txolops Chapter 1136 Seeking Rescue
Chapter 1136 Seeking Rescue
The Nascent Soul cultivator paused for a moment, then took out a jade slip from his mustard seed ring and presented it with both hands: "This is a letter sent by Senior Zhu. Please take a look, Elder."
Upon hearing this, Bai Zangzhou remained calm, took the jade slip, read it, left his divine imprint on it, and then handed it back.
"Go to the ordinary protector immediately and ask him to issue the mission. The battle merits will be determined according to the usual procedure. Then send it to the elders of our sect and the Nascent Soul cultivators of various affiliated sects, families, and alien races. We must get a reply by today."
"Disciple obey!"
The Nascent Soul cultivator accepted the jade slip with both hands, then remembered to bow to Chen Yuan, saying "Greetings, Elder Chen," before taking to the air at an extremely fast speed, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.
Not long after this person left, another streak of light flew towards them.
Seeing a hint of doubt flash in Chen Yuan's eyes, Bai Zangzhou explained, "Junior Brother Chen, you may not know this, but when cultivators from the three families encounter danger and send someone to ask for help, they will issue a mission and consult with the Nascent Soul cultivators in the camp."
"If no one is willing to take action within the time limit, they will be forcibly assigned to take action in turn, with the three combined cultivators taking turns to ensure that the army in distress escapes danger."
"However, Junior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Yuan, and Fellow Daoist Wei have only recently returned to camp and urgently need rest, so they will not be included in this list."
As soon as he finished speaking, the beam of light landed in front of the two, revealing a Nascent Soul cultivator. He hurried over, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "This disciple greets Elder Bai and Elder Chen..."
Bai Zangzhou waved his hand, stopping him from finishing his sentence.
Seeing this, Chen Yuan bowed to Bai Zangzhou and said, "Thank you for your explanation, Senior Brother Bai. I will not disturb you any longer as you are busy with many matters."
"If you have the time, senior brother, you are welcome to come to my cave for a chat. I will certainly prepare a place to wait for you."
Bai Zangzhou's eyes flashed, and he nodded slightly: "Since Junior Brother Chen has extended an invitation, I, Bai, will certainly pay a visit."
Chen Yuan smiled, soared into the air, returned to his residence, took out a sound transmission talisman, and threw it out.
About fifteen minutes later, Zhang Yanwei arrived at the courtyard where Chen Yuan lived and respectfully bowed: "Disciple greets Master. Master summoned me here. What are your instructions?"
Chen Yuan said, "There seems to be a body cultivator in Ba Chu City, with the cultivation level of the Fusion Stage and considerable strength. Go and find out his name and background."
“This person’s cultivation is profound, so you don’t need to force it. If you get any information, that would be great. If you don’t get anything, that’s fine too. Just report back to your master.”
Zhang Yanwei relaxed, respectfully agreed, and turned to leave.
Chen Yuan got up and went to the cultivation room. He took out the mysterious stone that could draw upon the essence of the sun and moon, thought for a moment, then put it back. He took out a gray gauze scarf and examined it carefully.
After the great battle, the demon cores, materials, and treasures of the twenty-seven demon kings killed by Chen Yuan all belonged to him. As for the thirty thousand demon beasts, although they were killed by the army, twenty percent of the spoils also fell into Chen Yuan's hands.
With Chen Yuan's current cultivation level, treasures at the Void Refinement stage are of little use to him.
However, the combined wealth of the twenty-seven demon kings was equivalent to that of one or two demon saints, which was an extremely astonishing fortune.
The demon materials they possessed were all top-quality refining materials. Twenty-seven demon cores could be refined into Demon Essence Pills, which were even more sought-after than Immortal Spirit Stones and could be exchanged for a considerable number of Body Tempering Pills needed by Chen Yuan.
Among them were many items, such as ancient spiritual herbs, body-tempering spiritual objects, and healing elixirs, which Chen Yuan also stored in his inner space along with over a hundred low-grade immortal spirit stones.
