The Taiwan mountain was a resource-rich natural location which was known to be one of the highest heavens for fire cultivators. It was said to have occurred naturally when the veins within the mountain range activated and spewed out fire energy. The terrain soon began to morph due to excessive fire energy concentrations, and an active volcano was formed.
The nearby sects began to experience the tremendous benefits that fire element users gained by training within the surroundings a designated the whole mountain range as a natural cultivation ground. This led to huge hordes of cultivators migrating towards the mountain range, which soon led to a huge upheaval in the surrounding area.
These barren lands were soon being occupied by powerful sects and even unions of independent cultivators. War was beginning to get so frequent that not a single cultivator would be found cultivating. It wasn't until several powerful sects put together a collaboration front and compromised with the independent union that the matter was put to rest.
The sects involved were allowed to establish their strongholds around the mountain range, while the interior was restricted as a pure cultivation zone. Only cultivators were allowed to enter and practice within the mountain range, leaving it fairly open.
The only problem with such a rule was that the mountain began to become an alluring site for rebels and bandits who soon sneaked into the regions to set up their own strongholds. The pact didn't allow the power to have a stronghold inside, and hence a thorough sweep was out of options. Over a long period of time, the bandits began to get extremely familiar with the difficult terrains, which helped them to create hidden strongholds.
Li Meng remembered the strongholds he had to wipe out before and wasn't surprised to find that the regular cultivators couldn't even spot these places. The mountain region wasn't only a natural resource ground, but also a place where nature had given birth to incredibly powerful elemental beasts. There were even rumours of there being peak tier emperor level beasts within these regions, lying deep inside the fire veins.
The bandits not only acquaint themselves to the terrain but became experts in analyzing the beast's behavioural patterns. They would continuously attack nearby settlements and even sect strongholds and get hold of resources for cultivation. Although the sects have tried to execute multiple expeditions into the mountains, all of them have failed with little results.
The town which lay in the eastern corner of the mountains was called Beiyang and it was also one of the victims from the bandit's continuous attacks. It was also the hub of multiple strongholds representing sects within the central plains. One such stronghold was called a black lightning guild.
It was a stronghold created by the subsidiary powers of Thunder Academy. It was the place which had submitted the request as a mission for the young students of the academy. The stronghold was always guarded by a peak king level practitioner, while an emperor level supervisor would be sent from time to time.
A man was seen entering the premises of the guild and moving to the receptionist counter.
"How may I help you?" The receptionist was an old man in his sixties.
"I have been assigned to come here in response to a request sent to the academy by the guild." Li Meng showed his identification along with the task plate. Once the old man had inspected it, he rose and asked him to follow.
"We are happy to see that the academy was enthusiastic to respond to our request with an intermediate Qi King. We are gratified and relieved a bit. The arrangements have already been made, and you will be briefed about the mission tonight. All the resources here are at your disposal if you choose to use them."
"Another detail which I insist on sharing is the fact that we are not allowed to interfere with the execution of this task and hence wouldn't be able to help with your mission. This is a protected area for the sect's disciples and hence would serve as a location to rest in case of trouble."
The old man directed Li Meng towards the room he would be staying in and gave some minor details regarding his stay here. The town was a base for multiple powers and hence disciples from hegemonic sects would appear frequently to complete the mission assigned to them. He asked Li Meng not to get entangled in any kind of petty conflict that could lead to a confrontation between powers.
"We have always believed in maintaining a certain order within the perimeter of this town and hence you would be reported against according to the rules here. The stronghold might even choose to banish you from entering ever again."
The rules were strict but helped in maintaining the order around the Taiwan mountains. Li Meng was excited about the next day and began to plan his follow up tasks to collect resources for the avatar's breakthrough. The bandits were a minor problem which could be taken care of easily, as long as they are still in the emperor level.
The resources required were substantial. The latest breakthrough gave Li Meng a core idea of how huge of an expenditure it requires, even after reaching such heights in body cultivation. He also needed to prepare fast as the first elder in Pill Valley wouldn't wait for much longer before trying to force Lu Ming to break-through.
The event, which was frequently mentioned by his older brothers made Li Meng restless. His gut pointed towards the fact that even the first elder would be concentrating on the same thing.
"I need to start the experiment with the avatars break-through. The resources I have collected over the years should be enough for at least two trials. The only fact remains that I am required to find a region with continuous Qi disturbances and phenomena."
The Taiwan mountain seems to have regions according to Li Meng's specifications. He could start exploring the terrain and find a suitable location for his next break-through. He was required to stay out of cultivator's sensing range and a location that was quite abandoned and inaccessible was the best choice.
A bandit den certified as one of the best options in the category of inaccessible location within the mountains, but one that coincides with Qi fluctuations was difficult to find. The reason was the danger such a region would carry with itself. There was also the case of the artefact trying to mend itself with the fire veins. The keeper had already reported that it had sensed multiple energy areas where the veins might be located.
If the artefact could get into the core of such regions and absorb the energy, it would be a huge gain for him. All of these phenomena required one thing in common: Time. He didn't have much time to complete the mission. Therefore, he decided to let multiple avatars out, to search the locations. The avatars could easily take care of someone in the initial stages of Qi King.
He also needed to fasten the pace of break-through for the so-called competition which lay ahead of him. It must hold quite some significance for his masters to take it so seriously.
Multiple avatars were beginning to gather information regarding the Taiwan mountains and the various powers within these regions. Some even decided to join short expeditions to get a clear perspective of the whole terrain.
...............….
Thunder academy-
" Did you get any particulars about Li Meng's location as of now?" Thunder-child asked the group leader of spies.
"He seems to have vanished in thin air. We tried to locate him in the nearby areas of his residence, but not a single person saw him leaving." The group leader was nervous about the bad results.
"the old man is quite cunning as expected. Go through the logs of the recently issued mission. Search especially for missions that are within the intermediate and advanced Qi King levels. Inform me once you have the list of all the particular areas."
"Also find about any recent mission which has been undertaken by the four disciples of the old man. Try to find a common or nearby region with the recently issued mission. We need to narrow the window down. I am sure we will arrive at a common frontier."
Thunder-child didn't want to let go of such a perfect opportunity to get his hands on Li Meng.
...............….
Crimson Lord world-
"We can sense multiple energy sources from nearby regions. The artefact might be able to go through a huge advancement if we could get our hands on any such veins. You would also need lots of resources for future training and advancement in a martial way. "
Recent news had spread among the area that one of the independent hunter coalitions was going to plan an expedition into the mountains. Li Meng decided to join one of that expedition.
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