Chapter 675: Seeking Refuge (Part 2)

Chapter 675: Chapter 456: Seeking Refuge (Part 2)

“Announcing the envoys from the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, Zha Shaoyang and Zou Yu!”

The Guest Officer’s announcement at the hall’s entrance made Fang Qingyuan’s ears perk up. He waved his hand, signaling for them to be brought in quickly.

Two white-haired old men walked in. Fang Qingyuan looked at them intently and could still vaguely recall their youthful presence from all those years ago. He just couldn’t understand why they had become so frail.

It was only then that Fang Qingyuan realized more than eighty years had passed. From the time he had left the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect until now—twelve years plus sixty-nine years—wasn’t that exactly eighty-one years?

The lifespan of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was only about two hundred thirty to forty years. Back when Fang Qingyuan reached Foundation Establishment, Zha Shaoyang and Zou Yu had already been at that stage for many years. Calculating their age now, they had to be over two hundred years old.

“Juniors Zha Shaoyang and Zou Yu pay our respects to Elder Fang. We wish Elder Fang…”

How could Fang Qingyuan let his old friends perform such a deep bow to him? With a gentle lift of his hand, he raised them both to their feet. Seeing this, Liu Xun quickly had someone bring over two stools and invite the two men to sit.

“Let’s dispense with the formalities between us. It’s been so many years. We must have a good long talk later.”

These words brought smiles to the two men’s faces. Seeing that Fang Qingyuan still cherished their old friendship moved not only them but also everyone else who witnessed the scene.

After receiving the ceremonial greetings from the envoys of other sects, Fang Qingyuan led Zha Shaoyang and Zou Yu to a pavilion on the back mountain. He had a banquet with wine brought out, preparing to drink heartily with his two old friends.

This gesture from Fang Qingyuan left the two men feeling rather overwhelmed by the favor. Even though Fang Qingyuan had served as their Chief for a few years back then, for him to still treat them with such camaraderie after so many years had passed truly touched their hearts.

To Fang Qingyuan, however, his days as the Chief in the Southern Border felt as if they had happened only yesterday. If he so wished, those memories would flash vividly through his mind.

This was the difference in perception between a Golden Core Cultivator and a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. For a Golden Core Cultivator like Fang Qingyuan, who possessed an even longer lifespan, eighty years was truly nothing.

The dishes Fang Qingyuan had arranged were not precious Spiritual Objects, merely food he enjoyed on a daily basis. Even so, for Zha Shaoyang and Zou Yu, it was an exceptionally fine meal.

The three of them first shared a few drinks. Once the atmosphere had warmed, Fang Qingyuan took the initiative to steer the conversation to deeper matters. He knew the two hadn’t come here simply to wish him a long life.

“How has our master been recently? Is he in good health? Is his cultivation progressing smoothly?”

Zha Shaoyang nodded repeatedly, saying everything was fine. Zou Yu’s gaze, however, was evasive, and he lifted his cup to hide his face.

“Is there something you can’t tell me?”

Fang Qingyuan set down his wine cup, his tone turning cold. Zha Shaoyang’s heart skipped a beat. He hastily put down his own cup and began to explain:

“It’s not that we don’t want to tell you, Senior Brother. It’s just that Sect Leader Le forbade us from telling you before we left. Currently, our White Mountain Beast Taming Sect has been rotated to the very front line, directly facing that Banshan Giant Tiger Mountain Monarch. That fiend’s subordinates are all incredibly difficult to deal with. We can’t handle them, and our casualties have been devastating.”

“The war has already reached that point?”

Fang Qingyuan muttered to himself. He knew about this Giant Tiger Primordial Monarch in Awakening Lion Valley. Its cultivation was at the Perfection Realm of the Nascent Soul Realm, needing only the right opportunity to break through to Divinity Transformation. Without the Yue’e Jade Rabbit to intervene, it would be incredibly difficult for the Beast Taming Sect to crack this tough nut.

Fang Qingyuan had previously asked Chunyu Hua about this matter. The reason the Beast Taming Sect had launched such a bold offensive was that they had received a promise from the sect’s Lord Guardian. He would be responsible for suppressing the Old Lion, vowing to take action the moment it left its Spiritual Land.