These demon kings had clearly exchanged their immortal spirit stones for treasure talismans before entering Tyrant Turtle Island. They also lacked body-tempering elixirs and cultivation pills, though they had plenty of pills to restore demonic power, but these were useless to Chen Yuan.
The only thing Chen Yuan couldn't see through was the gray veil in the hands of the Xuanli Demon King.
This gray veil is not a spiritual treasure; it has no spirit and cannot be stored in the dantian. Its only use is to inject true essence into it, transforming it into a gray veil that covers the body. It has extremely strong defensive capabilities, but it can also bind a person inside, like a prison.
The gray gauze consumes an astonishing amount of true essence; each use requires Chen Yuan to consume 30% of his true essence.
Chen Yuan refined the blood of four kinds of true spirits, and his true essence was constantly tempered and polished, making it extremely pure. Yet, it still consumed 30% of his true essence. On the day that the Xuanli Demon King used the gray veil, it is unknown how much demonic power he consumed.
On his way back to the camp, Chen Yuan checked the gray gauze several times, probing it with his divine sense, but found only emptiness, as if the gray gauze did not exist, and gained nothing.
This time was no exception; Chen Yuan returned empty-handed once again.
He stared at the gray gauze for a while, then finally stopped wasting his time and put it into his internal space.
This treasure is mysterious and unpredictable, with both advantages and disadvantages. It should only be used as a last resort when all other means have failed. It should not be used lightly, otherwise it will trap you and result in more harm than good.
……
A month passed in the blink of an eye. A few days ago, Zhang Yanwei reported that he had deliberately befriended several Nascent Soul cultivators in Ba Chu City and had finally made some progress.
There is indeed a mid-stage Body Refinement cultivator in Ba Chu City named Liu Ang, who is incredibly powerful. A Nascent Soul cultivator once witnessed him brutally beating a Demon Saint.
But this person is mysterious and unpredictable, as if he appeared out of nowhere, and no one knows his origins.
Chen Yuan, knowing the situation, answered Zhang Yanwei's questions about cultivation, gave him a bottle of cultivation pills, and then dismissed him.
On this day, Chen Yuan was honing his true essence in the cultivation room when a Lingyun Peak disciple on duty outside came to report that Bai Zangzhou had come to visit.
Chen Yuan personally went out to greet them, and the two entered the reception room, where they took their seats as host and guest. Chen Yuan then personally served them spiritual tea.
Bai Zangzhou was aloof and straightforward, so he got straight to the point: "Junior Brother Chen invited me here, is it for that person who is suspected to be from a True Spirit family?"
Chen Yuan nodded: "That's right. I've already ordered my disciples to investigate. There's only one Body Refinement stage cultivator in Ba Chu City named Liu Ang. That should be him. Senior Brother, do you know where he is now?"
Bai Zangzhou said, "At that time, our sect had just arrived at Ba Gui Island and time was of the essence. After my junior brother left, I carefully inquired about this person's information as he had asked. He was indeed named Liu Ang and came from a family of True Spirits."
"Not long after my junior brother left, he joined forces with another Nascent Soul cultivator from Ba Chu City to search for spatial fragments, and has not returned since."
"If you want to befriend this person, junior brother, you'll probably have to wait a while."
Chen Yuan frowned: "Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother. During this battle, I accidentally obtained a piece of Bloodstone, which is useless to me. I will give it to you today as a token of my gratitude."
"Senior brother, you can use this stone to polish your flying sword and add some spirituality. Please accept it with a smile."
He flipped his hand and took out a blood-red stone, about the size of a human head, its surface covered with a layer of rust-like marks, shimmering with a deep luster, and slowly flew towards Bai Zangzhou.
Bai Zangzhou was taken aback. He raised his hand and took the blood-red stone. His palm felt slightly heavy. After examining it carefully, he looked up and smiled, "Junior brother is too kind. This stone is of some use to me, so I will accept it without hesitation."
Like Han Xuan, Bai Zangzhou was also a sword cultivator.
