517: Chapter 517 Cooling Down

Biyou Pool.

With his son Tong Xiao's matter temporarily resolved, Liu Xuan refocused his attention on perfecting the Teleportation Array and the business of the Liu Family Immortal Workshop.

'Tong Xiao being able to connect with the Lihuo Lineage has both its pros and cons. Let's leave it at that for now!'

In the current situation, even if Daoist Lord Lihuo were to come immediately from the Beast Taming Sect and discover Tong Xiao's top-tier Rank Six Bloodline, his son would still be safe. He might even receive exceptional cultivation.

Any trouble would be a matter for the future. By then, Liu Xuan might have already achieved Nascent Soul Formation, and Peach Blossom might have reached Soul Transformation. Problems today might not be problems at all in the future.

From a certain perspective, if Daoist Lord Lihuo were to sign a contract with Tong Xiao now, it would be equivalent to trading early gains for Late Stage risks. It's hard to say whether it's a good or bad thing.

Since it was neither good nor bad and was beyond his control, Liu Xuan naturally saw no need to spend more time and energy on it.

'The Teleportation Array is the most important; it concerns Peach Blossom's life and death. I must strive to make it the best it can be.'

'Next is preparing the conditions Peach Blossom needs for Soul Transformation. Whatever might be useful, I should prepare it, regardless of whether it will actually be used when the time comes.'

'Finally, I need to keep an eye on the battlefield situation. I'm not looking to break the deadlock, just to go with the flow.'

...

Half a year later.

During this half-year, Liu Xuan appeared to be obsessed with beautiful women on the surface, but in reality, he was working diligently. The workshop's beauty pageants and such were merely his cover!

Liu Xuan didn't concern himself much with whether the Demon Court was brewing a conspiracy, but he had been constantly following the battlefield news.

Demon Saint Xuanyu could do nothing about Biyou Pool, but he personally took action and dealt several heavy blows to secondary spirit lands, slaying a total of eleven Nascent Soul True Lords and Yao Beasts, and severely wounding seven.

The Beast Taming Sect Cultivators gradually calmed down, their offensive momentum slowed, and the battlefield returned to a state of stalemate.

For the Nascent Soul True Lords, as long as Biyou Pool remained stable, controlling the northern part of the Endless Demon Court was only a matter of time. The reason for their heavy losses was entirely due to their greed for merit.

Everyone thought that in the Endless Demon Court's current situation, they could only turn things around by taking Biyou Pool, rather than expending their Origin to kill them.

With the assistance of military formations and the support of earth veins, any attempt by Demon Saint Xuanyu to kill them would require paying a certain price; it simply wasn't cost-effective.

However, Demon Saint Xuanyu did exactly that, regardless of whether it was worth it, as if he were venting his anger on them.

Demon Saint Xuanyu's irrationality, combined with the fact that the Beast Taming Sect had recently occupied a large amount of Endless Demon Court territory that needed development, instantly turned external problems into internal distribution issues.

The various Nascent Soul True Lords were no longer in a hurry to fight outward; they wanted to carve up and occupy the territory they had already conquered first.

As for the frontline battles, they could be left to the newly arrived Fellow Daoists. Since they hadn't contributed before, if they wanted resources and territory, they could go fight for them themselves.

Naturally, the new Nascent Soul True Lords were unwilling. The easy battles were over, and now they were being sent into the difficult ones; anyone would be unhappy.

In just one month, all the Nascent Soul True Lords on the front lines had either retreated or gone into hiding, leaving only the army of Cultivators to wage a war of attrition with the Demon Court.

In any case, the Beast Taming Sect's army of low-level Cultivators was endless, and they could well afford the attrition; any losses could be replaced immediately.

The people in the Cultivator army weren't fools either. Without a Nascent Soul True Lord leading them personally, they also began to avoid combat passively, shifting from an offensive posture to a defensive one to minimize losses, and if all else failed, they simply fled.

Various chain reactions caused the frontline to gradually cool down. Demon Saint Xuanyu killed some ordinary Cultivator soldiers to vent his frustration, but in the end, he could only helplessly retreat and defend, restoring the stalemate.

