Chapter 498 - 467: Gong Liangyi, White Jade Sculpture

Chapter 498: Chapter 467: Gong Liangyi, White Jade Sculpture

"Those Golden Cores can’t sit still any longer!"

Even an ordinary Cultivator could sense the commotion outside the city, to say nothing of a Golden Core True Master.

The moment a Golden Core appeared outside the city, Zuo Qinlong spotted them. He recognized the person at once—one of the twenty-six Golden Cores who had been camped outside the city:

Gong Liangyi!

"So it’s him. It makes sense that he’d be the one getting antsy."

Dou Shanhe said with a smile, his hands clasped behind his back.

This man is an Evil Cultivator, known to others as True Master Xuehai.

In the Cultivator World, just as in the Mortal World, one might be given the wrong name, but never the wrong moniker.

He was once a Cultivator under the jurisdiction of the Primordial Sect. In the third year of his Cultivation, his entire clan was annihilated. From the eldest ancestor down to the most common clansman, nearly everyone was wiped out. He only survived because he happened to be away at the time.

Later, through a stroke of fortune, he acquired a Demon Skill that used the fresh blood of Cultivators to advance one’s Cultivation. Once he grew powerful, he massacred the entire clan of his enemies.

After his revenge, he went down the path of all Evil Cultivators, slaughtering indiscriminately in his pursuit of power.

This eventually provoked the Primordial Sect into action, and they chased him off like a stray dog.

He has rarely appeared in the last century or so, but his disciples and their descendants occasionally roam the lands, leaving a trail of bloody massacres. Clearly, after his escape, he established a Sect in some forgotten corner of the world.

Now he’s come to get a piece of the action, and his strength is among the greatest of all the Golden Cores outside the city.

"Gong Liangyi is powerful, but he can’t take down Celestial Ghost Ridge on his own!"

Zuo Qinlong slowly shook his head.

This was simply an overt scheme by the Star-Picking Sect: use the foreign Golden Cores and local Evil Cultivators to wear down the Primordial Sect’s Golden Cores. At the same time, it ensures that the Star-Picking Sect’s future rule won’t face much resistance.

Hidden agents like Pei Chu were just there to light fires everywhere.

And his job was specifically to lure them in, set the trap, and go for the kill.

"It doesn’t matter. He’s not the only one who’s restless. Two more Evil Cultivator Golden Cores have shown up outside the city in the past few days... Besides, greed makes men fools. They’ve already conquered three major prefectures; now that they’ve had a taste of victory, they won’t give up so easily."

Dou Shanhe said, full of confidence.

One had to understand, this kind of large-scale plunder and slaughter, spanning several prefectures, would never be permitted in normal times. Even when the Star-Picking Sect propped up the Ten Thousand Gods Sect to establish itself, it confined their territory to just two prefectures, forbidding them from making trouble elsewhere.

These Golden Cores knew that if they missed this opportunity, they would likely never see another one in their lifetimes, short of another great war between Sects.

Therefore, the Cultivators who had already plundered vast resources were even less willing to stop. In fact, they would fan the flames, goading others to join them in a full-scale assault.

...

...

’True Master Xuehai... has his Cultivation already reached the Golden Core Seventh Layer? Evil Cultivators really do progress quickly. According to Zuo Qinlong’s intel, he was only at the Sixth Layer a few days ago. He’s already broken through!’

The appearance of a Golden Core drew many eyes. Chen Che had also hurried to the city walls. He squinted, watching the blood-red figure outside the city that stood hundreds of feet tall, its True Essence radiating outwards.

’This Cultivation speed is just too fast...’

’No wonder Evil Cultivators can never be stamped out.’

’And no wonder he’s not willing to walk away.’

"Those people around him, they must be disciples of the Blood Sea Palace, right? There look to be several hundred of them."

"Hmph. He was chased out by the Primordial Sect like a dog, and now he dares to come crawling back to get a piece of the action while the Star-Picking Sect and Primordial Sect are at war. He truly has a death wish."

"Those poor Cultivators outside the city..."

The Cultivators inside the bustling city were all discussing the matter.

Nearly everyone was watching the battle outside the city, so news of any development spread like wildfire.

’Are they finally making their move?’

Chen Che grasped the key point.

This posture clearly showed their determination to attack Celestial Ghost Ridge, an act that would undoubtedly spur the other Cultivators into action as well.

’Or did their negotiations fall through, so they’ve decided to just stop talking altogether?’

