Chapter 363 - 358: Rapid Expansion

When Sha You bid farewell to the nominal Gang Leader, Laudfen, then privately sought out Du Youqian to propose leaving her daughter with him for a while, Du Youqian was dumbfounded.

’I never said I wanted a hostage!’

’Besides, even if you were going to be so proactive about it, you got the gender wrong! This is clearly a female hostage!’

Du Youqian couldn’t figure out what this Split-Ear Sand Fox was thinking.

’Does she think I’m a rising star and wants to latch onto a powerful backer?’

’If so, you’ve made a huge mistake...’

’My lifespan is nearly at its end.’

Still, having the Split-Ear Sand Fox Race proactively seek such a deep bond was ultimately a good thing.

Du Youqian naturally had no reason to refuse.

Although he wasn’t particularly interested in managing a faction and held a "hit it and quit it" attitude toward the Zouma Gang, for now, he still needed to use them to amass wealth.

He also needed to use the Zouma Gang as a platform to gather more useful information about the distribution of power and resources in the Human World.

’Most importantly... doesn’t this mean I can legitimately pet Hajimi?’

As soon as Sha You left, Du Youqian walked up to the little Hajimi and asked with a perfectly straight face, "Do you want me to hold you?"

Sha Jiang was baffled. ’What are you saying? I don’t understand. Can’t we communicate with Divine Sense?’

Du Youqian repeated himself, "Do you want me to hold you?"

Sha Jiang continued to stare with her big, innocent, and luminous eyes.

"I get it. You want me to hold you. Ah, you’re such a little clinger," Du Youqian sighed, scooping Sha Jiang up.

Terrified, Sha Jiang started crying out, "YIP YIP!"

’Momma! Momma! This guy who once killed a Great Saint is going to skin me, eat my flesh, and drink my blood!’

She struggled to break free, but how could a little creature not yet at Tier Two possibly escape from Du Youqian’s grasp?

Du Youqian wasn’t hurting her; he just held her still and began to pet her.

He petted her back, then her neck. After her neck came her ears, and after her ears, her belly, before he couldn’t resist going back to her neck.

The necks of these Split-Ear Sand Foxes were a bit like a cat’s—soft and incredibly pleasant to the touch.

Her ears were also interesting. They were delicate and could be folded like a cat’s, and the blood vessels were clearly visible beneath the thin fur.

Du Youqian just kept petting her, alternating between her ears and her neck.

Sha Jiang found the petting very comfortable. She narrowed her eyes and let out a couple of soft yips.

’So he wasn’t going to kill me after all!’

She had fully received the goodwill embedded in Du Youqian’s actions.

She yawned, glanced back at Du Youqian, and thought, ’You Great Saint-slayer, you’re actually a pretty nice guy. If you want to be friends with me, I guess I could consider it.’

Sha You did not go back on her word.

She soon returned, bringing with her the sand marten, Sand Falcon, and other races to form an alliance with the Zouma Gang.

When she saw her own daughter sprawled lazily across Du Youqian’s lap, letting him stroke her ears and neck, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

’Daughter... Momma wanted you to befriend this person, not become his pet!’

However, she could also see that this person truly doted on her daughter. Sha Jiang had even gotten a little chubbier, and her fur was glossier and shinier. She looked well-nourished and would probably break through to Tier Two soon.

These Alien Races didn’t understand Cultivation, nor did they need to cultivate.

As long as they awakened the potential within their bloodline, their strength would naturally increase, and they would acquire the knowledge left by their ancestors, learning how to fight and use their Innate Divine Abilities.

’Cultivation?’

’Lesser Alien Races rely on Cultivation; superior Alien Races rely on their bloodline.’

Since their race could produce a Demon King, they naturally belonged to the...

’Alright, calling themselves a superior Alien Race might be a bit of a stretch.’

’But they were at least mid-tier.’

And if they could spend time with a powerful member of the Human Race, basking in their aura, they could often awaken the potential in their bloodline earlier and more deeply.

This was one of the main reasons Sha You was happy to leave her daughter with Du Youqian.

Of course, the most important reason was that this person held no discrimination or wariness toward Alien Races.

He wasn’t like the powerful humans their ancestors had encountered in their bloodline memories, who would pretend to befriend the Split-Ear Sand Fox Race, only to rip off their hypocritical masks and turn on them, suppressing and hunting them down once their goals were achieved.

Sha You couldn’t see through this person’s thoughts.

But she could sense the goodwill in his heart.

That was enough.

Through Sha You’s mediation, the Zouma Gang’s Leader, Laudfen, quickly formed an alliance with the Sand Falcon, sand marten, and other races, pledging to advance and retreat together in mutual defense.

Each of these races was overseen by a Tier Three Demon King. Their combat strength wasn’t overwhelming, but they all had their own unique skills.

Du Youqian immediately planned a series of operations. For the first time in over a decade, the Zouma Gang was once again on the path of expansion.

The direction of their expansion was to the southwest.

Du Youqian planned to have the Zouma Gang fight their way to the edge of the Endless Desert Western Domain, creating a border with the Shengxia Sect.

With his help, Kang Yinghe had already begun his attempt at Core Formation.

If all went smoothly, in a year or two, the Zouma Gang would have cleared the path, and Kang Yinghe would have succeeded in his Core Formation. He could then return to his Sect and, with Du Youqian’s support, begin to vie for control of the Shengxia Sect.

Du Youqian felt that Kang Yinghe’s chances of success were quite high.

Kang Yinghe had failed at Core Formation once before and had been dejected, demoralized, and had lost his confidence at the time.

But after Du Youqian re-formed his own core, Kang Yinghe seemed like a changed man. He became proactive and energetic once more, and his confidence soared along with it.

Therefore, Du Youqian felt the time was right and decided to sponsor his Core Formation attempt.

Kang Yinghe’s Core Formation Celestial Phenomenon was very stable, and step by step, the probability of his success grew ever larger.

Meanwhile, the Zouma Gang’s external expansion was also proceeding very smoothly.

With the help of the Alien Races, the Zouma Gang could defeat the core forces of their enemies with relative ease, achieving impressive results even without Du Youqian’s intervention.

Du Youqian only needed to appear after the battles to have a "heart-to-heart" with the opposing leaders and persuade them to surrender.

Eight months after allying with the Split-Ear Sand Fox, the Zouma Gang had already crushed two first-rate factions and five second-rate factions, winning over nearly all of their high-level Cultivators.

A year and a half after the alliance was formed, the Zouma Gang had become one of the top powers in the Endless Desert Western Domain. With four Core Formation Masters in its ranks, it was considered the faction most likely to unify the entire Endless Desert Western Domain.

Of course, having reached such a height, Du Youqian now understood that unifying the Endless Desert Western Domain was actually extremely difficult.

Certain higher-ups preferred to see a chaotic and divided Endless Desert Sea.

Therefore, it was fine for the Zouma Gang to expand, and it was fine for them to fight, but they should absolutely not indulge in the fantasy of unifying the Endless Desert Western Domain.

Before long, Kang Yinghe emerged from his seclusion. Du Youqian rushed over to congratulate him at the first opportunity and asked, "Fellow Daoist Kang, do you wish to take complete control of the Shengxia Sect?"