In addition, Meng Zhang also made a special inspection of the sect’s several mineral deposits.
Now that Twin Success Valley, the great mountain, no longer loomed overhead, and Forest Spring Watch was relatively lenient with its vassals, and Taiyi Sect had gained enough strength. The few mineral deposits in the sect’s territory were not particularly precious.
Therefore, Taiyi Sect could now openly exploit these mineral resources without having to do so covertly. With the control of sandworm mining using the "Imperial Worm Jar," Taiyi Sect had indeed saved a significant amount of manpower.
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Of course, minerals like the "White Hidden Earth" still required a large workforce for extraction.
Currently, due to the rampant sand monsters, conflicts near the territory of the Flying Swan Sect persisted. Many oases were breached, and countless commoners were displaced. Despite the Flying Swan Sect’s efforts to provide relief, many commoners ended up seeking refuge in Forest Spring Watch, either voluntarily or involuntarily.
Surprisingly, several sects were unanimously inclined to introduce more commoners. Meng Zhang invested considerable effort in bargaining with these sects before bringing in a large number of commoners.
Ordinary commoners were allowed to settle in An Family within the oases, leading a stable life. However, those who harbored dissent or acted unruly were all sent to work in various mineral deposits.
Taiyi Sect was a righteous sect, and Meng Zhang had his principles. Taiyi Sect would not mistreat these commoner miners and would ensure they received at least adequate treatment.
Meng Zhang carefully observed the various mineral deposits. Each deposit had dedicated disciples guarding it. Surrounding the deposits, disciples rode Wind Chasing Horses with patrol dogs, conducting meticulous inspections.
In the sky, tamed Crimson Feathered Eagles patrolled back and forth. If anything was amiss, they would immediately notify the guarding disciples. Matters that the guarding disciples couldn’t handle were relayed to the sect, and someone from the sect would deal with it.
The defense of the mineral deposits was quite stringent. At least for those loose cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage, it was highly unlikely for them to come and pillage, only to escape with their loot.
After patrolling the sect’s territory, Meng Zhang returned to the sect.
From then on, Meng Zhang primarily focused on his cultivation. Apart from occasionally dealing with sect matters, he also conducted periodic inspections within and outside the sect.
With the increase in population within the territory, the number of disciples awakening their spiritual roots and joining the sect also grew. Once these disciples matured, Taiyi Sect would undergo another wave of significant development.
Since Meng Zhang had taken the "Elemental Nourishing Pill" to consolidate his foundation, his progress in cultivation had been advancing at an astonishing pace. His aptitude was outstanding, and his comprehension ability was extremely high. Even after entering the Foundation Building stage, he still held a significant advantage in cultivation.
Meng Zhang estimated that in a few years, after completing the initial stage of Foundation Building, he could attempt to break through to the mid-stage of Foundation Building.
Whenever he had spare time, Meng Zhang also dedicated time to studying the book "Grand Evolving Fortune." Unfortunately, even with Meng Zhang’s comprehension ability, it felt like he was reading an incomprehensible scripture, yielding almost no gain.
Although tempted to give up, Meng Zhang couldn’t bear the thought of it. Even the inheritances he obtained from the Trial Ground did not include the "Art of Heaven’s Secrets," indicating its rarity and preciousness. Finally obtaining a book on this art seemed like a certain kind of opportunity for Meng Zhang, one that he shouldn’t easily let go of.
Afterward, Meng Zhang occasionally revisited the "Grand Evolving Fortune" in the hope of gaining some insights.
Although he had no success in learning the "Art of Heaven’s Secrets," Meng Zhang didn’t slack off in his studies of the Daoist scriptures. Every day, he spent a significant amount of time reciting and pondering over the scriptures.
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Meng Zhang knew that the process of comprehending the Dao Classic was not something that could be rushed. He mentally prepared himself for several decades without expecting immediate results.
In the surrounding area of Forest Spring Watch, there were no major incidents, and the external environment of Taiyi Sect remained stable while the sect experienced steady internal development.
As time passed, two more years went by. Both Meng Zhang and Taiyi Sect had experienced two years of tranquility.
On the other hand, the war between Flying Swan Sect and the sand monsters was still ongoing. Although Flying Swan Sect had gained a slight advantage, they had not achieved absolute superiority. The losses for Flying Swan Sect and its affiliated forces were heavy, while Forest Spring Watch and its affiliated forces continued to develop steadily.
Within Flying Swan Sect, some cultivators were dissatisfied with this situation and proposed conscripting Forest Spring Watch and its affiliates to participate in the extermination of the sand monsters. However, since Flying Swan Sect had adopted an attitude of equality towards Forest Spring Watch, it seemed unwise to forcefully conscript them, especially considering the significant contributions made by Guang ZhiDaoist Master in the war against the sand monsters.
For a short while, Flying Swan Sect couldn’t make up its mind about conscripting Forest Spring Watch and its affiliated forces.
After some time had passed, chaos suddenly erupted near Forest Spring Watch due to the sand monsters. However, the idea of conscripting Forest Spring Watch was no longer mentioned within Flying Swan Sect.
The initial outbreak of the sand monster chaos occurred in the territory of the Liu Family. A large group of sand monsters, including some Second Rank sand monsters, easily swept through the Liu Family’s territory, wiping out their few affiliated forces and strongholds.
Having suffered heavy losses in wars with Taiyi Sect and other sects in previous years, Liu Family’s strength had significantly declined, and they were unable to completely eradicate the sand monsters on their territory. They could only close their mountain gate and wait for reinforcements.
The Liu Family’s territory was adjacent to Forest Spring Watch. The sand monsters didn’t attack the mountain gate of Liu Family but instead started to roam toward Forest Spring Watch’s territory.
Fortunately, Forest Spring Watch reacted swiftly and dispatched high-level cultivators to barely repel the group of sand monsters.
If the sand monsters were not entirely eradicated, they would continue to roam and destroy all human settlements they encountered. As Forest Spring Watch had become the dominant force in the area, the responsibility to eliminate the sand monsters fell on them.
Forest Spring Watch mobilized all cultivators and issued conscription orders to its affiliated forces. Since Forest Spring Watch didn’t have many affiliated forces, the few cultivation families within its territory were essentially integrated into Forest Spring Watch itself.
Therefore, the main targets of Forest Spring Watch’s conscription were the forces that later joined them.
As it was the first conscription of Taiyi Sect and other sects, Forest Spring Watch issued a very strict order. Major sects were prohibited from concealing their strength and were required to go all out with their elite forces. freew𝚎bn𝐨𝘃𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝚘𝗺
Thus, Taiyi Sect and other sects were forced to mobilize entirely.
At this time, Yang Xueyi had already completed Refining Qi cultivation and could have attempted to break through to the Foundation Building stage. However, due to Taiyi Sect’s conscription, she voluntarily requested to join the battle.
Meng Zhang had originally planned to find an excuse to keep Yang Xueyi at the sect, but since she insisted on participating, he couldn’t persuade her otherwise and had to agree.
Knowing that the campaign against the sand monsters would be extremely difficult, and in compliance with Forest Spring Watch’s strict orders, Taiyi Sect held nothing back. All their Foundation Building stage cultivators, including Zheng Chao, Yang Xueyi, Wen Qiansun, and Hu Jing, joined the expedition without exception.
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