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Chapter 305: Subjugation
Chapter 305: Subjugation
Southern Li Island.
While his cultivation avatar went to plunder the island's wealth, Fang Xing's main body sat leisurely aboard the Explorer, greeting the arriving Core Formation Cultivators with a smile. One by one, they bowed before him, their faces ashen, and said, "We pay our respects to the True Lord!"
Among them, the Southern Flame Gate cultivators looked the most distraught. The plunderers and demon cultivators followed, their expressions varying from grim to composed, likely due to their connections elsewhere.
The only commonality was the small unmanned drones hovering behind them, laser cannons at the ready.
"We pay our respects to the True Lord. Your mechanical puppetry technique is truly unparalleled in the world!" exclaimed a Southern Flame Gate Core Formation Cultivator with white hair and beard, his eyes fixed on the Explorer in the sky, a hint of obsession in his voice.
"This 'Dark Kun Ship' is indeed a Nascent Soul-level super-large puppet, reaching the pinnacle of puppetry techniques in this realm," Fang Xing acknowledged with a slight nod. He gave the Explorer a localized name and then turned to the old man, "Who are you?"
"True Lord, I am Ni Huolong, a Third Rank Array Master and offering of the Southern Flame Gate, responsible for the daily maintenance of the teleportation array," Ni Huolong replied with a bow.
"Oh? Not bad. And you others?" Fang Xing looked at the other Core Formation Masters.
"We are cultivators from Tiger Head Sea. We heard that the True Lord is attacking the Southern Flame Gate to punish their injustice, so we came to join this noble cause," said several black-robed plunderers with a bow.
It was rare for them to describe their opportunistic actions with such elegance.
In reality, if it weren't for the Nascent Soul-level super-large mechanical puppet city hovering above, they would have fled as far as possible.
This time, they couldn't escape, so they could only obediently accept their punishment.
They hoped that the True Lord would consider their contribution in defeating the Southern Flame Gate and impose a lighter punishment.
"Hong Wanjin of the Ten Thousand Treasure Tower pays his respects to the True Lord," said a stout man with coins embroidered on his clothes, bowing with a smile, "I was merely following the Tower's orders to do some business in the Sea Market. If the True Lord has any instructions, I will follow without hesitation."
"Lei Hong of the Three Shares Hall..."
"Xin Nonggui of the Ten Thousand Pills Hall..."
The representatives of the local Nascent Soul-level forces introduced themselves, exuding a sense of composure.
Ten Thousand Treasure Tower, Three Shares Hall... These were all famous Nascent Soul-level forces from the outer seas, organized as merchant associations. Although their structure was loose, they had several Nascent Soul-level offerings, including mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators.
As for the Ten Thousand Pills Hall, they were backed by the Inner Sea's major pill sect, Thousand Purple Mountain. Even a Great True Monarch would have to give them some face.
"The reason I attacked the Southern Flame Gate is that Tian Kun Upper Person and San Ling Lord acted without martial ethics. They took my spirit stones and not only refused to teleport me but also tried to kill me..." Fang Xing explained the situation, ensuring he had the moral high ground.
Although this might not be of much use in the cultivation world, where strength often spoke louder than words.
"Then, I wonder what the True Lord plans to do next? As far as we know... the strongest cultivator of the Southern Flame Gate, Huoyun Lord, is already at the mid-stage of Nascent Soul cultivation," Lei Hong and the others exchanged glances before Hong Wanjin spoke up.
"It's just a matter of facing the challenges as they come," Fang Xing waved his hand dismissively.
Seeing this, Hong Wanjin and the others exchanged glances, now understanding the situation.
Cultivators who had reached the Nascent Soul stage were certainly not fools.
Since Fang Xing dared to attack the Southern Flame Gate and occupy it, he must have the means to counter a mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator.
Wait... considering the previous display of power, it might not have been just one person. Perhaps it was two mid-stage Nascent Soul True Lords who had the confidence to drive away Huoyun Lord.
Xin Nonggui, being a businessman, had a keen mind and said, "Does the True Lord intend to establish a sect on Southern Li Island? What about the Sea Market?"
"Of course, everything will continue as usual. Just remember to pay the spirit stones," Fang Xing waved his hand, dismissing the representatives of the Nascent Soul-level forces. He then turned to Ni Huolong and the plunderers from Tiger Head Sea, whose faces had turned pale.
These Core Formation Cultivators lacked powerful backers and could only await Fang Xing's judgment.
"I intend to cultivate here and need some help..." Fang Xing began, but before he could finish, Ni Huolong and the plunderers knelt, "We are willing to serve the True Lord and be your loyal subordinates."
"Hmm, but your minds are fickle, and it's hard for me to trust you. So..." Fang Xing laughed and took out a jade bottle, pouring out several silver-white pills, "These are 'Three Corpse Pills'. Once ingested, they will disperse without a trace... Most Core Formation Cultivators will find it difficult to get rid of them, unless a Nascent Soul True Lord is willing to expend a lot of energy."
