Chapter 281: Chapter 253: You’re Sinister, and So Am I
Capture True Master Chilong alive!
Even though his opponent was only a remnant soul, the danger was self-evident. If Chen Che were alone, no matter how wealthy True Master Chilong might have been in life, he would not have chosen to capture him alive. He would have killed him at the first opportunity.
After all, the resources and hidden depths of a Golden Core cultivator were simply too profound.
You could never guess what trump cards they might still be holding.
BANG!
The moment he was sealed by the chains, True Master Chilong felt his Ghost Essence vanish as if a stone had sunk into the ocean. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t circulate the slightest bit of it. He immediately plummeted from the sky and crashed to the ground.
Almost at the same moment he landed, several Talismans and Sealing Techniques layered over him, trapping him completely.
Chen Che swept the area with his Divine Sense. He heard a tremendous noise in the distance as the earth churned, as if some behemoth was madly approaching.
"The other Hundred-Eyed Marsh Dragons have been drawn by the scent of blood! We need to leave this place now!"
With that, he waved his hand, summoned the Yellow Gourd, and sucked True Master Chilong directly inside.
Seeing this, the others quickly collected their spoils of war. They also made sure to destroy the corpses and erase all traces of their presence. When the tremendous noise was only a few li away, they left the Marsh Forest without a moment’s hesitation.
After flying for over a hundred li, the group finally stopped upon reaching a nameless mountain range covered in lush greenery.
Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.
This place bordered Hunzhou. Though desolate and remote, it was home to a great number of Demon Beasts.
The mortals at the foot of the mountains were all fodder for the Demon Beasts.
Within the ridge, where giant trees grew in dense groves, the roars of Demon Beasts were incessant.
The group searched for a short while before finding a cave nestled within a cluster of boulders. It was located in a narrow corner, incredibly well-hidden. Unless one got very close, it was impossible to spot, even when looking down from the sky.
Chen Che swept his Divine Sense through the hidden cave, exploring it in the span of a finger-snap.
"A Silver Moon Wolf’s den."
The group entered in single file. Rong Zhongxuan, who was last, raised a hand and split a section of the rock wall, sealing the cave entrance.
The cave was about a hundred feet deep. Curled up inside were seven or eight silver wolf cubs, along with a snarling mother Demon Wolf.
Meng Changtu turned his Spirit Beast Bracelet with a blank expression. The Green-Winged Flood Dragon soared out, pounced on the Demon Wolf, and devoured it completely in an instant.
Lu Qinglian raised a hand and cast a Purification Technique, clearing the cave of its foul air.
Then, Chen Che tipped his Gourd, releasing True Master Chilong.
Suppressing him with the Gourd required a massive amount of True Essence, which was not conducive to recovery.
"A group of five will watch him. The rest of you, recover your strength."
Although True Master Chilong was now destitute after his fall, the knowledge he had accumulated throughout his life was priceless.
Therefore, they had to pry his mouth open.
Besides, Chen Che had other questions to ask.
In the previous battle, he had deployed twenty-seven Flying Swords, leaving his Divine Sense extremely weak and in need of time to recover.
He wasn’t the only one; the others had also expended a great deal of energy in the fight.
Fortunately, with their numbers, they could handle the situation.
After lighting three sticks of Soul Nourishing Incense and distributing some Pills, Chen Che finally sat down cross-legged.
「Three days later.」
During this time, the cave’s interior space had been expanded several times over.
By taking turns to recuperate, everyone had now recovered to their peak condition.
Chen Che opened his eyes, his gaze finally falling on True Master Chilong, who was being guarded in the center of the group.
Over the past few days, their prisoner had struggled countless times and had even nearly succeeded in escaping once.
If he hadn’t quickly awoken from his Meditation, used his Sword Pill to injure the man’s Soul Body, and then reinforced the seals, the escape attempt might have actually succeeded. Seeing Chen Che awake, a vicious glint appeared in True Master Chilong’s eyes. His voice was hoarse as he said:
"Whoever among you kills Chen Che, I will teach them everything I know! I will swear on my Divine Soul never to go back on my word!"
As soon as he spoke, the entire cave fell silent.
Many of them shot sidelong glances at Chen Che.
Narrowing his eyes, True Master Chilong continued, his voice full of temptation:
"Furthermore, I have a Traveling Palace. I will only tell its location to the one who kills Chen Che... Don’t worry, I am willing to swear on my Divine Soul for this as well. The resources in that Traveling Palace are even greater than what was in Ten Thousand Fire Mountain—enough for any one of you to achieve Core Formation!"
"True Master Chilong, you can save your breath!"
Before Chen Che could even speak, Meng Changtu was the first to laugh.
If this had been a ragtag group of Loose Cultivators thrown together temporarily, they might already be scheming how to eliminate the others and claim the resources of the Traveling Palace for themselves.
But he didn’t seem to realize just who was in this cave. Meng Changtu himself was Chen Che’s father-in-law. Meng Changyuan and Meng Changhong were his own clan brothers, men he could trust with his life. While Lu Qinglian was only a Tributor, her son was being raised in Jinyun Valley.
Rong Zhongxuan was bound to Chen Che by a Master-Servant Contract, and Rong Shisan was his disciple.
Yu Sihai relied on Jinyun Valley for backing; if Chen Che died, Jinyun Valley would immediately collapse, and his Yu Family would be doomed. As for Liang Yuan, he was the Chief of the Artifact Hall and had only reached Foundation Establishment because of Chen Che’s help.
