Chapter 1359: 1007: I’ve Made Something of Myself! (Part 2)

By rights, populated with many tropical trees, Conch Island should better match Hainan’s real-world climate. Yet in the Otherworld, logic scarcely applies, and the small island experiences distinct seasons.

It was winter, and the raging sea wind, accompanied by grains of snow, howled, soon covering the freshly tilled fields with a white layer.

Since the world became gamified, one particular advantage stood out—no matter the weather, farming was unaffected.

Even as snowflakes danced, Jiang Yuan still dug out a neat 10X10 soil pit with a single hoe. With the advent of automatic sprinklers, there’s no need for watering; after the farmland was tilled, he simply bought one pack of each type of seed that could be planted in winter and sowed them in an orderly manner.

The courtyard had expanded, and the new buildings needed rearrangement.

When larger snowflakes fell from the gray, gloomy sky, he tidied up Conch Island and flew to the beach to inspect the dock and the Celestial River Ship.

[You can consume certain resources or Spirit Stones to send the Celestial River Ship to the sea for salvaging. The farther the dispatch, the more it consumes, the longer the return, and the richer the bounty, but the risk of destruction increases outside of the exclusive maritime region.]

[Note: Currently, you can dispatch up to three times a day; salvage could yield various sea fish, seafood, sunken ship relics, and other random spoils;

Building a navigation log platform allows centralized dispatching and harvesting operations for the Celestial River Ship; upgrading the navigation log platform can increase dispatch frequency and the ship’s luck index. The higher the luck index, the lower the risk of destruction, the greater the harvest.]

"So that’s how the Celestial River Ship is used!" When Jiang Yuan first saw the name, he pondered whether it had any relation to the Celestial River, not realizing it was a salvage ship.

He recalled the legend of the sea connecting to the Celestial River; he remembered the Red Dragon, carrying Yun Shu yet shipwrecked, curious about what treasures could be salvaged from the sea above the Wilderness.

He clicked dispatch, and a dispatch selection interface popped up in his view.

Everything on Conch Island was just getting started; there weren’t many navigation routes to choose from, and the resources consumed were just basic items like wood, stone, fiber, etc.

The first ship wandered east within the exclusive maritime region, consuming the least resources, the shortest route, and could return in two hours;

The second ship wandered northwest of the exclusive maritime region, consuming slightly more resources, needing to circle half of Conch Island, returning in four hours;

The third ship, Jiang Yuan dispatched beyond the exclusive maritime region, wandered the southernmost route, taking twelve hours to return.

"Woo~"

A low horn sounded as the three Celestial River Ships, their navigation routes set, slowly started.

He chose not to go to sea because his first disciple, Wan Mingchuan, just sent a message—he had captured You Lai!

From the system’s mission release attitude, it was vaguely apparent the seriousness toward the Leisure Sect and the Bone-Dissolving Evil Technique; Jiang Yuan did not want these outlaws to have another chance to revive.

"Master, as an Artifact Refiner, returning home by asking the Observatory’s indulgence is no problem for me." Second disciple Fu Qingzhou, eager to claim credit, was helpless, only able to transmit the news from the Fiery Fire Sect, "The issue is, senior brother has captured the evil cultivator You Lai alive and wants to return him for your personal disposal.

The Observatory has specific methods for investigating evil cultivators; they fear we might release the scoundrel privately, so under no condition do they allow leaving with a live evil cultivator.

I think, perhaps trouble Master to discuss with Alliance Leader Du of the Demon Realm Alliance, to request extradition back to the Wilderness World in the name of the alliance for interrogation."

After reading the message, Jiang Yuan found this plan feasible.

Speaking of which, there was an Elder’s token from the Demon Realm Alliance in his Storage Bag. However, he didn’t have the contact method for the Yingtian Star Observatory nor was he clear on what conditions were needed for such official transactions.

He could only contact Du Li and ask if he could help.

"Mr. Jiang wants to extradite a live evil cultivator..." It just so happened that Du Li came to the courtyard to be thrashed, now with Yan Xuan suddenly in closed-door meditation, leaving the Demon-Subduing Pestle to Old Dog.

Having never experienced being thrashed by the Demon-Subduing Pestle, it was quite an experience, his paws heavy and unchecked, nearly knocking Du Li out cold.

After laboring for a good while, he finally gasped with a pale face intermittently, "After all, it involves an evil cultivator... Mr. Jiang, who do you propose to escort? I, I can contact the Observatory, just worried... in case something goes wrong during transit, and the evil cultivator might escape..."

