Chapter 323

Chapter 323: When the Tree Falls, the Monkeys Scatter

The group remained at the Mountain Lord Temple for two days.

Though no one wished to stay in this perilous place haunted by Evil Spirits, nine had perished in battle, and dozens were wounded, with several cultivators in grave condition. Abandoning them was out of the question.

The defensive formations in the main hall were activated to their maximum strength, yet they offered no comfort.

These formations were incapable of repelling the invasion of Evil Spirits; otherwise, many cultivators wouldn’t have been lured out of the hall, resulting in numerous deaths by desiccation.

The group’s morale had hit rock bottom.

Many harbored resentment toward the ferrymen of the Mountain Crossing Society.

With three thousand from the Purple Palace and ten thousand in Qi Training, they had paid a steep price, only to endure continuous setbacks. Besides the loss of comrades and strong fighters, their resources were severely depleted.

Elixirs, talismans, magical artifacts…

Had the ferrymen not also suffered heavy casualties, someone would have undoubtedly voiced their grievances.

The expedition team arrived at the base of White Hair Peak in an eerie atmosphere.

The name White Hair Peak was rather plain, even somewhat trite, but this towering mountain was the final barrier to the West Sea Spiritual Realm.

Once they crossed White Hair Peak, they would enter the West Sea Spiritual Realm!

“Fellow travelers…”

The leading Xu cultivator halted and spoke in a deep voice, “You must proceed over White Hair Peak on your own; we can only accompany you this far.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the cultivators in the group erupted in chaos.

“Just here?”

“Are you serious? Didn’t you say we needed to cross White Hair Peak to reach the West Sea Spiritual Realm?”

“Biru Niang, return our spirit stones!”

“Does the Mountain Crossing Society have any credibility left?”

“I refuse!”

The pent-up frustration in everyone’s hearts suddenly exploded.

All eyes turned to the Xu cultivator with fierce glares, and the atmosphere grew tense!

“Hmm?”

The Xu cultivator’s expression darkened, and the aura of a high-level Purple Palace cultivator surged forth, instantly quelling all dissent.

“If you’re dissatisfied, let’s review your magical contracts.”

He scanned the crowd with a piercing gaze and said, “Bringing you here fulfills the contract.”

The mood of this Purple Palace cultivator was grim, and he showed no leniency.

Five of the ten ferrymen had fallen in battle, a significant blow to the Mountain Crossing Society.

Such losses could not be offset by the fees collected from three hundred travelers.

As the leader of the ferrymen, the Xu cultivator would face a tough explanation upon his return.

“How is this possible!”

A Purple Palace cultivator promptly retrieved a magical contract from his storage bag. "It explicitly states that we are to reach the West Sea Spiritual Realm!"

Xu cultivator sneered, "White Hair Peak is part of the West Sea Spiritual Realm. Is there an issue with me escorting you to this point?"

Does White Hair Peak truly belong to the West Sea Spiritual Realm?

This clearly touched on a knowledge blind spot for most of the cultivators, and they couldn’t help but exchange glances.

One cultivator hesitated for a moment and then sighed, "Let it be."

He actually knew that Xu cultivator was correct; White Hair Peak was indeed included within the boundaries of the West Sea Spiritual Realm.

This was directly related to the Yulong Agreement established long ago between the three great beast kings and the four sects.

So while Xu cultivator’s actions seemed unconventional, they did not violate the magical contract.

"The mountains are high, and the waters are long. I wish you all a bright future."

Xu cultivator cupped his hands lightly and said, "Until we meet again!"

After saying this, he and several other ferrymen turned around and began their return journey.

This left behind a group of cultivators who stood mostly speechless.

"Cough cough!"

After a moment, a cultivator cleared his throat and said, "I’ll take my leave first; until we meet again."

It was unclear what prompted his decision, but this Purple Palace cultivator seemed to be spurred on, as if whipped by a whip. He quickly stored the mountain-steeding rhino into his spirit beast bag and then dashed towards the mountain peak ahead.

In the blink of an eye, he became a small dot.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. With this cultivator leading the way, several more cultivators bid their farewells and left.

As soon as the ferrymen departed, the expedition team fell into disarray!

However, most cultivators did not scatter at once; instead, they gathered into small groups to discuss how to scale the towering mountain peak ahead, which stood three thousand zhang high.

Though the ferrymen of the Mountain Crossing Society had misled them on the final stretch, Xu cultivator had previously informed everyone about the situation with White Hair Peak.

To enter the West Sea Spiritual Realm, they had to cross White Hair Peak; otherwise, they would be entering the territories of great beasts or beast kings, aside from this perpetually snow-covered mountain.

The ferrymen chose a route through the Yulong Mountain Range that avoided the areas dominated by these great beasts and beast kings.

Of course, they could also choose to bypass White Hair Peak and take other routes.

The consequences would be theirs to bear.

And White Hair Peak posed significant dangers: aside from the extreme cold, there were also strange monsters like ice ghouls and snow demons lurking atop the mountain.

Some cultivators, used to working alone, were fully aware of the risks but still preferred not to team up with others.

Thus, they chose to leave on their own.

Additionally, many cultivators understood that this final checkpoint was not easy to pass; otherwise, Xu cultivator wouldn’t have gone out of his way to explain the situation clearly.

There was strength in numbers, and they opted to band together for safety.

Large groups could be hard to organize with divisive intentions, but small teams were better than risking it alone.

At least they could provide each other support and assistance in times of danger.

A few Purple Palace cultivators joined by a dozen high-level Qi Training cultivators formed a solid team.

Over two hundred cultivators formed a total of eleven teams.

However, a few individuals were left behind.

They were either without teams willing to take them in or simply didn’t approach any of the teams.

For example, Wang Chen and Li Yian.

This made them stand out as unusual!

"Fellow Traveler Li…"

At this moment, a young cultivator with peach blossom eyes approached, smiling at Li Yian. "Our team is still short one Purple Palace cultivator; we welcome you to join us."

In fact, his team already included five Purple Palace masters and over twenty Qi Training cultivators, so they did not truly need Li Yian.

However, the young cultivator’s eyes were spinning with intent, clearly fixated on Li Yian.

"Unless you’re at the Golden Core level, it’s impossible for one or two people to scale White Hair Peak!"

He "kindly" warned, "The few ahead will surely regret it."

"Thank you."

Li Yian replied lightly, "I want to try on my own."

She held Wang Chen’s hand.

The young cultivator twitched at the corner of his eye, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.

Soon, one group after another departed toward the treacherous White Hair Peak.

Even those without teams formed their own groups to tackle the challenge.

They attempted to invite Wang Chen and Li Yian, but they were also refused.

In the end, only Wang Chen and Li Yian remained behind.