Chapter 519 - 472: Those Who Follow Will Prosper, Those Who Resist Will Perish

Chapter 519: Chapter 472: Those Who Follow Will Prosper, Those Who Resist Will Perish

"Since the Profound Serpent Race invaded, you have all gathered on these islands to aid my Chen Family in resisting the Demon Beasts. You have fought bloody battles, and your merits are outstanding. I have come here today for two reasons. First, to thank you all for your contributions to the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World."

The old man slowly sat down on the high platform. His cloudy gaze swept over the Golden Core Cultivators below. Although his voice was calm, it rang with extreme clarity in the ears of every Golden Core Cultivator in the hall.

As the old man’s voice faded, with a flick of his sleeve, trays seemed to appear out of thin air, floating before each of the Golden Core Cultivators present.

"These are but humble gifts, a small token of our appreciation. Please, accept them."

The old man’s voice sounded again.

Facing this terrifying existence, the crowd obviously did not dare to be disrespectful. One after another, they accepted the trays and bowed once more, "Thank you for your generous gift, Elder!"

"As for the second matter, I have come regarding the recent chaos caused by Evil Cultivators."

Only then did the old man state the purpose of his visit, something both sides were already well aware of.

"The Evil Cultivators are rampant. Most are the tentacles of conspirators from beyond the Vast Sea, colluding with the Vast Sea Demon Race. They intend to disrupt the peace of our Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World and seize our territory..."

At this point, the old man’s voice abruptly paused. After a moment, he slowly spoke again, "Most of you are Vast Sea Cultivators. In these trying times, I hope you will all work together with my clan to overcome these difficulties!"

"Rest assured, my clan will never be stingy with rewards for those who contribute. The Merit Treasure Vault has been completely revamped. My clan’s tens of thousands of years of treasures are all within!"

"Of course, if anyone colludes with Evil Cultivators, my clan will show no mercy."

"I am Qing Cang, and I have personally taken the position of Hall Master of the new Evil-slaying Hall. Anyone who colludes with Evil Cultivators will be considered a mortal enemy of my clan and a target for elimination. The Evil-slaying Hall will hunt them to the ends of the earth and execute them!"

When his voice fell, the entire hall was deathly silent.

How could anyone present not understand the old man’s meaning?

It was nothing more than... submit and prosper, resist and perish.

After only a moment of dead silence, voices of agreement rose one after another.

When you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head.

No matter what they truly thought, in the face of such a terrifying existence, submission was clearly the wisest choice.

Chu Mu was no exception, chiming in with a few half-hearted words of agreement.

However, his half-hearted agreement also contained a hint of genuine sincerity.

After all, according to the old man, the Chen Family was putting up its entire Treasure Vault, a collection spanning tens of thousands of years...

Even if there was some exaggeration in his words, now that he had made such a bold proclamation, how could they not bring out some of their most prized treasures?

At this moment, there were clearly quite a few people who, like Chu Mu, were obviously tempted.

The old man scanned the hall, and a hint of satisfaction seemed to appear in his cloudy eyes.

"The Merit Point system has been changed, so all of your old Merit Orders will need to be re-registered and updated."

"I hope you will all proceed to my clan’s Merit Hall as soon as possible to update your Merit Orders."

With that, the old man glanced at the crowd one last time. His stooped figure then transformed into specks of gray light and slowly dissipated.

A moment later, the silence in the hall was slowly broken with the old man’s departure.

People sat down again, gathering in twos and threes, conversing either through Telepathy or spoken words.

Chu Mu examined the treasures on his tray: one hundred Fire Attribute Upper Grade Spirit Stones, three bottles of Tier Three Flawless Pills, and one Tier Three Demon Pill.

There weren’t many treasures, but they were all of Upper Grade quality.

He Fengshan laughed. "You have to admit, although the Chen Family acts tyrannically, they’re not the least bit stingy when it comes to handing out benefits."

"To give such generous gifts to so many fellow daoists here... Tsk tsk, what a grand gesture..."

