Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 466 - 464: Discussion (Seeking Subscription)_1

Chapter 466: Chapter 464: Discussion (Seeking Subscription)_1

Icefiend Lake.

A team of Cultivators was on patrol, led by a female Cultivator whose delicate features and ethereal temperament made her seem almost otherworldly.

"Why is it us on patrol again today?"

Behind the female Cultivator, a group of Foundation Establishment Cultivators communicated through Divine Consciousness Transmission, all with dissatisfaction in their tones.

"Alas... isn’t it because of our team leader?"

An older Cultivator glanced at the woman’s back, feeling somewhat emotional in secret.

Once a proud genius, she had fallen on hard times, truly a tiger fallen to the plains now bullied by dogs.

"Hmph... What’s wrong with relying on a Nascent Soul elder from the Departure Demon Palace? Yet she has to act like this..."

Another Foundation Establishment female Cultivator with a striking appearance sneered inwardly.

Their team leader had quite the background, being the direct disciple of a Nascent Soul old monster.

But there were rumors that her mentor had perished in the great battle between humans and the Monster Clan, and unluckily encountered an expert of the Heavenly Phoenix Clan, failing even to escape with her Nascent Soul intact.

Consequently, the woman suddenly lost her backing and recently attracted much covetous attention.

Among them, even a Nascent Soul elder from the Departure Demon Palace!

It was only because the other party did not wish to make things too ugly that they had not forcibly snatched her away, merely applying pressure both openly and covertly. As a result, their small team took on tasks three times heavier than other groups and suffered casualties from time to time, naturally giving rise to complaints.

Just then, from beyond the horizon, a pitch-black Demon Light appeared.

The Demon Light was extremely fast, signifying the Escape Speed of a Nascent Soul Cultivator!

The Cultivators immediately made way respectfully to the side, having grown used to such occurrences with all the Nascent Soul Cultivators being summoned by the Demon Palace these days.

As long as they showed respect, such great figures wouldn’t bother with them at all.

"Eh?!"

Just then, a light sound of surprise came from within the Demon Light, and it unexpectedly stopped before this small squad.

"Greetings to Predecessor Yun Jiezi!"

The earlier stage Core Formation female Cultivator, upon seeing Fang Xi, flashed a hint of joy on her face and respectfully performed a salutation.

"It turns out to be my niece Ling Shu... please, accept my condolences."

Fang Xi let out a sigh.

The news of Huang Yungong’s death had reached him after his visit to Ruyi Gate, conveyed by Nangong Li.

Back when he was still at Jade Island, Huang Yungong was defending a Great Array that was suddenly attacked. This Nascent Soul Cultivator perished on the spot...

As for Bai Yunsou and Elder Diao Ao, his two companions in wine and meat, they were likely still alive.

"Why is my niece not diligently cultivating in Yellow Cloud Stream, but serving here on duty instead?"

Fang Xi asked curiously.

Ling Shu’s heart stirred, but she shook her head: "When I heard of Master’s death, I cut off my hair to show my determination, swearing to kill the Monster Clan and avenge my master!"

Actually, after Huang Yungong’s death, she had no one to protect her.

In order to preserve the foundation of Yellow Cloud Stream, she had no choice but to join the monster-killing squad formed by the Departure Demon Palace.

After all, by joining the squad, she became a soldier on the battlefield, protected by the laws of conduct. Even the Demon Lord Tian Du himself would have to actively maintain these rules that benefited him.

However, if she remained detached, though she might seem free, it was possible for any Nascent Soul old monster to take her away on a whim.

Ling Shu originally wanted to ask Fang Xi for help, but thinking of how her two best friends, Bai Yunsou and Elder Diao Ao, turned a blind eye after her master’s death, her heart grew cold.

Those two had a deep friendship with her master but kept out of affairs. Yun Jiezi was just an acquaintance of Huang Yungong anyway, so what more could she expect?

"I see..."

Fang Xi nodded and turned into a flash of Demon Light, speeding away.

Whoosh!

