Chapter 200: Third-Rank Demon King, River-Swallowing Toad

The Yuding Domain is vast; even if it does not span tens of thousands of miles like the Medicine King Domain, it possesses the grandeur of a major domain.

With such a massive area, it is naturally impossible for the Yuding Sword Sect to dominate it entirely.

They are merely the nominal overlords of the domain.

Within the domain, with the Yuding Sword Sect at the helm, there are six other Core Formation sects, collectively known as the Seven Yuding Sects.

Below them are numerous sects of varying sizes.

Beyond these are the gathering points for rogue cultivators, primarily consisting of immortal cities and markets.

Large immortal cities possess high-grade spiritual land, with strength not inferior to ordinary Core Formation sects.

As for the markets, they are quite peculiar.

Within the entire Yuding Domain, there are over a thousand large markets.

Small markets are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, countless in number.

Wherever there is a place rich in spiritual energy or a major transportation hub, cultivators will always step forward to organize markets of various sizes.

Some well-developed markets gradually attract the attention of sects, leading to the successive establishment of sect-affiliated businesses.

Dahe Market is a rare exception among these countless markets.

It did not flourish because of people, but because of its location.

Facing the undeveloped Million Mountains of the Eastern Wasteland, it possesses strategic importance.

Coupled with abundant resources, it gradually accumulated popularity.

In comparison, other nearby markets, except for Xue Lian Market which possesses the same strategic status, are merely conventional markets.

In terms of distance, they are very far from Dahe Market.

Even the second closest, Taishan Market, is eight thousand miles of wilderness away.

Eight thousand miles sounds very far.

But for Foundation Establishment cultivators, it is nothing more than a day or two of full-speed flight.

The reason why people do not usually traverse the two places is simple.

It is mainly because there is a vast stretch of wilderness in between.

Towering mountains such as the Nanwa Snow Mountain and the Jiudie Mountain stand in between.

There are many demon beasts within, and even third-rank demon beasts roam freely; even Foundation Establishment cultivators must be on guard.

As for rogue cultivators at the Qi Refining stage, and even mortals.

These eight thousand miles are quite long.

Most rogue cultivators who came to Dahe Market initially either came with merchant caravans or arrived on the boats of the Dajiang Gang.

Those who luckily walked over are few and far between.

Now that the four factions are moving with their families, their speed naturally cannot be fast.

In the previous three days, they had only covered one-third of the journey.

And because this middle section of the journey does not rely on either side, and it is not suitable for traveling at night, the speed will become slower and slower.

But no matter how long the distance is, it is always shortening.

Just as no matter how far the sea is, the rushing river water will always reach it one day.

The fifth day.

Luo Chen stood on the deck, facing the gentle breeze.

As the waves rolled, water vapor slapped against his face with the breeze, making him feel refreshed.

"How much longer until we reach Taishan Market?"

Beside him, Qin Liangchen smiled and said, "Soon. Once we pass this flat river section, it will be smooth sailing downstream, just a day or two."

So fast?

Luo Chen thought it would take a long time.

However, thinking back to when the Discussion Platform opened, so many rogue cultivators from nearby markets gathered.

It shows that distance, in fact, is not very far for immortal cultivators.

The reason they are moving so slowly now is ultimately because the number of people traveling is simply too large.

So many people moving together.

It is bound to attract many unnecessary troubles.

"When you sent Xiaohu to the Luoyun Sect back then, it seemed to take a long time?"

Mentioning his son, a soft look appeared on Qin Liangchen's face.

He sighed, "It did take a long time, about half a year!"

"On that journey, you must have passed through many places, right?"

"That is true. The first stop was Taishan Market, then Yuelang Market. Along the way, we tried our best to avoid the territories occupied by immortal families, often taking detours... Finally, we stayed in Qianye City for half a month before waiting for the Luoyun Sect to open its gates to accept disciples."

Luo Chen asked curiously, "Qianye City? I remember that is also an immortal city, right?"

"That's right! Among the top ten immortal cities in the Yuding Domain, it ranks seventh. Inside, it can be said that Qi Refining cultivators are like clouds, Foundation Establishment cultivators are like rain, and Core Formation True Persons appear every now and then."

In Qin Liangchen's words, it seemed as if Qianye Immortal City was the true world of immortal cultivation.

Places like Dahe Market, which are remote and small, are simply like mortal towns.

