The Ten Thousand Spirits Sect's Past
The newcomer appeared to be in his early twenties. His face was as fair as jade, his features clear and handsome, and he carried himself with the composure of a young man who had found success early.
He was none other than Sun Hongpu, the Sun Household's third young master.
A grayish-brown waterbird perched on his shoulder, looking exceedingly tame. It was the recently returned Reed-Hidden Sandpiper.
That day, two members of the Sun Household had perished in the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger's jaws, but this spirit beast alone had escaped and returned, bringing back precise information about the tiger.
Seeing how intelligent it was, and mindful of its narrow escape from death, Sun Hongpu had personally taken it under his care.
A man followed behind him: Sun Ming, who had gone to the Li Household.
Sun Ming had rushed to Jade Wave Island and confirmed not only the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger's existence, but also that the Li Household had already swept away the Devil Cultivators.
He had then hurried back to report the matter to the third young master.
The Sun Household's eldest son had died at the Flowing Cloud Market, while the second young master had gone to cultivate at their superior sect. Although the third young master, Sun Hongpu, was young, his status as a direct descendant, together with Sun Chengfeng's favor for the son born to him in his old age, had made him head of the Sun Household.
Moments ago, he had announced before everyone, "The Sun Household has swept away the Devil Cultivators on Jade Wave Island." His voice had rung out with confidence, but the people in the hall did not know that this was merely a lie woven over many years.
Back then, when the Sun Household had chanced upon the Devil Cultivators entrenched on Jade Wave Island, the small Households on the islands under its rule had already been gripped by fear, dreading the day those devils who devoured Blood Pills might come knocking.
The Sun Household had been afraid too, but as the ruling power in the area, if it did not step forward and hold things together, collecting annual tribute in the future would likely be difficult. So it had forced itself to put on a brave face: "With the Sun Household here, there's no need to panic."
Over the next few years, the Sun Household had cautiously sent its members to probe the situation, only to discover that the Devil Cultivators kept their doors shut and never came out. They had even set up an operation on the island to raise mortal martial artists in captivity as blood food, seemingly content to leave their neighbors' wells and rivers undisturbed.
That suited the Sun Household perfectly. The Devil Cultivators caused no trouble, and the Sun Household had no need to resort to force. Each side went its own way in peace.
Later, unrest had broken out at the Flowing Cloud Market, and their superior sect, the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, had suffered a crippling blow and raised the annual tribute demanded of those beneath it. When the Sun Household enforced the increase, however, it falsely claimed to have suffered injuries fighting the Devil Cultivators and to need funds from the various Households to bolster its fighting strength.
When they heard this, the elders of the islands not only voiced no complaints, but paid up with remarkable readiness.
Many of them had lived through the devil calamity of those years and knew full well how terrifying Devil Cultivators were.
The Sun Household was willing to step forward and risk its life against the Devil Cultivators. That money was well spent!
Everyone in the Sun Household had been dumbfounded. Never had they imagined that a pretext made up on the spot would bring spiritual resources flowing to their door like water.
Why, not only did the others give them spiritual resources, they thanked them a thousand times over.
Having tasted the benefits, the Sun Household let the scam run out of control.
For more than ten years, they had invoked their superior sect's name to raise the annual tribute again and again, using the "purge of the Devil Cultivators" as a pretext every time.
The Devil Cultivators had never left the island either, so the show had gone on.
Of course, some people had gradually grown suspicious along the way.
Since the Devil Cultivators on Jade Wave Island never left to plunder, why did the Sun Household levy vast sums in spiritual resources every year to "purge" them?
But the Sun Household was too powerful, and no one dared look into it, much less stake their lives and fortunes on whether the Devil Cultivators would really come killing their way off the island.
When the second young master became a Foundation Establishment True Disciple of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, the islands under their rule fell as silent as cicadas in winter, and no one dared utter even half a word of complaint.
Paying the annual tribute hurt, but they had grown numb to it and treated it as the price of their own safety.
Now the Sun Household had finally learned that the Devil Cultivators had been wiped out. They had fed off this "Devil Cultivator threat" for more than ten years, and their pots and bowls were already overflowing with profit.
But paper could never contain fire. Even if the Sun Household said nothing today, the Li Household would sooner or later come into contact with the surrounding islands once it gained a foothold on Jade Wave Island.
When the truth came out, the position the Sun Household had painstakingly built over the years would crumble to pieces.
So the Sun Household elders put their heads together and decided that rather than let that happen, they might as well bring the matter into the open themselves.
They decided to raise the annual tribute one last time this year and combine those spiritual resources with the Sun Household's reserves to seek a Foundation Establishment Pill from their superior sect for the second young master.
The third young master, Sun Hongpu, was responsible for stepping forward and announcing that the Devil Cultivators had been eradicated.
For one thing, this would reassure the islands and make them feel that the spiritual resources they had paid over the past ten-plus years had not been wasted.
For another, it would also let them take the opportunity to put control of Jade Wave Island back in their own hands.
Sure enough, the moment Sun Hongpu finished speaking, the people in the hall could no longer sit still.
"The Devil Cultivators... have they truly been annihilated?"
"Heaven has eyes! There are plenty of spiritual treasures around Jade Wave Island. If the Devil Cultivators are really gone, we can go and gather from those waters again!"
"Third young master, is this really true? Those Devil Cultivators were entrenched there for years. How could they suddenly be gone?"
Sun Hongpu sat in the seat of honor, smiling as he watched the excited crowd.
In truth, the Sun Household had been the one collecting the spiritual treasures around Jade Wave Island all these years, while falsely claiming to be fighting the Devil Cultivators.
