After settling some matters, Zhang Shen originally planned to swallow rare treasures and accumulate experience points to transform his physical body, while sorting out the Wanshan Sect's true elixir-level inheritance.
But things don't always go as planned.
A mission has arrived in Linyuan City.
Official members of Linyuan City have many conveniences and can receive member training resources once every hundred years.
Correspondingly, a task assigned by Linyuan City must be completed every hundred years.
You can go to the mission hall to collect it yourself, or wait for Linyuan City’s arrangements.
Don’t think that the tasks in the mission hall are easier, they are for the strong ones among the True Dan.
It would be better for warriors in the early stage of True Dan to accept the arrangements of Linyuan City.
For this reason, Zhang Shen never went to receive any missions, waiting for Linyuan City's arrangements.
"It's a patrol mission." The personal interface on the token clearly displayed the mission sent by Linyuan City.
He will join the team led by Duan Hai, a mid-stage Dharma-phase warrior, to carry out a five-year patrol mission.
Sure enough, when Linyuan City arranges tasks, it also takes the relationships between team members into consideration.
Although he was not familiar with Duan Hai, Zhang Shen had attended several parties held by Duan Hai. There was no friction between the two sides, but they had met each other several times.
At the same time, Zhang Shen knew Duan Hai's temper very well. He was a fair and principled Dharma master, so there was no need to worry about being harmed for no reason.
Unless they meet someone they really can't defeat, Duan Hai won't abandon them and run away.
The patrol area is very long, and the Ancient Alliance is located behind this patrol line.
In other words, most of the patrol team members have families or forces behind this patrol line.
"With this arrangement, everyone on the patrol team will have no choice but to do their best." Zhang Shen smiled knowingly, feeling satisfied with Linyuan City's meticulous arrangements.
The force standing behind you is a smart force, which is always more reassuring than a stupid one.
The token contains the patrol's assembly time and location.
There was plenty of time for him to arrange the many things that would happen while he was away.
Five years was a challenge for Zhang Yu, Li Zhao and others. After all, what Zhang Shen asked them to do was somewhat outrageous to the public, and he was not in charge. So how to deal with these things was a problem they had to face.
It is both a test and a tempering for them.
Zhang Shen even secretly found his grandfather Zhang Tianlong and handed over the True Dan Level 5 guardian puppet that he had assembled and repaired to his grandfather.
This was the backup plan Zhang Shen left behind, just in case.
The old man's hands were shaking when he took the puppet and the control token.
"Grandpa, this token was made by me. It can control the puppet to fight."
"The puppet's energy is enough for it to exert the fifth level of True Dan's combat power and fight for five days and five nights."
"Once activated, you only need to place it in a place with abundant spiritual energy. It will slowly absorb the spiritual energy to replenish its energy."
"Grandpa, this is the last and strongest backup I left for Hongyuan City and the Ancient Alliance. Use it with caution."
Zhang Shen thought about whether to hand over the puppet to his uncle Zhang Yu or the landowner Li Zhao. His parents and others also thought about it.
But in the end, I decided to give it to my grandfather Zhang Tianlong.
Among all the people Zhang Shen trusts, only Grandpa Zhang Tianlong has the best overall view and is the most ruthless!
Others either don't have a good enough sense of the overall situation or are unable to be ruthless at critical moments.
Zhang Tianlong is a person who is willing to sacrifice anyone at the critical moment and never acts on emotion.
This is someone worthy of being entrusted with important matters.
This is also the reason why Zhang Shen finally entrusted it to his grandfather.
Ten days later, Zhang Shen arrived at the meeting place.
That was a stronghold built by Linyuan City in the endless wilderness.
Ancestor Duan Hai had been waiting here for a long time, and had been concentrating on thinking about the difficulties in practicing martial arts.
Before everyone arrived, Zhang Shen started to communicate with the Zhendan masters with whom he had some friendship.
Everyone is a frequent guest at the gatherings of Master Duan Hai and is not unfamiliar to them.
The communication at this time also helps to deepen understanding so that cooperation can be achieved during subsequent patrols.
The endless wilderness is located between the human and demon races. Although a major war between the two races has not broken out for a long time, battles at the Dharmakā and True Dan levels have never stopped.
Even though the five-year patrol time is nothing compared to the 500-year lifespan of a True Dan.
During this period, there will definitely be a fight with the demon clan.