Then, He Fengshan looked at Chu Mu and said, "I heard you’re collecting Upper Grade Spirit Stones, Fellow Daoist. How about I trade my portion with you?"

"Fine."

Chu Mu tossed out the few bottles of Flawless Pills from his tray, and with a wave of his hand, swept the one hundred Upper Grade Spirit Stones from He Fengshan’s tray into his Storage Space.

"What do you two think about what that Elder said earlier?"

At this point, He Fengshan looked at Chu Mu and Chi Shan seated before him and asked the question casually.

Chi Shan’s expression was serious. "The Vast Sea is too chaotic. I’m not getting involved in this place. Once this business is concluded, I’m heading back to the Southwest."

Chu Mu was surprised. "The Southwest isn’t exactly peaceful either, is it? I’ve heard that the Righteous Alliance is currently consolidating the power of the various Cultivation Immortal Realms in the Southwest Countries to have a decisive battle with the Longevity Sect, right?"

"The situation in the Southwest Countries is convoluted. The Righteous Alliance can only consolidate a few of the smaller, bordering nations. In other places, the Righteous Alliance’s influence doesn’t carry much weight."

"Besides, the Southwest isn’t just a heap of loose sand. In the Desert Sea region of the Southwest, several nations formed an alliance after the chaos in Great Chu, calling themselves the Celestial Bamboo Alliance. They’re preparing to take advantage of the turmoil in Great Chu to consolidate the power of the Southwest Immortal Cultivation Immortal World..."

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to return to the Southwest and join the Celestial Bamboo Alliance, Fellow Daoist?"

"I am originally a Cultivator from the Dali Kingdom, which is under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Bamboo Alliance. I’ve just been traveling abroad ever since I reached Foundation Establishment. Now that I’m going back, I’ll likely join the Celestial Bamboo Alliance, barring any surprises..."

Chu Mu nodded and didn’t press the issue.

After all, as a Great Chu Cultivator, it was a rather taboo topic for him.

The endless conflicts among the many small nations of the Southwest were inextricably linked to Great Chu.

"As for me, I’ll wait and see," He Fengshan said, shaking his head. He then looked to Chu Mu and asked, "And you, Fellow Daoist Chu?"

"I’ll take it one step at a time!"

Chu Mu sighed and shook his head, setting down his wine cup. He scanned the entire hall. There were a total of one hundred fifty-eight cultivators. In other words, on the Demon Suppression Islands right now, there were still one hundred fifty-eight Golden Core Cultivators who were not from the Chen Family.

’Such a terrifying force... if it were to get out of control, given the Chen Family’s current situation of internal worries and external threats, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to collapse completely.’

’The Chen Family will certainly do everything in their power to keep this force in their grasp. They cannot allow such a terrifying power to spiral out of control. They would likely snuff out even the slightest chance of that happening before it can even sprout.’

’That was precisely why, within the short span of half a year, several of the Chen Family’s Nascent Soul elders had come in person, holding repeated gatherings and offering increasingly lavish rewards to entice and win them over.’

’However, as far as he knew, of the hundred-plus Golden Core Cultivators present, a good number of them were not native Vast Sea Cultivators.’

’Most were like him, or like Chi Shan, who had come to the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World for various reasons.’

Chu Mu thought for a moment, a decision already forming in his mind.

’This great opportunity on the Demon Suppression Islands... if I stay any longer, the opportunity will likely turn into a disaster.’

’Perhaps this is for the best...’

Chu Mu sensed the mountain of Spiritual Materials and Objects piled up in his Storage Space. His gains over the past few years had been substantial.

’In such a chaotic situation, it would be a good time to go into seclusion and focus on my Cultivation. No matter how many resources I have, if they aren’t converted into the foundation of my Cultivation, they are ultimately for nothing.’

’The only problem was how to leave the Demon Suppression Islands.’

’With my Cultivation, it wouldn’t be a huge problem to cross the Forbidden Sea and return to Chixia.’

