Zhou Ziyun and her troops galloped along the dirt road, following the river that got wider and wider. Eventually the woodlands gave way to open farmland as signs of habitation appeared. Small villages and houses appeared along the road and grew more and more numerous. Finally, they saw in the distance the farming town which contained the newly constructed teleportation array.
The teleportation array was constructed this far away from the sect by design. Zhou Ziyun anticipated constructing a brand-new city around this array as the sect grew larger and this area would allow it room to grow. It was also better to prevent unwanted visitors from arriving too close to the sect.
Zhou Ziyun led her men into the farming town, which was about the size of Lin Town. She came to a stop at the town square where she was met by more men and carts filled with supplies. These men were in two distinct groups. One wearing tidy grey uniforms she recognized as the Zhou family guard, one hundred male servants that were trained from a young age in combat. The other group was disorganized and carried a variety of weapons. This group eyed her with interest as she rode up to the commanding elder who bowed respectfully.
"Zhou Weizi, good job. Time is of the essence. Have they all been briefed?" She asked the middle-aged man.
"Yes, mistress! All one hundred family guards and one thousand mercenaries are at your command." Zhou Weizi said.
"And the supplies?"
"Yes, we have gathered the following..."
While Zhou Ziyun conversed with Zhou Weizi, many of the mercenaries looked at Zhou Ziyun in surprise. While Zhou Weizi was a respectable cultivator at the 5th level of the Spirit Initiate Realm, this young lady was only at the first level. While she looked like some young mistress of the clan, how dare she command them with her puny cultivation? Quite a number of mercenary captains were stronger than her!
"Who is that bitch?" An unintelligent mercenary muttered to his companion.
His friend was a lot smarter than him and tried to nudge him to shut up but it was too late.
Boom!
"Ahh!!"
A powerful strike arrived in an instant and flattened the unfortunate man into the ground. The surrounding mercenaries all retreated quickly as Zhou Ziyun landed in front of her target. She placed her boot on his chest, causing him to scream in pain again. She didn't cause permanent injury as she still needed these mercenaries but she applied enough force to keep him in agony.
She looked around menacingly at the other mercenaries. "Follow orders, do your job, get paid. Get in my way, and there will be no mercy. Understand?"
It wasn't only the mercenaries that were astonished by Zhou Ziyun. Many of the Zhou family members all looked at her in a completely new light. While they knew of her intelligence, this was the first time they saw the disciple of an immortal in action! Naturally, she was much more powerful than the average Spirit Initiate Realm cultivator.
There was complete silence for a few seconds before everyone in the square bowed to her in unison, as if compelled by a mysterious force.
"Yes mistress!"
Zhou Ziyun frowned and looked around, searching for something. She didn't see or sense anything but her analytical mind came to the only conclusion possible.
"Master, you can come out now." She said, with a wry smile.
Zhou Weizi, Zhou Lai, and the other elders tried to search but couldn't find Chen Wentian and neither could the other men. There were a few more seconds of awkward silence before Chen Wentian gave up hiding and appeared. He floated down from the sky and landed behind her on her horse.
"Greetings immortal!" The Zhou family elders around Zhou Ziyun bowed to Chen Wentian.
Chen Wentian ignored them and instead gave Zhou Ziyun a hug. "Ziyun! Your spiritual sense improved so much in one day, amazing!"
"No master, you were too obvious." She muttered, before turning to Zhou Lai, "Don't be distracted. Begin the operation."
"Y... Yes!"
Zhou Lai understood, having taken part in planning the operation from its inception. He quickly gave orders to Zhou family members while letting Chen Wentian and Zhou Ziyun continue their private conversation.
The Zhou family members and soldiers divided up the mercenaries and supplies. There were food, medicine, clothes, and tools. It was enough to feed several thousand people. The first group got ready and arranged themselves on the teleportation platform.
The raised platform was constructed of marble and had four runic pillars carved out of a mysterious jade stone. There was enough room for four carts and about twenty people to fit onto the platform at any one time. As the final person squeezed onto the platform, the entire array lit up with light and spiritual energy and they were sent away in a flash.
"Next!"
The process repeated itself as one group after another disappeared.
"Why did you need to hire those mercenaries?" Chen Wentian asked as he watched the procession.
"I need them. The Zhou clan doesn't have that many guards to begin with." Zhou Ziyun said, "It's only a short-term investment."
"Well, they have to pay for their way back. I'm not giving them a free ride again." Chen Wentian muttered in complaint.
He said this because teleportation arrays required spiritual energy to operate. For Spirit Initiate Realm cultivators, only higher level ones could teleport anything other than themselves. They would also have to expend a majority of their spiritual energy to do so. Another option was to use spiritual crystals to power the runic inscriptions. This method was expensive and cost upwards to ten taels of gold per person. The last option was what Chen Wentian was currently providing; he was powering the array using his own vast stores of spiritual energy. This method allowed Zhou Ziyun to transport everything from an army to supplies to horses for free. However, an immortal's time was not free and actually the most expensive of all.
"Don't worry. I have more business opportunities for the mercenaries so they wouldn't want to come back even if you forced them." Zhou Ziyun said.
She looked around and noticed all the groups had gone through. "Master, our turn. Let's go."
Chen Wentian nodded and gathered everyone left onto the platform and teleported them away to the Cloudy Mountain Province. They were gone in a flash of light and it only took a few seconds for them to arrive in a crowded city square.
"Mistress is here!" "She's here!" Several Zhou clan members called out upon seeing Zhou Ziyun appear.
Zhou Ziyun opened her eyes and took in the situation. They were in a strange looking city which was constructed out of black stone. The air was cold and there were a few snow flurries drifting down from the cloudy skies. Her men were already organized into their groups, awaiting her command.
She rode in front of them to give a final speech, "Quiet! I am Zhou Ziyun of the Zhou Clan. Listen to my commands!"
Her voice enhanced by spiritual energy spread across the square. The attention of everyone in the city square was soon focused on her. She looked dashing and eye catching atop of her black stallion with her Winged Sentinel armor, like a beautiful female general ready to lead her troops into battle. There were many young men who couldn't help but have idle and improper thoughts about her.
"Operation Spring is simple. Millions of people are fleeing westward from the monster invasion. They will seek refuge in the neighboring provinces as it is the only option for survival they see. They will be at the mercy of the lords of those provinces and be oppressed, enslaved, or even killed."
"Our goal is to provide another escape route for people fleeing the chaos, somewhere where they will be able to thrive. Our Dragon Flower Province will welcome all refugees from this province and other ones under attack. They will be given land grants or resources based on their ability and talents, all completely for free. They will also be provided free teleportation to the Dragon Flower Province which is completely safe from the monster invasion."
"You all have been separated into five groups that will spread into five directions to find refugees. No amount of refugees is too much. We will accept all. Aid the refugees with the supplies on hand. More supplies will arrive when you run out. Protect the refugees from harm. Guide them back here to Black Rock City. The refugees will be citizens of our province so you absolutely cannot mistreat them. No robbery, extortion, sexual assault, murder, or anything else!"
"This operation will last until there are no more refugees. Those that perform well will be rewarded. Those that break the rules... will be punished with extreme prejudice. Understand?"
"Yes!"
"Good!" Zhou Ziyun pulled out her Flying Swallow saber and brandished it towards the city gate. "Set forth!"