In such a place, as long as one has enough wealth, there is no need to worry about cultivation resources.

Unlike Dahe Market, where even with spirit stones, one cannot buy what one needs.

Coupled with the fact that it possesses high-grade spiritual veins, it naturally attracts a large number of rogue cultivators to settle down.

Over time, various forces and organizations will also be born.

Around a super immortal city, the number of immortal families of various sizes can be counted in the tens or even hundreds.

"Truth be told, such an environment is actually more suitable for the development of our Luotian Society."

Qin Liangchen sighed, then shook his head.

"Unfortunately, Qianye Immortal City is too far from us. And it is extremely close to the Luoyun Sect, which is currently in a war-torn region."

Luo Chen was thoughtful.

He asked pointedly, "What about Tianlan Immortal City?"

Qin Liangchen was stunned and answered subconsciously.

"It is closer. If we don't consider detours, it would take about a month or two from the direction of Liuguang Market."

"How is the situation there?"

Looking at Luo Chen, a thought popped into Qin Liangchen's mind.

He wouldn't want to move the Luotian Society thousands of miles away to Tianlan Immortal City, would he?

Verbally, he still answered Luo Chen's curiosity according to his own understanding.

"Tianlan Immortal City is different from Qianye Immortal City. The latter was mainly built by the Luoyun Sect and three other sects. But Tianlan Immortal City was jointly funded by the Seven Yuding Sects, and its geographical location is not in the hinterland where sects intersect. Now..."

Qin Liangchen is one of the few people in the Luotian Society who has traveled far in recent years.

His vision and knowledge are far greater than other local cultivators.

From him, Luo Chen roughly understood the situation in the Yuding Domain.

The seven major sects each control a super immortal city that nominally belongs to them.

In addition, they jointly funded the construction of three super immortal cities in relatively important locations.

Only then did they form the pattern of the top ten immortal cities in the Yuding Domain.

Like the Lianyun Merchant Alliance that Luo Chen is very familiar with, its headquarters is actually in Tianlan Immortal City.

And the nearby sects include the Ailao Mountain, the Ice Fortress, and the Hundred Flowers Palace.

Nominally, the Yuding Domain belongs to the Yuding Sword Sect.

In reality, it is a governing pattern of one large and six small.

For example, Xue Lian Market belongs to the Ice Fortress, and Taishan Market is under the jurisdiction of the Flame Alliance.

Dahe Market is different; it is more like an exclave, remotely controlled by the Yuding Sword Sect.

The sects use immortal cities and markets to master and digest the resources within their respective territories as much as possible.

Not only that, they also open up vast territories in places without spiritual energy, allowing a large number of mortals to multiply and live there.

Mortal kingdoms, markets, immortal families, immortal cities, Core Formation major sects, Nascent Soul superior sects.

Layer upon layer, they finally constructed the prosperous Yuding Domain of today.

Just as the two were chatting.

Luo Chen's expression suddenly changed.

Qin Liangchen beside him was puzzled, and then a huge clamor came from the front.

"It's sinking! It's sinking!"

"It's going down!"

"Heavens, what kind of monster is this!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The sound of monstrous waves rose up.

"Go and join them!"

Luo Chen dropped this sentence to Qin Liangchen and leaped up.

A white cloud fell under his feet, dragging him to rise continuously.

Soon, he saw what was happening ahead.

A huge whirlpool with a diameter of a hundred feet was "slowly" rotating in the wide Lancang River.

Saying it was slow, in reality, from forming to spreading, it was only in an instant.

When Luo Chen looked over, he saw that the leading magic treasure ship had already sunk more than halfway.

The activated defensive formation did not even last a single breath before it vanished into nothingness.

Thousands of cultivators flew out from the ship in terror.

But for some reason, no matter how they flew, they could not escape the huge whirlpool.

Some cultivators who luckily flew to the riverbank were pierced by terrifying water arrows.

It seemed that leaving was forbidden at this time.

"Third-rank demon beast!"

Luo Chen's expression changed drastically, and his gaze suddenly looked at Wang Haichao, who had already left the cabin.

"Leader Wang, what is going on?"

Not only him, but Li Yixian and Nangong Jin also flew out, their faces extremely pale.

Facing the three nervous people, Wang Haichao, besides looking solemn, did not seem to be too worried.

He transmitted his voice, "It's fine. This demon beast has a gentle temperament. As long as it's full, it won't cause trouble."

"Full?"

