Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 284: Chapter 256: Four Pieces of News

”Have you truly never considered staying in the Valley, Fellow Daoist?”

Chen Che asked with a smile.

Although Jia Chaoyuan’s arms were severed, his lifetime of Forging experience was a rare treasure.

This was evident from his ability to direct others to jointly refine a Tier Three Magical Artifact. With him around, the Forging Hall’s standards would immediately rise to another level.

”Thank you for your generous offer, Valley Master Chen, but I’m truly used to my unconstrained ways.”

Jia Chaoyuan shook his head with a smile.

”True Master Duobao?”

Chen Che raised a slight eyebrow, mentioning a name.

”You... actually know?”

The corner of Jia Chaoyuan’s mouth twitched. He never thought that a secret he’d buried so deep would be uncovered.

”I heard Thousand Eyes mention it once, and I guessed it might be him,” Chen Che explained.

Thousand Eyes had said that True Master Duobao cut off a man’s arms simply because he refused to become a Tributor.

”It was indeed him.”

Jia Chaoyuan nodded slightly, his expression unreadable. It was unclear whether he had long since moved on or had simply buried the memory deep in his heart. ”True Master Duobao loves collecting all sorts of Magical Artifacts and Weapons. Rumor has it he possesses at least a thousand Magical Artifacts... He sought me out so that I would forge Magical Artifacts for him.”

Chen Che nodded slightly.

Indeed, there are only wrong names, never wrong nicknames.

Jia Chaoyuan couldn’t comprehend True Master Duobao’s habit of collecting Magical Artifacts and Spirit Treasures. But Chen Che understood perfectly. On Earth Element Star, it was called ’hoarding disorder.’ His high school classmate, Qi Fengzhu, had a penchant for collecting website URLs.

”It wasn’t just me.”

Jia Chaoyuan seemed to be recalling the past as he spoke slowly, ”Of all the Independent Refiners in my generation, not a single one escaped True Master Duobao’s grasp. Some were still unwilling, but after seeing what happened to me, they either obediently submitted or fled to serve another master.”

”If you have reservations, I can ask Thousand Eyes to put in a good word for you.”

This wasn’t an empty boast. Given his current standing with Thousand Eyes, protecting Jia Chaoyuan would be no problem.

”It’s not that I fear him.”

Jia Chaoyuan gave a bitter smile and said slowly, ”It’s because after he cut off my arms, he lost all interest in me.”

”Since you are unwilling, Fellow Daoist Jia, I won’t force the issue.”

They had laid all their cards on the table, yet he was still refused. Naturally, Chen Che wouldn’t insist.

”Thank you for not looking down on a cripple like me, Valley Master Chen.”

Jia Chaoyuan glanced at his disciple and said with a smile,

”Liang Yuan’s skills are no less than my own in my prime. He’s already capable of independently forging a Tier Two Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact. During my time in the Valley, I’ve also taught him the entire Spiritual Infusion Technique. All he lacks now is experience.”

He had been somewhat worried when he first entrusted Liang Yuan to Chen Che.

Although Lu Qinglian had acted as an intermediary, he had never personally dealt with Chen Che. But after coming to Jinyun Valley this time, he discovered that not only had Chen Che fulfilled his promise, but his own disciple had become the Chief of the Forging Hall.

Having Liang Yuan seek him as a backer had been the right choice.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt at ease letting his other three disciples come. Though those three weren’t as talented as Liang Yuan, by staying in the Valley, they at least had a hope of reaching Foundation Establishment one day.

Seeing this, Chen Che looked at Liang Yuan and said,

”Set aside the Forging Hall’s matters for now and escort your master back to his village. I’ll summon two Great Demons to serve as your transport.”

”Thank you, Valley Master.”

Liang Yuan hastily cupped his fists.

...

Chen Che’s expression was calm as he watched the master and disciple depart on the backs of the Great Demons.

What did high skill matter? As long as you were weaker than others, you would always be a lamb for the slaughter, at their mercy. Although Jinyun Valley lacked the deep-rooted foundation of other Foundation Establishment Influences, after a period of rapid accumulation, it was no longer a force to be underestimated.

With the miscellaneous tasks handled, Chen Che strolled toward the courtyard.

With a point of his hand, the Array parted to create a path.

This was his residence, a place even the Array Spirit could not approach. After all, an Array Spirit was a type of ’living being,’ and the thought of being watched day and night was rather unsettling.

”Mr. Che.”

Meng Qingxuan was in the courtyard playing with a Fire Crane. Seeing Chen Che appear, she called out joyfully.

”This little one won’t reach Foundation Establishment even when it’s fully grown. It doesn’t have much value for raising.”

Chen Che shook his head and glanced toward the Locust Tree Forest. ”After you reach Foundation Establishment, you can pick any Great Demon from the forest, and I can help you tame it. That Profound Cyan Sparrow in there, for example, can reach the Middle Stage of the Golden Core Realm upon maturity.”

For anyone else, taming these Foundation Establishment Great Demons would be extremely difficult, but for him, it was relatively easy.

”Really?”

Meng Qingxuan’s breath caught in her throat. When she came to her senses, she couldn’t help but feel thrilled.

No Beast Master didn’t dream of possessing a High Tier Great Demon. Once tamed, it meant that the moment she entered Foundation Establishment, she would immediately possess combat power comparable to a veteran Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

”Of course.”

Chen Che’s expression turned serious. ”Next, I’ll have people gather the Materials. When the time comes, I’ll have a Foundation Establishment Pill refined for you.”

