Yan Yi had been very busy these days.
Ever since Zhican Valley declared war on Dao Sword Sect and the emergency order was issued, he had been constantly occupied.
He dared not slow down, for whenever he did, fear would creep in.
Actually, Yan Yi had figured things out. After all, he often visited Zhican Valley with Qin Ran, and through this exposure, he understood the delicate relationship between Zhican Valley and Dao Sword Sect. So while this sudden war and the deteriorating relationship between the two major sects came as a surprise, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
The reasons for his busyness and fear were twofold: the suddenness of it all, and his genuine terror.
Zhican Valley was, after all, nominally the strongest sect in the Land of Immortal Legacy. Their overall strength was truly unmatched.
What constitutes overall strength?
It's the combination of spiritual herbs, pills, spirit stones, cultivation techniques, magical artifacts, talented disciples, top-tier combat power, backbone forces, and lower-tier fighting forces.
Among all these aspects, where was Zhican Valley weak?
They only had two weaknesses: exceptional talents and top-tier combat power.
By exceptional talents, we mean true prodigies like Lu Junxing, Dong Zhongyuan, Li Shiyin, and Tian Wenjin.
It wasn't that Zhican Valley had none; they simply couldn't nurture them properly.
Why couldn't they nurture them?
Perhaps it was the resource curse!
They were too wealthy - a genius from Zhican Valley would have magical treasures from their hair ornaments to accessories to clothes and even tooth implants. From Qi sensing to Qi vortex seeding to Foundation Building to Core Formation, they had access to the best resources.
Weren't the talents produced this way strong?
They were!
But they still fell slightly short of the absolute peak - well, maybe more than slightly.
Without the most exceptional talents, they couldn't produce enough top-tier combat power.
This was why, despite Zhican Valley's immense wealth and overall strength, both Dao Sword Sect and Boundless Sword Sect looked down on them somewhat.
Apart from exceptional talents and top-tier combat power, Zhican Valley excelled in everything else.
This meant that except for peak talents and peak combat power, their average talents and disciples were superior to those of Dao Sword Sect and Boundless Sword Sect.
How could Dao Sword Sect disciples, with just one natal artifact each, compete against Zhican Valley disciples who were armed to the teeth?
As an ordinary disciple, Yan Yi was terrified.
He genuinely believed Dao Sword Sect couldn't defeat Zhican Valley.
And what would defeat mean?
The destruction of the sect and death of its people.
He hadn't fled yet because he was a Dao Sword Sect disciple. The sect had treated him well, and both emotionally and rationally, he felt obligated to contribute what he could.
Given his modest strength, he wouldn't be much use in actual combat. So he could only do whatever else he was capable of.
What had Yan Yi been doing during this time?
Preparing medicinal pills for Dao Sword Sect's upcoming war.
He had organized all the pills the sect could currently access:
The sect's existing stockpile; leftover pills from monthly allowances; surplus pills donated or sold by inner disciples; scattered pills bought from independent cultivators and smaller sects, and so on.
He was trying everything possible to prepare adequate, quality pills.
Yes, having pills wasn't enough - they also had to ensure the collected pills were problem-free.
This had been his sole focus lately.
But... the task was too difficult, too complex, and too vast. He had been working continuously for several days without rest.
At this moment, he was supervising junior disciples from the Chief Alchemy Hall in sorting Qi-gathering pills in the courtyard.
This batch of pills had been purchased externally by sect disciples. The quality varied greatly, so they needed to remove the substandard ones, properly package the acceptable ones, label them, keep count, and store them for future use.
Li Shiyin suddenly descended from the sky and asked him, "Yan Yi, do you know anyone who can set up formations?"
"A little bit," Dong Zhongyuan nodded, "Why?"
"There's an issue at my master's place, could you help out?" Li Shiyin said, "You're on good terms with Qi Peak, maybe find a couple more people who know formations. It's urgent, please hurry."
