Chapter 416 - 413: The Real Hunter

Chapter 416: Chapter 413: The Real Hunter

"Thank you for the offer, Fellow Daoist Shen, but I’m only here for the Qi Collection Refining Technique. I won’t be needing to trouble you for anything else."

Bai Zichen could easily see the man’s desire to get closer and curry favor, but he had only come to the Eastern Domain’s Great Marsh to cultivate an Ancient Tribulation Crossing Method.

Back in Liang Country, the Patriarch of a mere Cultivation Family at the Core Formation Realm would have to wait in line just for a chance to see him.

Unless they were of great use to the Qingfeng Sect, people like him would never normally get to meet Master Bai.

Once he finished cultivating the Demon Extermination Purple Light, he would leave immediately. It was impossible for him to establish an enclave millions of miles away in the Great Wild Marsh to expand his influence.

Even if a Core Formation True Man from the Sect wanted to gather Purple Qi in the future, they would arrive with at least a Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivation, more than enough to traverse the waters of the Great Wild Marsh unhindered.

Just like with the Du Family, there was absolutely no need to occupy territory in the Great Wild Marsh and draw unwanted attention.

"My family discovered a Water Mansion thirty years ago. Unfortunately, two Town Spirit Beasts are blocking the way, and we haven’t been able to make any progress... I wonder if Fellow Daoist Su, in his spare time from collecting Qi, would be interested in exploring it with me? We’ll split all treasures we find inside fifty-fifty."

Shen Moqun showed no sign of embarrassment at the rejection. The little old man’s face, wreathed in smiles, resembled a dried tangerine peel.

"This old man, after examining the style of the Water Mansion and consulting ancient texts, is almost certain that it was built in the Middle Ancient Era. Furthermore, the fact that its Core Formation-level Town Spirit Beasts have been operating perfectly to this day strongly suggests it belonged to True Monarch Wuu Sanzang, the master of both Beast Taming and Puppetry. If that’s the case, there’s a high probability his Tier Four Beast Taming Skill and Tier Four Puppetry Technique are hidden inside!"

From the excited Elder Shen, Bai Zichen began to understand just who this Wuu Sanzang was.

Wuu Sanzang was a Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Middle Ancient Era, a True Monarch known to have established his Cave Mansion in the Great Wild Marsh.

A Tier Four Beast Master and Tier Four Puppet Master, he was renowned for these two skills during his lifetime and kept a large number of Spirit Beasts and self-made Puppets in his Cave Mansion.

He had no apprentices or disciples, a solitary figure.

It was said that before his death, he combined the paths of Beast Taming and Puppetry to create a special kind of Puppet that was both immortal and could retain its Spiritual Wisdom without a master. He called them Town Spirit Beasts.

However, not long after this news got out, the Water Mansion vanished completely. A century later, once it was determined that Wuu Sanzang must have passed away, many audacious Cultivators searched for it countless times, but none ever found it.

’To think it quietly fell into the hands of the Beihe Shen Family.’

’Operating on their own and possessing spiritual nature... isn’t that the domain of Tier Five Puppets? How could these so-called Town Spirit Beasts be merely at the Core Formation level?’

Bai Zichen sneered inwardly. ’Splitting the spoils fifty-fifty sounds fair enough.’

’But I’m an outsider; I can’t stay in the Great Wild Marsh forever. Even if we break the Forbidden Spells of the Water Mansion, won’t the most valuable prize—the mansion itself—still fall into the hands of the Shen Family in the end?’

’And if the most important treasures inside are the two Tier Four legacies from the Hundred Skills of Cultivation, there’s no need to split them at all. We could each just copy the Jade Scrolls.’

’Shen Moqun has a fine plan indeed, trying to use me as free muscle.’

"Fellow Daoist Su, since you’re not a local Cultivator, you may not be familiar with Wuu Sanzang. That senior’s accomplishments in Beast Taming and Puppetry were renowned throughout the Eastern Domain. They say he reached the Tier Four Peak in both. If not for the limits of his cultivation, he might have broken through to the Tier Five Realm."

Mistakenly thinking Bai Zichen was interested, Elder Shen launched into an animated explanation, spit flying from his lips.

"This old man saw those Town Spirit Beasts with his own eyes. They’re only at the level of Tier Three Low-Grade Demon Beasts. They look so lifelike, just like real living things. They might be Wuu Sanzang’s latest research results from before he passed away. Besides those two Town Spirit Beasts, the other Forbidden Spells aren’t that strong. My family has enough power to break through them..."

