Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 363 - 363 362 Bamboo Island's Hidden Worries

363: Chapter 362 Bamboo Island’s Hidden Worries 363: Chapter 362 Bamboo Island’s Hidden Worries In the Sea Bamboo Palace, a woman leaned against the window gazing outward.

Her bamboo house bore no quality difference from the others; the only distinction was that the view from here was the best,

Half a window of bamboo, half a window of sea; a paneful of stars, a screen’s breadth of world.

One couldn’t discern her age; it was as if time had never flowed over her, but rather, shrewdly bypassed her when passing by.

This was a blessing bestowed upon every Cultivator who lived in closeness with nature.

She came here at the age of twenty, stepping into the Tongxuan realm.

From a desolate island turned sea jewel, she had Cultivated here for a full one hundred fifty years.

Her realm had evolved from Tongtian’s third realm, Tongxuan, to the current Natural Realm, and naturally, she would soon step onto an even higher level.

Such was the reward nature granted her.

Although the progress was slow, incomparable to those of exceptional innate talent, it won out in stability and solidity, with a clear goal.

Just like this Bamboo Sea, it changed its form completely when one least expected it, transformed from sea into mulberry fields.

Struggling on Lizhi Sea for one hundred fifty years, she initially thought she could barely avoid the world’s turmoil by immersing herself in her own Cultivation realm; but over the years, she realized some things simply could not be avoided as long as one lived.

There would always be contact, dealings, and compromises in every aspect, no matter how big or small.

Whether facing governance from Jiedu Mansion of Lihai or the attempts by various power entities to buy her loyalities, whether occasionally harassed by the Sea Clan or insatiably targeted by the pirate group, she had to maintain balance and cope with it all.

She gave up a lot and also sacrificed much; for instance, she had become one of the scenic spots controlled by the Jiedu Mansion in the nearby seas, not only having to host the endless stream of Cultivators but also having to contribute some Rouge Bamboo annually as the price for establishing her island.

These were tasks she had never wished to undertake, yet they had now become habitual as if dictated by nature.

The only better way to change all this was to move to a far-off island, venturing deeper into the ocean.

But this also meant that while human entanglements would diminish, harassment by the Sea Clan would increase.

And then there were these disciples she spent everyday with—the entire island’s Bamboo Forest—none of which she could easily let go of.

But eventually, there must come a resolution.

As soon as she succeeded in ascending to Golden Core, that would be the moment to make a choice.

This was her plan, but now, even this plan seemed a bit unstable.

Was a certain pressure unwilling to grant her the leisure to arrange and organize her time?

The most powerful pirate group in the Lizhi Sea coastal waters, the Cang Pirates, issued her an ultimatum, demanding Bamboo Island become one of their resupply points.

This was due to Bamboo Island’s unique location advantages, coupled with inconspicuous trade contacts with the Continent, which would allow for surreptitiously smuggling out huge supplies to sea and conveniently fencing the pirates’ loot back to the mainland.

The Cang Pirates had many such hideouts in the coastal waters, mostly on deserted islands inconvenient for travel.

Additionally, in recent years, the Jiedu Mansion hadn’t been completely idle and had destroyed several hideouts, making the Cang Pirates particularly covetous of Bamboo Island.

Frankly speaking, the terms offered by the Cang Pirates were not harsh; they wouldn’t affect the island’s environment, nor would they stay permanently, using it only as a mid-point for fencing their loot.

They were even willing to share a cut of the illicit proceeds with Bamboo Island.

But Lady Bamboo knew this was just the beginning.

Once she agreed, she would slowly sink deeper, helplessly, until she either became a member of the Cang Pirates or met her death.

A graceful young woman quietly walked in; this was her senior disciple, Phoenix Tail Bamboo, who also possessed Cultivation at the God Sensing Realm.

Silently standing behind her, she uttered not a word.

Lady Bamboo sighed, “Do you feel powerless?

We desperately try to break free from the mortal world’s chaos, only to find out how naive and impotent our efforts are?”

The tail of the phoenix bamboo showed no change in her complexion, “Nothing else, just battle alone!”

As the disciple who had followed her master the longest, Phoenix Tail had already spent over a hundred years on Bamboo Island, and she was also Lady Bamboo’s most steadfast ally.

If they did not wish to submit, a battle would be inevitable sooner or later.

Sea Bamboo Palace had six cultivators of the Tongtian Realm; aside from the master, Lady Bamboo, who was of the Natural Realm, she and her fourth junior sister were of the God Sensing Realm, and the remaining three junior sisters were of the Tongxuan Realm.

For an ordinary island, this strength was already formidable, but for an island that was completely their own, it was still not enough.

Because they simply did not know how many pirates the Cang Pirates could gather.

Such a situation had already occurred more than once.

The Cang Pirates had made such demands repeatedly over the past dozen years, harboring the intention of using the tactics of psychological warfare to wear them out with exhaustion.

They certainly could seek friends, look for Jiedu Mansion’s help, but if the cry ‘wolf’ was raised too often, people would become used to it and no longer take it seriously.

Helpers could not possibly stay on Bamboo Island forever, nor were all cultivators accustomed to the island’s simple and desireless cultivation lifestyle.

Thus, time and again, friends came, Jiedu Mansion’s cultivators came, and then, after a long wait without the enemy attacking, they left.

Back and forth, again and again, until this time not a single helper came—it was truly unbearable to be put through such wear and tear.

The Cang Pirates simply destroyed Bamboo Island’s circle of friends through such simple means, forcing them to rely solely on their own strength to face these ferocious pirates.

If it was not for the desire to use Bamboo Island as a strategic foothold, to maintain its status as a scenic resource spot, and to keep Sea Bamboo Palace nominally in control of Bamboo Island to maintain trade relations with the continent…

If they just wanted to destroy the island, the Cang Pirate Group would likely have succeeded long ago, after all, even if reinforcements rushed here immediately, it would still take some time at sea.

The Cang Pirates thought far ahead, and precisely because of this, they procrastinated for over a decade, dragging the cultivators of Bamboo Island to the brink of exhaustion.

Lady Bamboo smiled wryly, “The best strategy would be to contact friendly Daoists and together annihilate the Cang Pirates, but that’s also the most unlikely to be accomplished; because no one knows who they really are?

How many people are there?”

The middle strategy is for us to leave this place, but where can we go?

Without the Cang Pirates, there will still be Blue Sea Pirates, Deep Sea Pirates…

Battle can only express our will, but this is also probably the last situation we want to face, regardless of the outcome, we are the losers.”

They were certainly losers, holding onto an island, at the mercy of others, having no initiative and needing to be constantly on guard for the arrival of pirates;

The pirates failing once doesn’t matter, because they can always come back again; but how many failures can Bamboo Island withstand?

Just one could bring about their eternal downfall.

“I have a premonition that this time the Cang Pirates might not just be bluffing; they could be serious.”

We can’t tell Jiedu Mansion such a premonition, as they have already made several vain trips and are full of complaints.

But at least there’s one thing we can still do, and that is to move the disciples away, to leave a last trace of hope for Bamboo Island.”