Chapter 738: Chapter 27 Mountain River Borers Chapter 738: Chapter 27 Mountain River Borers “Listening to the old master’s words, this Jiudou Sect Master really sounds like a tough character. How does his magical power compare to Li Jiang Ma Ling?”

After hearing about the “grand achievements” of the Jiudou Sect Master, Li Yan couldn’t help but ask.

Mr. Holding-Sun shook his head, “It’s far inferior to Li Jiang Ma Ling, even when compared to Heavenly Eyes and Earthly Ears, or to the Miyao King, Jiudou is slightly lacking…”

“Oh~”
Li Yan sipped his tea, feeling somewhat relieved. He certainly wouldn’t underestimate a monster like Jiudou who once brought chaos to a dynasty, but compared to directly subduing Li Jiang or Ma Ling, he still had some strategies to consider for dealing with a villain like the Jiudou Sect Master.

After all, those two monsters born from Chaos, placed among the majority of fruits in Daqian Yanfu, could be considered the ultimate bosses of the Yanfu events due to their formidable presence.

Seeing through Li Yan’s thoughts, Mr. Holding-Sun’s eyes beneath his dark circles flared slightly, “Young man, I think it’s best not to take this lightly. Although Jiudou’s henchman isn’t as ancient as Li Jiang and Ma Ling, it is almost an extinct Exotic Beast, known as Mountain River Borers. Not only is it cunning and sly, but it also possesses exceptional illusion techniques, which even fooled the Heavenly Mother back then.”

Saint Watson dipped his pinky into the tea, then wrote the characters for ‘Mountain River’ on the ebony table and pondered for a while before poking Li Yan, “How do you write the character for Borer?”

Li Yan ignored the old Western Ocean man.

Mr. Holding-Sun extended his withered arm from the sleeve of his robe and calmly wrote the character for Borer on the table, answering, “Borer means insect. Mountain River Borers are incredibly evil. As early as the Tang dynasty, they were almost exterminated by righteous individuals like Yuan Tiangang. The Jiudou Sect Master initially survived by hiding in the ears of the Ice-Sealed Ancient Buddha.”

Mr. Holding-Sun thoughtfully answered.

“On the brink of extinction?”

Saint Watson asked with interest.

“One might say, it’s the only one of its kind.”

Pausing, Mr. Holding-Sun went on, “As its name suggests, Mountain River Borers are vermin of the nation’s landscape. They don’t feed on grains; they consume qi! The disastrous qi from collapsing mountains and rivers, the nation’s ruin; the mournful qi from widespread despair; sorrowful qi from people trading their children for food; the bloody, sincere qi from the struggle and slaughter of millions of refugees. Therefore, when this worm appears in the world, it must stir great chaos, often leaving fields littered with bones and a silence where no chickens crow for miles. If it succeeds, the three of us…”

Mr. Holding-Sun pointed across the table and then to himself, “We will all be eternal sinners.”

With the conversation reaching this point, Li Yan got straight to the point, “If that’s the case, Tianbao should do everything in his power to make amends. However, Yan Gong has used the Seven-Star Precious Pagoda to capture many of my monster followers. These followers have supported me for a long time, and they are quite powerful. Without their assistance, I fear I won’t have the strength to capture Jiudou.”

Having lost so many Abyssal Aliens from the Bottomless Abyss was quite a loss for Li Yan, but it was not crippling. While he said this, he was thinking about enlisting the demons from the Heavenly Mother Ashram.

Mr. Holding-Sun pondered for a moment before hesitantly suggesting, “I can try my best to negotiate a bit with her, and perhaps, well, there’s maybe an eighty percent chance that Yan Gong will give me this face and release your Water Palace followers.”

Li Jiang was arrogant and rash, and seeing Mr. Holding-Sun’s tone, Li Yan knew he wasn’t very sure either, so he sighed and fell silent.

Seeing this, Mr. Holding-Sun quickly understood and tentatively asked, “In the Heavenly Mother Ashram, there are hundreds of famous demons dwelling in palaces and caves, and no fewer than a hundred thousand scattered monsters. How do they compare to your followers?”

