Chapter 719: Initial Entry into the Wasteland

**Pure Nine-Lotus Lantern**

Zhou Shengqing was requested to remain and hold the fort in the Eastern Desolation.

Chen Mo immediately began to mobilize personnel. Since many elite cultivators had already been dispatched to support the Wind and Rain Dock's Five Elements Sect branches, Chen Mo did not request a large number this time. The allocation was merely two Foundation Establishment cultivators and one hundred Qi Condensation cultivators from each branch.

However, he had specific requirements for these cultivators. The Foundation Establishment cultivators had to be proficient in Dao soldiers of the Five Elements, and the one hundred Qi Condensation cultivators were to be equally distributed among early, middle, and late stages, preferably young and talented. This way, he could provide guidance when leading the team and had spare time.

Of course, Chen Mo was accustomed to coming up with a grand reason when mobilizing subordinate cultivators. This time, the reason was to prepare for the development of the nearby Desolate Ruins. As the Eastern Desolation was almost entirely secured, if the Five Elements Sect were to expand further, it could only look beyond its borders.

After the Blowing Snow Palace conceded, despite some internal resistance, Jiang Zongheng swiftly led the Yan Kingdom army to capture the Snow Kingdom. Subsequently, in the Wind Kingdom, although the royal family was reluctant and many local powers attempted to exploit geographical advantages to protect their wealth and status, the entire kingdom fell within just ten days under the mighty Yan Kingdom army and with the allegiance of the Wind Kingdom's immortal cultivation families.

Having conquered the three kingdoms of Frost, Snow, and Wind, the Yan Kingdom army did not pause for rest. Under the leadership of Duan Shuyu, they swept south, heading towards the Summer Kingdom, where the Rejuvenation Valley was located. Jiang Zongheng had initially planned to engage in battle with the cultivators of Rejuvenation Valley. However, to his surprise, Rejuvenation Valley sent He Jintong, who immediately reached an agreement with them, similar to the one with Blowing Snow Palace.

After all, the foundation of Rejuvenation Valley lay in its various spirit veins and medicinal fields. Even without secular power, as long as they controlled territory, they would have a chance to rise again in the future. Moreover, compared to Blowing Snow Palace, Rejuvenation Valley was confident that it could attract people with spiritual roots from the mortal world to join their sect with more favorable conditions.

Another crucial reason was that Yan Shaoyin was now entirely focused on refining Infant Nurturing Pills, preparing for Nascent Soul formation. For this, as long as the Five Elements Sect was not too overbearing, they could concede. Once he formed his Nascent Soul, everything could be made to be returned by the Five Elements Sect, with interest. Perhaps the Five Elements Sect's arduous effort in unifying the Eastern Desolation Dynasty was merely paving the way for Yan Shaoyin. Understanding this, Yan Shaoyin immediately sent He Jintong out of the mountain gate to sign a contract with Jiang Zongheng.

However, although Rejuvenation Valley conceded, the Summer Kingdom's royal family was unwilling to abandon their centuries-old foundation. With the assistance of their ally, the Flower Kingdom, they were fiercely resisting. Jiang Zongheng did not directly intervene to destroy the two kingdoms. This was because representatives from the Star Sky Grand Commercial Guild, concerned that large-scale mortal wars would damage their ten thousand acres of Coiled Dragon Spirit Rice in the Flower Kingdom, had come directly to the battlefield. Jiang Zongheng was currently negotiating with them. Regarding this, Chen Mo had fully authorized him: the Summer Kingdom must be taken, but the Flower Kingdom could be spared out of respect for the Star Sky Dao Sect. This was also an agreement he had previously reached with Lou Xuelong, but the specific distribution and arrangements still needed to be discussed by the subordinates.

Nevertheless, the trend of Eastern Desolation's unification had already become clear to all cultivators. Everyone believed this was a preview of the Five Elements Sect's ambition to secure all resources in the Eastern Desolation from the bottom up. After the unification of the Eastern Desolation, it was conceivable that the Five Elements Sect's resources would skyrocket. Therefore, when the document bearing Chen Mo's seal was sent to the Five Elements Sect's five branches, many cultivators actively applied, wanting to join the Desolate Ruins development and survey team led by the Sect Master. Besides wanting to make an appearance before Chen Mo, they also hoped to receive guidance from this famous great virtuous master of the Eastern Desolation. After all, the matter of the Golden Liquid Jade Return Pill being made available was widely discussed in the Wood Branch, and Foundation Establishment cultivators from the other four branches were all trying to find excuses to qualify for the next batch of pills.

