Chapter 503 - 459: 3 Years, Qianlan Ice Flame

Three springs and autumns drifted by.

Three years later, in the vast, open sea southwest of the Demon Suppression Islands, over a hundred Flying Boats flew in formation, slowly making their way across the sky.

The pale blue Flying Boats featured ferocious Spiritual Energy Giant Cannons angled downwards, their muzzles aimed at the sea's surface. Behind each Spiritual Energy Giant Cannon stood a Cultivator, the muzzles shimmering with a faint Spiritual Light, ready to unleash a thunderous strike at any moment.

Aboard the Flying Boats, pale blue, holographic light screens floated, monitoring the surrounding sea—and even the seabed—with almost no blind spots.

In front of these light screens stood more armor-clad Cultivators, their eyes locked on the projections, their presence radiating a thick, murderous intent.

The fleet of Flying Boats would periodically halt, and the Spiritual Energy Giant Cannons would roar in unison. Torrential beams of light pierced the sea, and amidst the shrieks of Demon Beasts, an even more furious barrage would crash down.

Squads of armored Cultivators also leaped from the Flying Boats, forming ranks to exterminate any fleeing Demon Beasts. The sea ran red with blood, the slaughter unending.

Amidst the heavens, a figure in a green robe drifted with the wind. After years of slaughter, Chu Mu's features had also taken on a heavy, grim intensity.

At that moment, a voice came through his Sound Transmission Order.

"Senior, we've detected traces of Tier Two Demon Beast activity to the southwest. Requesting permission to investigate further."

Chu Mu glanced toward the southwest. With a wave of his hand, a Compass materialized in his palm. Its design was similar to the Sorcerer's Compass from years ago.

On the Compass, several black dots were now faintly blinking in the southwest quadrant.

The Compass flipped over and vanished into his Storage Space. Chu Mu casually gave his orders:

"There are three Tier Two Demon Beasts. Two are at the Tier Two Early Stage, and one is at the Tier Two Middle Stage."

"Send the first squad over."

"As you command."

A voice replied through the Sound Transmission Order. Immediately after, a dozen or so Flying Boats broke from the main formation, changed course, and sped toward the southwest.

The remaining Flying Boats maintained their steady formation, continuing to search for and exterminate scattered Demon Beasts in the area, repeating the cycle over and over.

This was not the only such fleet of Flying Boats in the waters surrounding the Demon Suppression Islands. The Chen Family had divided the entire sea around the islands into thirty-six zones, designated A1 through A36.

When no major battles were raging, a Golden Core Cultivator would be stationed in each of these zones, leading a fleet of Flying Boats and several hundred Cultivators in these daily purges.

In addition to these large-scale daily purges, numerous Cultivators also operated in the surrounding seas in small groups of two or three, further culling the Demon Beasts in the area.

This routine culling had become the sole mandatory mission on the Demon Suppression Islands ever since the rather large-scale Beast Tide three years ago.

Any Cultivator stationed on the Demon Suppression Islands was required to undertake a culling mission at sea once every six months.

Of course, this requirement was limited to those at the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Realms.

For now, at least on the Demon Suppression Islands, the Chen Family was still in the phase of incentivizing Golden Core Cultivators who were not part of their clan. Golden Core True Masters could come and go as they pleased on the islands, with no mandatory obligations.

After the Beast Tide back then, he had returned to Celestial Secret Island. The matter of the Soldier Puppet dragged on for nearly another six months before it was finally resolved.

Although he had remained vigilant and observant, he never detected anything unusual, right up until the Soldier Puppet affair was completely settled.

Now, several years later, the Array Dao Nascent Soul was stationed on the inner island. He would occasionally see that towering Soldier Puppet, but there was still no sign of anything amiss.

As such, his focus on the Soldier Puppet naturally dwindled.

After the Soldier Puppet affair on Celestial Secret Island concluded, he settled on Earth Demon Island and also took on the position of its guardian.

'The Demon Suppression Islands may be fraught with peril, but for him, wasn't this peril also a tremendous opportunity?'

'The Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Islands… each island was guarded by two Golden Core Cultivators.'

'And on the Thirty-Six Celestial Islands, the number of the Chen Family's Nascent Soul Great Powers and direct-lineage Golden Core disciples was an unfathomable mystery.'

'With so many High Tier Cultivators gathered here, my Artifact Refining Skill has already become famous throughout the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World thanks to my repair of the Soldier Puppet. When it comes to Artifact Refining, there is likely no one who wouldn't think of me.'

'And after I completed He Fengshan's commission to refine an Elixir, my fame in Alchemy Skill also began to spread.'

'Once I was renowned for my Pill and Artifact Dual Proficiency, I undoubtedly became an extremely special existence on the Demon Suppression Islands.'

'As the saying goes, the world is a flurry of activity, all for the pursuit of profit.'

'The many High Tier Cultivators gathered here were clearly all here for personal gain.'

'This gain included the incentives offered by the Chen Family and the fact that every part of a Demon Beast was a treasure.'

'And for these High Tier Cultivators, most of the valuable resources they obtained here needed to be processed before they could be used.'

'Demon Pills, for instance, had to be refined into Elixirs to be of use to Cultivators. Likewise, the various Spiritual Materials harvested from Demon Beasts needed to be refined into Artifacts and Magical Treasures...'

