Free Web NovelChapter 333: Chapter 268: Eye-type Divine Techniques
"I remember there being three Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators on Nanla Island. Where is the other one?"
"The other one disagreed with us and chose to leave on his own. He has already gone to Hai Feng Island."
Fang Qingyuan nodded upon hearing this. Every Cultivator who managed to reach Foundation Establishment had their own pride. It took a great deal of courage to submit to another Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
The two Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators before him were an elderly Cultivator and a Female Cultivator, so they had fewer psychological barriers. The last one, however, was a Male Cultivator in his prime. He would rather leave than become Fang Qingyuan’s subordinate.
"Then we won’t bother with him. Since he has left, I will appoint the third Island Master of Nanla Island myself.
Li Zhi, you will be the third Island Master. From now on, you must report anything of importance to me in a timely manner."
Li Zhi, standing behind Fang Qingyuan, was overcome with a pleasant surprise. Nanla Island had three mountain peaks for cultivation. For centuries, only Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators who also possessed a unique skill of their own were qualified to reside there.
But now, with a single sentence from Fang Qingyuan, he, an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, was being made the third Island Master. This was the result of following the right person.
"I will guard this island for you, my Lord. I would give my life without hesitation."
Li Zhi proclaimed his loyalty fervently. The other two Foundation Establishment Cultivators beside him were full of envy, while the original two from Nanla Island looked at Li Zhi with mixed feelings.
"Enough with the pleasantries. Let’s head to the island and go through the formalities."
Fang Qingyuan flew back to the large ship and led the crowd of Cultivators toward Nanla Island.
Nanla Island’s willingness to submit couldn’t just be empty words. They had to do something to show their sincerity and prove their allegiance was genuine. Even if they were unwilling at heart, the ceremony had to be held.
Arriving before Nanla Island, Fang Qingyuan extended his Divine Sense. He found that the island’s Array was not activated, and there were no discordant auras on the island.
The island’s mortal leaders had also gathered, and all the necessary ceremonial items were prepared.
After carefully sensing for a moment and confirming it wasn’t an ambush, Fang Qingyuan finally set foot on the island.
Activating an Array took time, especially a Protective Array like this that covered several dozen li of mountain peaks. Activating and deactivating it would cause a significant commotion.
The time it would take to activate it from a deactivated state was enough for Fang Qingyuan to escape and return ten times over.
Deactivating the Array was a sign of sincerity. Otherwise, it would imply they had ulterior motives and were planning an ambush. If Fang Qingyuan had sensed such a situation, he would have undoubtedly struck to kill.
After Fang Qingyuan accepted the worship of the island’s mortals and the Nanla Island Cultivators and completed the simple ceremony, this little drama of submission was considered complete.
But none of that was important. What was important was the handover of the various fish-scale registers and cultivation resources.
Compared to the violent plunder of massacring an entire island, this gentler form of pillaging could also yield a bountiful harvest.
Moreover, it allowed for long-term, sustainable development and didn’t provoke strong resistance.
...
「Five days later.」
Fang Qingyuan departed, satisfied, with a pile of cultivation materials and the Talisman Disc for Nanla Island’s Array.
He took a dozen or so Cultivators from Nanla Island with him as hostages, and he left another dozen or so for Li Zhi to command, planting them as his ’nails’.
Although these measures might not be enough to completely restrain the two original Island Masters of Nanla Island, they were sufficient for now. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
As for placing restrictive seals on them on the spot, that would seem petty. If word of that got out, who would willingly submit to him in the future?
Upon returning to Golden Turtle Island, Fang Qingyuan announced he was entering seclusion, leaving all mundane affairs for his subordinates to handle. He had no mind for managing such matters right now; he only needed to ensure he remained the most powerful person in this Land Realm.
Inside his Quiet Chamber, Fang Qingyuan began to take stock of his gains. From the two islands, plus the plunder from the previous three months of travel, he had obtained over a thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones. And that was after he had buried most of the Magical Artifacts and spiritual materials in his Immortal Mansion.
Between Golden Turtle Island and Nanla Island, there were about five hundred thousand mortals in total. Islands were not like the mainland; their resources were scarce, transportation was difficult, and commerce did not flourish. Relying solely on fishing could not support a large population.
Still, five hundred thousand mortals was not a small number. Some large islands had populations of less than one hundred thousand, and some had only a few thousand people.
These mortals could reliably produce four or five cultivation ’seedlings’ each year. If Fang Qingyuan stayed here long enough to nurture them from a young age, these seedlings would become his core followers in the future.
Besides the mortals, Fang Qingyuan currently had seventy to eighty Qi Refining Cultivators, three Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and two Mid-stage ones under his command. He had no late-stage ones.
The Qi Refining Cultivators came from three sources. A dozen or so were native to Golden Turtle Island; after Fang Qingyuan drove off the original Island Master, these Cultivators naturally submitted to him.
The original Island Master of Golden Turtle Island had been a Loose Cultivator who settled there to enjoy its offerings. He had no deep emotional ties to Golden Turtle Island, so after his defeat, he simply left.
Another twenty or so were the newly submitted Cultivators from Nanla Island, and the remaining forty to fifty were subordinates Fang Qingyuan had gathered during his recent travels. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Compared to being all alone on Iron Wind Island, the current Fang Qingyuan was already an overlord ruling two large islands.
But Fang Qingyuan’s roots were still on Iron Wind Island. It had been almost four months since he left, and he wondered if Tuoba Ye had succeeded. He was counting on him to scout the path ahead.
Thinking of this, Fang Qingyuan used his seclusion as a pretext to quietly leave Golden Turtle Island and fly toward the Iron Wind Islands.
「Three days later.」
Relying on his profound Magical Power, Fang Qingyuan summoned his Flying Boat and crossed over ten thousand nautical miles, returning to Iron Wind Island.
When he arrived at the place where Tuoba Ye was attempting his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, Tuoba Ye had still not emerged. However, Fang Qingyuan wasn’t concerned. He found a place to stay, prepared to wait for Tuoba Ye for a while.
Half a month later, a vortex of Spiritual Power suddenly formed on a distant mountain peak. Fang Qingyuan’s eyes lit up with joy as he recognized the direction.
That was where Tuoba Ye was in seclusion.
A day later, when the Spiritual Qi vortex dissipated, Fang Qingyuan saw Tuoba Ye emerge from his cave dwelling with a look of elation on his face.
It looked like he had succeeded. ’That makes sense,’ Fang Qingyuan mused. ’It was Tuoba Ye’s first attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment, which always has the highest chance of success. With the twenty percent boost from the Foundation Establishment Pill and the assistance of other Elixir Pills, his odds were over fifty percent.’
With a fifty-fifty chance, success was to be expected.
However, what Fang Qingyuan was most concerned about now was whether the kid, Tuoba Ye, had awakened any Innate Divine Techniques.
A Cultivator with Innate Divine Techniques was like a graduate from a prestigious university in a later generation. While they all had the same degree, there were still different tiers of quality.
But when Fang Qingyuan got a clear look at Tuoba Ye’s face, he had his answer. The eyepatch he used to wear was gone, and the once pale, gray eyeball was now bewitchingly radiant.
’An Eye-type Divine Technique?’
’This looks very promising.’
