Chapter 1227 - 564: Development of Green Willow Village After a Century, Population Explosion (2)

After all, their innate talent was already quite strong, but because they were located in the Cyan Stone Mountain Range, resources were scarce, making it difficult to break through; however, with Shi Ping’an’s help, they gained a large amount of cultivation resources, resulting in rapid advancement in cultivation.

Other cultivators from Green Willow Village experienced the same.

"After a hundred years of development, our Green Willow Village’s population has finally grown to five million."

"If it were in the human realm, it might be considered a city."

An elder of Green Willow Village remarked.

Originally, Green Willow Village was just a small community with only tens of thousands of people, on the brink of extinction.

Any random demon tide could easily wipe them out.

But now, in just a short hundred years, the population has increased by more than a hundredfold.

Moreover, the average level has experienced a significant rise.

Although such strength is nothing in the powerful Demon Realm, it at least gives them the ability to protect themselves.

As long as they aren’t discovered by those demons, dealing with various demon creatures is still simple.

"Village chief, if that’s the case, can we consider further expansion?"

"Some other places also have villages wanting to join us."

Another elder asked.

In fact, the rapid population increase of Green Willow Village was not just due to natural reproduction; more importantly, they annexed numerous small villages, leading to the population surge.

If it were just natural reproduction, how could the population grow so fast?

"Foolish, don’t be too arrogant."

"Don’t forget what kind of place this is."

"This is the Demon Realm, the territory of demons."

"The reason we can survive here is not because we are strong."

"But because we are weak, and the population is small, allowing us to hide and not be discovered by demons."

"If demons discover our presence, everyone in the village will die regardless of the numbers."

"In fact, the more people there are, the faster they die."

The village chief, Shi Hao, spoke with a very serious tone.

He felt that the people of Green Willow Village had been satisfied and complacent for a hundred years, and some in the village had forgotten the terrifying place they were in.

It’s important to realize that this is the Demon Realm, home to innumerable powerful demons.

If nothing else, just one Refining Void Demon discovering them would mean their doom.

All it takes is one thought, and hundreds of thousands of humans would be annihilated.

This is the terror of High-tier Demons.

Upon hearing this, the many elders of Green Willow Village fell silent, their hair stood on end, and they shivered with fear.

They had indeed become a bit complacent.

Thinking that having some strength meant they could survive in the Demon Realm was purely wishful thinking.

"The village chief is right."

"Population isn’t really meaningful; what matters are high-tier cultivators."

"No matter how we develop, we must not forget the power and terror of demons."

"To truly not fear the threat of demons, we must give rise to at least one Mahayana Cultivator."

"Right now, we are only at the Nascent Soul stage, which is far too distant."

The leader of the hunting squad, Zhu Ming, said somberly.

As someone who hunted in the Cyan Stone Mountain Range year-round, he was naturally aware of the terror of demons.

The appearance of even one High-tier Demon would be a catastrophic disaster for Green Willow Village.

Moreover, even if they were lucky enough to kill it, it wouldn’t be the end of the disaster, but the beginning.

This would attract endless demons, consigning them to a dead end regardless of where they hide.

Because of this, Green Willow Village has always been extremely cautious, making no movement to reveal themselves.

They naturally want to accept other human villages to increase Green Willow Village’s population.

The problem is they can’t do this.

Too many humans gathering together would attract demons, wiping them out with ease due to poor risk resistance.

Therefore, they aren’t concerned about the population size but rather how many high-tier cultivators can be born.

This is the foundation for Green Willow Village’s survival.

"Indeed, having too large a population may not be advantageous."

"We can’t live above ground; we can only live deep underground."

"This limits the farmland we can develop, resulting in very little spirit rice each year."

"If the population continues to soar, we might not have enough food."

"In fact, if it weren’t for Ping’an buying large amounts of food from outside, we couldn’t support such a large population."

An elder of Green Willow Village said sombrely.

In fact, Green Willow Village’s current development is entirely because Shi Ping’an mastered the ability to trade with the outside world, enabling the transport of external goods to Green Willow Village and selling the village’s specialties to the outside world.

This mutual exchange has led to prosperity for Green Willow Village, a veritable boom.

It’s crucial to realize that in the Demon Realm, the most abundant resources are various mineral resources.

Especially the special ores deep underground, untouched by the pollution of demon forces.

Besides Green Willow Village, no one can excavate these.

Even if they could excavate them, selling them is impossible, leaving them for personal use.

Only Shi Ping’an can sell these special ores to the Great Xuan Dynasty’s cultivators, in exchange for a large amount of spirit rice, spirit medicine, elixirs, and even various cultivation techniques and secret manuals.

"Being able to trade across endless space is a truly formidable ability, beyond imagination. It’s unclear where Ping’an acquired such an ability."

"Isn’t it obvious? It’s surely from Mr. Jiang. All the changes in Green Willow Village owe to Mr. Jiang’s generosity; otherwise, our development wouldn’t be this fast."

"Indeed, if it weren’t for Mr. Jiang, Green Willow Village might have been obliterated by demons a hundred years ago, and we wouldn’t see today’s development."

"It’s a pity that not long ago, Mr. Jiang departed, so we can no longer listen to his teachings."

"It’s beyond control; Mr. Jiang must be a great power of the human race, managing countless affairs, naturally unable to stay permanently in a small human village like ours."

"I wonder what level of cultivator Mr. Jiang is; surely he’s long surpassed Divinity Transformation."

"Heh, it’s not just Refining Void; this is the Demon Realm, the demons’ territory, where even Integration Cultivators dare not enter rashly. Surely Mr. Jiang is already a Mahayana Cultivator."

"Indeed, only Mahayana Cultivators dare to enter the Demon Realm freely; meeting Mr. Jiang is truly our monumental luck."

"However, even as a Mahayana Cultivator, Mr. Jiang cannot contend with demons. He must cautiously avoid them, as the power of the demons is incredibly terrifying."

"There’s no choice; it’s said there are over a hundred Mahayana Demons in the Demon Realm. No matter how formidable Mr. Jiang is, he’s still just one individual, incapable of handling so many."

"Ultimately, Green Willow Village must remain low-profile and not continue expanding the population size. Otherwise, if demons discover something amiss, Green Willow Village will be doomed. We must completely conceal our existence."

The many elders of Green Willow Village discussed this extensively.

They revered Jiang Fan immensely, as all these changes owe to this enigmatic gentleman.

Even though they don’t fully know the gentleman’s true background, it doesn’t matter; simply knowing he harbors no malice towards them is entirely sufficient.

"By the way, where’s Ping’an? What place did Ping’an go to?"

Someone asked curiously, as they didn’t see Shi Ping’an’s presence.

Generally, Shi Ping’an would certainly attend such elder-level meetings, given his status as the strongest Divinity Transformation Cultivator in Green Willow Village.

Had he not been disinterested in the village chief position, he’d likely have been Green Willow Village’s chief by now.

"Not long ago, Ping’an discovered an ancient teleportation array."

"And activated this teleportation array."

"It’s said this array has transported Ping’an to a secure area."

"That territory belongs to the Demon Race and lacks the presence of demons."

"Ping’an is currently exploring that region, seeking a secure location."

"If a secure place is truly found, perhaps we can teleport part of the population there."

"That place might become one of Green Willow Village’s escape routes."

The village chief, Shi Hao, said softly.