Astride the flood dragon's back, the red-robed Daoist gazed up into the sky, the sea breeze whipping his sleeves with a sharp rustle.
Watched by eyes filled with curiosity, wariness, and above all, reverence, his expression remained serene as his figure drifted upward, finally stepping aboard the splendid flying boat.
His gaze swept across the young cultivators gathered on deck, ultimately coming to rest on an elder with hair and beard white as snow and a face lined with wrinkles.
"Elder Sang, it has been a long time. Have you been well?"
Sang Jiugong's wrinkled face crinkled together, bearing a strained look that fell somewhere between a wry smile and sheer discomfort.
Cupping his hands toward Luo Chen, he replied, "Neither good nor bad, just a few rough patches. Come, this way please—let us speak inside."
Luo Chen's eyes swept over him; he could sense that Sang Jiugong's aura was somewhat different from before.
Since the elder had extended an invitation, however, he naturally would not refuse.
In a new place, if one wished to cultivate in peace, making connections was essential.
It was not about forming factions or cliques; having a wide network simply made many things far more convenient.
Following Sang Jiugong's lead, Luo Chen walked into the flying boat's main hall.
Once they departed, the young Foundation Establishment cultivators from Shenyuan City finally let out their held breath, shedding their stiff restraint.
"That was Demonic Lord Qingyang, wasn't it?!"
"Without a doubt! When I caught a fleeting glimpse of him last year, I never connected the Daoist title 'Qingyangzi' to Demonic Lord Qingyang. Seeing him now, this Golden Core Master holds his spirit deeply restrained, his gaze fathomless. He appears ordinary on the surface, but standing there, he feels like a bottomless pool that chills you to the bone."
"Indeed. My Huaqing Sect is well-known as a premier Nascent Soul sect in the southwest, with plenty of Golden Core seniors among our ranks. Yet not a single mid Golden Core elder exerts pressure like this demonic lord. Only one of our Golden Core grand cultivators could barely match him."
"How could anyone who carves out a name among the masses of rogue cultivators be weak? People like him might not wield the most refined techniques, but their experience in slaughter far exceeds that of our sect experts. We came out on this trial specifically to close the gap in that regard—to ensure our actual strength matches, or even exceeds, our realm."
"Rumor has it he is also skilled in artifact crafting. If we could invite him to join my Shangyuan Xu Clan..."
"Haha, forget about it! A demonic path expert of unknown origin has countless enemies. A Golden Core clan like yours could never bear the karma."
"I wonder why Elder Sang took the initiative to invite him aboard?"
...
Inside the hall, Luo Chen took a seat with easy grace.
Sang Jiugong poured him a cup of tea of his own accord before sitting down beside him.
Touching the scalding cup and breathing in the curling aroma, Luo Chen knew at once that this tea was of premier quality.
With such a warm invitation and the elder humbling himself to pour tea, pretending this was merely casual chatter would be deceiving himself.
In that case, there was no need to put on airs.
"Elder Sang, if you have something to say, speak plainly."
"Your straightforwardness saves this old man from beating around the bush."
Luo Chen's directness clearly relieved Sang Jiugong.
"Your garrison term must be up, and you're heading back to the Dragon Taming Mountain Range, yes?"
"Indeed," Luo Chen nodded.
"The same goes for me," Sang Jiugong chimed in. The durations of his mission and Luo Chen's were almost identical, which accounted for the coincidence of arriving one after another and departing around the same time. "And my request is quite simple: I hope Fellow Daoist will travel with me, and we can make the return journey together."
Just that?
Luo Chen frowned. "I am used to traveling alone. With so many people aboard your boat, it will inevitably slow me down."
Sang Jiugong urged, "Are you not afraid of running into bandits along the way?"
"Uh..."
For a moment, Luo Chen was genuinely taken aback by the question.
