Chapter 306 - 278: The Latest News on Xiao Chan

Chapter 306: Chapter 278: The Latest News on Xiao Chan

After posting the locations for the various materials in the task hall, the Stewards from the Sacrificial Hall had accepted over half of the jobs within three short days. Barring any surprises, it would take two to three months at most to retrieve them.

This left only seven or eight Spiritual Objects needed to refine the Qingxu Guiyuan Pill, their whereabouts still unknown.

However, as word of his strategy of "paying a thousand gold for horse bones" spread, finding the rest was only a matter of time.

Meanwhile, the disciples of Jinyun Valley were all preparing for the grand competition. With the event three months away, they still had plenty of time to prepare. Although Zhao Changping currently had the highest Cultivation, no one could guarantee that a dark horse wouldn’t emerge.

More disciples, feeling they had no hope of reaching the top, set their sights on the top fifty instead.

In addition, on the day of the competition, Chen Che planned to invite the various affiliated families to watch, so they could gain a clearer understanding of Jinyun Valley’s quality of instruction.

He expected that after witnessing the matches between the valley’s disciples, the affiliated families would be much more willing to send their own clansmen to the valley for Cultivation.

Furthermore, Meng Qianxun had also returned from the front lines. The five toughest nuts had been cracked, and his presence was no longer needed to oversee the battle in Shuzhou. Even Chen Yin had returned, leaving only Chen Xi and Meng Changtu to guard the front in case of emergencies.

Learning that Chen Che was preparing Core Formation Materials, he was naturally gratified. After offering some encouragement, he not only produced a portion of Lingxi Gold—an item on the list with no leads—but also offered to cooperate if Chen Che discovered the location of a Spiritual Object but couldn’t retrieve it himself.

Chen Che naturally accepted this offer gladly.

At the same time, however, Meng Qianxun subtly expressed that Chen Che should be wary of the Ye Family.

’Jinyun Valley and the Ye Family have never had any dealings, and our territories are quite far apart...’

Chen Che’s eyes narrowed slightly in confusion.

The Ye Family was a great Golden Core clan.

It was because of their existence that the Meng Family could only be second-best in Yunzhou.

Their patriarch achieved Core Formation over two hundred years ago, and the clan currently had four Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivators, with over a hundred registered Foundation Establishment Major Cultivators. Their strength was immense. When the Primordial Sect and the Star-Picking Sect went to war, their hundred-zhang-long Spiritual Boat had left a deep impression on him.

But Jinyun Valley and the Ye Family were located in the southern and northern regions of Yunzhou, respectively, with several other families situated between them.

It could be said that they had no grudges against each other, nor any conflict of interest.

"I reached Foundation Establishment Great Perfection twenty years ago. Do you know why I have yet to attempt Core Formation?"

Meng Qianxun sighed deeply, his gaze distant. "Fifty percent of the reason is that I lack confidence. The other half is because I fear the Ye Family!"

"...The Ye Family."

With just a moment of thought, Chen Che immediately understood the crux of the matter.

The Meng Family’s situation was not much different from that of the Great Chen Royal Family.

The only difference was that the latter was unable to take that step because Thousand Eyes True Master was unwilling to share the Power of Faith.

The former, however, was because they feared the Ye Family would interfere...

When a Foundation Establishment Clan is promoted to a Golden Core Influence, its territory and resources multiply. But these things are finite. Who would want another competitor to pop up right under their nose?

It was the same principle as one mountain not being able to accommodate two tigers.

"Seventy years ago, the Zheng Family was the second most powerful influence in Yunzhou, and they too produced a Golden Core True Master. However, not long after his Core Formation, he went out on a trip and has not been heard from since. The Zheng Family has been in decline ever since."

"I speculate there is an eighty percent chance that the Ye Family was involved in this matter."

As Meng Qianxun spoke, he even took the precaution of setting up a Silence Array. "A rumor has it that he had apparently received an invitation from the Ye Family’s patriarch to go treasure hunting in some overseas ruins, and he may have met a grim fate."

"Now that you mention it, that’s certainly possible."

Chen Che nodded slightly. He had only known the first half of this story, but he had never heard the second half.

For an ordinary family, gathering the entire clan’s strength to support the creation of a single Golden Core True Master is like an all-or-nothing gamble. They are hoping for the proverbial "one man achieves the Dao, and his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." If it succeeds, the clan will enjoy several hundred years of glory, their status and standing rising with the tide.

But with the patriarch going missing after his trip, it meant that the clan’s entire accumulated wealth was a total loss.

They didn’t even need to be deliberately suppressed; the clan’s morale would collapse on its own.

"You and I, although we have Thousand Eyes as a guarantor, which keeps the Ye Family from acting brazenly, Core Formation is a matter of immense importance. Even the slightest oversight can lead to death, so we must be on guard."

His expression turning solemn, Meng Qianxun said slowly:

"I had originally planned to wait until Changtu reached Foundation Establishment Great Perfection before making my move. Now that you are also preparing for Core Formation, our two families can join forces."

"Once the Meng Family and Jinyun Valley have two, or even three, Golden Core True Masters, even if the Ye Family is displeased, they will be forced to accept it, holding their noses, due to our combined strength."

If it had been anyone else, Meng Qianxun would never have revealed such a secret.

But Chen Che was not an outsider.

Whether it was Meng Changtu being lured to Ten Thousand Fire Mountain, the battle against the four patriarchs of Juejian Mountain, or even the siege and killing of True Master Chilong, anyone else would have either fled long ago or, tempted by great treasures, harbored ill intentions.

