Chapter 413 - 384: Lure

Chapter 413: Chapter 384: Lure

"Valley Master Chen, my deepest apologies."

In the restaurant, Xu Chuan poured a cup of Spirit Wine with an apologetic look and pushed it in front of Chen Che. "A few days ago, I went to see that old friend of mine. He has about three bottles of the Essence of Water on hand, but unfortunately, he’s unwilling to sell them to me."

"Unwilling to sell?"

Chen Che frowned.

However, this was to be expected.

The Essence of Water was not only extremely rare, but also had a wide range of uses. It could be used in Alchemy, Artifact Quenching, and Talisman Painting... It was absolutely a seller’s market. Even if someone wanted to hold out for a higher price, you just had to grit your teeth and accept it.

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Che tapped his fingers on the table. "Did he make any demands?"

"No, he didn’t."

Xu Chuan shook his head with a wry smile as he refilled Chen Che’s cup:

"I made it clear that I wasn’t buying it for myself, but for Jinyun Valley. But not only did he not believe me, he even threw me out."

"Valley Master Chen, if you truly want this item, why don’t you go and speak with him personally? With your Alchemy Skill, you could definitely change his mind."

Xu Chuan’s words were logical and reasonable, aligning perfectly with Chen Che’s own calculations.

This was because Pill Masters held an extremely high status.

If he were to ask in person, most people would grant him some face. There was at least a seventy percent chance of success.

"You’re his old friend of many years, and even you couldn’t get him to agree. Even if I go, the chances are slim. Besides, I have to stand guard over the Black Tortoise Calm Sea and cannot leave so easily."

Chen Che slowly shook his head, and after some deliberation, continued:

"How about this: if you can negotiate a price for me, I will refine three pills for you, free of charge."

"Er... you want me to handle everything?"

Xu Chuan was stunned for a moment. The corner of his eye twitched as he forced himself to ask, "Aren’t you worried I’ll play both sides for a profit, Valley Master Chen?"

"If you can manage to profit while keeping both of us satisfied, that’s a testament to your ability. I don’t mind."

Chen Che stated, making the final decision.

If not for the information Yu Yunko had revealed, he might have just gone along with it.

But now, he decided against it.

Besides, the half-bottle of Essence of Water he had was enough for a long period of his Cultivation. There was no need for him to take the risk.

"Thank you for your trust, Valley Master Chen. I will certainly not disappoint you."

Xu Chuan patted his chest, vowing earnestly.

Chen Che cupped his hands in a salute.

...

For the next few days, Xu Chuan was gone. He didn’t show up, and it seemed he had genuinely gone to negotiate.

But the Black Tortoise Calm Sea was anything but calm.

Someone discovered that strange lights had danced over the sea one night. The waves had surged and tribulation clouds churned, suggesting that a Great Demon was undergoing Core Formation. Many Cultivators went to the deep sea to search, but found no trace of it.

After the tribulation clouds vanished.

A green Flood Dragon Snake, flapping its wings, silently swam up to the Spiritual Boat. It was none other than Meng Changtu’s Green-Winged Flood Dragon.

And with that, the Beast Pets of both father and son of the Meng Family had, one after the other, reached Core Formation.

Unable to find the source of the phenomenon, the crowd of Cultivators dispersed.

The peace didn’t even last for two days.

A Cultivator, with the lower half of his body bitten off by a Dragon Turtle, desperately fled back to the island. Before dying, he passed on a piece of news: above a massive underwater volcano, he had discovered a dilapidated palace. When he had approached it, he was attacked by a Dragon Turtle guarding the outside.

After the news spread.

Countless Cultivators swarmed toward the location, and the population on the island instantly dropped by fifty percent.

Meanwhile.

The mangled corpse was brought to the Spiritual Boat by several disciples.

Chen Che glanced at it; the sight was truly horrific. From the lower abdomen down, the body seemed to have been severed by immense force, with shredded muscle fibers faintly visible at the edges of the ragged wound. Not many of his internal organs remained. It was only thanks to a lifetime of arduous Cultivation that he had managed to make it back at all.

"It must have been a Dragon Turtle. Their teeth are like guillotines—not sharp, but their bite force is extremely powerful. Crushing the body of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would be no problem for one."

Meng Qianxun crouched before the corpse and examined it for a moment before reaching a conclusion.

Being a Beast Master isn’t just about commanding Demon Beasts in battle; it also requires knowing the habits of various Demon Beasts, down to details like assessing their bone structure and teeth development... Of course, in this world, there are no formal courses on the subject. Most of it is knowledge that Beast Masters accumulate themselves through experience.

It is for this very reason that the longer a clan’s lineage, the more experience it accumulates, and the further it can advance on this path.

"Then did he really know the location of the Undersea Palace?"

