In this realm, he needed a spirit vein to keep cultivating. Devouring beasts alone was no longer possible.
Returning to the shore, he heard wings flapping.
A ten-meter-long sparrow appeared.
It opened its beak and spoke human words.
"Congratulations, fellow daoist, on breaking through."
"Who are you?" I was a bit wary.
"I am the messenger under the Sparrow Demon King, he is a Core Formation stage big demon. You can call me Manager. My duty is to find new beasts of the foundation establishment stage like you and explain the forest rules."
"How did you know I was here?"
"Don't worry, fellow daoist. The Sparrow Demon King has a magic weapon to detect qi fluctuations in his territory. Let me explain. This forest is ruled by five demon kings, considered a big force. Every new Foundation Building beast is assigned a territory. In exchange, when needed, you fight for the demon king. Killing is not allowed in our faction. You can fight for resources but not kill. Come with me to choose a place."
This was bad. I could no longer hunt freely to grow faster.Fortunately, with enough aura, I could still cultivate quickly.
The sparrow took me to a map. Ten dots marked it, five red, five blue.
"What do the colors mean?"
"Red is occupied. Blue means you can choose."
I picked a waterfall. It had a second-level, low-tier spirit vein which was enough for cultivation. Water meant I could plant spirit grass.
"I choose this one."
"Okay. Do you need to pack anything? Otherwise, let's go."
I shook my head. The sparrow led me to the waterfall. Clear water sparkled under the sun.
"Manager, do you have any seeds?"
"I have spirit tree seeds."
"I want to buy them."
I traded him a hundred-year-old turtle shell from my former enemy. He gave me four seeds.
I planted them by the waterfall. They would be ready in fifty years. I could wait.
At noon, a big fox visited, my new neighbor. It gave me some low-level treasures, then left.
I decided to stay quiet. With Core Formation beasts around, it was not safe to stand out.
A year passed quickly.
A forty-meter snake lay under the waterfall, breathing mist. Ourobouros was at the peak of the third stage of Foundation Establishment, trying to break through the fourth.
With a plop, he succeeded. He looked at the sky, then sat down again. He would stay in seclusion until the peak of Foundation Establishment.
He suddenly heard wings flapping. The Manager arrived.
"Fellow daoist, you are really fast! After all these years, I am still stuck at the peak of the sixth stage, unable to break through to late stage."
"You flatter me, fellow daoist. What brings you here today?"
"The Sparrow Demon King has decided to attack a human sect. They have a thousand-year ginseng useful for the Demon Core realm. Our king wants it."
My plan to stay in seclusion aparently fell short, war represents danger. Looking at another angle it could also make me grow faster, humans have a lot of QI in their bodies, if i could eat some it would be good.