Han Xuan is an outlier among sword cultivators. He cultivates sword formations and also practices wood-elemental supernatural powers.
Bai Zangzhou, however, was an expert in swordsmanship, and his flying sword was incredibly sharp.
This Bloodstone is only a top-grade spiritual material, but its effect is extremely rare. It can increase the spirituality of magical treasures, and it has a remarkable effect when used on flying swords.
Polishing a flying sword with Bloodstone not only increases its spirituality, but also makes it slightly sharper by absorbing the blood energy within it. This is quite useful for sword cultivators who have achieved the Fusion Stage.
Chen Yuan discovered the Bloodstone in the Mustard Seed Ring of a late-stage Void Refinement Demon King and immediately thought of Bai Zangzhou.
Before leaving the camp, he asked Bai Zangzhou to inquire about the True Spirit Clan cultivators, thus incurring a small favor. Just when he was wondering how to repay it, this Bloodstone arrived at the perfect time.
The Xuan Yin Armor is already a heaven-reaching spiritual treasure, and the Peng bird spirit of the Cangming Halberd is full of spiritual power, so the Blood Jun Stone is useless to them.
The Guanghan Bow can indeed have its spirituality enhanced by Bloodstone, but this treasure is only a second-grade spiritual weapon, which cannot keep up with the speed of Chen Yuan's cultivation improvement. Using Bloodstone on this treasure would be a waste.
Bai Zangzhou put away the Bloodstone and said in a deep voice, "Junior brother, please sit down and meditate. After I return, I will order someone to keep an eye on Liu Ang's movements. Once he returns to the camp, I will immediately send someone to inform him."
Chen Yuan clasped his hands in a bow and said, "Thank you very much, Senior Brother."
After exchanging a few more words, Bai Zangzhou got up to take his leave.
Knowing that he was busy with many things and that it was already difficult for him to find time to visit, Chen Yuan did not try to persuade him to stay. He personally saw him out of the courtyard and then returned to his cultivation room to meditate and regulate his breathing.
Another three months passed, and Chen Yuan remained meditating in the cultivation room, receiving neither news from Bai Zangzhou nor being disturbed by worldly affairs.
Of the thirty disciples of Lingyun Peak, three Foundation Establishment disciples unfortunately died in that great battle.
Chen Yuan ordered Zhang Yanwei to collect the three corpses, preserve them properly, and return them to the Spirit Realm for burial. He also instructed Zhang Yanwei to record the names and hometowns of the three individuals, and to visit their families and relatives upon their return to the Spirit Realm to provide them with compensation. If the individual was alone, then the matter should be dropped.
The great battle had just ended, and the disciples of Lingyun Peak were all gathered together. Upon hearing Chen Yuan's order, they were all extremely surprised.
They had never heard of any other peaks offering compensation. Cultivators were defying the heavens, and everyone had their own destiny. They had no regrets about dying in battle, and at most, they would bring their bodies back to the sect for burial. Where would they find any compensation?
Moreover, cultivators have long lifespans, and once they embark on the path of cultivation, they often sever ties with the mortal world, having no relatives or children, and nowhere to send them off for comfort.
However, most of the disciples of Lingyun Peak only had the Foundation Establishment cultivation level and were not very old. Most of them had not yet severed ties with their mortal relatives. Upon hearing this, they were surprised and felt grateful, deeply appreciating Elder Chen's kindness and generosity.
They witnessed Elder Chen display his divine might, invincible on the battlefield, slaying dozens of demon kings, and being unrivaled. He could single-handedly support Lingyun Peak, so why would he care about a mere Foundation Establishment disciple?
However, Elder Chen still cared about the Foundation Establishment disciples and was concerned about the affairs of the Lingyun Peak disciples after their deaths, which gave these inner disciples, who had been with Lingyun Peak for less than twenty years, a greater sense of belonging.
Other disciples who made meritorious contributions were bestowed with treasures according to the size of their achievements, and the enormous spoils obtained from annihilating 30,000 demons were used here.
