Red Leaf Mountain was quite large, with many courtyards built in various locations, in different sizes and styles. The larger ones had three or four rooms with small courtyards, while the smaller ones were just single stone houses.
These were mostly the residences of Qi Refining disciples, while Foundation Establishment cultivators like them could choose their own individual cave dwellings.
Zhang Ling chose a cave dwelling on the eastern side of the mountainside. These cave dwellings were left by predecessors and had already been developed.
Next to the cave dwelling was a mountain stream, surrounded by a maple forest, making for a pleasant scenery. He didn't really care about the environment of his residence, as long as he could cultivate.
Entering the cave dwelling, there was a stone table and stone chairs, including a quiet room for meditation and cultivation, as well as several different stone rooms for resting.
Behind it was half an acre of medicinal field, planted with some low-level spiritual herbs. It looked like it hadn't been tended to for a while.
After checking the cave dwelling, Zhang Ling directly took out the Six甲 Soul Confusion Array and set it up around the area.
This was not like the sect, so having this array would give him a lot more peace of mind. Then he took out the two jade slips Bai Heyu had given them.
A white jade slip recorded the specific details of the patrol mission, including more than a dozen fixed routes to patrol.
After looking at it for a while, these routes basically covered the area within a few hundred miles of Red Rock Mountain, distributed like a spider web.
Of course, it also included the situation in other areas around Red Rock Mountain, and on the far west side of the map was a large black area, marked with the four characters 'Black Cloud Desert'.
Speaking of which, the location of Red Rock Mountain was only a thousand miles away from the Black Cloud Desert, which was very close for cultivators. At his current early Foundation Establishment stage speed, he could reach it in two hours using a magical artifact.
The other jade slip recorded some information about the Alien Demon race, including several images of Alien Demons.
Zhang Ling carefully looked at the images of the Alien Demons. Overall, the difference between the Alien Demons and humans was not significant. They both had yellow skin and black hair.
The only difference was that the Alien Demons had some mysterious dark patterns on their skin, mostly purplish-brown.
The information in the jade slip also described this as a characteristic of their being eroded by demonic energy. Some Alien Demons would also grow scales, horns, etc., like things on demon beasts.
In addition, the Alien Demons cultivated Demonic Dao techniques. Unlike the human Demonic Dao, their techniques were more aggressive. They broke through by absorbing the mutated demonic energy between heaven and earth.
Their individual strength was often stronger than that of human cultivators.
After understanding this information, Zhang Ling also began to prepare for the upcoming patrol mission. First, he planned to refine the 'Minor Return Pill', a pill suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators to restore spiritual power.
This was a Tier 2 pill that could quickly restore consumed spiritual power. He had specifically gone to the library to find it when he left the Hao Yuan Sect. In addition to the Minor Return Pill, he also found several detoxification and healing pill formulas.
In the following days, he planted the spiritual herbs needed for these pills in the medicinal field behind the cave dwelling.
In the blink of an eye, several days had passed. On this day, a sound transmission talisman flew into his cave dwelling. Then he left the cave dwelling and flew towards the south side of Red Rock Mountain.
……
Inside a rocky cave dwelling, seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators were gathered. Zhang Ling, Wu Minghan, and others from the Hao Yuan Sect were among them.
The leader was Bai Heyu, the elder. After a brief greeting, Bai Heyu began to talk about the purpose of gathering them.
"Fellow Daoists, it is fate that we can gather here. In the future, we must work together in Red Rock Mountain, after all, this is not the territory of the Nine Sects."
"Haha, Brother Bai is right."
"That's right, those who can come here are all cultivators from our Nine Sects. Although we belong to different sects, we have to guard here for a short time. We may encounter Alien Demons in the future. Whether it is against the Alien Demon race, or other sects and rogue cultivators, we must naturally work together."
Among these people, there was a middle-aged man with a dark complexion, who also echoed. This person was a disciple of the Giant Demon Sect named Kui Gang, and also had mid-Foundation Establishment stage strength.
