Chapter 521 - 490: Farewell

Chapter 521: Chapter 490: Farewell

After Chen Che left, another banquet was held in the palace. In attendance were Teng Miao, Zhu Yiwen, and the Golden Core cultivators who had fought that day. To them, this was finally a private gathering for their own people.

At the banquet, they spent a great deal of time discussing Chen Che, whom they truly could not fathom. How could a country bumpkin from the Mortal World be blessed with such incredible opportunities, his strength soaring to such heights in just over a decade?

Why weren’t *they* the ones with such great fortune?

"I just don’t get it!"

Zhu Yiwen lamented.

His family’s lineage was older than even the Primordial Sect. They had progressed step by step, strictly by the book, and it wasn’t until his generation that they had finally produced two Golden Core cultivators. He had always been proud of his family’s ancient heritage and profound resources, but in the end, comparisons were just infuriating.

During the banquet, the conversation shifted to the resources of the Three States.

"I lost my head,"

Teng Miao said with a long sigh.

"The resources in the Three States are immense—hundreds of Storage Rings wouldn’t be enough to carry it all. It has to be transported by large Spiritual Boats; otherwise, the Star-Picking Sect would have already moved everything. When we arrived, the battle had clearly just ended. They didn’t have time to transfer the goods."

He had reflected on the matter thoroughly. ’So impulsive!’

Then again, he was influenced by his Thunder Technique cultivation, which naturally made him irritable and quick to anger. He often acted in the heat of the moment, only to regret it afterward.

"Is Chen Che really preparing to leave? He isn’t just putting up a front, is he? The war here isn’t over yet..." At the banquet, one of the Golden Core cultivators couldn’t help but ask, "Do you think he’ll double back on us?"

What went unsaid was that the mission of ’defending the territory’ naturally included ’recovering lost assets.’ And the spoils here were substantial. Even after being plundered, the Three States could still be squeezed for a great deal of wealth.

After all, who would be willing to do the work if there were no profits to be made?

If Chen Che were still around, those profits would likely never reach their hands.

"Even if he didn’t get the resources from the Three States, his gains from the last two battles must be immense," Zhu Yiwen said, glancing at the one who had spoken. "He’s in a hurry to leave, probably so he can go back and sort through his spoils."

Everyone found this theory quite convincing.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu and I have already sounded him out. He’s definitely leaving,"

Teng Miao nodded and added, "The Jinyun Valley people are all packing. It doesn’t look like an act. Besides, he knows that leaving is easy, but coming back will be hard."

"Good."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

If he were to double back on them, they wouldn’t be able to cope.

"What should we do with those people from Celestial Ghost City?"

The same Golden Core cultivator spoke up again. "That bunch is full of traitors. They actually dared to draw their weapons on us. I fear they’ll be difficult to command..."

"How about we kill them all?"

Teng Miao said, his eyes narrowing.

"If word of this gets out, it will be difficult to answer to the Sect..." Zhu Yiwen frowned and was about to speak when a cultivator hurried in and whispered a few words in his ear. After listening, his eyes lit up with delight as he exclaimed:

"They all want to leave with Chen Che! Perfect! The troublemakers are gone. The only problem is... we’ll be short on manpower."

"If we’re short on manpower, we’ll recruit."

Teng Miao slammed the table, a smug smile spreading across his face.

"Our families have plenty of cultivators we can call on; we can use this as an opportunity to give them some real-world experience. We should also thank Chen Che for cracking a tough nut like Three Rivers Peak. If it had been up to us, who knows how many people we would have lost."

"I can contact another Golden Core cultivator..."

The first Golden Core cultivator spoke up again.

"Me too..."

The others all chimed in.

"Let’s drink to this! To shared glory and riches!"

Zhu Yiwen raised his cup high.

Instantly, everyone else raised their cups as well.

...

...

Halfway through the banquet, Zhu Yiwen, Teng Miao, and the others received a notice delivered by Yu Daogui, which further convinced them that Chen Che was truly leaving.

"Shall we go and see our dear Valley Master Chen off?"

Zhu Yiwen asked with a mocking expression.

The suggestion was met with immediate agreement.

The thought of Chen Che missing out on all the resources of the Three States brought them immense satisfaction, even though they had been humiliated by him earlier. At least in this round, they felt they had won a point back.

The group spotted Chen Che in a single glance amidst the bustling crowd in Celestial Ghost City’s square.

It was hard not to, as his Celestial Cyan Robe, Celestial Star Crown, Nebula Boots, and Star Profound Belt made him stand out from the crowd. Upon seeing those Magical Artifacts, the smile that had just begun to form on Teng Miao’s lips fell away.

After all, half of those Magical Artifacts had once belonged to him.

"Valley Master Chen, is there anything you need help with?"

