Chapter 541 - 510: The Restless Star-Picking Sect

For a while, Chen Che's residence was a constant stream of visitors.

Most of them came because of Chen Che's status as an Alchemy Master.

Setting aside the value of every High Tier Alchemist, Chen Che's battle achievements alone already rivaled the prestige of True Master Chixia in his prime.

Even if the Primordial Sect was doomed, this Valley Master would be treated as a guest of honor wherever he went.

Of course.

Pill Masters weren't the only ones who held such a status; mastering any of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation to a high degree afforded the same treatment. According to Yu Qian, when he traveled the world in his younger days, he was recruited just as many times as Chen Che.

However.

While peace and prosperity reigned within the city walls, the outside world was ravaged by the flames of war.

First, Evil Cultivators were popping up everywhere, surging forth in waves. Traces of them could even be faintly seen outside Primordial City. Nine out of ten people who left the city on business never returned alive.

Batch after batch of teams went out to hunt down the Evil Cultivators, but it felt as though the more they killed, the more numerous the enemy became.

Because of this, many people even went in groups to the Primordial Sect to petition, pleading for the Golden Core Cultivators to take action.

But before the Primordial Sect could respond, a large number of Star-Picking Sect cultivators appeared outside the city. They brazenly set up camp five hundred li from the city walls.

Overnight, palaces rose from the ground, stretching for hundreds of li.

It was clear they were no longer satisfied with just occupying Celestial Ghost Ridge and were now attempting to advance on the Primordial Sect.

The Evil Cultivators, plus the Star-Picking Sect.

This forced the teams sent out to exterminate the Evil Cultivators to retreat back into the city.

Of course, the Law Enforcement Department of Xingtang Hall returned with them. In front of the entire city, these Foundation Establishment enforcers opened their Storage Rings and blocked the city's four main gates with countless blood-stained heads.

The sight left many people scared into silence.

In both the Mortal World and the Cultivator World, the punishment for deserters was unimaginably severe.

Hu Yao even saw Lü Shiyong, who had once left Jinyun Valley.

His head was piled at the very top, his eyes wide open in death.

On the same day, Tang Linli brought Tang Lintao and Tang Linhai to pay their respects to Chen Che. It was only then that the Tang Family learned that their supporter during this period had actually been Jinyun Valley.

Their gratitude, naturally, went without saying.

Throughout history, there have always been plenty of people who would kick a man when he's down or flatter him in his success, but very few who offer a helping hand in a time of desperate need.

In private, Tang Linli also told Chen Che that although they no longer had to leave the city to exterminate Evil Cultivators, they had been assigned to the front lines. In other words, they were cannon fodder meant to hold back the Star-Picking Sect.

After hearing this, Chen Che said nothing, but privately refined a batch of pills and gave them to Tang Linli for their survival.

...

Not only was the area outside Primordial City in a state of chaos, but the flames of war had also finally reached Jinyun Valley.

With all of its Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators requisitioned, the militarily weak Jinyun Valley naturally became a tempting target in the eyes of the Evil Cultivators.

In recent days, it had already suffered several consecutive attacks.

Besides the Evil Cultivators, there were even many Golden Core cultivators of unknown origin.

Fortunately, however, Chen Che had made arrangements in advance before he left.

Cultivators from the Meng Family, Lu Family, and Chen Clan all gathered in Jinyun Valley. Including the valley's disciples, the Market's cultivators, and the residents under its jurisdiction, there were well over a hundred thousand Qi Refining Cultivators. Added to that were the Jinyun Valley's Grand Array, as well as the Little Chick and the flocks of birds on the back mountain that Chen Che had specially left behind.

Let alone Evil Cultivators, even Golden Core cultivators couldn't break through.

In fact.

They even managed to kill two of the attacking Golden Core cultivators.

Although Jinyun Valley was safe, the surrounding areas could not escape being plundered. Before he left, Chen Che had specially sealed the Anomalous Copper Ore Vein on Jinghai Island Reef to prevent it from being illegally mined. But in the end, a group of unknown cultivators forcibly broke the Grand Array and began to plunder the ore in large quantities.

On top of that.

What angered Chen Che the most was that the Dragon Turtle he had been raising in the Black Water River had been captured. Fortunately, the person who took the Juvenile Turtle didn't seem to want to kill it, but rather intended to keep it as a pet.

Its life was not in immediate danger, at least for the time being.

This was the nature of the Primordial Sect's emergency Summoning Order—gather all subordinate forces to defend the Sect. Everything else could be temporarily abandoned.

'When this war is over, everyone who took what's mine will have to spit it back out, tenfold, a hundredfold!'

