Chapter 242

Chapter 242: Raising a False Flag

Demon cultivators are unpredictable; they may praise you one moment and annihilate you the next.

Li Hui was fishing, having only handed over a bowl of heavenly marrow worms, which was of no use to him. To obtain more, one would need to come and negotiate.

Before him stood a large monk with red nails, red eyes, and enormous red earrings, draped in a blood-red robe and holding a bloodwood staff.

Before that guy could strike, Li Hui summoned demonic flames around him, forming the magical dragon eyes behind him, and laughed heartily, “Great monk, I was just joking with you! I truly cannot take your daughter; she could be a furnace body for me, but I worry you won’t part with her. If it’s about an engagement, my elder brother must approve; his surname is Hongmo, with the given name Zheng.”

“What?” Upon hearing "Hongmo," the great monk felt as if cold water had been poured over him from head to toe. Any aura or murderous intent vanished in an instant, and he even took two steps back in fear.

Li Hui retracted his demonic flames, raised a wine jug, and took a swig of exquisite wine, shaking his head and saying, “My brother only enjoys the wine flavored by Blood Surge; discussing more with you will do no good!”

“You, you, you…” The great monk trembled.

“Let’s discuss a trade instead! The heavenly marrow worms I have are of no use to me, and you should know what I need before coming here. If you come empty-handed, this young master would be unhappy,” Li Hui yawned and added, “There have been issues with our sect lately, and we happen to be short-handed on the islands under our jurisdiction. If the great monk wants to help, you are most welcome.”

“Little master, please forgive this disrespect from a humble monk,” the great monk wiped his sweat and bowed deeply, saying, “My daughter, with such a weak physique, isn’t worthy of your attention. I will prepare gifts to express my apologies and will certainly satisfy you.”

Li Hui nodded and casually tossed a bag of treasures, saying, “The heavenly marrow worms are useless to me. Consider them a gift; take them to sell and make up for your losses!”

“Yes, yes! Thank you for your generosity, young master,” the great monk who had once harbored murderous intent now acted like a loyal hound, obediently accepting the gift.

In truth, Li Hui felt the sweat trickle down his back. If the monk were not afraid of the Hongmo Sect, his grand claims would have been worthless. The presence of Yin-Yang Nine Heads, with magical dragon eyes manifesting behind him, added a layer to his demonic identity.

Raising a false flag is a common trick; it truly works repeatedly!

The great monk, filled with doubt, realized that the more he knew, the less daring he would be.

Fearful! He had to feel fear! The whereabouts of the Hongmo Sect were shrouded in mystery; every few hundred years, they would emerge to capture a few cultivators. The state of Paifeng Island was dismal. Not only would he not dare to connect with a personal disciple of the Hongmo Sect, but he didn’t even have the courage to offend the lowly vendors.

Seeing the great monk’s expression, Li Hui understood his strategy had worked. Controlling a real local tyrant was essential to thrive on Paifeng Island and acquire the urgently needed items; his ten days of decadence would not be in vain.

From that moment on, Li Hui made numerous demands, continuously pressuring the great monk, and the more he required, the more the monk trusted him.

Demon cultivators are like this; if they possess power or have backing, showing even a hint of kindness leads to suspicion. Conversely, tightening the grip and milking them is the norm.

Five days later, the great monk finally sent the plague god away, nearly moved to tears.

He did obtain a substantial number of heavenly marrow worms, but what he gained far outweighed his losses. He even dared not to speak ill of Li Hui’s departure, fearing dark magic hidden within the tavern. He resolved to take his daughter far from the island tomorrow and never return.

The Wave Breaking Cone set sail, drifting with the wind without using any spiritual shells.

Li Hui wore a sea breeze fur-lined cloak and embroidered water-evading boots, with a purple gourd secured at his waist. His hair was bound with a blue jade gold silk crown.

“People depend on clothes, and horses on saddles; now it looks somewhat presentable.”

“Master, we have gained quite a lot these past days,” Huo Qiniang said joyfully, looking radiant from recent nourishment. Chef Zhao, however, was in a tough spot; ever since they docked, he had leaked his Yang energy and couldn’t recover. He complained every day about his aching back and legs, gritting his teeth to prepare for battling demons at night.

“This is a one-time event; a fair trade is best,” Li Hui replied with a wry smile. If the other party were not a demon cultivator, why would they take such risks? Before leaving Paifeng Island, he learned from the great monk that Pan Siyuan had sold news of a wealthy young master’s plight to merchants and pirates. The Sparrow Tower raised blood-billed sparrows primarily for this purpose.

The remote small island had fallen into the tide of mirage snails, and it was said that this tide was unexpectedly fierce, destroying many small islands in succession.

In the sea, numerous informants relied on selling news to survive; if one knew the right paths, they could obtain any information they desired…

“Master, where are we heading next?” Huo Qiniang asked curiously as the Wave Breaking Cone slowly glided away from Paifeng Island, with no route determined, seemingly destined to drift forever.

“To Blue Moon Island!” Li Hui took out a jade tablet and read aloud, “Nine veins, ten markets, Blue Moon Island, abundance of poison, Aofeng Sect; if you seek dragon teeth, look to the central Red Sea, Grand Xuan! A thousand islands refine, ten thousand islands fish, the heavenly furnace flows through one family. The small heavenly mystery asks for the Dao; the ocean roadmap heads south.”

After a brief pause, Li Hui continued to describe the information about Blue Moon Island from the jade tablet: “This island has nine Miao Jade veins surrounding ten ancient ruins that host markets, where we can find many unimaginable overseas rare treasures. However, the journey is lengthy; sailing at full speed on the Wave Breaking Cone will still take half a year to arrive. Remember, sharpening the knife will not hinder chopping wood; let’s set up the talisman formation today and have those skilled crew members assist me.”

“Understood.” Huo Qiniang acted decisively, managing the ship’s affairs efficiently. Since docking at Paifeng Island, she had followed instructions to recruit over a dozen skilled and capable crew members. As all supplies were stored in bamboo boxes, there was plenty of space aboard.

Li Hui entered the cabin to consume the artifact fragments and treasure fragments to draw spirit talismans.

First, he built a simplified Heavenly Array at the bottom of the cabin and on both sides of the ship, which could gather spiritual energy while reducing consumption and significantly lightening the ship’s weight. Then, he methodically set up arrays for rapidly moving sails, hiding tracks, enhancing defenses, supporting attacks, detecting abnormalities, producing fresh water, increasing brightness, and bolstering morale.

Initially, he could only set up a few at a time; thereafter, the swift wind array could be expanded into an agile wind swoop array, and the mist array could develop into a misty shadow maze array.

The workload was substantial, with less than six thousand sheets of blank talisman paper acquired from Paifeng Island. The insufficient portions were substituted with the Leaves of Blood Banana Trees. Li Hui focused, holding the talisman brush to draw carefully.

The success rate for creating talismans was exceedingly low; since many talisman methods had never been encountered before, even with the amplification of the silver snake bracelet, he could only maintain a success rate around eighty percent. Moreover, the supply of artifact and treasure fragments had to be adequate; even a slight disruption would lead to a rapid decline, and any talisman paper would end up wasted.

Just as he saw a glimmer of hope for the success rate, the talisman paper was already consumed completely. This feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place made Li Hui angrily clench his fists, not to mention how frustrating it was!