CHAPTER 334: CHAPTER 54: KALAN PEAK

Considering the potential impact of this endeavor and the constant threat of stealth attacks from Viscount Mo’er, Yue Jinghua decided to leave Little Shanshan and the Giant Winged Mosquito King behind to bolster the defenses, and she instructed Teng Wu to help look after the village for a while.

For this journey, she only brought Nan Muyu, the Gold Eater Worm, and the Snake-haired Gorgon with her.

Before leaving the town, Yue Jinghua also approved several proposals put forth by the old steward, Batesin.

The first was: To encourage immigration, and to those who relocated their entire families to Fengdan County, a three-year exemption from various exorbitant taxes and levies would be granted. Recently, with the situation in Fengdan County becoming increasingly stable and projects such as farming and the promotion of the Blue Snow Candle series gaining traction, the county’s revenue had improved, and immigrants began to trickle in. Among them were many artisans, including those who were dissatisfied with Viscount Mo’er’s inept governance in Bailu County and decided to move their entire families here.

With these people, Hong Yao was able to set up a few more Blue Snow Candle processing facilities and employed a group of local villagers. Through channels provided by Helian Sheng, these products were then sold to the Ruison Federation.

Helian Sheng left Fengdan County shortly after the spring planting season began. Before he left, he summoned a steward from his family. On the first and fifteenth of every month, the steward from the Helian Family in the Federation would come to pick up the goods and bring some unique novelties from the Federation.

The second was: To establish a new Fengdan County Guard Army. Although they had the protection of the Burning Poison Algae and the Giant Winged Mosquito King, these were, after all, Magic Wood and Demon Beasts, and currently, only Yue Jinghua had the ability to control them. If not careful, they could potentially cause unwelcome disasters.

However, rebuilding the County Guard Army was not something that could be accomplished overnight. To alleviate the manpower pressure within the county, Batesin, the old steward, accepted a suggestion from the former leader of the County Guard Army, Nan Muyu, to recruit a permanent mercenary force in the largest Mercenary Town on the Xuan Beast Ridge—Five Saints Town.

Five Saints Town is one of the largest mercenary towns in the Eastern Continent, and due to its proximity to the Xuan Beast Ridge, which is rich in Dark Beast resources, large numbers of mercenaries enter Five Saints Town every year.

Nan Muyu had seen many such mercenaries and believed that Fengdan County’s current defenses, relying on just a few individuals, were obviously insufficient. If the Lord had some leeway in resources, it was entirely feasible to hire a Mercenary Team to assist with the defense.

Yue Jinghua agreed with his suggestion and entrusted Batesin to recruit the mercenaries.

After saying goodbye to Lie Rou and others, Yue Jinghua set out lightly equipped. With Nan Muyu, who was familiar with the terrain, guiding the way, it didn’t take long for them to leave Fengdan County and enter Kalan Peak.

Throughout their journey, the line of snow gradually rose, and the signs of spring became more evident with each passing day. The tall mountainside had already started to sprout tender green grass.

However, along the way, Yue Jinghua only spotted some trees. The traces of even the lowest-level Dark Beasts were becoming increasingly rare.

After roughly three "two-hour periods," around noon, the two of them arrived at the summit of Kalan Peak.

Kalan Peak, with an altitude roughly equivalent to over a thousand meters above sea level in the present day, was only considered middling in height among the Xuan Beast Ridge. The summit was covered with newly-budding cypress trees. Beyond that, there was no sight of the legendary cave that was once used to seal the body of the Evil Jiao.

"Legend has it that this area is protected by a special Time-Space Mysterious Array, and without finding the Array Eye, one cannot discover the cave," Nan Muyu also stumbled upon it by following a Dark Beast that was being used as a sacrifice to enter the cave.

"In past sacrifices, those who brought offerings here would leave them behind and then depart." All the way, Nan Muyu kept urging Yue Jinghua, as it had been three days since his wife, children, and parents were taken to the area around Kalan Peak. Even though he knew that the ’Beast God’ would not immediately consume all the sacrifices, with every passing minute, his family’s lives were in greater danger.

"Where is the Mist Smoke you mentioned?" According to Nan Muyu, the Beast God used to accept sacrifices twice a year, during the spring and autumn equinoxes, but starting last year, due to a disaster in Fengdan County, no more worship was conducted, and Viscount Mo’er reduced the number of sacrifices in order to lure in a beast tide.

The reduction or even extinction of Dark Beasts in this area is the result of the ’Beast God’ being unable to bear its hunger, coming down from the mountain to hunt personally.

"We need to wait until midnight; the Beast God only emerges at night," Nan Muyu took out several Detoxification Pills and handed them to Yue Jinghua. In truth, he wasn’t very confident about this journey alone with Yue Jinghua into the mountain; he had originally hoped that a Dark Heavenly Master like Teng Wu would accompany them, but Yue Jinghua had flatly refused.

"Cure miasma, insect extermination? These Elixir Pills are not bad," Yue Jinghua only took one and had identified the components of herbs within the pill.

Nan Muyu was slightly taken aback; was their Lord also proficient in Alchemy Dao?

He found himself understanding less and less about this young Lord. Before setting out, the Lord had casually given him an Elixir Pill, which was said to enable a breakthrough directly from Jade Dark Realm to Dark Earth Realm when consumed.

"It’s still early; tell me more about adventurer’s business, as well as the crafting methods for Detoxification Pill, Beast Skin Tie-dye, Beast Blood Ink?" After seeing Nan Muyu’s adventurer equipment, Yue Jinghua became interested. Upon learning about the existence of Five Saints Mercenary Town, Yue Jinghua had a new idea in mind.

Reliance solely on Blue Snow Candles and a limited number of Blue Snow Stoves was clearly not enough to become the economic pillar of Fengdan County. She wanted to utilize the natural advantage of being close to Five Saints Mercenary Town to make money off the mercenaries.

On the road, those who spend the most are the mercenaries who deal with death and risk daily. The heritage adventure gear of Nan Muyu’s family was a significant temptation for the mercenaries, who would be willing to pay even at a higher price.

After detailed explanations from Yue Jinghua about the manufacturing methods of adventurer equipment, the night unwittingly dyed the entire Kalan Peak dark.

In order not to let the ’Beast God’ detect their scent, Nan Muyu took out a special-smelling Concealing Powder and sprinkled it around them, then quietly waited for the appearance of the ’Beast God’.

After waiting for about two hours, there was still no sign of it, and the legendary mist had also not appeared. Yue Jinghua asked, puzzled: "What’s going on?"

"That’s bad, we forgot to bring the sacrifice. Without the scent of the offering, that ’Beast God’, being cunning, probably won’t show up," Nan Muyu slapped his forehead; he had let the most crucial detail slip his mind. The ’Beast God’ was very picky – it only ate live prey. There were no Dark Beasts nearby at the moment; where could they find a suitable sacrifice?

"A sacrifice? As long as it’s alive, it will do, right?" Yue Jinghua thought for a moment, and like magic, produced a white caterpillar, "Then, let this be it," she said, and with a flick of her finger, tossed out the slumbering, drooling Gold Eater Worm.