Chapter 660

Chapter 660: New Qingyu Island

When Fang Lie emerged from the teleportation array, he froze in shock. Had it not been for Mi Qing and Little Peach Red bowing alongside a group of Green Fox Demon maids to welcome him, he wouldn’t have believed this was Qingyu Island.

In his memory, Qingyu Island had only scattered buildings amid rugged mountains, with most land left wild. But now, continuous palaces covered eighty percent of the terrain. Even this expansion proved insufficient, prompting powerful experts to use magic to reclaim sea and sky, enlarging the island over tenfold.

The island now teemed with life—tens of thousands of cultivators bustled through what had become a sprawling town. Fang Lie stood atop a small mountain where his teleportation array landed, gazing dazedly at the transformed landscape.

Mi Qing and Little Peach Red, stationed here long-term, approached with their Green Fox Demon attendants. "Young Master," they chorused, bowing deeply.

Fang Lie snapped to attention, meeting two tearful faces glowing with suppressed emotion. Both women clearly cherished him but, aware of their lowly position, dared not rival Mao Mao or Mo Lanyun.

Undaunted by potential jealousy, Fang Lie chuckled and gripped their chins. "Rise! Twenty years have only made you lovelier. Did you miss me?"

Blushing, the women stood unsteadily. Mi Qing shot Mo Lanyun and Mao Mao a cautious glance before murmuring, "This servant missed you dearly."

"Me too!" Little Peach Red blurted.

"Hah!" Fang Lie circled their waists. "I missed you both. How sweet you smell!" He playfully sniffed their hair.

Mo Lanyun finally intervened, half-laughing. "Since when did Senior Brother become such a charmer?"

"Charming?" Fang Lie mock-gasped. "With these two, I’ve only four companions! Your father and grandfather keep forty wives! I’m practically chaste!"

"You want forty now?" Mo Lanyun pinched his side. "Must men always lust?"

"Brother Fang Lie," Mao Mao interjected, "could you even handle forty?"

"Jesting!" Fang Lie raised hands in surrender. "I’ll never match the Mo family’s appetites. Four to eight should suffice."

"So you’ll collect more?" Mo Lanyun huffed. "Wicked man!"

Fang Lie merely grinned. High-level cultivators, blessed with long lifespans but few heirs, commonly took multiple spouses. Mo Qianxun’s forty official wives paled against his legion of casual liaisons—a norm among the powerful.

Though Mo Lanyun and Mao Mao expected Fang Lie’s entanglements, only they—destined for Semi-Immortality—would accompany him beyond mere millennia. Mortal attachments meant little against the eternal Dao.

Mi Qing and Little Peach Red, Fang Lie’s earliest followers, deserved protection from abandonment. Their initial fears of being cast aside by Mao Mao and Mo Lanyun’s influence eased seeing even these highborn women couldn’t restrain him.

As the group proceeded to Qingyu Island’s main hall, the two attendants eagerly recounted the island’s transformations, their voices overlapping in excitement.

Since the matter of the White Jade Divine Fish was uncovered and this place came under the Mo Sect’s special attention, construction here had never ceased for nearly thirty years.

After the Mo Sect completed the protective array around the mountain, the island gained defenses capable of resisting multiple Thunder Tribulation Immortals, instantly becoming the most secure location within millions of miles. Combined with Fang Lie selling large quantities of spirit pills here and the Mo Sect opening shops specializing in warships and other goods, this suddenly attracted a huge number of cultivators.

Their presence boosted the local economy, drawing even more merchants. Over time, a massive trading town gradually formed.

Now, the permanent cultivator population stood between three hundred to five hundred thousand, with transient visitors pushing the total past a million. Among them were powerful Thunder Tribulation Immortals.

The Mo Sect prioritized this location as the sole source of White Jade Divine Fish, dispatching a Thunder Tribulation Immortal for permanent guard duty. With this guardian and the protective array, even ten Thunder Tribulation Immortals working together couldn’t breach its defenses.

By Mo Sect rules, this territory belonged to Fang Lie, granting him most local profits. The sect still claimed a share for constructing the array and stationing the guardian. Regardless, everyone acknowledged Fang Lie’s role in transforming this obscure spot into a thriving hub.

Such a lucrative asset naturally drew covetous eyes. Both the Mo Sect’s enemies in the Demonic Path and the nearby Overseas Three Immortal Mountains coveted this place.

The Three Immortal Mountains restrained themselves to covert actions to maintain relations with the Mo Sect. The Demonic Path factions like the Ghost Realm Sect and Ten-Thousand Gu Sect, having suffered losses from Fang Lie, showed no such restraint.

Targeting Qingyu Island instead of the Mo Sect directly, Demonic Path cultivators ambushed travelers outside the town or secretly released Deadly Poisons and poison Gu insects within.

One critical incident involved the Ten-Thousand Gu Sect unleashing an ancient evil Gu that stealthily attacked cultivators during meditation. Dozens perished daily in their secret rooms before the outer gate guards noticed anything wrong. Repeated attacks caused widespread panic, emptying the town for months until Mo Qianxun personally intervened to eliminate the threat.

Though Mi Qing and Little Peach Red lacked combat strength, their management skills proved vital in rebuilding the town’s prosperity through effective publicity campaigns.

Fang Lie appreciated their efforts while resenting the saboteurs. Even his fiancées Mao Mao and Mo Lanyun grew furious, viewing the attacks as theft of their future assets.

"Who’s behind this? Are they still active?" Mo Lanyun demanded with lethal intent.

"Mao Mao wants to fight whoever’s harming Brother’s property!" Mao Mao glared at Mi Qing. "Tell us now!"

Mi Qing sighed under their intense gazes. "We suspect the two Demonic Sects but lack proof. The perpetrators outside our borders vanish unpredictably—we can’t track them."

Fang Lie pressed, "Numbers? Strength? Origins?"

Little Peach Red answered, "Over the past decade, two to three hundred visiting cultivators—including fourteen Fire Tribulation Immortals and other Wind Tribulation experts—were ambushed beyond our array. All vanished without resistance. The sect couldn’t risk sending Thunder Tribulation experts to investigate enemies of unknown strength. We kept operations running by opening the teleportation array for safe departures—without that, the ambushes would’ve shut us down completely."