After leaving the Longevity Hall, Shen Mo headed straight to the Evil Punishing Hall to confirm his rit of slaying demons.
The responsibilities of this hall were similar to those of the Enforcent Hall, yet there were significant differences. The Enforcent Hall dealt with the internal affairs of the Riverside Sect, maintaining sect law. In contrast, the Evil Punishing Hall targeted external demons and monsters. Whether it was slaying demonic beasts, purging evil cultivators, or annihilating Heavenly Demons, it had a hand in everything.
Over a hundred years ago, conflicts and battles with the other Four Great Sects were also coordinated by the Evil Punishing Hall. After the last demon disaster, its functions underwent a significant change: it now liaised between the Defense Division of Red Fla Country and the Riverside Sect’s internal structure, coordinating personnel and resources both within and without.
Through the Evil Punishing Hall, Shen Mo could confirm his battle rits based on the remnants of Heavenly Demon aura he had collected and exchange them for valuable resources, all without needing to travel to the Zhong State Defense Division headquarters. Cultivators from the Evil Punishing Hall would subsequently communicate with the Defense Division to settle the relevant accounts.
Because the number of Heavenly Demons Shen Mo had slain was astonishing, the Hall Master of the Evil Punishing Hall was initially sowhat skeptical. However, after contacting Elder Yao from the Defense Division headquarters—who was also the great-grandmother of Yao Ting, an Elite Disciple of Stars Peak—Shen Mo’s achievents were finally confird. The Hall Master then exchanged these rits for an array of precious resources as per Shen Mo’s request.
These primarily included Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures containing extre elents, such as Gold-thunder Demon Pearls, as well as high-class materials required for Alchemy and Forging. Even with Spirit Stones, these spiritual items were difficult to procure in immortal workshop towns like Jiyun Town. Most ended up in the hands of the Five Great Sects, smaller immortal sects, and cultivation families. Any that rarely appeared on the market would be imdiately snapped up. Like high-grade Elixirs and magic artifacts, they were often in high demand but short supply—a state of having a price but no market.
This also offered a glimpse into the considerable resources held by the Peak Masters of the Riverside Sect. rely the supply of such spiritual items was a benefit countless cultivators in the Red Fla Country’s cultivation world dread of.
After exchanging his battle rits for spiritual resources, Shen Mo paid another visit to Jiyun Town to see Shopkeeper Qian. Following their established practice, he handed over the finished Elixirs, talismans, and magic artifacts he had refined over the past few months for settlent. He also purchased a batch of raw materials from him, collected the profits from the previous sale of spiritual items, and received several months’ worth of dividends.
During their eting, Shopkeeper Qian ntioned Qian Xiaohu and Qian Xiaofeng.
Qian Xiaohu was doing quite well. He held an important position under Chen ngze of the Defense Division in Hongye City, and his monthly salary and benefits had significantly increased. If he continued to perform well, a transfer to the Zhong State headquarters was not out of the question.
As for Qian Xiaofeng, she had been maintaining regular contact with Shen Mo via ssaging talismans. While Shen Mo might not know her every move, he had a good grasp of her general situation.
While Shen Mo was still in the Wando Archipelago, Qian Xiaofeng had successfully opened her Ocean of Qi Dantian and beco an inner disciple of the Riverside Sect. She had also secured second place in the New Talent Competition.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried her best; among this cohort of new disciples, another cultivator with an Earth Elent Body had unexpectedly appeared. Qian Xiaofeng’s sword Qi, when it struck this person, felt like slashing at the vast earth. She was relentlessly worn down until her Mana was depleted, leading to a loss despite not being truly defeated.
She could only marvel at the wonders of fate. This prospective master and disciple pair had both lost to individuals with Spiritual Bodies in their respective New Talent Competitions, and both had finished in second place.
Currently, Shen Mo was aware of quite a few individuals with Spiritual Bodies within the Riverside Sect. Zhao Lingyin possessed a Green Wood Spirit Body; Lu Ming had a Thunder Body; Yu Yan, the fourth-ranked core disciple, had a Fire Spirit Body. With the addition of the new disciple who defeated Qian Xiaofeng—an Earth Elent Body—the Five Elents were nearly all accounted for!
It was often said: in an age of great contention, prodigious talents frequently erged.
