Chapter 112: One Last Job Before Retirement
The Calamity Poison Body could bypass the process of accumulating spiritual power. As long as the realm was comprehended, crossing the boundaries was easy.
If Luo Xue had enough Immortal’s Kowtow, and she abandoned suppressing her realm and disregarded the stability of her foundation, forcibly increasing her cultivation to the mid-stage of Core Formation wouldn’t be a problem.
Unfortunately, Immortal’s Kowtow, besides being a poison, was also an extremely precious and rare medicinal ingredient.
The gourd of Immortal’s Kowtow Luo Xue had was already all the stock her convenient mother had “borrowed” from the Everspring Pavilion.
And perhaps because of the Xuanyin Phoenix Transformation Scripture, Luo Xue’s spiritual aperture was many times larger than that of ordinary people, and the accumulation of spiritual power was relatively slow, so her cultivation progress was indeed slower.
Besides obtaining many resources, Luo Xue had also accumulated some survival points during her recent adventures.
[Survival Points: 300]
[Poison Resistance: 100]
[Strength: 100]
[Soul: 100]
[Cultivation Aptitude: Barely There]
[Divine Ability Aptitude: Barely There]
150 points were left over from before, 50 points were obtained from the final battle against the two prodigies of the Demonic Ghost City, and the remaining 100 points were accumulated during this period.
Because of Nangong Mengxiang’s presence as insurance, every time she faced a Core Formation cultivator, she could only get 10 survival points in the end, accumulating to 300.
Luo Xue didn’t plan to use these survival points for now, because both cultivation aptitude and divine ability aptitude required 1000 points for the next upgrade.
Having witnessed the benefits of activating special talents, Luo Xue didn’t want to waste these survival points.
“Barely There” was already considered the level of a prodigy in the Immortal Domain and the Demon Abyss. The next stage would have to be at the level of the Holy Maiden of the Temple or Li Guijiao, a peerless genius, right?
However, there was a more pressing matter at hand… The Evil Spirit Sect’s spirit vein refining formation was complete and had been tested once, achieving the desired effect.
Zhang Xianzhao was satisfied, the Evil Spirit Sect disciples were satisfied, and the villainous trio were even more satisfied.
After Li Guijiao received this news from the puppet Master Zou, Luo Xue and Nangong Mengxiang, who had been waiting, immediately set off for the Evil Spirit Sect’s residence.
After this last job, they would retire and head to the nameless swamp.
…
Meanwhile, in the capital city of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
The imperial study, a place where only the emperor could enter with his permission, was now filled with various cultivators.
There were Daoist priests in robes, seductive women in revealing clothes, hulking, dark-skinned men, and a wrinkled old man with a pockmarked face sitting on the emperor’s dragon throne, beside a young man in dragon robes, sweating profusely.
Clearly, the emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, before these demonic cultivators, could only tremble in fear.
“Fellow Daoists, please listen to this old man, Shensuanzi!” The old man coughed twice, his voice raspy. “Recently… I believe you have all suffered at the hands of those villains, and your sects have suffered considerable losses.”
TN: (*Shensuanzi : Celestial Seer, Divination Expert*)
Before Shensuanzi could finish, the seductive woman chuckled and said, her eyes narrowed,
“Senior Shensuanzi, your losses are indeed great. I didn’t expect you, at your age of over a thousand years, to still be so obsessed with mortal storybooks…”
“Jiao Nu, I don’t want to argue with you.” Shensuanzi’s drooping eyebrows twitched. “I’m here today for the benefit of all fellow Daoists.”
“Is that so?” A booming voice, like thunder, echoed. The hulking man said in a deep voice, “What they took from the Iron Mountain Sect is not even one-tenth of what your Thousand Machines Sect usually schemes.”
A few voices echoed in agreement, and several other sects chimed in.
The imperial study was filled with noise.
The Demon Abyss sects were never united. On the contrary, each had their own grudges and conflicts of interest.
Even with the villainous trio as a common enemy, they couldn’t unite in such a short time.
“Everyone, quiet down, and listen to this old man.” Shensuanzi chuckled softly. “Don’t you… want to get back what was stolen from you?”
Shensuanzi’s words gradually silenced everyone, their eyes flickering.
Indeed, even if the resources stolen by the villainous trio weren’t much, it was still a loss.
And many small losses added up to a significant amount.
