The Demon Lord's Invasion

Chapter 48: Spirit Island

In the boundless Chaos, a massive beam of light descended upon a grassland. As the radiance faded, over four hundred figures appeared on the grassland. Jiang Tang took a deep breath of the rich spiritual energy, then looked down at the green grass on the ground and pressed his foot against it. The grass merely sank slightly before springing back to its original state, completely undamaged. Jiang Tang couldn’t help but crouch down. As he played with the green grass, the people around him, acting in perfect unison, scattered in groups of three or five in all directions. Soon, more than four hundred of them had all dispersed. Gao Heng looked at Jiang Tang, thought for a moment, then walked over and said, “Junior Brother Jiang, please join our group.” As soon as Gao Heng finished speaking, Yu Xinian walked over and said, “That’s right, Junior Brother Jiang.” Jiang Tang looked up at the two women, then glanced at the two male disciples of the Xian Zong standing behind them. With a wry smile, he said, “I’ve already made plans with someone else.” As Gao Heng stood there in surprise, Jiang Tang stood up, clapped his hands, and walked toward the two figures in the distance. The two were a man and a woman. The man wore a white sword slung across his back and carried himself with an air of haughty indifference. The woman was draped in a light veil, her appearance alluring and captivating—they were none other than Li Yishang of the Sword Sect and Yuan Shangpiao of the Yinpo Sect! Gao Heng furrowed her brow, then suddenly heard Yu Xin say beside her, “They’re disciples from the Sword Sect and the Yinpo Sect. They must be companions Junior Brother Jiang knew before he joined the sect. Let’s go, Junior Sister Gao.” Gao Heng nodded. After one last glance at Jiang Tang’s retreating figure, she flew off toward the west alongside Yu Xin and two male disciples. “So even you have moments when you’re not welcome,” Yuan Shangpiao said with a smile, looking at Jiang Tang. “Same here. That’s how it is for latecomers.” Jiang Tang’s words hit the nail on the head. Of the Ten Greats of Xian Zong, apart from Jiang Tang, the other nine were all born and raised within the sect; Xian Zong was their home. Likewise, Yuan Shangpiao and Li Yishang came from ordinary backgrounds and had joined the sect through their own merits. Disciples like them often clashed with those who had grown up within the sect. Being ostracized was the least of their worries; if their strength was insufficient or their wits lacking, and they dared to resist, they would surely be wiped out. Jiang Tang had made some enemies within Xian Zong. Even though these disciples appeared friendly toward him, who knew if they were just lulling him into a false sense of security? In all matters, it’s best to stay vigilant. Yuan Shangpiao took out a map and said, “This should be the Southern Wilderness Grasslands of Spirit Island. There are three destinations nearby: the Lingyu Veins to the east, the ruins of the Immortal Garden to the west, and the Ancient Bronze City to the north.” Before coming here, Jiang Tang had purchased some information on Spirit Island from the Immortal Pavilion, so he was well aware of just how perilous these three locations were. The Ruins of the Immortal Garden contain countless rare treasures, but they’re protected by layer upon layer of restrictions. Even if you sent a puppet or a spirit beast to scout the area, there’s no guarantee it would come out alive—because the restrictions inside are active! Although the Spirit Jade Vein was discovered tens of thousands of years ago, due to the unique nature of Spirit Island, miners could only extract a small amount before having to retreat. As a result, Spirit Jade still remains there—a mere pinch of it is worth a hundred crystals. As for the Ancient Bronze City, it is riddled with traps and guarded by powerful puppets, yet it holds many precious treasures. Rumor has it that the Ancestor of Kui City obtained a technical manual on puppet-making within the Ancient Bronze City, which allowed him to create his puppet army and rise to fame in a single battle. “Let’s all say where we want to go at the same time—the majority rules,” Yuan Shangpiao suggested. Jiang Tang and Li Yishang nodded in unison. “Alright, then… here!” Yuan Shangpiao pointed at the ruins of the Immortal Garden. At the same time, Jiang Tang and Li Yishang pointed to the Spirit Jade Vein and the Ancient Bronze City, respectively. