Free Web NovelChapter 335: Chapter 270: Have I Fallen to the Demonic Path?
「Two days later.」
Tuoba Ye accepted his orders and departed. Meanwhile, Fang Qingyuan, disguised as Xiao Sanyan, secretly returned to Golden Turtle Island.
Everything on the island was normal. The many Cultivators there were completely unaware that Fang Qingyuan had been quietly gone for over half a month.
Once he arrived, Fang Qingyuan came out of seclusion and summoned everyone, including the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators from Nanla Island.
Inside Golden Turtle Island’s Grand Council Hall, Fang Qingyuan sat at the head seat, his head slightly bowed as he rested his chin on one hand.
Below him, the group of Foundation Establishment Cultivators had taken their respective seats. Few of them spoke.
This was the first time Fang Qingyuan had convened a meeting where all the Foundation Establishment Cultivators were present. Everyone understood he must have something important to announce.
Sure enough, after a moment of contemplation, Fang Qingyuan spoke.
"I need a large quantity of Demon Summoning Soil. Does anyone know where I can get it?"
At his question, the four Male Foundation Establishment Cultivators looked bewildered. Only the sole Female Cultivator smiled charmingly and said:
"Demon Summoning Soil is a spiritual material with very specific applications. Ordinary Cultivators have no use for it. However, I have some basic knowledge of refining various spiritual materials and magical artifacts, some of which require Demon Summoning Soil, so I happen to know a little about it."
Fang Qingyuan fixed his gaze on the beautiful and captivating woman, his eyes lingering on her curvaceous figure as he asked:
"Please enlighten me, Lady Guan."
This was not her real name. Fang Qingyuan didn’t know her actual surname, but he knew it wasn’t Guan. To commemorate her late husband, she publicly declared this to be her only name.
Lady Guan gracefully rose to her feet and walked to Fang Qingyuan’s side. She took a jade slip from her storage bag and presented it to him.
The jade slip was a fair white, but it paled in comparison to the slender, fair hands that held it.
A subtle, pleasant fragrance wafted to his nose. As Fang Qingyuan reached out to take the jade slip, his fingers inadvertently brushed against hers.
His heart skipped a beat, but he quickly sneered inwardly. ’A cheap trick. Just a simple Charm Technique.’
Lady Guan specialized in Charm Technique, a fact unknown to outsiders. But when Fang Qingyuan had accepted her and her companion’s submission a few days prior, they had naturally disclosed such personal information to him.
Taking the jade slip, Fang Qingyuan ignored Lady Guan and sent his Divine Sense into it to read the information within.
After a moment, Fang Qingyuan frowned slightly. It turned out that the largest source of Demon Summoning Soil was the Little Demon Abyss.
The Little Demon Abyss was filled with Demon Cultivators. They had no use for Spirit Stones; Demon Summoning Soil was their most valued cultivation resource, and thus the true currency there.
Demon Summoning Soil was more valuable than Spirit Stones in other Demon Cultivator strongholds as well, but the combined scale of all those places was nothing compared to the Little Demon Abyss.
’It seems that if I want a large quantity of Demon Summoning Soil, the Little Demon Abyss is unavoidable.’
Seeing Fang Qingyuan lost in thought, Lady Guan continued:
"I buy a small amount of Demon Summoning Soil for my own use each year. I’m not sure how much you need, Hall Master, but if it’s not a large quantity, you’re welcome to use what I have for now."
Fang Qingyuan tossed the jade slip back to her and said coldly: freewebnøvel.coɱ
"That won’t be necessary for now. Let’s put the matter of the Demon Summoning Soil aside. We need to discuss our third target. Which island should we attack?"
.....
After a brief discussion, a new target was chosen: Red Crab Island, located two thousand li from Golden Turtle Island.
Red Crab Island was famous for the massive swarms of red crabs that scuttled to the sea every August and September. During that time, it was easy to accidentally crush several of them just by walking around.