“This old man has already sent people to investigate. There haven’t been any large transactions of spirit stones, medicinal herbs, or materials within the Northern Zhou Dynasty recently, which means they still have those things.”
Shensuanzi said in a deep voice, “I believe you all know how much you’ve lost, and how astonishing the combined amount is… don’t you want to get it back?”
The sect masters began to stir. This was indeed a tempting offer.
“Then, Senior Shensuanzi, how will the recovered resources be distributed?” Someone asked loudly.
“Those who are capable will get more.”
Shensuanzi said faintly.
“…”
The sect masters’ expressions changed slightly.
Although this was in line with the Demon Abyss’s rule of survival of the fittest, in this situation…
“Shensuanzi truly lives up to his name,” the seductive Jiao Nu’s shrill laughter rang out again. “Are you planning to have everyone work for your Thousand Machines Sect? Who doesn’t know that the Thousand Machines Sect is the most powerful? At that time, I’m afraid—”
“The Thousand Machines Sect will take nothing.”
Shensuanzi bluntly interrupted Jiao Nu, seemingly intending to silence her.
Jiao Nu was stunned and stammered,
“Then, then your scheme…”
“The tallest body cultivator in the villainous trio, we’ll give her to the Jiao Clan, how about that?” Shensuanzi said with a smile. “Your sect definitely lacks a body cultivator of that level as… nourishment, right?”
Jiao Nu’s eyes immediately lit up, and the sinister smile on her face softened, replaced by a charming one.
“With Senior Shensuanzi’s kindness, this junior will definitely do her best to help capture those villains.”
This seductive woman, her face changing faster than flipping a page…
The sect masters looked at Jiao Nu’s sudden change in attitude and couldn’t help but feel envious.
Everyone knew that the peak Foundation Establishment body cultivator was the strongest of the trio, and therefore the most valuable.
For her to be given to the Jiao Clan, many sect masters felt resentful.
But soon, Shensuanzi addressed the dissatisfied sects one by one, offering corresponding benefits.
Either promises or additional resources, until all the established sects agreed to Shensuanzi’s joint operation with smiles on their faces.
It could be seen that Shensuanzi was indeed quite capable.
In such a short time, he had temporarily united these sects, who were usually at odds with each other.
However…
The newer sects weren’t happy.
Several sects established less than a hundred years ago hadn’t been mentioned by Shensuanzi, as if they had been ignored.
Among them were the Yin Li Sect and the Evil Spirit Sect.
“Senior Shensuanzi, what is the meaning of this?”
Zhang Xianzhao was the first to step forward, his expression dark. “Senior summoned us here, saying there was an important matter to discuss, but why did you deliberately ignore us?”
“I didn’t ignore you.” The wrinkles on Shensuanzi’s face didn’t even twitch.
“Then why didn’t you give us any benefits?”
Zhang Xianzhao’s tone was aggressive. Although his strength wasn’t top-tier, his personality was reckless.
A typical hothead.
“Those who are capable will get more, I’ve already said that.” Shensuanzi said faintly.
“But why do the other sects get extra benefits, and we don’t?”
Zhang Xianzhao continued relentlessly. “In the attacks by those villains, my Evil Spirit Sect suffered the greatest losses. We should receive more compensation!”
“So, Daoist Zhang, you mean…”
Shensuanzi said, his smile not reaching his eyes.
Zhang Xianzhao, seeing this, thought that Shensuanzi had backed down, and quickly said,
“Since the Jiao Clan wants that peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, then I’ll take that ‘Kong Lianbin,’ no problem, right? She’s only at Spirit Condensation.”
After being bombed four times, he hated “Kong Lianbin” to the core, and he had long coveted her, an Immortal Domain cultivator, as a cauldron.
Hearing this, Shensuanzi’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately said,
“I can’t give her to you.”
“Hmm?” Zhang Xianzhao was stunned. Seeing Shensuanzi’s displeasure, he added, “Then, just that unknown little girl is fine…”
Although her appearance was ordinary, she was still an Immortal Domain cultivator, and as a cauldron, she should be about the same, right?
Luo Xue had been using her own disguises during their recent activities.
Not exactly ugly, just very common, not very memorable.
Shensuanzi’s expression changed drastically. “I can’t give her to you either.”
“What?! You can’t give me this, you can’t give me that,” Zhang Xianzhao’s eyes widened, and he stood up, slamming the table and shattering it. “Old man, are you deliberately humiliating me? Are you bullying us because our sects are new here?”
