Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 302: Chapter 300: Joyful Union Bell

Silverfish meat was tender and smooth, and it was said to have skin-rejuvenating properties.

Fairy Taohua loved to feast on them. To please this Core Formation Ancestor, the Ghost Spirit Sect had directly converted a ten-thousand-mu pond, which could have supported the cultivation and lives of nearly a hundred disciples, into a Spirit Pool just for raising fish.

They even specifically assigned twenty Qi Refining Disciples to look after these Silverfish.

All these places added together would require at least two thousand Cultivators to manage.

It would be best to have Foundation Establishment Cultivators as well; otherwise, as an outside force, we might not be able to assert our authority.

The atmosphere in Hejian County was nowhere near as orderly as in Black Mountain. While Tribulation Cultivators weren’t exactly everywhere, when a big score presented itself, many Loose Cultivators wouldn’t mind becoming robbers for a day to get a piece of the action.

’Black Mountain is the foundation of our Sect; we can’t possibly keep pulling people from there... When Senior Brother Wei gets back, I’ll discuss it with him. We’ll see if any local forces in Hejian County are willing to pledge allegiance. We can have them garrison the second-tier resource points. We’ll agree on a term limit and a profit-sharing arrangement, and just have them hand over their dues annually.’

The Qingfeng Sect had only started expanding its recruitment significantly in recent decades, so its total number of disciples was limited.

Even though Bai Zichen hadn’t been an Elder for long and didn’t have a deep understanding of the lower-level disciples, he knew that satisfying Wei Chuming’s request was completely impossible.

”For instance, this forest is over ten thousand qing large. Its annual yield is mostly Tier One Spirit Wood, with no more than three hundred cubic units of Tier Two Spirit Wood. And you’ve proposed stationing one Foundation Establishment Elder, ten Late-Stage Qi Refining disciples, and thirty Mid-Stage Qi Refining disciples. Do you really think that handful of people can watch over the entire forest?”

Bai Zichen tossed the scroll back and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

”Even if they could manage it, is it worth it for our Sect to invest this much manpower for such a meager annual output of Spirit Wood? Go and reconsider. Focus on what’s important and let the minor details go. We must use our limited manpower where it counts.”

”I will make adjustments according to your instructions, Ancestor.”

Wei Chuming picked up the scroll and cautiously asked another question, ”What should be done with all the prisoners from the Ghost Spirit Sect?”

Over seven thousand Qi Refining Disciples and more than fifty Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Not counting the two Core Formation True Men, the entire Black Mountain army was weaker than these prisoners from the Ghost Spirit Sect who had surrendered without a fight.

Simply guarding them was tying up a huge portion of their manpower.

This was a time of rebuilding, and everyone was bustling with activity. All items recovered from the Ghost Spirit Sect had to be sealed and cataloged, so none could fall into private hands, but discovering valuable Treasures was generously rewarded with Contribution Points.

That was far better than being stuck foolishly guarding prisoners.

The Cultivators on guard duty couldn’t earn any rewards and were already growing resentful. Their grumbling put considerable pressure on Wei Chuming.

”It would be a waste to kill over seven thousand Cultivators. Sentence them all to hard labor. Send them to the Ore Veins to mine... Set a term for them: fifty years for Qi Refining Cultivators and one hundred years for Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Their sentences can be reduced for meritorious service.”

Working in the Ore Veins was arguably the most despised job for any Cultivator. Deep within the mines, the environment had long become suitable only for the growth of ore.

The Spiritual Qi was chaotic, the labor was arduous, and it would even interfere with one’s own Cultivation.

In the Qingfeng Sect, only Sect Disciples who had committed serious offenses were assigned to such hard labor.

For normal Spiritual Ore mining, the sect hired Martial Arts experts from among the Mortals to work as miners.

They worked in shifts lasting two to three years, and their payment was a bottle of Elixirs that replenished qi and blood. In the eyes of Mortal Martial Artists, this was a Supreme Divine Pill that could lead them to the Innate realm.

The Ghost Spirit Sect, on the other hand, had filled its mines with failures from within its own Sect, supplemented by large numbers of captured Loose Cultivators.

”Yes, I will dispatch these prisoners to the nearest Ore Veins shortly.”

Wei Chuming agreed. For him, any solution was fine, as long as a Core Formation Ancestor had given the order and it could be carried out.

