Chapter 402 - 373: Two Pieces of News and One Matter

Chapter 402: Chapter 373: Two Pieces of News and One Matter

Outside Jinyun Valley, things were far from calm; in fact, problems were cropping up everywhere.

The first matter was, naturally, the fallout from the Ye Clan’s destruction.

The Ye Clan was, after all, a Golden Core Race, and not all of its members had remained at their home base; a portion of them were still scattered outside.

Three days after news of the Ye Clan’s annihilation spread, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator named Ye Tianyu immediately raised the banner of reviving his clan. In little more than ten days, he gathered the scattered members of the Ye bloodline from within the Primordial Sect’s territory. He then rushed back to Wangxian Ridge and reoccupied one of its mountain peaks.

At the same time, he fought several impressive battles against the many Loose Cultivators who had gone to plunder the Ye Clan’s former territory.

For a time, he actually managed to rally the scattered morale of the Ye Clan, showing great promise for their revival.

Information on Ye Tianyu was not difficult to gather.

The Meng Family gathered it at once and passed it to Chen Che. The investigation revealed he was Ye Jiuming’s direct great-grandson. He possessed a High Grade Spirit Root, had trained with the Primordial Sect for over forty years, and had been living in Primordial City before this. His Cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer.

"A centipede dies but never falls."

Chen Che casually tossed the file aside, unsurprised by this development.

When Ye Jingzhou had tried to sacrifice all of Jinyun Valley, many people still managed to escape simply because they were away. It was only natural for a great clan of five or six hundred years to have many members of its bloodline scattered about.

Even after being wiped out, they still had several Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

However, he wouldn’t need to worry about this man. Back when the Ye Clan was powerful, they had oppressed countless people. The clan’s annihilation had been a sudden lightning strike, and those they had wronged hadn’t even had time to react.

’I’m sure those people will be more than happy to make a move during the Ye Clan’s ’revival’ period.’

The second matter was related to Xiao Chan.

After the news that Xiao Chan had ’annihilated’ the Ye Race spread, many Evil Cultivators and Tribulation Cultivators began to target him. On his way to Faqian City, Xiao Chan had already been ambushed several times.

Of course, these Tribulation Cultivators had no intention of avenging the Ye Clan; they were also after the Ye Race’s treasure.

To them, Xiao Chan was now a walking treasure vault.

Many cultivators from the Primordial Sect had also gone to besiege him, but they had all paid the price of becoming another soul in his Soul-Calling Banner. About three days ago, Xiao Chan had told Chen Che via his Communication Bracelet that he had successfully entered Faqian City.

The only trouble was that several Golden Core cultivators from the Primordial Sect had also entered Faqian City and were following Xiao Chan, practically never letting him out of their sight. They were only holding back from making a move openly due to Faqian City’s rules.

It was said that Duobao, in his capacity as the Primordial Sect’s ’Interim Sect Leader’, was also negotiating with the City Lords of Faqian City to hand over Xiao Chan, but rumor had it that none of the three City Lords had yet responded.

’Looks like once this batch of Pills is refined, I’ll have to spare a few for Xiao Chan,’ Chen Che thought. ’After all, since he’s shouldering this blame, I have to give him some extra compensation.’

Of course, aside from matters related to Jinyun Valley, there was plenty of other disorganized news.

A minor clan somewhere was annihilated. The culprit was unknown, but Xiao Chan was suspected.

A Foundation Establishment Great Demon appeared in some region, wiping out the mortal population. It was suspected to be a Demon Beast raised by a Major Cultivator.

A cultivator in some mountain range accidentally stumbled into an ancient tomb, turning the hundred-mile radius into a death zone. The tomb itself was found to be empty.

Amidst this pile of news, he discovered another rather interesting piece of information:

The Sect Leader of the Star-Picking Sect went into seclusion two and a half months ago.

Chen Che did a quick calculation. The timing lined up with when the two sects had finished exploring the Black Tortoise Calm Sea. This meant the other Sect Leader had entered seclusion just days after returning to his sect, yet Jinyun Valley had only just received the news two and a half months later.

However, considering the great distance to the Star-Picking Sect, Chen Che wasn’t too concerned. It simply highlighted the need to further strengthen the valley’s intelligence system to avoid such long delays in receiving what was locally common knowledge.

A cultivator’s demise, more often than not, wasn’t due to arrogance. It was more commonly caused by an information imbalance—not knowing an opponent’s Cultivation Technique, their Weapons and Magical Artifacts, or what trump cards they held. That was what led to death.

’This is a huge undertaking!’

Chen Che rubbed his temples.

’I’ll have to start by gathering information on important figures and then slowly work my way down.’

After pondering for a moment, Chen Che formed a Seal Technique, and a Sound Transmission Paper Crane flew out of the main hall.

A short while later, Ding Fei arrived, panting. Though over sixty, the Chief of the Internal Affairs Hall still had white hair and a youthful complexion, a clear sign of his deep understanding of health and longevity techniques.

This was to be expected. With no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment, his only recourse was to find ways to extend his life. He had transformed from his initial appearance as a country squire, now possessing more of the refined air of a true cultivator.

"Valley Master."

Ding Fei cupped his hands.

"I called you here for an important matter."

Chen Che gestured for him to sit down before speaking.

"Rest assured, Valley Master. Even if you asked me to die, I wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest."

Ding Fei’s expression turned serious, and he immediately made to stand up and bow.

’He wasn’t afraid of death. What he feared most was being worthless, a time when Jinyun Valley had no use for him.’

"That won’t be necessary."

Chen Che smiled, raising a hand to stop Ding Fei’s movement, and said casually,

"Previously, when the Primordial Sect was issuing successive orders, I had Huang Daozheng set up the framework for a temporary intelligence system. It was not only too crude, but it also relied mostly on the vassal families below us, with its scope limited to Jinyun Valley’s jurisdiction..."

"Valley Master, you mean to expand the intelligence system beyond Jinyun Valley?"

Ding Fei understood at once.

Faqian City had similar organizations that gathered news from all over and sold it. But those were, after all, in the hands of others, leaving one at their mercy. After a moment’s thought, he asked, "Does the Valley Master have a plan?"

"I have a rough one, but I need you to handle the specifics."

Chen Che nodded slightly and continued,

"First, select a hundred Servant Disciples from within the valley with low-grade spiritual roots. They must come from the Market, and it would be best if they are knowledgeable in some of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation. Then, gradually send them out. As for their compensation..."

"It will be three times that of an Official Disciple, and on top of that, there will be some extra funds. If they perform meritorious service, they can be promoted to Steward upon their return to the valley."

"Yes!"

Ding Fei immediately said respectfully. There were many Servant Disciples in the valley, most of whom had their families pool money to send them here to cultivate. If they couldn’t get promoted to Outer Disciple after three years, most of them would have to go back where they came from.

After these cultivators left the valley, they either joined a vassal family to do odd jobs or took on scattered jobs themselves to sustain their future cultivation.

If they found no opportunities in the future, they would remain at the very bottom.

But the terms Chen Che offered would undoubtedly have many Servant Disciples scrambling for the chance.