Chapter 444 - 43: Rendezvous, Mid-Stage Golden Core

Time passed.

For Golden Core Grandmasters...

...it was perfectly normal to spend years, or even decades, preparing and planning for a single event.

Several more years passed after Zhou Yuantong sent word that it was time to act, and now, news had finally arrived again.

A Flying Ship carrying Zhu Ju and Pei Jingque crossed the vast sky, approaching the edge of the Western Wilderness.

Further west from here was a boundless desert.

To the east,

the way they had come, was a land of lush greenery shrouded in a dense miasma—the Ten Thousand Mountains.

To the north,

lay the Dazhou Territory.

The Flying Ship arrived at a barren hill, circled a few times, and then slowly descended.

Several people were already waiting there.

"Sect Leader Pei."

A woman in white robes purer than snow stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her beautiful eyes fixed on Pei Jingque:

"I have long admired your great name. At last, we meet."

"Fellow Daoist Zhou." Pei Jingque smiled faintly.

"I have also often heard of your reputation."

"Oh!" Zhou Yuantong glanced at Zhu Ju, a smirk playing on her lips.

"I am but a mere Demoness from the Joyful Sect. My reputation is insignificant and cannot possibly compare to Sect Leader Pei’s."

"Allow me to make the introductions for you two."

She gestured with her hand.

"This is Fellow Daoist Jin Fangqiu of the Celestial Corpse Sect. Brother Zhu has met him, and Sect Leader Pei has likely heard of him as well."

Jin Fangqiu, who carried a pitch-black coffin on his back, nodded in greeting, a strange smile on his dark-complexioned face.

"A married couple, both Golden Cores. How enviable."

As he spoke,

he stroked the coffin on his back.

Pei Jingque’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

According to the information she had gathered, Jin Fangqiu and his wife had been deeply in love and were both expected to advance to the Golden Core realm. However, an accident had left one dead and the other injured, separating them by life and death.

In pursuit of the Great Dao, or perhaps because he couldn’t bear to part with his wife, he had refined her corpse into a zombie—the Heaven-Soaring Flying Corpse on his back.

"Fellow Daoist Jin."

Pei Jingque bowed.

"I’ve long admired your reputation!"

"This is Lou Yutang of the Netherworld Sect." Zhou Yuantong gestured again, indicating a man to the side.

"He came specifically to lend his aid this time."

Lou Yutang!

A Late-Stage Golden Core Cultivator!

The Vice Sect Leader of the Netherworld Sect!

Zhu Ju and Pei Jingque exchanged a look, each seeing the surprise in the other’s eyes. They hadn’t expected Zhou Yuantong to be able to invite such a master. Still, his presence increased their chances of success.

Besides Jin Fangqiu and Lou Yutang, there was one other person present, but this individual was cloaked and masked, their true appearance hidden. Since Zhou Yuantong clearly had no intention of introducing them, Zhu Ju and Pei Jingque didn’t bother to ask.

"Zhu Ju!"

"Pei Jingque!"

Zhu Ju gestured to the Outer Body Incarnation beside him and introduced it.

"This is Fellow Daoist ’Wukong,’ whom I met in the East Sea."

"Wukong?"

A smile played in Zhou Yuantong’s beautiful eyes. From her perspective, she could trace the fluctuations of everyone’s Divine Soul.

Not only that,

but a thread of Cause and Effect—some strong, some weak, some bright, some dark—connected each person to her.

Yet ’Wukong’s’ Divine Soul fluctuations were identical to Zhu Ju’s, and even its thread of Cause and Effect was faint and indistinct.

A thought flickered through her mind, and she spoke with a faint smile.

"Brother Zhu, why must you deceive me?"

"Still, a Late-Stage Golden Core Primordial Spirit Stone Embryo is indeed rare. No wonder your Cultivation has progressed so rapidly, Brother Zhu. And no wonder you’ve kept it hidden, unwilling to let anyone know."

Primordial Spirit Stone Embryo!

Late-Stage Golden Core?

Upon hearing this,

the expressions of the others present changed.

Jin Fangqiu and Lou Yutang, in particular, showed undisguised greed in their eyes as a sharp killing intent quietly emerged.

In a way, a Primordial Spirit Stone Embryo was even rarer than a Spiritual Artifact, and the benefits of obtaining one were immense.

Spiritual Artifacts were extraordinary,

but their Refinement was far from simple. A Cultivator with insufficient Cultivation might even be drained dry by one.

A Primordial Spirit Stone Embryo was different.

Not only was its Refinement risk-free, but a successful Refinement was equivalent to gaining a Late-Stage Golden Core heavy hitter.

The wondrous way an Outer Body Incarnation could assist in one’s Cultivation was, by itself, an advantage too great to refuse.