Chen Che would not let anyone get away with touching his things.

...

Of course.

The territories under Jinyun Valley's jurisdiction were still in relatively good shape. Thunder Accumulation Mountain was directly leveled by two Golden Core cultivators. Because Chen Xi had established her clan only recently, they didn't have many assets to begin with. However, rumors in the outside world claimed that the Chen Clan had obtained the inheritance of Thousand Eyes.

But when these Golden Core cultivators broke through the Grand Array and entered, they found nothing. As if to vent their fury, they shattered Thunder Accumulation Mountain.

The Lu Family, on the other hand, fared slightly better.

Because Lu Yuntian had faked his death, the Lu Family had no Golden Core cultivator on the surface, and these invading Golden Core cultivators disdained the wealth accumulated by a mere Foundation Establishment Clan. However, they were still plundered by a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators...

It was no exaggeration to say...

...these Evil Cultivators were like a plague of locusts, leaving no man or beast alive in their wake.

...

Fortunately, their people were safe, and with a large amount of resources on hand, they could stage a comeback at any time. If even the forces related to Jinyun Valley had been targeted, one could only imagine the dire situation facing the territories of other Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The initial excitement from the arrival of Jinyun Valley's reinforcements had begun to wane as the situation outside deteriorated, and the mood grew increasingly somber.

A large portion of the cultivators had already lost much of their hope in the Primordial Sect.

Furthermore, rumors that the Primordial Sect Leader had already fallen were rampant within the city. The Primordial Sect responded swiftly, however. The Law Enforcement Team arrested many cultivators spreading these rumors and executed them in public.

Nevertheless, the rumors continued to spread among the populace.

Even the cultivators from Jinyun Valley were affected by the rumors, and many discussed them in private. Every rumor was told with convincing detail. Some said the Sect Leader had perished after returning from the Black Tortoise Calm Sea.

Others said that Zuo Qinlong had defected precisely because he had prior knowledge of the Sect Leader's death.

Still others claimed that the lightning and thunder in a certain location several months ago was the Sect Leader Crossing the Tribulation, but since so much time had passed with no news, he must have failed.

Beyond that.

All sorts of rumors and gossip were flying about, making every day spent in the city feel like a year of torment.

Finally, on the twenty-seventh day after the Jinyun Valley reinforcements arrived in Primordial City, there was movement outside the walls again.

"Golden Cores! There are Golden Core cultivators outside the city..."

"The North Gate!"

"Eight, nine, ten, eleven... twenty-three!"

"Is the Star-Picking Sect about to attack?"

In an instant, cries erupted one after another.

Before Hu Yao could even come in to report, Chen Che had already heard the shouts from the cultivators outside the city.

'Is the Star-Picking Sect finally making their move?'

Upon hearing the commotion, Chen Che immediately flew out from his grand residence. At the same time, the streaking figures of Golden Core cultivators could be seen all over the city, all rushing toward the North Gate.

In truth, Chen Che was also growing impatient.

The Star-Picking Sect's strategy of surrounding the city without attacking was clearly intended to break the morale of the cultivators within. He, too, wanted to resolve this conflict sooner rather than later. Instead of this slow torment, it was better to get it over with once and for all.

Moreover, he had been using his Divine Sense to scan the Primordial Sect every few days, trying to confirm if the Sect Leader was still alive.

After such a long period of seclusion with no news, Chen Che was also getting anxious.

Lost in thought, he arrived at the North Gate in a flash.

Here, this was the position guarded by the Primordial Sect's leadership. Standing on the city wall, one could see twenty-three massive figures hovering outside the sprawling palace complex, their True Essence radiating outwards as if to prop up heaven and earth.

Unexpectedly, Chen Che also spotted the figure of Yu Yunko.

She carried a Ring-Headed Saber on her back and was poised alone in the center, her eyes lowered as if in a light doze. The other Golden Core cultivators were lined up with her at the center, forming what looked almost like a massive mountain range.

'The same fate...'

Chen Che's brow twitched. 'She's probably been assigned to the first wave of the attack by the Star-Picking Sect, too.'

Following behind him, Chen Xi, Xiao Chan, and the others couldn't help but show a slight change in expression upon seeing this scene.

It was fortunate they weren't stationed at the North Gate, or they would have had to face their former comrades-in-arms.

"A few of them are Golden Core cultivators from the Star-Picking Sect, but the majority are Loose Cultivators from the outside." Ping Miaohan, who had also rushed to the North Gate, said after glancing outside the city. She then turned to Chen Che. "It looks like they're about to launch an all-out attack."