seattlejaycees Chapter 208 - 163: Golden Core Reinforcement
Chapter 208 - 163: Golden Core Reinforcement
The Bull-faced Cultivator thrust his hands forward, which transformed into the image of a ferocious, giant bull that charged toward Situ Jingyu. But Situ Jingyu only sneered. The Fire Phoenix behind her let out a sharp cry, detached from her body, and slammed into the Bull-faced Cultivator.
"Ox Demon Heaven-Topper!"
"Fire Phoenix Prison!"
Following a tremendous BOOM, the shockwave from the collision flattened the surrounding courtyards, even those protected by Arrays. Amidst the sky-filling roar, a crisp CRACK clearly reached Fang Qingyuan’s ears.
He spared a moment of his focus to glance over and saw that the Bull-faced Cultivator’s Protective Spiritual Light had shattered. His hands had been knocked back with such force that his own elbows had slammed into his chest and ribs, breaking an unknown number of bones. Only then did a deep, rolling thunder echo through the air, and the pale green light barrier of the outermost Array flickered before silently extinguishing.
"Old Bull!"
The Pig-faced Cultivator roared in fury, his face flushing red. His speed increased dramatically as he powered through Fang Qingyuan’s restraining techniques and leaped over to catch the Bull-faced Cultivator, who was endlessly coughing up blood. In a single motion, a Flying Boat materialized beneath his feet, and in the blink of an eye, he was speeding away.
"Trying to run?"
Situ Jingyu spun around, took a few strides into the air, and reached for the Flying Boat. Seeing this, the Pig-faced Cultivator was scared out of his wits. With a pained grimace, he pulled an artifact the size of a human head that radiated a ghastly green light from his storage bag and hurled it straight at Fang Qingyuan.
The ghastly green orb spun rapidly, a sharp yet ethereal shriek bursting from the dozen or so pitch-black apertures on its surface. The sound alone was enough to make one’s heart pound erratically.
The moment she saw it, the color drained from Situ Jingyu’s face. She wheeled back around without a second thought and snatched the object from the air just as it was about to reach Fang Qingyuan. Then, unleashing her torrential Magical Power, she firmly suppressed the orb.
Seizing the opportunity, the Pig-faced Cultivator flew far away with the Bull-faced Cultivator and vanished without a trace. Meanwhile, Jinbao stood to the side, looking dazed as he tightly clutched a Magic Sword that was still pulsing with energy.
It was only at this moment that the leader of the Gua Talisman Alliance, along with a group of Cultivators, belatedly arrived on the scene.
.....
「Two days later.」
Fang Qingyuan and Situ Jingyu sat facing each other in his residence. Three Magical Artifacts were laid out before them: a hook-shaped Second-Order Top-grade Demon Artifact, a Second-tier Middle-grade Fire Attribute Magical Artifact that resembled a Magic Sword, and the spherical, head-sized Magical Artifact with its dozen-plus apertures.
All three items had been taken from the Pig-faced Cultivator and were likely his most valuable possessions.
The item of the lowest quality was the spare Fire Magic Sword, with a market price of fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. As for the hook-shaped Demon Artifact, although difficult to sell, it could fetch over one hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones from the right buyer on the Black Market.
As for the remaining orb, Fang Qingyuan hadn’t recognized it at first. Only after consulting the compendium of magical artifacts he carried did he learn that it was a Soul-Catching Ball. This type of artifact gathered thousands upon thousands of Yin Souls to generate Yin Burst Power. The two fiends had activated it before they fled, meaning it could have detonated at any second. If it had, not only would countless Yin Souls and a wave of malevolent energy have been released, but the Yin Burst Power alone would have blasted an area of roughly half a kilometer into paste.
Thankfully, Situ Jingyu had recognized the danger and acted decisively to bring it under control. Now, as the Soul-Catching Ball sat on the table, it still occasionally emitted wisps of black gas, a clear sign of its instability.
The value of a Soul-Catching Ball was difficult to estimate. They were rare, and the creation process was both troublesome and utterly depraved. There was no telling how many Oasis Tribes the Pig-faced Cultivator had slaughtered just to create one with more than a dozen apertures.
Situ Jingyu had contributed the most to this battle. If she hadn’t been there, Fang Qingyuan would almost certainly have lost his life.
Then again, it was only because he had Situ Jingyu with him that Fang Qingyuan had dared to go to Red Lotus Square at all. Otherwise, even if the same situation had arisen, he would have remained in his residence, completely unable to get involved.
The chain of cause and effect struck Fang Qingyuan as peculiar. ’Could it be that my Foundation Establishment Opportunity invisibly influenced my decisions? Did it cause me to rush to Red Lotus Square, just in time to run into the Pig-faced and Bull-faced Cultivators?’
’The opportunity had presented itself, but it was far too dangerous. And the intelligence from that hidden mastermind never mentioned that the Bull-faced Cultivator was also a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. It explicitly stated he was at the Late-stage of Qi Cultivation.’
’Trying to fool me with false intelligence...’ Fang Qingyuan couldn’t let this slide. He decided to go to the Black Market the next day and demand an explanation from Steward Wen.
For now, however, he had to divide the spoils of war. So, Fang Qingyuan said,
"Senior Sister, you contributed immensely to this battle. These three Magical Artifacts are worth over two hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. How about a seventy-thirty split, in your favor?"
Fang Qingyuan thought it was fair for Situ Jingyu to take seventy percent, but she apparently disagreed. She replied, looking conflicted,
"Junior Brother, you hired me. It’s only right that I fight for you. How could I possibly accept so much? Please, don’t put me in such a difficult position."
Situ Jingyu was torn. On one hand, there were the alluring Spirit Stones; on the other, there was her image in front of her Junior Brother. She wanted both.
Fang Qingyuan saw her internal conflict and smiled.
"You have a point, Senior Sister. How about this, then? We split it fifty-fifty, perfectly even. What do you say?"
This time, Situ Jingyu couldn’t resist the temptation of the Spirit Stones and nodded in agreement. Fang Qingyuan immediately counted out twelve Top-grade Spirit Stones and handed them to her.
Upon receiving the Spirit Stones, Situ Jingyu couldn’t hold back her smile. She desperately wanted to laugh out loud, but managed to restrain herself in front of Fang Qingyuan.