97: Bumper Harvest

The Green Wave Sect's mountain gate was shattered, and Demon Soldiers flooded in like a tide. In the face of an absolute power gap and already collapsed morale, the resistance quickly crumbled.

Gao De paid no mind to the sporadic battles. Moving again, he traversed the space with the Thunder Shadow Shuttle and appeared directly within the main hall of the Green Wave Sect.

His cold dragon pressure felt almost tangible, instantly making it impossible for the remaining Daoist Clear Spring and several Elders and True Disciples in the hall to breathe, unable to even move a finger.

"Where is Lan Tao?" Gao De's voice carried no emotion, sounding like the clashing of ice.

Daoist Clear Spring looked deathly pale as he collapsed onto the ground, laughing miserably, "Hehe... I don't know. Perhaps he's dead, or perhaps... he already fled with the Sect's true Foundation! Those left behind are nothing more than abandoned pawns like us..."

Gao De's jiao pupils narrowed slightly, and his Divine Thought swept through the core area of the Green Wave Sect like a storm.

As expected, the secret cave that was classified as a Forbidden Ground and should have been where True Person Lan Tao was in seclusion was already empty, leaving behind only a faint aura of decay and the wreckage of a self-destructed small Directional Teleportation Array.

The cave was completely empty; not only was there no sign of anyone, but not even a decent treasure had been left behind.

At the same time, his Divine Thought scanned the Sect's treasury.

The treasury doors were tightly shut, but inside there were only some low-tier Artifact Refining Materials, low-grade Medicinal Pills, and a mountain of Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

In the inner treasury, the truly precious top-tier Materials, Spirit Pills, and Magic Treasures had clearly been moved in advance.

"Search! Take every record and Jade Slip, leave not a single piece of paper! Gather all Disciples for centralized supervision!" Gao De ordered.

Turtle Three Thousand immediately commanded the Demon Soldiers to take action.

Those who resisted were killed without mercy, while the Disciples who gave up resistance were driven to the square to be gathered. Every one of them was ashen-faced and trembling with fear.

The subsequent cleanup lasted for several days.

The results were as expected; the core inheritance Cultivation Techniques and the most precious secret manuals of the Green Wave Sect had been taken away. However, the accumulation of the Sect over hundreds of years—especially the Jade Slips and books involving geography, identification of spiritual items, Sect history, local anecdotes, miscellaneous arts, and a vast number of low-to-mid tier Cultivation Techniques and spell models—was truly as vast as the sea. They simply hadn't had time to move everything, or perhaps some deemed them of little value and left them behind.

These "scraps" piled up until they almost filled several side halls.

Gao De personally inspected them, and a look of satisfaction flashed in his jiao pupils.

To him, the importance of this knowledge even exceeded that of several Tier 3 Magic Treasures in some respects.

He possessed the Dragon Clan Legacy and did not lack top-tier Cultivation Techniques or offensive Divine Abilities, but a broad understanding of this world, the secrets of various powers, the distribution of Heaven And Earth Treasures, the basics of Alchemy and Artifact Refining, and the principles of Formations and Talismans... these were precisely the Foundations he, as an "outsider," most urgently needed to supplement!

These records would become an important cornerstone for him to understand this world and plan his future path.

As for how to handle the personnel, Gao De also had a plan in mind.

He ordered that all captured Green Wave Sect Disciples be interrogated and screened separately according to their cultivation and duties.

Only a few stubborn hardliners who clamored about "living and dying with the Sect" were publicly executed by Crab Eighteen as a warning to others.

The remaining more than two hundred Disciples were mostly Outer Sect Disciples, handymen, and some Inner Sect Disciples skilled in Alchemy, Artifact Refining, spiritual planting, and beast taming. Most of them had a weak sense of belonging to the Sect and, under the threat of death and the surrounding Demon Soldiers, chose to submit.

Gao De looked down at the group of trembling Human Cultivators, his voice echoing through the square: "From this day forth, the Green Wave Sect no longer exists. Your lives are in this King's hands. Considering your low cultivation and your various skills, this King will grant you a way to live."

"Those who wish to surrender must swear a Heart Demon Oath of eternal loyalty.

Henceforth, you shall be under this King's command, responsible for managing the Mineral Veins, Medicine Gardens, and Markets originally belonging to the Green Wave Sect, and using your expertise to perform Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and drawing Talismans for this King. Those with merit shall be rewarded, and those who err shall be punished. If any harbor treacherous intent, both their body and soul shall be extinguished!"

These words were like a decree of amnesty, allowing many Disciples who had thought they were certain to die to see a glimmer of hope.

Most of them only wanted to survive; their loyalty to the Green Wave Sect had long since dissipated under the abandonment of their Sect Head and Elders and the terror of the Flood Dragon.