The other new sect masters also looked at Shensuanzi.
Although they didn’t speak up like Zhang Xianzhao, they shared the same thoughts.
Why?
Their sects’ strength were all similar (except for the half-crippled Evil Spirit Sect). Why was Shensuanzi humiliating them like this?
Shensuanzi’s expression also darkened, and he said in a low voice,
“Daoist Zhang, inviting you to this meeting was already giving you enough face. With your insignificant strength, you dare to challenge the Thousand Machines Sect, the number one demonic sect in the Northern Zhou Dynasty?”
Having said that, Zhang Xianzhao knew that they were looking down on these new sects.
He immediately released his aura, the power of his small world condensing, and shouted,
“Old man, if that’s the case, I won’t be polite either! For every humiliation today, I’ll return it tenfold in the future!”
The other new sect masters, seeing this, also knew that it was time to fight for their due benefits.
As fellow Demon Abyss cultivators, none of them were pushovers, all of them ruthless individuals capable of massacring cities without blinking.
They knew very well that if they didn’t resist this deliberate show of force, there would be endless trouble later.
Facing their challenge, Shensuanzi didn’t back down, his techniques ready to be unleashed.
Most of the other sects watched this scene with amusement. Only a few vassals of the Thousand Machines Sect stood beside Shensuanzi, confronting the new sects.
Only the emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty huddled in the corner, trembling.
A great battle seemed inevitable.
But at this tense moment, the door of the imperial study suddenly opened.
Everyone’s gaze turned towards the door, only to see a Spirit Condensation disciple in the uniform of the Evil Spirit Sect standing there.
This pitiful Spirit Condensation disciple, suddenly stared at by a room full of demonic giants, almost fell to his knees.
“Se-, Sect Master… it’s not good…”
“That’s how the Evil Spirit Sect’s disciples are, lacking any discipline.”
Before Zhang Xianzhao could speak, Jiao Nu chuckled, a sharp glint in her narrow eyes.
Having received benefits from the Thousand Machines Sect, she had to side with them, at least verbally.
Jiao Nu’s words drew laughter from the crowd, even Shensuanzi’s face showed a hint of mockery.
Zhang Xianzhao frowned, feeling a surge of anger. He wanted to kill this disciple directly, it was so embarrassing.
But the current situation was delicate, so Zhang Xianzhao could only suppress his anger and ask in a deep voice,
“What is it? Why are you so panicked?”
“Sect Master, come back quickly! Those three villains are back… and they bombed our sect’s residence again!” The Evil Spirit Sect disciple was on the verge of tears. “Even our spirit vein is destroyed!”
“How is that possible?” Zhang Xianzhao’s face was filled with disbelief. “What about Master Zou’s protective formation?”
Zhang Xianzhao had personally witnessed Master Zou’s protective formation.
Its exquisite design and novel ideas were astonishing, and combined with the spirit vein’s defense mechanisms, it could withstand the combined attack of more than a dozen Core Formation cultivators.
Even if they entered the sect’s grounds, the sword formation embedded within the protective formation was full of killing intent, its ferocity reminding Zhang Xianzhao of the Peerless Summit Sect, the number one sword cultivation sect in the Immortal Domain.
The villainous trio didn’t even have a Core Formation cultivator among them, how could they possibly break through the protective formation?
“The protective formation was activated, but… it couldn’t stop them!” The Evil Spirit Sect disciple’s face was filled with terror. “And the protective formation is constantly drawing spiritual power from the spirit vein. Our spirit vein is almost depleted!”
“What!”
Zhang Xianzhao was shocked, then enraged.
But soon, he realized that there must be something more to this and calmed down slightly, asking,
“Wait, where is Master Zou… Zou Junxin?”
Perhaps… it was that Master Zou who was behind this, but Zhang Xianzhao couldn’t understand why Master Zou would be connected to the villainous trio.
Master Zou wasn’t just a random formation master Zhang Xianzhao had picked up on the road, nor did he come to him and recommend himself. He had been carefully selected by Zhang Xianzhao from the black market.
His background was indeed mysterious, but everyone in the black market concealed their identities.
And betraying his employer like this, wasn’t he afraid that no one in the formation world would accept him in the future?
“He’s gone. Several Senior Brothers are chasing after him.” The Evil Spirit Sect disciple replied.
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