This time, Chen Mo personally recruited people and was leading the team himself, so within the Five Elements Sect's five branches, a small-scale internal competition began to vie for this opportunity. The Foundation Establishment cultivators from the four branches who ultimately arrived somewhat surprised Chen Mo. Among those from the Earth Branch were even the former Sect Master, Chunyu Su, and Kong Shanxu. One was at Foundation Establishment Completion, and the other at late Foundation Establishment, making them the two most profound cultivators in terms of cultivation realm, besides Zhou Ye. The two from the Fire Branch were equally impressive: Tan Rong and an elderly Foundation Establishment Completion cultivator named Zhu Xicheng. The latter reportedly wanted to attempt Core Formation before his lifespan ended, and hearing of this opportunity, he wished to seek Chen Mo's guidance.

Those from the Metal Branch were also familiar faces: Ning Leshan and Ban Zhaodan. Ning Leshan was also nearing Foundation Establishment Completion; if the Golden Liquid Jade Return Pill were to be distributed among the Five Elements Sect's five branches next time, he would be the most likely candidate from the Metal Branch. As for Ban Zhaodan, he was one of the original Five-Color Immortal Seeds, with even greater talent than Ning Leshan. However, he was stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage for quite some time. It was said that his character was too unyielding, so when he first took the Foundation Establishment Pill, inner demons proliferated, and he failed at the stage of spiritual consciousness exiting the body.

After failing Foundation Establishment, Ban Zhaodan endured a lot of slander. Initially, he almost went to extremes, as the immense disparity from heaven to earth was not something everyone could endure. But after twenty years of hardship and tempering, his once stubborn sword heart began to mature and become well-rounded. Finally, during a sword practice session, he suddenly enlightened, laid down his sword, then meditated on the mountain peak for three days and three nights, comprehending the Dao and achieving Foundation Establishment. However, Ban Zhaodan, having returned after achieving Foundation Establishment, did not seek revenge for the insults and slander he suffered during those twenty years. He simply claimed a new sword, and after being promoted to elder, continued to farm and practice sword on his small mountain. According to Ban Zhaodan, the reason he was able to comprehend the Dao and achieve Foundation Establishment was because he had heard about Chen Mo's deeds. He then learned from the actions of this person, who was considered the foremost sword talent in the Eastern Desolation over the past millennium, by farming and practicing sword, drinking tea and brewing wine in a secluded courtyard far from Jinguang Cliff. In this pastoral life, he comprehended his true sword dao, eventually severing all dust from his heart and realizing the sword heart most suitable for him. Ban Zhaodan regarded Chen Mo as an idol. Earlier, when Chen Mo came to Jinguang Cliff to refine the Primordial True Qi, he received the news too late. Since he now had an opportunity, he insisted on participating. In response, Jinguang Cliff held a sword competition, and Ban Zhaodan ultimately prevailed over the other candidates, coming to Beiyuan City with Ning Leshan.

Compared to them, those from Wind and Rain Dock were relatively normal. They were preparing for a major battle with demon beasts, so the two Foundation Establishment cultivators sent this time were ordinary, compared to the other three branches. On the other hand, the Qi Condensation cultivators from each branch were basically elites. After all, there was a saying in the Eastern Desolation: "With guidance from the Great Virtuous Master, there will be no more confusion on the path to Foundation Establishment." So, when the Qi Condensation cultivators below heard the news, they competed even more fiercely than the Foundation Establishment cultivators. If Chen Mo hadn't stipulated that Qi Condensation cultivators be equally distributed among the early, middle, and late stages, probably all those brought by each branch this time would have been late-stage Qi Condensation.

These past few days, as cultivators from the Five Elements Sect's five branches continuously gathered, Beiyuan City became even more prosperous. Chen Mo summoned his eldest disciple, Liu Wenbai, and after meeting with the Foundation Establishment cultivators from each branch, he had Liu Wenbai take his place in commanding the personnel. Naturally, the other most suitable candidate was Yin Qingmei. But if she left, the progress of opening up Blackwater would be delayed. Furthermore, the Desolate Ruins was an unknown territory, and they were also going to fight demonic cultivators this time, which was still somewhat dangerous, so after some thought, he decided to have her stay in the Eastern Desolation to focus on infrastructure development. Finally, after reviewing within the sect, Chen Mo chose Mu Yuan from the extensive list submitted by E Yun.

