From prolonged mental strain and ceaseless slaughter, Nan Zhi may not have realized it herself, but the look in her eyes had unconsciously taken on a chilling edge.
The probing gazes around her withdrew significantly. Recognizing her distinctive face, some began to whisper:
“It's the rogue cultivator Ma Jiu, who's been making quite a name for herself recently...”
“That's the one. Wielding a Ghost Slaying Scroll, she cursed and killed the high-level Sky Demon Simu upon the Splendid Platform in the Wuwang Sea.”
“She only looks to be at Foundation Establishment. Must be relying on a powerful dharma treasure...”
“Why does she reek of ghostly energy? Could she be a ghost cultivator from the Afterlife Kingdom?”
“The Afterlife Kingdom has remained in seclusion for a century. I wonder if something happened there.”
“Shh! She has such cultivation at a young age and is steeped in murderous aura—she's definitely not one to provoke. Let us not gossip, lest we invite trouble.”
Although these cultivators either laid down formations or transmitted their voices secretly, the chat bubbles above their heads gave them away completely.
Nan Zhi feigned ignorance and walked straight toward an inconspicuous patch of open ground.
She knew well that one could not slaughter endlessly without eventually growing indifferent to life and utterly arrogant.
Coupled with her desire to gather information about the Wuwang Sea, she had come here.
Nan Zhi arrived just in time; the treasure ship delivering supplies had only departed yesterday. Consequently, most of those present were cultivators from the Three Sects and demon cultivators from the Sea Market.
A solitary Foundation Establishment human rogue cultivator like her was rather conspicuous.
Feeling the overt and covert gazes cast her way, Nan Zhi remained neither servile nor haughty. She found a cliff wall, spread out a sheet of demon beast hide, and laid out a few medicinal herbs she had gathered while slaying demons over the past days.
The prying looks diminished considerably, with most likely mistaking “Ma Jiu” for a maritime gold hunter living on the edge of a blade, scraping by wherever she could.
Though this cliff cave was crude, it boasted naturally formed crystal walls. Clumps resembling oversized dandelions stood across the ground, their spherical fluff emitting a bright yet gentle white glow.
At the base of the cliff wall lay scattered bits of Yeming Sand. Nestled in the crook of Nan Zhi's neck, Hongluo twitched her paws, and Nan Zhi knowingly set her down.
Yeming Sand was an elegant name for bat droppings, known to clear the liver, improve vision, and disperse stasis and stagnation.
This cliff cave had existed for who knew how long, and a thick layer of high-grade granular Yeming Sand had accumulated at the base of the walls.
Hongluo was so overjoyed that her eyes narrowed to slits, completely forgetting her sorrow over parting with her good friends.
Nan Zhi casually lit a campfire. The crackling firewood popped in a steady rhythm, replacing the lingering scent at her nose with the smoky warmth of burning embers.
With her nerves much relaxed, her gaze settled upon the pop-up system panel.
【Flesh Sacrifice: “Corpse of Old Nan” — Currently extractable divine abilities: 0; Extracted divine abilities: 2】
【Divine Ability: Call Wind (Learned)】
【Divine Ability: Summon Rain (Learned)】
【Divine Ability: Wood Manipulation (Sacrifice Progress: 26.99%)】
Deep within her inventory, the infant-like Witch Corpse lay as silent as an inanimate object. Staring at the sluggish sacrifice progress bar, Nan Zhi could only sigh.
The further along she went, the more formidable the divine abilities became, and the quantity and quality of living spirits required rose correspondingly.
Between slaying monsters in the real world and exterminating Sky Demons day and night during this period, her jade slip merit points had soared to 147th on the Earth Board, yet the sacrifice progress for her third divine ability still advanced at a crawl.
Could some kind soul out of nowhere toss a Deity Transformation Sky Demon her way for her to chop down?
Just as she was pondering this, she noticed several demon cultivators sitting cross-legged nearby. Laid out on banana leaves before them were grilled squid, shellfish, and various seaweeds and jellyfish in dazzlingly vibrant colors that looked positively venomous.
Another demon cultivator lifted a meter-long ocean fish, gutting and skinning it to reveal tender pink flesh resembling cherry blossoms.
Without bothering to cook it, the demons simply sliced it with their blades, gulping it down alongside strong liquor from seashell bowls while laughing and chatting heartily:
“I heard that lately, evil cultivators have been causing trouble in the Wuwang Sea, kidnapping cultivators regardless of their background to practice wicked arts.”
