At the end of the month, Li Ling left Jade Lang Mountain, leaving its affairs to Yao Lingxian and the others.
He planned to develop it into the Incense Accumulation Sect's overseas market and raw-material base, making full use of the West Sea's convenient connections to other regions. By greatly expanding maritime transport, he would link the South Sea, East Sea, North Sea, and Ten Continents, leveraging his financial advantages to develop the Incense Path, incense products, and incense formulas.
Ordinary matters, however, could be handled by his disciples. He would devote more of his energy to his own cultivation and dealings with the Heavenly Court, the various Immortal Sects, and the Four Seas Commerce Guild.
By then, the Four Seas Commerce Guild's attitude toward the Incense Accumulation Sect had undergone a subtle change. Perhaps they felt that, since rising in the North Sea, the sect had developed too quickly in too short a time, becoming a colossal force. They had begun to regard it with wariness.
Expansion into the East Sea and South Sea inevitably met with considerable obstruction.
Li Ling was in no hurry. He had Nie Yingzhi suspend those plans for now, prioritizing Incense Path products instead and properly managing the territory they already held.
On the Netherworld Sect's side, the Blood Sea Demon Venerable had suffered a modest but galling setback at the hands of Li Ling and the Vast Dharma Heavenly Lord. Having also lost the West Sea, he could think of no remedy for the moment.
In the short term, they could not even attend to the disciples and envoys hidden in the West Sea. They could only watch as Demonic Path cultivators were continually rooted out and the secret forces they had painstakingly established were torn up by the roots, suffering greater losses