"You wouldn't know, then," Ye Qingcheng stepped forward. "Actually, long before this, the Underground City had already been infiltrated by many forces from outside Jiuzhou. At that time, any stir in the Underground City would be known to the outside world instantly. Later, under my sister's leadership, the Underground City underwent a purge."
It was after this purge that entering the Underground City required a series of procedures, and entry qualifications were strictly limited.
"Besides Sakura Island, there are also the Land of the Eagle, Yingfan, the Ao Alliance, and other regions that covet the cultivation methods and various ancient magical artifacts of our Jiuzhou," Ye Qingcheng said.
Ye Bufan took a deep breath. The Land of the Eagle, Yingfan, and the Ao Alliance were all names Ye Bufan heard for the first time.
"Do these places have cultivators?" Ye Bufan asked.
"They do, though their cultivation methods vary greatly. Taking our Jiuzhou as an example, many rogue cultivators actually start as martial artists and, upon reaching the Great Martial Saint realm, transition to cultivation. This is called entering the path through martial arts. As for the traditional cultivation sects and families, they rely on generations of inheritance."
Ye Qingcheng patiently explained these things to Ye Bufan, which were all very new to him.
Take Yingfan as an example. They had ancient traditions of a set of mysterious yoga techniques that, through physical and spiritual practice, could achieve harmony of body and mind, strengthen the body, and unlock human potential. Their cultivation method was a system that aimed to achieve a harmonious unity of body, mind, and spirit by enhancing consciousness and helping cultivators fully realize their potential.
However, their cultivation techniques were almost all branches derived from yoga.
Jiuzhou, on the other hand, was different. The cultivators of Jiuzhou had a hundred schools of thought and a hundred philosophies in their cultivation methods. Besides the current method of entering the path through martial arts, ancient texts recorded that in ancient times, scholars could communicate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through reading and become cultivators. It was rumored that the Sword Immortal Li Taibai achieved this by entering the path through poetry, wielding his long sword—killing one man within ten steps, and leaving no trace for a thousand miles.
Thus, almost every sect possessed its own unique cultivation methods, which was precisely why forces outside Jiuzhou coveted them.
Ye Bufan was greatly shocked after listening. It seemed that before the Great Tribulation, Jiuzhou must have held many secrets, otherwise, the Yin Corpse Sect from another world behind Sakura Island would not have used Sakura Island to seize things from Jiuzhou.
"Therefore, the more this is the case, the more we cannot let those with ill intentions snatch away the treasures belonging to our Jiuzhou," Ye Qingcheng clenched her fists, her emotions soaring.
Bai Zizhen and Shangguan Chengtian began to meticulously plan how to counter the Sakura Island people with minimal losses.
"If we're going to fight, we should hit them hard enough to make them fear us," Qu Fei said. "Our Jiuzhou is not to be trifled with."
Looking at the entire forest, Bai Zizhen already had a plan in mind. He said, "We can use our topographical advantage to execute a feint, a feigned attack!"
Song Mingqin and Qu Fei led a large contingent of people to one side of the current valley. Once the Sakura Island people arrived, they could seize the opportunity to attack.
On the other side, Shangguan Chengtian, from a cultivation family, also led a large group of people, quietly circling around the valley. They waited for the Sakura Island people to enter the valley, and then, together with Song Mingqin's group, they would form an encirclement.
At this moment, Bai Zizhen found Ye Bufan, hoping that Ye Bufan could make a move at a critical juncture. Although Ye Bufan's strength was only at the early stage of Core Formation, he was a surprise weapon.
In Bai Zizhen's eyes, Ye Bufan, under unexpected circumstances, could hold his own against someone in the middle stage of Core Formation, and he even believed that Ye Bufan might have more trump cards.
On the battlefield, having such a cavalry unit could provide a certain deterrent effect and even turn the tide of the battle at a crucial moment.
Ye Bufan readily agreed. This was a time when everyone needed to unite. Only by standing together could they make the Sakura Island people remember this lesson.
However, Ye Bufan had another matter that worried him the most.
Based on the Sakura Island people's deployment, it seemed they were divided into several groups, each led by a cultivator in the middle stage of Core Formation. Here, the gap in cultivation between the two sides suddenly widened.
Although Liu Sheng Xuandao had been heavily injured by his surprise attack before, conservatively estimating, the Sakura Island people should have at least four cultivators in the middle stage of Core Formation. With Liu Sheng Xuandao wounded, there should be at least three more.
Currently, apart from Bai Zizhen, everyone else was only at the early stage of Core Formation. Thinking of this, Ye Bufan turned his gaze to Ye Qingyi.
"What? You want me to help?" Ye Qingyi transmitted.
Ye Bufan nodded without concealment, saying, "With your strength, dealing with them would be a matter of minutes. But I know you won't easily make a move."
Ye Qingyi smiled slightly and said to Ye Bufan, "Little brother Ye, sister truly won't make a move easily, but that doesn't mean I won't make a move at all."
"Then under what circumstances will you act?" Ye Bufan's eyes suddenly sparkled. "Ye Qingyi is Yu Star, and Yu Star is Ye Qingyi. What would it be like for a former Core Formation expert to make a move?"
Ye Bufan couldn't imagine it, and likely no one present could.
"Little brother Ye, for sister to make a move, a price must be paid," Ye Qingyi said.
"What price?" Ye Bufan asked without thinking.
"Sister wants the spirit mines from your Taiyi Divine Sect," Ye Qingyi said without hesitation.
"How much do you want?"
Ye Bufan asked directly. After all, since he went to the capital, he had been taken care of by Ye Qingyi. In fact, Ye Bufan had already planned to give some spirit mines to Ye Qingyi when he returned to the capital, but he didn't expect Ye Qingyi to make this request now.
"Sister is not greedy. I don't want much. I only need three spirit mines, each the size of a fist," Ye Qingyi walked up to Ye Bufan and said softly.
"I'll give you ten," Ye Bufan replied.
This time, it was Ye Qingyi's turn to be stunned. The rarity of spirit mines was almost enough to drive people mad; they were the essence of spiritual energy.
The Taiyi Divine Sect had indeed moved the entire spiritual脉 into the Ring of Inheritance, but it was limited. A spiritual脉 produced a thumb-sized spirit mine every fifty years, and it took a hundred years to get a fist-sized one. A spirit mine as large as a head required five hundred years.
Ye Bufan giving Ye Qingyi ten fist-sized spirit mines at once moved even Ye Qingyi herself.