'With my reputation for Pill and Artifact Dual Proficiency, my status on the Demon Suppression Islands is naturally revered, and the stream of people requesting my services for Alchemy and Artifact Refining is virtually endless.'

'In just a few short years, I seized this opportunity to effortlessly go from being dirt-poor to fabulously wealthy.'

'I've even managed to gather most of the Spiritual Materials needed for several important treasures I've designed.'

'Even though staying on the Demon Suppression Islands carries enormous risks, in the face of such immense benefits, those risks seem to become almost insignificant.'

Chu Mu sighed with emotion. Looking back on his Immortal Path, he knew that if it weren't for these chaotic times, he likely would never have achieved so much.

'If Great Chu had not been in turmoil, I never would have had the chance to recklessly amass wealth and seize resources back in Jingmen.'

'If the Vast Sea had not been in turmoil, reaching the Golden Core Realm—given the rarity of resources it requires—would have certainly taken me ages of struggle...'

'The only uncertainty is just how long this great opportunity will last...'

These chaotic times were his great opportunity, but for the vast majority of Cultivators, that was clearly not the case.

Chaotic times meant fields littered with corpses and lives lived on a knife's edge!

The Demon Suppression Islands stood tall in these waters like a Stabilizing Needle, suppressing the region and holding back the Demon Beast invasion.

But this achievement came at the cost of countless precarious lives and endless fields of the dead.

Just as he'd thought, ruling by incentive and by force had become the absolute reality of the current Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

Behind the front lines of the Demon Suppression Islands, countless conscription teams dispatched by the Chen Family crisscrossed the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World. They used every unscrupulous method at their disposal to levy batch after batch of Vast Sea Cultivators, who were then sent to the Demon Suppression Islands to serve as... cannon fodder.

According to the Chen Family's rules, any conscripted Cultivator who arrived here could be exempted from further service after standing guard on the islands for one full year. They would also receive a handsome reward and be allowed to leave the Demon Suppression Islands to recuperate in the rear.

But from what he had seen over the years, unless no large-scale Beast Tides erupted within that year, the number of Low Tier Cultivators who actually survived a full year on the Demon Suppression Islands was less than one in a hundred—an estimate that was perhaps still too generous.

Given the situation, even though he hadn't left the Demon Suppression Islands, it wasn't hard to imagine the chorus of grievances echoing throughout the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

In fact, according to reports from the True Understanding Pavilion, the number of so-called "Evil Cultivators" across the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World was growing at an enormous, almost daily, rate.

Evil Cultivators causing trouble had become commonplace throughout the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World. Some had even openly raised banners and started waging guerrilla warfare against the Chen Family.

It was clear the Longevity Sect had a hand in all these developments, fanning the flames and adding fuel to the fire.

The Profound Serpent Race, locked in a daily standoff with the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, was undoubtedly involved as well.

A deeper game had long since begun, and it was only intensifying.

He just didn't know when the final veil would be torn away, exposing everything for all to see.

'When that time comes, however, my great opportunity will likely come to an end. Beset by enemies both within and without, it's uncertain whether the Demon Suppression Islands can even hold.'

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just as Chu Mu was lost in thought, several deafening explosions suddenly rang out.

He immediately saw several Flying Boats in the northwest section of the formation explode, erupting into churning fireballs of deep blue.

Immediately after, a low roar was heard, and a cold glint shot out from the depths of the sea. With just a casual swing, several more Flying Boats were torn to pieces, sending flesh and blood flying!

"Senior!"

"A Tier Three Demon Beast!"

"We need your help, Senior!"

A series of panicked shouts rang out from the Sound Transmission Order.

"ROAR!"

A roar tore through the sky as the sea's surface churned like a whirlpool. From within that vortex, an enormous Demon Beast emerged.

The Demon Beast was nearly a hundred meters tall and covered in black, spiky Scale Armor. Four horns on its head curved backward, and its mouth, which split open to its ears, revealed three rows of dense, sharp serrated teeth that glinted with a deathly white light.

Its upper limbs looked as if they had been modified into two ghastly Giant Blades, which it held crossed before its chest in a terrifying display.

Even more terrifying were its lower body and its massive tail, thick as a battering ram, which swayed gently behind it. Its legs were a full seven or eight meters in diameter, and as it stood upon the sea, it looked like a peerless, savage demon!

'Tier Three Late Stage!'

Chu Mu's pupils shrank. But at this moment, there was no time for deliberation. This gigantic beast, which was clearly pieced together, seemed to possess a high degree of Spiritual Wisdom. The instant it emerged from the sea, its scarlet eyes locked onto him.

The giant beast's arms began to swell, deform, and twist. As clusters of dense, black, tumor-like muscles bulged, wisps of deep blue flame also appeared on its arms.

In the blink of an eye, the deep blue flames spread from its twisted arms onto the two Giant Blades.

As the Giant Blades were engulfed in the blue flames, they bizarrely began to condense wisps of frost. Under this frost, the sea itself seemed to freeze. A visible layer of ice spread out, flash-freezing a huge patch of the ocean!

'Qianlan Ice Flame!'

The name surfaced in Chu Mu's mind subconsciously.

Before he could think further, the two Giant Blades, now a fusion of ice and fire, were already hurtling down toward him with a piercing shriek...

...