After waiting for nearly half a shichen, Hai Ying and Tu Jiuxiao had also settled their battles against their opponents.
Hai Ying killed the yaksha and retrieved the bone tuzi (Sea Dragon Eyes) hanging around its neck before tossing the yaksha’s corpse off the cliff to feed the fish.
Tu Jiuxiao returned with the storage bag from the saber-wielding cultivator. Though looking a bit disheveled, his expression was grave, clearly having found something of note:
“These three acted with practiced ease, and there were nine other identity jade slips in the storage bag. They certainly weren’t first-time offenders. They truly deserved to die.”
Seeing Nan Zhi staring blankly at the dead Alligator Dragon, Hai Ying assumed the Wen-cultivator had escaped and consoled her:
“It’s fine. If he got away, he got away. Having an Alligator Dragon is pretty good too! An Alligator Dragon’s tail is exceptionally delicious. Cooked with spirit wine, eating it can cure bedsores and abscesses. Once we get back, I’ll have someone roast it for you.”
Nan Zhi: “...”
The thought of eating something sliced off a demon cultivator completely killed her appetite.
But the hide looked quite sturdy—perhaps she could use this Alligator Dragon hide to make an alligator handbag for Wanniang?
—That way, she wouldn’t always have to walk around carrying her own skull.
After burning the corpses, the three rushed back to the Sea Market.
Perhaps having intimidated those following them openly and in the shadows with that battle, the three smoothly arrived at White Sand Beach and handed in the Rosy-Face Fruit.
“It’s a fifth-tier Rosy-Face Fruit.”
The Hehuan Sect disciple in charge of appraisals let out a chuckle. Taking the identity jade slips representing the trio, she inscribed a few faint strokes upon them before handing the fruit back.
Seeing Nan Zhi’s slight bewilderment, the female disciple playfully pinched her cheek and said with a grin:
“We aren’t bandits. Once appraised, it naturally gets returned to you. Fellow Daoist Ma here is quite good-looking. I wonder if you have a master? If not, why not join our Hehuan Sect to explore the Grand Dao of Dual Cultivation with your senior sisters and brothers and ascend to ultimate bliss together?”
Waves of fragrant breeze and powdered scents washed over her, though not unpleasantly.
Even having seen plenty of modern women, the boldness and fervor of the Hehuan Sect disciples still made Nan Zhi flush red from ear to ear, leaving her no choice but to flee amid their chiming laughter.
“Aiya, why did you run off? How bashful.”
“Looking at her, she knows nothing of worldly love and stays detached from mundane affairs—just the prime seedling for cultivating our Hehuan Heartless Art, hehehe...”
“Indeed. Intimacy between men and women is merely each taking what they need. Talking about love and romance is far too tacky.”
Nan Zhi remained deadpan.
—Not that she was actually shy.
It was just that those pale, shapely legs, bare chests, and chiseled abs held far less appeal to her than concocting elixirs.
What was so fun about Dual Cultivation anyway? Could it possibly compare to alchemy, talismans, formations, saber arts, raising Gu, meditating, and cultivating?
Cultivation via gaming was the absolute greatest.
...
Three days after the Drunkard Team—no, the Ghostly Team—secured qualification for the next trial, they sensed the atmosphere in the Sea Market turning unusually tense:
Sky Demons had come ashore.
“Word has it that along the coasts of the Jiao People, Black Crow, and Yaksha kingdoms, entire villages and cities have been completely slaughtered. Everyone inside, whether human or demon, was drained dry of spiritual energy and withered away. Even the underground spirit pulses dried up beyond recognition. It’s just like... just like... what do you humans call those crop-eating pests again?”
Hai Ying slammed a palm down onto the coral stone table, causing a faint crack to spread through the massive pink coral. “Just like a swarm passing through! Even the survivors are corroded by Black Mist Poison, and none of them will live long.”
—If only the Yaksha Nation had been massacred, she would have cheered at the top of her lungs. But Sky Demons attacked indiscriminately. With the Sea Dragon Kingdom and Yaksha Nation separated by only a single stretch of water, there was no guaranteeing that the next victims wouldn't be the Sea Dragon people.
“Mortals and ordinary demons drained of spiritual energy look like mummified corpses. While cultivators can barely survive, they are left utterly devoid of spiritual energy, their dantians filled to the brim with Black Mist Poison.”
