Chapter 549 - 498: Dark Chess Piece, Crisis

Chapter 549: Chapter 498: Dark Chess Piece, Crisis

The Vast Sea was still the Chen Family’s Vast Sea, and their power was still unshakable.

All the painstaking efforts and schemes laid by the various factions in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World would be wiped out in an instant!

’I can’t stay here for long!’

In an instant, Chu Mu made his decision.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he tucked Wangcai straight into his Qiankun Bag. He then raised a hand to his face, and the Illusion God Mask slowly melded with his features. Before his very eyes, Chu Mu’s figure and appearance shifted, transforming him into an unremarkable, ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Chu Mu leaped down from the pavilion. He paused at the door, his Divine Sense probing his Storage Space. With another wipe of his hand, two pale green Jade Bottles appeared, hovering in his palm.

Both Jade Bottles contained only a few Elixirs each.

One held Divine Shadow Pills, the other, Heavenly Deceit Pills.

He was running low on both types of Pills.

For him, Heavenly Deceit Pills were easy to refine, but Divine Shadow Pills were difficult to come by.

Both were divine treasures capable of the grandest deceptions!

Chu Mu pondered for a moment before turning his hand over, returning the two nearly-empty bottles of Elixirs to his Storage Space. He then stepped out and hurried down the street.

In just a few moments, the towering city gate came into view. Seeing the crowded throng of people there, Chu Mu’s eyes flickered, and a heavy shadow of dread settled over his heart.

"Please forgive us, fellow Daoists. The major criminals wanted by the Alliance have taken advantage of this grand ceremony to infiltrate Bazhou City."

"By order of the Alliance’s Supreme Decree, Bazhou City is temporarily sealed. No Cultivator is permitted to enter or leave. The Alliance has issued a bounty: anyone who discovers the whereabouts of these wanted fugitives and reports it to us will be rewarded with ten thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones! If any fellow Daoist can capture these criminals or their accomplices, the reward will be ten thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones!"

"The Wanted Orders have been issued and are being posted throughout the city. We ask for your cooperation, fellow Daoists..."

At the city gate, the Overlord Saber Alliance Cultivators stood guard, shouting to explain the situation to the Cultivators who wished to leave.

On the streets, teams of Overlord Saber Alliance Cultivators moved about with stacks of Wanted Orders, posting them all over the city. ℯ

Chu Mu watched silently from a street corner. The shadow of dread in his heart grew even darker.

The Wanted Orders posted on the street were quite clear. The portraits of Xie Yu and the Zhao Shuang sisters—all three of them—were strikingly lifelike.

’If I didn’t know for a fact that Xie Yu and the other two were currently in my Sky-Breaking Flying Boat, and if I hadn’t just sensed something was amiss, I might have actually believed the Overlord Saber Alliance’s story.’

’After all, not only had Xie Yu and the sisters utterly humiliated the Overlord Saber Alliance, but a Golden Core expert had also died under mysterious circumstances because of them...’

’Even setting aside the secrets the three of them carried, those two points alone were enough to make the Overlord Saber Alliance willing to pay any price.’

’Airing their dirty laundry again on the day of the celebration to lock down the entire city for a manhunt... it wasn’t entirely implausible.’

Chu Mu looked at the many Cultivators who were gathering. The Overlord Saber Alliance’s story had clearly convinced them. Many even looked excited and eager to get started. It was hard to tell if they were after the bounty or if they coveted the secrets Xie Yu’s group held...

The scene before him only served to confirm his suspicions.

’This whole thing—Bazhou City, this celebration—it’s all been a setup from the very beginning. A trap... a jar...’

Chu Mu pursed his lips, his gaze sweeping around before finally settling on Bazhou City’s walls.

As Spiritual Qi surged, a faint golden light flickered. Countless Array Prohibition Inscriptions crisscrossed around Bazhou’s four walls. The City Defense Array was already active.

’A Nine Palace Bagua Formation, a Five Elements Formation, a Mountain and Sky Communication Array...’

