Lu Yang’s conscience was not yet lost. He knew that Old Meng was punished because he had proposed a duel, and that he bore some responsibility for the destruction of the White Sandalwood Forest.

Therefore, he actively offered to also go to the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect to perform two months of voluntary labor.

"That sounds more like it."

Before going to the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect, the two had to first restore the ruins at the entrance of Meng Jingzhou’s abode back to their original state.

From afar, the area around Body Refining Peak looked like it had been chewed up by a dog, completely bare, and indeed quite an eyesore.

Lu Yang had never thought about using Tang Chuanwu’s ability to reverse time. He had asked Tang Chuanwu to reverse time during the murder case in order to save people and catch the murderer.

This time was different. Lu Yang certainly couldn’t ask Tang Chuanwu to sacrifice himself just because he had made a mistake. Even if Tang Chuanwu could be revived, dying once was not a pleasant experience.

Lu Yang had realized early on that if he resorted to asking Tang Chuanwu to sacrifice himself whenever he faced an issue, he would easily become indifferent to Tang Chuanwu’s life, treating him as nothing more than a tool.

The two of them got to work together. After shaving off several layers of the ground, they finally cleared away all of the scorched earth and glass. Then they shoveled some soil from the sect’s grasslands, filling in the large pits.

"What about the White Sandalwood Forest, do we use the Tree Planting Spell?"

Lu Yang was also somewhat troubled. After pondering for a moment, he suggested, "Since the White Sandalwood Forest was cultivated by the Third Elder, if you simply use the Tree Planting Spell to restore it, that would effectively erase all traces of the Third Elder’s efforts. It would be best for us to plant White Sandalwood tree seeds and let the forest grow naturally."

"That’s true."

The two bought a large bag of White Sandalwood tree seeds from the Task Hall. Lu Yang used his sword to dig holes, and Meng Jingzhou dug with his hands. Huffing and puffing, they finally finished the job.

I have to say, doing this does bring a sense of accomplishment.

...

"We’ve finally arrived at the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect." Lu Yang stretched out mightily. This journey had been exhausting, but fortunately, it had been safe and without any alarming incidents.

Initially, he and Old Meng thought it made sense for them, as cultivators in the Spirit Transformation Late Stage, not to need a flying boat—they could simply fly directly to the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect.

Then, on their way, they happened upon a Secret Realm that only opened once a century. The Secret Realm specified that only Divine Transformation Stage Cultivators could enter. Going with the thought that since they had already come this far, they entered and consecutively passed through three trials. Finally, at the end of the third trial, they encountered the Secret Realm Spirit.

Dissatisfied with their method of passing the trials, it battled with them for hundreds of rounds. After realizing it couldn’t defeat the two, it resorted to telling them the origin of the Secret Realm to distract them and used its authority over the Secret Realm to expel them, forbidding them from ever entering this Secret Realm again.

After being randomly transported out by the Secret Realm Spirit, they found themselves in the forbidden area of a hermit family, who had settled there for generations to suppress an Evil Demon. To maintain the seal, the hermit family had been sacrificing young men and women every hundred years for over a hundred thousand years to extend the life of the Array Method with their blood.

The Evil Demon was the malevolent spirit of a Transcendance Tribulation Stage being from long ago. The hermit family were descendants of this Transcendance Tribulation Stage individual.

After Lu Yang and his companion saved the young men and women who were about to be sacrificed, and after battling the Evil Demon for hundreds of rounds, they decided to report it to the government office, allowing the Governor of Youzhou to send people to deal with it.

After the governor dealt with the Evil Demon, he recommended that the hermit family not bear their burdens alone and commended Lu Yang and his companion for their actions.

After the commendation, Lu Yang sensed that someone was using the small wooden sword he had gifted. Following the trace of the Sword Qi, he found the Fu Ling sisters that had been born by the Twin River.

In Chunjiang City, after dealing with the Void Venerate and the Nightmare Supreme, Lu Yang had given the Fu Ling sisters a small wooden sword for protection. Now, they had encountered troublemakers and had been forced to use the small wooden sword to fend off the aggressors.

They claimed that the sword was a gift from Lu Yang, but the evildoers, while afraid of Lu Yang’s reputation, were somewhat skeptical of the sword’s origin. They boldly continued to harass the Fu Ling sisters until Lu Yang, appearing at the critical moment, rescued them and punished the evildoers, gifting the sisters a new small wooden sword.

"Next time we go out, let’s just take a flying boat. It might be slower for traveling, but it’s less likely to encounter problems," Meng Jingzhou suggested.

"We could try that," Lu Yang nodded in agreement, remembering his experiences traveling by flying boat where even if something happened, it didn’t affect the journey.

"The Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect really knows how to pick a location." Meng Jingzhou also breathed a sigh of relief upon reaching their destination, finding time to comment and feeling the air was indeed fresher here.

The Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect is nestled deep within the mountains, beside a river, surrounded by a beautiful environment… that is, if the mountains stay still.

The existence of the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect is quite special; as a sect under the rule of the Dynasty, it doesn’t have a hierarchical classification.

They are mainly responsible for the aftermath of cultivator battles, restoring maps, organizing mountain ranges, planting trees, and so forth. Therefore, to join this sect, one must at least have Earth Attribute or Wood Attribute in their Spirit Root.

From outside the sect, the two saw mountains moving to and fro, which was the sect disciples practicing the Mountain Shifting Skill.

"Greetings, Daoist friend, we are disciples from the Seek Dao Sect. Please deliver this letter to your sect leader; we have a matter to discuss."

Representing the face of the Seek Dao Sect while traveling abroad, the two rushed over, looking dusty and disheveled. After tidying up their appearance, they arrived at the entrance of the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect and handed over the letter of introduction from the Third Elder to the gatekeeping disciple.

"Lu Yang? Meng Jingzhou?" The gatekeeping disciple recognized their identities at a glance and was thrilled, his face flushed with excitement.

"Did you also destroy the landscape in battle and seek our help to restore it?"

That’s why everyone comes to their sect.

Lu Yang said solemnly, "We’ve heard that your sect is responsible for the aftermath of cultivator battles, which is very arduous, often resulting in a shortage of manpower. After learning about this, my brother and I decided to contribute our modest efforts and share some of the burden for your sect."

Meng Jingzhou said nothing but nodded solemnly.

Surely, the two were just as the storytelling described them, full of integrity. The gatekeeping disciple grew even more respectful.

"I will notify the sect leader right away."

Soon, the gatekeeping disciple returned and invited the two to enter the sect and meet the sect leader.

The sect leader of the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect was named Kong Liansheng, a middle-aged man with a long beard and a scholarly demeanor.

Sect Master Kong sat in a grandmaster’s chair, with the introduction letter placed to the side.

"We greet Sect Master Kong."

Sect Master Kong stood up, stroking his beard and smiling warmly as he looked at the two, his eyes full of appreciation.

"Indeed, famous at a young age, young heroes indeed."

"Third Zhang said in his letter that he hopes you two can stay in our sect for two months to help us out. This isn’t the first time Third Zhang has sent people to me. What did you two do to provoke him?"

Meng Jingzhou owned up to their mistake honestly, "In a fight between us, we accidentally destroyed his White Sandalwood Forest."

Upon hearing this, Sect Master Kong laughed heartily, "So, it was the destruction of the White Sandalwood Forest that got you sent here. Everyone has their youthful impetuosity, understandable, understandable."

Sect Master Kong seemed to recall something and waved the introductory letter, "Speaking of which, the letter mentioned you should have arrived in early July. Why did it take until mid-August for you to get here?"

"We were delayed by some minor issues on the way."