"Stop struggling."
Chen Che gave him a deep look.
"Just kill me."
His last hope shattered, True Master Chilong collapsed completely to the ground and closed his eyes.
"Recite everything you’ve learned... Don’t even think about adding or removing words, or changing the order. You should know that with my Divine Sense, I can easily pry open your mind. If I find anything missing, your fate will be far worse than it is now!"
Chen Che took out a Jade Scroll and tossed it in front of True Master Chilong.
"Fine. I hope you’ll give me a quick death when the time comes, young friend."
After a long silence, True Master Chilong sighed, his heart like dead ashes.
"I can."
His heart was as still as an old well as he gave a slight nod.
One couldn’t show the slightest mercy when dealing with a being like this. If their roles were reversed, his own fate would surely be no better.
Next, True Master Chilong began to haltingly recite the secrets of his cultivation techniques.
It took a full day of recitation for Meng Changtu to inscribe all the content.
This included not only his Beast Taming Technique but also the Red Flame Scripture he personally cultivated. The entire text was 78,000 characters long, a cultivation technique that led directly to the Golden Core realm. A Cultivator using this method would have about a forty percent higher chance of success when breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
It even increased the chance of success during Core Formation by ten percent.
In addition, there were other cultivation techniques he had collected throughout his life, none of which had been in the Ten Thousand Fire Cave Mansion.
Putting away the Jade Scroll, Chen Che immediately used Divine Soul Inquiry, verifying the contents almost word for word.
"Mm, thank you for your cooperation, Senior."
This process was extremely long, taking a full three days before Chen Che finally nodded slowly at True Master Chilong.
The cultivation techniques were perfect, without a single falsehood.
Apparently, the man was wholeheartedly seeking death.
"Where is the Traveling Palace you mentioned earlier?" Chen Che asked.
"It doesn’t exist."
True Master Chilong slowly shook his head, his eyes filled with deep exhaustion. "That Traveling Palace was breached several hundred years ago. Everything inside was taken long ago. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had Sun Hao seek refuge with Thousand Eyes."
Inside the cave, the group exchanged glances in dismay.
He was truly an old ghost who had lived for a thousand years; if he weren’t at death’s door, not a single truthful word would have likely passed his lips.
"Young friend, it’s time you fulfilled your promise."
True Master Chilong remained motionless as he urged him on.
"Not so fast. I have one more personal question for you."
Chen Che chuckled softly. With a grand wave of his hand, he cast a Silence Spell, then asked in a slow, deliberate manner, "What exactly is the origin of my Beast Pet, that you would scheme so painstakingly to take it back?"
"It’s not an ordinary bird of prey, but a Xuan Peng. When it reaches adulthood, it can become a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Demon. Its bloodline originates from the Ancient Fierce Beast, the Golden-Winged Roc."
True Master Chilong wasn’t surprised by the question. After all, Chen Che had known his goal from the very beginning. "Years ago, when I went out to sea, I stumbled upon a mysterious island. I stole it from a tree that was several thousand zhang tall..."
"Oh?"
Chen Che asked curiously, "Which island was it?"
"The vast sea is boundless. I only discovered that island after a great storm. I left a marker on the island, but after I left, I could never find my way back. I suspect the lightning from the storm interfered with an Array."
True Master Chilong told him everything he knew:
"At the time, besides stealing the Xuan Peng’s Beast Egg, I also took a Tree Seed and sealed it in another box."
"And the Tree Seed?"
"It was in another Traveling Palace. It was taken several hundred years ago."
At this point, he let out a long sigh, as if lamenting that all the fruits of his life’s hard work had ended up benefiting others.
"I’ve said all I have to say... Do it. Please give me a quick death."
The corner of Chen Che’s mouth lifted into a half-smile.
"Senior, I once heard something. The power of a Ghost Cultivator comes from their soul. At the very instant their soul dissipates, they can still make a final strike. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been urging me to kill you because you want to perish together with me, don’t you?"
"How did you know?"
Hearing this, True Master Chilong’s eyes bulged.
He had been feigning a desire for death all along, just to get Chen Che to fulfill his promise and kill him personally. He never imagined that Chen Che would actually guess his plan.
CLANG!
In a fit of shock and fury, True Master Chilong began to struggle madly.
His Ghost Essence surged wildly, making the chains strain with a KRAK-KRAK sound. The seals around his body exploded with a series of BANGS, and even the Silencing Technique was torn apart.
Seeing this, Meng Changtu and the others positioned around the cave were stunned, not knowing what Chen Che could have said to drive True Master Chilong into such a frenzy. But without a moment’s hesitation, they all struck at once, sealing him down completely.
"Senior, as much as I’d like to grant your wish, you aren’t being very sincere."
Chen Che chuckled softly.
’When I was asking Zuo Yishan about the Divine Dao, he naturally mentioned Ghost Cultivators as well. With True Master Chilong so insistently begging for death, how could I not be on my guard?’
Of course, he wasn’t about to say this out loud.
"What are you going to do?"
True Master Chilong asked in terror.
"The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Sword Formation in Jinyun Valley is missing an Array Spirit. From now on, I’ll have to trouble you to fill that role!"
"Impossible!"
Before his voice could fade, Chen Che’s tone turned chillingly cold. The Divine Sense he had been gathering surged to its peak, crashing like a furious ocean, wave after wave, into True Master Chilong’s soul, and began to forcibly wipe his memories.
Comments