A pink Escape Light appeared beside him, and Nangong Li’s teasing laughter reached his ears, "What now... Sir, are you thinking of helping this Core Formation female Cultivator? She seems to be that Heaven Grade Spiritual Root disciple of Huang Yungong, always treated like a treasured gem. Alas... it’s a pity that after Huang Yungong’s death, her status plummeted. I happen to have seen the Nascent Soul Cultivator who’s coveting her; they call him ’Su Xuelong’... Although my husband didn’t know at first, his subordinates were eager to please him, so he went along with it..."

In just a few sentences, Nangong Li had clearly analyzed the whole situation.

’With spiritual beasts helping her cheat, this woman’s Eight Diagrams abilities are indeed formidable!’ Fang Xi lamented inwardly but then heard Nangong Li ask with a smile, "Sir, what do you plan to do?"

"Ling Shu is not bad... If she had asked me for help just now, maybe I wouldn’t have interfered."

Fang Xi smiled: "But the girl knows when to advance or retreat, she didn’t trouble me, her uncle, so I’ll help her this one time..."

The two Cultivators headed straight into Icefiend Lake and soon arrived above the Seven Treasure Building Boat.

In the Great Hall, quite a few Nascent Soul Cultivators had already arrived.

Fang Xi swept his gaze around and saw Bai Yunsou, Elder Diao Ao, and the Empty Mulberry Old Demon!

He offered the latter a friendly smile but did not expect the other’s expression to turn extremely unnatural, his smile more painful than crying.

"It’s Yun Jiezi!"

"Yun Jiezi is here!"

Someone uttered those words, and subsequently, most of the Nascent Soul’s gazes shifted in that direction, most bearing benevolent smiles.

It was apparent that Yun Jiezi possessed formidable strength, and the tale of him slaying a fourth tier, mid-grade Monster Beast had long since spread.

To be capable of slaying a fourth tier mid-grade Monster Beast was to be capable of slaying a mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator!

This naturally filled the hearts of these mostly early-stage Nascent Soul demons with fear and modesty, ingratiating themselves with flattery...

"So it’s Sir Yun Jiezi and Nangong!"

It was at this time that a Nascent Soul elder from the Departure Demon Palace approached with a beaming smile, "Allow me to lead the two sirs to your seats."

Fang Xi glanced at him and couldn’t help but chuckle: "You are too courteous, Elder Xuelong."

This Nascent Soul demon turned out to be none other than Su Xuelong!

"Sir recognizes me?"

Su Xuelong was slightly surprised, his expression even displaying a hint of delight.

"Indeed, I have a good friend by the name of Huang Yungong, who died fighting for the Mortal Realm, leaving behind only a lonely and helpless disciple... truly a pity..."

Fang Xi said with an implied meaning: "My proud and lofty niece has also joined the ranks of your palace’s troops, seeking to avenge her master and slaughter demons for the human race. Should you encounter her one day, I would be extremely grateful if you could extend her your care and protection, Elder Xuelong."

Su Xuelong’s face showed a brief flicker of discomfort, after which he promptly replied, "Is that so? I will surely order my subordinates to take good care of her..."

In reality, he didn’t pay much attention to the matters below him and immediately decided that upon his return, he would severely punish the subordinate who blindly guessed his intentions, to give ’Yun Jiezi’ a proper explanation.

Fang Xi nodded, content as he took his seat.

For the tribulations faced by Core Formation cultivators, it was merely a matter of speaking up for him.

After all, his infamy at present should be even above that of Demon Lord Qi Sha...

Having disappeared for so many years, the fact that Demon Lord Qi Sha had perished had long been leaked, and even Empty Mulberry Old Demon had been having a hard time recently.

And as for why Demon Lord Qi Sha died, others may not know, but Su Xuelong was aware...

With the strength that Fang Xi possessed now, if he chose to remain neutral, his days would likely be even more comfortable than those of the Unfettered Duke...

...

After Fang Xi and Nangong Li took their seats.

It wasn’t long before the sound of a bell echoed throughout.

Upon the main seat, a flash of demon light appeared, revealing the figure of Demon Lord Tian Du with a pair of silver eyebrows and a vermillion mole between them, resembling a youth as he scanned the attendees.