"Elder Sang, are you joking? I am a Golden Core cultivator. Under normal circumstances, who would dare rob me? Besides, even if someone dared to beard the lion, so long as it is not a late Golden Core grand cultivator, I have full confidence I can come and go as I please. And for a late Golden Core grand cultivator to stoop to plundering would be far beneath their dignity."
Sang Jiugong shook his head. "Qingyangzi, do not think too highly of the Northern Sea. You should know that the very term 'plunderer' originated right here in the Northern Sea cultivation world. Who says there are no examples of grand cultivators lowering themselves to plunder?"
Luo Chen was astonished. "There really are?"
Sang Jiugong lowered his voice. "Do you not know that in his early years, when he was in the late Golden Core stage, Blood Hermit—one of our Myriad Immortals Association's Three Great Loose Cultivators—did similar things?"
Well then!
This piece of secret gossip truly stunned Luo Chen.
Blood Hermit had actually been a plunderer!
And during late Golden Core, at that! That was... a bit too uninhibited!
Seeing Luo Chen's reaction, Sang Jiugong felt a wave of relief and struck while the iron was hot. "The sea routes are perilous, especially now with the Northern Sea in turmoil. Plenty of cultivators blinded by poverty will take desperate gambles. Fellow Daoist cannot afford to be careless! Why not return with us? The speed may be a bit slower, but your safety will be far better assured."
Luo Chen hesitated for a moment, then looked Sang Jiugong in the eye.
"Elder Sang, our friendship has not reached such depths. You wouldn't be considering only my well-being, would you?"
Like a sharp blade, the question cut straight through the smokescreen in the old man's words.
Sang Jiugong looked awkward and wanted to offer an excuse, but under Luo Chen's piercing gaze, he ultimately sighed.
"I sustained injuries. Protecting a whole boat of people is beyond my strength right now, so I require a sturdier safeguard."
"Injured?" Luo Chen's eyes swept over him, and he instantly understood where that disharmony between aura and physique had come from when they first met.
Sang Jiugong no longer concealed the truth and spoke candidly: "I took a commission from these Shenyuan City prodigies to guard them while they hunted demons for experience along the first defensive line. It should have been an easy task, but who knew these esteemed sect scions and core clan heirs were so arrogant? Several of them joined forces, attempting to slay a third-rank demon king.
"Frankly speaking, they do have real capability; an early third-rank demon king was indeed no match for them.
"However, the commotion grew too large and dragged on too long, drawing in a far more formidable entity.
"To prevent any fatalities, this old man had no choice but to step in personally and battle multiple demon kings. Although I slaughtered them all, I suffered substantial wounds in the process.
"Returning to Longyuan Immortal City takes three to five days at best, seven to eight days at worst. The distance is neither particularly far nor close. If we run into villainous cutthroats and lose a few people aboard, I cannot possibly bear the blame from the factions backing them.
"Thus, I had no choice but to turn to Fellow Daoist for help."
He laid it all out clearly.
Whether the details were entirely true or not, the story was coherent from start to finish.
Luo Chen listened quietly without committing either way.
Seeing Luo Chen unmoved, Sang Jiugong raised his tone slightly. "Fellow Daoist once forced even Huangfu Song to back down, so your prowess is surely no less than a grand cultivator's. With your protection, we will certainly remain safe and sound.
"Besides, the chances of an incident along this return route are not high; we might not even run into trouble.
"Qingyangzi, how about treating this as Sang Jiugong owing you a favor?"
First flattery, then downplaying the danger, followed by the promise of a favor.
He had lowered his stance low enough.
Luo Chen looked at him with a faint, knowing smile.
A Golden Core cultivator's favor was not so cheap!
On second thought, Luo Chen caught a glimmer of Sang Jiugong's true intention.
Sometimes, owing someone a favor wasn't necessarily a bad thing!
Relationships were built on give-and-take. When two parties shared no existing overlap of interests, willingly putting oneself at a disadvantage to owe a favor created a link between them.
Evidently, this request for escort was only a minor matter.
