Daily life of a cultivation judge-Chapter 1442: Blue token(1)
Before Li Gang could give his response, a reply came from one of the seventh floor gallery seatings.
The person who spoke was someone Yang Qing was familiar with. It was Han Bai’s voice.
"If Daoist Chen Yu is willing, we more than welcome your bid. After all, it matters not who makes the bid, only that the terms of the bid are acceptable to both parties.
What say you, Daoist Xiadan? Would you like to hear out Daoist Chen Yu’s offer?"
Xiadan? Yang Qing murmured as he held his chin thoughtfully when he heard that name come up again.
When Fan Jie had made his appearance, he had mentioned that name to Han Bai and Meng Song, and from the way he phrased it, down to the expression shown by all three of them, it seemed like they held this Xiadan in extremely high regard. Given Fan Jie’s reputation, Yang Qing guessed that figure might as well be a very influential figure within the rogue cultivator circle.
If that Xiadan had been someone from an influential organization, he doubted Fan Jie would have been that amiable or respectful when mentioning him, or gone out of his way to grab Han Bai and Meng Song, all so they did not keep him waiting.
The way Fan Jie treated him was proof enough for Yang Qing. Fan Jie may have pretended he did not know, but Yang Qing knew that he knew that he was someone from the Order. And while that little interlude of theirs had not been entirely hostile, it was not warm either.
Mmh, Yang Qing hummed thoughtfully as he grew curious about that figure. As loose and as looked down upon as the rogue cultivators were, they also had some pretty scary figures within their ranks, whether in terms of wealth, strength, or talent.
One of the thirteen lords of the Bestial Churning Sea was living proof of it. The Bestial Churning Sea, as dangerous as it was (to the point that a peak Domain expert could easily lose their life there and end up as a delicacy for some of the many spirit beasts that inhabited it), had figures so powerful that they turned the most dangerous parts of that sea into their backyard.
The Bestial Churning Sea had thirteen islands. Each island, though not that large in size, was, in terms of quality, equivalent to a blessed land of cultivation supported by eight mature dragon veins. Not to mention, they also had unique features akin to a grotto environment, which meant rare, unheard-of natural Dao treasures appeared there.
Because of the immense value of these thirteen islands, it went without saying that they would be highly sought after by cultivators. But with the Bestial Churning Sea being what it was (a literal feeding ground where anyone without sufficient strength got eaten), it made reaching those islands a dangerous task, let alone owning them or actually extracting any value from them.
Those islands were located in the core region of the sea, which was also the most dangerous part of the sea. Just the baleful qi that surrounded that area alone was capable of melting down the body of an early-stage Domain expert in less than five minutes, much less needed to be said about the other more prominent dangers, like the spirit beasts that dominated that region... and spirit plants... (There was a saint-grade Asura Palace Osmanthus Tree that once trapped four Soul Formation experts that invaded its territory; one died, two were crippled, and the last one survived with heavy injuries that permanently halted his chances of ever improving his realm.)
Given the dangers and the fact that even Soul Formation experts were not exempt from dying there, it was sufficient to say that the core region of the Bestial Churning Sea was not a place that was frequented that much, despite the bounty that lay there.
And yet, despite all that and the dangers posed, those thirteen islands still had owners. Every single one of them was occupied. It went without saying that each of the two Holy Lands owned an island there. The Jade Leaf Empire owned one. The Thousand Battle Hall Pavilion owned one.
The Order also owned one, though for them, it was more apt to say they co-owned it, since they had a joint partnership and ownership with the Dawn Rayfish tribe that inhabited the island. The Medical Valley was the group from the Order’s side that was in charge of that island and, consequently, the partnership. The Dawn Rayfish had a natural innate ability similar to the Green Flame Tree that made it easy for them to nurture all manner of spiritual herbs and ores. The Order, through the Medical Valley, traded various resources and, at the same time, offered manpower to prevent the island from being snatched from the Dawn Rayfish and from the subjugation of the tribe by other races within the Bestial Churning Sea.
While the Dawn Rayfish were no weaklings, they did not have the same offensive potency as the other creatures that inhabited the core region of the sea. They mostly relied on their speed and their ability to use versatile spell arts to protect themselves. They would have long been forced to abandon that island had the Order not arrived and partnered with them.
Other than the Order, Yang Qing knew the White Rose Pavilion also owned one. Which was to be expected, given the potential wealth held in those islands.
As for the rest, three were owned by the Flood Dragon tribe that dominated those waters. One was inhabited by that Asura Palace Osmanthus Tree that had once captured four Soul Formation realm experts. Two were still being intensely fought over by the various spirit beast races within that core region that could afford to vie for them.
And the last one was owned by a single individual: Xue Qiao, a rogue cultivator.
He had no organization behind him, no powerful forces, no allies... just him and his saber alone were able to carve a bloody path to the core of the Bestial Churning Sea and take an island for himself, and he has continued to hold onto that island for the last thirty thousand years.
Reaching that core region and surviving already proved his strength, but holding onto that island for as long as he has proved what a monstrous freak of nature he was.
