The Side Character Who Wins by Doing Nothing

Elder Yuan returned the Blood Bud to his storage space, then glanced coolly at the pale-faced young Demon Cultivator. ”From now on, you will follow me. As long as you’re obedient, you’ll live a better life than any of them... Understand?”

The young Demon Cultivator’s eyes held a trace of fear, but also a deeply hidden stubbornness. He pressed his lips together and did not answer.

Elder Yuan sneered but didn’t seem to mind. His tone was sinister as he said, ”It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. Once you’ve been punished enough for your disobedience, you’ll naturally learn to behave.”

With that, he spoke flatly to the two Golden Core Cultivators, ”Take him to my carriage.”

He was clearly planning to keep one for himself, but the two Golden Core Cultivators exchanged a look and didn’t dare say anything more. They could only do as they were told.

Lu Sangjiu frowned slightly, feeling a little worried for the boy. After a moment of thought, she carefully sent him a Divine Sense message.

”Just listen to me. The Demon-Attracting Incense you’ve been smelling this whole way was lit by me. I will get you out, but you need to wait a little longer.”

”For now, don’t show any reaction, and don’t resist that Nascent Soul Cultivator, or you’ll suffer for it.”

”Also, if you can, pretend to be obedient in a little while. Try to talk to that Nascent Soul Cultivator and see if you can get any useful information out of him.”

”I need to know their origins, their purpose, and who they’re trading with.”

”But if he’s too wary, and tries to punish you or gets suspicious, immediately beg for mercy and shut your mouth. Don’t say another word.”

With her Divinity Transformation Stage Divine Sense, Lu Sangjiu’s message went undetected, even though she sent it right in front of everyone.

Upon hearing her words, the young Demon Cultivator’s eyes visibly brightened. He then obediently quieted down, allowing the two Golden Core Stage cultivators to lead him into the carriage.

After resting for over an hour, they set off again.

Elder Yuan sat back down inside the carriage. Although it was large, the young Demon Cultivator only dared to shrink into a corner.

After they had traveled for a while, Elder Yuan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, seemed to notice the young Demon Cultivator’s occasional glances. He suddenly opened his eyes, fixing a pair of cold, sinister eyes on the boy.

A mocking smile played on his lips, his tone full of ridicule. ”You’re not thinking about whether you could possibly kill me, are you?”

The young Demon Cultivator’s face filled with terror. He hastily shook his head and knelt. ”I... I wouldn’t dare!”

Seemingly surprised by his sudden good sense, Elder Yuan raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his tone. ”Wouldn’t dare? Then why were you sizing me up?”

”I...” The young Demon Cultivator seemed terrified, his body trembling. He then mustered up his courage and said, ”I was just wondering... if I’m obedient, will you really let me live a good life?”

At his words, a sneer appeared on Elder Yuan’s face, but his voice became much calmer. ”Of course. Did you see that flower I’m raising?”

”It needs to be watered daily with your blood essence. As long as you’re obedient and help me raise that flower well, I will naturally ensure you live a good life.”

The boy’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with joy. ”Really? It’s that simple?”

”Of course.” Elder Yuan’s smile widened. ”It just needs a little of your blood essence each day. Eat some good food, and you’ll recover it. It’s nothing difficult for you.”

The boy immediately swore his loyalty with immense gratitude. ”As long as you guarantee my safety, my lord, I would go through fire and water for you!”

The young Demon Cultivator was very clever. The trace of stubbornness he had shown earlier was only because he thought there was no hope of survival.

Now that he knew rescue was possible, he was naturally willing to make a small sacrifice to help the person who wanted to save them.

His masterful performance successfully earned him some of Elder Yuan’s trust.

At this, Elder Yuan was very pleased with his sensibility. He raised a hand and patted him on the head as if stroking a pet. ”I like people who know what’s good for them... Come here and massage my legs.”

The boy immediately looked overwhelmed by the favor, acting extremely humble. He practically crawled over and then obediently began to massage his legs.

His demeanor made Elder Yuan feel incredibly smug, and he unconsciously lowered his guard even more.

The young Demon Cultivator had been carefully observing his expression. Seeing that the time was right, he spoke up again.

”Master, may I ask... what will happen to the others who were captured?”

From Elder Yuan’s perspective, the question was quite normal. After all, now that the boy had found a good way out for himself, it was natural to be curious whether the others would have a more miserable fate.

So he didn’t scold him, but said lazily, ”What will happen? They’ll probably be sold as laborers. From now on, they’ll open their eyes each day to endless work, until their bodies can’t take it anymore.”

”And then...” Elder Yuan’s lips curved. ”Their corpses will be used to grow flowers. Have you ever heard of the Corpse Sea Demon Sunflower?”

The young Demon Cultivator’s body trembled, and terror filled his eyes. ”I... I’ve heard of it.”

It was a type of flower that could only be grown using a Demon Cultivator’s skull as a pot. It grew on top of the skull, feeding on the Demon Cultivator’s flesh and blood for sustenance.

A forbidden zone in the Western Demon Realm that no one dared to enter was filled with such flowers. It was rumored to have once been an Ancient Battlefield, littered with corpses.

Once fully grown, the flower is extremely aggressive. Normally, it looks like a beautiful sunflower, but as soon as a living creature gets close, the flower transforms into a giant mouth and devours it.

The young Demon Cultivator was very confused. ”That flower is terrifying. Why would anyone specifically grow it?”

”Terrifying indeed.” Elder Yuan’s lips curved. ”But if you can raise an incredibly powerful Corpse Sea Demon Sunflower, it can rival an army of thousands.”

The boy’s gaze flickered. He wanted to ask more, but Elder Yuan cut him off. ”Alright, if you want to live a little longer, don’t go asking about things that don’t concern you.”

”You just need to raise my flower for me. That’s enough. Understand?”

The boy gave a weak response but couldn’t help asking, ”Then... what is the flower I’m raising?”

But Elder Yuan had no intention of telling him. After all, never having seen one didn’t mean the boy had never heard of it. If he found out it was a Blood Bud, he would know he was doomed to die, and he certainly wouldn’t be willing to raise it with care.

So he just shot him a cold glance. ”I told you to shut your mouth. Didn’t you understand me?”

The moment the words left his mouth, a Spell slammed into the boy. His face contorted in pain as he curled up on the ground, not daring to say another word.

Lu Sangjiu had heard their entire conversation, and her brow furrowed deeply again.

’So it’s not just the Blood Bud, but the Corpse Sea Demon Sunflower too!’

’They’re really making use of everything, determined to squeeze every last drop of value from these Demon Cultivators.’

’It’s a shame that’s all he managed to find out. I still know nothing about their identities or origins.’

’But... that one thing he said is worth thinking about.’

’Raise a Corpse Sea Demon Sunflower, and it can rival an army of thousands?’

’An ordinary person would raise a Corpse Sea Demon Sunflower to boost their own power. They wouldn’t talk about it ”rivaling an army of thousands.”’

’Unless... the person behind all this is planning something big.’