thebusnovel Chapter 288 - 18: What is a Sect
Chapter 288 - 18: What is a Sect
Yang Guangfu was taken aback for a moment, not understanding what Zhang Deming was asking.
Without waiting for a reply, Zhang Deming said, "When you said Spirit Nurturing Peak was in charge of caretaking... you don’t mean this entire Flower Sea, do you?"
Yang Guangfu nodded. "Yes, of course. This is it."
Zhang Deming: "..."
’Looks like I’m still too naive,’ he thought. ’It seems I’ve completely misunderstood what they meant by four people splitting the area for Spirit Nurturing.’
’Even if I’m only responsible for Spirit Nurturing in a quarter of this Flower Sea, this is still no damn job for a human being.’
"Is there a problem?" Yang Guangfu asked, confused by Zhang Deming’s strong reaction. After all, his clearance didn’t grant him access to all information.
Zhang Deming shook his head. "It’s nothing."
The three of them resumed their rapid pace, and slowly, Spirit Farmers began to appear one by one amidst the Flower Sea.
Zhang Deming noticed that these Spirit Farmers were all highly skilled. They were continuously cultivating one Flower Wood after another.
’It makes sense, though,’ Zhang Deming mused. ’It’s only been a few days, and half of the Flower Sea is already complete. They clearly had to bring in elite Spirit Farmers to make that happen.’
The entire Flower Sea was laid out in a semicircle, with its straight edge bordering the core area.
Thus, the group had effectively traversed the radius of the semicircular Flower Sea.
When they reached the edge, they came to another Light Curtain. Beyond it, the withered Ghost Vine was clearly visible.
Seeing where Zhang Deming was looking, Yang Guangfu spoke up again. "It’s truly a shame about this Ghost Vine."
"The previous Blessed Land used certain methods to limit its demonization and the development of its Spiritual Wisdom."
"At the same time, because it was bound to the Earth Spirit, it had an incredibly long lifespan."
"After who knows how many years of slow growth, it finally reached its current size."
"Unfortunately, its connection to the Earth Spirit was too intimate, and it became too severely polluted. The Miscellaneous Affairs Department had no way to perform a Purification. In the end, they had no choice but to cut it down."
As Yang Guangfu finished speaking, the three of them passed through the Light Curtain and saw the dead Vine.
They had just stepped out when a figure popped into view.
"Big Brother, you’re finally back! Thank you for helping us clear away the pollution! Give me a Spirit-Storage Fruit, and I’ll be your Elf."
At the exit Yang Guangfu had chosen, near the edge of the forest, numerous buildings had already been constructed.
There were also several treehouses, built specifically for the dozen or so surviving Flower Demon Elves.
Zhang Deming looked at Qing Xiaolu and said, "Why aren’t you in the valley? What are you doing here?"
Hearing this, Qing Xiaolu’s face lit up. "Because we’re here to nurture our people!"
At this point, Yang Guangfu chimed in, "The number of Flower Wood being cultivated these past few days is enormous, and there are only a dozen or so Flower Demon Elves left."
"Therefore, we’ve temporarily relocated them here."
"They’re only responsible for providing the initial Essence Qi. Everything after that is handled by the Spiritual Agriculture Department."
"This is actually beneficial for them. After all, providing Essence Qi is already very taxing on a Flower Demon Elf’s fundamental essence."
"If they were also responsible for the full cultivation, they wouldn’t just fail to complete the entire Flower Sea; they’d all die of exhaustion before they even finished a small portion."
"If you hadn’t been coming today, they’d probably all still be busy in the Flower Sea."
Zhang Deming nodded, then looked at Qing Xiaolu. "Where’s your clan leader?"
Qing Xiaolu said, "She’s over there waiting. Now, where’s my Spirit-Storage Fruit?"
With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Deming produced a Spirit-Storage Fruit and tossed it to Qing Xiaolu. "Here, I didn’t forget."
"As for you being my Elf... let’s forget about that for now."
"How can you just forget about..."
Zhang Deming cut her off. "Your clan is trying to rebuild right now. They need everyone they can get. Are you really willing to leave at a time like this?"
"Besides, I reckon I’ll be staying here for a long time to come. So let’s just put a pin in it for now. It doesn’t count as breaking our deal."
Qing Xiaolu fell silent, her brows furrowed on her delicate little face, clearly conflicted.
Zhang Deming shook his head and paid her no more mind, heading directly for the treehouse area.
The three of them had just crossed the open area when Qing Danhong’s figure appeared at the edge of the forest.
Qing Danhong looked at Zhang Deming and Li Shifan, bowed respectfully, and began to speak.
"On behalf of the Cyan Wood Flower Demon clan, I, Danhong, thank you, Upper Immortal, for your great kindness. The Cyan Wood Flower Demon clan wishes to honor our promise and attach ourselves to the Human Race as a vassal race. We will cultivate Spirit Fields and plant Spirit Medicines for the Human Race."
Li Shifan looked at Zhang Deming but said nothing.
Seeing this, Zhang Deming spoke. "As you know, the Blessed Land is no more."
"I am a Disciple of the Celestial Spirit Sect. Your clan will be attached to our Sect, becoming the Flower Demon Elves of the Celestial Spirit Sect. I assume that won’t be a problem?"
Qing Danhong had clearly already had many discussions with the Sect. She responded respectfully, "The Cyan Wood Flower Demon clan is willing to become a vassal."
At that, Zhang Deming turned his head to look at Yang Guangfu.
Yang Guangfu stepped forward with a smile, taking out a Scroll covered in dense Runes. "In that case, let’s sign the contract."
"Because your initial population is small, the Sect has prepared a Bloodline contract."
"It requires every one of you to sign—especially the male Flower Demon Elves. After all, you will be the first generation of Flower Demon Elves in our Celestial Spirit Sect, the very beginning of the Bloodline."
Even Qing Danhong, who had been prepared for this, was momentarily stunned by his words.
Her expression grew complex as she stared at the contract in Yang Guangfu’s hands. It was covered in dense Runes and pulsed with Spiritual Light; a single glance told her it was no simple artifact.
It had to be a high-level item created by an Advanced Cultivator from the Sect who specialized in the dao of oaths.