Chapter 594: The Benefits of Having a Reputation

‘It really pays to have a reputation. If I had just stayed in secluded cultivation, I never would have achieved my goal so easily, even with the same level of cultivation.’

He had reached an agreement with two Core Formation True Men from the Divine Wood Sect. In ten years, they would meet at Northern Domain Black Mountain to help Bai Zichen plant Spirit Rice.

They didn’t even discuss specific compensation in Spirit Stones, only accepting a vague promise that he would offer guidance on their cultivation paths.

The two Tier Four Spirit Plant Masters, who were both quite well-known in the Central Domain, eagerly accepted the arrangement.

Judging by their expressions, the other Core Formation Elders of the Divine Wood Sect were resentful about losing out on this opportunity and wanted to volunteer themselves.

However, Gu Jue suppressed them in his capacity as acting Sect Leader, giving no one else a chance to speak.

If it weren’t for the ongoing war between the two races that had embroiled all the Super Sects, some disgruntled Nascent Soul True Monarchs would have come challenging him long ago.

Take the Cyan Lotus Sword Sect, for instance. They had always prided themselves on being a prestigious school of the Sword Dao, with disciples who were all unruly, wild, and acted on a whim.

Otherwise, from their Sect Leader down to Gu Xuanzhong, two successive generations wouldn’t have earned the title of “sword maniacs.”

Bai Zichen had appeared out of nowhere and, without the backing of a Central Domain Major Sect, had overshadowed all the Nascent Soul Cultivators of the younger generation.

Among his peers, even the Saint Heir of the Moral Sect had yet to completely succeed in reaching the Nascent Soul realm. The gap was simply too vast.

And this was all before the news that he had broken through to the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul realm and mastered Sword Light Division had gotten out. With his aura concealed, even the Core Formation Cultivators of the Divine Wood Sect couldn’t discern his true level. Otherwise, those other sects would have been even more restless.

A pure sword duel, a probe to gauge his true strength, a covert assassination… people would have swarmed him, each with their own agenda.

In addition, he inquired with the Divine Wood Sect about the recent events at Jishui.

He discovered that the High-Tier Cultivators at the Jishui Camp hadn’t publicized what had happened that day, only stating that several Great True Monarchs had joined forces to slay another Great Demon Leader.

The Thousand-Legged Golden Centipede and the Twelve-Winged Soaring Serpent from Lankao Mountain were slain on the spot. The morale of the Human Race soared, and the calls for peace talks with the Demon Race were completely suppressed.

Strangely, however, the reports were vague about which Great True Monarchs were responsible for this victory, and their identities were not publicly disclosed.

Logically, this kind of achievement would bring fame to the cultivators involved and project an image of the Human Race’s strength, so it should have been announced immediately.

On the Merit List, the Tier Four Top Grade Thousand-Legged Golden Centipede carried a special bounty, one that could be directly exchanged for a medium-sized Tier Four Top Grade Spirit Vein.

It was located in the Eastern Domain, however, and could only be claimed after the Demon Race was defeated and the lands were reclaimed.

The sect that originally owned it had completely defected to the Demon Race, acting as their pawns. It had already been condemned by several Super Sects and would surely be attacked and destroyed in the future; its lineage would not be allowed to continue.

For a long time to come, it was nothing more than an illusion—a generous promise for a distant future.

However, if one chose not to take the Spirit Vein, the reward could be exchanged for eighty Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

So the choice was between the more valuable Tier Four Top Grade Spirit Vein—an asset that could serve as the foundation for a hundred generations, though it remained out of reach for now—or taking the guaranteed reward of Top-Grade Spirit Stones, a significant sum even for a Great True Monarch.

The decision came down to personal preference and future plans.

But the bounty sat there unclaimed, and coupled with the secretive behavior of the Human Race’s leadership, rumors soon began to spread.

The rumors claimed it wasn’t a group of Great True Monarchs who joined forces for the Demon Slaying at all. Instead, it was a Divinity Transformation expert of the Human Race who, unable to bear the situation any longer, had intervened in a rage.

A Divinity Transformation Great Power would naturally have no interest in such a bounty, which would explain why the reward on the Merit List remained unclaimed.

This speculation did not harm the morale of the Human Race. On the contrary, it bolstered the confidence of all the cultivators.

Since the war began, not a single Divinity Transformation Ancestor from any Super Sect—aside from the Moral Sect—had taken action, leaving many Sect Cultivators deeply uneasy.

The Demon Race’s propaganda claimed that most of the Human Race’s Divinity Transformation experts had already passed away in meditation within their Grotto Heavens. They said only a few were left, clinging to life without their full combat abilities, and no one knew how much truth there was to these claims.

If a Divinity Transformation Great Power truly had intervened, it would at least prove that the Human Race, apart from the Moral Sect, still had active top-tier experts.

For all Human Race Cultivators, this was a powerful shot in the arm.

Bai Zichen was invited to see the Divine Wood Sect’s Divine Trees. Each one formed a massive canopy that completely blotted out the sky.

Houses could even be built upon their branches.

They were, without a doubt, the most massive Spirit Plants he had ever seen.

No wonder the Taibai Sword Sect disciples had coveted this Spirit Wood; it was truly excellent material for refining Wood Element Flying Swords.

An Immortal Seedling from the Upper Realm, even if it couldn’t reach its full potential in the Spiritual Qi environment of the Human World, was still far superior to any ordinary Spirit Wood.

The emotions emanating from the Divine Trees were vast and majestic, yet also muddled and indistinct. It didn’t seem as though they possessed clear, individual Spiritual Wisdom, but were merely responding and emitting information passively.

‘If I could cut one down and extract its Wood Heart, the Wood Element Flying Sword I refined would have a decent chance of reaching Tier Four.’

One could say that the three hundred-some Divine Trees still standing on Wuzhong Ridge were the Divine Wood Sect’s greatest treasure.

It was surprising that after declining into an ordinary Nascent Soul Sect, no one had yet targeted the Spirit Vein and Divine Trees on Wuzhong Ridge. Aside from the Divine Wood Sect’s own strategic planning—which included occasionally bringing in powerful lone Loose Cultivators as allies—they must have had some other powerful backer.

Over three hundred Divine Trees meant over three hundred Wood Hearts. Statistically, that was enough to produce more than a dozen Tier Four Wood Element Flying Swords.

‘What Sword Cultivation Sect could possibly resist such a temptation?’

Even Bai Zichen, as he reached out and stroked the rough, sectioned bark of a Divine Tree, couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.

Right now, however, he was more concerned with another matter.

“Among the Star Lords, someone other than me also killed a Great Demon?”