Chapter 304 - 276: Thousands of Gold for Horse Bones

Chapter 304: Chapter 276: Thousands of Gold for Horse Bones

In the following days, numerous families from Chi State came one after another to pledge their allegiance.

In a short time, the number of Foundation Establishment influences in Chi State under their control grew to eleven. Although most were ninth-rate powers with only one or two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, it meant that over sixty percent of Yunzhou’s territory now fell under Jinyun Valley’s jurisdiction.

Almost every day, disciples were sent to Chi State to move the Boundary Steles.

The remaining thirty percent of the families were still waiting and watching, as they were located near Haizhou and had intricate connections with larger families that boasted thirty, forty, or even more Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Chen Che paid it no mind.

After all, Jinyun Valley was not a Golden Core Influence. If it truly swallowed an entire state, it would be overextending itself beyond its capacity.

However, these families alone brought a massive influx of income to Jinyun Valley.

At the same time, the war in Shuzhou was also advancing steadily. Without the major Cultivation Races backing them, the armies of Hunzhou could march in unimpeded.

As for the likes of Mortal Grandmasters, they were completely unable to resist.

’Looks like the daoist lineage of Shuzhou is about to be completely severed.’

Chen Che thought to himself.

So-called faith stemmed from the blind worship of mortals, an act often born of ignorance. Once a mortal stepped onto the path of cultivation, they would at most revere heaven and earth. Why would they worship any Divine Spirit?

Therefore, on Earth Element Star, the reputation of the Incense Fire Daoist God lineage was akin to a plague of locusts: wherever they passed, all other daoist lineages were extinguished.

The most pitiful one was, of course, Chen Yin. Not only did he bear all the infamy, but his painstaking efforts to conquer Shuzhou were all for the benefit of Thousand Eyes. Without enough Power of Faith, he would likely be stuck at Foundation Establishment Great Perfection for the rest of his life.

Of course, these matters were not Chen Che’s concern.

Matters outside the valley were mostly like this.

But inside the valley, things were a bit chaotic and tedious.

He spent several days organizing the Cultivation Techniques and Spiritual Artifacts. At the same time, he also sorted out the Contribution Points required to exchange for items of each tier.

As for the Pure Jun Sword he had replaced, Chen Che placed it on the third floor of the Treasure House. Although the sword was covered in cracks, it still possessed the power of a Tier Two Middle Grade artifact. He wondered which lucky person would one day choose it from a pile of Spiritual Artifacts.

Of course, for most disciples, Spiritual Artifacts and Cultivation Techniques of Tier Two and above were still a distant goal. They would need to spend at least several more years before they could even access them. However, for the upper echelon of the valley, this was great news.

As Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they could easily earn several thousand Contribution Points each month, so entering the Treasure House to learn was not difficult.

After studying the Sword Cultivation Stone for a bit, Chen Che also placed it in the valley.

Sword Cultivators specialize in offense and slaughter. Because they focus on a single discipline, their combat prowess is exceptional.

The stone was of no use to him.

If it could be used to nurture one or two Sword Cultivators, that would be making the most of the Sword Cultivation Stone’s value.

The Earth Store Profound Tree had also grown to about half a meter tall. With enough Essence Blood to water it, its growth cycle could be significantly shortened. However, it would still take some time for it to reach the size of the one the Meng Family had. Even so, the tree’s effect of converting Spiritual Qi was gradually becoming apparent.

The Spiritual Qi near the tree was noticeably richer than in the surrounding area.

In addition, there were Jinyun Valley’s various external businesses, projects, and expenditures, as well as arranging for the Hundred Arts Cultivators brought back from Thunder Accumulation Mountain.

Of course, he didn’t need to follow up on these things in detail. After giving the orders, he only needed to check the final results. Focusing too much on such tedious, miscellaneous tasks would affect his cultivation progress.

After handling these matters, Chen Che issued an announcement in Jinyun Valley’s name:

"Now purchasing Flowing Cloud Water, Thousand-year-old Rainbow Ling Golden Ginseng, Golden Flower Jade Dew Fruit, the Heart of the Blood-Eyed Demon Tiger, Apricot Leaf Vine leaves... Interested parties, please come to Jinyun Valley to discuss the details!"

These Spiritual Objects were, at minimum, Tier Three Middle Grade. The vast majority were Tier Three High Grade, and some were even Tier Four. Their value ranged from tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand Spirit Stones. They were either extremely rare or grew in perilous, deadly locations, making them difficult to collect.

To purchase all of them would cost at least seven to eight hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Therefore, some cash-strapped Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivators could only choose to gather the materials themselves. However, most cultivators couldn’t gather all of them even if they spent half their lives trying.

However, all of these were essential main ingredients for refining the Qingxu Huayuan Pill; not a single one could be missing.

Even Chen Che had initially planned to purchase some and gather the rest himself. But after his trip to Shuzhou, he had netted a profit of two million Spirit Stones. Flush with cash, he no longer had to worry about it.

The moment this announcement was made, it was tantamount to declaring to the world that he was beginning his preparations for Core Formation.

...

"I’m done refining!"

「Half a month later.」

Chen Che stood up, his face etched with frustration.

A wisp of black smoke was seeping from the cracks of the Chixia Tripod before him, even though the lid was still on.

As the black smoke dissipated, it even emitted shrill wails—the screams of a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator’s Divine Soul as it dispersed.

The difficulty of refining a Tier Three Middle Grade Elixir was even more absurd than he had imagined.

Even though Chen Che had a foundation in refining most Tier Two Elixirs, he was still completely clueless when it came to refining the Yang God Pill. In fifteen whole days, he had tried seven or eight times, and all had ended in failure.