If you are not careful and take it lightly, you will be beaten to death by the monsters.
Throughout history, many warriors in the early stage of Zhendan who were promoted to Zhendan and became arrogant died because of this.
Half a month later, Patriarch Duan Hai led the team to set off.
Patrol Line
It’s still some distance from this stronghold.
Roughly in the middle of the Endless Wilderness.
If they encounter any real elixir monsters along the way, Zhang Shen and others will have to take action to deal with them.
Those below the True Dan level will be ignored.
After arriving at the place, Patriarch Duan Hai ordered everyone to disperse, with each group of five responsible for a section of the defense line. He stayed in the middle to provide support and guard against the powerful Dharma-image masters of the demon clan.
The five members of Zhang Shen's team were very alert. This place was already deep in the endless wilderness. A little further away was the part occupied by the demon clan.
Not only the human race would arrange people to patrol the border, the demon race did the same.
During the five years of patrolling, Zhang Shen's team occasionally encountered patrols of the demon tribe. The two sides were far apart from each other and were afraid of each other so they did not fight.
But in addition to the patrols of monsters in groups, they also encountered solitary True Dan monsters.
If they encounter such a situation, Zhang Shen and his friends will naturally not let it go.
Five against one, there is nothing they dare not fight, not to mention that the monsters are covered with treasures.
If the demon tribe encountered this situation, they would make the same choice.
The thing they were most vigilant about during their patrols was the situation like the last time with the White Bone Clan, where a group of True Dan powerhouses were expelled from the clan and had to find their own way out.
These groups are often numerous and find it difficult to gain a foothold within the boundaries of their respective ethnic groups, so they can only try their luck elsewhere.
The group of white bone monsters that approached the Ancient Alliance last time were actually just a part of the group of True Dan powerhouses who were expelled from the tribe.
Those monsters were unwilling to leave their familiar places and wanted to make a name for themselves in the endless wilderness.
Others crossed the endless wilderness and went to the abyss sea!
The Abyss Sea is a chaotic area, far away from the Endless Wilderness. For beings below the Dharmadhatu, it can only be reached through long-distance movement methods such as teleportation arrays.
Even if one is a powerful Dharmakāya master, it would take at least eight or ten years for him to fly from Linyuan City to the deep sea.
You know, even with Zhang Shen's martial arts cultivation of only the second level of True Dan, he can easily travel thousands of miles a day alone.
It can be seen how far the distance between them is.
During these five years, Zhang Shen also witnessed the passing of many teammates.
It wasn't a pleasant thing, but it was hard for him to be sad.
There was no way around it. They had an agreement among themselves that if one of them died, the other teammates would have to take care of his or her survivors.
The kind that involves signing a covenant!
Although they had only been in contact with each other for a period of time, they got along well enough to sign such an alliance.
But for those who are alive, this is definitely a considerable income.
Just like at this moment, another teammate who had signed an alliance died in Zhang Shen's arms.
Before he died, he grabbed Zhang Shen's hand.
"Brother Zhang, I will die with my eyes wide open! I hate it!"
Zhang Shen could only sigh helplessly.
"I can't help it. Who told you to rush forward so fast and retreat so slowly?"
"They are all real pills. Even if they are monsters, who doesn't have some skills? At worst, self-destruction before death is a common operation."
"How could you be so careless and not be on guard?"
Zhang Shen was very distressed. One year after he joined the team, he signed such an alliance with several friends he had known for some time.
It was originally half a joke, half to leave a way out for the families and forces behind it.
To Zhang Shen, this was of course a joke.
As a result, he and another person who was injured early and is recuperating are the only ones still alive.
This is very frustrating, as people might mistakenly think there is some conspiracy involved.
The problem is, he didn't do anything behind the scenes!
He just didn't use the power of his physical body to stably exert the strength of the second level of True Dan.
"Forget it, forget it. I'll take a loss and bear the stigma to help." Zhang Shen was in so much pain that tears flowed from the corners of his mouth.
"Go with peace of mind, fellow Taoist. I will take good care of your wife, children and family for you."
Following Zhang Shen's assurance, his teammates in his arms fell down with grief and resentment.
And on the side was the Zhendan demon who had killed this teammate.
There was a big knife stuck in its chest, it was Yan Yang.
This fatal blow was delivered by Zhang Shen, who took advantage of the fact that his teammate was killed to attract the monster's attention.
It can be said that this is revenge for my teammates.
