Chapter 955: Withered Wood Ridge; Depart! (I)
"Azure Yang, are you sure about this?"
"Of course. What, Fellow Daoist Duan, are you unwilling?"
Inside one of the side halls of the Demon Hunter Division, Luo Chen and Duan Li chatted in hushed voices. A hesitant look appeared on Duan Li's face. "It's not that I'm unwilling. I just feel like using the favor I owe you on something this small would be a bit of a waste."
Luo Chen smiled faintly. "How is that a waste? This is extremely important to me. The more people we have, the better our chances. And that flower basket of yours is a key part of my plan. I can't do this without you."
"If that's so, then you can arrange things and I’ll just do what you need me to do."
Though Duan Li found it somewhat strange, he also felt relieved. As Azure Yang's reputation continued to grow, the favor he owed the man became harder and harder to repay. Back then, he had promised to do everything in his power to repay the life debt he had, but if it truly came to risking his own life, how could he willingly do so? Now that Luo Chen was choosing to use up that favor over a relatively small matter, Duan Li naturally had no objections.
"I just got back from a mission and I still need to turn in the proof of completion, so I'll be going ahead." Duan Li cupped his fist before departing the side hall.
After he left, Luo Chen remained seated in the hall, quietly reviewing his plans for the trip to Purple Spirit Island. There were three major hurdles between him and his goal. The first was the miasma released by the Purple Monkey Flowers. The second was the dozen or so Purple Poison Monkey Kings occupying the island. The third one, and the most troublesome of all, was that once battle broke out, the aftershocks of the battle would inevitably spread across the island itself and damage the flowers and their environment.
Over the past year, Luo Chen had been solving those problems one by one. He had successfully refined his modified fourth-tier Poison-Repelling Pills, and there were more than enough for everyone involved. With those, the miasma would no longer be an issue. As for the Purple Poison Monkey Kings, he had invited Sang Jiugong, Sovereign Thatched Mountain, and Duan Li to join the operation. Together with himself and Black King, there were five powerful combatants in total. With such a lineup and sufficient preparation, dealing with those monkeys, whose tricks and abilities were comparatively limited, would not be difficult.
The final problem, however, was a bit more thorny, and Luo Chen had no good solution of his own. After much consideration, he eventually found one elsewhere—he planned to use Duan Li's flower basket as the core of a formation that would stabilize Purple Spirit Island's earth veins. At the same time, they would supplement it with a set of mountain-settling talismans developed by Sovereign Thatched Mountain. With both combined, they should be able to preserve the island's environment to the greatest extent possible from the aftermath of battle.
Of course, all of these plans were built on the premise of successfully taking Purple Spirit Island. But even after conquering it, there were still many arrangements Luo Chen needed to go through further. Purple Spirit Island lay deep within the Demon Sea, far from human territory, and there was no way he could personally oversee it for long periods of time. Because of that, he had to prepare sufficient safeguards in advance.
At first, he had planned to leave Black King on the island to watch over things for him. But now that the Sunken Sea secret realm was involved, he needed all the help he could get, so he had to think of another solution. Formations might work, but Luo Chen hadn’t even set foot on the island yet, so there was no way to prepare anything too specific in advance.
I guess all I can do now is to prepare a few formation sets and the tools for setting them up.
Just as Luo Chen was deep in thought, the sound of footsteps drifted in from outside the hall. At first, he assumed Duan Li had finished reporting his mission and returned. Yet before the person even entered, an aged laugh sounded from beyond the doorway. "I was just about to head to Surging Lake to look for you, fellow Daoist. Who would've thought that you’d come find me first?"
With that, the Angler stepped into view.
Luo Chen frowned slightly before relaxing into a smile. "Angler, it's been a while. I heard you've been busy handling matters for Blood Hermit lately. How did you still find the time to go looking for me at Surging Lake?"
He had intended to steer the conversation elsewhere, but that played right into Angler's hands. "Why, the reason I came looking for you is precisely that Blood Hermit needed me to do that."
At those words, Luo Chen's expression immediately turned solemn. The Angler did not bother keeping him in suspense and said plainly, "I've located a fifth-tier Withered Blood Vine. Right now, I'm gathering people to get it for him. Azure Yang, you are strong. I hope you will help me when the time comes."
Fifth-tier Withered Blood Vine! Luo Chen's expression shifted slightly. "You can't be serious, right? I never accepted that mission to begin with."
The smile on Angler's face faded. "What? Are you unwilling?"
Luo Chen shook his head. "It's not that I'm unwilling. I just have other matters to deal with. Besides, didn't Endless Valley already vouch for me before and exempt me from the division missions?"
The Angler snorted softly. "Those arrangements were never something official. In peaceful times, nobody cares what you people do. But this time, it's a major matter personally ordered by Blood Hermit himself. To us, this is compulsory conscription. Azure Yang, don't forget that you're still a four-star demon hunter!"
Luo Chen fell silent. The Angler did not press him and simply pulled over a chair to sit in. Only after a long while did Luo Chen's voice sound through the hall. "So this is Blood Hermit's direct order?"
"That's right. He's given me full authority to mobilize the division. If I say the word, everyone answers to my command."
Although eight-star demon hunters held real authority within the division, they still ultimately answered to the Three Hermits who founded the society. Now that Blood Hermit had delegated his authority, Angler naturally had far greater freedom to act as he pleased. What mattered even more was that among the rewards Blood Hermit had offered for this mission were insights related to Nascent Soul formation. For someone like Angler, who had spent years searching in vain for a path toward the Nascent Soul Realm, such a temptation was enough to make him risk everything for even the slightest chance. In comparison, the friendly relationship he once shared with Luo Chen naturally seemed fragile and insignificant.
For a brief moment, Luo Chen found himself regretting coming to the division today. Yet on second thought, even if he had not come, the Angler would have found him sooner or later. After all, Surging Lake still lay within the bounds of the society. He might have been able to avoid the task for a time, but he couldn’t hide forever. Since matters had already reached this stage, there was no point in dwelling on regret or resentment any longer.
Luo Chen slowly voiced his concern. "A Fifth-tier Withered Blood Vine is not inferior to a Sage. How could people like us possibly contend with that? Surely you're not planning to attempt the impossible?"
The Angler looked at Luo Chen in surprise. He had not expected him to think that far ahead in such a short time. A smile soon returned to his face. "Relax. I'm not looking to get myself killed. For this mission, aside from you and me, I've also gotten two seven-star demon hunters and another late-stage Adept."
Luo Chen's heart trembled slightly. Seven-star demon hunters were, without question, late-stage Adepts. As for the last other one, even if he was not a seven-star demon hunter himself, his late-stage cultivation was undeniable. A lineup like that could be considered the highest combat force the society could muster, short of the seven Sages. So what qualifications did he possibly have for Angler to place him on the same level as those people?
