Lingyunzi glanced at Zhang Yang a few times and asked, "You've already looked at the account books, so you must know how much money the Azurecloud Sect has, right? When those villagers come to sell their herbs, what will you use to pay them?"

"Uncle Master, don't worry, there will definitely be a way to solve this," Zhang Yang replied with a smile.

The reason he brought Lingyunzi, a master, down the mountain was partly for protection and partly to visit the Azurecloud Market.

The Azurecloud Market had been collecting taxes for so many years, yet not a single penny had been given to the Azurecloud Sect. He didn't know who was managing the market, but they needed to provide an explanation.

By then, would he still be worried about money?

Next, whenever they encountered a village, Zhang Yang would go down to "visit" for a while.

While understanding the village's situation, he would also inform the villagers that if they discovered spiritual herbs or other valuable items on the mountain, they could come to the Azurecloud Sect to trade.

Lingyunzi's expression grew increasingly grave as he observed everything. This was already the seventh or eighth village, did the Azurecloud Sect really have that much money?

He sternly warned Zhang Yang, "Kid, I must remind you, no matter how you reform, you can't harm those ordinary people. Their survival is already very difficult. If you dare to rob them, I'm afraid no one will agree with you."

He seriously suspected that Zhang Yang intended to rob the surrounding villagers, as the Azurecloud Sect couldn't possibly produce that much money.

Zhang Yang looked at Lingyunzi and said seriously, "Uncle Master, we've known each other for ten years, have you ever seen me bully ordinary people?"

"That hasn't happened," Lingyunzi nodded.

Sometimes he even felt that Zhang Yang treated ordinary beings better than he treated cultivators.

Zhang Yang said solemnly, "Over the years, all the elders have overlooked a significant problem. For the Azurecloud Sect to prosper, relying solely on powerful cultivation isn't enough. Many affairs of the sect require people to handle, and this is the first step of my reform, which is why I'm recruiting a large number of disciples.

Where do the disciples of the Azurecloud Sect come from?

First, from the villages within the Azurecloud Sect's territory, many of whom can cultivate.

Those with good talent, we will focus on nurturing them to become the backbone of the sect; those with less talent, we can have them grow herbs or handle miscellaneous tasks for the sect, which is better than them growing old and dying in the village, right?

Therefore, not only should we not bully these villagers, but we should also protect them.

The path is not far from people; without people, it's hard to cultivate any great path."

Lingyunzi felt much more at ease hearing Zhang Yang's well-reasoned words.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, the path is not far from people?

Over the years, their Azurecloud Sect had acted aloof and detached from worldly affairs due to poverty, focusing solely on secluded cultivation in the mountains.

In a blink of an eye, it had been over a hundred years, and Lingyunzi clearly felt that cultivation was becoming slower.

Was it because they were too far from "people," thus far from the path?

"The path is not far from people!" Lingyunzi asked curiously, "Where did you learn so much wisdom?"

Zhang Yang naturally replied, "Uncle Master, I'm probably the only one in the Azurecloud Sect who frequently visits the Azurecloud Market, right? These insights, of course, I figured them out myself!"

He thought to himself, if you had experienced that era of information explosion, where you could read all sorts of alchemy and Daoist texts at will, you might know these things too.

Lingyunzi nodded, "In any case, we can't bully ordinary people."

"Rest assured!" Zhang Yang promised, suddenly pointing in a direction and asking in surprise, "Uncle Master, this area should also belong to the Azurecloud Sect, right?"

"This place is just over two hundred miles from Azurecloud Peak, so it's certainly within the Azurecloud Sect's territory," Lingyunzi replied.

Zhang Yang exclaimed, "Then why is someone mining within the Azurecloud Sect's territory?"

Isn't this stealing the Azurecloud Sect's mineral resources? Who has such audacity?

Lingyunzi asked in confusion, "What's the problem? Perhaps the nearby villagers discovered a mineral deposit and are mining it!"

Zhang Yang rolled his eyes, these sect elders must have cultivated their brains into mush.

Would villagers mine in the wilderness?

Even when they go up the mountain to gather herbs, they have to worry about wild beasts, and encountering a single demon beast could mean the destruction of a village.

Moreover, mining requires specialized tools and financial support, which villagers simply can't afford.

"Let's go take a look."

Zhang Yang called out, landing on the ground and approaching the mining site.

As they neared the site, they saw many raggedly dressed ordinary people carrying baskets of minerals. Surrounding them were some burly men wielding whips, driving the miners, "You bunch of worthless scum, move faster, dawdling like this, I'll beat you to death. If you don't hurry up and work, there will be no dinner tonight. Each person must dig out another three hundred pounds today, or you'll be thrown out to feed the wolves."

Lingyunzi frowned deeply at the sight of the mining operation.

Zhang Yang, however, was surveying the area around the mine, and after a while, he asked, "Uncle Master, have you detected any experts?"

He was worried that there might be a master overseeing the mine, and they might get wiped out.

Lingyunzi impatiently replied, "The strongest is that man in the brocade robe, who has just embarked on the path of cultivation, even you can handle him."

Zhang Yang understood, he revealed himself and walked towards the mine, shouting, "Everyone stop! Such audacity, daring to steal minerals?"

The vigilant men were taken aback, their eyes turning to the man in the brocade robe.

The man in the brocade robe was also stunned and said, "In this desolate wilderness, I've never heard of an owner, how could there be talk of stealing minerals? Could it be that you're also coveting this copper ore and are here to cause trouble? Then you've made a mistake, my Xiao Clan from Anqing City isn't afraid of anyone."

"Xiao Clan from Anqing City?" Zhang Yang was taken aback, he knew Anqing City, over three hundred miles from the Azurecloud Sect, the largest city nearby.

"Do you know who I am?" Zhang Yang asked.

The man in the brocade robe sneered, "I don't care who you are, if you dare to cause trouble for my Xiao Clan, be prepared to die. Everyone, attack, get rid of him, and throw his body into the wild!"

The surrounding burly men immediately moved to encircle Zhang Yang.

"Courting death!" Zhang Yang raised his hand, and a bolt of heavenly lightning descended with a thunderous crash onto the ground.

After all, he was a cultivator who could fly, truly on the path of cultivation, not someone these ordinary people could compare to.

The man in the brocade robe was startled by Zhang Yang's use of the lightning spell and shouted, "Don't attack, there must be a misunderstanding! I am Xiao Jian of the Xiao Clan, our family head is good friends with Daoist Qingfeng of the Clearwind Sect."

He knew very well that anyone who could use a lightning spell was surely an immortal cultivator.

So, he immediately mentioned the name of his backing.

"Clearwind Sect? No matter what sect it is, you can't steal my sect's minerals!" Zhang Yang's expression turned serious, "This is the territory of the Azurecloud Sect, everything here belongs to the Azurecloud Sect. Go back and report to your family head, within a month, come to the Azurecloud Sect and give us an explanation, make compensation, or we will take action. Don't say you weren't warned!"

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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan