Yu Mi replied, “The Demon Saint only said this one thing.”
Bao Gu asked, “Senior Sister, did the Demon Saint mention any reason?”
Yu Mi responded, “She didn’t want to say much, so I didn’t ask further.”
Bao Gu pondered for a moment, then looked at Zi Tianjun and said, “Grandmaster, the Holy Aunt is from the demon clan, and she must know more about this place than we do. I think it would be better to ask Little Martial Aunt to inquire further.”
Zi Tianjun had the same thought.
He immediately got up and went outside to use a communication talisman to contact Zi Yunshu and find out more from the Demon Saint.
Before long, Zi Tianjun returned to the room and sat down.
He said, “According to the Demon Saint, she only knows of two demon habitats: one is the Snow Domain outside the Xuan Yue Ancient City, and the other is this place. In the cultivation world, once one achieves success, they ascend to the Immortal Realm; for demons, once they achieve success, they ascend to the Demon Realm. This demon domain has a place that connects to the Demon Realm for ascension, and all demons wishing to ascend to the Demon Realm must come here.”
The implication was clear: the cultivation world had come to the demon clan’s ascension site to establish a sect and settle down, which would be intolerable for any demon with a bit of power.
The reasoning was simple.
Humans in the cultivation world often hunted demons for alchemy and artifact crafting materials, and even took it as their duty to exterminate demons.
The demons had long held grudges against humans.
Which powerful demon would feel safe leaving a human sect at an ascension site?
Even disregarding the enmity between demons and humans, they would fear being targeted by a restless cultivator during a critical moment of tribulation or ascension!
Bao Gu secretly glanced at Nanshan Yijian.
She dared to say that when Nanshan Yijian recommended this place to her Grandmaster and Martial Uncles, he definitely didn’t know it was a demon ascension site.
Zi Tianjun looked at Nanshan Yijian and asked for his opinion.
Nanshan Yijian said, “If we all had cultivation levels like yours and faced bottlenecks in our progress, this place would indeed be excellent. However, if we want to establish a sect here, it might be difficult to ensure the safety of our disciples. We should choose another location.”
After saying this, he looked at Bao Gu, who had been sneaking glances at him, and said, “Bao Gu, if you have something to say, feel free to speak up.”
Bao Gu thought to herself, “What could I possibly say?”
She quickly shook her head and said, “I have nothing to say.”
Zi Tianjun glanced at Bao Gu, who was clever and mischievous, and said, “Bao Gu, now that the sect needs to find another location, do you have any suggestions?”
Bao Gu thought carefully for a moment, then hesitantly asked, “Do you really want me to say?”
Zi Tianjun nodded and said, “Go ahead.”
Bao Gu understood that it was impossible to find a place without cultivators, without demons, yet rich in spiritual energy and with spiritual veins.
For the sect to develop, they would inevitably need to recruit new disciples, which wouldn’t be suitable in a place far from human habitation.
If they wanted to find another suitable place for cultivation to establish a sect, they would either have to seize territory in the cultivation world or in the demon domain.
Neither option was suitable for the current Xuan Tian Sect, so they could only take a third option—finding a foothold in the gap between the cultivation world and the demon domain.
She said, “I think the demons here probably don’t like dealing with the cultivation world, and the cultivators should also avoid this place.”
She drew a circle on the ground and said, “Assuming this circle represents the demon domain we are currently in, there should be another demon domain surrounding it, serving as a buffer zone with the cultivators, which is the edge area. The spiritual energy in the demon domain is abundant, so it shouldn’t be lacking here; it would definitely be better than our original Xuan Tian Sect.”
Zi Tianjun said, “Continue, get to the point.”
Bao Gu said, “The point is to establish the sect in this edge area, for three reasons! First, the spiritual energy won’t be weak, allowing for cultivation; second, this is a buffer zone between the cultivation world and the demon domain, where both humans and demons can enter this area. We would have a lot of operational space here, which is very suitable for our current situation. Third, the border area is the best place for trade!”
Everyone present was speechless at Bao Gu’s third reason, while Bao Gu’s eyes lit up when she mentioned the third point, making it clear that she had come up with a clever idea.
Zi Tianjun asked with a stern face, “What kind of trade?”
Bao Gu said, “Of course, selling items from the demon domain to the cultivation world and selling items from the cultivation world to the demon domain for profit.”
Feng Yi interjected, “Hold on, that’s off-topic! Do you really think demons would trade with you?”
Bao Gu took out the Little Celestial Fox, which was curled up and sleeping in the Blood Oath Token, and said, “If demons won’t trade with me, they definitely will with my little Ling’er! A ninth-tier Celestial Fox trading with those first to eighth-tier demon beasts is giving them face.”
The Little Celestial Fox, rudely awakened by Bao Gu, opened its eyes, glanced at her, yawned, and then snuggled back into Bao Gu’s arms to sleep.
Yu Mi’s heart melted at the sight of the soft, sleepy Little Celestial Fox.
She reached out to Bao Gu and pulled the Little Celestial Fox into her own embrace.
She was initially puzzled as to why the Little Celestial Fox looked so sleepy, but when she felt its round, full belly, she couldn’t help but laugh!
How much good food must it have eaten to get so plump!
Zi Tianjun looked at Bao Gu and asked, “Can you elaborate on your second reason? What do you mean by having a lot of space suitable for our current situation?”
