The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 63 Fishing for Demons
When she had some free time, Qinghe summoned the flower fairy Qiongniang for a chat, always curious about what kind of flower she was.

Unexpectedly, Qiongniang said that she was originally just an ordinary mountain flower and had no aptitude to cultivate into a spirit. She was only able to gain sentience and embark on the path of cultivation after being nourished by a drop of dragon blood.

Jiang Yuan was very curious after hearing this, "You mean, the one trapped in the Junshan Secret Realm is a dragon?"

Qiongniang transformed into a tiny person the size of a palm, swaying on the lotus platform of the magic artifact, like a little fairy.

"Qiongniang occasionally experiences illusions, which are the old dragon guiding her in cultivation."

Jiang Yuan guessed that after the old dragon was suppressed, it was because of that drop of blood essence that it became connected with the flower demon. So he used the Dream Guidance Technique to guide her cultivation, hoping that she would transform into human form and help the old dragon escape.

"What does the old dragon look like?"

"It was bluish-black, had two horns on its head, and was bound to the bottom of the lake by boulders and chains."

"Does it have dragon claws?"

"Nothing."

Without claws, it is not a true dragon, but rather a jiao (a type of dragon-like creature). The fact that two horns have already grown on its head indicates that it is already showing signs of transforming into a dragon, and its cultivation level should be at the Nascent Soul stage.

If we can subdue that dragon in the future, it will be much easier to leave this broken planet. That guy is born with the ability to withstand the fierce winds of the heavens and roam freely in the starry sea.

Jiang Yuan had this idea in mind, so he coaxed the flower fairy and guided her to tell more about the dragon's secrets.

In the following days, Jiang Yuan and his group discussed which sea area to go to, with two main options.

One option is to go southwest towards the Ten Thousand Mountains, not far from the South China Sea; the other is to go east, near the Ryukyu Islands. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages.

The Ten Thousand Mountains have always been a gathering place for demonic beasts, and there are even more demonic beasts in the South China Sea. However, there are several powerful demonic beasts that have transformed into human form entrenched in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and even the major Taoist sects dare not provoke them casually.

Although there aren't many monsters near the Ryukyu Islands, the good thing is that there are no immortal sects, only mortals living there, making it much safer.

Shen Wangzhi and Liu Caiwei both favored Ryukyu, and Jiang Yuan also felt that the Ten Thousand Mountains were not to be trifled with, so they decided to go to Ryukyu.

Two Golden Core cultivators, two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, plus a level seven flower demon—as long as they don't encounter a true transformed demon, they should be fine.

After heading east and leaving the mainland, all that could be seen was the boundless sea. At first, there were some islands, but after flying for an hour, there was nowhere left to stand.

In such a vast sea, even if they encountered aquatic monsters, they would not be able to hunt them down. If the monsters could not be defeated, they would flee to the seabed, and the group would certainly not dare to go underwater to pursue them.

We must fly to the vicinity of Ryukyu as soon as possible, where there are many islands.

As Jiang Yuan flew high in the sky, he freely observed the distribution of islands and waterways. Feng shui and geomancy are mostly ineffective at sea because the seawater covers the contours of mountains and rivers, making it impossible to see the underwater features.

Three days later, Jiang Yuan selected a small island with a radius of five miles. This place was still some distance from Ryukyu. There were other small islands around it, but none of them were inhabited by ordinary people. It was highly likely that there would be monsters roaming around.

Unable to see clearly underwater, Jiang Yuan risked diving twice to explore the underwater terrain. The underwater portion of the island is quite large, with less than one-tenth visible above the surface. The underwater area is filled with jagged rocks and a heavy, eerie atmosphere, making it a favorite haunt of demonic beasts.

Most underwater demons are adept at concealing themselves and possess even greater supernatural powers in the water, making them difficult to deal with. It is best not to go into the water to hunt demons. Instead, you should try to lure the underwater demons to the island and set up a formation to trap them before you can hunt them down.

The flower fairy Qiongniang said she had a solution, which delighted everyone.

Qiongniang cultivated in the secret realm of Junshan. After all, she was a plant and tree, unable to move. She could only use her own spiritual power to imitate the exotic flowers and herbs that monsters liked, luring them to eat, and then she could hunt them down.

This method was taught by the old dragon, but after it was used so often, the monsters in the Junshan Secret Realm all knew about it and dared not easily venture into Qiongniang's territory.

