27. The Great Thousand-Net Marsh (Part I)

Yao Qian’s words were merely polite, yet Li Wei unexpectedly smiled and said, “I came to find junior sister because I want you to team up with me.”

Yao Qian looked at Li Wei in surprise. “Senior brother, aren’t you going to be with your clan members?” Usually, disciples from the same clan travel together. Reality isn’t like novels—while there may be internal strife among clan disciples in stories, in truth, although there is rivalry within the clan, outsiders are far less trustworthy. No one would abandon their brothers and sisters to cooperate with strangers.

Li Wei replied, “Our Li family isn’t a big clan. In the outer sect, I only have six clan members. When the sect goes to reclaim land, teams are usually formed with five people each. We don’t have enough for two teams, so rather than finding others to cooperate with, I thought it better to team up with junior sisters Yao and Jin.”

Yao Qian hesitated. “But Xiu’er and I have already agreed to cooperate with someone else.”

Li Wei asked curiously, “Who are you teaming up with?”

Yao Qian said, “Luo Ming.”

Upon hearing this, Li Wei laughed, “So it’s him! No need to worry then. Just have him come over; that makes exactly ten people.”

Hearing Li Wei mention Luo Ming so familiarly, Yao Qian couldn’t help but ask, “Senior brother, you know Luo Ming?”

Li Wei nodded. “Luo Ming’s parents were disciples of the same generation as my father’s master. Though not close friends, they know each other. I’ve met Luo Ming several times as well.”

Yao Qian didn’t make decisions for Luo Ming or Jin Xiuer. “Senior brother Li, I’ll discuss this with them first, then get back to you.”

Li Wei smiled and nodded. “That’s proper.”

After Li Wei left, Yao Qian contacted Jin Xiuer and Luo Ming to relay Li Wei’s proposal. Jin Xiuer didn’t care much and was happy to follow Yao Qian’s lead.

Luo Ming said, “Li Wei, huh? The Li family has a good reputation—not the type to take all the benefits themselves. Let’s cooperate with them.”

Luo Ming knew the connection between his parents and Li Wei’s, and such relationships were rare in the vast Wuji Sect. Most disciples in large sects never even meet their fellow sect members, let alone have deep friendships.

With no objections from Jin Xiuer or Luo Ming, Yao Qian contacted Li Wei, and they temporarily formed a team. On departure day, Yao Qian noticed that besides seven outer sect disciples, the Li family also brought two Foundation Establishment cultivators and one Golden Core cultivator.

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators each led a five-person team. No wonder Li Wei wanted familiar partners; cooperating with acquaintances is better than strangers. Moreover, the Li family even deployed a Golden Core cultivator for this expedition—surely the gains from this reclamation must be substantial.

With just the Li family sending ten people, and considering the size of the Wuji Sect, the total number of participants likely reached into the tens of thousands. Looking out, Yao Qian saw a sea of people gathered, but what truly astonished her was a massive flying vessel docked at the plaza.

Having been in the cultivation world for some time, this was Yao Qian’s first time seeing such a highly technological magical artifact. The entire vessel resembled a graceful, gigantic celestial crane. Particularly striking were the outstretched wings, which looked like clouds suspended in the sky, stirring awe in all who beheld them.

The flying vessel amazed not only Yao Qian but most of the people present, especially the outer sect disciples, many of whom were seeing such an artifact for the first time. Their mouths hung open in astonishment, nearly forgetting to breathe.

Li Wei said to Yao Qian, “Junior sister, let’s board the flying vessel first.”

For this reclamation, most outer sect disciples were mobilized. Due to the large numbers, the sect used the flying vessel for transportation. Outer sect disciples boarded first; after they were on board, the more powerful cultivators would follow.

Though the flying vessel was huge, it still had limited capacity. The lowest-ranking outer sect disciples naturally occupied the cramped lower cabins. Ten people squeezed into a narrow room, where they had to sit cross-legged on bunk beds.

Yao Qian felt fortunate to be cooperating with the Li family. Although they couldn’t avoid mixed-gender lodging, at least the Li clan’s members were well-mannered. The male cultivators, especially, sat quietly on their beds with closed eyes, refraining from unnecessary movement.

Prepared for such a situation, Yao Qian quickly took out long ropes and cloth she had brought and swiftly cut three bed curtains to hang up.

Her ingenuity brightened everyone’s eyes. There were two girls among the Li family members; even though the room was mostly filled with male clan brothers, they felt uncomfortable. Seeing Yao Qian’s “magical” curtains, they eagerly borrowed cloth to hang their own curtains.

Most cultivators possess spiritual senses, so the curtains could only deter the honorable from peeking, not the crafty. Still, Yao Qian trusted that the male cultivators in the room had better things to do than spy with their spiritual senses.

Li Wei and a few others smiled quietly, watching the four young girls cooperatively making bed curtains. Truly, even on the road, young ladies remain particular.

Once the curtains were hung, Yao Qian hesitantly looked up and called Li Wei, “Senior brother Li.”

Li Wei teased, “Just call me Li Wei, junior sister. Otherwise, if you call me ‘senior brother Li,’ you’ll have seven people answering to you.”

