Upon hearing that Song Jiuan had entered seclusion to attempt breaking through the bottleneck of the Golden Core realm, Ji Yuan felt a surge of envy and intense anticipation. He wondered how much longer it would take for him to be qualified to attempt such a realm. However, if everything went smoothly, it should not be too long.
For now, the most pressing matter was to stabilize his forces. As soon as he returned to the county seat and learned of recent events, he summoned everyone.
"Send a message to Li Buwei, instruct him to summon all disciples of Xuantian Peak, including Lin Miaoyi, to the county seat. Also, mobilize some more personnel," Ji Yuan immediately began assigning tasks as everyone gathered.
Zhao Yuebai and Lu Yuzhe would take a batch of resources and wealth back to the five counties of Qian'an and other areas to bring the people he needed. Li Buwei, upon receiving the order, would begin vigorously acquiring suitable businesses.
With the downfall of numerous sects and factions for various reasons, many businesses that had been operated for decades, or even centuries, had become ownerless. A small portion of these businesses were being sold by survivors, as they could no longer protect them. Ji Yuan had no intention of touching the ownerless properties; the situation was too complex and could easily lead to trouble. However, the businesses being sold were different; they were rare opportunities that were difficult to come by normally, and he intended to compete for them.
"Once the personnel have all arrived, I need you to open up trade routes as much as possible and expand Mingxin Pavilion's scale here!" Ji Yuan then turned to He Chengshi, speaking with a solemn and earnest expression.
He readily nodded, even going so far as to pledge a military order. As an established merchant guild, Mingxin Pavilion possessed abundant experience and operational models. Even outside Luoxia County, they could develop a considerable business if they set their minds to it. The biggest problem they faced now was the shortage of various personnel. The most severe issue was the lack of sufficient military force to ensure the safety of trade routes in these turbulent times. If this problem could be solved, the rest would be manageable, requiring only more time and resources.
"Wu Xiong, Tian Lianshan..." Ji Yuan's gaze shifted as he continued in a deep voice, "I need you to contact your respective networks, as well as the wild cultivators and rogue cultivators in the county. Establish our intelligence network as quickly and comprehensively as possible. Simultaneously, recruit more cultivators. Do not worry about quantity; you already know the requirements."
Ensuring the safety of trade routes would be a strain with just the personnel coming from the five counties of Qian'an and other areas. Furthermore, many future businesses would also require reliable individuals to manage them. Upon hearing the instructions, Wu Xiong and the others immediately accepted, already contemplating how to accomplish their tasks.
"One more thing: spread the news of Song Jiuan's seclusion as widely as possible throughout the county. Remember to link it to the pills he acquired at the trade fair." With his final command, Ji Yuan couldn't help but smile. After months of planning, it was time to reap the rewards. Regardless of whether Song Jiuan succeeded in breaking through the bottleneck and becoming a respected Golden Core cultivator, this reputation would be established for him, even spreading throughout the entire county!
"Oh, right, we also need our own residence in the county seat," he mused, then looked at He Chengshi. As the center of a county, land in the county seat was practically worth its weight in gold. A small courtyard could easily cost thousands of taels of silver, and a large manor would naturally incur a significant expense. However, with Mingxin Pavilion's capabilities, finding a residence with a good location and environment should not be too difficult. As for the funds needed to purchase it, Ji Yuan, possessing dozens of spirit coins, naturally did not consider it a major concern.
A few days later, He Chengshi indeed found a residence that was excellent in all aspects. It originally belonged to a major sect, but after successive blows from the Samsara Tower, the rebels, and the blood sacrifices at the underground dojo, the sect had suffered heavy losses. Now, with various forces eyeing it, they were forced to decide to seal their mountain for fifty years. All their external businesses had to be dealt with as quickly as possible to raise the resources needed for the fifty-year seclusion.
Because of the attention from various factions, some of the sect's businesses in the city had been difficult to sell. The fundamental reason was that some people did not want the sect to seal its mountain and wished to keep it in the county seat for as long as possible. The underlying motives were, to some extent, tacitly understood.
However, Ji Yuan paid no mind to these matters. He would not touch the sect's other businesses, only purchase a residence. If anyone wished to make trouble over this, he could simply reveal his elder token from the Nine Profound Sect. Thus, he purchased a sprawling residence in a prime location within the county seat at a very low price. Its area was sufficient for hundreds of people to live comfortably, and if comfort was disregarded, it could even accommodate two to three thousand people.
On the first day of acquiring the residence, Ji Yuan removed all the original defensive formations and replaced them with several powerful formations he had procured from the Qiankun Pavilion of the Nine Profound Sect. For a long time afterward, he meticulously and exhaustively inspected every corner of the residence with his divine sense, ensuring no hidden traps were left behind.
Simultaneously, the news of Song Jiuan's seclusion and attempt to break through spread rapidly throughout the county seat. While Wu Xiong and the others certainly played a role, the situation would have unfolded similarly even without their efforts. A renowned master of the Talisman Path, who had healed old injuries, was now attempting to break through to the Golden Core realm. Regardless of the circumstances, this was enough to shake the county seat.
In a very short period, the Song family became the focal point of attention for various factions in the county seat. If Song Jiuan successfully broke through, the power dynamics of the county might shift. A Golden Core realm Talisman Path master possessed combat power and value far exceeding that of ordinary Golden Core cultivators.
Some factions that received the news also turned their attention to Ji Yuan and his companions, weighing whether Song Jiuan's breakthrough was truly related to them. If the news proved true, they might even consider paying a visit.
Several months later, on a certain midday, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the entire county suddenly became enveloped by a powerful fluctuation, converging madly towards a single point. That point was precisely the Song family's location. Song Jiuan, who had been in seclusion for several months, had begun to break through his current realm, and various auspicious phenomena could no longer be contained, manifesting themselves!