Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 353: Chapter 324: Divinity Transformation Big Shot

”Don’t overthink it. I’m just helping out a junior. Chen Yin may have had ulterior motives when he first approached me, but in the end, he contributed a great deal to killing Thousand Eyes.”

For an ancestor who spent generations striving for Core Formation, Chen Che would offer a measure of respect, even if he ultimately perished.

”Valley Master Chen, this junior will never forget your great kindness.”

Gratitude filled Chen Xi’s face. ’My ancestor was truly a good judge of character.’

The saying ”out of sight, out of mind” was no empty phrase.

Furthermore, with the other party’s cultivation having advanced, their statuses were no longer equal. Yet, he still remembered Chen Yin’s contribution in the battle against Thousand Eyes. No wonder her ancestor had repeatedly ordered that even if he were to perish one day, she must maintain a good relationship with this man.

’This is the good karma my ancestor established. I must seize this opportunity!’

”To be honest, Valley Master Chen, I might be able to reach Core Formation within a year!”

”So soon?”

Chen Che glanced at her, somewhat surprised.

Although Divine Dao Cultivators could raise their realm just by spreading their faith, this speed was a bit...

”Thousand Eyes only pursued the quantity of faith, not its quality. Mortals worship Divine Spirits to satisfy their own desires or seek some psychological comfort. The faith from such worship is like an ethereal mist, dissipating with a single puff.”

Chen Xi explained elegantly:

”But as I walked the Mortal World, I discovered that some believers treat their Divine Spirit as their everything. The faith they offer is incredibly dense. A single one of them can surpass dozens, even hundreds, of ordinary believers.”

”Zealots?”

Chen Che looked at her.

”You could call them that... To a certain extent, these zealots can even borrow the power of a Divine Dao Cultivator. Thousand Eyes had them in the past but never paid them any mind, even detesting it when they drew upon its power.”

Since she and Chen Yin couldn’t spread their faith as freely as Thousand Eyes, they had to work in the margins, cherishing every single believer.

As a result, they discovered a whole new path through these zealots.

”My ancestor and I established a Peach Blossom Spring. Though our believers are few, the quality of each one is quite high. Every time I reveal my true form, their belief in me deepens, and the faith they offer grows denser.”

”That’s why I’m confident I can achieve Core Formation within a year...”

Chen Che nodded slightly and offered a pointer:

”It’s good for a Divine Dao Cultivator to advance so boldly, but it’s like being duckweed on water—the foundation is unstable. Zealots alone cannot support a Divine Dao Cultivator’s Core Formation. If their numbers dwindle, there is a risk of your realm falling.”

Divine Dao Cultivators exist based on faith.

Once that faith is gone, they will naturally suffer a backlash.

”Hmm. If you can reach Core Formation in the future, I might bestow Chen Yin’s opportunity upon you.”

Chen Che’s voice was calm and distant.

”This junior will definitely not fail to meet the Valley Master’s expectations.”

Chen Xi bowed in thanks. She knew exactly what that opportunity was.

True Master Chixia’s Traveling Palace!

Back then, her ancestor had only mentioned it in passing, promising to take her there after she reached Core Formation. After his death, with no one to lead the way, she had stopped thinking about it. She never expected Chen Che to bring it up.

At the same time, any last shred of wariness she had for Chen Che vanished completely.

”You’ve stayed in Jinyun Valley long enough. You can return to Shuzhou now.”

Chen Che spoke softly, raising his hand as a token flew before her. ”From now on, you can publicly declare that you are a Tributor of Jinyun Valley. While this title might not intimidate some Golden Core cultivators, it will at least make most Foundation Establishment Influences think twice.”

”Thank you, Valley Master!”

Chen Xi said with the utmost sincerity.

Chen Xi immediately took the Divine Statue, announced her departure, and after bidding farewell to the others in the valley, she left Jinyun Valley.

And after she left, three Golden Core cultivators standing on a distant mountain peak swiftly looked over.

”Should we follow?”

”She’s just a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator. Why waste our efforts? We might even alert our target.”

”Then let’s not.”

”Let’s wait. Our target is the Valley Master. We can’t risk the major prize for a minor gain. If we successfully rob someone of his status, with his wealth, we won’t have to work for cultivation resources for a century. But if we fail, we’ll all face the wrath of the Primordial Sect!”

”But I’ve heard this guy rarely leaves the valley.”

”Waiting three to five years is no big deal. He’ll be alone eventually.”

...

Chen Che had no plans to leave the valley anytime soon.

In fact, the biannual ’team-building trip’ to True Master Chixia’s Traveling Palace was postponed due to Meng Qianxun going into seclusion.

It was now the end of the year, just in time for the exchange conference Li Tingyu had mentioned. Besides the other major Daoist Schools, elite students from dozens of Yiben Daoist Schools were also invited. Chen Che had previously looked up information on past exchange conferences.

To put it bluntly, it was a seminar where students from top academies shared their cultivation insights—something like a discourse on the Dao.

However, people can have many different views on the same matter, let alone the path of cultivation.

What you might imagine a ’discourse on the Dao’ to be is a gathering of cultivators freely expressing their views, until one person, with unmatched eloquence, persuades all the others.

The ’discourse on the Dao’ in reality: fight at the slightest disagreement until the other party is beaten into submission.