...

The Underground Palace was like a veritable Ghostly Realm.

Master Ge Cang had scanned through the important texts in the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Transmission Hall and discovered that this palace was the only thing of true significance.

It was the source of White Bone True Man’s confidence, and the reason his Cultivation had suddenly skyrocketed to Core Formation Perfection.

”The Underworld Nether Coffin. A vessel used by great figures in Ancient Times for reincarnation... I never expected the Ghost Spirit Sect to possess such a strange and wondrous item. You really can’t underestimate the hidden reserves of any Sect.”

Seeing an object straight out of legends appear before his very eyes, Bai Zichen was intensely curious.

”I wonder if any of those great figures ever succeeded in their reincarnation. Stories like that are always so vague...”

”I imagine they didn’t succeed,” Ge Cang replied. ”Otherwise, the strongest experts in the Human World since Ancient Times wouldn’t have been capped at Divinity Transformation... For the last ten thousand years, even a Divinity Transformation Great Power has been nearly impossible to find.”

Master Ge Cang walked ahead, and thousands of Yin Candles flickered and swayed with his steps.

”If such a great figure were to successfully reincarnate and awaken the memories of their past life, the Nascent Soul Realm would be far too low a station for them.”

As they spoke, the two arrived before the Underworld Nether Coffin.

The coffin’s lid was open, likely pushed aside when White Bone True Man had climbed out.

Inside, it was pitch-black. Neither the naked eye nor Divine Sense could penetrate more than a few feet into the darkness.

”What a terrifying coffin. It seems to be humming, calling out... No wonder all the Cultivators who laid down inside met the same fate.”

Bai Zichen shook his head and took a step back.

His Divine Sense took the form of two soaring dragons and plunged ten feet inside, and a vague, distant voice resounded in his Sea of Consciousness.

He could not discern its gender or meaning, but it sounded like the call of an ancient being, echoing through the river of time. The terrifying power it radiated made his entire Sea of Consciousness tremble.

However, within his Sea of Consciousness, the Heaven and Earth Furnace tempered earth, water, fire, and wind below, while the Five Crystal Divine Iron, scattered like stars, reinforced the sky above.

The voice echoed twice but failed to drag his Divine Sense into submission, and then it faded away.

”The purity of the Nether Qi in this coffin is far beyond Tier Four means. Can it be that it’s truly connected to the Underworld, as the legends claim?”

Master Ge Cang reached out and touched the Underworld Nether Coffin, and a wisp of black qi immediately drifted toward his palm.

A flash of lightning flared, and with a series of sharp CRACKLES, he dispersed the black qi.

”We should set up an Array and declare this Underground Palace a forbidden zone,” Master Ge Cang said. ”Even a Core Formation True Man could easily fall prey to this place... If we want to explore its secrets, we’ll need to be at the Nascent Soul Realm at the minimum.”

”I agree. We must prevent any disciples from wandering in and being bewitched by the Underworld Nether Coffin. That would be a tragedy.”

Bai Zichen nodded slightly. Aside from the Underworld Nether Coffin, nothing else in the Underground Palace held his interest.

It was a pity. The Spiritual Qi here had reached Tier Three Top-Grade, but the introduction of such dense Yin Qi made it unsuitable for the disciples of the Qingfeng Sect to cultivate in.

Faced with the Underworld Nether Coffin, an artifact from Ancient Times, Bai Zichen and Master Ge Cang appeared nonchalant and unconcerned. This was because both of them had a high probability of becoming Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

But for ninety-nine percent of the Cultivators in the world, a single wisp of Nether Qi was twice as effective as Clear Spirit Jade Marrow and could drastically increase their chances of reaching Core Formation.

If a Core Formation Cultivator lay in the coffin, it was even possible for them to advance directly to Core Formation Perfection.

This was a temptation few could resist.

”Speaking of which, Ten Thousand Ghosts Creek is a Tier Three Mid-Grade Spirit Vein overall, but after years of modifications by the Ghost Spirit Sect, many areas have become Demon Land. Only Cultivators who practice specific Cultivation Techniques are suited to live there.”

”It’s of no concern,” Ge Cang replied. ”Those areas are prone to spawning Corpse Stiffs and Ghost Souls, so we can just set them up as a trial ground for Inner Sect Disciples... With time, the land will eventually correct itself and revert to a normal Spirit Land.”

