Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 403: Chapter 374: A Frog in a Well

”Oh, right. How many people outside the valley have signed up for the expedition to the Black Tortoise Calm Sea?”

Chen Che poured himself a cup of tea and asked casually.

The vassal families outside the valley had all been contacted through Ding Fei, but since the deadline had not yet passed, the final roster had not been submitted.

”Currently, there are three hundred forty-six people, and we expect around five hundred by the deadline. Sixty percent are from the major vassal families, and the rest are Loose Cultivators. As for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, there are over forty... Here are the registration lists from the various parties.”

Ding Fei handed over two rosters.

”So many?”

Chen Che was a little stunned.

”If we were to lower the Realm requirement slightly, the number would at least double,”

Ding Fei said frankly.

After the news got out, several families contacted him immediately, asking if the Realm requirements could be relaxed so they could squeeze one or two people in. The Xiao Family of Chi State even privately offered five thousand Spirit Stones.

After all, the dangers of the Black Tortoise Calm Sea were plain for all to see.

Even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would find it difficult to escape unscathed if they ran into a clan of the Aquatic Race, to say nothing of the many Tribulation Cultivators looking to prey on others.

Moving with Jinyun Valley was a natural guarantee of safety.

Moreover, they only had to hand over thirty percent and could keep seventy for themselves.

What a sweet deal!

With any other power, they would have to surrender at least eighty percent, and what little remained would be picked over again. Based on Jinyun Valley’s past military campaigns, this was a rare opportunity.

Back when Jinyun Valley annexed Chi State, many vassal families had feasted alongside them, lining their pockets.

That was why so many people were fighting tooth and nail to get in.

”The Black Tortoise Calm Sea is still quite dangerous. We can’t lower the Realm requirement too much.”

Chen Che shook his head and said calmly.

The cultivation requirements for the valley’s own disciples were lower because Jinyun Valley provided a safety net for them, and it was also an opportunity for them to gain experience.

As for bringing the vassal families, they were needed to act as a sharp sword, not to be tourists. It certainly wasn’t a case of the more, the merrier.

”Huh? Why is he on here?”

As his gaze shifted down the list, Chen Che’s eyebrows shot up when he suddenly spotted a name.

It was none other than Lin Mobai.

This was the very man who, during the night battle at Jinyun Valley, had tried to rally a host of Tribulation Cultivators to fight Chen Che to the death. Later, Chen Che had used a simple ploy to turn them against each other.

He had thought the man would flee immediately after the attack on Jinyun Valley, but he hadn’t expected him to hang around and refuse to leave.

”Should I cross his name off the list?”

Ding Fei asked in a low voice.

In fact, when the man had registered, Ding Fei hadn’t known what to do. After much thought, he decided to leave the matter for Chen Che to handle.

”He’s a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator. Jinyun Valley is magnanimous enough to tolerate him.”

Chen Che made the decision instantly.

’Sparing his life is already an immense act of mercy.’

’If he dares to pull any more tricks, I’ll make sure he is utterly destroyed.’

Putting the rosters away, Chen Che set them aside and continued, ”Take my command token and go to the sixth floor of the Treasure House to retrieve a Magical Artifact. When the intelligence network is complete, I will permit you to go to the ninth floor and retrieve another Magical Artifact.”

”The sixth floor... and the ninth floor?”

Ding Fei was overjoyed. Those floors corresponded to Tier Two High Grade and Tier Three High Grade Spirit Treasures, respectively.

In other words, once he completed this task, he would have an heirloom for his family. Even after he passed on, his descendants would still be provided for.

”Valley Master, rest assured,”

Ding Fei bowed excitedly. ”I will not disappoint you. I will handle this matter with the utmost care.”

...

After sending Ding Fei off, Chen Che strolled leisurely back to the rear mountain with his hands behind his back.

The Chixia True Cauldron was still burning.

After more than a month of refining, the corpse of the Wangxian Monarch was nearly half-processed, but it would still be some time before the pill was formed.

Fortunately, Meng Qianxun, Meng Changtu, Lu Qinglian, and Chen Xi were helping to tend the furnace fire day and night. Otherwise, Chen Che would have been unable to split his attention and would have had to sit monotonously before the Pill Furnace for at least two or three years.

This was normal, however. In both this world and on the Earth Element Star before the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall, there were records of it taking several years, or even decades, to refine a single cauldron of Great Pills.

And a Great Pill like this, which used an Ancient Fierce Beast like the Wangxian Monarch as its main ingredient, was naturally no ordinary matter.

If it had fallen into the hands of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, they wouldn’t even have been able to refine it. They could only perform simple processing, or perhaps even just carve it up and eat it.

Of course, Chen Che felt it was a pity he hadn’t found enough secondary ingredients. Otherwise, once this Great Pill was complete, its grade might have been no lower than that of the pills True Master Chixia refined on his deathbed.

However, to truly gather all the ingredients for such a pill would likely take the current Jinyun Valley over a hundred years.

Seeing Chen Che return, the others all made way for the main position, allowing him to sit down cross-legged. As he injected his True Essence, the furnace fire instantly flared several times stronger, engulfing the entire Chixia Tripod.

...

「A month later.」

The Ye Clan was brutally attacked again, and not a single one of the gathered members of the Ye bloodline survived. Their newly appointed patriarch, Ye Tianyu, escaped during the chaos, but he reappeared at Wangxian Ridge three days later.

His cultivation had been crippled, and he was found hanging from a tree.

There may have been other survivors of their bloodline, but none dared to fly the banner of the Ye Clan of Wangxian Ridge ever again.

At that point, the Ye Clan was well and truly annihilated. Perhaps in less than a hundred years, the glorious image of Wangxian Ridge would exist only in memory.

Meanwhile, the Flying Boat obtained from the Ye Clan’s treasury had been disassembled and reassembled by the Lu Clan, and the work was now mostly complete. It was completely unrecognizable as the one that the Ye Race had once used.

On the day the Lu Family delivered it, the crowd of cultivators that gathered at Jinyun Valley to watch was immense. Everyone stared in excitement at the Flying Boat that nearly spanned the entire sky.

...

「Lezhou.」

The many families who had chosen to flee because the Ye Race had grown powerful enough to threaten Jinyun Valley were now stunned by the news.

After all, according to their original predictions, they had guessed Jinyun Valley would not last ten years. Who could have thought the victor would be decided so quickly?

This was especially true for the Lü Family, which had already pledged allegiance to the Bai Family.

”Patriarch, did we make the wrong choice?”

In a valley within the Bai Family’s vassal territory, a place low in Spiritual Qi, several high-ranking members of the Lü Family sat together in a crude meeting room that could barely be called a council hall. All of them wore bitter expressions.

They had thought that leaving Jinyun Valley would lead to a bright future of meteoric rises. Instead, they found themselves in an endless darkness. Life was even worse than it had been when they were still with Jinyun Valley.

Moreover, the families that had stayed behind were growing larger and stronger. Comparing that to their own situation...

How could they not feel a single shred of regret?

”Jinyun Valley may look like it’s thriving, but it’s a precarious prosperity, like cooking oil over a raging fire.”

Lü Shiyong said indignantly, ”Just watch! They will collapse sooner or later! No matter how powerful Jinyun Valley is, aren’t they still subordinates of True Master Duobao? A single paper order was all it took to make them go obediently to the Black Tortoise Calm Sea, wasn’t it?”

Everyone exchanged glances, vaguely sensing their patriarch’s descent into madness.

He didn’t blame himself for making the wrong choice.

Instead, he hated Jinyun Valley for its rise. If even a Cultivator could be like this, what hope was there for mortals?