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Celestial treasures and rare herbs are the most valuable, and since they’ll grow on their own here—where the spiritual energy is so dense—how could they not thrive?” Yuan Shangpiao said with a hint of displeasure. “Spiritual jade is the one surefire, risk-free investment,” Jiang Tang declared resolutely. Li Yishang said coldly, “Restraints are boring. Spiritual jade? What’s that? Only mechanical puppets make the best targets for honing swordsmanship.” “I think…” Yuan Shangpiao pressed her hand to her forehead, tossed out a few sound-transmission talismans, and said with a sigh, “You guys are already foolish enough—I’m even more foolish for agreeing to partner with you.” “No point in wasting words on those who don’t see eye to eye.” With that, Li Yishang tossed out a few sound-transmission talismans and headed straight north. Jiang Tang and Yuan Shangpiao exchanged a glance; after swapping sound-transmission talismans, they set off in opposite directions—one east, the other west—as if by unspoken agreement. People who prefer to go it alone are hard to work with, unless they happen to run into each other by chance and share the same goal. As Jiang Tang ran at full speed—which was still far slower than his teleportation ability—he leaped and soared, covering dozens of zhang in a single bound and traversing a hundred li in just a quarter of an hour. Half a shichen later, a barren, low gray-rock hill appeared ahead of Jiang Tang. Without pausing for a moment, he leaped straight to the summit. “This must be the place,” Jiang Tang said, but suddenly he pulled out his pumpkin hammer and hurled it forward. Before it hit the ground, a beam of sword light shot from his fingertip into the hammer, instantly triggering a thunderous “boom” that shook the mountains and the earth. In the blink of an eye, several figures shot out from beneath the limestone hill. Facing the collapsing hill, their eyes blazed with fury as they glared at Jiang Tang, who was suspended in midair, and roared, “You little brat, are you looking to die?!” “Four of them,” Jiang Tang said with a smile, beckoning them over. The pumpkin hammer floated back into Jiang Tang’s hand of its own accord. At the same time, his eyes instantly turned as black as ink, with a red and a gold speck swirling within them, their faint glow radiating a chill. The four men were startled by the sight. Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Tang suddenly swung the hammer down. One of them realized Jiang Tang was charging straight at him and, without hesitation, swung a massive sword to strike at the hammer as it came crashing down. The moment the two weapons made contact, a deafening roar echoed—and in an instant, the cultivator who had blocked the hammer with his greatsword was reduced to a pile of pulp, and even the greatsword itself shattered into pieces! “What?” The other three were utterly stunned. “Senior Brother!” A female cultivator cried out in anguish. She drew her long sword and, in the blink of an eye, appeared at Jiang Tang’s side. She thrust her sword forward—a single strike that felt like a thousand—and dazzling sword energy enveloped Jiang Tang entirely. Jiang Tang suddenly unleashed a layer of black gongqi, which shattered the moment it collided with the sword energy—only to coalesce again in the very next instant. It coiled around Jiang Tang like a coiled dragon, circling him several times before all the sword energy dissipated. Then, it suddenly opened a massive maw and swallowed the female cultivator whole. “Boom!” The black dragon exploded instantly. By the time the smoke and dust had cleared slightly, the female cultivator had been reduced to a pile of shredded flesh on the ground. The two remaining cultivators were both shocked and elated. With such a powerful explosion, how could Jiang Tang, standing right beside her, possibly have escaped unscathed? However, when the smoke and dust had completely drifted away, the young man was still standing in the same spot. Beneath his disheveled hair, his sallow complexion was rapidly fading, returning to its previous fair and delicate hue. “How could he possibly be unharmed?” The two exchanged glances, both realizing something was terribly wrong. “Damn it.” Just as the two were about to flee, a flash of black light erupted from Jiang Tang’s chest, and a bald figurine materialized. After glancing at the pulp and scattered flesh, it said coldly, “I told you to bring him in alive.” “Trouble.” Jiang Tang said emotionlessly. He sheathed his pumpkin hammer and reached into the void; fine strands of gongqi instantly coalesced into a dragon’s claw that lunged at one of them. At the same time, a brilliant black light erupted around Dongfang, who appeared beside the other cultivator like a bolt of black lightning. His left hand—a Gatling gun—frenetically fired a dense barrage of armor-piercing rounds. This cultivator put up a fierce resistance, shielding his long sword so tightly that not a single ray of light could pass through. After blocking the armor-piercing rounds with hundreds of sword qi strikes, they instantly fused into