"I... I sign..."
With the last of his demonic strength, the Crimson Sun Demon Saint pressed his seal upon the contract in utter humiliation.
Hum!
The contract was sealed!
From that day onward, two guardian statues, one black and one crimson, stood vigil outside the gates of the Primordial Sect.
The Blackstone Demon Sovereign gazed sorrowfully at the Crimson Sun Demon Saint lying in the pit, waves of guilt nearly drowning him.
The Crimson Sun Demon Saint lay broken at the bottom of the pit, too weak to even lift his neck. He could only stare with vacant, golden eyes, feeling as if all color had drained from his avian life.
…
News of the Crimson Sun Demon Saint's fall—captured while attempting to rescue the Blackstone Demon Sovereign and reduced to a sect guardian beast—soon reached the Boundless Ridge.
The entire demon realm fell into an absolute silence.
The Crimson Sun Demon Saint was a Void-Refining Great Sage with the bloodline of the Golden Crow! How could he meet such a wretched end?!
The formation array of the Primordial Sect was beyond terrifying!
Those demons who had initially reveled in schadenfreude now felt only a bone-deep chill. Others who had once admired the Crimson Sun Demon Saint's righteous act could now offer nothing but heavy sighs in the face of such an absolute disparity in power and the harsh realities of survival.
Within the demon realm, the brief silence was swiftly shattered by a storm of赤裸裸的resource争夺.
"The Sunfire Pool of Crimson Sun contains the essence of True Sunfire! We must seize it!"
"The Obsidian Dark Iron Mines of Blackstone are essential for forging supreme defensive treasures! We cannot lose them!"
"Hurry! While their territories are unclaimed, spare no cost! Take all you can!"
Several Demon Sovereigns and top-tier Demon Kings immediately cast aside all pretense. For the resources left behind by the two, especially Crimson Sun's Sunfire Pool, an unprecedentedly brutal melee erupted. The demon realm was plunged into a sea of blood.
As for rescuing them? Seeking vengeance on their behalf?
Even a Void-Refining Great Sage with a divine avian bloodline had fallen so completely. Unless a Quasi-Emperor preparing for the Heavenly Tribulation intervened… But which of those beings wasn't solely focused on their own impending tribulation? Who would risk their heavenly trial for the sake of two great demons?
The strong prey on the weak, and profit reigns supreme. This is an eternal truth.
Outside the Primordial Sect gates.
The Blackstone Demon Sovereign silently descended into the pit. Looking at the pitiful state of the Crimson Sun Demon Saint, his massive bear eyes brimmed with remorse.
"Great Sage, I doomed you! Why... why did you have to..."
The Crimson Sun Demon Saint's enormous golden eyes shifted slightly towards Blackstone, filled with pain and humiliation. "I... underestimated..." Then, his head lolled to the side as he lost consciousness.
"Great Sage!"
Blackstone was horrified, quickly checking for breath. A slight relief washed over him.
Three days and nights passed.
Blackstone Demon Sovereign stood silent guard by the pit, the last flicker of hope in his eyes extinguished. He carefully licked a medicinal pill from his paw, but instead of consuming it himself, he hesitated before trying to feed it to the unconscious Crimson Sun Demon Saint.
Jiang Ling stood with his hands behind his back, observing the bear and bird—his two new guardian statues—in the pit, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Tsk. Perfect. With two guardian beasts, the sect finally has a new look. We should attract more disciples this time, right?"
He stroked his chin, feeling something was missing. Casually, he flicked a pill brimming with rich life essence, which landed perfectly in the slightly parted beak of the Crimson Sun Golden Crow.
"Do good work, and the pills will keep coming."
With that, he sauntered leisurely back to the main hall.
The sect construction was nearly complete. It was time to recruit more disciples. More disciples meant more system returns. And his own strength would grow stronger. It was a virtuous cycle.
Just then.
[Ding! Detected the sect's continuous development. Issuing sect upgrade mission.]
[Mission: Upgrade the sect to Ninth Grade.]