His words made the Li family members laugh. The Li clan was male-dominated, with only two female cultivators; the rest were all men.

Yao Qian smiled as well and asked, “Senior brother Li, do you know what our purpose is for this reclamation? Surely it’s not just to cultivate farmland in the wilderness? They even used flying vessels to transport us—such a remote place wouldn’t make farming worthwhile.”

Li Wei said, “I’m not entirely sure myself. It’s probably to find spiritual veins and spirits plants.” Even in a large sect like Wuji, spiritual veins and stones are indispensable resources; the more, the better.

Yao Qian asked with some confusion, “Does searching for spiritual veins and plants really require so many people?”

Li Wei explained, “Most unclaimed spiritual veins are hidden veins. They can’t be detected with spiritual senses alone, so careful manual searching is necessary. That’s why the sect always brings many people for reclamation—to find these veins.

“Moreover, the sect sent Yang Spirit cultivators to scout this place several times. There aren’t any particularly powerful beasts, but the variety of spirit plants and beasts is richer than elsewhere. The sect suspects there’s a spiritual vein here. Many families have come this time; once the vein is found, each family can claim ten percent of the yield.”

Yao Qian suddenly understood why everyone was so eager to participate.

Jin Xiuer envied, “Our sect is too generous. Our family also participates in reclamation of Qingmu Valley, but there’s never been profit sharing—at most, we get some benefits.”

Li Wei laughed, “You all just need to cultivate well. When you reach Golden Core, your family can join the sect.”

Jin Xiuer was somewhat tempted. Yao Qian remained silent, knowing she didn’t understand Wuji Sect well; Li Wei’s words couldn’t represent the entire sect. While Wuji Sect is a big tree under whose shade one can rest, its dangers were probably several times greater than those of Qingmu Valley.

The time confined in the small room was not unbearable. They were all cultivators; as long as they calmed their minds to cultivate, the day passed quickly. Yao Qian even found moments to take out Little Black and play with him.

Little Black mostly slept. When awake, he bore the aloof and noble air of a little royal. Yao Qian marveled at his strong inheritance—such a tiny furball already had his mother’s bearing. She dipped a cloth in water and said to him, “Baby, open your mouth, ah—”

Little Black remained silent, clamping his mouth shut. He had never heard of beasts needing their teeth brushed daily.

Yao Qian sighed softly, “Why are you so unhygienic? If you grow up like this, you’ll never find a girlfriend.” She gently pried open his little mouth and quickly wiped inside.

Fortunately, he still had baby teeth, so biting didn’t hurt. When he grew bigger, that would be different. Yao Qian considered drawing a small golden light talisman to protect her fingers—after all, brushing teeth is a habit that takes months to cultivate, and little beasts’ teeth grow faster than humans’.

Little Black was helpless against her and lay still as she brushed his teeth, wiped his little paws, and finished with the usual Dew Talisman, Three Yang Talisman, and Dust Repelling Talisman. Was she really getting old and out of touch with how kids raise their spirit beasts? Was this even raising a spirit beast?

Yao Qian smiled as she kissed his pink little nose, “Alright, don’t be mad. Tomorrow I’ll make you something delicious.” Always feeding him spiritual pills wasn’t good; she wanted to cook something nice for Little Black.

Little Black was indifferent to her habitual kisses and hugs. After all, this body wasn’t his own; she herself took fasting pills daily. What delicious food could she possibly prepare? Maybe she’d just give him fasting pills too?

After playing with Little Black for a while and petting him to contentment, Yao Qian let him sleep beside her and took out her desk, ink, and brushes to draw talismans. That night, as usual, she spent the entire night drawing Three Yang Talismans. By the end, she lost count of how many she made; it felt like her hands had muscle memory and could automatically draw the talismans.

The flying vessel traveled for five days and nights. Yao Qian was only curious enough on the first day to go out to the deck for some fresh air. Upon seeing the deck, she quickly lost interest—the vessel flew lower than an airplane, and the deck was very cold, shielded only by an aura barrier without a warming array. She preferred to stay inside and cultivate Solar True Qi. Jin Xiuer and Luo Ming felt the same; the three of them had long gotten used to harsh training during their time in the Yanluo Cave.

Inspired by the trio’s diligence, Li Wei and others became more earnest in their cultivation. It was impossible to relax when seeing younger, more powerful junior disciples training so hard.

When the flying vessel finally landed, the Golden Core clan elder leading the group told everyone to come out of the cramped cabins. Strangely, everyone felt a reluctant attachment to leaving. Li Ershiba smiled and said, “It feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve concentrated so fully on cultivation.”

Everyone nodded in silent agreement. Since becoming outer sect disciples, they had never been so focused on cultivation.

Jin Xiuer jumped off the vessel and looked around. They stood on a flat clearing, surrounded by what appeared to be a vast marshland. She casually chatted with Li Ershiba, “Sister, do you know where this place is?”

“This is the Thousand Luo Great Marsh,” Li Ershiba said. “Be careful. It’s not only filled with beasts but also venomous insects—sometimes the venomous insects are even more dangerous than the beasts.”