novelraw Chapter 568: Not in Vain, None in Vain
Chapter 568: Not in Vain, None in Vain
"Old Seven, aren’t you a believer of Lord Heaven? How come you’re here too?"
"That monk was pretending and didn’t find out, only a fool wouldn’t come. I heard yesterday that if you wear shabby clothes, you can get a lot of things. The rice and flour for a whole family can last two months!"
"The Immortal Sect sure is wealthy, just a casual handout lets anyone in, sit for a while, and you can collect things when you leave. Imagine how much money they spend in a day?"
"It’s definitely to widely recruit believers since they’re new here. Once these days are over, they’ll surely find excuses to take money instead! Get what you can now, and when they start collecting money, we won’t come anymore!"
"Spending money for fame indeed works. Initially, there weren’t many people. Now, in just two days, look, the courtyard is almost full. They say those who can enter the tower are all high officials and nobles. You frequent participants, do you feel any differences? I heard the limping old man on the street has joined the Immortal Sect, and he walks smoothly now. Is it true?"
"I wouldn’t know, but I do feel energetic, not tired or sleepy, just always hungry. Suddenly, I get so hungry like I’m starving to death..."
......
Before the Granting Skill ceremony began, Jiang Yuan found a corner to sit and listened to the surrounding polluted mortals whispering. Then, he opened the courtyard’s communicator to check each workshop’s work progress.
After slaughtering the leader of the Giant-Horned Rhinoceros and throwing it into the slaughterhouse, just processing it takes three days.
Fortunately, that Demon Beast was high-level and huge, leaving behind plenty of residues. After collecting this wave of waste, the newly developed ordinary farmland can be upgraded to Level Four in one go. The rest will have to wait to continue accumulating waste from the Alchemy Room and mud from the Fish Pond.
Based on the current output speed, it’ll be at least another three to four days before the Level Five farmland can be upgraded to complete the main task.
Farming games are like this, the further you go, the slower the courtyard upgrades.
The main task is currently working towards a Level Seven courtyard, and the side quests are already touching on the mysterious void, with progress on both sides about the same.
Who knows what’s really going on in the Netherworld, the agreed void exploration journey with Tang Qin has been delayed and still hasn’t started, and Lingdi has another side quest to search for clues in the void.
Little Eight’s refining of the Spiders Valley token is still uncertain when she can exit seclusion;
The side quest for Bluebird is upgrading, she has to put in more effort herself;
The apprentices are the same, apart from providing them with Weapons, Spirit Stones, and Elixirs, I can’t do much more, hoping they can ascend in Realm soon, not only increasing the combat power of the courtyard but also allowing me to enjoy the rewards.
For dungeons, the second stage of the Misty Ridge dungeon is still incomplete, Bluebird’s clearing speed is slightly lacking compared to mine, perfect since the Collection Skill urgently needs upgrading, once the Green-eyed Fox Race is captured, I can go in and harvest some polluted poisonous mushrooms or so to rack up Skill Points;
There’s also the World Tree branch dungeon, showing a death risk after synthesis, Jiang Yuan didn’t dare enter recklessly, considering crafting a Resurrection Talisman before going in isn’t a bad idea!
Once the Immortal Sect is dealt with, the human support project’s Task 1 should surely be complete, following tasks are gradual and can’t be rushed, leaving only the mid-month trip to push the Carefree City Lord’s side quest forward a bit...
While Jiang Yuan was amidst stealing time to plan the upcoming itinerary, Jing Peiran was also busy with final arrangements.
"Starting today, I will successfully possess and head to another world completely. Ali has already been deployed over there, and more and more clansmen will follow us to the new world."
He took one last look at the land where the clan had lived for tens of thousands of years with narrow eyes, touching the palace that had lost its former glory, and sighed: "I will pass the Possession method to Qiu Xin, and henceforth she will replace me in overseeing the overall situation, arranging for the soul replacements of the clansmen.
Be patient, don’t panic when things arise, you must listen to Qiu Xin’s arrangements and commands, do not scramble and cause conflicts.
Additionally, the replaced human souls wouldn’t practice cultivation. Even though they have the bodies of Green-eyed Foxes, they don’t know how to cast Magic. If you’re scared or anxious with nowhere to vent, just take it out on them, but don’t hurt your fellow kin."
The crowd of Fox Demons was envious and admiring, bowing in agreement.
"Go rest, my body will also be possessed by a human soul, and henceforth, the main hall will be overseen by Qiu Xin." Jing Peiran thought for a moment and didn’t have much else to advise, anyway, with a vast world ahead, if this bunch can’t transfer Soul Power, they will be destroyed alongside the fragments of the earth.
Of course, the most important thing is that the Storage Ring must be carried over in this transfer.
Taking caution, Jing Peiran made comprehensive preparations - allowing the most trusted Ali to arrive in the new world first for reception, himself leaving a step later.
Firstly, it can deter this bunch from causing trouble over possession; secondly, taking the Storage Ring during possession requires more Energy, needing reliable subordinates on both sides to assist.
Drifting long in the void, the remaining Treasure from the clan’s treasury after consuming, damaging, and mutating is not much. Jing Peiran selected the finest, then wrapped the Storage Ring with the last wisp of mutated flexible Soul Power, took a deep breath ready to descend formally.
"Duang!"
The bell rang again, and the buzzing crowd gradually quieted down, eyes turning towards the Golden Tower.
