Chapter 472 - 433: Similarity

Chapter 472: Chapter 433: Similarity

"Regarding this gathering, I imagine Fellow Daoist Chu is unaware of the inside story, correct?"

After some discussion on the topic of Artifact Refining, the Five Poison Child once again grew secretive.

"What do you mean, fellow daoist...?"

Chu Mu frowned, a faint sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

The Five Poison Child asked, "Are you aware of the attack on the Xing Mountain Islands?"

Chu Mu shook his head.

"The Xing Mountain Islands, also known as the Xing Mountain Sea Area, were transformed into the Sea of Trial by the Chen Family ten thousand years ago. They used an Array Restriction to seal off the sea area, raising and releasing all sorts of Demon Beasts within. Every thirty years, they would organize the elite disciples from within the Chen Family to enter the Xing Mountain Sea Area for a trial."

"In the beginning, it was just an internal trial for the Chen Family. The intention was to let Low Tier Disciples experience Demon Beasts and gain experience in combat and Battle."

"Over time, it slowly evolved into a grand event for the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World. Any power with a Golden Core Powerhouse presiding over it could send its elite disciples to participate in the Xing Mountain trial."

"The Chen Family would also set up prizes to reward the Low Tier Disciples who performed outstandingly. As this tradition continued, the Xing Mountain trial became a famous event throughout the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World."

"The most recent one was held over a decade ago. However, during that trial, the Xing Mountain Islands were suddenly attacked by the Profound Serpent Race. They broke through the Grand Array and abducted all the elite disciples from the various powers who were participating..."

Chu Mu froze, subconsciously recalling the Giant Eagle and the island-sized Crocodile Turtle he had encountered right after he left the Secret Realm all those years ago.

On that Crocodile Turtle’s back, a large number of Cultivators had been imprisoned!

’I originally thought those Cultivators had probably been captured by Demon Beasts during the war.’

’After all, to a Cultivator, a Demon Beast is a treasure trove. But to a Demon Beast, a Cultivator is much more than that. A Cultivator’s wisdom and their entire body of knowledge, which represents the civilization of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, are clearly of great importance to the Demon Beast races.’

’I’d even heard rumors that the Vast Sea Demon Race kept humans and Cultivators in captivity, specifically for the purpose of nurturing Low Tier Demon Races.’

’That Giant Eagle back then, with its sword-like wing feathers, was clearly a product of Artifact Creation from the Cultivation Immortal Realm.’

’From this, it’s not hard to see that organized Demon Beast races are by no means the brutish savages of popular belief, driven only by instinct and a thirst for blood.’

The thoughts flashed through his mind and vanished. Chu Mu remained impassive, asking as if puzzled, "The ones participating in the trial should all be Low Tier Cultivators, right?"

"Why would the Profound Serpent Race abduct them?"

"The implications are huge!"

The Five Poison Child shook his head. "The Xing Mountain trial has been going on for so many years; it’s a famous event in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World. Every time it’s held, the participants are the precious treasures of the major powers. There are quite a few with Golden Core Descendants bloodlines among them. And just like that, they were all taken in one fell swoop..."

"The Chen Family has to take the blame for this, whether they want to or not. Otherwise... Hmph hmph..."

The Five Poison Child sneered, clearly holding no goodwill toward the Chen Family.

As soon as he said this, Chu Mu seemed to realize something. His pupils constricted, and his face paled unnaturally.

’What benefit is there for the Profound Serpent Race in attacking the trial island and abducting the elite disciples of the major powers?’

’Could they possibly use them as leverage?’

’Unless faced with a life-or-death crisis, no power would risk universal condemnation by siding with the Demon Beasts.’

’The only use, just as the Five Poison Child said, was to force the Chen Family to bear the dissatisfaction of all the major powers in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World!’

’In other words, it was a divisive plot, practically an open conspiracy.’

’The major powers trusted the Chen Family and sent their elite disciples to a trial hosted by them, only for the Chen Family to fail in their protection, allowing the Demon Beasts to sweep them all up.’

’If the Chen Family couldn’t provide a satisfactory explanation, even if they could use their power to suppress others, the current situation in the Vast Sea would lead to wavering loyalties and inevitable dissatisfaction with them.’

’If this dissatisfaction were to spread, and someone were to fan the flames, the current situation in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World would likely become more than just an external threat...’

This scheme benefits the Profound Serpent Race, but this kind of strategy, this style of operation, seems... even more similar to the past plot of deception and framing!

’For the Longevity Sect, which now holds the power to suppress the world in Great Chu, the benefits seem even greater...’

Chu Mu pursed his lips, his gaze passing over the Five Poison Child to the many Golden Core Cultivators who had already taken their seats in the hall.

The battle in the Chixia Sea Area was raging, and the main forces assembled by the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World to resist the invasion were all in the frontline sea area, tens of thousands of miles from Chixia.

But here in Chixia City, which was considered the rear, there was no small number of Golden Core True Masters who had retreated from the front lines to recuperate.

In just the past few months, the number of Golden Core True Masters he had seen already exceeded ten.

It was rumored that the number of Golden Core True Masters from the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World gathered in the Chixia Sea Area to fight the Demon Beast invasion had already reached nearly one hundred, with several Nascent Soul Great Powers among them.

Although the main purpose of such a massive gathering of power was to counter the Demon Beast invasion instigated by the Profound Serpent Race, it had also undoubtedly forced all the powers of the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, large and small, to unite completely and gather under the banner of the Chen Family.

’With such a high degree of unity, if this is truly part of the Longevity Sect’s plan to incite internal turmoil in the Vast Sea, as I suspect, then achieving their goal will not be easy.’