These two-tenths of cultivation resources include a large number of demon cores and materials, as well as many mustard seed rings of demon generals and demon commanders, which is enough to support the development of Lingyun Peak for a thousand years, so there is no need to worry about cultivation resources.
The rewards for meritorious disciples are distributed by the sect, but each peak will issue an additional reward on top of that, as are the usual annual rewards. This is a means for each peak to attract disciples to join. Lingyun Peak has few disciples, but many treasures, and its rewards are among the best in the Tai Xuan Sect. Even the disciples of Huayu Peak are quite envious, and the Wei family cultivators are even more envious.
The Wei family was only a medium-sized family. Most of the treasures were taken away by the family, and the rewards given to the Wei family members were far less than those given to the disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect.
Disciples of Mahayana sects can cultivate better techniques and obtain more cultivation resources. Gradually, their cultivation levels will widen the gap between them and the disciples of small and medium-sized sects and families.
Since the Dragonmen and Green Mantis races served Chen Yuan, Chen Yuan naturally rewarded them and also provided compensation to the clansmen who died in the great battle.
However, whether it was a reward or a compensation, it was only half that of the disciples of Lingyun Peak.
People have varying degrees of closeness and distance. People from other races are people from other races. How can they be treated the same as the disciples of the sect? Otherwise, wouldn't that chill the hearts of the disciples of Lingyun Peak?
These trivial matters were dealt with on the way back to the main camp, much to the surprise of Elder Yuan and Wei Wushang.
According to custom, rewards and punishments are carried out after returning to the main camp and settling down completely.
Chen Yuan's swift and decisive actions boosted the morale of the Lingyun Peak disciples and the Dragon-Man and Green Mantis clans, while also drawing envy from the Huayu Peak disciples and the Wei family cultivators, causing unrest among them.
Seeing this, the two had no choice but to bestow treasures upon Chen Yuan in advance, and jokingly complained about him a few times.
Chen Yuanhun didn't care. Over the long years, the rules and regulations of the sects in the Spirit Realm had become quite perfect and rigorous, but there were still many oversights.
Cultivators are not ordinary people after all. In the eyes of high-level cultivators, low-level cultivators are like ants, and in some ways, they do not care about the thoughts of low-level cultivators.
Chen Yuan, however, was a mortal in his previous life and was well-versed in human nature, so he would not delay the bestowal of rewards for too long.
Before returning to the main camp, the entire army of cultivators had already received their rewards. The battle had been won easily, and their morale was high. They could continue fighting without even needing to return to camp to rest.
Elder Yuan and Wei Wushang were also somewhat tempted, but Chen Yuan knew very well that the three demon saints would not give up easily, so he advised the two to return to the camp first to rest and take this opportunity to make friends with that True Spirit Family cultivator.
But fate had other plans. Chen Yuan waited in the camp for four months, but Liu Ang still did not return, and the cultivators under the three of them could no longer rest.
Left with no other choice, Chen Yuan ordered the disciples of Lingyun Peak, as well as the Dragon People and Green Mantis clans, to prepare for battle. He also discussed the departure time with Elder Yuan and Wei Wushang so that they could receive their missions.
Humans and demons are currently searching for spatial fragments with great urgency. The real battle has not yet begun, and this is the best opportunity for the three to make a name for themselves.
On this day, Chen Yuan met with Elder Yuan and Wei Wushang to discuss how to deal with the demon race and make meritorious contributions. When he returned at dusk, he found a Nascent Soul cultivator standing at the entrance of the courtyard, looking slightly anxious.
As Chen Yuan descended, the Nascent Soul cultivator's eyes lit up. He quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a bow, and said, "This disciple has come on Elder Bai's orders to invite Elder Chen over for a chat. I wonder if Elder Chen has the time?"
Chen Yuan's eyes flashed: "Lead the way."
The Nascent Soul cultivator immediately agreed, and rode his escape light to lead Chen Yuan to Bai Zangzhou's residence, where they went straight to the quiet room in the backyard to meet.
