novelraw Chapter 231
Chapter 231
Mid-May of the 34th year of Wang Yu’s career as a Deacon.
It had been nearly four years since the opening of Jade Spirit Market. During this period, Wang Yu’s cultivation had once again improved significantly. He refined two more supreme-grade Ice Spirit Pills, increasing his true essence by three hundred drops, fully utilizing the effects of the pills.
Through his own cultivation, aided by the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Bed, his efficiency increased greatly, adding another sixty-three drops of true essence.
The double Idle Slot efficiency, however, seemed somewhat unimpressive this time, adding only one hundred and fifty-six drops of true essence.
In total, his upper limit of true essence expanded by five hundred and nineteen drops.
He took a small step forward at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment, reaching a level of two thousand five hundred and thirty-seven drops. The peak of four thousand drops still seemed far away. At this rate, it would take about fifteen more years to break through to the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment.
From the eighth to the ninth layer required an upper limit of eight thousand drops of true essence and nearly forty years of effort. However, from the ninth layer to the peak would be much easier, as it only required reaching the Qi Sea limit of nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine drops.
By this calculation, it would take another sixty-five years to touch the threshold of Core Formation. Counting his current age, he would only be a little over a hundred years old by then.
That already touched upon the cultivation speed of those with Heavenly Spiritual Roots. It was by no means slow, since the further one advanced, the harder cultivation became.
In recent times, Jade Spirit City had flourished rapidly. Wang Yu learned from the failure of the Fragrance Gathering Assembly that even with enough fame and the ability to kill an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, it was still impossible to deter everyone.The Crimson Kite Demonic Domain valued cultivation strength above all. Evil thoughts often arose from differences in power.
If he had already reached Core Formation during the second Fragrance Gathering, with the backing of the Blood Reversal Sect and his position as the City Lord of Jade Spirit City, the Old man Demon Puppet would never have dared to act recklessly.
Influence could only suppress others once or twice. For demonic cultivators who only cared about their own gain, strength was what truly mattered.
Thus, he turned the Jade Spirit Market model into a cake to be shared.
He divided portions among the Scent-Perceiving Sect, Purple Dragon Mountain, and Ink Water Sect, letting them station Core Formation cultivators to sit in town while he provided protection through his background.
The Fragrance Gathering was led by him, while the Jade Spirit Market became a true cooperative venture. Its development was promising, though not yet comparable to the explosive growth of the old Fragrance Gathering.
Everything remained within his control. He deliberately slowed the pace, collected spirit stones yearly, and began accumulating strength. Qingyang had recently broken through to the second layer of Core Formation, fully mastering his innate divine ability.
His combat power now surpassed that of ordinary rogue cultivators. Though he could not compare with the inner elders of great sects, he was roughly on par with outer elders. Moreover, he still held the ancestral treasure of Old Ancestor Ink Water.
If used wisely, he even had some chance of defeating opponents a realm higher.
Since the sect offering affair was settled, and Wang Yu had Qingyang eradicate the remnants of the Bai clan, nearly ten years of peace had passed. Now, messages finally arrived from Blood Saber and Lady Chaoyun, who had been sent to Sanmo City.
At this moment, in the small council hall of the City Lord’s mansion.
True Personage Qingyang looked at Wang Yu, who was reading a secret letter, and smiled. “How is it on that side? Did that fellow He Gu really succeed?”
“Seems like it.”
Wang Yu also smiled upon hearing that.
Nearly ten years had passed. Although Little Talisman Lord Luo Chen had intentionally wronged him once, he still trusted the idea Wang Yu had proposed back then. At the time, Luo Chen had been blinded by the network of relationships behind him.
The suggestion Wang Yu offered had come from good intentions, though that Little Talisman Lord had peculiar demands. Looking back, Wang Yu now faintly understood.
Perhaps when he had proposed two ideas in a row, the other was not dissatisfied but hinting that he should provide some spirit stones as “support.” After all, Luo Chen had repeatedly mentioned wanting to host a “Talisman Appreciation Gathering,” clearly envious of the benefits the Fragrance Gathering had brought.
Such requests were typically how superiors squeezed their subordinates. Wang Yu had thought their relationship equal, both being City Lords of third-rank spiritual vein cities.
Apparently, the other party did not see it that way. Because of his investment relationship with Zhuo Shouqing, Luo Chen had likely considered Wang Yu a suitable target for exploitation.
This explained why Luo Chen had torn their relationship apart despite gaining nothing in return—he likely believed he was punishing Wang Yu’s lack of “obedience.”
Now that Wang Yu understood, it was already too late. All he could do was sigh. Even if he had realized it back then, he would likely have ignored the hint all the same.
The grudge was already formed. If he did not retaliate, he would not be Wang Yu.
However, Luo Chen’s teacher had to be taken into account. The Black Heaven Talisman Lord was a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator. His close ties with the Zhuo clan required very cautious handling.
Returning to the main topic.
Luo Chen himself had good judgment. Over the past decade, he had indeed carried out Wang Yu’s “Black Glove Plan.” The letters from Blood Saber Gang and Lady Chaoyun confirmed that everything was proceeding smoothly.
The former had successfully infiltrated the Black Glove team, targeting passing caravans and small clans. He even destroyed one of the only two Foundation Establishment talisman masters in Sanmo City.
The Little Talisman Lord had since issued numerous favorable decrees to attract more small factions to settle in the city, clearly enjoying the profits of this spirit stone-earning scheme.
Meanwhile, Lady Chaoyun had infiltrated the City Lord’s mansion and become one of Luo Chen’s favored concubines. Using the Joyous Union Sect’s secret art, she served him with great skill and had completely gained his favor.
