Since Meng Zhang knew the purpose of Twin Success Valley and Taiyi Sect had no room for refusal, they had to take on this matter. Meng Zhang began contemplating how to use this opportunity to seek greater benefits for Taiyi Sect.
Meng Zhang agreed to Zhou Shengkao's request and consented to exploit the white hidden earth mine. However, soon after, Meng Zhang presented several difficulties, intending to gain advantages from Zhou Shengkao.
Seeing through Meng Zhang's intentions, Zhou Shengkao didn't pay too much attention to it. Trying to make a horse run without feeding it grass, such things couldn't work out.
Taiyi Sect still held value, and it was worth investing some capital to maintain the relationship.
After some negotiation, in addition to the previous conditions, Meng Zhang made Zhou Shengkao promise to hand over one of the five oases owned by the Zhao Family to Taiyi Sect for management.
Once the agreement was reached, Meng Zhang took action.
The oasis that Zhou Shengkao agreed to give Taiyi Sect was the closest one to Taiyi Sect among the five oases owned by the Zhao Family.
Inside this oasis, there was a complete First Rank lower-grade spirit vein, and its area was even larger than the current Sweetwater Oasis.
Around 5,000 to 6,000 residents lived in this oasis.
The original Zhao Family cultivators and their families stationed in the oasis had already been secretly dealt with by Twin Success Valley.
Meng Zhang brought Li Xuan and two Taiyi Sect disciples and hurried to the oasis. After completing the handover with the cultivators stationed there by Twin Success Valley, the oasis would now completely belong to Taiyi Sect.
Though the oasis belonged to the Zhao Family, not all residents bore the Zhao surname. Even among those who shared the surname, many had no blood relation to the Zhao Family. According to the Zhao Family's rules, if an awakened person didn't carry the Zhao surname, they and their families must change their surnames to Zhao to join the Zhao Family. If they were attached to their original surnames and refused to change, they would be expelled from the oasis and left to their own fate. Their fate might be uncertain.
In the eyes of Zhao Family cultivators, not everyone was eligible to carry the Zhao surname. It was considered a great fortune to be able to adopt the Zhao surname.
Now that the oasis belonged to Taiyi Sect, those rules of the cultivation family no longer applied. Cultivation sects didn't concern themselves with such matters as surnames. From now on, for ordinary people awakened with spiritual roots in the oasis, joining Taiyi Sect would be their new choice.
Meng Zhang left Li Xuan and the two disciples behind to manage the affairs of the oasis.
Meng Zhang's pretext for obtaining control of the oasis from Zhou Shengkao was that they needed a large number of mortal miners to mine the white hidden earth, and this oasis provided a suitable source.
Li Xuan would thoroughly investigate the oasis and identify all the Die-Hard members with a strong attachment to the Zhao Family. The fate awaiting these people would be a lifetime spent working as miners in the mines.
After leaving the oasis, Meng Zhang headed to Singing Sand City.
As more and more things piled up, Meng Zhang felt that the manpower of Taiyi Sect was increasingly inadequate.
After the white hidden earth mine was exploited, it would require a considerable number of cultivators to guard and oversee it.
Originally, Meng Zhang planned to steadily recruit awakened individuals with spiritual roots from within Taiyi Sect's territory. This way, the purity of the disciples' origin could be ensured, like a blank canvas ready to be painted.
Now, due to the urgent need for manpower, some uncompromising aspects were unnecessary.
Taiyi Sect had been a long-standing force, and now it was showing signs of revival.
Meng Zhang put up a recruitment sign in Singing Sand City, inviting loose cultivators to join the sect. Many loose cultivators came to inquire and even sign up.
For accepting disciples, their Cultivation Base and aptitude were secondary. The most crucial factor was their character and loyalty to the sect.
Even if their aptitude was exceptional, possessing a Heaven Grade spiritual root, if they lacked loyalty to the sect, there was no need to invest fully in their cultivation.
Focusing solely on aptitude without considering character might lead to cultivating a group of disloyal individuals.
As disciples of a sect, they didn't necessarily have to be willing to live and die with the sect, but they should possess a minimum level of loyalty. They shouldn't abandon the sect in times of difficulty and forsake it. If the sect hadn't betrayed them, they should not betray the sect.
Meng Zhang personally spoke with the cultivators interested in joining Taiyi Sect, engaging in detailed discussions and inquiries about their backgrounds.
Of course, this was just surface work. Secretly, Meng Zhang activated the innate Divine Ability of Mind Reading, delving into their thoughts.
Among this group of cultivators, most were in the early and middle stages of the Refining Qi realm. Generally, loose cultivators didn't have the ability to block Mind Reading. Even if someone tried to resist Mind Reading, Meng Zhang could detect it immediately and wouldn't miss anyone.
As expected, Meng Zhang smoothly read the thoughts of everyone without any surprises.
After several busy days, Meng Zhang selected fifteen disciples to join Taiyi Sect.
Among them were two spies from Twin Success Valley.
It was expected since Twin Success Valley had entrusted private matters to Taiyi Sect, there would undoubtedly be surveillance measures in place; they wouldn't let Taiyi Sect act freely.
If they wanted to observe, then let them. With these two spies, Twin Success Valley would feel more at ease.
After the white hidden earth mine was exploited, Meng Zhang planned to place these two spies inside the mines.
Additionally, there was a spy from Golden Blade Sect, Qiaoshou Sect, and Forest Mountain School, who had also infiltrated Taiyi Sect among the loose cultivators they recruited. These spies thought they had deceived Meng Zhang, but they were unaware that Meng Zhang, with the Mind Reading Divine Ability, had already exposed their identities.
Meng Zhang didn't simply reject these three spies; instead, they openly accepted them into the sect.
Meng Zhang had no fear of playing a game of deception. Sometimes, these spies with revealed identities could be of use.
Meng Zhang didn't let these three return to Taiyi Sect's main mountain gate. Instead, they decided to send them to the newly acquired oasis to be responsible for guarding that area.
The remaining ten loose cultivators were the ones Meng Zhang sincerely wanted to accept into the sect.
These ten individuals had average aptitudes and low Cultivation Base, but in comparison, their character was more genuine, and they had no ulterior motives.
Of course, even if they were taken into the sect, it didn't mean they had gained Meng Zhang's complete trust. In the future, a series of tests awaited them. Only by passing these tests would they truly become members of Taiyi Sect.
After recruiting the disciples, Meng Zhang immediately found a way to contact an old acquaintance, Lao Bulu.
More than ten days later, still in Singing Sand City, Meng Zhang met with Lao Bulu.
During the meeting, Meng Zhang used the pretext provided by Zhou Shengkao.
Taiyi Sect established a connection with Zhou Shengkao and rented an abandoned white hidden earth mine from Twin Success Valley. The intention was to exploit the white hidden earth mine and provide a stable source of income for the sect.
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