Chapter 361 - 356: Alliance with the Alien Race

Objectively speaking, although the Zouma Gang had joined the ranks of the first-rate powers in the Endless Desert Western Domain, it was one of the weaker ones.

A typical first-rate power, aside from the strict criteria of oases, population, and at least one Core Formation Master, would also have a significant number of Foundation Establishment Late Stage and Perfection Cultivators.

These Foundation Establishment Late Stage and Perfection Cultivators were the main forces in the conflicts between the various powers.

After all, you couldn’t expect a Core Formation Master to run out and serve as cannon fodder.

That being said, from the perspective of the entire Human World, even Core Formation Masters were nothing more than expendable resources.

But in a small, barren place like the Endless Desert Sea, a Core Formation Master was already an extravagant figure.

However, despite being one of the weaker first-rate powers, the new Gang Leader, Laudfen, was very prudent. He wasn’t eager to expand their territory, and so they avoided direct conflict with other major powers.

Meanwhile, the other first-rate powers had been intimidated by Du Youqian during their earlier probing. Mistakenly believing the Zouma Gang was backed by a powerful Cultivator approaching Golden Core Perfection, they also dared not provoke it.

Thus, amid this fragile balance, the Zouma Gang entered a peaceful period lasting over a decade, free from any large-scale external conflicts.

This period of peace was also a period of stagnation.

Many Foundation Establishment Cultivators were not receiving enough resources, and dissatisfaction was brewing.

They wanted more.

This was only human nature, and something Du Youqian had anticipated.

He had not been idle these past ten-plus years, either. His Cultivation had recovered to the Golden Core Middle Stage, which was enough to support a much larger organization.

Therefore, it was time for the Zouma Gang to proceed with the next stage of its expansion.

But how to expand, which direction to choose, which powers to confront, and which to avoid offending—all of these things required careful consideration.

It had to be said, Li Fei had given Du Youqian a huge surprise.

She had probably realized she had no talent for Cultivation. Despite Du Youqian’s insightful guidance, his unlimited supply of resources, and even an extremely profound Body Refining Technique... her Cultivation had still progressed at a snail’s pace over the years.

Now, in her forties, her Cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage.

Someone with better talent probably could have reached Core Formation by this point.

After all, the children she had gathered and raised for Du Youqian were generally ten to twenty years younger than her, but now their Cultivation was beginning to surpass hers.

Some of the most talented among them had even reached Foundation Establishment...

After recognizing and accepting the fact that she had extremely poor talent, Li Fei changed her approach.

Over the past decade, she had begun to spend a great deal of time studying strategy and analyzing intelligence.

When Du Youqian was considering how to expand, she provided him with a detailed breakdown of the surrounding powers.

It was more than just a simple list of their structures, territories, and important figures.

Her analysis included the personalities of key figures in each power and their private relationships, the feuds between various factions, and their backgrounds and connections to other powers.

It was incredibly thorough and a massive help to Du Youqian.

After finishing her analysis, she also offered Du Youqian several interesting suggestions.

Some of them truly gave Du Youqian pause, and it was clear she had made immense progress.

Her thinking was still somewhat limited in the details, and a bit naive.

But with a little more experience, she would surely become a competent deputy.

The Endless Desert Western Domain was larger than the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert combined.

However, it was vast and sparsely populated, with most people concentrated in the various oases.

However, there were also some members of the Demon Race who did not rely on water, plants, and fertile soil as humans did.

Many places in the Desert Sea outside the oases were paradises for these Alien Races.

The Human Race and the Demon Race were, naturally, irreconcilably opposed.

But note, this referred to the Demon Race in a broad sense.

Jie Yu had once said that there was originally no such thing as a "Demon Race" in the world.

"Demon Race" was the Human Race’s catch-all term for various other species.

In reality, the various Alien Races didn’t necessarily see eye-to-eye or get along with one another.

Some Alien Races didn’t compete with humans for living space and limited resources, so they were naturally able to coexist peacefully.

What about the hatred carried over from years of war?

Hatred was just a propaganda slogan.

People might not even care about hatred from a few decades ago.

Let alone a span of thousands or tens of thousands of years!

Hatred was something to be trotted out for a few slogans when needed, then tossed aside and ignored when it wasn’t.

In reality, the only true standard determining whether the Human Race and an Alien Race could coexist peacefully was this: conflict over living space and resources.

So, as for those Alien Races living in the Desert Sea who didn’t need to compete for its limited water and food, they might nominally be enemies of humanity, but who the hell had eaten their fill and had nothing better to do than go pick a fight with them?

Besides, this important point only needed to be made once: they really didn’t like eating human flesh.

Of course, there were some Alien Races in the Endless Desert Sea whose resource needs did conflict with those of the Human Race. Some even specialized in feeding on Human Race Cultivators, which allowed them to grow quickly.

But engaging in large-scale battles over it wasn’t worth the cost.

Most of the time, the people living in the Endless Desert Sea didn’t view Alien Races as "detestable, damnable demons" to be attacked on sight.

Instead, they determined their level of amity or enmity based on whether there were conflicts over resources.

When necessary, they could become mortal enemies with other human powers.

And when also necessary, they could form secret alliances with certain Alien Races...

And this was precisely one of the suggestions Li Fei gave to Du Youqian.

To form friendly alliances with nearby Alien Races that had few standing conflicts, and to advance and retreat together.

To attack human powers that were likely to come into conflict with them in the long run and that the Zouma Gang was capable of defeating.

In Du Youqian’s eyes, this was a brilliant idea.

But in reality, quite a few powers in the Endless Desert Sea operated this way.

~~~~~~~~~

"Mama, so this is a human oasis! It’s so beautiful!"

Outside the Zouma Gang’s current headquarters, Dakan Oasis, a beautiful, petite little animal with ears forked at the tips and a pointed, fox-like face came to a stop.

Its voice was filled with awe.

This was her first time in a human settlement. The sight of the orderly yet elegant buildings and the rich colors instantly captivated her.

Her mother, a Tier Three Early Stage Demon King, looked at her lovingly and warned gently, "If the alliance is successful, you can play here for a couple more days. But be careful of humans. The Human Race is very treacherous and not to be trusted."

"Mama, if the Human Race is so treacherous, why do you want to ally with them?" the Little Split-Ear Sand Fox asked curiously.

The Demon King sighed. Her graceful body was marred by several hideous scars. "For survival..."