Bai Zangzhou rose to greet him. After exchanging greetings, he spoke in a deep voice: "Junior Brother Chen, there is news of Liu Ang. He is surrounded by the demon army and unable to escape. He has sent someone back to ask for help. Junior Brother, are you willing to go and rescue him?"
Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed: "Liu Ang has fallen into danger? Could you elaborate, Senior Brother?"
Bai Zangzhou said, "This matter is a long story. This is a jade slip sent by Fellow Daoist Fan from Ba Chu City. Junior Brother will understand once he takes a look."
He gestured for Chen Yuan to sit down, then took out a jade slip from his mustard seed ring and handed it to him.
Chen Yuan took the jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and withdrew it after a moment, falling into deep thought.
The contents recorded in the jade slip were not short, but with the spiritual sense of a cultivator at the Refinement stage, they could read it all in a short time.
After Chen Yuan and the other two left, Liu Ang joined forces with another early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from Ba Chu City, leading more than four thousand cultivators on a spaceship to search for spatial fragments.
Nearly three years passed during this journey. Liu Ang and his companion traversed one dark place after another, but found no trace of spatial rifts. Instead, they discovered a large army of demons who were also searching for spatial rifts.
This demon army only had one mid-stage Nascent Soul demon saint. Liu Ang and his companion joined forces, and since he himself cultivated both magic and body, they naturally didn't take him seriously and immediately led their troops to attack.
One against two, that demon saint was no match, but since he dared to lead an army alone to search for spatial rifts, his strength was not weak.
The Demon Saint seized the opportunity to set up a great formation to block the two Nascent Soul cultivators. He then dispatched several Demon Kings skilled in escape techniques to scatter and seek reinforcements. After that, he focused all his attention on dealing with the two.
This is the most common way to deal with an attack, and it can be sustained for a longer period of time by relying on the formation.
Chen Yuan and his two companions intentionally lured the Demon Saint to attack, which is why they did not set up an array to meet the enemy.
Liu Ang and his companion intensified their offensive. Instead of establishing a new camp, the demon race gathered in Luo Du Holy City, about four million miles away from the battlefield.
Even if a demon saint were to make a move, it would take several days for them to arrive. Before that, they would have enough time to kill that demon saint.
Over the past few years, such scenes have been playing out repeatedly within a radius of millions of miles. Some human cultivators who have reached the Integration stage have unfortunately encountered attacks from demon saints, while others have died at the hands of cultivators who have reached the Integration stage.
This is the cruelty of the war between the two worlds. In order to find the spatial rift as soon as possible, both sides had to split up to investigate, which forced them to reveal their weaknesses, and they were also constantly looking for each other's weaknesses.
The demon race will never allow the spatial rift to fully form, and the human race cannot stand idly by while the demon race finds the spatial rift and repairs it.
This demon saint was originally destined to perish on Turtle Island, just like those demon saints who died at the hands of humans in the past, but he received reinforcements just as the great formation was broken.
The two demon saints were searching for spatial rifts hundreds of thousands of miles away when they encountered the demon king who was rushing back to Luo Du Holy City for help. Without hesitation, they abandoned their army and came to his rescue.
The balance of power shifted. Liu Ang and his companion faced an attack from three demon saints, including two mid-stage Nascent Soul demon saints. Unable to withstand the onslaught, they retreated and set up a large formation to hold their ground and await reinforcements. They also dispatched Void Refinement cultivators back to their camp for help.
Liu Ang cultivates both body and magic, and his strength is top-tier even in the mid-stage of the Integration Realm. However, he can only last for three days at most before the Demon Saint from Luo Du Holy City arrives. No matter how strong he is, he will be powerless to reverse the situation.
The jade slip clearly explained the whole story. Bai Zangzhou then said, "Fellow Daoist Fan sent a letter saying that the situation is urgent and assistance needs to be sent immediately. What do you think, Junior Brother?"
Chen Yuan didn't hesitate for long before agreeing, "I'm willing to go, but my cultivation level is still low. I don't know if I'm qualified to take on this mission?"