a single, massive sword qi that slashed down toward Dongfang. Dongfang produced the Star Chart in his hand and flung it toward the sword energy in the air; however, the familiar outcome did not occur—the Star Chart was actually cleaved in two by the sword energy. “Foolish! Do you think this is some sort of spell?” On the other side, Jiang Tang had one hand clamped around another cultivator’s neck, while the other pressed his five fingers against the cultivator’s abdomen. Instantly, the struggling cultivator went limp and collapsed to the ground. “Divine Consciousness Seal! You’re at the Spirit-Martial Realm—how is this possible?” A cultivator who had been preparing to attack Dongfang witnessed this scene and was so terrified that he dared not engage Dongfang any further. He pulled out a spirit talisman and slapped it against his chest; in an instant, a brilliant green light radiated from his body. But before he could take a single step to flee, a black projectile exploded beside him, unleashing a black net. “He must be a disciple of the Sword Sect, but he’s far weaker than Li Yishang. No wonder he was able to come to Spirit Island too.” Jiang Tang tossed the sealed Sword Cultivator to Dongfang. “Even at his weakest, he’s still in the late Qi-Martial stage—valuable research material,” Dongfang said. He dragged the Sword Cultivator, still wrapped in the black net, over to him. A black thread shot out from the bone spines on his back, binding the sealed Sword Cultivator at Jiang Tang’s feet, then tossed him aside to be dealt with later. “I’ll set up the formation; you go mining.” Upon hearing this, the demonic energy in Jiang Tang’s eyes dissipated. He nodded, then tapped his storage pouch. Instantly, countless streams of light shot out from it. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred diverse puppets floated behind Jiang Tang—not a single one resembling anything from this world, but all Earth-style mining machines. Over a hundred mining puppets—in the past, Jiang Tang wouldn’t have dared to even dream of such a thing. But now, with his mind and consciousness fully integrated, controlling them was no difficulty. The only drawback was the cost! All the puppets were powered by crystals; running over a hundred of them at full capacity for one hour would cost over a hundred crystals! Taking out an incense burner, he inserted a stick of soul-nourishing incense, then sat cross-legged and focused all his energy on controlling the puppets. Dongfang, of course, wasn’t idle. He took out a series of formation flags and discs, deploying them throughout a three-li radius before drifting toward the two Sword Cultivators… “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit… Can you really do this to a human body? Holy shit, you can actually extract a vortex like that—what the hell is this contraption? My God, pulling out bones while the person’s still alive! Monk, you’re too cruel—but, heh heh, I love it!” Qiong Sang had drifted over at some point and was muttering to himself as he watched Dongfang’s brutal actions. Dongfang, however, couldn’t be bothered to pay him any mind; he remained fully focused on dissecting the cultivator. The three of them had been holed up here for a whole month, and surprisingly, no one had barged in during that time. Actually, this wasn’t surprising. Spirit Mines held little appeal for other cultivators; a month of digging here was nowhere near as valuable as finding a single rare treasure elsewhere, not to mention the cultivation manuals and crafting scrolls found in ancient ruins. Dongfang had already finished dissecting two cultivators; after recording his research data, he began a new experiment. Spiritual Jade—this was the first time Dongfang had ever seen it. Although he knew it was extremely valuable, he didn’t hesitate to replace the crystal inside one of his puppets with a piece of Spiritual Jade. Instantly, the puppet burst into a blinding glow, and then—with a “boom”—it exploded into a pile of shards on the ground! “Strange,” Dongfang muttered as he stared at the tablet. “That shouldn’t happen. Spiritual jade’s spiritual energy is very gentle—how could this happen…? Could it be… I think I get it now. Demon-corrupted spider silk can conduct Primordial Energy but not spiritual energy. It seems I need to develop spider silk that conducts spiritual energy…” Meanwhile, Jiang Tang remained seated in the lotus position. Three Soul-Nourishing Incense sticks had already been placed in the incense burner beside him. Even so, he was finding it increasingly difficult; the massive drain on his mental energy had left him utterly exhausted. But every second counted now. Dongfang was unaware of the formation, and it wouldn’t be easy for the enemy to break through, so Jiang Tang was risking his life to control the golem and mine the vein.