Nan Zhi’s expression turned grim as she tapped her fingers lightly against the tabletop. “I heard several Deity Transformation cultivators were furious and joined forces to slay two Deity Transformation Sky Demons in the Wuwang Sea. The Sea Market Master also suspects Sky Demons have infiltrated the Sea Market and ordered a strict investigation.”
Noticing Nan Zhi’s expression, Tu Jiuxiao asked in slight confusion, “Is Ma Jiu worried that the Four Directions Assembly will be postponed because of this?”
“No, I’m not worried about that. I’m more concerned about the Sky Demons coming ashore.”
In her mind, Nan Zhi continuously deduced the moves of the various factions.
Five hundred years in the future, the Sky Demons would come ashore, the Sea Market would fall, and from then on, the North Province would be lost. But right now, with Ao Mingzhu alive and several Deity Transformation cultivators from the Three Sects guarding the twelve nations of the four directions, why would the Sky Demons be foolish enough to provoke their enemies while lacking the strength to back it up?
Had something unexpected happened within the Sky Demons' ranks? Or had she, as a butterfly flapping its wings, set off some unforeseen change?
As for Tu Jiuxiao’s suggestion about postponing the Four Directions Assembly?
Nan Zhi shook her head. If anything, she felt this move by the Sky Demons had served as a wake-up call to the Three Sects, which would instead accelerate an alliance between the Three Sects and the Sea Market.
...
“Ill-advised. This move is exceedingly ill-advised.”
Inside the Sea Market Dragon Palace, several Deity Transformation figures sat leaning against giant coral clamshells. Hua Rusong voiced loud opposition, repeatedly saying:
“Sky Demons are born from the Wuwang Sea, their origins shrouded in mystery. If we mount a large-scale campaign to exterminate them now and end up enraging the Mother of Sky Demons, what will we do if high-level Sky Demons retaliate by slaughtering common mortals? Lest everyone forget, the Wuwang Sea connects the Four Provinces. Any high-level Sky Demon that comes ashore and self-detonates on land leaves behind Black Mist Poison. Right now, keeping the Sky Demons confined to the Wuwang Sea and slowly grinding them down like frogs in boiling water is the wisest strategy.”
—Sky Demons had no king; instead, all Sky Demons revered the Lord of Sky Demons as their mother. Much like a beehive or ant colony, Sky Demons absorbed spiritual energy to feed back into the Mother of Sky Demons, who in turn gave birth to new Sky Demons. This endless cycle was precisely what bred the countless Sky Demon species in the Wuwang Sea. This intelligence had been brought back from the Wuwang Sea by the Sect Master of the Qingjing Sect a century ago and was hardly a secret among high-level cultivators of the Three Sects.
Toying with her pale pink nails, Gu Yini remarked with a teasing expression, “I say, old moneybags, back in your youth you were brimming with hot-blooded courage. How is it that as you've gotten older, you've turned so timid and hesitant? The Sky Demons' slaughter of entire cities is an outrage to gods and mortals alike. As the righteous path, it is our duty to slay demons and defend the Dao. Not only did the Sky Demons butcher demon cultivators, but they also harmed disciples of our Three Sects—can you really swallow such an insult?”
Gongshu He glanced around before speaking slowly: “Everyone, our Qingjing Sect is not composed of slackers who sit idly by, but since this concerns the mortal realm, we must exercise prudence. Sky Demon poison is far deadlier than the five poisons; mortals die upon contact, whereas cultivators still have the means to protect themselves. If we push them too hard and provoke swarms of Sky Demons to come ashore, what will become of the common folk?”
“The Dragon Girl loves her people, but a ruler must weigh pros and cons and not make a misstep out of momentary indignation.” Yun Tianming glanced at the Dragon Girl, who had remained silent in her giant clam throne, and added, “Though I have always looked down on the Qingjing Sect’s methods, the potency of that Black Mist Poison is something the Sea Market Master ought to know far better than the rest of us.”
Heaven-Cripple Monk, however, sensed that something was amiss. His gaze darted back and forth between Gu Yini and Ao Mingzhu. Ao Mingzhu was young, so it was understandable if she was inexperienced. But why was Gu Yini joining in the folly this time? Could it be—
The fat monk knitted his brows slightly, a sudden realization dawning upon him as his eyes lit up.
Seated at the head of the hall, Ao Mingzhu finally spoke in an unhurried manner: “You are all seniors, so by right, this Lord should not speak out of turn. However, several days ago, an expert gave guidance and bestowed Detoxification Pills capable of neutralizing the Black Mist Poison.”
The moment those words fell, everyone present was astonished, save for the smiling Gu Yini.
Rate on N.U.