”There’s no need. My father already prepared a Foundation Establishment Pill for me.”

Meng Qingxuan shook her head, taking out a small bottle sealed by a Talisman.

Seeing the pill bottle, Chen Che couldn’t help but marvel at how thoughtful his father-in-law was. He really didn’t need to worry too much about Meng Qingxuan’s affairs.

Walking to the back courtyard, Chen Che entered the Quiet Chamber.

Then, he took out the Yellow Gourd.

’To break this layer of restriction, even with my Golden Core Realm Divine Sense, would take a full century.’

Chen Che felt a wave of frustration as he used his Divine Sense to examine the chains within the mist.

He’d had the Yellow Gourd for several months now, and he had, of course, tried to break the restriction.

He even devoted half of his Divine Sense to this task at all times, except when in battle. But after several months of this grinding effort, the results were meager.

Only a few tiny nicks had appeared on the massive chains.

’I wonder if it will be faster when I reach the Nascent Soul Realm.’

Chen Che mused to himself after a moment of silence.

But without the Divine Statue, increasing his Divine Sense now also required a slow, patient effort.

He cultivated for a while, waiting until evening before heading out with Meng Qingxuan to visit the Ghost Market.

After its expansion, the Ghost Market was two or three times larger, but it still maintained its ’no words spoken after nightfall’ atmosphere.

Walking through it, there was barely a sound to be heard.

Although some Foundation Establishment Cultivators were selling items inside, he never again saw anything that caught his eye like the Thousand-Eyed Statue had.

Fortunately, there were still auctions, which steadily acquired goods from the market. Coupled with the Meng Family’s help, he managed to collect quite a few Fire Element Spiritual Objects.

「Half a month later.」

Chen Che received a series of reports from the Internal Affairs Hall.

First, the Haizhou Hu Family had been annihilated.

The former Second Elder and current Patriarch, Hu Xinyi, died in battle on the spot. She was 173 years old.

Of all the registered Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the family, none survived.

The Hu Family’s ancestral home was burned to the ground overnight.

Fewer than a hundred family members escaped, most of whom had already been stationed elsewhere. Upon hearing the news, they immediately changed their names and fled.

The powers that made a move numbered twenty-seven in total, all of them vassal families of the Hu Family.

It was said that someone had coordinated with the attackers from the inside, directly breaching the Hu Family’s Mountain Protection Array, which was why they were caught completely off guard.

After the Hu Family’s destruction, their territory and resources were immediately carved up. The news sent shockwaves through more than ten prefectures, and for a time, many families began to scrutinize their own vassal families.

’They moved too fast.’

Chen Che couldn’t help but be stunned when he heard the news.

He had been plotting to move against them for days. Because it would involve crossing several prefectures, and because the Hu Family’s foundation was deep, he had been planning to join forces with his father-in-law and even some other Haizhou families. He never expected that just as he finished drafting his plan, the Hu Family would already be gone.

Second was the chain reaction from this event.

Of Jinyun Valley’s five vassal families, four had members who successfully reached Foundation Establishment. One person failed and died on the spot.

Of course, this was all information they had reported voluntarily.

In addition, they invited Chen Che to attend their minor Foundation Establishment celebrations, presenting him with lavish gifts as a sign of their submission.

These smaller influences had a hard time surviving. They had to live at the mercy of others and were experts at reading the room.

The third piece of news concerned the Black Tortoise Calm Sea.

Off the coast, someone had witnessed a patch of sea erupting with lightning and thunder, with monstrous waves reaching for the sky. The celestial phenomenon lasted a full seven days, covering a seven-hundred-li stretch of the sea.

All cultivators who went to investigate failed to return alive.

In an instant, Chen Che guessed the reason. Such a world-shaking commotion was clearly caused by the Primordial Sect and the Star-Picking Sect.

However, such a massive disturbance was obviously not normal.

’They’ve run into trouble. I wonder if they’ve solved it yet.’

Chen Che rubbed his chin.

Nascent Soul True Monarchs had many methods at their disposal, but a being capable of building a Cave Mansion in the deep sea was even more extraordinary.

But there were no guarantees. Even on Earth Element Star, exploring the Cave Mansion of a Nascent Soul True Monarch could take decades, or even centuries.

’If they can’t open it anytime soon, once I’ve settled into the Golden Core Realm, maybe I can get a slice of the pie, too?’

Chen Che couldn’t help but speculate.

However, he didn’t get his hopes up. Going to a Nascent Soul Cave Mansion alone with a group of unfamiliar Golden Core Cultivators was tantamount to putting his life on the line. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never join in on that kind of commotion.

As for the fourth piece of news, it concerned Xiao Chan.

In recent days, several more Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Primordial Sect had been brutally wiped out. Although the Primordial Sect suppressed the news, the truth eventually came out—you can’t wrap fire in paper.

For the Primordial Sect, with its hundreds of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the loss of a few didn’t really affect the grand scheme of things.

But Xiao Chan’s actions showed he was dead set on destroying the Primordial Sect.

...

「Time flies in cultivation. In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.」

A young cultivator in a green robe sat cross-legged inside the Quiet Chamber, as motionless as a statue.

Before him, a pile of Fire Attribute Spiritual Objects had lost their color, turning into a heap of fine dust.

”After a year of Cultivation, my Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique has finally entered the Second Transformation!”

The green-robed cultivator slowly opened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed within them as the nine swirling flames behind him merged, returning to the one, and coalesced into a single drop of orange flame!