"That is indeed impressive."

Bai Zichen nodded, but his next words made Shen Moqun’s expression change dramatically. "However, my Sect has given me strict orders to focus on the Qi Collection Refining Technique and avoid all distractions. I can only decline your generous invitation. You should find someone else."

"Fellow Daoist Su, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Encounters like this don’t come by often... If you weren’t from the Central Domain, with no ties to the local Cultivators, this old man wouldn’t have come to you."

Elder Shen spoke in a rush, his words tumbling out. But when he saw Bai Zichen close his eyes and enter a state of Meditation, clearly posturing that he would not communicate further, he had no choice but to flick his sleeves in resignation and leave.

"Rotten wood cannot be carved! When you’re old, you will regret the opportunities you didn’t seize in your youth, watching helplessly as the Longevity Path slips away!"

’Interesting. Town Spirit Beasts that can still function and maintain Spiritual Wisdom after tens of thousands of years... If there’s truly a complete, systematic path from low to high, it could birth a whole new discipline within the Hundred Skills of Cultivation. The creator would become the founding patriarch of an entirely new art...’

Bai Zichen sensed Shen Moqun departing, glancing back every few steps, until he finally vanished beyond the range of his Divine Sense.

He had no interest in the Water Mansion, but if Wuu Sanzang had truly blazed a new trail as Elder Shen claimed, creating such a path, then it was something far beyond an ordinary legacy from the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.

In truth, while the legacies for the Tier Four Beast Taming Technique and Tier Four Puppetry Skill were of little use to Bai Zichen himself, they would be a tremendous supplement for the Qingfeng Sect, which lacked a deep foundation. They could perfectly fill two of the Sect’s voids.

The Spirit Beast Hall currently spent more time gathering intelligence than on its actual duty of raising Spirit Beasts. And wasn’t that because the entire Sect only had three or four species of Spirit Beasts they could raise in flocks?

If they didn’t take on other tasks, rumors about disbanding the Spirit Beast Hall were bound to start circulating within the Sect.

The Spirit Beast Hall’s inability to develop was mainly due to the lack of a Beast Taming legacy.

Otherwise, with the Demon Beast resources of the Black Mountain Range, they could have captured at least seven or eight different species of pack-dwelling Tier Two Demon Beasts to bring back.

As for the Tier Four Puppetry Skill, that alone would be worth establishing a dedicated Puppet Hall.

Puppetry wasn’t an obscure art among the Hundred Skills of Cultivation; there were even several Nascent Soul Major Sects founded upon it.

It was just that the barrier to entry for Puppetry was quite high. In the entire Cultivation Realm of Liang Country, only the Holy Lotus Sect could claim any real mastery over the path of Puppets.

But even they could only mass-produce Tier Two Puppets. Creating a Tier Three Puppet was a matter of luck; they might only manage to craft a few of them every century.

’Still, for a Water Mansion of such high value, why did Shen Moqun have to seek me out? Even if there are no trustworthy partners among the Cultivators in the Great Wild Marsh, with so many Core Formation Cultivators in the Eastern Domain, is none of them more reliable than an outsider like me who just arrived?’

But again, Bai Zichen didn’t want any complications.

For him, the most important—and only—task at hand was to master the Demon Extermination Purple Light, then cultivate to Core Formation Perfection.

After that, he would begin the path of Shattering Core and Transforming into Nascent Soul, to make his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.

The legacies of a Tier Four Beast Taming Technique and a Tier Four Puppetry Skill, not to mention the brand-new path pioneered by Wuu Sanzang, would be an irresistible temptation to ninety-nine percent of the Core Formation True Men in the world.

What’s more, the Water Mansion could contain other legacy treasures.

After all, Wuu Sanzang had no children and no disciples to inherit his fortune. It was highly probable that his entire estate was buried with him inside the Water Mansion in the Great Wild Marsh.

The entire fortune of a Nascent Soul True Monarch... the very thought was enough to make one lose their composure.

’But what’s the point for me? I have my own clear and bright path. All I need to do is stride straight ahead.’

Bai Zichen reined in his curiosity about the Water Mansion. A dark red ore appeared before his chest, and he spat a ball of Pill Fire onto it, beginning the ceaseless process of burning and refining.

Day and night, without a moment’s rest, the dark red ore was burned and forged until it was nearly black.

He was refining Spiritual Qi, tempering the ore, and collecting Purple Qi on every Double Ninth Festival.