The favor owed was merely a small one; returning it in the future would require little effort, far from any life-and-death repayment.
Yet, this was an excellent beginning!
Sang Jiugong was clearly using this plea for escort as a pretext to genuinely establish ties with him, the Master of Penghu Lake, Qingyangzi!
Having thought it through, Luo Chen chuckled inwardly.
Claiming not to beat around the bush, when he had in fact taken an enormous detour.
Still, this matter offered him nothing but benefits and no drawbacks, leaving no reason to refuse.
Under Sang Jiugong's watchful eyes, Luo Chen nodded slowly.
"If that is the case, let us travel together!"
Hearing this response, Sang Jiugong let out a deep sigh of relief, his face breaking into a radiant smile like a blooming chrysanthemum.
Luo Chen then sent a divine sense transmission.
Black King, bored to tears in the sea, muttered a complaint, shrank his body, and flew aboard the flying boat, finding an empty room to curl up in.
Sang Jiugong gave orders to his subordinates, and the flying boat set off once more. He returned to the hall to exchange cultivation insights with Luo Chen.
In the cultivation world, exchanging cultivation insights was not mere talk.
Such discussions, however, usually took place among sect and clan cultivators.
In fact, they went beyond verbal exchanges, regularly organizing minor competitions, major tournaments, and even cross-faction bouts to test what they had attained in their cultivation.
By contrast, exchanges between rogue cultivators occurred far less frequently.
In the five or six years Luo Chen had been with the Myriad Immortals Association, he had only occasionally conversed with the Old Angler, and even then, it was mostly the elder asking him for insights on body refinement.
Luo Chen had not harbored high expectations for this exchange with Elder Sang, given that the old man was a minor realm lower than him.
To his surprise, Elder Sang, having cultivated for so many years, truly offered him several small gains.
...
"The Dao of Spiritual Farming may seem filled with countless rules and a high threshold, but in truth, there isn't all that much mystery to it.
"To become a good spiritual farmer, one looks first at the inherent potential of the spiritual plant, second at its growing environment, and only lastly at our own attainments in spiritual farming arts.
"The reasoning is simple: if it is merely common wild grass planted in barren yellow soil, even if we possessed heaven-defying abilities, we could never cultivate a sky-propping Jianmu Tree.
"In earlier years, why was the Northern Sea so eager to initiate Pioneering Wars? The reason lay in the deep ocean depths occupied by demon beasts, which held countless unexplored high-rank spiritual lands. Those spiritual lands could not only aid our cultivation, but their soil was also home to a great abundance of spiritual plants.
"Those spiritual plants had never been harvested by human cultivators. Demon beasts enjoy lengthy lifespans and can afford to wait; certain demon beast clans even guard specific spiritual plants around the clock, continuously gathering their fruit. This meant those spiritual plants had grown for immense spans of time, easily lasting centuries, millennia, or even tens of thousands of years. It can be said that whenever a Pioneering War succeeded, the harvest of spiritual plants was always one of the major windfalls.
"Fellow Daoist might not know this, but Stream Master Lietian of the Moluo Stream acquired a precious fifth-rank herb from a deserted island while taking part in a Pioneering War in his earlier years. He presented it to the Yuan Demon Sect, and their Soul Formation ancestor was so delighted that he personally nurtured Lietian from the Golden Core stage straight into the Nascent Soul realm. *Tsk tsk*, such an opportunity is the dream of our entire generation!"
Beyond his fourth-layer Golden Core cultivation, Sang Jiugong was also a spiritual farmer.
Precisely because he was reluctant to take his exquisite spiritual farming skills to the grave, he wished to pass down his heritage before his lifespan ran out.
In recent years, he had begun recruiting disciples and establishing a sect.
His sect was not located in the Dragon Taming Mountain Range, but on an ordinary third-rank spiritual vein island within the territory of the Myriad Immortals Association.
Strictly speaking, he was no longer a rogue cultivator.
Yet no one took issue with this sort of thing.