"Alright!" Knowing it was serious business, Dong Zhongyuan stopped fooling around and immediately flew towards Qi Peak.
Li Shiyin glanced at the disciples practicing swordplay, magic, and combat drills in the square, but instead of joining them, she flew back to Dan Peak.
The Dao Sword Sect was bustling with preparations for war, everyone so busy their feet barely touched the ground as they readied themselves for the upcoming life-and-death battle.
But Dan Peak...
The scene there was rather peculiar.
One need only look at the behavior of Dan Peak's "king" to understand.
What was the great king of Dan Peak doing? What urgent matters occupied him during such tense times?
Oh my! He was... sleeping!!
The snow-white tiger had curled himself into a large ball on the giant cat tower by the lake, snoozing soundly under the brilliant summer sun, caressed by the gentle breeze from Sword Washing Lake.
Li Shiyin landed on the cat tower and, seeing his state, felt exasperated.
She searched for the right spot, found the back of his head, raised her right foot, took aim for a moment, and then struck hard...
"Smack!"
A swift kick landed squarely on Chasing the Wind's big head. The impact sent his head hanging off the cat tower, with the enormous white cat's upper body flowing like liquid as it followed his head downward.
Just as he was about to slide completely off the cat tower, he finally came to his senses. With a start, a white blur flashed, and he was back on the tower.
"Huh? How did I almost fall when I was sleeping so well?" he wondered, puzzled, raising his paw to scratch the back of his head. "Eh? Why does this hurt?"
But since it wasn't a major concern, he dismissed it.
"Oh well, back to sleep..." he flopped back onto the cat tower, "I still have one dragon leg left to gnaw on." He drooled a little.
He closed his eyes, ready to return to dreamland, but suddenly sensed something amiss.
"Who's there?" he barked sharply, leaping up at lightning speed, creating distance between himself and the presence, then turning to look.
Upon recognizing Li Shiyin, he quickly put on a fawning smile. Despite being a handsome white tiger, this smile gave him quite a sleazy air.
"Ah haha, Shiyin?" he asked with a sycophantic grin, "Weren't you teaching those idiots swordplay? How do you have time to come here?"
Li Shiyin took a deep breath, reminding herself that this was her cat, one she had found and raised herself, which helped her maintain her composure. She replied irritably, "Your father is looking for you!"
"What does father want with me?" Chasing the Wind scratched his ear, confused.
"Master is setting up formations..." Li Shiyin's face showed a hint of schadenfreude, "What do you think he wants you for?"
"Ah?!" Chasing the Wind's eyes widened until they nearly took up half his face. He tried to negotiate, "Can I not go?"
"When I left, Master specifically mentioned your name," Li Shiyin said with a cold smile. "Whether you go or not is up to you."
The big cat instantly deflated, his ears and head drooping as he muttered, "Oh no, oh no, I'm in trouble now."
Li Shiyin turned to look at the back mountain, took a few steps, but didn't take flight.
There was a fox spirit on the back mountain who had been practicing formations for two and a half years, considered Master's orthodox successor in the art of formations. However...
"She's too beautiful, appearing suddenly might cause chaos," she thought, stopping her steps, deciding against calling for Tushan Youyou.
"Senior Sister Li!" At that moment, from across the river, Zhang Junyi called out, "Is... is there anything I can do?"
Li Shiyin turned to give him a cool glance, asking in return, "What can you do?"
Zhang Junyi opened his mouth but couldn't respond. Indeed, there was nothing he could do. His cultivation level was too low, and he hadn't even begun to learn the art of alchemy.
"Go help your master with whatever she's doing," Li Shiyin told him. "Battle is just one aspect of this war. Whatever the Sect Leader has assigned your master to do surely has its purpose."
Zhang Junyi sighed and replied, "Yes."
"Let's go!"
Li Shiyin called to Chasing the Wind, and together they flew away from Dan Peak.