It was precisely because of this promise that Yue’e and the Jade Rabbit dared to initiate this war. In the past two years, the allied forces of the Beast Taming Sect had already taken down the Black Death Hard-Backed Pig and the Myriad Aspect Spider, two Nascent Soul Ancient Beasts located in the outer parts of Awakening Lion Valley.

The front line had now advanced to the middle of Awakening Lion Valley, only a few thousand miles from the Sixth Rank Spiritual Land, the Lion’s Nest.

‘But to push Lechuan’s forces to the front line at a time like this… what’s the real reason behind it?’

“When did this happen?”

“Just last month. They replaced Di Qing’s Southern Border Beast Taming Sect.”

Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan sighed helplessly. ‘As I suspected, that fellow Di Yuanpu is acting out of selfish motives. Unwilling to sacrifice his own core followers, he pushed Lechuan and the other Beast Taming Sect factions to the front instead.’

‘This is what happens when you have no one in power looking out for you. You never get the good assignments, only the bad ones.’

But there was nothing Fang Qingyuan could do about this news. He had already left the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect; it was no longer his place to worry about its affairs.

‘It was a good thing Bear Wind ended up joining the Qingyuan Sect. Otherwise, at a time like this, wouldn’t Di Yuanpu have worked Bear Wind’s faction to death?’

“The two of us came here hoping to purchase some Talismanic Magical Artifacts effective against Wilderness Demonic Beasts. After two years of this pioneering war, our stockpiles are nearly depleted. Even what’s left, very little is allocated to us. With war breaking out all over White Mountain, prices have skyrocketed. You can’t necessarily buy what you need even if you have Spirit Stones. We know you do a lot of business, Senior Brother, so we were hoping to get a shipment from you to tide us over for a while…”

“Say no more. I understand what you mean. That’s easily arranged. I won’t even profit from you. I’ll give you three caravans’ worth of supplies at cost price. You can take them with you when you leave. If you don’t have enough Spirit Stones, you can owe me. We’ll talk about payment later.”

Seeing the matter resolved so easily, both men were pleasantly surprised. Three caravans’ worth of supplies would be enough to last their White Mountain Beast Taming Sect for several months.

“Also, there’s one more thing we’d like to trouble you with, Senior Brother. Some of the families of our sect members who have died in battle no longer wish to stay with us. They want to relocate to the White Mountain interior, but after discussing it, we don’t think it’s safe there either right now. So, we wanted to ask your opinion… to see if you could perhaps take in a few families and let them live out the rest of their lives in peace.”

Zha Shaoyang stated their request in a low voice. After listening, Fang Qingyuan asked directly:

“Roughly how many families? And how many people in total?”

“Nearly fifty families, about three thousand people. Among them are about ten children with Spirit Roots, but their aptitude is poor—only mid-to-low grade.”

‘They only joined the battle last month and already fifty people have died. For the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, which has just over a thousand members, this is a devastating loss.’

‘And this is just the beginning. In the foreseeable future, even more people from the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect will die.’

“I’ll take them all. Although the Qingyuan Sect’s Land Realm isn’t large, there’s plenty of room within the Qingyuan Alliance. I’ll find a Tier One Spirit Land to settle them. Who knows, there might be some old acquaintances among them from back in the day.”

Seeing Fang Qingyuan accept everyone without hesitation, a great weight was lifted from the two men’s hearts. Most sects were extremely wary of such outsiders. Even if they agreed to take them in, they would scatter the families and resettle them separately. No one would be like Fang Qingyuan, who went out of his way to keep them together and even provide a dedicated Tier One Spirit Land.

With their business concluded, the rest of their time was spent reminiscing about the past. The two men looked at Fang Qingyuan, whose handsome appearance had not changed in the slightest, then looked at their own heads of white hair. They didn’t know how many years they had left to live, and upon their return, they would have to rejoin the life-and-death war to open up the Barbaric Wilderness. Sorrow suddenly welled up from their hearts. Drinking the Spirit Wine, they began to sing a mournful song:

“The spring flowers bloom, the autumn moon wanes,Our dark hair turns to snow, but the struggle remains.Life is a fleeting dream, as brief as the fall,A century passes, an arrow loosed for all.

Youth’s splendor fades, it can never be held,The world’s grand affairs to seafoam are quelled.Like dew in the morn or a star in the night, we’re guests passing through,The boy I was yesterday… what do I now pursue?”

Fang Qingyuan held his wine goblet and murmured to himself, “What do I now pursue…?”