In this world, all restrictive methods emphasized cost-effectiveness.
For a Core Formation Cultivator, unless they were a late-stage Core Formation cultivator with a Nascent Soul seed or the son of a Nascent Soul True Lord, they were not worth the effort of a Nascent Soul True Lord expending a large amount of energy to save.
For some Nascent Soul True Lords with cold personalities, not even their own sons might be as important as their cultivation path.
"Thank you for the pills, True Lord," Ni Huolong, being a sensible person, took one of the silver-white pills and swallowed it directly.
Under the scrutiny of a Nascent Soul's divine sense, no one could deceive him.
In the end, Fang Xing watched as the eight Core Formation Cultivators swallowed the Three Corpse Pills one by one, and then immediately began to praise him.
'Hmm, should I change the name of Southern Li Island to 'Divine Dragon Island'? That would be even more fitting...' Fang Xing stroked his chin, finding it hard to contain his amusement.
However, he ultimately refrained from doing something so shameless and instead sent these Core Formation Cultivators to clean up the mess.
The Southern Flame Gate originally had several dozen Core Formation Cultivators, but after the battle, many had died or escaped.
The same went for the remaining disciples.
With eight Core Formation Cultivators, the situation was stable.
As for the larger number of fake pill cultivators and Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they didn't even have the qualifications to swallow Fang Xing's Three Corpse Pills.
...
At this time, Fang Xing's cultivation avatar was riding a Treasure Seeking Rat, freely roaming around, feeling like a rat in a rice jar.
Whoosh!
Amidst the whistling sword auras, another restriction of a Fourth Rank Spirit Herb Garden was forcibly broken.
A rich fragrance of medicinal herbs overflowed.
"This is actually a Fourth Rank Spirit Herb Garden?"
His eyes lit up as he scanned the nearby corpses, and he immediately understood, "The restriction was too strong... Most Core Formation Cultivators couldn't break through, but it turned out to be a boon for me."
Fang Xing entered the herb garden and took a look, nodding in satisfaction, "Jade Dragon Fruit, Thousand Purple Leaves... Not bad, not bad."
These fourth-rank spirit herbs, combined with his previous collection, were enough to refine a large batch of pills to enhance his cultivation, allowing him to cultivate securely to the peak of early Nascent Soul stage.
Of course, the speed would still be slower compared to when he used the Ten Thousand Years Stone Milk to assist his cultivation at the Core Formation stage.
But for an average Nascent Soul True Lord, it would still be considered an astonishingly fast speed.
'With this Fourth Rank Medium-grade Spirit Vein, I'll reach the peak of the early stage in a few decades, and then I'll find a way to break through to the mid-stage Nascent Soul.'
Fang Xing examined it again, and his brows furrowed.
At the roots of these spirit herbs, various strange restrictions were scattered.
If I harvest and transplant them recklessly... it's likely these spirit herbs will self-destruct.
"Indeed, a great sect has its measures well in place."
"But this is like a safe, guarding against petty thieves but not against powerful robbers... When faced with a true bandit, they'll take the safe along with the loot, leaving one helpless..."
Now that Fang Xing had conquered the Southern Flame Gate, he could search the Scripture Pavilion for their cultivation techniques and look for ways to break the restrictions.
Not to mention, there were also those Third and Fourth Rank spirit plants.
In other words, there were plenty of options.
The Southern Flame Gate had set up these restrictions out of fear that cultivators would sneak in and steal the herbs, never expecting someone like Fang Xing who would take everything in one go.
If they encountered him, they could only consider themselves unlucky.
"With so many Spirit Fields, we can't waste them... And there's also that Teleportation Array, we can have Ni Huolong go repair and maintain it... With the teleportation business, we'll be raking in high-grade Spirit Stones."
For Fang Xing, he only needed to satisfy his own cultivation, without the burden of the tens of thousands of disciples from the Southern Flame Gate.
As long as he controlled the Teleportation Array, it would be an endless supply of high-grade Spirit Stones!
Not to mention the profits from the market stalls and the sect's Spirit Fields and Spirit Herb Gardens.
In essence, he had become a wealthy man with one strike, enough to make even Nascent Soul True Monarchs from the wandering cultivator path envious.
'The primitive accumulation of capital is always bloody... This saying is indeed true.'
Fang Xing sighed inwardly, and next, he would have to face Huoyun Lord.
O
Originally, he had planned to cultivate in the Inner Sea.
B
Moreover, with the Teleportation Array and other benefits, it wasn't impossible to stabilize and settle down for a while.
...
At the same time, on a desolate reef.
Huoyun Lord, in his middle-aged appearance, was dressed like a secular lord, wearing a Fire Cloud Jade Crown on his head, with countless intricate fire spirit patterns gathered, like a sun constantly radiating light and heat.