Lady Chaoyun’s ability to make Zhuo Shouqing lose himself in pleasure proved her exceptional proficiency in that path. Wang Yu, though not prudish, had a touch of cleanliness obsession.
That… was also done using a virgin.
The secret letter mainly reported the recent situation and confirmed whether True Personage He Gu had successfully implanted the Demonic Seed into Luo Chen’s body.
The result was successful, but it triggered an intense reaction from Luo Chen. He did not know what had been implanted in his body, but he flew into a rage. Many people in the Sanmo City Lord’s Mansion died as a result.
This could only prove how well-hidden the Demonic Embryo Mysterious Origin truly was. Since this method involved the invisible demons of the Heavenly Demon Realm, although cultivation was dangerous, the benefits after success were tremendous.
The demonic thoughts of the Heavenly Demons were invisible and formless, undetectable by spiritual energy and difficult to perceive even through divine sense. They hid deep within emotions, luring one into endless darkness.
Just like the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of ordinary people—how could one detect abnormalities through normal emotional expressions?
According to the secret letter, even after Luo Chen used the method given to him by his master, he still could not find any problem. His self-examination also revealed no difference.
He regarded the incident as an illusion. After all, when the demonic seed entered his body, it only made his head feel slightly cold, like being brushed by a gust of wind—hardly anything alarming.
Using the talisman given by Black Heaven Talisman Lord to test himself was already the most cautious approach possible.
This invisible demonic seed would only gradually distort his personality, making him increasingly deranged. Without Wang Yu’s further involvement, with Luo Chen’s current Core Formation cultivation, he could probably endure for one or two hundred years.
However.
Both the Blood Saber Gang and Madam Chaoyun had carried a demonic seed each. It would be a waste not to use them. If they continued to plant them on Luo Chen, he would definitely notice something was wrong.
Once might be mistaken as an illusion, but twice or thrice? He was not a complete fool. Sooner or later, he would sense something amiss and most likely seek help from Black Heaven Talisman Lord.
A Nascent Soul cultivator had extraordinary insight and would surely detect the issue, escalating the situation further—perhaps even leading to direct confrontation between both sides, depending mainly on whether Luo Chen was favored.
Therefore, Wang Yu instructed them to change targets. With Luo Chen’s status, he was surely surrounded by many geniuses eager to curry favor and serve him.
Dual Spiritual Roots would not be few among them, certainly more than those around Wang Yu.
They were to plant three seeds in total, maintain composure, and wait for the day of harvest. As for Luo Chen, although he could not wait one or two hundred years, now was not the right time to make a move.
He had endured during the period of being a Spirit Slave, so there was no reason he could not endure now. He would deal with that scum after advancing to Core Formation. For now… he could at least collect some interest.
After Wang Yu finished handling the reply issue, True Personage Qingyang began playing the role of strategist, assuming the position of Wang Yu’s left-hand aide.
“City Lord, that Little Talisman Lord Luo Chen’s master is a Nascent Soul cultivator. Since he was even permitted the title of ‘Little Talisman Lord,’ he must be deeply favored. What we are doing… is this truly appropriate?”
Wang Yu coughed lightly.
“If he acts unrighteously, he cannot blame me for being unjust. He has Black Heaven Talisman Lord behind him, while I, the City Lord, have the support of three Nascent Soul clans.”
Although those connections were only with the wastrel sons of those clans, each clan still possessed a Nascent Soul elder capable of action. The heirs of the Zhuo Clan and the Zuoqiu Clan were willing to stand firmly on his side.
Only Yu Xing’s attitude remained uncertain, as he merely followed the other two brothers and not out of admiration for Wang Yu.
Moreover, Black Heaven Talisman Lord was Zhuo Shouqing’s aunt’s husband.
As long as Luo Chen remained alive, the situation stayed within control. When to eliminate him, Wang Yu could not yet decide. At least, it was not something to be done in the near future.
“For now, let us collect some interest. Since he used my own schemes, it is only right I take some benefit in return. If he chooses to play dirty, then I will take it by force.”
“City Lord?”
Qingyang was puzzled.
Wang Yu grinned wickedly. “Send people to spread rumors around, saying that the Little Talisman Lord Luo Chen slaughtered the Foundation Establishment talisman families in Sanmo City.”
“Once panic breaks out, lure the cultivators living in Sanmo City to migrate to Jade Spirit City. The more people we have, the larger our market grows. Tell them to expand the workshops and prepare to increase the production of low-grade spiritual goods.”
“This—”
“Just do it. Even if he knows it was me, he can do nothing.”
“Yes!”
Qingyang accepted the order and called Xu Ruzhou to begin sending personnel to stir up trouble in Sanmo City.
No matter how well Luo Chen concealed himself, as long as he continued doing such things, foreign forces would eventually retaliate and annihilate parts of the city. Although they could blame it on unknown culprits, even executing a few scapegoats to appease the cultivators’ hearts, as long as the chaos persisted, Sanmo City would never know peace.
Wang Yu only needed to fan the flames and boast about the advantages of Jade Spirit City to lure more cultivators to relocate there.
Perhaps even Cloud Mist City, which was hostile to Luo Chen, would imitate his actions. There were few who conserved resources but many who copied successful schemes.
Under such arrangements, results appeared quickly.
In just one month, three small Qi Refining families of twenty to thirty members each moved to settle in Jade Spirit. Wang Yu personally received them and offered generous benefits.
He even arranged work for them. Those with special skills were sent to the northern workshops, while those skilled only in fighting were made overseers in the outer mines or banana orchards.
Such actions could hardly be called extravagant.
Yet once word spread, it attracted many cautious itinerant cultivators.
Sanmo City became the eye of the storm, suffering an increasing loss of cultivators, while Jade Spirit’s population of cultivators surged—so rapidly that the only word to describe it was explosive growth.