Chapter 277

Chapter 277: Chongming Ancient Temple

Sixth-rank magical items are already rare, and among them, top-grade treasures are truly one in a hundred. The three treasures that the Man-Eating Demon Monk possesses are all sixth-rank top treasures, reflecting just how wealthy he is.

After seeing these three treasures, Mr. Suan Mei was breathless with excitement. Although he owned one sixth-rank treasure, it was unfortunately of low grade. It would take dozens of his treasures to exchange for just one of theirs, showing how their wealth is not on the same level.

Fang Lie took a look and then directly handed the bronze ancient mirror to him, saying, "This item can not only release Buddhist light but also has the ability to detect things. It’s perfect for you—consider it compensation for your 200 bamboo rods!"

"Hehe, I won’t be polite then!" Mr. Suan Mei immediately took it with excitement, grinning widely.

In the past, even after working hard for a hundred years, he might not have been able to acquire a sixth-rank treasure. But ever since following Fang Lie, in just a few months, he not only got a sixth-rank top treasure but also a fifth-rank treasure ship and a fifth-rank Alchemy Cauldron. Basically, he has transformed from a common person to a wealthy individual at the level of the Wind Tribulation Immortal!

Fang Lie, however, did not care about these matters. He turned to the Wind Tribulation Immortal and asked, "Do any of you need these two treasures?"

"We don’t need them!" the Wind Dragon Immortal quickly replied.

The Soul-Splitting Spear is meant to break divine sense, which they have no use for. However, the Azure Dragon Armor offers high protection, and everyone would want it. But they had already taken too many items, especially the complete set of seventh-rank formation flags, which are extremely valuable. Taking more spoils of war at this point would be hard to justify.

Besides, there is only one protective treasure armor and seven of them, so it would be impossible to share. Therefore, they decided not to take it.

Fang Lie smiled slightly, didn’t hesitate, and collected the treasures. He then said, "This guy also has some spirit pills, spirit talismans, and materials. Take what you need—no need to hold back!"

After speaking, Fang Lie dumped everything from the Sumeru Bag out.

Clearly, this Sumeru Bag contained only the items the Man-Eating Demon Monk carried with him. So the quantity might be small, but they are all relatively high-level treasures needed by the Wind Tribulation Immortal’s level.

The Eight Immortals knew that Fang Lie was generous and a Great Pill Master, so they did not hesitate to take anything. They divided everything fairly into eight portions, one for each person.

Once divided, everyone was delighted. Although this pile of items didn’t seem to be too much, they were all high-quality things, especially a bottle of Lingxue Pill, each worth over a hundred small spirit pearls.

The total value of all these miscellaneous items added up to tens of thousands of small spirit pearls. Even when split eight ways, it was still a significant fortune.

Next, Fang Lie asked everyone to take out the Wind Tribulation Immortal’s Sumeru Bag for an open distribution.

As for the other hundreds of cultivators’ Sumeru Bags, the Wind Tribulation Immortal probably wouldn’t care about them. Fang Lie didn’t have much time for that, so he simply divided the Sumeru Bags into nine parts by quantity, with each person taking a portion, and then they could open them. If luck was on their side, they would gain more; if not, they only had themselves to blame for their misfortune.

Everyone found this method of gambling on luck interesting and unanimously agreed.

The ten Wind Tribulation Immortal’s Sumeru Bags were then opened and distributed according to need.

These guys, coming from robbery backgrounds, were quite wealthy, and almost everyone had a sixth-rank treasure. In addition, there were a considerable number of spirit pearls, spirit stones, and materials.

Fang Lie thought for a moment, giving each person one sixth-rank treasure. He then took all the fire element spirit stones and spirit pearls for himself, leaving the rest for others.

Fang Lie’s generosity impressed everyone; they admired his capacity. Had they been with a different leader, they would probably have shared only a third of the loot, but Fang Lie was almost giving them seven or eight parts of everything.

They did not realize that Fang Lie was simply not interested in these items and wanted them to benefit more. That way, when real treasures appeared, no one would dare to fight him for them.

Moreover, these people would become the backbone of Fang Lie in the future. The wealthier they were, the stronger they would become, leading to more help for Fang Lie.

Fang Lie understood well the principle of fishing with a long line to catch big fish.

After more than an hour, Fang Lie and the others arrived at Chongming Island.

This was a vast island covering thousands of miles, with a giant peak that towered over four to five thousand feet, teeming with experts.

On the mountain stood a grand temple, with three levels of architectural groups cascading from the summit to the foot, each occupying more than ten thousand acres, all magnificent and dazzling, creating a breathtaking sight.

Unfortunately, such a splendid ancient temple had become the lair of evil, with countless crimes occurring within.

At this moment, almost all the high-level cultivators on the island had been caught in one net.

Under Fang Lie’s orders, the Man-Eating Demon Monk activated the deadly poison within his subordinates, causing immediate death to anyone, no matter where they were.

To prevent rebellion from his subordinates, he used poison to control almost all the Cultivators above the Golden Pool level.

As a result, after their death, the entire island fell into chaos.

