Chapter 890 - 400: Southern Domain Border

Chapter 890: Chapter 400: Southern Domain Border

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Market.

"The Sima Clan is truly overbearing, aren’t they? Just for one disrespectful remark, they annihilated two small to mid-sized sects recently."

"Shh, keep your voice down. The Sima Clan has rebelled against the Daqian, and now they are so influential, who would dare provoke them easily?"

"Yes, be careful with your words. It was better during the Daqian times; at least for us loose cultivators, life was much more comfortable than it is now."

"Now, the Sima Clan truly are traitorous dogs. If it wasn’t for the Daqian Dynasty’s protection, they’d have been wiped out long ago. Yet they even allied with the Si Shan Valley to rebel, disgraceful!"

In an inn, Lin Chang’an sat inside a private room, relying on his strong divine sense to secretly listen to the discussions of these loose cultivators on the street and within the inn.

Even with a sound insulation spell, they couldn’t escape his divine sense.

But most of them were just Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators.

From the numbers alone, this Southern Domain is prosperous, with many cultivators.

"Master, these are the gathered intelligence and the situation of various surrounding influences."

Inside the private room, a sword servant entered and casually set up another sound insulation barrier before respectfully handing over the jade scroll with the gathered intelligence.

The Southern Domain is vast, with more than half under the jurisdiction of the Six Demon Sects, so there aren’t many famous righteous sects here, mostly leaning towards the evil or demon factions.

Nascent Soul sects stand tall, alongside several cultivation countries, and with demon and righteous paths counterbalancing each other, there is room for neutral influences to breathe.

Gradually, the current situation has formed.

"This place doesn’t have direct contact with these top-level demon sects, so the pressure is relatively lesser."

This brought a slight sigh of relief for Lin Chang’an. If given a choice, he would prefer to find a peaceful place to cultivate near the teleportation array.

If trouble arose here, he could still escape through the teleportation array.

"There are four major influences nearby: the Sima Clan, the Daqian Cultivation Country, Si Shan Valley, and the Myriad Poison Sect."

Looking at these four major influences, Lin Chang’an couldn’t help but marvel that in a land oppressed by the Six Demon Sects for so long, there still stood so many Nascent Soul influences.

The strongest here used to be the Daqian Cultivation Country, but sixty years ago, while attacking the surroundings, the Sima Clan colluded with Si Shan Valley.

They forcefully tore a piece of territory, inflicting the greatest damage on Daqian in a thousand years, even leading to the death of two Nascent Soul cultivators within the royal family.

Among these four major influences, each has several Nascent Soul cultivators holding the fort.

"Although the strongest now is still the Daqian Dynasty, the cultivation dynasty focuses more on nurturing their own people. Outsiders must marry into the bloodline to gain access to core resources, and there are many restrictions..."

Among these four major influences, Lin Chang’an first gave up considering the Daqian Dynasty.

If the aim was to plan for the Core Formation, then Daqian might be a limited choice. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

"The Sima Clan has a thoroughly tarnished reputation, rumored to secretly ally with many demon sects. Despite having three Nascent Soul cultivators, they focus more on nurturing their own clansmen."

A family power like this was also directly discarded.

Hence, he had only two options left: Si Shan Valley and the Myriad Poison Sect.

"Si Shan Valley, rumored to have been founded by a disciple of the righteous Five Sects, who defected here after obtaining an inheritance from the indiscriminate Demon Dao Myriad Corpse Sect. After several millennia, they have established what they have today.

The sect is famous for corpse refining, and they have a path dedicated to corpse cultivation, with three Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect."

Looking at this sect, Lin Chang’an showed a peculiar expression. He also had three Yin Sha Corpse Puppets now, so technically, he was in the same line.

Joining this sect would indeed seem fitting.

"Myriad Poison Sect, originally a branch of the Myriad Beast Sect, one of the original Six Demon Sects, split off for certain reasons, excelling in raising various poisonous insects..."

Reading this intelligence, Lin Chang’an found it amusing and exasperating.

True to its reputation, this place was devoid of righteous sects, filled with renegades from various top sects.

Either they stole some demon skills and established their current influence after modifications.

The recklessness of the Demon Dao seems confirmed by this evaluation.

Although claimed as a neutral influence, it was a mix of evil paths, a medley of dragon and fish.

"Ling’Er, which sect do you think we should join?"

After finishing this intel, Lin Chang’an shook his head; each of these sects were top-tier influences, and some sects even extended offers that if one contributed merits to the sect, they could be rewarded with Nascent Soul spiritual objects.

I must admit, while this Demon Dao approach carries high risks, it indeed offers more opportunities than those righteous paths that rigidly adhere to sect rules.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many defectors.

"Master, Si Shan Valley, previously collaborating with the Sima Clan, seized vast resources, and is quite prosperous. Moreover, it’s heard that every three to four hundred years, a Bone Spirit Flower can be nurtured in Si Shan Valley’s forbidden grounds."

The Bone Spirit Flower is considered a biased spiritual object for Nascent Soul formation, providing enhancements for cultivators practicing Yin evil techniques, its effect not inferior to that of the Nascent Soul Pill.

Lin Chang’an’s cultivation technique wasn’t particularly affected.

"Myriad Poison Sect produced a prodigy who formed a Nascent Soul under three hundred years old, but unfortunately, for unknown reasons, he was ambushed during the Daqian tumult sixty years ago, damaging his foundation.

The sect is abundant in various spirit grasses, and the Supreme Elder is a fourth-tier alchemist who also concocts Nascent Soul Pills."

Listening to the sword servant’s analysis, Lin Chang’an nodded continuously.

No matter which of the four major influences we join, the benefit is that they recently emerged from a great upheaval decades ago, with changing terrains, and are unlikely to experience another great upheaval in the short term.