Thus,

it also explained why Zhu Ju’s Cultivation had progressed so quickly. After all, with the help of a Late-Stage Golden Core Cultivator, reaching the Hundred-Year Golden Core stage—an impossible fantasy for others—would be commonplace for him, would it not?

Feeling the killing intent directed at him, Zhu Ju frowned slightly and stepped forward to shield Pei Jingque behind him.

Pei Jingque’s eyes filled with displeasure.

It was one thing for Zhou Yuantong to see through ’Wukong’s’ origins, but to announce it so openly was pure malice.

She was certain that after this, news of Zhu Ju possessing a Primordial Spirit Stone Embryo as an Outer Body Incarnation would spread throughout the entire Cultivation Realm. Who knew how many covetous eyes that would attract?

’That woman is so vicious!’

"Husband."

She said in a stern voice:

"Let’s go!"

"They’re the ones who want to kill the Joyful Sect’s Sect Leader. This has nothing to do with us."

As her voice fell,

the expressions of Jin Fangqiu and Lou Yutang changed, and the killing intent in the air dissipated.

Indeed.

They had come here to kill the Joyful Sect’s Leader, Qit Baifeng. Offending Zhu Ju and his partner would not be worth the cost.

If they forced a move, they might not even succeed in seizing the Primordial Spirit Stone Embryo, and it was almost certain their own side would suffer heavy losses.

Besides, while they might not have cared much about Zhu Ju’s help initially—he and his partner were just two newly advanced Golden Cores, after all—things were different now.

A Late-Stage Golden Core Primordial Spirit Stone Embryo would not be weak; it could greatly increase their chances of success.

Zhou Yuantong smiled but said nothing.

Her grasp of the human heart far surpassed everyone else present, so she was certain that Zhu Ju would not back down from this endeavor.

So...

...why?

’Zhu Ju has a detached nature, with a single-minded obsession for the Great Dao. Why is he so fixated on the Innate Origin Qi?’

"There is a Secret Realm in the Western Wilderness containing a special Spiritual Plant. Qit Baifeng comes to harvest it every few decades."

As this thought crossed her mind, Zhou Yuantong changed the subject.

"This Secret Realm is very peculiar. Qit Baifeng has never revealed the method of entry and exit, not even to the Golden Cores of the Joyful Sect. Therefore, it’s highly likely she will travel alone. This spot is on the required path to the Secret Realm, so if we set an ambush here, we can definitely take her down in one fell swoop."

"Everyone."

"I’m counting on you!"

*

*

*

CRACKLE...

The bonfire burned.

Pei Jingque picked up a piece of wood and tossed it into the fire. She watched the flames dance, her expression flickering between light and shadow in the Fierce Flame’s glow.

"Sister Pei, why must you keep people at arm’s length?"

Zhou Yuantong, holding a wine pot, sat cross-legged across from her, a beaming smile on her face.

"Aren’t you the least bit curious about the days Brother Zhu and I spent together?"

"What’s in the past is in the past," Pei Jingque said calmly, her expression serene.

"If I want to know, I’ll ask Zhu Ju. My husband wouldn’t hide it from me."

"Oh!"

Zhou Yuantong raised an eyebrow, her beautiful eyes twinkling.

"Zhu Ju wants to obtain the Innate Origin Qi for you, Sister Pei, doesn’t he? He’s not the type to be so persistent, let alone take such a great risk so easily."

"Heh..."

"You two are truly in love."

"..." Pei Jingque pressed her lips together.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing." Zhou Yuantong took a swig of wine, her gaze turning distant.

"Husband..."

"That’s what I used to call him."

"I just want to know, why did he abandon me back then? Why did he have to lie to me?"

"You’re well aware of your status. Under the circumstances at the time, if he had taken you with him, you both would have died," Pei Jingque said.

"He had no other choice."

"Heh..." Zhou Yuantong’s eyes narrowed.

"He knew full well that even if it meant death, I was willing to go with him. He thought he was acting in my best interest, but did he ever bother to ask what I wanted?"

Pei Jingque fell silent.

After a long moment, she spoke.

"And now?"

"Now?" Zhou Yuantong shrugged.

"People change. Ever since he abandoned me, leaving me all alone in Wind Moon Valley, I told myself never to trust anyone ever again."

"Absolutely no one!"

"Mm..."

As if sensing something, her beautiful eyes flickered, and she turned her head to look at a distant mountain peak.

"Has Zhu Ju advanced to the Mid-Stage Golden Core realm?"

"So fast!"

Pei Jingque had actually sensed it a moment earlier. A smile appeared on her face, and the tension within her eased.

With the help of the Primordial Spirit Stone Embryo, Zhu Ju’s Cultivation was advancing by leaps and bounds, but to reach the Mid-Stage Golden Core realm so quickly was still somewhat beyond her expectations.