Bao Gu said, “The disaster we faced nearly wiped out our sect, making it unwise to provoke the cultivation world. If we search for a place to establish a sect in the cultivation world, it will inevitably lead to unnecessary conflicts and losses. The current Xuan Tian Sect cannot afford any losses, that’s the first point; second, the forces of the Xuan Yue Ancient City will likely search for our whereabouts, so it’s better for us to hide for a while; if we establish our sect in the buffer zone between the cultivation world and the demon domain, first, there are fewer cultivators here. Even if a cultivator accidentally enters our territory, they will likely think that a powerful demon has established a residence here and may retreat. If we can resolve it peacefully, great; if not, we can eliminate them, and others will just assume they died at the hands of demons in the demon domain, so there shouldn’t be any unnecessary trouble. Second, being at the border may attract the demons’ vigilance, but it won’t really affect them. If any demons come to our door, I can send out little Ling’er to negotiate and send them away. Once we get through this difficult period, when our sect becomes stronger, we can do whatever we want.”
She paused and added, “If you think my suggestion is feasible, we just need to find a suitable place along the border of this demon domain.”
She thought for a moment and said, “I believe there are definitely sects in the cultivation world established at the border of the demon domain.”
Yu Mi said three words: “Beast Taming Valley.”
The Beast Taming Valley of the Xuan Yue Ancient City is backed by the Xuan Yue Ancient City and faces the Snow Domain, with half of its demon beasts originating from the Snow Domain.
Zi Tianjun carefully considered what Bao Gu had said and said, “Whether it works or not, we need to investigate further.”
Feng Yi, you go again.
There’s no need to rush back; make sure to investigate thoroughly.”
Nanshan Yijian said, “I’ll go with him.”
Bao Gu took a deep breath and was about to call out, “Don’t!”
but the words got stuck in her throat.
Nanshan Yijian looked at Bao Gu with amusement and said, “Bao Gu, if you have something to say, just say it.”
Bao Gu shyly smiled and said, “Senior Nanshan, if you leave, what if that corpse demon dragon I released from the ancient ruins comes looking for me? It was scared off by me, and for safety, it definitely won’t stay in the Snow Domain; it’s most likely to come here. Martial Uncle Chen is here, using its dragon bones for refining…. If it’s nearby, it will definitely sense Martial Uncle Chen’s presence…”
and then find me…
Nanshan Yijian said, “You have the Xuantian Sword for protection, and with your Grandmaster and Martial Uncle Chen here, what are you afraid of? If you’re worried, I can leave a projection of my primordial spirit.”
Bao Gu quickly thanked him, “Thank you, Senior Nanshan.”
Nanshan Yijian smiled and shook his head, then got up and left the wooden house. He really couldn’t bring himself to say, “Bao Gu, you are truly a unique flower in the cultivation world.”
She would definitely live better as a small merchant in the human world than as a cultivator. After cultivating for so long and seeing all kinds of people, he had never encountered someone like Bao Gu. The vast majority of cultivators spent their days racking their brains to figure out how to improve their cultivation and strengthen their power, while Bao Gu was thinking every day, “I want to do business to earn money to support Grandmaster, Martial Uncles, and Senior Sisters. I’m afraid that if I get too rich, someone will come to rob me, so you all come protect me…”
If it were any other cultivator, even him, if he had Bao Gu’s opportunities and wealth, he would definitely find a place where no one could find him to secretly cultivate, and only come out after achieving success, not dragging along a burden like a sect.
Seeing Nanshan Yijian, Grandmaster, Martial Uncle Feng, and Elder Niu all get up and leave the wooden house, Bao Gu quickly climbed up from the cushion and tossed the Little Celestial Fox, which Yu Mi was holding and sleeping, back into the Blood Oath Token. She hugged Yu Mi’s arm and called out, “Senior Sister, I missed you so much.”
Yu Mi responded with a soft “Hmm,” revealing a gentle smile to Bao Gu, then raised her hand to gently pinch Bao Gu’s fair, delicate face, marveling inwardly, “How much spiritual treasure must she have eaten to grow so vibrant!”
The little refugee who had just entered the Xuantian Sect, thin and frail, had now blossomed into such a lively figure. The Xuantian Sect had faced great calamity and now faced an uncertain future, but seeing Bao Gu made her feel at ease. As long as this little girl was in front of her, she had nothing to worry about or fear; this small figure gave her a sense that it could support the Xuantian Sect. At just fourteen years old, with a cultivation level only at the first stage of Foundation Establishment, Bao Gu had already qualified to sit with the sect leader and elders to discuss matters, not just as a bystander but as an important member speaking here. “Could Bao Gu be destined to become the sect leader in the future?”
This thought made Yu Mi’s eyes widen in surprise.
Bao Gu had no idea what Yu Mi was thinking to make her eyes go so wide, and she quickly asked, “Senior Sister, what’s wrong?”
Yu Mi came back to her senses and said, “It’s nothing, I just feel like you are growing more and more impressive.”
Bao Gu wrinkled her nose and said with a frown, “Don’t comfort me.
You have no idea how much I’ve been scolded by Grandmaster in the past ten days without you.”
Yu Mi thought, “Oh dear, the Grandmaster actually scolded this precious little one?”
She smiled and teased, “Quick, tell me how Grandmaster scolded you!”
Bao Gu immediately became furious. She complained to Yu Mi, who was actually enjoying herself! She shouted angrily, “Are you still my dear Senior Sister?”
Yu Mi smiled, got up from the cushion, and pulled Bao Gu up, asking cheerfully, “Where’s Master?”
When she didn’t hear Bao Gu’s response, she turned to look at her, only to see Bao Gu’s eyes suddenly turn red, feeling something was off, she hurriedly asked, “Did something happen to Master?”