Once all personnel were selected, Chen Mo did not delay any longer and immediately went to Wushang Pavilion to discuss travel plans with Ye Qing. Besides them, Yu Hai and Shen Shanqing were also present. Through recruiting rogue cultivators, they had surprisingly assembled a hundred-person cultivator army, and they would also escort Ye Qing deep into the Desolate Ruins. Chen Mo had no objection to this; the Desolate Ruins was dangerous, and more people always meant more strength. Moreover, Ye Qing was the primary focus of this expedition. This Daozi of the Nine Heavens Demon Extermination Sect was also a decisive person; he immediately decided to depart from Beiyuan City three days later and head directly to the Desolate Ruins. Chen Mo also had no objections. Before leaving, Ye Qing gave him one hundred high-grade spirit stones as initial expenses for this operation. It could only be said that he truly was a Daozi of a Holy Land, making such a generous offer of a million spirit stones. Moreover, the quality of these high-grade spirit stones was better than those excavated from the Eastern Desolation; they were crystalline and translucent like water waves, likely excavated from a large spirit stone mine. However, Chen Mo noticed that when Ye Qing took out these spirit stones, the beautiful junior sister beside him seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Upon returning, Chen Mo immediately gave two high-grade spirit stones to each of the Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Five Elements Sect's branches who had come. This made them feel extremely flattered and cautious, saying they had not yet earned any merit and dared not accept. "We depart in three days. The dangers within the Desolate Ruins are unknown. Each of you keep one for yourselves, and the rest should be exchanged for low-grade spirit stones and distributed to the Qi Condensation cultivators. Have them purchase various talismans, spirit rice, pills, and so on in Beiyuan City, to avoid being unprepared when the time comes." Only after Chen Mo said this did these Foundation Establishment cultivators dare to accept them. Soon, the economy in Beiyuan City was invigorated by this cultivator army, and many merchants made a fortune. However, the biggest earners were definitely the various shops of the Wood Branch and Xiaonan Mountain Shop.

Time quickly arrived at the day of departure. On the Five Elements Sect's side, there were five flying boats, led by their respective Foundation Establishment cultivators, distinguished by color. As for Shen Shanqing and Yu Hai's side, they shared one flying boat. Although they only had a hundred people, the lowest cultivation level among those recruited was late-stage Qi Condensation. Chen Mo asked E Yun to inquire and learned that a daily fee of ten spirit stones would be issued just for departing from Beiyuan City. This price, in the Eastern Desolation, was only offered during the most intense battles. However, Chen Mo suspected that even at this price, those two had probably embezzled quite a bit. Precisely because of this, there were many applicants. Besides Qi Condensation cultivators, six Foundation Establishment cultivators residing in Beiyuan City were also invited to join. Three of them were rogue cultivators, and three were from immortal cultivation families in the Eastern Desolation. They were stationed in Beiyuan City to oversee their family's businesses, but encountering such an opportunity, and being able to connect with the Daozi of the Nine Heavens Demon Extermination Sect, they eagerly participated.

Everyone quickly left the Eastern Desolation and entered the airspace over the Desolate Ruins. Because this area bordered the Eastern Desolation, it had actually been thoroughly explored by previous cultivators. And the area one hundred *li* further was also cleared in the last expansion by Zhou Shengqing. Chen Mo and Ye Qing flew at the very front, quickly arriving at the battlefield previously chosen for engaging the Profound Sky Dao Palace. There was a third-rank low-grade spirit vein here, which had also been set up with an array formation and restrictions by the Divine Wood Sect. It had not ceased to function yet. Everyone rested here for half a day, then once again rode their flying boats deeper into the Desolate Ruins. Beyond that point, there were basically no absolutely safe places.

Immediately upon entering, they encountered trouble. They saw an overwhelming dust storm rise, howling and forming ten gigantic whirlwinds, each over ten meters high, like pythons, converging from all directions. Wherever they passed, whether it was sand, stones, or trees, they were swept in. Judging by their direction, they were rapidly approaching the flying boats, seemingly intending to devour them.

"This is a unique natural disaster of the Desolate Ruins. Once sucked into it, it's like enduring endless wind blades attacking your body. Everyone be careful!" The speaker was a rogue Foundation Establishment cultivator named Song Qi. He often traveled between Dongyi and Eastern Desolation and reportedly knew a safe passage, which he used to escort people between the two regions and conduct business, earning resources for his Foundation Establishment. He was considered one of the most experienced cultivators in Beiyuan City regarding the Desolate Ruins.

As he spoke, perhaps to demonstrate his abilities, he launched a jade sword. It flew through the air, drawing a beautiful arc, and then several talismans merged into the yellow sand whirlwind before him, causing it to stand still like a clay figure. After a few breaths, the whirlwind seemed to lose its vitality and began to slowly dissipate. Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, just then, a bone spear shot out from the whirlwind without warning, piercing through Song Qi's chest. Song Qi's eyes widened, and blood splattered onto the yellow sand. Even in death, he couldn't understand how he had been ambushed. The other Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators on the flying boat, seeing this, quickly wielded their magic artifacts in defense. Chen Mo frowned slightly; even he hadn't seen how the bone spear in the whirlwind had been shot out. But his spiritual eye technique showed that Song Qi's heart had been pierced, and a strange, inexplicable malevolent energy had eroded his internal organs, even rushing into his Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness, meaning he wouldn't live much longer.

"Senior Brother, this looks like a technique of the Corpse Dissolution Demonic Sect." At this moment, the blue-shirted girl beside Ye Qing spoke. Chen Mo knew her name was Yuan Zhen. Although her reputation was not as brilliant as Ye Qing's, she was also a genius who formed a Core within sixty years and was currently a Saintess candidate of the Nine Heavens Demon Extermination Sect. Compared to Ye Qing, she fit Chen Mo's impression of a disciple from a major sect more: very proud.