“Those missing are all nameless rogue cultivators like us. Just you watch—if disciples from the Qingjing Sect or Wuwei Sect went missing—”
“Damn it all! Can the Hehuan Sect's secret arts really reconstruct a physical body with just half a piece of [censored]? If you're severely wounded by a Sky Demon, I doubt even a Daluo Golden Immortal could do anything!”
“How lethal the Black Mist Poison is, we Sea kin know better than anyone. Don't try to hoodwink us.”
“You're truly behind on the news! Lady Dragon Girl received guidance from a reclusive powerhouse of our Sea race and offered Detoxification Pills capable of purging the Black Mist Poison as prizes for this Four Directions Assembly. What does the Black Mist Poison amount to now?”
“With the Sky Demon tide arriving early, there's no need to worry about not having enough Sky Demons to go around. The Demon Slaying Board is right there—let's see who's a coward!”
“What's the point of slaying Sky Demons? As long as the black mist isn't eliminated, new breeds of Sky Demons will spawn after ten years. We must pull the weeds up by the roots!”
“How brilliant is Lady Dragon Girl! She surely thought of a countermeasure long ago! Besides, the low-grade pills released by the Sea Market this time are a full twenty percent cheaper, and they don't restrict sales to rogue cultivators like us!”
“Exactly! In the past, we had to put up with alchemists' arrogance, but this time we don't have to look at the Three Great Sects' disciples' scowling faces! We rogue cultivators might be poor, but it's not as if we can't afford pills!”
“If you ask me, Lady Dragon Girl ought to raise the prices on them so the disciples of the Three Sects can taste the hardships we once endured!”
“Right! Exactly!”
The demon cultivators spoke freely, but their words were overheard by a nearby Wuwei Sect disciple, who immediately retorted in objection:
“Fellow Daoist, your words are exceedingly rude. In the past, alchemists refined medicine and cultivators bought pills; goods were exchanged for payment by mutual consent. How can you speak of oppression? If cheaper pills are available now, that is naturally wonderful, but right now the Three Sects and the Sea Market are uniting to eliminate demons. Isn't speaking like this an attempt to sow discord?”
This seemed to spark further conflict. Someone blending into the crowd pinched their throat and said in a low voice:
“They're nothing more than low-grade Blood Supplementing Pills and Qi-Supplementing Pills—only poor rogue cultivators and demon barbarians like you would care about them! Who doesn't know that Ao Mingzhu is buying people's favor because she fears the Dragon Prince will seize the Sea Market? What Sea race powerhouse? What Detoxification Pill? Eighty percent chance it's all just trickery to dupe people!”
With so many people in the cliff cave, upon hearing these inciting words, several short-tempered demon cultivators instantly sprang up, shouting for a fight:
“If you've got the backbone, you human cultivators shouldn't take the twenty-percent-discounted pills!”
“Exactly! If you're so capable, step aside on the Demon Slaying Board and let us compete for the top prize's Longevity Pill!”
“Who said that just now?”
Nan Zhi saw clearly that the one who had shouted those words was not a human cultivator at all, but a short, stout middle-aged demon cultivator shaped like an earthen vat.
A Golden Core cultivator's divine sense swept over, and the demon cultivator was swiftly dragged out. After receiving a sound beating, he actually transformed into a dusty-gray giant crab.
Everyone watched as the giant crab's stalked eyes flickered in and out before it scuttled away in disgrace.
The human and demon cultivators looked at each other, both sides letting out cold snorts.
...
Leaning against the cliff wall, Nan Zhi watched in all directions and listened intently, synthesizing all the information she had gathered. Regardless of whether it was true or false, she managed to distill a few useful points:
First: The Sea Market and the Three Great Sects had joined forces, establishing a hundred-year alliance to purge the Sky Demons of the Wuwang Sea and restore peace to the twelve nations of the four directions.
Second: Prince Nine of the Dragon Palace, Ao Zhen—the West Sea Dragon King's favorite son—intended to vie with Ao Mingzhu for control over the Sea Market.
Third: With the war between immortals and demons looming over the Wuwang Sea, hundreds of rogue cultivators had gone missing, suspected to be the work of evil cultivators causing trouble amidst the chaos.
With the scattered information pieced together, Nan Zhi casually pulled out a stalk of White Jade Ginseng and munched on it like dried radish, not forgetting to snap off a few rootlets to feed Hongluo.
—After all, the cautionary tale of Hu Ban'er over-nourishing himself was still fresh in her mind.
Rate on N.U.