Immediately, a large number of Disciples knelt on the ground one after another and swore the Heart Demon Oath.

Turtle Three Thousand stepped forward at once, skillfully registering them and initially dividing their duties based on their strengths.

These Human Cultivators with professional skills were exactly what the currently Yao-dominated Water Mansion forces urgently needed to supplement.

Having them manage Mineral Veins, operate Markets, and Cultivate Spiritual Plants was far more efficient than the Demon Soldiers' clumsy efforts.

Gao De watched this scene, calculating calmly in his heart. Having received the inheritance of the Green Wave Sect and controlled its original industries and this group of Human Cultivators, his power would no longer be limited to a corner of the Water Mansion. He was truly beginning to take root and spread in this region, possessing a more solid Foundation and richer resource channels.

As for True Person Lan Tao, who had disappeared with the core treasures, and the potential hidden dangers... Gao De looked into the distance, his jiao pupils deep.

This was just the beginning; the road ahead was still long, but he had already taken a solid step. Settling old scores, absorbing nutrients, and strengthening himself—this was what he should be doing now.

The destruction of the Green Wave Sect was like a giant stone thrown into the Dongting Lake region, and the resulting ripples quickly spread out.

The surrounding cultivation families and small Sects that had originally been encroaching on the Green Wave Sect's industries, after confirming that the "Purple Lightning Flood Dragon King" was not only powerful but also ruthless and had quickly taken over all the inheritance, all ceased their activities. Some even took the initiative to send people to the Deep Pool Water Mansion to show goodwill and offer tribute, fearing they might follow in the footsteps of the Green Wave Sect.

Gao De did not refuse any of these newcomers, but his attitude always remained majestic and detached.

He knew well that these fence-sitters were unreliable, and their temporary submission stemmed only from fear.

He needed time to digest what he had gained and stabilize his Foundation.

The original Green Wave Sect mountain gate was now named "Qianjiao Cliff" by Gao De, serving as his force's land-based outpost and stronghold.

Vast amounts of records and Jade Slips were categorized and transported back to the Deep Pool Water Mansion, where Turtle Three Thousand organized personnel to sort, translate, and summarize them, extracting valuable information for Gao De to read.

These massive amounts of Jade Slips on miscellaneous arts, geography, history, and anecdotes certainly did not disappoint Gao De.

From some ancient regional Records of Anomalies, he found more fragments of information about the "Yunmeng Great Marsh." Although vague, they confirmed and supplemented some information in the Dragon Clan Legacy, giving him a more concrete concept of that vast and dangerous body of water.

Some records regarding the identification of Spirit Medicines and mineral deposits greatly enriched his knowledge base. Combined with information from the Heavenly Secret Realm, they gave him clearer goals for collecting cultivation resources in the future.

More importantly, among a pile of Jade Slips recording the changes in surrounding Sect powers, he discovered some sporadic records about the "Qianjiang Dragon King." Although mostly rumors, they also indirectly confirmed the guess that this old Dragon King had little Lifespan left and had been acting increasingly erratic in recent years.

This was crucial for him to judge the future situation.

The more than two hundred surrendered Human Cultivators were quickly integrated under the coordination of Turtle Three Thousand and the armed supervision of Crab Eighteen.

Alchemists were gathered together to use the pill rooms left by the Green Wave Sect and some of the stock of Spiritual Plants to try and refine "Beast Blood Pills" suitable for the Yao Race to strengthen their blood and Qi, as well as some common healing and Qi-recovery Medicinal Pills.

Artifact Refiners were responsible for repairing and maintaining the Demon Soldiers' weapons and armor, and using the low-grade Materials that hadn't been taken away to forge standardized weapons to arm more Demon Soldiers.

Disciples skilled in spiritual planting were sent to manage several of the Green Wave Sect's original Medicine Gardens. Although the core rare Spirit Medicines had been taken by Lan Tao, the remaining ordinary Spiritual Plants were still considerable in quantity, which was quite helpful for refining basic Medicinal Pills and supplementing the Demon Soldiers' rations.

The Disciples originally responsible for managing the Lake Market and Spirit Stone Mineral Veins resumed the operation of these industries under the "protection" of the Demon Soldiers.

Although output and transaction volume decreased significantly in the short term, they at least maintained the basic operations, providing a continuous flow of Spirit Stones and resources for Gao De's forces.

Gao De adopted Turtle Three Thousand's suggestion to implement "performance management" for these surrendered Human Cultivators.

Those who completed their quotas or made outstanding contributions could receive rewards of Medicinal Pills, Spirit Stones, or even low-grade Cultivation Techniques; those who were passive or harbored treacherous thoughts were punished without leniency. Under the carrot and stick policy, this group of Human Cultivators, for the sake of survival and better cultivation conditions, gradually settled down and began to serve their new superior.