Chapter 577 - 522: The Empty-Handed Gambit

Chapter 577: Chapter 522: The Empty-Handed Gambit

’All those below Golden Core are nothing but ants... No, I should say, all those below Nascent Soul... are ants...’

Chu Mu sighed, a wave of melancholy washing over him.

In the great catastrophe of Bazhou, even Nascent Soul Great Powers were caught in the scheme. As for those below Nascent Soul, they were nothing more than ants.

This was true even for the Golden Core Cultivators, who seemed so high and mighty.

Including the various powers and the Loose Cultivator Golden Cores, there were at least a dozen Golden Core Cultivators. How many of them survived the Chen Family’s plot?

As for those below Golden Core, among the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators in the city, it was unlikely any survived that cataclysm.

To say their lives were treated like worthless weeds might not even be enough to describe the catastrophe in Bazhou.

But the melancholy lasted only a moment before it transformed into an overwhelming sense of urgency.

In this Cultivation Immortal Realm, weakness itself was the original sin.

There was no reasoning with it!

Take the Bazhou catastrophe, for example. Hundreds of thousands of Cultivators, all treated like ants, all perished. But... what of it?

It would do nothing more than stir up some unrest and give the Cultivation Immortal Realm another sensational topic to gossip about.

The course of events would inevitably be decided by the few Nascent Soul experts at the top and the conflicts between the major powers.

As for those low-level Cultivators who perished because of this, no one would care.

They were like weeds by the roadside, mown down only to grow back again. The one thing the Cultivation Immortal Realm never lacked was more weeds.

Chu Mu’s finger twitched. The Sound Transmission Token floated before him, flashing with several messages from Chang Hongyi. He tapped it, and the messages played one after another in his ear.

When the last message ended, the weight on Chu Mu’s heart was finally lifted.

He pondered for a moment before sending out several messages of his own. After making some arrangements, he seemed to think of something. A fervent heat flared in his eyes. With a wave of his hand, a palm-sized Storage Bag appeared, hovering above his palm.

The Storage Bag was a faint, translucent green with a gentle luster. It felt as light as air in his hand, as if it were empty.

Although storage treasures were rare, for the current Chu Mu, it was no longer considered a particularly precious item.

But at this moment, Chu Mu’s gaze upon the Storage Bag was undeniably fervent.

To him, this Storage Bag was a truly wonderful surprise!

His Divine Sense flowed out, slowly probing the Storage Bag. The Storage Space within immediately appeared in his Divine Sense Perception.

The Storage Space wasn’t very large, only a three-dimensional area a few dozen feet across. It was quite well-organized. Several bookshelves lined one side, neatly stacked with translucent, crystalline Jade Scrolls.

On the other side of the space, dozens of wooden boxes were stacked high. The boxes were all crafted from Spirit Wood and inscribed with various sealing Array Prohibitions.

He had already opened all the boxes. Inside, they held either neatly stacked Spirit Stones of various Grades, or a collection of Elixirs and Artifacts.

Chu Mu merely glanced at these items. His full attention was instantly captivated by two distinctive Jade Boxes tucked away in the corner.

The Jade Boxes were also open, the items within clearly visible.

A crimson-and-cyan flame blooming like a lotus, and a jet-black Banner Flag several feet in size.

A flame and a banner.

The Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame, and... the Ten Thousand Souls Banner!

Like he was examining a Supreme Treasure, Chu Mu wrapped wisps of his Divine Sense around the two items, perceiving and studying them bit by bit.

If he hadn’t confirmed again and again that these two treasures were, in fact, the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, he would have thought he was hallucinating when he first found them.

After all, both of these treasures had been won by the Extreme Yin True Master at the Overlord Saber Alliance’s auction.

Moreover, in the deadly Battle that followed, the Extreme Yin True Master had even used the Ten Thousand Souls Banner against his foes. Chu Mu had seen all of this with his own eyes!

’Perhaps it wasn’t... the Ten Thousand Souls Banner...’

As if struck by a thought, Chu Mu raised an eyebrow. He had been rather surprised back then when the Extreme Yin True Master used the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

After all, the catastrophe had erupted right after the auction ended, with only a few hours in between.

Refining a Top Grade Treasure couldn’t possibly be done in a few hours; it would be impossible even in one or two days.

And without completing the Refinement process, one couldn’t fully control a Magical Treasure. Without full control, it obviously couldn’t be used in a Battle.

In other words, the Magical Treasure the Extreme Yin True Master wielded back then must have been a Magical Treasure similar to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, but not the specific one from the auction.

In fact, it was highly likely that the Chen Family never even delivered the treasures after the auction ended!

After all, the celebration and the auction were just an act, a play staged by the Chen Family for their grander scheme in Bazhou!

It was all to lure more Cultivators into their trap, to be used as cannon fodder, and to make the various powers lower their guard so the Chen Family could execute their plan.

In other words, at that auction, all those sky-high, terrifying bids were very likely just the Chen Family running a massive scam!

From start to finish, neither the Chen Family nor the Overlord Saber Alliance had any intention of delivering the auctioned items.

Take the Nine Heavens Profound Gold he had coveted so much. If that Sword Dao Nascent Soul hadn’t personally stepped in to demand it, forcing the Chen Family’s hand out of fear, it would have never been delivered.

Otherwise, even if he had exhausted all his resources and wealth to win the bid, it likely never would have been delivered to him.

The corner of Chu Mu’s mouth twitched. He was rendered speechless.

It was a good thing his funds were limited back then. He had the desire but not the means, so he hadn’t participated in that frantic bidding.

Otherwise, he might have very well lost both his life and his fortune.

’No wonder the Extreme Yin True Master was so furious...’

At this thought, Chu Mu couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Back in Bazhou City, the rampage and fury of the Nine Heavens Sect’s Extreme Yin True Master had caused a bloodbath across the city.

At the time, he had assumed the Extreme Yin True Master was simply relying on the might of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, anxious that his Nascent Soul Ancestor was trapped and desperate to break the stalemate.

But now it seemed more likely he was just venting his rage!

At that auction, the Nine Heavens Sect—or rather, the Extreme Yin True Master—had been the most aggressive bidder. The Ten Thousand Souls Banner, the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame... every item went for an astronomical price!

According to the auction’s rules, the Extreme Yin True Master had evidently paid these astronomical prices in full to the auction house. And as for the treasures he’d won...

Chu Mu waved his hand, and the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner floated before him one after another.

A flame and a banner.

These two treasures alone added up to nearly one hundred thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones!

From what he had seen, this flame and banner were only a fraction of the treasures the Nine Heavens Sect had won at exorbitant prices.

At that auction, the Nine Heavens Sect had, at the very least, thrown down over one hundred thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones!

To have such a terrifying fortune amount to nothing in the end... if it were him, he probably would have gone berserk and sought revenge until his last breath!

...