Chongming Island had thousands of Cultivators, most of whom were at the Qi Sea level, serving as the lowest-tier servants responsible for tending to the Spiritual Fields.

They were almost like slaves; after barely absorbing a little Spiritual Energy to convert into Magic, they had to release it under the surveillance of their overseers, either as Spiritual Rain to nourish the fields or to manipulate the Formation, helping higher-level Cultivators craft magical tools.

Under such oppression, even in places rich in Spiritual Energy, they could never think of upgrading, struggling to make any significant progress in their lives. They faced only endless work, until they either died from exhaustion or were eaten by the Man-Eating Demon Monk.

However, today, these nearly numbed slaves suddenly discovered that all the lofty overseers were spitting blood and collapsing, the heavy burden on their heads disappearing in an instant.

They were immediately filled with excitement and nearly went crazy; some were crying in despair, while others laughed. A few scoundrels even started to cause destruction everywhere, only to end up in tragedy when they triggered the Protective Array and were killed by its counterattack.

When Fang Lie and the others arrived, Chongming Island was in complete disarray, thousands of human Cultivators were screaming in madness.

Seeing their miserable state, Fang Lie and several Immortals felt pity.

Mr. Suan Mei said, "Island Lord, this place is far better than your Qingyu Island! Not only is the ground vein rich in Spiritual Energy, but it also has a large area and numerous Spiritual Fields. The most crucial point is that the built-in Formation here is extraordinarily advanced, even able to resist the Thunder Tribulation Immortal! Why don’t we just take it for ourselves?"

"Is that appropriate?" Immortal Wind Dragon furrowed his brows immediately and replied, "After all, this is the lower court of the Great Thunder Sound Temple. The Man-Eating Demon Monk is known for committing every possible evil; it’s one thing to deal with him, but if we really occupy this territory, the Great Thunder Sound Temple will definitely not agree."

"And what if they don’t agree?" Mr. Suan Mei replied dismissively. "This is the Wanxing Sea; even the Great Thunder Sound Temple cannot act recklessly here."

"Do they even need to act recklessly?" Immortal Wind Dragon said with a bitter smile. "Only the Thunder Dragon can act; with just a sound, he could bring us all to our end! Especially here, this place should be where he discovered and solved the Formation, merely gifted to the Man-Eating Demon Monk. Who knows if he left any backup plans here? If he can reclaim control of the Protective Array at any time, wouldn’t we be like sheep entering a tiger’s den?"

"Uh…" Mr. Suan Mei was momentarily speechless.

Fang Lie touched his chin and said, "Such a valuable territory should not be wasted, but considering Master Tianlong’s possible backup plans, we also can’t be foolish enough to just move in. I think it’s better if we establish our presence here but don’t stay ourselves, asking others to help watch over it. We only need to benefit from the Spiritual Fields. Even if Master Tianlong regains control of the Protective Array, he won’t be able to find us!"

"That’s a good idea!" the others nodded in agreement.

Fang Lie smiled slightly and commanded, "Little Bald Devil, hurry and activate the Formation to let us in."

"Yes, Master!" the Man-Eating Demon Monk replied dully, then began to execute the secret technique.

Soon, a gap broke open in the golden Buddhist light surrounding the island, just wide enough for their treasure ship to enter.

Once the treasure ship was inside, Fang Lie immediately ordered, "Little Peach Red, you stay and watch the ship. Dao friends, to be on the safe side, let’s head straight for the core and take control of this Protective Array!"

"Island Lord is brilliant!" the others had no objections.

They wasted no time, and under the guidance of the Man-Eating Demon Monk, flew directly to the tallest palace on the mountain peak.

They quickly landed at what seemed to be an inconspicuous side hall, and upon entering, they discovered this must be the abbot’s residence, covering an area of at least a hundred acres, planted with many ancient spirit woods intertwining to form a special illusion formation.

If it weren’t for the Man-Eating Demon Monk leading the way, even Mr. Suan Mei wouldn’t have been able to break through.

Passing through the illusion formation, they arrived at a large doorway guarded by two Protectors of the Buddha.

These two Protectors looked like sculptures, but in reality, they were special puppets from the Buddhist sect, the Protectors of the Heavenly Soldiers.

They could only guard this place and couldn’t venture out. However, because of this, they continuously nourished the ground veins, allowing for an abundance of Spiritual Energy, with combat strength equal to the Fire Tribulation Immortal.

The Man-Eating Demon Monk performed a special secret technique on them before daring to push the door open. Without the secret technique for suppression, anyone entering would be attacked, even the current abbot.

Beyond the door was an empty grand hall measuring a hundred zhang, containing only a three-zhang tall Buddha statue.

Unlike other Buddha statues, this one wasn’t painted gold; it remained its original black stone appearance.

The Man-Eating Demon Monk approached the statue respectfully and said, "Master, this is the core of controlling the Formation. As long as one sincerely worships for three years and nourishes it daily with their own Buddha energy, they can take control!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Lie’s face darkened, and he promptly exclaimed, "What the! I’m a Taoist, not a bald devil from the Buddhist sect! Where do I get any Buddha energy?"