Then everyone listened to the two men talking about the affairs here, while talking to each other. This small gathering was also initiated by these two. Listening to the two men's words, Zhang Ling naturally knew the purpose of these two.
It was nothing more than that they had just arrived here, although they were all here to perform their duties.
But Red Rock Mountain was not their territory of the Nine Sects after all. In addition to the Alien Demon race, there were other rogue cultivators and sect disciples. The personnel were mixed and there were inevitable dangers.
If they, the Nine Sects disciples, formed a small force, they could increase some security in future actions. Naturally, there would be nothing wrong at ordinary times, but once they encountered danger, it would be good to advance and retreat together, increasing the chances of survival.
After all, many cultivators died and were injured in each Alien Demon invasion, and they had to pay attention to it.
Although such an alliance was not reliable, no one would refuse. According to the two, the Foundation Establishment cultivators who came here, in addition to the fifteen Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators, were all disciples of their sects.
The sect disciples were not only arranged by Yinxia City, but also deliberately done by their Nine Sects. It happened to be exactly fifteen Foundation Establishment disciples.
And they belonged to three sects. In addition to their five people from the Hao Yuan Sect. The remaining five were from Baihe Mountain and the five from the Giant Demon Sect.
And after the arrival of several of them, there would be no other reinforcements for the time being.
Including the Foundation Establishment disciples brought by Uncle Han here, and the three hundred Qi Refining disciples, that was all the guards here.
At the same time, Bai Heyu also revealed the other two strongholds near Red Rock Mountain, namely Qingyue Lake and Dafeng Mountain.
Qingyue Lake was south of Red Rock Mountain, and Dafeng Mountain was north of Red Rock Mountain. These two places were in the same situation as them.
There were also Golden Core cultivators sitting in town. It is worth mentioning that the reinforcement cultivators in Qingyue Lake were also the other three of their Nine Sects.
It is said that they were the three families of Yun Jian Sect, Yu Beast Sect and Bliss Valley. Their subsequent patrol missions may also encounter the cultivators of these three sects at the junction of the two strongholds.
Soon after, the few of them dispersed and went about their own business.
……
Three days later, Zhang Ling received a patrol mission. He couldn't help but hesitate, sorted out the magic weapons on his body, and took the identity token and flew towards a foot of Red Rock Mountain.
Soon, he came to the bottom of a red cliff, where ten Qi Refining disciples were already waiting, and in front of these people was a female cultivator wearing a blue dress.
This woman had mid-Foundation Establishment stage cultivation.
"Senior Sister Bai, you've been waiting for a long time." Zhang Ling didn't expect that the person who handed over to him was this one.
This female cultivator's surname was Bai, her name was Xin Yao, and she was Bai Heyu's cousin. She had shown her face at the previous gathering.
"Junior Brother Zhang Ling, I have just completed the patrol. Since you are here, I will leave it to you."
After Bai Xinyao said this, she threw out a jade slip without waiting for him to reply, then cupped her hands at him, released her flying sword, and left with the sword.
Zhang Ling touched his nose and shook his head. This Fairy Bai had been unapproachable before he saw her, and it was rare to say a word.
He didn't have any ideas about this woman. In addition to this woman's cultivation being more profound than his, this woman and Bai Heyu were both children of the Bai family, the first immortal cultivation family in Cangyun Country.
He had previously gone to their family's Baiyun Fang City to purchase the formation, but the Bai family was an immortal cultivation family attached to Qingyun Temple. Why did the two of them not join Qingyun Temple but joined Baihe Mountain, it was not something outsiders could know.
Bai Heyu had also briefly said that the two of them joined Baihe Mountain for special reasons. Although he had this doubt in his heart, it was an internal matter of their family and had nothing to do with Zhang Ling.
And this woman had another identity that made him dare not underestimate her, she was a formation mage. It is said that she was also a genius disciple in the Bai family.
With this person's identity, coupled with this woman's frosty appearance, she made people feel awe.
Zhang Ling watched Bai Xinyao fly away from this place, put away his thoughts, and looked at the Qi Refining disciples next to him. Now the patrol mission was what he had to consider.