"Thank you all for coming. I will dispense with unnecessary words,"

Demon Lord Tian Du said, "The purpose of this pre-war resolution is to discuss how we will assault Tianli Plains... The Monster Clan has already set up a ’Transformation Array’ there, permeated with Demon Qi, which suppresses us cultivators... My Departure Demon Palace’s Talisman Masters have developed a ’Pure Demon Talisman’ that, when worn, can cope for several tens of hours without issue. When the time comes, I will personally command the army of cultivators, penetrate Tianli Plains, and engage the Heavenly Phoenix Clan’s Monster Army..."

He began assigning tasks, most of which had already been agreed upon beforehand.

Now speaking them aloud was merely to ensure that all present Nascent Soul Cultivators were well-informed.

And the Departure Demon Palace already had an Array Master set up a simple array, creating an illusionary sand table of ’Tianli Plains’ at the center of the Great Hall, with each river and mountain clearly visible, allowing one to switch views and adjust distances at will...

"Heh... Tian Du, no matter how eloquently you put it, if we do not see much hope of victory, we might as well return to our Sects to make early preparations..."

An old Nascent Soul cultivator with the appearance of an old crone spoke coldly.

This person looked just like an elderly woman from the secular world, holding a Ghost Dove Cane in her hand and with a swaddled baby in her arms, from whom occasional cries could be heard, deeply unsettling.

Fang Xi immediately recognized her as one of the formidable demon heads who had cultivated something like the ’Nine Sons Mother Divine Demon’.

This old woman was shrouded in Demon Qi, her cultivation having reached the mid-stage of Nascent Soul, and she was a notorious Demon Cultivator from Jiang Country known as ’Yin Ji, Ghost Mother’!

Her ’Heavenly Ghost Taoist Sect’ was infamous, second only to the Seven Deadly Sins Hall.

"So it’s Yin Ji."

Demon Lord Tian Du said, "There definitely is a chance of victory. First of all, Tian Xingzi from Feng Country has promised to engage Elder Luan from the Heavenly Phoenix Clan for us... With this, Tianli Plains will only have one fourth tier high-grade Heavenly Phoenix, ’Elder Qing,’ who, with all due modesty, I believe I can handle without issue. Also, our spy within the Monster Clan has sent back the Array Map of the ’Transformation Array.’ We do not need to annihilate the Monster Clan completely in this battle; as long as we can destroy several Array Eyes, the ’Transformation Array’ will fail..."

"You should know that establishing such a massive array consumes resources as vast as mountains and seas, and many of the precious materials used cannot be reused once they are processed and integrated into the Prohibition Law... Should we succeed in breaking the Transformation Array this time, for decades, the Heavenly Phoenix Clan likely won’t be able to set up another one... By then, the disaster of a Higher Realm descent might have even passed."

Demon Lord Tian Du calmly replied.

"Destroy the Array Eyes of the Transformation Array?"

Yin Ji, Ghost Mother, snorted disdainfully, "Those kinds of high-rank Array Eyes aren’t something we can destroy easily... And even if they could be destroyed, are you saying there aren’t any powerful Monster Clan members guarding them?"

"That’s precisely why I need to select a few cultivators with powerful Divine Skills and Magic Power to act together... Aside from that, regarding how to destroy the Transformation Array, if you do not trust me, surely you must trust ’Dong Yuanzi,’ the Grandmaster?"

The voice of Demon Lord Tian Du rang out.

"Dong Yuanzi? The one who has already ascended to the peak of the fourth stage, and is even rumored to have vaguely touched the fifth stage, the Array Grandmaster?" Yin Ji, Ghost Mother’s expression shifted, "Wasn’t he said to have died long ago?!"

"If Ghost Mother decides to join us, I will explain the details later. However, if you continue to be unreasonable, then I’m afraid I’ll have to eradicate your Heavenly Ghost Taoist Sect first,"

Red light flashed in Demon Lord Tian Du’s eyes, and it was not until this moment that he displayed some of the imposing presence of a top-level Demon Path figurehead!