’But I have a feeling that the Profound Snake will not give up so easily. If I cross the Forbidden Sea, with the Profound Serpent Race’s reach in this region, I would surely be detected...’

’To leave, my best option was to use the Teleportation Array on Celestial Secret Island to go directly to Chixia.’

’But the problem was... the Teleportation Hall is still closed under some pretext. Given the current situation, the possibility of it reopening to the public is very, very low.’

’That Teleportation Hall will surely become one of the Chen Family’s most powerful tools for controlling the cultivators on the island.’

’I’ll have to ask around some more...’

Chu Mu’s thoughts churned as he considered his options.

Once he made his decision, everything became clear. It was simply a matter of moving toward his goal, and his indecisiveness vanished.

And just like that, Chu Mu felt inexplicably relaxed. He began to casually make small talk with He Fengshan and Chi Shan.

Just then, a stoutly built Cultivator walked over, cupped his fist in greeting to Chu Mu, and said, "Fellow Daoist Chu, sorry to interrupt."

Seeing this, He Fengshan and Chi Shan seemed to be used to it. They smiled, nodded, and stood up to make space.

"I am Li Yue. I’ve heard you have a dual proficiency in Pills and Artifacts, Fellow Daoist. Please forgive my impertinent interruption."

"It’s no trouble. As long as it’s a matter of Pills and Artifacts, feel free to speak, Fellow Daoist."

"Then I shall be so bold."

After another round of pleasantries, Li Yue finally stated his purpose. "I wish to refine a set of Magical Armor, an Upper Grade Treasure. This is the Magical Robe and Artifact Formula, as well as the Spiritual Materials required for the Magical Treasure."

Li Yue took out a Jade Scroll and a Storage Talisman, pushing them across the table toward Chu Mu.

Chu Mu casually picked up the Jade Scroll. With a brief scan of his Divine Sense, an Artifact Refining Formula for a Dharma Robe appeared within his perception.

After a moment, Chu Mu put down the Jade Scroll. He thought for a bit, then looked at Li Yue and asked, "This treasure of yours, Fellow Daoist, it’s incomplete, isn’t it?"

Hearing this, Li Yue couldn’t help but light up with joy. He quickly said, "You have a keen eye, Fellow Daoist! I came upon this treasure by a fortunate coincidence. Although it’s only a fragment, it’s an extremely good match for the Cultivation Technique I practice. I was wondering if you might be able to... complete it somewhat?"

"It shouldn’t be a big problem. But to complete it, the required Spiritual Materials will likely need a few changes..."

"How about this: give me one month. I’ll give you an answer in a month, Fellow Daoist."

Li Yue stood up and cupped his fist in a bow. "Alright. Then I’ll have to trouble you with this matter, Fellow Daoist."

"It’s no trouble."

Chu Mu nodded lightly. After watching Li Yue leave, he scanned the Artifact Formula in the Jade Scroll once more before turning his attention to the Storage Talisman.

The Spiritual Materials and Objects listed in the Artifact Formula were all there in double portions, neatly arranged in the Storage Space.

With a wave of his hand, the numerous Spiritual Materials from the Storage Talisman fell into his Storage Ring. The mountain-like pile of Spiritual Materials and Objects within it grew even larger, adding to his reserves.

"WHIMPER..."

Just then, Wangcai seemed to sense something. It whimpered twice and gently nudged the corner of Chu Mu’s robe with its head.

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow. A fragrant breeze washed over him, and a graceful figure came into view.

The woman approached gracefully and, arriving at Chu Mu’s side, smiled sweetly. "Fellow Daoist wouldn’t mind if Qing Ling rested here for a moment, would you?"

Chu Mu chuckled. "You are the host here, Fairy, and I am just a guest. It’s hardly proper for the host to ask the guest for permission."

Qing Ling blinked, as if joking. "In that case, might this humble host ask a small favor of her guest, Fellow Daoist?"

Chu Mu was slightly taken aback, but then he laughed heartily. "If it is within my power, Fairy, please speak freely."

...