Meng Changtu was slightly agitated.

The status of this palace was a whole level higher than True Master Chixia’s Traveling Palace.

"The soul is gone. It’s dissipated. It seems to have been forcibly snatched away, so we can’t question it..."

A sweep of his Divine Sense found nothing, and Chen Che’s brow furrowed.

Meng Qianxun, who had also failed to find the soul, looked up at the disciples who had escorted the body.

Zhao Changping, who had brought the body back, shook his head with regret.

"When this man returned to the island, he was barely breathing. He died before he could finish speaking. After his death, a nearby Foundation Establishment Cultivator immediately extracted his soul, and right then and there, three or four people started fighting over it."

"I wanted to fight for it too, but there were too many people snatching at it, and the soul just dissipated..."

The group exchanged a look:

His soul was utterly destroyed!?

This meant that the precise location of the Undersea Palace was now completely unknown.

"Should we go?"

Meng Changtu stood up.

Standing on the deck, he could see many Cultivators on the island who, upon hearing something, would hastily enter the sea. The entire reef was caught in a frenzied atmosphere, as if everyone was afraid of being a step behind.

Clearly, they were all heading straight for the Undersea Palace.

If these people found any treasures, they certainly wouldn’t come back obediently; they would definitely sneak away. The Jinyun Valley disciples were also infected by this atmosphere, as if they would charge into the Black Tortoise Calm Sea at a single command.

Even Chen Che himself felt a stir of temptation at this moment.

"We can go."

Meng Qianxun patted the ship’s rail. "We have the Spiritual Boat. We can sail directly into the deep sea. As long as we don’t encounter a school of fish, we can retreat completely unscathed..."

Chen Che knit his brows. He felt as though something similar had happened once before.

Back then, when Ye Jiuming had ambushed him, he had also spread news about True Master Chixia’s Traveling Palace. Although the time and place were different, the fundamental goal was the same: to lure him out.

Moreover, the Spiritual Boat was not omnipotent. If it encountered a large number of the Aquatic Race in the deep sea, it would also be unable to defend itself.

Once the Spiritual Boat was destroyed, they would have no refuge in this vast, ten-thousand-mile expanse of sea.

"We’re not going."

Not only did Chen Che refuse, but he also made a decisive command:

"Notify all disciples to return to the boat. No one is to go out to sea for the next few days. We’ll know if it’s real or fake in a few days. Being the first to rush in doesn’t guarantee an advantage; it’s more likely to make you cannon fodder."

"It won’t be too late to act if and when we get some clear news."

...

As time passed, the fervor of the Cultivators gradually cooled, and they returned from the deep sea one after another.

Evidently, none of them had found the palace.

The violent waves and the endless Aquatic Race had made most of the Cultivators give up. A small portion still refused to return; after searching fruitlessly, they resupplied on the island and hastily re-entered the sea.

There were even many Cultivators who fought chaotically amongst themselves in the sea, but from beginning to end, not a single new piece of information about the Undersea Palace emerged.

Meanwhile.

Xu Chuan had returned again. His old friend had refused once more, even stating bluntly that if Chen Che wanted to buy the Essence of Water, he should go himself.

"Is that really what he said?"

Chen Che tapped his fingers, lost in thought.

"I’m not the type to stir up trouble! If you don’t believe me, Valley Master Chen, you can go and confront him yourself!"

Xu Chuan was quite indignant, though it was unclear if it was because Chen Che suspected him or because his old friend had rejected him repeatedly:

"If you’re going to see him, Valley Master Chen, please forgive me for not being able to accompany you. I need to explore this sea region for a while. However, I can write you a letter of introduction."

"Then I’ll trouble you to write a letter of introduction, Fellow Daoist Xu. I’ll find some time to go and meet him."

Chen Che showed no suspicion.

"Of course."

Xu Chuan readily agreed and quickly wrote a letter, leaving his unique True Essence Mark on it as well. "His Cave Mansion is in the Chu State region. Once you get there, the mark on this letter will guide you to his abode."

Chen Che took the letter of introduction, thanked Xu Chuan, and returned to the Spiritual Boat. But after he was back, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

And yet, the whole affair was perfectly reasonable.

From the discovery of the Essence of Water, to his own attempt to purchase it, to the other party’s refusal and request for him to come in person—it all followed a normal process, without a single flaw. Even Xu Chuan had a reason to refuse to accompany him, as he needed to explore the waters.

Both overtly and covertly, everything seemed to imply that this was a task only he could accomplish.

"The cautious sailor pilots his ship for ten thousand years."

After he told Meng Qianxun about the matter, Meng Qianxun also couldn’t find any flaws after a moment’s thought, but offered a word of caution nonetheless:

"Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not leave the Flying Boat under any circumstances! We’ll just have to wait and see how things play out!"