Chu Mu asked subtly, "It’s been so many years since they were abducted. Isn’t it a bit late to be discussing it now?"

"Of course it’s too late!"

The Five Poison Child chuckled. "Those abducted disciples probably became food for the Demon Beasts long ago."

"It’s difficult for Low Tier Demon Beasts to awaken their Spiritual Wisdom, but a great race like the Profound Serpents will often spend a huge price to awaken the minds of their descendants with rich bloodlines ahead of time..."

"We use Demon Beasts as trial subjects, and they can use our Cultivators as trial subjects in return..."

Chu Mu asked again, "Then why..."

"It’s for show. The Chen Family has already made a big fuss over this several times. Once, a Nascent Soul Great Power from the Chen Family even led a team deep into the Vast Sea..."

"This time, there’s probably some new information. When there’s news, there has to be a reaction. Even if it’s just going through the motions, they have to do it properly..."

The Five Poison Child waved his hand dismissively.

Chu Mu grew pensive. His Divine Sense delved into his Storage Ring, focusing on the Ninth True Inheritance Order.

’If things are really as I suspect, then I, the Ninth True Inheritor of Longevity, who is operating outside the Longevity Sect and has taken root in Chixia, am probably involved in this...’

After a moment of thought and some idle chatter, the gathering officially began with the appearance of Cyan Wood True Master.

Just as the Five Poison Child had said, as soon as the gathering started, Cyan Wood True Master’s opening words clarified the meeting’s purpose.

Three bottles of Flawless Golden Dragon Pills, a top-grade Elixir for assisting Cultivation in the Golden Core Realm.

In addition, ten thousand Merit Points from the system the Chen Family established for this war.

If it were merely a matter of going through the motions, the reward was undoubtedly generous. But no matter how much of a formality it was, venturing deep into the Outer Sea under the current circumstances was clearly no easy task.

After Cyan Wood True Master finished speaking, the dozen or so Golden Core Cultivators in the hall fell silent. Following a round of subtle glances, a few Golden Core masters finally spoke up, inquiring about the details of the sea expedition.

After a brief exchange, the details of the expedition were finalized.

Cyan Wood True Master would lead, and four other Golden Core Cultivators signed up. To Chu Mu’s surprise, the Five Poison Child, who had been so dismissive of the expedition, was among those who joined.

Chu Mu shot him a slightly puzzled glance. As if sensing Chu Mu’s gaze, the Five Poison Child turned to look. Their eyes met, and the Five Poison Child simply smiled before calmly looking away.

Chu Mu frowned, slowly retracting his gaze as his expression returned to one of calm.

With the matter of the expedition settled, the gathering naturally continued in an orderly fashion.

After a round of pleasantries, the proceedings became indistinguishable from the exchange fairs Chu Mu had attended in the past.

One rare item after another was brought out by the various Golden Core Cultivators, each hoping to trade for what they needed.

Some managed to get what they wanted, but more went away empty-handed.

At the Golden Core Realm, all the required Spiritual Materials and Objects could be considered rare treasures that were hard to find in the world.

Even for the most basic support Cultivation Elixirs, if one were Refining them from Spirit Medicines, they would need Spirit Medicines at least five hundred years old to be suitable for the Golden Core Realm.

In the Vast Sea’s system of using Demons to create Pills, it was even more daunting.

A furnace of Elixirs for the Golden Core Realm basically required a Tier Three Demon Pill as the main ingredient.

A single Tier Three Demon Pill represented a single Tier Three Demon Beast.

In the Endless Vast Sea, for a Demon Beast to reach Tier Three, it had undoubtedly weathered countless bloody battles and clawed its way up over mountains of bones.

Moreover, a Demon Beast capable of reaching Tier Three would inevitably have a high-grade bloodline. The higher the bloodline’s level, the stronger its Bloodline Divine Techniques.

Even if their Spiritual Wisdom was still no match for an ordinary person’s, they were by no means unintelligent. Their instinct to seek good fortune and avoid disaster, combined with their formidable Demon Bodies and powerful Bloodline Divine Techniques, made every single Tier Three Demon Beast extremely difficult to deal with!

Throughout the exchange, Chu Mu remained silent from start to finish. Although there were items he coveted, he was unfortunately dirt poor and had nothing of value to offer in return.

As for Artifact Refining and Alchemy, given the rarity of the Spiritual Materials and Objects required by Golden Core cultivators, it was no easy feat for any Golden Core True Master to gather the ingredients for a single furnace of Elixirs, let alone the Spiritual Materials for Refining a Magical Treasure.

The skills of Artifact Refining and Alchemy were still in high demand in the Golden Core Realm. However, limited by the scarcity of Spiritual Materials and the small number of Golden Core True Masters, it was likely impossible for him to amass a fortune as he had in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Even at the Chixia front lines where Golden Core cultivators gathered, he could not replicate his past success.

As the gathering came to an end and the Golden Core cultivators began to leave, Chu Mu was also about to depart when a voice transmission entered his ear. He looked toward Cyan Wood True Master, who nodded slightly with a friendly expression.

Once all the other Golden Core cultivators had left and silence returned to the hall, Cyan Wood True Master finally spoke slowly. "During the gathering earlier, I heard that you, fellow daoist, were searching for a High Tier bloodline of the same origin as the Vajra Wolf."

"As it happens, our clan’s Treasure Vault recently acquired a sample of Moonlight Wolf bloodline. Both the Moonlight Wolf and the Vajra Wolf are Low Tier Lower Grade bloodlines, and legend says they are both derived from the Howling Moon Grey Wolf. It should meet your requirements, fellow daoist."

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