513 - A Sect Leader’s Ascension

**Chapter 513: Creation of the Summoning Demon Soil** It was a dim day on the Iron Wind Archipelago as Liu Feng stood at the entrance of his shop, bowing repeatedly with a forced smile to a group of beast tamers. "Thirty-three pieces! Not a single piece less!" These were all artifact refiners from the islands, led by an elderly man with white hair and beard, speaking in the loud, booming voice typical of people from the offshore. "Not a single piece less!" echoed the gruff voices of the refining apprentices behind him as they glared angrily at Liu Feng, as if he were their mortal enemy. "Friends, please have mercy!" Liu Feng was deeply troubled, bowing continuously as he tried to appease the stubborn crowd. "With the plan I propose, you won't need much raw material or labor to craft this sword, and thirty pieces are already a hefty profit. Give me a break! I am buying in bulk, after all." "Precisely because it's bulk! Reducing by three pieces per sword amounts to a huge loss across a thousand swords. You're clearly trying to outsmart us, thinking we're fools? Thirty-three pieces, no less!" The old man rolled up his sleeves and threatened, pointing to the "Chu Qin Small Shop" sign above Liu Feng's head, "If you provoke us, we'll smash your shop!" "Smash it!" "Smash it!" the crowd chanted eagerly, attempting to push their way into the shop, completely disregarding Liu Feng's status as a Foundation Establishment practitioner. "Can't we talk calmly?" Forced into a corner with the threat of violence, Liu Feng extended his arms, projecting his Foundation Establishment aura to block the entrance. "Watch out, he's willing to use force!" One of them, repelled by the spiritual power, let out a loud whistle, summoning a flock of [Iron Wind Gulls] from nowhere. The birds dove straight toward Liu Feng, their hard, brown beaks razor-sharp, akin to humans at the Foundation Establishment level. "Fine, fine! Thirty-three it is!" Terrified by the sudden brush with death, Liu Feng hastily agreed, completely forgetting the bottom line set by Nangong Yanran; no business deal was worth his life. At another whistle, the Iron Wind Gulls abandoned their attack, circling back with mighty flaps that kicked up a dust storm, sending everyone's robes flapping madly in the wind. At last, Liu Feng’s life was spared. Intelligently aware, the spirit birds landed beside their masters, imitating their hostile stares and glaring back at Liu Feng. Southern Border Beast Tamer cultivators were known for their bravado and brashness but generally adhered to certain rules of conduct. Who knew the Iron Wind Archipelago crew were essentially bandits, resorting to violence at the drop of a hat? No wonder no one wanted to work here. "The [Reverse Five Elements Iron Wind Sword], as per our discussion, will have the [Sharpness] attribute removed, along with the two skills usually attached to the sword. The sheath, packaging, and decorations are omitted, enhancing the [Durability] attribute to [Extreme Durability]. Thirty-three third-tier spirit stones each for one thousand and eighty swords amounts to thirty-five thousand six hundred and forty. Is that right?" The elder, satisfied to see Liu Feng concede, produced a prepared contract. "Correct, but we need a witness for the signing," Liu Feng, wary of their earlier aggression, asked a neighboring shopkeeper, equally empathetic with his plight, to attest the deal, finally bringing the matter to resolution. The refiners took their ten percent down payment, dispersed it among themselves, and rode off on their Iron Wind Gulls. "Just my luck! Since that man came here, the local atmosphere has been worsening day by day,” the witnessing shopkeeper advised Liu Feng, pointing skyward. "Whenever doing business, one must tread with utmost caution." "Ah!" Liu Feng knew he was pointing at Zhao Elian, head of the Iron Wind Archipelago. Such a late-stage Golden Core lord was far above his standing, leaving him helpless and only able to lament. Meanwhile, within the Iron Wind Archipelago, on an island covered in black heavy soil, hidden beneath high-level illusion array, a translucent spiral formation stretched deep underground. "Hahahaha! I did it! I did it!" At the spiral formation's base, amidst dense pressure heavy enough to pulverize living beings to dust, Zhao Elian, hair disheveled and wildly ecstatic, was jumping about. Before him lay a forbidden black Magic Worm, lesser in size than the one Qi Xiu once faced, tightly bound in silver chains, with a tube drawing the Magic Worm Water from its mouth. This magic water was funneled into a gathering array, mingling with the pulverized bones of beasts and varied beast souls, compressed by layers of heavy soil into flat forms. These successive mixtures, under temporal influence within the heavy soil, depicted varying states, and the earliest layer yielded what Zhao Elian celebrated over— the black Magic Soil. "[Summoning Demon Soil]! Finally, I’ve crafted you!" Cradling the Summoning Demon Soil against his face, he muttered with greedy eyes, "All mine, all mine!" He declared feverishly, "This time, I won't share it with anyone!" ... Baishan, at the unwelcome edge of Wakeshug Valley. A shadow appeared seemingly out of thin air. It was a masked, one-armed man, looking solemnly toward the valley. "Between a wolf in front and a tiger behind, what to do now?" The voice was old and sharp, almost grating. "The most dangerous place is often the safest spot. By my experience, as long as we suppress our aura and stay low-profile, there's a good chance we can stay hidden." Another person emerged