"Rest assured. When the Sun Household says it has purged the Devil Cultivators, then we truly have purged them. Every last remnant of those Devil Cultivators has been put to death."
The crowd no longer had the slightest doubt. They rose one after another and cupped their hands, their flattery pouring forth like a tide.
"Third young master, you are wise! The Sun Household is a model for us all, safeguarding the peace of this region. For such a great achievement, even the superior sect will hold you in higher regard!"
"With the Sun Household's accomplishments, never mind this paltry annual tribute-even if it were doubled again, we would pay it willingly!"
Sun Hongpu waved a hand, as though his own Household really had exterminated the Devil Cultivators.
As the crowd's excitement gradually subsided, the subject turned to the distribution of Jade Wave Island's spiritual resources.
Someone plucked up the courage to ask: now that peace had returned to Jade Wave Island, surely the island's spiritual treasures, the source of Spirit Root children from its mortal dynasty, and the rights to gather resources in the surrounding waters should all be rearranged.
At that, the hall fell quiet again, and every gaze settled on Sun Hongpu.
A perfectly measured look of difficulty appeared on Sun Hongpu's face. He sighed and said:
"You may not know this, but although the Sun Household led the campaign against the devils, an ally also contributed greatly. It was an outside Household surnamed Li."
"The fighting was perilous. The Sun Household could not bear to let you all take risks, so we shouldered the most critical battles ourselves. The Li Household joined us then."
"In the end, the Li Household truly contributed greatly to sweeping away the devil's den. For that very reason, the Sun Household could hardly treat our ally poorly, so we have allowed them to establish themselves on Jade Wave Island for the time being."
At these words, the faces of several small Households darkened.
There was a mortal dynasty on Jade Wave Island, and for many years it had been an important source of Spirit Root children for their clans.
It was one thing for the Devil Cultivators to hold the island; they had not dared provoke them.
But now that the Devil Cultivators had finally been wiped out, Jade Wave Island had fallen into the hands of an outside Li Household? Had all the annual tribute they had paid over the years been for nothing?
More importantly, if Jade Wave Island had an owner, disputes were bound to arise over control of the surrounding waters and the rights to gather spiritual treasures.
Sun Hongpu took in everyone's reactions, but remained unhurried and continued:
"Don't be hasty, everyone. Someone joining us isn't necessarily a bad thing. One more ally means one more source of support. As you know, my elder clansman has become a True Disciple of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect and will soon be able to attempt Foundation Establishment. Once he succeeds, we old allies will naturally all receive the superior sect's favor."
He paused, his tone taking on a coaxing note:
"When the Li Household heard about this, they put considerable thought into it. Though they've only just arrived, they've already taken the initiative to arrange a date with the Sun Household to go together to Gold-Bearing Mountain on Jade Wave Island and capture the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger, as a show of the Li Household's loyalty to us."
The Ginseng-Cloud Tiger?
Most of those present practiced the art of beast taming and naturally knew the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger by name.
It was a rare variant that had awakened a trace of its bloodline. If someone could subdue it, its value would be immeasurable.
The Li Household was merely an outsider, yet it was already so eager to curry favor with the Sun Household, barely having gained a foothold, that it had set its sights on the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger?
A sense of crisis rose in the hearts of several small Household heads at once. The cultivators from the three Households around Jade Wave Island exchanged glances in particular, each reading the same thought in the others' eyes.
The Shattered Star Sea was dotted with islands and crowded with powers, and it was common for them to swallow one another up.
As long as they did not break the Immortal Alliance's rules, the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect above them never interfered.
That was true of the four great archipelagos under the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, and equally true of this stretch of sea under the Sun Household's jurisdiction.
If the Li Household truly latched onto the Sun Household and its power grew in the future, the small and medium-sized Households around Jade Wave Island would be the first to bear the brunt.
When that happened, they could forget about laying a finger on Jade Wave Island's Spirit Root children; even their own little plots of land would likely be eaten away bit by bit.
Several Household cultivators exchanged glances, and one of them immediately rose, his face wreathed in smiles.
"Third young master, the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger is cunning by nature and skilled in the Rosy Light Escape Technique, making it exceptionally difficult to catch. The Li clan has only just arrived and may not be familiar with the beast's habits. We of Five Clouds Island are willing to do our part and help the third young master hunt it down. It will also show the Li Household that the Households of these waters can do more than farm and gather pearls."
Before he had finished speaking, another person stood.
"Both our Households from East Cliff Island are willing to go as well! We have visited several waterways near Gold-Bearing Mountain and know them very well. We can go ahead as your vanguard, young master."
The three spoke one after another. On the surface, they were "helping the third young master," but there was a sharp edge hidden in their words.
If the Li Household truly proved weak, they might well do something on Gold-Bearing Mountain.
After all, if an outsider who had only just arrived died in a Demon Beast's jaws, who could say anything?
Sun Hongpu agreed to each of their offers. His smile was warm, but inwardly he sneered.
Good. Come, all of you. The Li Household must have some strength if it could eliminate the Devil Cultivators. For the battle on Gold-Bearing Mountain, I was just wondering where to find stones to test the road. I'll let you people go and sound out the Li Household for me first.
He was not as arrogant and overbearing as Sun Ming and remained somewhat cautious toward the Li Household. After all, a small Household of unknown background had come alone to the territory of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect; they might well be scouts from another sea region.
If you can uncover their true strength and background, so much the better. If you fall in there, I can take every last bit of your clans' spiritual resources and put them toward a Foundation Establishment Pill for my second brother!