Bai Zichen had already analyzed the distribution of Spirit Land within Ten Thousand Ghosts Creek. Despite its vast area, it was actually inferior to their own Celestial Thunder Cliff.

There were two plots of Tier Three Top-Grade Spiritual Land: one was the Underground Palace, and the other was a jade-green pool formed by an Eye of the Spirit Spring.

Only three other plots of Tier Three Spirit Land were suitable for Qingfeng Sect disciples. This implied that within the Ghost Spirit Sect, Tier Three Spirit Land was the exclusive domain of Core Formation Ancestors. No one else could even think about it.

This was a world of difference from the Qingfeng Sect, which could guarantee every True Disciple a plot of Tier Three Spirit Land. Before the recent boom in Foundation Establishment Cultivators, even every Elder could be assigned one after waiting in line for a few years.

”It is a pity I cannot travel far,” Ge Cang lamented. ”Otherwise, a trip to Beiyuan to acquire a Buddha Treasure would surely cleanse the Demonic Qi here and restore this place to a Pure Land.”

Annihilating the Ghost Spirit Sect had only meant eliminating the Qingfeng Sect’s weakest rival; of course Master Ge Cang couldn’t let his guard down.

Regardless of whether it was the Holy Lotus Sect or the Celestial Principle Sect, if things escalated to the point where a Nascent Soul True Monarch was deployed, the only chance the entire Qingfeng Sect would have of stopping them was for both him and Bai Zichen to fight with their lives on the line.

”Now that this is our Sect’s territory, calling it Ten Thousand Ghosts Creek isn’t appropriate anymore. Senior Brother, perhaps you could give it a new name?”

”Then let’s call it Ten Thousand Immortals Creek.”

Master Ge Cang, who was clearly not gifted at naming things, stated slowly.

...

「Aboard a silver-white Spirit Ship」

The Joyful Union Sect disciples who had retreated from Hejian County were returning to their sect on their own, while the two Core Formation True Men rode inside a Flying Magical Treasure.

”Thank you for your assistance, True Man,” Fairy Lianyu said. ”Otherwise, I would have become a prisoner of the Qingfeng Sect.”

Fairy Lianyu raised a delicate wrist. Her arm, as dazzling as fresh snow, was veiled by a layer of translucent white gauze as she gently dabbed at her reddened eyes.

Her face showed lingering fear, but inwardly, she was assessing the situation.

’I have no romantic history with this renowned Master Suihan. We only met once, decades ago, at an auction.’

’How could such a brief encounter possibly compel him to rescue me? Besides, the timing was far too coincidental.’

’It can only mean he’s been watching me. He has an ulterior motive for saving me.’

”Don’t thank me. You can thank yourself. I saved you only because you are the sole woman of the Joyful Union Sect to have achieved true mastery... I need you to voluntarily shatter your Joyful Union Bell, triggering the Six Desires Sacred Sound, to help me with my Tribulation Crossing!”

Master Suihan was a wizened old man. Aside from his eyes, which shone with a brilliant light, every part of him screamed of old age.

”The Joyful Union Bell? Our sect has no such Treasure. You must have misheard some rumor, True Man.”

Fairy Lianyu looked utterly stunned, her bright eyes wide and her cherry lips slightly parted, affecting the bewildered posture of a helpless young woman.

”Since I have come to you, you can be sure I am completely certain,” Master Suihan said. ”If the time were ripe, I would have ’invited’ you back to the Ice Soul Palace long ago.”

His words made Fairy Lianyu jump to her feet nervously. A look of absolute control spread across the old man’s face.

”The Joyful Union Bell is a manifestation of your Cultivation Method, created within your Sea of Consciousness. Only when one of its Cultivators shatters it willingly can it trigger the Six Desires Sacred Sound... See? I am quite well-informed, am I not?”

”True Man, if my Joyful Union Bell shatters, I will regress all the way to the Early-Stage Core Formation realm... For me, losing a hundred years of cultivation means my path to the Great Dao will be severed in this life!”

Fairy Lianyu’s face drained of all color. This time, it wasn’t an act; she was truly despairing.

”Instead... how about I serve you with my dual cultivation Secret Technique? That can also benefit your Cultivation.”