the Tier Two Top Grade Silver Needle Tea, and nearly twenty pounds of the ordinary Tier Two Low Grade Silver Needle Tea, not to mention a whole basket of Tier Two agarwood incense.

’Even if they wouldn’t dare openly cross a True Disciple like me, one should know when to stop fleecing the same sheep...’

There was another reason Bai Zichen was heading to the Market via Sword Control: he didn’t want to reveal that he had consumed so many Dragon Power Pills in such a short period.

A normal Body Refining Cultivator would need at least three months to completely digest and absorb the medicinal power of the Dragon Power Pills.

His rate of consumption was appallingly fast, and it would be easy for people to connect it to the Five Crystal Glaze Body.

Bai Zichen planned to keep his Body Refining strength hidden as an ace up his sleeve, so it was naturally better to acquire the Dragon Power Pills from somewhere else.