Zhu Yiwen’s earlier mocking tone was completely gone, replaced by an expression that practically screamed, ’I’m here to help’.

"No need to trouble yourself, Fellow Daoist. These are just some internal matters," Chen Che said, sweeping his gaze over the Golden Core cultivators. The glee in their eyes was practically spilling out.

"Hurry and take them down! Don’t leave a single one!"

A shout from the city wall drew the attention of the Golden Core cultivators.

"They’re dismantling those to take with them?"

Teng Miao walked over to see Yu Daogui directing several disciples as they carefully dismantled the Bed Crossbows on the city wall. The crossbows were crudely made, clearly a rush job. The wood, bowstrings, and gears were all of visibly mediocre quality.

"Yes, Senior,"

Yu Daogui answered respectfully, but without a trace of humility.

The Golden Core cultivators exchanged glances and smirked without a word. ’Jinyun Valley is so petty,’ they thought. ’How many Spirit Stones could those things possibly be worth?’

To think they were taking every last one. If it were them, they wouldn’t have even bothered to give the crossbows a second glance.

Yu Daogui shot them a sidelong glance. Of course, Chen Che had never ordered them to take these Crossbow Beds.

They had all been hastily constructed during the reconstruction of Celestial Ghost City. But Yu Daogui still harbored a grudge against these Golden Core cultivators for attacking Chen Che, so his mentality was more along the lines of, ’I’d rather burn them all to the ground than leave a single one for you.’

And so,

it left the people from the Primordial Sect with the false impression that Jinyun Valley was hopelessly cheap.

"V-Valley Master Chen is... quite the frugal one. No wonder Jinyun Valley has grown so quickly."

It took Zhu Yiwen a long moment to force the words out. "Truly, it’s admirable."

Chen Che was well aware of his disciples’ petty scheming, but he simply changed the subject. "After Jinyun Valley departs, the great responsibility of defending the city will fall to you, Fellow Daoist. I wonder, what are your plans?"

"Without Valley Master Chen watching over Celestial Ghost City, our only plan is to defend it to the death..."

Chen Che really couldn’t stand the man’s hypocrisy. "If you lack the confidence to defend Celestial Ghost City," he said coolly, "then perhaps I should just stay?"

"Ah, well..."

Zhu Yiwen, who had been feigning regret, froze. He wanted to slap himself. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to say:

"There’s no need for Valley Master Chen to worry. We already called for reinforcements a while ago. We expect five more Golden Core cultivators to arrive within seven days... and our respective families will be sending men as well. We will absolutely make Celestial Ghost City an impenetrable fortress."

"That’s good."

Chen Che nodded slightly, adding with pointed meaning, "My only concern is that if I leave and something goes wrong here in Celestial Ghost City, the Sect will hold me responsible."

"That absolutely will not happen."

Zhu Yiwen immediately gave his assurance, then said probingly, "I can write a letter back to the Sect, explaining the situation here..."

Seeing Chen Che’s nod of approval, he immediately began to write, his brush flying across the paper. The letter’s contents were simple: Chen Che and his people were exhausted and returning to their valley to rest, while Zhu Yiwen and his group had solemnly vowed to defend Celestial Ghost City.

After finishing, he stamped it with his seal, summoned a Demon Bird, and sent it off right then and there.

"Then I can rest easy,"

Chen Che said, cupping his fist and grinning at him.

’He really wants to shirk all responsibility,’ Zhu Yiwen thought. ’I wonder if he’ll still be smiling when he finds out he missed out on all the resources of the Three States.’

Out loud, however, he merely said, "It’s the least we can do for a fellow sect member."

However,

though his words spoke of camaraderie, his actions did not.

On the city wall, the moment Yu Daogui ordered a Crossbow Bed to be dismantled, a cultivator from the other group would install a new one in its place, a clear statement that this section of the wall now belonged to them. It made Yu Daogui so angry he looked like he wanted to tear down the wall itself and take it with them.

Aside from this minor incident, Zhu Yiwen’s party remained relatively restrained. Even he didn’t dare to speak carelessly again. This continued until dusk the following day, by which time all the cultivators, including the ones from Celestial Ghost City, had boarded the Spiritual Boat.

"A safe journey to you, Valley Master Chen!"

Zhu Yiwen’s voice, unable to conceal its delight, carried on the wind.

"Vice Chief Zhu, Vice Chief Teng, farewell!"

With those words, the Spiritual Boat rose on the wind and flew away from Celestial Ghost City.

From mid-air, he glanced down and saw the two Vice Chiefs standing in the square, waving up at him with uncontainable joy. Chen Che couldn’t help but let out a cold smirk. ’Is Celestial Ghost City truly so easy to defend?’

’I wonder what their faces will look like when they meet the Star-Picking Sect’s Right Protector.’