His eyebrows were completely crimson, and he looked at a beautiful woman in a white Daoist robe in front of him: "Jiaoyue Lord... Your Yin Heaven Sect has made my life miserable! This time, I've lost two junior brothers and sisters, and I can't let you get away with it!"
Jiaoyue Lord was also helpless.
Originally, it was just a treasure-stealing operation, and even if it was discovered afterward, it would only be a dispute.
Who could have thought that a strange Nascent Soul True Monarch would suddenly appear out of nowhere, and the situation would become like this?
However, this was also an opportunity!
Jiaoyue Lord's beautiful eyes moved, and she said softly, "Brother Huoyun, don't be hasty. San Ling and Tian Kun, their talents were inferior, and they didn't cultivate our sect's fundamental dharma. Their future achievements were destined to be limited... Now that the Southern Flame Gate has encountered a disaster, perhaps it's fate that you should join our Yin Heaven Sect. After all, the water and fire profound skills of our two lineages must be combined to have a chance to glimpse the late-stage Nascent Soul. But little sister has been thinking hard, and she has come up with a method. If you and I join forces in dual cultivation, we might be able to break through by taking a different path..."
Huoyun Lord's expression remained unchanged.
These old monsters who had lived for hundreds of years didn't care about secular rules or face.
What they cared about, besides the sect's lineage, was only their own breakthrough to a higher cultivation level.
Perhaps the latter was even more important."
"Brother, please look."
Jiaoyue Lord giggled and handed over a jade slip.
Huoyun Lord scanned it with his divine sense, and his eyes moved slightly: "Since there is such a wonderful method, why didn't you tell me earlier, Sister?"
Although there was a hint of blame in his tone, his attitude had softened considerably.
"Hehe, Brother, you're wrong to blame little sister."
Jiaoyue Lord put on a girlish pose: "This dual cultivation technique is something little sister has comprehended over the years, and there are still some flaws... I'm afraid it will require Brother's joint cultivation to reach perfection."
"Besides... Little sister also has a selfish motive. If we dual cultivate, who will be the main cultivator and who will be the supporting one? Now that Brother has broken free from his constraints, it's a heaven-sent joy... Little sister is willing to make a Heart Demon Vow, as long as Brother joins the Yin Heaven Sect, he will immediately become the Deputy Sect Leader, second only to the Sect Leader and above ten thousand disciples."
"Sigh..."
Huoyun Lord felt a bit unhappy, as he was naturally unwilling to be inferior to others.
But when he thought of the Southern Flame Gate, all his thoughts vanished.
Now that his sect was destroyed and his junior brothers and sisters were dead, what was there left to fight for? He gritted his teeth and said, "Brother agrees, but I ask Sister to promise that once we achieve success, we must kill that person to avenge me!"
H
"Of course, the Yin Moon Saintess's token has been shattered, and the Moonlight Spirit Cauldron has been taken away... All these grudges are on that person."
Jiaoyue Lord's face turned cold, clearly also holding a grudge against Fang Xing: "According to the intelligence, the Nascent Soul that appeared is not simple, suspected to be two, one of which is a mid-stage Nascent Soul Body Cultivator... And another one, suspected to be skilled in sword techniques and puppetry techniques."
There were many sword cultivators in the Vast Sea Realm, and since flying swords were sharp, many high-level cultivators often chose to cultivate some flying sword techniques. They couldn't be considered orthodox sword cultivators, only slightly understanding some sword techniques as a side practice.
In other words, they hadn't condensed sword cores or sword spirits... Instead, they followed the orthodox immortal cultivation path, only using flying swords and sword techniques as their means of combat. Such cultivators were even more numerous.
After the Divine Soul Sword Sect was destroyed, a large number of their scriptures spread, causing a wave of sword cultivation fever.
Therefore, these two Nascent Soul True Monarchs wouldn't immediately associate a sword cultivator with the Divine Soul Sword Sect.
"Hmph... The Sword Dao is pure and unadulterated, and yet they also cultivate puppetry techniques. Truly incomprehensible, it's indeed the way of wandering cultivators!"
Huoyun Lord coldly snorted.
"Don't be careless, I've already asked the Dark Cloud Pavilion to gather detailed intelligence. Knowing the enemy and knowing oneself, one will be invincible in a hundred battles..."
The Dark Cloud Pavilion's influence spread throughout the Vast Sea Realm, and its members were extremely mysterious, even including Nascent Soul True Monarchs.
They accepted all kinds of intelligence gathering and assassination tasks.
It was said that many high-level cultivators were also affiliated with them, making them extremely powerful.
Jiaoyue Lord said, "Please bear with me, Brother, and cultivate the Great Dao together with me. Once we have a basic grasp of it, even if we can't defeat a Great True Monarch, we might still have the power to protect ourselves in front of one... Then, when we take revenge, it will be foolproof."
Huoyun Lord slowly exhaled: "What Sister says is reasonable. Cultivating that Fire Profound Skill has indeed affected my temperament..."
(End of Chapter)
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