After observing for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitched. He looked up at the sky, utterly speechless.

The sky was cloudless, the sun blazed high above, and there was no trace of the deep winter chill. Yet, for some reason, he felt a shiver run down his spine, a coldness blooming in his heart.

Before, the Array Prohibitions had been restrained, and with the Overlord Saber Alliance deliberately concealing them, it had been difficult to notice anything amiss.

But now that the Array Prohibitions were active and the signs were all apparent, it wasn’t difficult for someone of his skill in the Array Dao to see what was going on.

This little Bazhou City actually had five Tier Four Arrays interlinked, both inside and out!

Even the Demon Suppression Islands back in the day, or the once heavily-garrisoned Jingmen City, had never seen such a terrifying concentration of Grand Arrays.

Five Tier Four Arrays... Even a Nascent Soul Great Power trapped inside would find it nearly impossible to escape.

And that wasn’t even counting the twelve Tier Four Soldier Puppets. If those twelve were to form an array of their own...

Furthermore, with such a massive setup, the number of Nascent Soul Great Powers the Chen Family had brought must be considerable.

As his thoughts raced, Chu Mu found it hard to breathe.

’Such a massive setup...’

’Catching a turtle in a jar?’

But then, another doubt surfaced in Chu Mu’s mind.

The Profound Serpent Race was still on the offensive in the Demon Suppression Islands. From what he had seen and heard there back in the day, the Chen Family simply couldn’t have afforded to pull too many of their forces away. That was precisely why so many rival factions had risen up within the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

Otherwise, with the Chen Family’s resources, they would have likely snuffed out all internal turmoil at the earliest opportunity.

’Are they burning their bridges? Or did they make a deal with the Profound Serpent Race...’

Chu Mu thought for a moment but didn’t dwell on it. The most pressing matter was to get out of Bazhou City, a place teeming with trouble.

He took a step and headed toward the city gate.

Money can make ghosts push grindstones, and it could certainly entice Cultivators.

"Friend, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I really can’t!"

The Overlord Saber Alliance’s Foundation Establishment General at the gate shoved the Storage Talisman back into Chu Mu’s hand, his face a mask of reluctance as if his heart were bleeding. He had clearly sensed what was inside: at least a thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones, a windfall that had fallen right into his lap...

"The City Defense Array is already active. Aside from our Alliance’s Supreme, the Sect Leader, and a few Golden Core Elders, no one else has the authority to let people pass. That includes me. There’s no way to get out."

Chu Mu’s eyes narrowed. As he casually tossed the Storage Talisman back into the Foundation Establishment man’s hands, he let a hint of his Fake Pill Cultivation show.

"No matter. If that’s the case, I’ll just stay in the city for a little while longer."

The man was overjoyed. He discreetly tucked the Storage Talisman into his robes and practically puffed out his chest as he promised, "Friend, feel free to enjoy the city for a few days. If you need my help with anything at all, just say the word."

"Besides, the Alliance’s wanted fugitives are hiding in the city right now. If you stay for a few days, you might just stumble upon them. That reward of ten thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones could be yours for the taking..."

"Hahaha, alright then. Let’s hope you’re right."

"I’ve got my eye on that ten-thousand-Middle-Grade-Spirit-Stone reward, too..."

On the city wall tower, hearty laughter rang out from time to time. The polite conversation continued, deliberately prolonged by Chu Mu.

Under the effects of his Spiritual Radiance Blessing, he subtly surveyed the traces of the Array Prohibitions around the tower. Being in such a core location, the city’s interconnected defense arrays became even clearer and more transparent to his eyes.

’There’s another unknown Array... it’s...’

As they talked, a clue soon appeared before his eyes.

Following the new clue from the Array Prohibitions, Chu Mu continued to extend his perception during their polite chat. Soon, he traced the faint marks of the array toward the city center.

The other unknown Grand Array extended toward the city center—the very place where all the Nascent Soul experts were now gathered...

...