"Alliance Leader Du, rest assured, my two disciples will be responsible for the escort. Especially my first disciple Wan Mingchuan, now already an Integration Realm Peak Cultivator, who can capture an evil cultivator and securely escort him back."

Jiang Yuan was quite familiar with his beloved disciple. At the very least, his greed and hoarding tendencies mirrored his own; he would have surely stripped all treasures off You Lai the moment he caught him.

Without many techniques, You Lai was no match for Wan Mingchuan.

Du Li nodded with a hint of acerbity in his heart. Tsk, tsk, look at his disciples, each so accomplished! Gongxi Jin, whom he once favored, did not even regard him, turning to worship Mr. Jiang instead.

That was a Refining Void Realm Demon Cultivator!

Now hearing Mr. Jiang’s first disciple, a mere Human Cultivator, at such a young age, had reached the Integration Realm, his future was boundless!

Upon contacting the headquarters to send an extradition notice to the Yingtian Star Observatory through the Demon Realm Alliance, Du Li lifted his head to see that bright glow on the Jade Platform.

The sacred aura it exuded grew increasingly intense, leaving him stirred with emotion—clearly the rhythm of Immortal Ascension!

In Mr. Jiang’s small courtyard, was a true Divine Beast about to ascend?

To say he wasn’t envious would be lying to himself, yet Du Li’s heart was uneasy.

Once the eminent senior Yan Xuan ascended as a Divine Beast, with Mr. Jiang leading the small courtyard members vying for the Power of the Celestial Dao’s Remnant, how could the Demon Realm Alliance, preoccupied with its survival, resist?

"Sir, when will City Lord Yuan’s Heart Mirror be fully repaired?" With his thoughts in a tumultuous mess, he turned to inquire about the progress of the Divine Artifact’s restoration.

If he could acquire the repaired Divine Artifact soon, and filter the vaguely crumbling Demon Realm Alliance to select virtuous and fitting members for the collective ascension plan, the upper hand could be secured, and they could boldly strive!

"Is Alliance Leader Du in urgent need?" Jiang Yuan merely thought he was eager to use the Heart Mirror to screen internal members of the alliance, after all, whether Commerce Association or Law Enforcement Hall, one problem followed another, as the alliance was now almost...

Hm?

A sudden flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and he drew a sharp breath, could the Demon Realm Alliance be on the verge of collapse because of me?

Du Li let out a heavy sigh, "Indeed, after Qian Xiaoyu and monk Jiuxiao were exposed, the Commerce Association and the Market have frequently been mired in scandals.

I fear Mr. Jiang will find it laughable, but now the Demon Realm Alliance is nearly paralyzed, just barely held up by me and Alliance Leader Lan. Yet there lurks the threat of a Demon Realm invasion, risks abound, so I considered, securing the Heart Mirror soon to cleanse the entire Demon Realm Alliance from top to bottom, expelling those unworthy of their positions promptly, thereby preventing greater calamities from arising."

Indeed, that’s reasonable.

After the Flame Sea instance was thoroughly purified, the new world formed by the fusion of world fragments suitable for Demon Beast habitation in the Void is now capable of accommodating Demon Beast migration.

The Ancient Ten Great Sects have been quietly making preparations recently.

To migrate a whole Demon Beast populace above the Wilderness, the time will inevitably need the assistance of the Demon Realm Alliance. The Heart Mirror could aid in rectifying the workforce, certainly a boon for advancing the migration effort.

More crucially, Du Li had sent high-quality rare materials needed for repairing the Heart Mirror in a package not long ago.

Jiang Yuan considered that these materials, being acknowledged by the system, could be useful in numerous ways in the future. It might as well be straightforward to use the Weapon Upgrade Card obtained from recent tasks on the Heart Mirror, upgrade it simply and coarsely, and have Du Li use it.

Anyway, he wouldn’t be losing out, and since the man had just asked him to help extradite You Lai, it’s good to do him a favor!

"Since Alliance Leader Du is in a hurry, I’ll try to expedite the speed; it can be put to use by tomorrow night at the latest."

"Thank you, sir!" Du Li, elated upon hearing this, quickly urged Alliance Leader Lan to personally oversee the extradition of the evil cultivator, reciprocating the favor!

Moreover, after obtaining the Heart Mirror and filtering the members, the collective ascension plan could be implemented; once that’s achieved, even if a Divine Beast emerges from the small courtyard, what does it matter? The one who seizes the initiative secures victory!

Somewhat secretly competitive with the other party, he mused, if Mr. Jiang realized the painstakingly restored artifact aided the Demon Realm Alliance’s collective ascension, claiming his opportunity, how might he react?

All hopes lie in obtaining the Heart Mirror tomorrow!