Bai Zangzhou said, "Junior brother, there's no need to worry. You've already made a great contribution, demonstrating your strength to the fullest. You're more than capable of taking on this mission. Besides, you won't be going alone on this trip."
Chen Yuan didn't hesitate any longer: "Then I'll accept this mission. When shall we depart?"
Bai Zangzhou said, "We need to set off within an hour. Junior Brother, you can go and prepare first."
Chen Yuan immediately got up to take his leave. When he returned to his residence, he suddenly stopped, pondered for a moment, then turned and flew away into the distance.
He arrived at Elder Yuan's residence and descended with a burst of light. Upon seeing this, the disciples of Huayu Peak on duty immediately went inside to report.
Before long, Elder Yuan came out to greet them personally, and the two entered the reception room and took their seats as host and guest.
Elder Yuan asked in confusion, "We parted ways half an hour ago. What important matter brings you here, Junior Brother Chen?"
Chen Yuan got straight to the point, explaining the attack on Liu Ang, and concluded by saying, "As you know, senior brother, it is not the way to attain enlightenment by staying behind closed doors. I wish to make friends with cultivators from the True Spirit Clan. Now that Liu Ang has been attacked, I have accepted the mission to go and rescue him."
"But one person's strength is not enough, so I have come to ask my senior brother to help."
Elder Yuan hesitated, and Chen Yuan continued, "Liu Ang is already quite strong, and he has another Nascent Soul cultivator assisting him. The attackers are only three Demon Saints, so their lives are not in danger."
"The only concern is that Luo Du Holy City will send demon saints to participate in the siege, but the main camp is closer to where Liu Ang was attacked. As long as a Nascent Soul cultivator arrives in time, it will not be difficult to repel those three demon saints."
"That's why Ba Chu City requires those who receive the mission to set off within an hour, but there are no requirements regarding their cultivation level."
"With the two of us, if we can persuade Fellow Daoist Wei to take action, there is no risk involved, and we can even gain merit. Why not do it?"
Elder Yuan frowned and pondered for a moment, then nodded: "In that case, I, Yuan, will accompany my junior brother on this journey."
Chen Yuan was overjoyed and immediately asked Elder Yuan to go with him to find Wei Wushang, using the same excuse.
Wei Wushang was also quite tempted and immediately agreed. The three of them did not need to make any further preparations and went together to find Bai Zangzhou to receive the mission.
The mission had just been issued and no Nascent Soul cultivator had claimed it yet. Bai Zangzhou led the three to find Fan Wujiang of Ba Chu City. This man was an elder of the Ba Chu Sect who was in charge of rewards and punishments in Ba Chu City.
Fan Wujiang looked old and had a dignified expression. He still remembered Chen Yuan, the Tai Xuan Sect elder who was in the Void Refinement stage. When he saw Chen Yuan accept the task, his brows immediately furrowed.
Only after Bai Zangzhou recounted Chen Yuan's meritorious service in slaying twenty-eight demon kings and leaving behind thirty thousand demons did Fan Wujiang's expression soften.
For cultivators at the Void Refinement stage, Chen Yuan's military achievements were astonishing, but for an elder of the Tai Xuan Sect, they seemed perfectly natural.
The Demon King is nothing but an ant in front of a Nascent Soul cultivator. On the contrary, Chen Yuan's single strike that left behind 30,000 demons is something that many Nascent Soul cultivators cannot accomplish.
Fan Wujiang also knew that the key to rescuing Liu Ang and the other person was to arrive before the Demon Saint of Luo Du Holy City.
Chen Yuan's strength was no different from that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and Elder Yuan and Wei Wushang were both genuine Nascent Soul cultivators, so he naturally had no objections and immediately told them the specific location where Liu Ang and the other person had been attacked.
Without delay, Chen Yuan and his two companions set off immediately, flying out of the array barrier. Their escape lights flashed like shooting stars, disappearing into the vast night. (End of Chapter)