Within the battlefield formations, the attacker is always at a disadvantage compared to the defender. When the Beast Taming Sect was attacking, Demon Saint Xuanyu could still find opportunities, but once they switched to defense, he was powerless. Spending a great deal of effort to kill a group of insignificant Cultivator soldiers while worrying about counterattacks or traps at any moment was simply not worth the cost.

'The situation is even better than I expected!'

'If that recent rumor is true, it would be perfect!'

A few days ago, Liu Xuan obtained a rumor from the Lingying Pavilion saying that Demon Saint Xuanyu intended to bring about a situation where the Demon Court's territory was divided between north and south.

This so-called North-South division meant using Biyou Pool as the dividing point: the south would belong to the Demon Court, and the north would belong to the Beast Taming Sect.

Demon Saint Xuanyu's Lifespan was already less than two thousand years. Rumor had it that he would not hesitate to deplete his Origin to hold onto half of the Demon Court's territory. At most, he would lose some Lifespan to secure a thousand years of comfortable life. When he eventually passed away, Daoist Lord Lihuo of the Black Mountain Holy Land could take it all.

A Hua Shen Demon Saint defending at all costs was terrifyingly powerful.

Regardless of whether the rumor was true or false, it directly caused the morale of the Beast Taming Sect's frontline troops to weaken further.

Judging by Demon Saint Xuanyu's previous actions, this news was more than just a rumor; he was truly capable of doing it.

Rather than confronting Demon Saint Xuanyu head-on, it was better to properly develop the northern part of the Demon Court, where everything was waiting to be rebuilt.

"Master~"

"What are you thinking about?"

A girl with supple skin, a face full of collagen, and a strong youthful student vibe shook Liu Xuan's arm.

"My father said he wants to open another Spirit Medicine shop next to the Liu Family Immortal Workshop and wants to use our Liu Clan Merchant Alliance's name. Master, what do you think..."

The girl's name was Luo Xin. She came from the Academy, and her father was a Golden Core True Person there.

In the beginning, Luo Xin was uninterested in the beauty pageants held by the Liu Family Immortal Workshop, even scoffing at them and secretly cursing Liu Xuan as a pervert.

Later, as the Liu Family Immortal Workshop's business grew better and better, the girls favored by Liu Xuan not only received generous treatment themselves, but their families could also join the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance, receiving various preferential treatments and support.

As long as one opened a shop in Biyou Immortal City as a partner of the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance, not only would business be better, but no one would dare to cause trouble.

With the war at the front in a stalemate, everyone shifted their focus to business. With many people vying for limited opportunities, one couldn't open a shop without some background. Even if one did, they would be heavily exploited and could only earn a meager living.

But joining the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance was different. Overall, the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance was the most conscientious toward its subordinates.

Of course, Luo Xin wouldn't surrender herself to a pervert for a few benefits, but her father didn't think that way.

Head of the Liu Family was handsome and dashing, with a heart full of great love. The title of pervert was complete slander; if his daughter became his Dao Companion, it would definitely be a wonderful thing.

Under the coercion and inducement of her father, who was at the Golden Core True Person Realm, Luo Xin compromised.

Because of her likable personality, natural kindness, and lack of vanity, Luo Xin stood out among the women from the Academy and received extra attention from Liu Xuan.

After spending some time together, Luo Xin felt that her father had been right after all; the Master was by no means a pervert, he just liked helping people.

"Sure! You can discuss small matters like this with Yao Qian; there's no need to ask me," Liu Xuan said with a smile.

"Thank you, Master!"

Luo Xin gave a sweet smile and held Liu Xuan's arm tightly, refusing to let go.

"Oh, by the way!" She seemed to suddenly remember something and looked up at Liu Xuan. "I heard that the Academy's upper management is very dissatisfied with your conduct, Master. A Golden Core True Person named Ye Jinghong is coming to cause trouble for you."

"Ye Jinghong?" Liu Xuan thought for a moment and smiled. "Just a clown, no need to pay him any mind."