After all, among the seven Nascent Soul Perfected Persons of the Myriad Immortals Association, three had sects or clans of their own.
Listening to his eloquent discourse, Luo Chen's memories of spiritual farmers and spiritual plants surfaced once more.
He was no stranger to this path.
Years ago in the Luotian Sect, he had the spiritual farming master Yuan Dongsheng serving under him, who had once cultivated spiritual trees and flowers outside his cave dwelling on Tianlan Peak.
The man had passed away, but what he left behind remained in Luo Chen's mind.
Now, as Sang Jiugong spoke with enthusiasm, Luo Chen chimed in while inquiring about the cultivation of certain medicinal herbs that interested him.
Worthy of a spiritual farmer who had once cultivated fourth-rank herbs, Sang Jiugong answered each of Luo Chen's queries. Even for topics outside his expertise, he offered reasonable conjectures and advice within his knowledge.
As their conversation wound down, Sang Jiugong sighed.
"It is not that this old man was blinded by greed to risk breaking regulations by bringing these prodigies from Shenyuan City to the Three Oceans Defensive Line. It is simply that these youths come from extraordinary backgrounds and possess substantial wealth. Befriending them brings great benefits to the Tusang Sect under my care."
Luo Chen was puzzled. "Yet they do not belong to our Myriad Immortals Association. Why don't you make friends among the association's rogue cultivators instead?"
At this, Sang Jiugong sneered.
"Rogue cultivators?
"People like that cannot be trusted.
"There is a saying: 'Those with constant property possess constant virtue; those without constant property possess no constant virtue. Lacking constant virtue, they abandon themselves to excess, depravity, and lawlessness, stopping at nothing.' Qingyangzi, I trust you understand the meaning of these words."
Luo Chen fell silent.
How could he fail to understand the principle behind it?
Rogue cultivators had no fixed abodes and drifted across the four winds.
Good and evil hung upon a single fleeting thought. They could pose as courteous gentlemen in the light, yet turn into masked plunderers in the shadows. How could anyone trust them easily?
By contrast, cultivators with permanent property were anchored by sects and clans that prevented them from acting with reckless abandon. Even if they committed misdeeds, they had to face the reality that while the monk might flee, the temple remained!
Were Luo Chen in his position, he too would prefer to befriend sect cultivators.
However...
"Elder Sang, you seem to view me in a different light."
"Haha!"
Sang Jiugong laughed heartily. "Others may not know you, Qingyangzi, but this old man knows a thing or two. That eight-hundred-li Penghu Lake hasn't been sitting empty all these years, has it?"
Luo Chen raised an eyebrow, then smiled knowingly.
Looking outside, he remarked with feeling,
"In that case, these cultivators from Shenyuan City are quite a treasure trove."
"Indeed. They are the future hopes of their respective factions. Given time, as long as they don't perish, they will undoubtedly hold power over their own domains. Befriending them yields immense benefits, both for ourselves and for our juniors."
At this point, Sang Jiugong suddenly pointed outside.
"Qingyangzi, do you have any interest in condescending to get acquainted with a few of them?"
"Me?" Luo Chen hesitated.
Sang Jiugong nodded. "Yes. Given your reputation as Demonic Lord Qingyang out there, these rising stars sheltered beneath their elders' wings since childhood feel curiosity more than anything else, aside from awe. If you condescend to reach out to them, they will surely be overjoyed."
At that, Luo Chen truly felt a spark of interest.
It was not for networking on behalf of any juniors, but because he recalled what Sang Jiugong had said earlier—these youths came from extraordinary backgrounds and possessed substantial wealth!
In other words, they were filthy rich!
His earlier plan had been to build the reputation of Qingyang Firm so he could earn money from the rogue cultivators of the Myriad Immortals Association.
Yet rogue cultivators were mostly paupers!
How could squeezing coins from paupers ever match the sheer delight of fleecing these "immortal scions"?
Chapter 615