“It might be feasible.”

Li Yan looked troubled.

“Then what do you think would be an appropriate number?”

Mr. Holding-Sun tapped his finger bones on the tabletop,
“Well, the more, the better!”

Li Yan revealed no particular expression, yet a trace of sharpness gleamed in his eyes.

Before ascending, Heavenly Mother had almost subdued the formidable monsters from the past millennium within the fruits! All trapped within the ashram, this horde of great monsters was probably not inferior to the million-strong assembly of monsters who directly challenged Wu Zhiqi and Da Yu.

For a typical proxy of Wu Zhiqi, subduing a great monster to become a water subordinate would require extensive effort in hundreds, if not dozens of Yan Fu incidents–it was a labor of attrition. And now, such a gift was laid before Li Yan, how could he not be tempted?

The Abyssal Aliens were indeed powerful, but they could only be considered as elite soldiers. Wu Zhiqi’s most effective killing formation needed many generals to serve as the formation’s fulcrum to unleash its power.

The so-called “elite soldiers are easy to find, but good generals are hard to come by,” and within Li Yan’s vast Water Palace, only the half-dead Yang Zichu truly qualified as a general.

Should he really be able to take all the hundred thousand monsters from the Heavenly Mother Ashram for his own, and with the assistance of Wu Zhiqi’s killing formation to train them, given time, Li Yan could match the peak walkers of the Six Ministries just by relying on Wu Zhiqi alone.

“Only then will I have the capital to speak from the second seat at the Yan Zhao Club.”

With a flicker of thought, Li Yan refocused his mind.

“Hahaha~ Judging by your tone, you intend to empty out my Heavenly Mother Ashram. I know you have an extraordinary background… But this matter is no small feat. It would be one thing to lend you a few monsters to capture Jiudou, but more would be too much,” said Mr. Holding-Sun, laughing while shaking his head.

Li Yan also laughed, “Heavenly Mother worried about the monsters endangering humanity and thus confined them to these vast deep seas. But as time goes by, mishaps will happen. Today, a Mountain River Borer escapes–who knows what tomorrow might bring? If I can subdue them and prevent them from harming people, isn’t that a perfect solution?”

Mr. Holding-Sun’s smile faded as he considered for a moment before saying, “How about this: If you can capture Jiudou and bring him back, I will allow you to pick twenty great monsters from the ashram to serve as your water subordinates, provided they’re willing.”

No sooner had the skeleton finished speaking than the voice of Earth Endurance rang in Li Yan’s ears.

You have received a special Yan Fu incident: The Request of the Heavenly Mother Ashram.

Incident requirements: Capture the great monster Jiudou Sect Master and return to the Heavenly Mother Ashram.

This Yan Fu incident is mandatory. Refusal will infuriate Mr. Holding-Sun, trigger the use of the Summoning Gold Medallion to return, and henceforth, in all places with seawater, you will be pursued by the Heavenly Mother Ashram.

Li Yan did not immediately agree, but instead looked serious, “I sincerely want to resolve Heavenly Mother’s concerns. If these monsters follow me, I guarantee not to let them endanger humanity.”

“Thirty,” he contended.

“Jiudou is a millennium-old monster. If you’re unwilling to lend me help, it’s a minor issue if I die at the hands of the Sect Master. The suffering of the living beings in the world is a major concern.”

“Forty, and you can also take away the exotic creatures serving them in the ashram. Li Jiang has confiscated your water subordinates, but I’ll try my best to return them to you. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, young man.”

Li Yan licked his upper teeth, “It’s settled then.”

Only then did Mr. Holding-Sun turn his gaze to Saint Watson.

“I have only one condition,” Saint Watson announced, “If I help you catch the bug, I want to stay here for three years, with the freedom to come and go as I please.”

Mr. Holding-Sun didn’t quite understand Saint Watson’s request, but after some thought, he saw no issue with it and happily agreed.