Chapter 590: Resource Island (2)

However, the Tai Python might intend to pass down its own Cultivation Technique. Its system must already be quite complete; otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to stand undefeated in the northern Tai Lake.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiu felt a surge of interest. His entire purpose for traveling to Tai Lake was to find a way to ascend to the Second Celestial Realm. Since the Tai Python was so powerful, it could be of great help to him. The only question was what it would demand in return.

If the only requirement was to popularize a Cultivation Technique, that wouldn’t be too difficult. Of course, it wouldn’t be simple, either, as every branch of the Demon Race has its own unique path.

Still, it at least gave him a direction to think in. So, along the way, Jiang Qiu contemplated the matter of how to popularize a Cultivation Technique.

This world, he knew, was vast—rivaling any Great Realm he had encountered in the Primordial World. He hadn’t even finished traversing the First Celestial Realm, and even after listening to the Exiled Great Demon’s account, he couldn’t grasp where its borders lay. It seemed boundless. In such an enormous region, how could popularizing a Cultivation Technique be anything but a monumental task?

It was said that the Demon Race had already popularized some of their Cultivation Techniques. Any member of the Demon Race could attempt to practice the clan’s techniques, which was why their cities were so prosperous and their societal systems so robust.

And that was information from a hundred thousand years ago. The Demon Race’s development was formidable, and they had recently begun to covet the lands of the Primitive Ancient Forest. This explained what Jiang Qiu had discovered upon first arriving in this world: the Dominator of Ah Xiong’s territory had been slain.

Although only the outer regions had been affected, it was a sign of a much larger problem. One could foresee that the Primitive Ancient Forest would suffer from the Demon Race’s plunder, a conflict that would only escalate.

It was worth noting that while the Primitive Ancient Forest was barren and far less prosperous than the Demon Race on the plains, it held certain resources that could be found nowhere else. Without access to the Primitive Ancient Forest, the Demon Race’s own development would stagnate.

The plunder of resources had always been the main theme of worldly development. Jiang Qiu understood this, but it didn’t concern him. He had now followed the Exiled Great Demon to the northern border of the Beimu Mountain Range. Looking down from the high peaks, he saw a vast sheet of clouds blanketing the horizon, eventually merging with the surface of the water. The surging waves that crashed in were enormous, reaching dozens of yards into the air.

Yes, he had arrived at Tai Lake. The northern mountain range connected directly to it. This “lake” was in fact an ocean—vast and truly boundless. There was nothing on its surface, creating a sense of utter despair.

‘It’s hard to imagine how Spirit Fruits could grow in a place like this. How could any resources exist here?’

“Are you certain this is Tai Lake? Then where are the Spirit Fruits?” Jiang Qiu couldn’t help but ask.

Meanwhile, One-tailed sat in Ah Xiong’s palm, dangling her small, fair feet as she always did. A bell tied to her ankle with a red cord chimed, DING DING DING. As the sea breeze swept by, her mane of snow-white hair danced in the air. She was captivatingly beautiful, especially her bright, dewy, peach-blossom eyes, which held a particular charm as they gazed out at the sea.

Atop the mountain, the hem of her dress danced in the wind, making her look like a red butterfly cupped in Ah Xiong’s palm—a uniquely charming sight. She, of course, was unconcerned with their location; she was simply lost in the moment, mesmerized by her first sight of such a majestic body of water.

‘She wasn’t sure what words could possibly describe this place. It wasn’t that she’d never seen water—she’d seen countless small lakes and ponds. But she had never imagined that water could consume the land itself. It was as if the forest she called home was merely a small patch of earth surrounded by this water, and if the waves surged just a bit higher, they could swallow everything.’

She had this thought, and she was not wrong. In reality, the waters of Tai Lake could indeed drown the Primitive Ancient Forest. The water level here was extremely high; it could easily inundate the forest and would leave absolutely nothing of the even lower-lying Demon Plain.