from the shadows, similarly masked, whose voice would be recognizable to Qi Xiu as Chu Wuying. “Damn those Confucian scholars! No choice then, lead the way!” The one-armed elder glanced toward the north, steeled his resolve, and motioned for Chu Wuying to proceed into the valley. They took the same path Qi Xiu once did. With one adept in stealth and the other capable of cloaking himself entirely in shadow, they moved with ease. "Be cautious! Most ancient beasts have a keen sense of smell, and our concealment methods might not work," the one-armed elder advised, worried by Chu Wuying's rapid pace. "Don't worry. I've been here before." Chu Wuying slowed his pace, though still on guard. "By the way, about the Green Lake incident, what’s your take?" "Such childish blame games... those hypocrites feigning belief. Clearly targeting our Black Hand!" the one-armed elder replied. "But it's curious..." Chu Wuying's steps through the dappled shadows further slowed. "Why did our organization send me on a seemingly unrelated mission right as the incident occurred?" "You’re overthinking! I'm a Nascent Soul being hunted like a stray dog. If the organization planned Green Lake, they would've secured our getaway." The one-armed elder dismissed Chu Wuying's doubts abruptly. Following the route Zhao Yao provided Qi Xiu, they soon arrived at the gorge watched over by the Cloud-Strider Hedgehog. "This is as far as I can go. Should we take a risk crossing, or find somewhere else to hide?" Chu Wuying asked. "Uh…" The one-armed elder swept around with his detection skills, nodding in satisfaction, “This is quite suitable, no signs of human activity. Let’s establish a place here first, then gradually figure out crossing through Nascent Soul beasts’ territory.” They began circumventing the Cloud-Strider Hedgehog area, searching for a temporary hideout. Not far away, in a cave abandoned by the Painted-Face Python, a new owner had already moved in. A Nascent Soul giant crocodile, clad as if in several layers of bronze armor, lay lazily atop the cleaned stone platform that once was covered in immortal moss. Suddenly, it opened its eyes, sniffing earnestly, and with a surprisingly animated voice said, "One, no! Two humans, faint auras, no! There's a Nascent Soul among them!" The crocodile leaped from the stone platform into the depths of the cave. Its sharp claws dexterous beyond normal human fingers, quickly assembling a small array. It did not stop there; from beneath the gap in its chest armor, it retrieved a small storage bag, and deftly poured its contents of spirit stones into the array. The array activated silently, as sand particles gathered and transformed, gradually revealing the phantom of an elder—beast tamer faction’s Nascent Soul cultivator, Di Yuanpu, who once presided over the duel between Qi Xiu and Huo Bai. "Have you found something, darling?" Di Yuanpu asked eagerly when the array depicted the giant crocodile. "A Nascent Soul has entered! Human! The spiritual energy is faint, but I'm certain of it!" The crocodile’s speech was logically structured yet laced with an innocent, child-like tone, clearly marking it as a high-intellect spiritual beast rather than an ancient one. "What’s the old lion's response?" Di Yuanpu pressed with urgency. "Uh... so far, no response. As I said, the Nascent Soul’s energy is faint and seems to be using concealment techniques." Upon hearing this, Di Yuanpu showed slight delight, “So, the old lion detects Nascent Souls by energy fluctuation, and could be easily fooled by concealment?” "How would I know about that?" The giant crocodile, displaying its impatience, grumbled, "There's nothing here! The living conditions are terrible, and the food is awful. I don't want to stay here; I want to go back!" Its voice edged with a whimper, showing that it had poured out such complaints to Di Yuanpu many times before, whining incessantly like an overgrown child, "I want to eat pigfish." It drooled at the thought. "Be good, my dear. You've done a great job this time, and when you return, I promise to treat you to something even better!" Di Yuanpu spent a good amount of time soothing and coaxing the giant crocodile until it finally stopped its fussing. "Stay put, watch if you sense anything, but it doesn't matter much otherwise. Focus on monitoring the old lion's movements," he instructed before cutting off the communication. ... "This isn't right, not right at all! Human books, they're full of contradictions!" Within a world of pure mental clarity, the old lion was oblivious to the minor disturbances within his territory, furiously scratching at its tangled mane while rifling through an assortment of books and jade slips scavenged from adventurers' storage bags. "This one says humans must cultivate virtues, but this one says they should be desireless and seek nothing." "This one condemns someone named Qi Xiu as utterly wicked, while here he's praised to the heavens!" "This speaks of slaying demons and removing devils, yet this one calls for the enslavement of all beings." "And this—this says ancient beasts can be enslaved, skinned, their tendons extracted, and inner cores fashioned into artifacts. Aren't I an ancient beast too? Isn't this targeting me?" "Yet another book says to spare all living things, not even to crush an ant." "Chaos, it's all chaos!" He lifted his head in bewilderment, catching sight of the last wisp of Huo Guang's remaining soul flickering into nothingness. "Why did it have to vanish now? How inconvenient," he muttered. Closing his eyes to sense his surroundings, soon his expression became animated again. (To be continued)