Chapter 73: Chen Jiudao

To the west of Phoenix Song Valley Market, a hundred miles away, there stands an inconspicuous hill. At the summit lies a large azure stone, and beside it at this moment, two cultivators stand facing each other.

"Brother Feng, I trust you’ve been well," said one, dressed in a black robe, his head full of silver hair and his complexion remarkably rosy. He smiled at the other, a middle-aged man whose build was somewhat robust.

"Hmph, Brother Wu, your color looks quite good. It seems your injuries have fully healed?" The middle-aged cultivator snorted coldly.

Hearing this, the silver-haired cultivator’s expression darkened slightly. He replied in a low voice, "The White Family’s ancestor is indeed at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment—old yet vigorous, not to be underestimated."

"Speak, what’s the purpose of this meeting? Last time, my Feng family suffered heavy losses; even Seventh Uncle fell within Phoenix Song Valley Market." The middle-aged cultivator’s face was grim.

These two were none other than Feng Tianming, head of the Feng family, and Wu Yongchang, head of the Wu family—the very instigators of the chaos on that tumultuous night. Both were powerful cultivators above Foundation Establishment. Feng Tianming had reached the peak of the sixth level, just a step away from the seventh, while Wu Yongchang, though only at the fourth level, was famed for his formidable combat strength as a sword cultivator, his power rivaling that of seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Wu Yongchang shook his head. "It wasn’t I who called you here, but someone else."

"Who?" Feng Tianming was taken aback.

"He’s here," Wu Yongchang replied, just as he saw a figure flying over on a sword from afar.

"Chen Jiudao!" Feng Tianming’s brows furrowed tightly as he barked angrily, "Last time, it was the Chen family who started it all. How does he have the face to come?"

Chen Jiudao was the head of the Chen family, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Brother Feng, Brother Wu." Chen Jiudao landed swiftly, greeted each with a bow, and seeing Feng Tianming’s displeased expression, hurried to explain, "Indeed, the Chen family failed to act last time. But as agreed beforehand, if things proved impossible, we were to retreat immediately. When I discovered the White Family’s ancestor was hiding within the market, I knew the timing wasn’t right, so I ordered the Chen family to hold back. I didn’t expect Brother Feng Qi’s withdrawal would be untimely, leading to his fall on the battlefield."

"Hmph, easy for you to say. That White Family ancestor is an eighth-level Foundation Establishment expert, wielding a talisman treasure. My Seventh Uncle was only at the third level—how could he withstand it?" Feng Tianming snorted coldly.

"It was an accident, truly not Brother Chen’s fault. None of us anticipated the White Family’s ancestor would secretly hide within the market, rendering our planned lethal strike outside their territory useless," Wu Yongchang comforted. "Besides, Brother Chen did provide ample compensation afterward."

Hearing this, Feng Tianming’s expression eased somewhat. "So, Brother Chen, what brings us here this time?"

"I intend to make another move," Chen Jiudao looked at the two and said, "Though our efforts failed last time, I have now seen through the White Family’s strengths and weaknesses."

That White Family ancestor was indeed gravely wounded; otherwise, he wouldn’t have used the talisman treasure so soon. Everyone knows that while talisman treasures are powerful, their uses are limited. Frankly, with his eighth-level Foundation Establishment cultivation, he could have easily crushed Brother Feng Qi and the others in the market without needing the talisman treasure. So, he must have been seriously injured then. Moreover, his lifespan has surely been greatly reduced because of it."

"So what?" "How can you be sure?" The two weren’t so easily convinced.

"Half a month ago, Bai Yufeng suddenly returned to the White Family’s territory, stayed for half a day, then hurried off to Kou Tuo Peak. You know well who lives there—Xu Ruoxian, a second-grade high-level alchemist. Bai Yufeng went to Kou Tuo Peak to seek the Nine-Turn Returning Life Pill, which Xu Ruoxian announced she would begin refining in seclusion half a year ago. The Nine-Turn Returning Life Pill is famed for restoring twenty years of life, even if the soul has already been summoned to the Underworld. The pill was already reserved, so Bai Yufeng must have gone to secure it for the White Family’s ancestor. Only he, with his master’s influence and the promise of great reward, could persuade someone to make concessions."

Chen Jiudao’s eyes gleamed as he continued, "The Nine-Turn Returning Life Pill won't be easily refined—it’ll take at least another half year, judging by past experience. If Bai Yufeng really obtains it for the White Family’s ancestor, we’ll have to endure another twenty years... And by then, with Phoenix Song Valley Market’s resources, the White Family’s head Bai Zhanfeng could very well reach the seventh level of Foundation Establishment. Then, the White Family would gain another high-level combatant, and with Bai Yufeng advancing rapidly in Qingyuan Sect, our three families would face difficult times."