After all, this wasn’t like scientific research, where we each walk a different path, and whoever succeeds is proven right. Of the three thousand Great Daos, every path leads to True Immortal. Even when people practice the same cultivation technique, they each have their own unique insights on its operation.

”Are we going to fight today?”

”Will it be like on TV...”

Zong Yudao was very excited.

As someone not formally part of the system, he wasn’t qualified to enter Zhurong Daoist School. But having heard about the exchange conference early on, Zong Yudao desperately wanted to see such a grand event. He shamelessly begged Chen Che for days until he was finally allowed to tag along.

He had even started a ”live stream” in his high school group chat early in the morning.

”Fight! I want to see a river of blood.”

”Kill them! Leave no one alive! After today, Zhurong Daoist School will be the only Immortal Sect left!”

The comments in the chat were all in this vein.

The reality, however, was this.

Chen Che stood up and spoke: ”I have the following views on cultivation. First... Second... Third...”

The other students applauded.

Ye Zhihan stood up and spoke: ”I agree, and I would like to add a few points. First... Second... Third...”

Everyone applauded.

Another student stood up and spoke: ”I also have a few points. Please feel free to speak your minds, and if I am wrong, please correct me.”

Chen Che and Ye Zhihan: ”That’s not right. We believe it should be...”

The student: ”You two are right.”

Past exchange conferences had lasted at least five days, but this one was over in half a day. The entire process was amicable, with no one even getting flustered.

It was basically the Chen Che and Ye Zhihan show.

”That’s it? If I had known, I wouldn’t have come. I was so bored I almost fell asleep.”

Zong Yudao was filled with regret. He had taken a day off from work, expecting a huge spectacle. Instead, being not even at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, he couldn’t understand a word they were saying. It felt like a complete waste of a day...

”Whose fault is it that none of the students from the other Daoist Schools have reached Core Formation?”

Chen Che felt a bit helpless himself.

For this conference, he had even refined a third flame for the Second Transformation of his Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique, raised his Wind Thunder Technique Step to Great Success, and even cultivated the Starfire Technique of his Taichu Haoyue Sword to Great Perfection.

In the end, none of it was put to use.

”Who’s that old fart over there, hiding in the woods playing chess by himself?”

Bored, Zong Yudao glanced around and suddenly stood on his tiptoes.

Huh?

Just then, Chen Che looked over in surprise.

Under a large tree on the school grounds sat a scruffy old man wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops.

A chessboard was placed in front of him.

The old man held the white stones, while the black stones, held by no one, leaped out of their bowl on their own.

But strangely, his Divine Sense couldn’t detect the man’s presence at all.

”In all my years, you’re the first one to call me an ’old fart.’ With such a low cultivation, you’re not a student at Zhurong Daoist School, are you?”

Hearing the voice, the old man pushed the chessboard aside, turned to look, and beckoned.

”Come here...”

”I said that so quietly, how did he hear me? Who is he...”

Zong Yudao jumped in fright. He was about to leave when his vision blurred, and he suddenly found himself in the woods with Chen Che.

The old man clapped Zong Yudao on the shoulder.

”I remember now. You’re that ’Son of Fortune’ the media hyped up a few years ago, aren’t you? You have a good Spiritual Root, so why aren’t you willing to cultivate properly? You’re already twenty and still dawdling in the Qi Refining Realm. What a waste of time!”

”If your Cultivation Realm kept up, you would be anything but ordinary.”

”I’m on a work-study program right now...”

Zong Yudao didn’t argue, putting on a well-behaved act.

Back in high school, Li Xiaoshuang would say the same thing three times a day. He was long immune to it.

”Cultivate properly. If I had your aptitude, I would’ve reached the Void Refining Realm long ago.” The old man said, then turned to look at Chen Che.

The latter’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said:

”Greetings, Dean.”

The old man was none other than the dean who founded Zhurong Daoist School, one of the two remaining Divinity Transformation masters in the Immortal Sects: Gu Yuan.

A portrait of him hung in Li Tingyu’s office.

As he thought this, Chen Che couldn’t help but marvel. ’Truly the ’Son of Fortune’ of Earth Element Star.’ He himself had studied at Zhurong Daoist School for two and a half years without ever seeing the dean. Zong Yudao comes once and spots him immediately.

”You must be Chen Che. Not bad. Reaching Core Formation so quickly with a Middle Spirit Root is also out of the ordinary.”

The dean looked Chen Che up and down before nodding.

”Our Spiritual Roots aren’t as good as others, so we can only rely on diligent and arduous practice. I’ve scanned the school’s records. I hear you’re cultivating the Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique? Show me... Not bad, a third flame for the Second Transformation. That’s very fast!”

After having Chen Che retract his Divine Ability, the dean continued.

”Oh, right. I also heard you have a Sword Pill refined with an ancient method. Could you let me take a look?”

”Of course.”

The corner of his eye twitched, but Chen Che braced himself and took out the Sword Pill.

He was a Divinity Transformation master, after all. Chen Che couldn’t help but worry he would see through its secrets.

Sure enough.

The dean only glanced at it once before his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

”I’ve never seen a Sword Pill refined with an ancient method like this... However, from what I can see, the forging of this Sword Pill isn’t quite complete!”

Hearing the first half of the sentence, Chen Che’s heart sank. But the second half piqued his curiosity.

”Dean, what do you mean by ’not quite complete?’”