Jiang Yuan then set up an array, placing the lotus magic artifact within it. Qiong Niang emerged from the artifact, transforming into a cluster of vermilion fruits that emitted a strong wood spiritual energy, their red light flickering and quite alluring.

Jiang Yuan set up another illusion array to conceal the presence of the two. Shen Wangzhi and Liu Caiwei were on the other side, also using arrays and talismans to hide and observe.

About half an hour later, a monster crawled ashore. It was a small sea turtle, probably only level two. The little sea turtle didn't even consider whether it was a trap, and plunged into the formation, heading straight for the Vermilion Fruit.

Jiang Yuan had no choice but to activate the formation to trap it, and Qing He immediately used a thorny vine to catch the little sea turtle.

It was agreed beforehand that demon cores below level four were not very useful, and killing them would only create unnecessary bloodshed, but we couldn't just let them go like that, so we had to put them away first.

Although it was only a level two demon beast, it proved that Qiong Niang's method was feasible.

It's like fishing; if you catch a small fish, you're guaranteed to catch a big one, and it's relatively safe.

For Jiang Yuan and Liu Caiwei, only level 5 or 6 demon cores are worth absorbing, and level 7 is also acceptable, but fighting a level 7 demon at sea would probably not be easy.

Ideally, it should be a level six monster. With four people attacking it, it should be defeated in no more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

After lying in wait on the island for seven or eight days, they only obtained a level four demon core, but captured six other level two or three demon beasts. It seems that there are no powerful demons coming here.

Qiongniang cannot change for a long time, since she has no physical body and is only a soul. Qinghe still needs to frequently infuse the magic artifact with wood spirit energy so that Qiongniang can absorb and replenish her magic power.

On the tenth day, instead of catching a monster, they caught a person.

A girl in red descended from the sky, landing directly in the middle of the formation, and reached out to pick the vermilion fruit.

Jiang Yuan naturally didn't activate the formation. He couldn't let Qiong Niang catch him, so he suddenly transformed into a spirit form, startling the girl.

A young male cultivator followed from the sky. Jiang Yuan could tell that the man was a disciple of Laoshan and had a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level.

When the male cultivator from Laoshan saw Zhu Guo transform, he knew that his junior sister had fallen into a trap. He was anxious and immediately unleashed a water spell.

Jiang Yuan suddenly appeared and withdrew the water magic, leaving not a single drop of water leaking out.

The male cultivator from Laoshan was even more terrified; he had never heard of such a method before.

"Do not panic, we are also cultivators from the Central Plains!"

The girl in red had already taken to the air and was standing side by side with her senior brother on the flying artifact.

This commotion forced Qinghe, Shen Wangzhi, and the others to come out as well.

The disciples of Laoshan were initially fine when they heard that the cultivators were from the Central Plains, but when two Golden Core cultivators suddenly appeared, they became even more panicked.

Junior Sister Lan insisted on coming to this godforsaken place to play, so far from the sect. If they harbor any ill intentions, the two of us will surely perish in the belly of fish.

The Laoshan disciples had no choice but to bow and greet them, saying, "We are disciples of the Laoshan Dao Sect. We have been reckless and offended you seniors. We hope you will forgive us!"

Jiang Yuan replied, "It's alright, but why did you two come to this deserted island?"

The Laoshan disciple replied, "We were originally on a sect mission in Silla, and took the opportunity to visit Tamna Island to seek opportunities. We traveled here along the way."

Jiang Yuan was somewhat surprised to learn that this place was not far from the mainland. He knew that the disciples of Laoshan were used to traveling on the sea and were probably quite familiar with this place.

"We are here to lure and capture demonic beasts, but we are not very familiar with this sea area. Do you have a sea map of this place?"

The Laoshan disciples felt that Jiang Yuan and the others meant no harm, so they were somewhat relieved and answered all their questions. They even took out a nautical chart and pointed out the approximate location of the island.

"We are here. Four hundred miles to the north is Tamna Island. There is a volcano on the island. Laoshan disciples often seek opportunities in Tamna, and there are more monsters there than here."

Jiang Yuan smiled wryly after looking at the sea chart. It turned out that there was no need to risk flying across the sea; it was possible to get around from the northern landmass, and Tamna Island seemed to be an easier place to capture monsters.

(End of this chapter)