Xuantian Immortal Cultivation Record

“Fellow villagers, the Sage Sect's Shuofang branch hereby announces to all quarters that it is recruiting ten thousand strong laborers for the Hushan Great Mine. Those willing to serve may register at the Yundu and various county Sage Sect branches. Compensation and benefits will be generous.”

“Fellow villagers, …”

At the entrance of the south gate of Yundu City, the capital of Shuofang Kingdom, an old man wearing a black crown and with a burning flame pattern embroidered on his chest was loudly proclaiming to the passing people.

Behind him, five young men in blue robes stood respectfully with their hands down, all with flame patterns embroidered on their clothes.

A notice with black characters on a white background was posted on a stone tablet next to the city gate. Hundreds of people were gathered around, reading the notice and listening to the old man's explanation.

Zhang Yuanjing and Taoist Huoya, disguised as traveling merchants, mingled in the crowd, carefully listening to the discussions of the people around them.

“Han Laoqi, the Sage Sect is recruiting again. Why don't you give it a try?”

“Uncle Lu, if it were five years ago, I would have gone. Now I'm a few years older, and even if I join the Sage Sect as a disciple, I'm afraid I won't have much future in cultivating the Sage Arts.”

“You're such a stubborn kid. Why do you have to cultivate the Sage Arts? Is that something ordinary people can cultivate? I heard it's painfully excruciating to practice, and not many people can withstand it! Do you know Liu Sanlang from Donggangtou? He joined the Imperial Guards and was brave in battle. The physician cut out the arrow with a knife, and he didn't even grunt. But he still couldn't pass the Sage Sect's entry trial! You should just honestly go mining. After a few years, you'll have saved enough money to marry a wife!”

“Brother Lu, what you said would have been correct twenty years ago. But now, it's not the same as before!”

“Oh, it's Brother Xu. It's been a few years! What do you mean by that?”

“In the past few decades, how many batches of miners has the Sage Sect recruited? Probably no less than ten batches! The compensation used to be very high, a hundred or so copper coins a day. But since twenty years ago, it has been getting less and less. The last batch, I heard, only got sixty or so copper coins a day. Well, even if the money is less, it's still better than digging in the fields. But I heard that the mines are not easy to dig now. You have to go hundreds of feet deep into the ground, which is very dangerous. The last batch of miners suffered heavy casualties.”

“Is that so? Many people from our town went to the last batch of miners. I heard that only three died, and the rest all came back safe and sound!”

“Brother Lu, that's because the people in your town were lucky. In the other towns, as far as I know, the situation is not good. At least a dozen families have hung white banners.”

…

After being questioned by the guards, Zhang Yuanjing and Taoist Huoya successfully entered the city and headed towards the southeast market.

“That old cultivator's cultivation level is only at the Blood Refining stage, not considered an important figure in the Candle God Sect. However, in these secular kingdoms, the Candle God Sect's prestige is indeed very high, almost above the imperial power.”

Taoist Huoya said as he walked, “What's especially terrifying is that we've traveled through more than a dozen kingdoms and haven't even encountered a single non-Candle God Sect demonic cultivator. If there are any, I don't know where they're hiding to cultivate!”

Zhang Yuanjing also sighed softly: “Yes, if we can't find any rogue demonic cultivators, we can only capture a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Candle God Sect and ask about the entrance to the famous Bewitching Soul Valley. But I don't know if we can get any information.”

Lin Dushan's face involuntarily appeared in his mind. This person was a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Candle God Sect. If the Candle God Sect's followers are all as steadfast in their beliefs as he is, using force will probably be ineffective.

After Zhang Yuanjing returned to Tianque Mountain with Tong Tianfu, he no longer returned to the inner sect. Instead, he teleported directly from the outer courtyard headquarters to Chongguang Immortal City in the southeast of Tianque Mountain, met up with Taoist Huoya, and traveled southeast, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers and various dangerous places, gradually entering a spiritual Qi-barren area.

This was a sign of approaching the desolate death zone. The closer they got to the desolate death zone, the thinner the spiritual Qi became.

It is said that when they reached the continuous mountains bordering the desolate death zone, there was no trace of spiritual Qi, only endless turbid Qi.