He had used up almost all the materials Chen Yin had sent.

This was a case of ’not knowing the method.’

To put it bluntly, it was like a high school freshman suddenly being handed a college entrance exam. Due to a lack of knowledge, his attempts were based on a partial, incomplete understanding.

’I’ll wait for the next batch of materials to arrive.’

It was Thousand Eyes’ business, after all. He didn’t need to keep it on his mind at all times.

However, although he had made little progress on the Yang God Pill, he had made great strides in other areas.

First was the Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique. After entering the Second Transformation, and with the help of a large number of Fire Element Spiritual Objects, he had finally managed to condense the first ball of flame. With this Divine Ability alone, he could easily slay a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator.

Additionally, he had also begun cultivating the second form of the Taichu Haoyue Sword, the ’Starfire Sword Technique.’

This Sword Momentum was several times more powerful than the ’Firefly Sword Technique.’

However, with Chen Che’s current cultivation, he could at most use it once before his True Essence was completely depleted.

For any other cultivator, the priority would be to raise their cultivation level, but Chen Che was tackling both opening his meridians and raising his realm simultaneously.

Furthermore, his Wind Thunder Technique Step had also reached the Small Success stage.

This meant that both his offensive capabilities and his means of self-preservation had grown considerably.

After meticulously cleaning the impurities from the Chixia Tripod, he glanced at the Micro Crystal Brain, which displayed his current cultivation status:

[Realm: Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer (99.37%)]

[Qi and Blood: Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer (28.19%)]

[Divine Sense: Golden Core Third Layer (84.23%)]

His Realm and Qi and Blood had both improved significantly, but the progress of his Divine Sense had all but stalled. Even with the Divine Court Incense, its cultivation was now just a matter of grinding work.

’I really want to try out Thousand Eyes’ other Divine Statue...’

With the thought turning in his mind, Chen Che walked out of his courtyard. He then formed a spell, and several Sound Transmission Paper Cranes flew out.

After about a quarter of an hour, a portly cultivator hurried into the valley. Only when he saw the main meeting hall before him did he slow his pace, panting for breath.

The newcomer was none other than Ding Fei, the Hall Master of the Internal Affairs Hall.

Upon receiving Chen Che’s Sound Transmission Paper Crane, he had immediately dropped everything he was doing and rushed to the valley.

"No need to rush. I called you here simply to ask about the material acquisition."

Chen Che raised his hand, and a Pumpon flew over.

"The Valley Master summoned me. How could I dare to delay?"

Ding Fei bowed respectfully and did not sit down. Instead, he immediately opened his Storage Pouch, took out three brocade boxes forged from jade, and opened them. The first box contained a Spirit Fruit that resembled white suet jade, surrounded by a ripple of Spiritual Light.

The second box held three ox-head-shaped leaves. The leaves were thick and the stems tender, pale blue in color, and emitted a refreshing fragrance.

The third box contained a beast’s heart. It seemed to have been preserved by some Secret Technique, as the heart looked as if it were still alive, faintly beating.

"In the last half a month, I’ve only managed to collect these three items..."

Ding Fei answered honestly:

"This Golden Flower Jade Dew Fruit was a gift from the Xiao Family. The night the announcement went out, Xiao Zongrui delivered it. The second box contains three leaves from the Apricot Leaf Vine, sent by Liu Yuanqing of the Liu Family."

"The third box holds the heart of a Blood-Eyed Demon Tiger. A Loose Cultivator was selling it yesterday. He originally planned to take it to Primordial City, but when he learned that Jinyun Valley was buying, I spent an extra two thousand Spirit Stones to acquire it for sixty-five thousand."

"The Xiao and Liu Families didn’t take any money?"

Chen Che asked.

"They did not..."

Ding Fei replied truthfully. "They both said it was a tribute to Jinyun Valley, a show of respect, and their contribution to the Valley Master’s great plan for Core Formation."

Chen Che nodded slightly.

The former, the Xiao Family, had only recently pledged allegiance and had once rallied Chi State to resist Jinyun Valley, so naturally, they needed to atone for their past transgressions. As for the latter, Liu Yuanqing, it had been over a year since Chen Che had asked him to find the Divine Court Wood, but there had been no news since.

He didn’t know where they had unexpectedly obtained these Spiritual Objects, but they had sent them over immediately upon learning he was preparing for Core Formation.

"Send them Spirit Stones according to the market price. Tell them all they need to do is their work peacefully and properly."

Chen Che decided firmly. "I won’t cause trouble for them for no reason."

Although accepting these two Spiritual Objects could have saved him seventy to eighty thousand Spirit Stones, it would be penny-wise and pound-foolish. In the future, if any subordinate families obtained an Exotic Treasure, they would hide it away, not daring to bring it out. Wouldn’t that just make acquisitions more difficult?

This act also carried the meaning of paying Thousands of Gold for Horse Bones.

"Not bad. Now, notify all the families. If they have any of the materials on the list, tell them to bring them directly, and Jinyun Valley will purchase them at market price."

Chen Che said with satisfaction:

"If they don’t have them, that’s fine too. Even if they only know the location of any of the materials, they can still notify me. If the information is verified and proves useful, Jinyun Valley will offer a reward equal to ten percent of the Spiritual Object’s market value."

"As you command."

Ding Fei said respectfully, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

Having only collected three Spiritual Objects in all this time, he had naturally been worried that Chen Che would blame him for his incompetence.

Chen Che, however, found it perfectly normal.

After all, these were Tier Three Spiritual Objects. Gathering all these materials within a year would be an accomplishment beyond imagination.