Like all other cultivator factions of the Eastern Continent, the Nameless Sword Mountain wasn't indifferent to Zhiji Jing's declaration and the utopian images of the Myriad Beast Gang's territories.
Cultivators and mortals had always maintained a precarious relationship. This wasn't just about the Spiritual Aristocracy. Many human cultivators stemmed from the mortals' ranks. But as they evolved in clans and sect lineages, they often got detached from mortal realities, and only saw their fellow humans as tools to produce resources and generate profit.
"Mortal manpower is cheap and readily available. Puppets are too expensive and will never replace mortal workers in the farming and mining economies." In the cultivation world, this was a common saying.
One can thus understand why the belief that the mortals could set out on a massive exodus petrified the cultivators — leading to drastic and oppressive measures that pretty much coerced the mortal men and women into bondage. All across the Eastern Continent, this was starting to become the norm. And clearly, the cultivators would rather face Daji's hordes in an all-out war, than risk losing the building block of their labor force.
But in Dongli, things were different. Qingxin's previous words and deeds kept the cultivators honest, preventing them from robbing the liberties of the Dongli mortal communities. This didn't stop some mortals from leaving the state and seek their fortunes in the Myriad Beast Gang's territories.
Some would get caught by rogue cultivators and end-up in human trafficking networks. Others would make it to the Myriad Beast territories, and be rewarded for their efforts with peace and opportunities.
Thanks to the Xihai Prefecture and its notorious Yinhui District, which led to the immigration of many foreign wealthy mortals and cultivators alike, in the short term, this loss of labor force didn't affect Dongli's state economy. But certain cities were starting to experience shortages, and if this trend wasn't stopped, it wouldn't be long before entire prefectures collapsed due to the loss of manpower.
The Dongli cultivators were growing restless, and the Nameless Sword Mountain's disciples, who relied on the mortal farmers underneath their mountain to produce a variety of commodities, fared no better. More importantly, rumors had started to spread that, just like most believed, Qingxin was indeed the mysterious monk that previously pacified the Dongli disturbance. And that he'd recently left the state for unknown reasons.
In the absence of Qingxin's deterrence, disasters were bound to arise.
Perched on an isolated peak of the Nameless Sword Mountain was a small and ordinary-looking Linaist temple, with shelves crammed full collections of sutras, mantras, stories, and more. Shui Haoyue tended to the shelves, often taking breaks to study the various manuscripts.
Another Nameless Sword Mountain female disciple stood beside her, staring at Haoyue with a puzzled look.
"Princess, I have never understood your interest in Lianist scriptures. You're not trying to become enlightened, so why do you devote so much time to studying Lianism? It's delaying your cultivation?" The disciple, a maid selected by Shui Jiankang to assist his daughter, asked.
"It's not that I'm not trying to. I did try, but just realized that Lianist Enlightenment is impossible for me. As for the impact on my cultivation...let's just say that delaying my cultivation for knowledge is a win-win trade."
"That...doesn't make any sense?" The maid had no idea that Shui Haoyue's days were numbered. Pulse Condensation or turning 20, whichever came first would be the death of her. So naturally, although she'd accepted her fate, she was in no hurry to reach either mark.
"Never mind. Have you ever stopped to ponder on the reason for your existence? You can sit, stand, walk, run, drink, eat, think, speak, feel, grow, experience, transform, create...but why? Your existence, our existence, life itself...is a miracle. I want to get to the root of that miracle or die trying.
And because I believe that Lianism is closer to that root than all other doctrines, I will study the scriptures and accumulate hints and links till I find the track that will lead me to the truth," Shui Haoyue explained.
Her words only added to the maid's confusion. Why would someone spend half their day reading books, when they could cultivate and grow into a stronger expert? Different situations led to different perspectives. Haoyue didn't expect anyone to understand her. But as she browsed through another Lianist sutra, a melodious zither sound echoed throughout the Nameless Sword Mountain, and at the gates of the isolated temple, despite the unfavorable geographic conditions, a field of chrysanthemum bloomed.
"Is that...eldest senior brother? Princess, Qiu Chen is so good to you? Why do you keep rejecting him? The sect master and his majesty both favor him and would have likely come up with a marriage date already if not for your reluctance. Don't tell me that you're still thinking about...Abbot Xinzi?" The maid rattled off. Though the Dongli king and White Immortal sect higher ups tried to seal the news, Xinzi and Shui Haoyue's affair had spread far and wide, later twisted into stories and rumors that left a permanent stain on the Dongli princess' flawless reputation.
At first, Haoyue didn't plan to answer. But as soon as she heard Xinzi's name mentioned, her hands trembled, causing the sutra she read to drop on the ground.
"So it's really him! Princess, you're muddled. Who doesn't know all the rumors surrounding Abbot Xinzi's Liberation Temple? Worse, before the White Immortal sect's extermination, he became Chun Xu's dual cultivation partner, while also being entangled with Guang Fanghu's daughter, your cousin, Dong Ling! Abbot Xinzi is a scumbag. How can you keep rejecting a flawless gentleman like Qiu Chen for a scumb—"
*PAH*
Before the loose-tongued maid could finish her words, the back of Haoyue's left hand had crashed into her face, sending her spiraling across the room to slam into a sutra shelf. The maid dropped on the ground, with the sutras tumbling down and falling all over her terror-stricken face.
"Did I give you too many liberties? Who gave you the right and audacity to speak so insolently before My Royal Self? If you don't learn to hold your tongue, I will have no choice but to rip it out of your cheap and worthless mouth. Now get lost!" Haoyue barked. And horrified by the maniacal glow that she saw in her usually gentle mistress' reddening eyes, the maid restrained her tears, and following a series of clumsy bows, hurried out of the room.
At that time, news spread in the Nameless Sword Mountain that, led by a senior disciple, a group of Nameless Sword Mountain inner disciples went down the mountain, capturing some villagers and slaughtering others.