In the three million-mile area near the desolate death zone, the spiritual Qi was very thin, making it difficult to support Daoist cultivators' cultivation. However, it was still suitable for mortals to cultivate, so there was a large secular population.

Also, because there were very few Daoist cultivators, the Candle God Sect had great power. Almost every mortal kingdom had Candle God Sect people spreading the Dharma and accepting disciples, leading to the extreme prevalence of demonic cultivators in this area.

Although there were some records about the Candle God Sect in the Profound Heaven Sect, they were not detailed. Especially regarding how to get to the Candle Yin Valley, where the Candle God Sect's main altar was located, there were only a few words.

In the northern part of the desolate death zone, there was a mountain range millions of miles long, called the Boundary Mountain. There were very few roads in the mountains that could be used for north-south passage, and they were not known to outsiders. According to the records in the Profound Heaven Sect's classics, there was a valley called Bewitching Soul Valley on the eastern foot of the Boundary Mountain. Passing through it would lead to the eastern area of the desolate death zone.

Because the two did not know the exact location of Bewitching Soul Valley, they simply disguised themselves as traveling merchants, used secret techniques to conceal the spiritual Qi on their bodies, and entered these secular kingdoms under the jurisdiction of the Candle God Sect, intending to capture a non-Candle God Sect demonic cultivator to ask questions.

However, along the way, they only found some Blood Refining realm demonic cultivators, and they were all followers of the Candle God Sect.

Taoist Huoya stroked his beard and said, “If we go north from Xuan Yin Mountain to the Candle Yin Valley, where the Candle God Sect's main altar is located, it would be very close. However, that is a region heavily defended by the Candle God Sect, and it is also blocked by the raging flames and quicksand, making it even more dangerous.”

Zhang Yuanjing thought that if they detoured through the Six Sects' area, they would have to travel more than ten million miles, which would delay a lot of time and might not be safe. So he said, “Although the desolate death zone is also vast, from a topographical point of view, it is actually a large rift valley in this world. Both its north and south sides are continuous mountains, and only the east and west directions have open mouths, but they must be areas strictly guarded by the Candle God Sect. In the past, cultivators who wanted to enter the desolate death zone from the north all went through Bewitching Soul Valley. Let's first find a way to find this place.”

Taoist Huoya smiled and said, “This old Taoist was just saying. Since we have already arrived near the Boundary Mountain, we should focus on finding Bewitching Soul Valley. Along the way, we have traveled through at least seventeen or eighteen kingdoms, and we have seen the Candle God Sect recruiting people on a large scale, either for mining, digging for medicine, or purchasing various rare items used by demonic cultivators. I wonder what this sect is doing? Is this how it has always been, or is it only in recent decades?”

Taoist Huoya's question was very meaningful. If this had only been the case in recent decades, then the time would coincide with Zhang Xuan's entry into Candle Yin Valley. He wondered if there was a connection between the two.

“Senior means, let's investigate why the Candle God Sect is recruiting these miners?”

“If we can't find a rogue cultivator to ask questions, then let's investigate this matter. Anyway, it won't take much time.”

The two followed some people who were interested in applying to be miners and headed to the branch of the Candle God Sect in this city.

Yundu City, the capital of Shuofang Kingdom, was quite large and had two branches. The two entered the city from the south gate and went to the branch located in the southeast of the city.

At this time, the restaurant where the branch was located was already crowded. Obviously, the people of this country were very enthusiastic about serving the Sage Sect and did not react coldly because of the reduced compensation.

Zhang Yuanjing and Taoist Huoya mingled among the applicants and squeezed forward. The two had magic power and were very strong, easily separating the crowd and squeezing to the front.

Zhang Yuanjing was dressed as a strong young man, so it didn't seem like anything. Taoist Huoya, however, had white beard and white hair, so some people who were squeezed away couldn't help but shout: “Old man, you're so old, what are you squeezing forward for? Can the Sage Sect accept you!”

The two turned their heads to look, and the person who shouted was “Han Laoqi” who they had seen near the south gate. This person said he didn't want to apply, but his legs were honest and he still came to this place.