That newcor with the Earth Elent Body was quickly promised a hefty reward and taken under the wing of Tang Lv, the Sunrise Peak Master.
Originally, Tang Lv had also intended to recruit Qian Xiaofeng to Rising Sun Peak, using his connections with Rising Sun Peak’s Elder Qian Fuming and disciple Qian Xingxiang. After all, she was from the Qian Family, and her patriarch and biological uncle were both cultivating on Rising Sun Peak.
Fortunately, Qian Xiaofeng kept the advice from Shen Mo and her father, Qian Xingji, firmly in mind. She decisively rejected Tang Lv’s invitation and chose to join Stars Peak instead.
However, Shen Mo was currently busy preparing for the major battle three days hence and had no ti to conduct a formal discipleship ceremony. He could only wait until after this battle to accept her as a Direct Disciple, as previously promised.
As for the Black Canopy Magic Boat in Shen Mo’s possession, it had long been returned to Yuan Jing, the Peak Master of Bright Moon Peak, for him to pass on to Patriarch Yuan. Since the construction of the Teleportation Altar had been entrusted to the sect, Shen Mo no longer needed to be involved or use his connections to request the help of an Array Master.
Ultimately, this task fell to Guo Xun. The reason was simple: the matter concerned a top sect secret and could only be handled by core disciples or those at Hall Master level or above. Coincidentally, both Shen Mo and Jiang Lingfeng were core disciples from Stars Peak. Thus, this "wonderful task" naturally landed on Guo Xun, who was also from Stars Peak.
Guo Xun was quite frustrated by this. Years ago, he had high hopes for Shen Mo, envisioning a younger martial brother with outstanding combat prowess who could help him contend with core disciples from the other two peaks, especially Rising Sun Peak. Shen Mo had not disappointed, except he had been a bit too "outstanding." The mont Shen Mo joined the core disciple ranks, he had soundly defeated Guo Xun in a challenge, forcefully taking his rank and pushing him down one spot.
Now, things were even more galling. Guo Xun had clearly opened his Spirit Sea and advanced to beco a core disciple before Shen Mo. Yet, in the blink of an eye, this junior martial brother had surpassed him, even gaining the qualification to compete for a Peak Master position. And Guo Xun himself... was still the seventh-ranked core disciple.
Of course, regardless of whether Shen Mo won or lost the battle in three days, all core disciples ranked from fourth downwards would move up one position. Coupled with the vacant position of the Immortal Welcoming Hall Master, it wouldn’t be long before he could advance to the fifth seat.
The one most filled with grief and indignation by these high-level changes was, of course, Tian Zhiyu, forrly the ninth core disciple. Shen Mo had pushed him down early on, causing him to lose his qualification to enter the higher echelons. This couldn’t be blad on others; only the Tian Clan was at fault for relying on Tian Zhaoquan’s backing and acting too overbearingly. Even if they had managed to suppress Shen Mo this ti, they would inevitably offend other rising talents in the future and suffer a great downfall sooner or later. And if Shen Mo successfully secured the position of Peak Master for the new Fourth Peak, he would undoubtedly make things difficult for the Tian Clan mbers!
And the happiest, undoubtedly, were the three core disciple candidates who had erged over the past few years. With three of them vying for two core disciple seats, they were likely laughing even in their dreams.
However, Shen Mo felt their joy wouldn’t last long. Within the next few years, Zhao Lingyin, Chen ngze, Lu Ming, Cao Ren, and others would all successively open their Spirit Seas. Never mind the eighth and ninth core disciple seats... even individuals like Chu Yuhua and Zhou Ru risked being squeezed out of the core disciple ranks!
As for the rewards for completing the sect mission to find Yuan Chengshan’s whereabouts, the additional compensation from the Yuan Family, and the low-grade spiritual-level cultivation thod promised by Jiang Lingfeng... these could only be redeed after she returned to the sect and reported the task’s results. He couldn’t count on them for now.
Having gathered the necessary cultivation resources, Shen Mo returned to the Riverside Sect and went directly to Lake Heart Cottage. With only three days to prepare for the battle, he could only spend an hour in intimate monts with Zhao Lingyin to alleviate their longing for each other.
Afterward, Shen Mo returned to his cultivation mansion on Green Cloud Peak, closed his doors to all visitors, and focused entirely on preparing for the battle against Yang Xuan in three days.
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