Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 377: Chapter 348: Three Things and Rejecting a Disciple

For the following month, the Market was undergoing reconstruction.

Although a great battle had just taken place not long ago, the atmosphere within Jinyun Valley was bustling with activity.

Every household that received compensation was astounded. After all, battles between Major Cultivators were common, and any cultivators caught in the crossfire who were injured or killed could only chalk it up to bad luck.

It was like a human walking—who would care about accidentally stepping on a few ants?

However, here in Jinyun Valley, for the first time, they felt like they were being treated as human beings.

For this very reason, a considerable number of cultivators even made a special trip to settle here during this time.

When this news spread, the Valley’s upper echelons were somewhat stunned at first. But after thinking it through, they found it to be perfectly logical.

As the saying goes, it’s good to find shade under a large tree.

And for these low-level cultivators, wasn’t Jinyun Valley now a great tree that could shelter them from the wind and rain?

Mortals seek fortune and avoid disaster, so why would cultivators be any different?

As for the hundred or so Foundation Establishment Tribulation Cultivators, they were neither restrained nor placed under any restrictions; their movements were completely free. After the Market’s reconstruction was complete, most of them left, but a small portion still chose to stay.

Surprisingly, Lin Mobai, the one who had been clamoring for a fight to the death, was among those who stayed. Perhaps he was worried Chen Che would settle old scores later, so he remained in the Market as a display of submission.

As long as these Tribulation Cultivators didn’t cause trouble in Jinyun Valley, Chen Che couldn’t be bothered with them.

After all, he had been busy with several matters over the past month.

The first matter was a trip to the Slaughter Tower in Faqian City, where he planned to up the pressure on Duobao. To his surprise, however, Duobao’s bounty, which he and Xiao Chan had raised to 600,000, had now skyrocketed to 1.2 million Spirit Stones.

After some careful inquiries, he learned that Duobao had committed numerous enraging deeds. Now that his identity was exposed, many people who bore a grudge against him had added to the bounty. These contributions, in increments of tens or even hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones, had collectively pushed the price so high.

Chen Che promptly threw in another million Spirit Stones, pushing the total bounty to 2.2 million.

Although it caused a sensation throughout Faqian City, most people were content to watch from the sidelines. After all, the target had the Primordial Sect backing him. Chen Che, however, was completely unconcerned. Wealth stirs the hearts of men. With such a high bounty hanging there, it was only a matter of time before a Tribulation Cultivator in a tight spot would be lured into action.

The second matter concerned the Meng Family.

Meng Changtu had been in seclusion for over half a month and finally succeeded in crossing his tribulation within the clan. The entire process was overseen by three Golden Core Guardians: Chen Che, Meng Qianxun, and Xiao Chan. Despite some minor setbacks, he ultimately succeeded in Solidifying his Pill.

However, his foundation wasn’t as profound as Meng Qianxun’s, so he would still need a considerable amount of time to stabilize his new realm.

But undeniably, the Meng Family now possessed a second Golden Core True Master.

As soon as the news spread, the Ye Family was utterly alarmed. With Ye Yuanji away in the Black Tortoise Calm Sea, their clan had no Golden Core True Master to hold down the fort. Now the Meng Family, who had already been eyeing them covetously, had another Golden Core True Master. How could they not be terrified?

For a time, they became even more meek and cautious.

An alliance of three Golden Core True Masters would hold significant influence even within a major power like the Primordial Sect. At the same time, any discerning person could see that the Ye Family, which had dominated Yunzhou for nearly two hundred years, would soon be receding from the center stage.

The third matter was the Chen Clan.

Having decided to establish his own clan, Chen Xi gathered all the members of the Royal Family who had an aptitude for Cultivation and chose to establish their foothold on Thunder Accumulation Mountain.

On the day of the clan’s founding, many cultivators went to offer their congratulations.

The Meng Family, Jinyun Valley, and even the Lu Family attended, effectively endorsing Chen Xi.

After the three-day banquet, Chen Che asked about the situation in Shuzhou. He learned that without any high-level cultivators to maintain order, Shuzhou had descended into chaos, fracturing into dozens of small vassal states.

Furthermore, because of the previous slaughter, the lands were now teeming with Ghostly Creatures and Demon Beasts.

For the common mortals, Shuzhou had become a living hell. For a Divine Dao Cultivator, however, it was a golden opportunity to spread their faith. As a result, Chen Xi’s Cultivation had skyrocketed to the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer.

This made Chen Che once again marvel at the frightening speed of Cultivation on the path of the Divine Dao.

However, Chen Che had also hinted to him that cultivating too quickly often came at a price. He had once spoken with Zuo Yishan and learned that the Heart Demon Tribulation for Divine Dao Cultivators is formed from the prayers and wishes of mortals.

If only two out of ten ordinary cultivators fell to the Heart Demon Tribulation, then for Divine Dao Cultivators, that number was at least eight out of ten.

This was because their Heart Demons didn’t originate from within themselves, but from others, making the tribulation far more difficult to overcome. In fact, at any given moment, they risked having their physical bodies usurped by the collective consciousness of those mortals.

Of course, if the greatest ordeal for a Divine Dao Cultivator was the Heart Demon Tribulation, then the greatest calamity for a Ghost Cultivator was the ’Ten Thousand Souls Devouring Body Tribulation.’ That’s right—Ghost Cultivators were destined to face one more tribulation than any other type of cultivator.

The cycle of life and death is a fundamental law of the Celestial Dao. If a Divine Soul is unwilling to dissipate after death, it must naturally bear the consequences.

The reason he was thinking about all this was that Lu Ping’an had also come to offer congratulations that day.

Having benefited from the slaughter between the two provinces, nourished by countless mortal souls and an abundance of Evil Qi, Lu Ping’an’s cultivation had reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. After the banquet, Lu Qinglian had pulled him in front of Chen Che and, without beating around the bush, asked Chen Che to take him as a disciple.

She even presented an apprenticeship gift worth 300,000 Spirit Stones.

Obviously, this sum of Spirit Stones represented all of Lu Qinglian’s savings from her years in Jinyun Valley.

”That’s not necessary.”

After a moment of thought, Chen Che refused her outright.

In this world, accepting a master was an incredibly serious matter. That was why whether it was a sect like Jinyun Valley, the Primordial Sect, and the Star-Picking Sect, or a clan like the Meng Family and the Ye Family, they all had the official position of Tutor.

Only when a truly suitable candidate was found would they be accepted as a disciple, and the two would address each other as master and apprentice.

Of course, sometimes, taking a master wasn’t really about learning from them, but about finding a powerful backer. And even with Chen Che’s knowledge of Ghost Cultivators, he was more than capable of guiding Lu Ping’an’s Cultivation.

”Valley Master, does that mean...”

Lu Qinglian bit her lip and asked uneasily.

She had chosen Chen Che after careful deliberation.

’First, Chen Che is now a Golden Core True Master, and I myself work in Jinyun Valley. Regardless of whether I return to the Lu Family in the future, this would strengthen our ties.’

Of course, the main reason was that principled people like Chen Che were a rare sight.

If she could entrust her son to such a person, she believed that even if she were to pass on one day, Chen Che would not mistreat him.

”Back when Chen Yin was still alive, he asked me to take Chen Xi as my disciple, but I refused,”

Chen Che explained casually, adding, ”If he is truly interested, he can join the Sacrificial Hall in the future. I treat all cultivators in the Valley equally...”

”It seems Ping’an is not destined for such good fortune.”

Hearing that Chen Xi had also been rejected, Lu Qinglian, though her expression was filled with regret, was not overly dejected.