This was enough to prove that Chen Che was someone worthy of trust.

"Agreed."

Chen Che agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Besides his intention to give the Meng Family a hand, he also truly needed one or two Golden Core allies. In the current situation, there was no better choice than the Meng Family. Although there was another potential ally, there had been no news of them.

"Good! In that case, we won’t have to worry about the Ye Family."

Meng Qianxun was overjoyed to hear this. He continued, "Grandson-in-law, once the materials are ready, do you plan to send them to Primordial City for refining, or..."

"I plan to refine it myself."

Chen Che had already planned for this:

"However, my Alchemy Skill isn’t high enough yet. I might need some more time to polish it."

This was the truth.

The Qingxu Guiyuan Pill was a Tier Three Middle Grade Elixir, and its refining difficulty was no less than that of the Yang God Pill. He still needed a long time to study and practice.

"In that case, I’ll have the materials that Changtu and I have collected sent over as well." Meng Qianxun pondered for a moment before saying decisively, "You have to pay someone Spirit Stones for alchemy anyway. It’s better to let our own family earn it than to let an outsider profit."

"It doesn’t matter even if you fail; at worst, we’ll just wait a few more years. From now on, the Meng Family will purchase all the Tier Three Elixirs it needs from Jinyun Valley. As long as you can refine them, you’ll make back the cost!"

’Chen Che truly liked this old man.’

One set of materials for a Qingxu Guiyuan Pill was worth seven to eight hundred thousand Spirit Stones. The old man was essentially letting him practice, bankrolling his journey to becoming a Pill Master capable of refining Tier Three Elixirs. Sometimes, flowery words meant less than concrete actions.

"As for the Core Formation location, I have a candidate site. It’s the place where True Master Chilong once achieved Core Formation. It’s absolutely safe."

After saying this, Meng Qianxun also stood up:

"Once I’m done with my current business, I’ll take you to see it."

Watching Meng Qianxun leave, Chen Che’s brow furrowed.

’Barring any special circumstances, he would never want to attempt Core Formation on Earth Element Star, no matter how safe it was. After all, the Spiritual Qi there was scarce, which would invisibly increase the difficulty of Core Formation.’

’If the Meng Family had a safe location for Core Formation, he would naturally prefer to do it in this world.’

...

「Another month passed in the blink of an eye.」

April was undoubtedly one of the most pleasant months of the year.

Now that he no longer needed to worry about miscellaneous trifles, Chen Che returned to his regular, predictable life, spending half his time in Jinyun Valley and the other half immersed in the Zhurong Daoist School.

He could not only find time to stroll through the Market with Meng Qingxuan, but he also participated in many extracurricular activities after school, making sure to show his face to his various teachers.

His meticulous schedule was worthy of a time management master.

He was even arranged by Li Tingyu to participate in a debate competition:

Of the four great elements of cultivation, should ’Method’ rank first, or should ’Wealth’ rank first?

As the first debater for the affirmative side, Ye Zhihan, and the second debater, Chen Che, were rendered speechless by the arguments of a third-year senior girl on the negative side. In the end, the two reached an agreement and simply used their Cultivation to suppress their opponent and shut her up, thus achieving victory.

However, after the match, the two of them were banned from participating in any more debate competitions.

But their actions were deeply appreciated by Li Tingyu, who directly recommended the two of them to participate in the Immortal Sect university exchange conference in the latter half of the year.

In his spare time, Chen Che would even pop up now and then in his high school alumni group chat.

While everyone was complaining about their respective Daoist Schools, he would invite them all to come visit Zhurong Daoist School. From their old class, Huang Zhongfei had become the next student to reach Foundation Establishment after Chen Che and Ye Youwei. As for Zong Yudao... he was still at the Qi Refining Third Layer.

In addition to all this, Chen Che also found the time to take the Tier Two Alchemist exam, receiving his certificate with a perfect score.

At Zhurong Daoist School, aside from the competition-track students, most students in the Alchemy Department only managed to pass the certification exam right before graduation.

As for students from other Daoist Schools, obtaining it within ten years of graduation was already considered quite outstanding.

The Immortal Sect’s Tier Two Alchemist certification held much more weight than Yunzhou’s, as it required mastery of over eighty percent of all Tier Two Elixirs. In Yunzhou, by contrast, one could be called a Tier Two Alchemist simply by achieving a thirty percent success rate when refining Tier Two Elixirs.

In some remote places, you could even be called a Tier Two Alchemist just for successfully refining a single cauldron.

The standards were, one might say, extremely chaotic.

Obtaining this certificate didn’t just mean that after graduation he could directly join any major corporation on Earth Element Star as a worker or open his own little shop; it also meant that the Tier Three Pill Books in the Daoist School were now fully accessible to him.

He had thought these peaceful days would last for a long time, but in mid-April, a piece of news arrived that thoroughly shook everyone in and around Jinyun Valley.

A Foundation Establishment Tributor, who had been dispatched to Chu State to harvest the Black Stonecutter Flower, was killed in Xuzhou on his return journey. He was traveling with two Loose Cultivator Foundation Establishment Major Cultivators from outside the valley, and they were all slain by a Major Cultivator wielding a Soul-Calling Banner. By a stroke of luck, a cultivator from the Lu Family stumbled upon the scene, and their bodies were recovered intact.

After the Lu Family confirmed the Tributor’s identity from a Token he carried, the bodies were sent to Jinyun Valley.

The initial assessment of the perpetrator was—

Xiao Chan.