The island had a sizable mortal population and five or six Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Although only one of them was at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, they all belonged to the same clan and were tightly knit.
This made Red Crab Island a rather tricky target, but Fang Qingyuan couldn’t find a better alternative.
Within a three-thousand-li radius, only Red Crab Island lacked the protection of a Golden Core Cultivator. The other islands were all considered the private property of various Golden Core Cultivators.
Fang Qingyuan believed it wasn’t yet time for him to challenge a Golden Core Cultivator. He had many trump cards up his sleeve, but he wasn’t so arrogant as to think he could face a Golden Core expert.
For Red Crab Island, Fang Qingyuan decided to first try diplomacy before resorting to force. He would have Lady Guan lead a party to persuade them to surrender. If they refused, he would attack.
After Lady Guan and her party departed, Fang Qingyuan entered his Quiet Chamber to ponder a question: where did Demon Summoning Soil actually come from?
On the surface, Demon Summoning Soil appeared to be nothing more than soil tainted with Demonic Qi, but that wasn’t the whole story. Fang Qingyuan had studied it carefully when he had obtained some in the past. He discovered that the Demonic Qi couldn’t just randomly infuse any soil to create Demon Summoning Soil.
The soil contained many components that Fang Qingyuan didn’t yet understand, but the one thing he was sure of was that it was not a naturally occurring substance.
’If it isn’t formed naturally, then the implications are far more interesting.’
’The Little Demon Abyss has the largest supply. Perhaps the true master behind it is the one who controls the method for creating Demon Summoning Soil.’
’Otherwise, with it being constantly consumed, even the most abundant reserves would have been depleted over the centuries.’
Without the nourishment of Demon Summoning Soil and Demonic Magical Artifacts, the Longevity Vine in his Immortal Mansion was currently dormant. As a result, he was in the awkward position of having no raw materials for his Blood Life Pills.
But he had too many reservations to go directly to the Little Demon Abyss just for Demon Summoning Soil.
’I’ll wait for Tuoba Ye to scout the way first. My lifespan is long; there’s no need to rush.’
With these thoughts in mind, Fang Qingyuan silently closed his eyes and serenely entered a state of meditative cultivation.
....
「Three days later.」
Lady Guan returned to report that Red Crab Island had refused to surrender and would resist to the very end.
Upon hearing this news, Fang Qingyuan was pleased rather than angered. He immediately led his host of Cultivators to Red Crab Island, used the Tier Two Array-Breaking Talismans he had collected to blast open the Island Protection Array, and initiated a bloody slaughter.
Half a month later, Red Crab Island had fallen completely into Fang Qingyuan’s hands. All of its Cultivators had been slaughtered, and its mortal inhabitants were transported to the other two islands to serve as slaves.
Carrying the plundered wealth and a pile of Cultivator corpses, Fang Qingyuan returned to Golden Turtle Island, satisfied.
He had adapted to the local customs. It had taken him less than ten years to go from resisting the idea of conquering islands and slaughtering their people, to understanding it, and finally to embracing it with pleasure.
Resources on the islands were scarce. Only by killing one’s enemies could one make space for one’s own people, support more mortals, and in turn, produce more Cultivators. freёwebnovel.com
Cultivators had long lifespans. In a mere twenty or thirty years, a new generation of mortals could grow and multiply, so the lives of the original inhabitants were of no concern.
On the contrary, if the original mortal tribes were spared, hatred could fester and be passed down through generations until, one day, a Great Cultivator might emerge seeking revenge.
After burying the corpses of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in his Immortal Mansion, Fang Qingyuan went before the Longevity Vine, preparing to feed it some of the Demonic Magical Artifacts he had just acquired.
But to his surprise, as he went to feed the Longevity Vine, it showed interest in him instead.
Seeing this, a chill ran down Fang Qingyuan’s spine. ’The Longevity Vine is only interested in Demonic Qi. For it to act like this... have I fallen to the Demonic Dao?’