"Okay, stop hugging me. You didn't shed a single tear." Li Xiao stood aside holding the sword.
Beside him, two giant demons in the early stage of True Dan were lying on the ground.
This is normal. How can two great monsters in the early stage of True Dan be a match for Li Xiao who is at the fifth level of True Dan
hand
In the past, Zhang Shen couldn't see clearly what Li Xiao's cultivation level was, but now he can see it clearly with just a little sense.
Li Xiao joined this team two years ago. He did not accept the mission from Linyuan City, but came here on his own.
In Li Xiao's words, he was practicing sword!
He uses the flesh and blood of the demon race to forge the sharpness of his swordsmanship!
Zhang Shen gave two thumbs up to this idea.
As expected of a swordsman, he is very fierce.
He is different, he is developing in a disgusting way.
It was also fortunate that Li Xiao joined the team, otherwise, given the death rate of their team members, people would really think that Zhang Shen did something.
Now that there is a witness, everything is just an accident.
"We have to put on some show. After all, we are comrades who have fought together for several years." Zhang Shen stood up and collected the bodies of his teammates. He would then hand over the bodies intact to their families.
As for that covenant
If the other party is willing to accept his protection and move to the location of the Ancient Alliance, Zhang Shen will provide some protection.
If he didn't want to move to the Ancient Alliance, Zhang Shen would naturally pretend that it never happened.
However, Zhang Shen didn't think he would return empty-handed.
Zhang Shen doesn't have much demand for inheritance and cultivation resources.
What he coveted most were actually the talents within these forces and the population under their command.
It should be noted that although the population under the Ancient Alliance is growing explosively, the area is still vast and sparsely populated.
Not to mention, the Ancient Alliance has also been expanding outward.
The endless wilderness is mostly land lacking spiritual energy and uninhabited.
"Yeah." Li Xiao didn't feel disgusted by Zhang Shen's frankness.
"Your five-year patrol time is up. Are you planning to go back next?" Li Xiao asked.
Zhang Shen nodded, "Not bad."
"The days of patrolling and fighting are fine, but it is not suitable for me now. For me who is at the second level of True Dan, it is too dangerous."
"You are cautious." Li Xiao said, "Be more cautious. Your teammates who died were too careless."
"By the way, practice hard after you go back and become stronger as soon as possible." Li Xiao thought of something and reminded.
"Huh?" Zhang Shen asked puzzledly.
"Friend Li, did you hear some rumors? Are humans and demons going to fight each other?"
"That's not the case." Li Xiao shook his head.
He seemed to be hinting at something and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, you have to understand that you have joined Linyuan City and have the status of an official member, but that does not mean that you are a member of Linyuan City."
"However, if you can continue to survive the missions in Linyuan City and show your potential and attitude, you will also receive the training you deserve."
This was almost an explicit statement, and Zhang Shen naturally understood the meaning.
I have to say, Zhang Shen was moved.
The resources of Linyuan City are much more profound and richer than the relics of Wanshan Sect that he obtained. The two are not on the same level at all.
"I understand. Thanks for the reminder." Zhang Shen thanked him. If Li Xiao hadn't reminded him, it would have been difficult for him to think of these things.
Regardless of whether he would fight for it later or not, Zhang Shen accepted the reminder.
Li Xiao smiled. He had always had a good impression of Zhang Shen.
Although he is a sword cultivator and is straightforward, he is not stubborn.
He admired Zhang Shen's cautious approach.
After all, a warrior can only show his value if he is alive.
Zhang Shen talked with Li Xiao for a while, then went to Patriarch Duan Hai to submit the certificate of completion of the mission deadline.
So he left the patrol line and returned.
He first went to the families and forces of his teammates and informed them of the matter.
As he expected, some people were unwilling, so he naturally did not interfere.
In the end, only two families agreed to migrate part of their family members and population there.
This is enough, these are the two things Zhang Shen wants.
"You guys make preparations first. I will send someone to take over. You will have to wait for two months at most."
Before Zhang Shen left, they each left behind a jade slip.
"This thing can prove that you are under my protection."
"Don't try to use it to keep your current position and territory."
"Remember, don't do anything stupid."
"Otherwise I won't stand up for you."
Zhang Shen understood very well why these two families agreed. Their situation was no different from that of the Li and Luo families in the past.
The glory lies in one person.
As a result, the person who served as the backer fell.