Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 350 - 350 349 Searching for Clues

350: Chapter 349: Searching for Clues 350: Chapter 349: Searching for Clues Several months later, the thunder dissipated, the clouds scattered.

This was the first time Hou Niao seriously and clearly experienced a significant increase in his cultivation; his previous growth in cultivation was mainly through honing with the Earth Element Cultivation Technique, and then a cursory attempt after first arriving at the Thunder Triangle, the transformation of leeches’ primordial energy at Blue Mountain Island wasn’t considered orthodox.

Over these months, the Three Night Thunder Skill’s Summoning Spirit and Storing Technique was the true inhalation and exhalation of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism, and the effect was quite good.

He felt the mana stored in his two dantians growing rapidly, and because of the dantians’ potential for growth, there wasn’t really a ceiling to speak of, but intuitively, it seemed as though he was not far from the next step upwards.

Thunder Season had passed; there was no need to linger here any longer.

Having been in the Lizhi Sea for five years, he could try to do something now.

Rising into the air, he determined his direction and flew with sword control.

Ever since he arrived at the Lizhi Sea, he was always busy – busy surviving, busy fleeing for his life, busy cultivating; this was the first time he leisurely explored the sea without an urgent mindset, although he had a task, it was optional.

The scenery is something you can only see when you are in the mood, otherwise, it will be like his journey fleeing back, constantly cursing why the sea was so vast?

Now, well, the white sails dotted the sea, flocks of migratory birds gathered, the sea looked like a chessboard, the islands like chess pieces, the sky like a curtain wall; flying in such a setting, it felt like his heart couldn’t harbor a speck of filth.

Pure azure.

He was not flying deep into the Blue Sea, nor towards the coastline, but cutting horizontally along it; he referenced maps along the way and also became familiar with the distribution of islands in the Lizhi Sea, and over these years, he had at least mastered the ability to discern directions at sea.

In the near sea of two thousand li, few demon birds can be seen in the sky, and those that were occasionally spotted were quick to come and go; just as humans feel panic and unrest deep in the Blue Sea, the Demon Clan was essentially in a state of constant trepidation near the coast.

After more than ten days, Hou Niao finally neared his destination while searching along the way.

Sangmu Island, a large island much bigger than a crab claw and rich in resources; within a thousand li from the continent, it could be considered a very safe island.

The Sea Clan would generally not come close to such distance, as it would cost them strategic space for retreat.

Sangmu Island is also one of the few nearshore places where mortals live because of its suitable climate, abundant fresh water, and flat land for agriculture and sericulture; most importantly, there are several rare Cultivation Ore Veins here, which naturally became the motivation for cultivators to encourage mortals to come to the island for mining.

After circling the island a few times, he found it was not small, with hundreds of miles in circumference, and it had all the conditions for people to be self-sufficient.

From the scale of the buildings, there seemed to be tens of thousands of people, including miners, their families, and other supporting industry personnel.

Humans are undoubtedly the hardest working race in this world; as long as there is water and money to be made, there will be human presence.

On the southeast end of Sangmu Island, there was a seaside cliff with a stone lighthouse erected upon it, also the highest geographic location on the island; there he sensed a hint of a cultivator’s presence.

So, he approached slowly, and realizing that the array here was only for early warnings, he chose to land a hundred steps away from the lighthouse.

He didn’t make a sound but silently waited.

For such an uninvited visit, there are certain etiquette rules everyone generally adheres to.

Like what he did; he was waiting for an invitation from the host.

If the host did not speak within a moment, he could invite himself; if there was still no response, it indicated a closed door and he should not press further.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the master wouldn’t be so impolite.

They would always reply a few words to explain that they are in the midst of cultivation and it is inconvenient to receive guests; it’s just an excuse after all.

Respect is mutual, and if everyone could do so, most of the disputes in this world wouldn’t happen.

Unfortunately, there are too many factors involved, and interactions between people are not as simple as in an ideal state.

“Wu Sect’s Chao Buzhi, Sangmu Island does not welcome Quanzhen heretics.

Please respect yourself.”

Hou Niao was startled and then laughed wryly to himself.

Indeed, as the foremost power among the countries of the southwest, coming across someone from Wu Sect was not surprising.

In fact, it was only after five years in the Lizhi Sea that he truly interacted with a Daoist from Wu Sect, which was quite inconceivable.

“The rules of Jiedu Mansion in Lihai state that all the islands in the Lizhi Sea are jointly owned by the countries of the southwest.

You have the rights of the Island Master, but you cannot prevent others from landing on the island.

As long as it does not affect the mining of the ore veins, I have the freedom to go where I please.”

Having said that, without waiting for a reply, he leaped up and flew towards the inside of the island, leaving behind a deep, low ‘humph’ from behind him.

Wu Sect holds great power, and many of the resource-rich islands nearby are controlled by them.

This doesn’t mean that these resources belong to Wu Sect but that they can arrange for their disciples to benefit from them, gaining advantages due to their proximity to the water.

Sangmu Island is such a place, abundant in resources, and thus has long been controlled alternately by Wu Sect and Quanzhen Sect, with people from Wu Sect getting more opportunities to manage here.

Looking back, the last Quanzhen Sword Cultivator who was stationed here was eight years ago.

After a slight hover, he landed in front of the Azure Gold Mine to the west of the island, making no attempt to conceal his identity as a cultivator.

He circled low in the air above the mining area twice before descending towards a building that appeared more lavish than the average houses.

This place saw a constant stream of miners coming and going, obviously the office where the mine’s owner conducted business.

The people below did not panic, as they were accustomed to cultivators appearing here.

Cultivators also never made things difficult for mundane miners and, on the rare occasions that they interacted, they dealt directly with the mine owners.

Watching him descend from his flying light and stride over with ease, the mine owners who had been observing the sky as he circled quickly scurried to greet him; cultivators were always amiable towards average miners, but they never minced words with those who held mining rights.

All the mineral resources of the islands nearby belong to the countries of the southwest.

However, mining is largely carried out through contracts given to individuals, organized by mortals including workforce allocation, transportation of ores, and other intricate and complex matters, forming an entire industry chain.

For instance, the Azure Gold Mine of Sangmu Island had been contracted to the three Shi brothers, who held some sway in the mortal world of Mirage City.

Of course, compared to cultivators, they were not on the same level of existence.

Shi Eldest hurriedly stepped forward, “Esteemed Immortal Master, may I inquire the purpose of your visit to our mine?

If you have any needs, just command us.

As long as my brothers and I can fulfill them, we will not refuse.”

Hou Niao responded with a friendly smile, “There’s no command, no command.

I’m just passing by to take a look.

Mainly, I want to know about the quality and output of the Azure Gold Mine…um, to have an idea and not be completely in the dark.”

Shi Eldest was a shrewd man and from just that brief remark, he picked up on the implications behind the Immortal Master’s words.

Could it be that Sangmu Island was about to change Island Masters?

The iron of mortals and the flowing waters of cultivators—no matter who comes, these people’s mining endeavors are indispensable.

But cultivators are different; over the years, Island Masters have changed like revolving lanterns.

Is it time for another change?

Is this Immortal Master here for an early inspection?