Chen Che guessed inwardly as he stared out from the city walls.

’The Star-Picking Sect clearly has eyes and ears in the city. Faced with our growing reinforcements, they know that if they delay any longer, all their efforts might be for nothing. The best solution for them is to take Celestial Ghost Ridge first and divide the spoils later.’

’After all, to an Evil Cultivator, other Cultivators are just another type of resource.’

’Jinyun Valley’s reinforcements will arrive by midnight tomorrow at the latest. Those Golden Cores shouldn’t be able to hash out an agreement in such a short time.’

Chen Che wasn’t worried about Jinyun Valley being used as cannon fodder.

Duobao, for once, hadn’t screwed them over. He had even transferred several more Golden Cores over, increasing the city’s defenses several times over. With the added protection of the Array, the enemy wouldn’t necessarily gain any advantage even if they launched a full-frontal assault.

’Strictly speaking, they might not be able to conquer Celestial Ghost Ridge even if I weren’t here.’

After coming down from the city walls, Chen Che took a stroll through the Market in Celestial Ghost City.

To his disappointment, there was no marketplace like a Ghost Market here. Instead, there was a small black market meant for fencing goods, but it was tiny—barely half a street long, with most of the shops shuttered.

While wandering about, Chen Che was surprised to find a sculpture made of white jade in one of the shops. It stood about half as tall as a man.

It wasn’t a depiction of Thousand Eyes or the Celestial Divine Being, but of a strange, tiger-like Demon Beast. It was posed mid-roar at the sky, exuding a soul-stirring power despite its low rank of only Tier Two Middle Grade.

The stall owner saw Chen Che stop to examine the statue and said dismissively, "If you’re thinking of buying it to guard your home, don’t bother. There’s only the one."

"Guard my home?"

Chen Che found this privately amusing and decided to get straight to the point by revealing his identity.

"I’ll give you a Tier Three Elixir if you tell me the origin of this item."

"Ah, so it’s Valley Master Chen."

The stall owner had thought the sculpture might be some incredible treasure and was just wondering if he should jack up the price. But after learning Chen Che’s identity, he didn’t dare hold anything back and quickly explained the item’s origins in detail:

"To be honest with you, Valley Master, I got this from a Tribulation Cultivator who tried to ambush me in a territory governed by the Star-Picking Sect."

"I found this White Jade Demon Beast in his Storage Pouch."

"He wasn’t very strong, only at the Foundation Establishment Third Layer, a Loose Cultivator of mortal origin. After I got this White Jade Demon Beast, I followed up on its trail. It came from a village in the Mortal World."

The stall owner pointed at the sculpture.

"Supposedly, when this tiger was a cub, it fell into a hunter’s trap and was rescued by a child. It later became a demon by chance and took the village under its protection..."

The man explained slowly.

Clearly, he had sensed something unusual about the item when he first got it and had investigated it thoroughly.

But the rest of the story was rather cliché:

An Evil Cultivator passed through, wanting to hunt the tiger, and used the villagers as bait. The tiger died fighting the Evil Cultivator to protect them. To commemorate the Tiger Demon, the villagers made this sculpture and worshipped it daily.

"That’s it?"

Chen Che was clearly unsatisfied. This wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

"It’s the absolute truth. I went and investigated it myself. Many Cultivators need a pair of statues to guard their Cave Mansions, but since this one is alone, it’s been stuck on my hands. I’ve had it for three or four years and haven’t been able to sell it."

The stall owner gave a sheepish grin, his eyes darting to the elixir in Chen Che’s hand with a mix of eagerness and anxiety.

"I always keep my word. Take the elixir."

Chen Che knew what the man was thinking and tossed the elixir to him.

’I thought I might have uncovered another Divine Dao Cultivator, but it turned out to be nothing.’

Of course, since items of faith are created through worship and veneration, it meant that not all of them came from Divine Dao Cultivators. Some were formed through pure coincidence, a process that was many times more difficult than the creation of a Divine Dao Cultivator’s faith item.

Replicating them was practically impossible.

"The sculpture?"

The stall owner stood up, caught the elixir, and then glanced at the jade carving.

The item was worthless to Chen Che. If there had been a pair, they might have been nice for guarding a residence, but as it was... He waved his hand dismissively. "I don’t want it. You can keep trying to sell it."

Chen Che turned to leave, disappointed. He hadn’t gotten far from the black market when a familiar voice, tinged with surprise, called out:

"Valley... Valley Master Chen?"