What kind of ghost explanation is this?

Luo Chen's face was extremely gloomy, looking at the ship that was gradually being swallowed.

The rogue cultivators still struggling in the whirlpool were calling for help loudly.

"Save me!"

"Save me quickly!"

"There's a demon king, it's going to eat people."

"Leader Wang, I paid for the ticket, save me quickly!"

"Wang Haichao, you will go to hell for not saving us."

On the Longjing ship, Wang Haichao watched this scene indifferently.

Facing the monstrous curses, he turned a deaf ear, as if he couldn't hear them at all.

"I need an explanation!"

Luo Chen said coldly, his tone seeming to come from the Nine Netherworlds.

If their ship were located at the front of the fleet, wouldn't it be the Luotian Society cultivators going to feed the demon beast now?

In that surging demon energy, even he would find it difficult to escape!

Not only him, but Li Yixian and Nangong Jin also stared at Wang Haichao with icy gazes.

Wang Haichao turned around and managed to squeeze out a smile.

"Since we have formed an alliance, how could I possibly harm you."

"I only had a guess about the appearance of the River-Swallowing Toad, and I wasn't very sure, which is why I didn't explain it to you in advance."

A guess?

What kind of guess would make Wang Haichao arrange for the fleeing rogue cultivators to be on the first three ships of the fleet?

Luo Chen suppressed the anger in his heart.

Being angry now would be of no use.

"River-Swallowing Toad?" Nangong Jin asked suddenly.

Wang Haichao nodded, "It is indeed a third-rank demon beast, the River-Swallowing Toad. This demon beast cultivates by swallowing rivers, lakes, and seas, and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. Its temperament is considered very gentle."

"How could it appear here?"

"This has to start from the second time Pang Renxiong came to Dahe Market."

"Hmm?"

Wang Haichao said, "Remember? That time he came, he was unscrupulous wherever he went. He even caused the Nanwa Snow Mountain to collapse, and this River-Swallowing Toad had always been hibernating in the Nanwa Snow Mountain. Now that the Nanwa Snow Mountain is no longer what it used to be, this River-Swallowing Toad has lost its habitat and wanders in the Lancang River all day long."

"This time, with so many of us traveling, it is very likely to attract its attention."

Li Yixian was still dissatisfied, "You could have explained it in advance. It wouldn't have been impossible for us to take a detour. Why did you have to be so heartless and let so many rogue cultivators feed the River-Swallowing Toad?"

"Take a detour?" Wang Haichao sneered.

Being mocked by him, Li Yixian felt a bit embarrassed.

Nangong Jin spoke up to warm the atmosphere.

"Taking a detour is more dangerous. The Nine-Camphor Deer near Jiudie Mountain leads a herd of deer and is a genuine third-rank beast king."

The Nine-Camphor Deer is not a gentle demon deer like the Fuzhu deer.

They live in groups, and even ordinary carnivorous demon beasts dare not approach them easily.

The three people's voice transmission seemed long.

In reality, it was only a few breaths.

After swallowing a ship of rogue cultivators, the huge whirlpool gradually shrank.

The sky-filling curses also gradually fell silent.

Only the fleet behind was extremely terrified.

Luo Chen watched this scene with a heavy heart.

His keen gaze seemed to penetrate the murky river water and see the huge River-Swallowing Toad resting at the bottom of the river.

Whirlpool...

"No, it's not full yet!"

Almost the moment Luo Chen's words left his mouth.

The whirlpool, which had originally shrunk, began to expand rapidly again, sweeping towards the nearest large ship.

The massive demon energy expanded, pressing the Qi Refining rogue cultivators on it so they couldn't move.

Seeing the large ship being dragged into the whirlpool step by step.

Luo Chen did not hesitate, his massive spiritual power expanded, using the Traction Technique to pull the large ship.

This scene stunned everyone.

Li Yixian hesitated for a moment, then also used the Traction Technique to barely drag the stern of the ship.

However, with the strength of two Foundation Establishment cultivators, how could they block the power of a demon king?

"Wang Haichao, Nangong Jin, why haven't you made a move yet?" Luo Chen shouted sharply, his voice spreading to everyone's ears.

Nangong Jin helped subconsciously.

With his help, the speed at which the ship was being swallowed was slowed down.

Wang Haichao, however, frowned and looked at Luo Chen, "I didn't expect you, Dan Chenzi, to be such a kind person!"