However, One-tailed’s thoughts weren’t the priority. The truly important question was where to find the Spirit Fruits and the Tai Python. The Exiled Great Demon was well aware of Jiang Qiu and his companions’ objective—after all their conversations on the road, he naturally knew they were here for resources. He spoke respectfully, “Tai Lake is vast; Spirit Fruit resources aren’t found everywhere. We must head east along the shore, following the path that would have brought us here if we had circled around the eastern side of the Beimu Mountain Range. There, you’ll find a Spirit Fruit Forest, a massive one with incredibly abundant resources. Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that this forest is on an island, making it rather difficult for most creatures to reach.”

Although the Exiled Great Demon couldn’t set foot on the island himself, he had once gazed upon it from a distance. It was magnificent and lush, a truly mouth-watering sight. There were even Spirit Fruits beneficial to cultivators at the True Body Realm on that island, with practically no defenses to speak of.

It was as if the endless stream of Demon Race members who came were nothing more than inevitable pests, greedily stealing the island’s food. The Tai Python would only come by to clean them up occasionally. Any who weren’t caught and weren’t too greedy could make it back, having benefited greatly.

But if they were greedy, they would likely be purged on their next visit. After struggling so hard to get there, they would be buried there, ultimately becoming fertilizer for the island.

This was the current state of affairs on Tai Lake’s Resource Island. Even the Exiled Great Demon himself had been tempted, but he didn’t dare step foot there, terrified of being devoured by the Tai Python.

He had once witnessed from afar the Tai Python devouring these “pests,” swallowing them whole in a single gulp. No one, regardless of their Realm, could escape. A pinnacle of power like that… the sheer intimidation it projected was likely far greater than even that of the Chaos City Lord!

As an Ancestor with a Chaos Bloodline, he rarely feared any opponent. But the Tai Python was different. His bloodline was a Low Level compared to it, and in its presence, he felt a primal terror, like facing the vastness of the heavens and the earth.

If it weren’t for Jiang Qiu’s group wanting to travel to Tai Lake, he would have never, ever come to this place. Every time he even sensed news of the Tai Python emerging, he would be paralyzed with fear, unable to eat or sleep, his heart pounding in his chest.

But things were different now. He believed Jiang Qiu and his companions were beings from the High Heaven. One-tailed, in particular—the young woman with the astonishing aura and innate divine grace—put his mind at ease. ‘With a goddess present,’ he thought, ‘they surely won’t be intimidated by the Tai Python. There’s nothing to worry about.’

‘Besides, I’m not the one with designs on the Tai Python. I’m just the guide. What could possibly happen to me?’

With these thoughts in his mind, the Exiled Great Demon continued to lead Jiang Qiu’s party toward their true destination: the Resource Island. Compared to their trek out from the depths of the Beimu Mountain Range and across its entirety to the edge of Tai Lake, the journey along the shore was much shorter. In less than half a year, they arrived at the perfect vantage point. Far in the distance, where the endless Celestial Water met the sky, a brown line appeared—what looked like a stretch of land.

Although the Exiled Great Demon had called it an island, it was clearly a continent. What was most astonishing was that its coastline seemed to stretch on infinitely, its end nowhere in sight. The distance was so vast that they couldn’t even make out a silhouette, only a faint brown line, rougher than the smooth horizon where water met sky.

One could only imagine how immense the Resource Island truly was and how many Spirit Fruits it held. More importantly, even before reaching the island, they found a forest of resources right here on their own shore. It seemed to have sprouted from seeds someone had left behind. A unique clan of the Demon Race survived here, acting as guardians of this forest. All kinds of rare and wondrous Spirit Fruits filled Jiang Qiu’s sight.

At that moment, the Exiled Great Demon issued a warning. “These are all clans that once made their fortune on the Resource Island. Their strongest members are above the True Body Realm. Their power should not be underestimated…”