「Seven more years passed in this cycle.」

Perhaps because his reputation had spread, or because he occupied the high platform of the Water Eye, no Cultivator dared to come and disturb him.

Everyone tacitly assumed that the destruction of the Mi Family was the work of this Core Formation True Man calling himself Su Wuming, which showed him to be a ruthless and decisive senior.

The Cultivators of the Great Wild Marsh couldn’t avoid him fast enough; who would dare take the initiative to approach?

Only Shen Moqun visited two more times, harping on the same old tune in an attempt to persuade Bai Zichen to explore the Water Mansion with him.

But he received no response each time and could only leave with a heavy sigh.

’Two people? Has Elder Shen found a helper?’

Bai Zichen’s Divine Sense detected two Core Formation Cultivators approaching rapidly. One was the all-too-familiar Elder Shen. Soon, two streaks of Escape Light descended.

"Fellow Daoist Su, allow me to introduce you. This is Little Friend Chen Ze, who has just arrived in the Great Wild Marsh on his travels... To have a Core Formation Cultivation at such a young age... it truly puts an old man like me to shame."

The Cultivator beside Elder Shen had a face as handsome as jade and eyes like brilliant stars, the very picture of a dashing young nobleman.

"Little Friend Chen happens to be free, and he’s also very interested in the Water Mansion left behind by True Monarch Wuu Sanzang, so he’s willing to join the exploration. I’ve come back specifically to ask one last time: would Fellow Daoist Su care to join us?"

"No, thank you. I am at a critical juncture in my cultivation and cannot leave."

Bai Zichen’s gaze swept over Chen Ze, lingering on the young, white-robed Cultivator for several breaths as a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

"Hmph! Quit pretending to be some master. I bet you’re just afraid of making a fool of yourself when you see the Town Spirit Beasts, so you’ve come up with all these excuses!"

Chen Ze’s eyes were filled with arrogance. He strode forward and, with a sharp CLANG, unsheathed the longsword at his waist. Its Sword Light whipped up a Water Dragon, and the surface of the entire body of water dropped by several yards.

"I heard from Brother Shen that you’re a Sword Cultivator, too. Then let me have a look at your Swordsmanship!"

"Stop! Please, stop! We were having a civil conversation, why has it come to blows!"

Elder Shen had an anxious look on his face, waving his hands frantically as he tried to stop them.

’Did you know I was bored out of my mind and decide to show up at my door to entertain me?’

Bai Zichen pointed a finger. A streak of crimson light shot out with a roar, severing the Water Dragon’s head.

In terms of sheer power, ignoring its side effects, the Great Sun Celestial Furnace Sword was a top-grade weapon among Tier Three Flying Swords.

He suppressed his cultivation to the Early-Stage Core Formation and held back from revealing his Sword Qi Thunder Sound Realm. Fighting with his hands tied, he was actually evenly matched with his opponent.

A flicker of interest ignited within him, and he decided to put some effort into his Sword Path.

Each of his strikes was faster than the last, swift as lightning and heavy as thunder, giving his opponent no chance to catch his breath.

At the same time, his fierce and powerful style was full of variations, leaving Chen Ze scrambling to defend against the wide, sweeping arcs of his Sword Path.

If it weren’t for his opponent’s extraordinary Cultivation Technique, which made him seem like a Human-Shaped Demon Beast with Power True Essence that far surpassed other Cultivators of his level.

Crucially, as he channeled his Sword Light, he could also gather the surrounding water vapor into roiling emerald waves.

It was hard to tell if this was due to a miraculous Flying Sword or his special Cultivation Technique.

After a hundred exchanges, no matter how powerful his opponent’s technique, it couldn’t withstand the might of the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box. The drain of using a single Tier Three Flying Sword was now negligible for Bai Zichen.

Seizing an opening as his opponent circulated his True Essence, he shattered the Water Dragon into a million droplets with a single strike. The crimson light surged forward, forcing Chen Ze back a hundred yards, his face deathly pale.

"Fellow Daoist Su, please, no more fighting! Little Friend Chen is just young and hot-headed. Please don’t take it to heart..."

Elder Shen rushed forward, bowing and apologizing. He grabbed the still-indignant Chen Ze and quickly retreated.

’Interesting. How very interesting... The real hunter often appears in the guise of prey.’

Watching their retreating figures, Bai Zichen let out a sudden laugh. He recalled the Great Sun Celestial Furnace Sword and resumed his Qi Collection and cultivation.