Luo Chen looked at him fearlessly, "Who knows how many more people it needs to eat to be full? Without these rogue cultivators, the journey ahead will only be more dangerous."

"With the strength of the four of us, it might not..."

"Then feed it until it's full!"

Luo Chen said decisively.

Wang Haichao was stunned, how to feed it?

"Didn't the Li family and the Nangong family bring a large number of tamed demon beasts? Isn't the flesh and blood of these demon beasts more than the two taels of meat of our human cultivators?"

"But..."

Li Yixian and Nangong Jin also showed hesitation; these were all family assets.

Luo Chen took a deep breath and stared at Wang Haichao.

"You collected so much ticket money from them, you have an obligation to try your best to protect them."

"Take out a sum of spirit stones and buy the demon beasts from the two families."

"Don't try to bargain, Wang Haichao, look at those people!"

The ruthless Wang Haichao looked at the Dajiang Gang cultivators subconsciously.

One by one, their faces were pale, and they all shrank to the back of the ship.

Not only that, some people even tried to escape, having no confidence in gathering together to resist the demon king.

Moreover, many people looked at him with eyes full of disgust, as if looking at a snake or scorpion.

He shivered all over.

The lives of rogue cultivators are indeed worthless!

But if too many rogue cultivators die, it will only cause a sense of shared grief, and even the people of the Dajiang Gang will lose confidence in him.

The momentum he had finally gathered with his position as the alliance leader would likely vanish in an instant.

Even if he safely reached other places, he would definitely become a lonely man.

This time, he couldn't refuse.

Soon, with the agreement of Li Yixian and Nangong Jin.

Many cultivators from the two families took out a large amount of demon beast meat, dead or alive, from the cabins and spirit beast bags.

Driving their spiritual power, they carried this demon beast meat and threw it into the huge whirlpool.

One head, two heads... ten heads, a hundred heads... the number soon exceeded a thousand tamed demon beasts.

This was already the limit of the number the two families could take away.

By this time, the whirlpool began to shrink slowly.

Taking this opportunity, Luo Chen used both hands, his thick spiritual power poured out, and with his perfect Traction Technique, he forcibly pulled the rogue cultivator ship on the edge back.

Whoosh... whoosh...

Luo Chen gasped twice, not caring about the looks the rogue cultivators were giving him.

Stepping on the clear breeze, he soon arrived at the very front.

"Dan Chenzi, you have caused me heavy losses this time!" Wang Haichao said gloomily.

Luo Chen sneered, "Then at that time, you could have chosen not to pay that sum of spirit stones."

"Uh..."

Li Yixian approached with a lingering fear, the flesh and blood of over a thousand tamed demon beasts far exceeded that of human cultivators.

Even so, it barely satisfied the appetite of the River-Swallowing Toad.

If they hadn't listened to Luo Chen, let alone that ship just now, they would have probably lost two more ships of people.

According to the order, the next ones would likely be Wang Haichao's Longjing ship and the Li family's ships.

With Wang Haichao's personality, he would definitely have the means to drive the magic treasure ship to escape briefly.

In that case, wouldn't it be her Li family's turn?

"Is it full?" Li Yixian swallowed, looking at the whirlpool that had shrunk to the size of a basin, with blood-colored bubbles constantly floating out.

Wang Haichao hesitated, "It should be full!"

"If it's not full, I'll help it get full!"

Luo Chen raised his hand, and hundreds of jade bottles suddenly appeared.

Under his spiritual power control, a large amount of Jade Marrow Elixir fell into the whirlpool like rain.

His gaze fell on a pink jade bottle, Luo Chen's heart moved slightly, he smashed it, and it also fell into the river.

Nangong Jin watched this scene, his eyes widening.

"High-grade Jade Marrow Elixir!"

"Luo Chen, are you crazy?"

The other two Foundation Establishment cultivators were also stunned.

In just this short while, he had directly scattered tens of thousands of spirit stones!

But the effect was also very significant.

Soon, the whirlpool disappeared amidst the spitting of large bubbles.

A huge shadow under the water slowly sank and floated down.

At this point, the pressure that had enveloped the world finally dissipated completely.

"Go!"

Luo Chen waved his large sleeve, like a tired bird returning to its nest, and returned to the Luotian Society's large ship.

Wang Haichao did not hesitate any longer and immediately gave the order.

The fleet started instantly, moving along the rushing river water, frantically staying away from this place.

.