[Reward: Sect territory expands to ten li. Immortal Formation coverage expands accordingly, forming an absolute defense against all below the Celestial Immortal realm.]
Jiang Ling: "…!"
Absolute defense against all below Celestial Immortal! With this turtle shell, who in the entire Canglan Realm could compare?!
Eagerly, he opened the system panel to verify.
[Host]
Name: Jiang Ling
Age: 823
Realm: Nascent Soul, First Layer
Items: 1000 taels of silver.
[Sect Information]
Sect Name: Primordial Sect
Sect Grade: Ungraded
Sect Reputation: Slightly Famous
Sect Population: 12 (Can view disciple info at any time)
Sect Territory: Three li radius (Within Immortal Formation range, absolute defense against all below True Immortal realm!)
Sect Buildings: Main Hall x1, Disciple Dormitory x1, Spirit Gathering Array (Basic) x1, Scripture Pavilion (Basic) x1, Jade Capital Platform x1.
Sect Fixed Assets: 300 acres of spirit fields, Spirit Spring Eye x1, Low-Grade Spirit Vein x1.
Sect Assets: Low-Grade Spirit Stones x12580, Top-Grade Spirit Stones x120100, Various Spirit Herbs, Various Magical & Spiritual Artifacts.
Sect Points: 4000
[Ninth Grade Sect Upgrade Conditions]: Recruit at least 20 disciples. 100 Sect Points (deducted upon upgrade).
Host, please upgrade the sect at your earliest convenience.
[Host Feedback]: The host's strength is a hundred times the sum of the cultivation bases of all sect disciples.
Excellent. Motivation had returned.
…
The next day, after making preparations and instructing the Blackstone Demon Sovereign to guard the gate, Jiang Ling descended Mount Taishi, accompanied by Jin Cancan, Hua Yuntian, and the Crimson Sun Demon Saint.
He planned to recruit disciples in the nearest Blackrock City and stock up on supplies.
The system's returned pills were indeed top quality. After just one night, the Crimson Sun Demon Saint's injuries had mostly healed—though this might also be related to his divine beast bloodline. Some powerful demons could even regenerate from a drop of blood. Clearly, Crimson Sun wasn't at that level yet. While his wounds were mostly closed, his feathers hadn't regrown.
Now in human form, he trailed listlessly behind Jiang Ling and the others. His head was bald, his silhouette desolate. At a glance, he looked little different from the refugees flocking below the mountain.
Outside Blackrock City, dust swirled, and the clamor of voices filled the air.
Although the beast tide had receded, its aftermath lingered. Countless displaced refugees gathered outside the city walls like migrating ants, despairing and numb. A subtle undercurrent of panic hung in the air.
Jiang Ling appeared at the city gate with his rather conspicuous entourage.
True to its name, Blackrock City's walls were constructed from massive black stones, exuding a crude and forbidding aura.
Wincing inwardly, Jiang Ling produced four low-grade spirit stones for the guards before leading his disciples into the city.
"One low-grade spirit stone just to enter the city? That's daylight robbery!"
Watching the bustling gate, Jiang Ling felt tears of heartache almost well up.
Hua Yuntian's ears twitched, and he shot Jiang Ling a look of disdain.
It was true that entry cost one spirit stone, but that only applied to cultivators. Mortals didn't have to pay. If someone couldn't even afford one low-grade spirit stone, what hope did they have of cultivating immortality? Better to go home and farm.
Pah!
Farm what?!
It had to be the influence of being forced to farm by that old rogue Jiang recently. His thoughts were instinctively veering off track.
Jiang Ling didn't know why this troublemaker was suddenly displeased again. Could he also be心疼 the spirit stones?
"Second Disciple," Jiang Ling said, clapping him on the shoulder, "you also think one stone per person is too much, right? Don't worry. When we make it big, cities under the Primordial Sect's jurisdiction won't charge a single copper!"
He waved his hand grandly.
Hua Yuntian: "…"
Perfect. Now he felt even more like blowing his top.