"Our Wu family has already withdrawn from Phoenix Song Valley Market," Wu Yongchang interjected.

"And we, the Feng family, have no wish to wade further into these troubled waters," Feng Tianming added.

"You think the White Family won’t bear a grudge for your actions last time?" Chen Jiudao knew well that his own family had initiated the previous attack, but then held back, causing resentment between them. Now, with the current situation, it was clear who would seize Phoenix Song Mountain Market if the White Family withdrew. Neither of the two was willing to incur losses; he would have to offer something in exchange.

"Brother Feng, I have a Great Breaking Barrier Pill for you." "Brother Wu, I hear your family is opening up Small Bamboo Peak and facing some trouble. The Bamboo Mountain Demon is indeed troublesome. But if my Chen family lends a hand..."

"What do you intend?" The two fell silent for a moment, then finally relented.

The Great Breaking Barrier Pill is a rare elixir for breaking through cultivation bottlenecks; it works even for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Feng Tianming had been stuck at the sixth level for twenty years; with this pill, he had an eighty percent chance of breaking through to the seventh level, becoming a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—a tempting prospect. As for Wu Yongchang, though a sword cultivator with power rivaling late-stage Foundation Establishment, the Bamboo Mountain Demon on Small Bamboo Peak was a late-stage Foundation Establishment beast, far surpassing ordinary cultivators. If the Wu family wanted to make Small Bamboo Peak their new territory, the demon had to be eliminated. Even if they succeeded, the cost in lives and resources would be steep—and there was more than one such demon on the mountain. With the Chen family’s help, things would be much easier.

"Rest assured, this time my Chen family will strike first. However, we cannot expect to accomplish everything in one blow as before; it must be approached gradually."

As he spoke, Chen Jiudao lowered his voice. "I intend to stir up chaos in Phoenix Song Valley Market first."

...

"Only twenty-some spirit stones left. Earning money is truly slower than spending it," Zhou Changwang muttered, glancing at the number of spirit stones in his storage pouch. He’d planned to buy a bottle of Returning Vitality Pills to speed up his cultivation, but now he could only abandon the idea. Twenty-nine low-grade spirit stones weren’t enough even for one bottle. He had to keep some stones on hand for emergencies.

Entering the backyard, Zhou Changwang’s mood finally improved as he looked at several acres of thriving Gathering Spirit Grass. At noon, after a simple meal of spirit rice, he entered the cultivation chamber, took out the jade slip recording Thousand Thunder Flash, and pressed it to his forehead.

A long time passed before he set the jade slip aside. "As expected of a thunder technique—twenty-five rune structures. Although Thousand Thunder Flash is a mid-tier spell, on par with Withered Wood Returning Spring Art, its difficulty is at least twice as high."

His expression was uncertain, but no matter how difficult, he had to cultivate it. Otherwise, wouldn’t the hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones he spent be wasted? Moreover, Zhou Changwang had already trained more than ten spells to the competent and proficient stages; his understanding of spells was now vastly superior.

For example, with the Metal Finger, at the entry stage, he had to condense each spell structure with spiritual power to cast it. Now, with the technique mastered, he had simplified the spell structure to its essence, enabling near-instant casting.

"So, if the twenty-five rune structures of Thousand Thunder Flash overlap with those I’ve already simplified in other spells, I can substitute them, making it easier to begin and shortening the casting time..." Zhou Changwang was no fool. Especially after hearing from the manager of the Bai Family Trading Company about breaking down spells to facilitate learning, he was inspired. If spells could be deconstructed, could their structures be substituted as well? It was like a mathematical formula: once proven, he could use it for subsequent calculations, replacing complex computations with the formula. Applied to spells, he could substitute complex spell structures with the simplified versions he’d already verified.

"Thousand Thunder Flash has twenty-five rune structures, five of which I’ve already simplified. So I only need to understand the remaining twenty to successfully cast the spell."

He muttered to himself and began his first attempt at cultivation. Spiritual power circulated within, tracing the corresponding rune structures. Once, twice, thrice...

What followed was a process of countless failures and attempts. Fortunately, Zhou Changwang was long accustomed to this. He firmly believed in the rewards of diligence—the cultivation of a new spell was never accomplished in one go. As long as he could see progress, he would be delighted.

(End of this chapter)