The "devout believers" waiting in the Zen Room of the temple then entered the Golden Tower in order according to their rank.
In Jiang Yuan’s eyes, up to seventy percent of these luxuriously clothed people had undergone some mutation, each like a walking pus-filled slime.
The City Lord of Earth Wheel City, Gao Ye, entered the Golden Tower proudly with official strides. Although merely a mortal, he aspired to seek immortality and cultivate for an ageless body, leveraging his position as a court official to recruit talents after settling in Earth Wheel City.
He was aware there were swindlers, but as the saying goes, a thousand gold buys a good horse; with more famed arrivals, genuine cultivators can be naturally found.
Just like that, Lu Erxi arrived at Earth Wheel City with his wife and children, his seemingly not-so-smart son indeed possessed real abilities. After hearing how the Immortal Sect operated, Gao Ye too had concerns, hence not participating in the past couple of days.
When he saw Lu Erxi praying for the Immortal to grant skill, truly curing patients instantly, and the Fox Immortal also bestowing gold and silver treasures to those impoverished believers, Gao Ye finally believed.
Today early in the morning, he participated in the granting skill ceremony for the first time, naturally receiving special treatment due to his esteemed status as City Lord.
After the ceremony, he could clearly feel a powerful force seeming to surge within his body. Although he still couldn’t use it, it was faster and stronger than the force obtained through those cultivators’ bizarre methods!
Thus, he steadfastly believed in persistently attending the granting skill ceremony, eventually ascending to immortality without needing a Spirit Root!
"Sect Leader Lu, please request the Fox Immortal to grant skill." Gao Ye sat steadily at the topmost layer, seeing Lu Erxi and Lu Shaojie inexplicably appear inside the Golden Tower, nodded to signal they could begin.
"Lu Shaojie" had a flash of green light in his eyes, a sinister smile on his face as he began to host the soul exchange possession ritual.
Lu Erxi sat cross-legged, complacent, unaware that he would soon be reunited with his true son.
[Detected a large amount of mysterious energy from the void, can use the Soul Hook for capture]
Jiang Yuan looked left and right but didn’t see Lu Erxi and his son among the crowd entering the Golden Tower, just as he pondered how to enter the Golden Tower to capture the ringleader, several pinpoint sights suddenly illuminated in his vision.
He looked up, discovering streams of green light points descending from high above like meteors. As his gaze fixed on one, the system’s targeting device precisely analyzed it, the dense names making his eyes dizzy.
"There are too many, I can’t tell which to capture first, let’s go with the flow!" Jiang Yuan didn’t fret, casually swung the Soul Hook to directly catch the green light approaching a little girl nearby.
[Mysterious Soul Fragment +1]
[...+1]
...
Grabbing it felt as easy as a documentary scene of a whale crashing into a school of fish, effortlessly hooked the green pupa cluster in the storage bag and the number increased by +1.
Fortunately, he worried about being recognized by Lu Erxi, purposely found a corner. At this time, everyone was following orders, sitting cross-legged with eyes shut, awaiting skill granting, no one noticed his small movements.
[Soul Fragment of Jing Peiran, Clan Leader of Green-eyed Fox Race]
Jiang Yuan swiftly hooked over ten fragments nearby, suddenly drawn by a massive green light point, the targeting device locked onto it, revealing details.
Clan Leader? No wonder the soul fragment is so large, turns out it’s a big fish!
Without a second thought, he silently swung the Soul Hook, aiming and firing.
"Swish!"
[Storage Ring of Green-eyed Fox Race +1]
"What is this? How is there a storage ring inside the soul fragment?" Jiang Yuan watched as the large green light plummeted toward the Golden Tower, yet his swung Soul Hook failed to catch the fragment, only hooked out the storage ring encased within.
At the same time, Jing Peiran, who had just successfully completed possession, abruptly opened his eyes, eagerly checked his soul for no damage, then burst into rage, My King’s Storage Ring!
These humans are all useless!
Clearly granted a treasure that could detect spiritual power fluctuations, how did they let a cultivator slip in?
Dare to snatch My King’s storage ring openly, today, I shall possess a cultivator’s body to taste the flavor of soul devouring!
Collective possession had just begun, most fox race souls needed time to consume and replace human bodies, but Jing Peiran couldn’t wait.
Naturally, the tribe’s treasure was more important!
If the thief succeeded and fled, wouldn’t he suffer a great loss?
"Today’s granting skill ends here." Jing Peiran completely occupied Lu Erxi’s body, even though the appearance remained plump and greasy, the eyes, aura, and even voice changed instantly.
A-Li was puzzled, "Stopping now? Then... today’s rewards for the sect members?"
She thought about how the fox race’s souls still hadn’t successfully exchanged; ceasing the granting skill now would waste everything.
"Can’t let sect members come in vain. As long as we capture the evil spirit among them, the Fox Immortal will reward handsomely!"
"An evil spirit among them?" A-Li was secretly alarmed, knowing that the so-called evil spirit was the cultivators of this world.
Today was such an important occasion with the clan leader’s arrival, repeatedly instructed to inspect carefully, how did a cultivator still slip in?
Jing Peiran sneered, "I happen to need a usable puppet. How could I let the evil spirit come in vain today? A-Li, no one is allowed to leave the courtyard, let’s go find that evil spirit."