A Sect from a Spirit Vein

Chapter 344 - 304: The Food Problem

Upon hearing the abrupt call, the expressions of everyone present changed.

However, Lu Qian’s anger had just surged when it was suddenly interrupted by feelings of guilt.

He recognized the voice of Zhang Lemei and was reminded of the sacrifices of Senior Brother Tan, Master Xuan Ji, and the other disciples.

Before, Lu Qian’s heart was filled with pain, and he couldn’t bear to see their bodies. Moreover, with the Yunshan Sect’s Shuangye Alliance dealing with a plethora of major issues, he harbored a bit of an escapist attitude, unwilling to accept reality.

To this day, he still hadn’t gone to pay his respects before their altar, making his feelings of guilt even more intense.

He sighed, stood up, and walked outside.

He saw Zhang Lemei, who looked like a frenzied tiger, her eyes bloodshot. Upon seeing Lu Qian, she rushed forward to attack. The disciples on duty at the door were alarmed, unsheathing their flying swords to try and stop Zhang Lemei.

Facing the sharp sword edge, Zhang Lemei seemed oblivious, charging forward with Tan Yunxing in her arms!

With a flash, Yang Jiye’s Purple Qi Celestial Net pulled the flying sword aside, and with a swift movement, he restrained Zhang Lemei. Wang Yu anxiously shouted, "Junior Sister Zhang, do not be insubordinate, he is the Sect Leader!"

"Sect Leader? If he is the Sect Leader, why did he cause the death of my Old Tan!" Zhang Lemei wailed hysterically, shouting with no rhyme or reason, "Give Old Tan back to me! Only then will I acknowledge you as the Sect Leader!"

Wang Yu still wanted to reason with her, hastily saying, "Junior Sister Zhang, this has nothing to do with the Sect Leader. Senior Brother Tan sacrificed himself heroically to save the sect, and the enemy who killed him has already been slain by Elder Gu. We have avenged him! We all understand your grief—"

"Nonsense!" Zhang Lemei cried loudly, causing Xiaoyunxing to be so startled that he too burst into tears, their combined cries nearly piercing the eardrums of everyone present, "He is the Sect Leader, he is the Sect Leader! Why must it always be others who save this sect!"

"Back in the days of the escape, Senior Brother Yu died while holding the rear to save everyone, and now it’s Old Tan again!"

"Then what is the point of having you as a Sect Leader! You are unworthy—"

Jiang Qingfeng, who arrived hurriedly, blocked Zhang Lemei’s mouth with ice in a moment of urgency: "Senior Sister Zhang, mind your words!"

With tears and snot all over her face, Zhang Lemei still tried to struggle. Yang Jiye sighed softly and gently struck her at the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious.

"Junior Sister Zhang is too grief-stricken and speaking nonsense, everyone, just ignore her."

He immediately handed the unconscious Zhang Lemei and the crying Tan Yunxing over to Jiang Qingfeng, instructing her to take them away, then loudly ordered the gathered cultivators to disperse.

Throughout the process, Lu Qian said not a word. He simply watched everything quietly, feeling an unprecedented weariness.

Wang Yu, a bit worried, whispered, "Sect Leader..."

Lu Qian waved his hand, and after a long while, he finally said softly, "Let’s continue the meeting."

Returning to the council hall, the expressions of the Yunshan Sect members were worried, but Lu Qian acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to speak eloquently, making arrangements for various matters.

"Currently, the armies of Zhongming County and Sanshan County are still at a standoff, but both sides have suffered heavy losses and are unable to continue fighting. If neither side is willing to negotiate peace, they will be tying each other’s hands. Zhongming County cannot attack our Yunshan Sect, and Sanshan County is incapable of defending its territory. The two Golden Core Masters will certainly not engage in such foolish actions."

"Therefore, the next step is definitely negotiation between the two sides! The Intelligence Unit should continue to monitor closely, as once they begin peace talks, we will be in danger."

"After the Shuangye Alliance assembles later tonight, quickly integrate and organize personnel. Besides keeping the elite main force on standby in Lingsha City, lower-level disciples should be deployed to establish lookout posts within three hundred miles around Golden Dawn Peak and Lingsha City, with layered monitoring and strict communication to prevent enemy surprise attacks."

"All other cultivators should stay within Lingsha City for now. Golden Dawn Peak will temporarily only host a guard squad until the situation stabilizes and we can ensure full control over Golden Dawn Peak, after which lower-level cultivators will be relocated there for living and cultivation."

"Therefore, the reconstruction of Lingsha City should now be prioritized. At the very least, functional buildings should be repaired, and the Shuangye Alliance’s various stationed locations should be well partitioned and managed orderly."

One by one, under the arrangements made by Lu Qian and supplemented by Wang Yu, plans were quickly settled.

Seeing that Lu Qian remained clear-headed and unaffected, everyone finally relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Lemei’s nonsense was dismissed as madness, not something to be taken to heart. In the face of the current turbulent crisis, who else but Lu Qian could steer the Shuangye Alliance’s ship through waves, towards a brighter future?

As long as Lu Qian stood strong, everyone had a pillar of support and confidence to face anything.

Towards the end of the meeting, Wang Yu added another point: "Nowadays, in Lingsha City, while we don’t lack Spirit Stones, Spirit Pills, Talismans, and Magical Artifacts, we do lack one thing: food."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback, realizing they had forgotten the need for food due to habitual thinking.

Lu Qian and other Foundation Establishment Feather Scholars had already entirely fasted, needing only a sip of water each day. But Qi Cultivators were different; most needed one meal a day.

While marching to war, a few bites of dry rations were unproblematic, but to establish Lingsha City as their base required solving the cultivators’ food supply.

If long-term consumption was needed, ordinary food couldn’t suffice; cultivators ate specially cultivated Spirit Grains and Spirit Wheat, and specially bred Spiritual Birds and Beasts species.

Previously, these were easy to acquire and inexpensive because many small sects and factions, with no distinctive industries, survived on planting and breeding, selling abundantly at the marketplace, readily available at low prices.

Normally, a sect would choose a few merchants for long-term supply arrangements, just like the Yunshan Sect did in Bichao Mountain, where only a hundred acres of Spirit Fields were developed, and other foodstuffs were purchased.

Due to the ease of obtaining supplies, this matter was overlooked until Wang Yu’s reminder highlighted the changed situation!

With the current circumstances, Lingsha City must prepare for long-term isolation, making external food procurement unsafe.

But if food production is to be self-sufficient, Lingsha City differs from a sect established on a vast Spirit Mountain, being a city built on a small plain.

Though the Spirit Vein is rich, when the Shahe Gang used Lingsha City as its headquarters, the city was full of buildings. There was no room for Spirit Fields or breeding areas, and even the Spiritual Medicine Garden only covered ten acres, less than in Bichao Mountain.

To expand and replan for a larger production area now is possible but time-consuming.

"The food issue isn’t serious," Lu Qian contemplated for a moment, "for now, we still need to procure externally, but we won’t actively seek it out. Instead, we can invite capable merchants to deliver."

Wang Yu, puzzled, asked, "With Lingsha City being surrounded by Zhongming County and Sanshan County, which merchant would dare risk coming here?"

A figure crossed Lu Qian’s mind, and this question prompted a new plan.

"Let me write a letter, to be sent to Liangxiang County, to the Divine Flood Dragon Sect."