Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 291 - 170: Earth-Storage Spirit Turtle · Joyful Dew · Nine Strengths Mountain Shifting Technique

Qiu Qichen answered readily this time. He had already come prepared for this.

"Xiao, since that’s the case, we have a deal on the Spirit Turtle Egg matter."

"There’s not much time left before it hatches. We should try to leave before the end of March."

Xiao Chen nodded. "I don’t have anything urgent to attend to. As long as Mr. Qiu is ready, we can set out anytime."

The two then went their separate ways.

Qiu Qichen hurried back to his family to contact the reinforcements they had arranged.

Xiao Chen, for his part, went to the Yao Family to meet the elder who possessed the Tiger Bone.

The elder was surprisingly easy to deal with and didn’t deliberately make things difficult for him.

He sealed the deal with the Mirror-Like Golden Shield and an additional 11,500 Spirit Stones.

Compared to bidding against others at an auction, this price was actually quite fair.

Afterward, Xiao Chen traveled another three hundred li without rest to visit the local Yang Family.

There, he unexpectedly ran into Yang Huai’an.

Through Yang Huai’an’s introduction, the Yang Family Patriarch readily agreed to a private trade, even stating that no extra Spirit Stones were needed.

For this trade, Xiao Chen even made a special trip to Xianghe Market to retrieve an Upper Grade Magic Shield that had come from the Saint Heir.

The two items were of roughly equal value, so it was a fair trade.

At Yang Huai’an’s repeated invitations, he even stayed for dinner.

He didn’t start his return journey until 7 p.m.

As he executed Sword Flight, Xiao Chen’s thoughts turned to his own cultivation.

’The Qiu Family will probably need a few more days to prepare, so I should be free for now.’

’After I get back, I have to cultivate seriously, no matter what. I need to break through as soon as possible.’

.

「Two days earlier, at Celestial Star Ridge.」

This area, located on the border of Hezhou and Quanzhou, housed a Tier Two Spirit Vein and served as the Divine Fire Sect’s current base of operations.

After Master Nijie returned, he first entered a two-day seclusion to reflect on his recent magical combat and study the techniques of Righteous Dao Golden Core cultivators.

But the moment he emerged, he received a report that Xiao Chen had appeared on Elemental Magnetic Peak.

"What? How could that be?"

Master Nijie’s expression immediately darkened. After a moment of contemplation, he ordered, "Have Ghost Flood Dragon and Poisonous Fiend emerged from seclusion?"

His subordinate immediately replied, "They both emerged this morning."

"Go and summon them. And ask Daoist Yaoshang to come as well."

Soon, Ghost Flood Dragon True Man, Daoist Poisonous Fiend, and Master Yaoshang arrived one after another.

Master Nijie passed the intelligence report around, which immediately provoked an angry outburst.

"That damn Qian Hong is a useless piece of trash."

"We wasted a Tier Two Spirit Vein, and that Xiao Chen is completely unharmed."

Ghost Flood Dragon True Man cursed as he made his suggestion. "If you ask me, we should just get rid of him. What’s the point of keeping someone so useless who can’t even handle a simple task?"

Master Nijie shook his head. "Let’s not discuss that."

"Today, we’re only discussing Xiao Chen and what to do about him."

Ghost Flood Dragon True Man glanced at the report and sneered. "The kid just got lucky that he wasn’t on Qingyang Mountain."

"He can hide on Elemental Magnetic Peak for now, but he has to come out eventually."

"Let’s have someone tail him. I’ll take charge of the array this time. I guarantee it will be foolproof."

Master Nijie shook his head again. "No, we only have two Spirit Veins left."

"Besides, we need to save the remaining Blood Stones to open the Yellow Springs Traveling Palace. Think of another way."

Master Yaoshang frowned at this. "Both Luoyan Mountain and Seeking Plum Mountain have at least two Golden Core cultivators stationed there now."

"It would be too dangerous to rashly infiltrate Lingyuan Sect territory."

It wasn’t that they were unwilling to take risks.

They were simply unwilling to take such a huge risk for something as "minor" as eliminating Xiao Chen.

Even a one percent chance of being trapped was an unacceptable risk for these Daoists.

The life of a Golden Core Cultivator was far more important than that of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Ghost Flood Dragon True Man was even more blunt. "Then why don’t we just forget it? At the end of the day, Xiao Chen is just a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. What’s the worst he can do, flip the heavens over?"

"Once we’ve taken Elemental Magnetic Peak, I could kill him with a single slap."

But Master Nijie disagreed. "A thousand-li embankment can collapse from an ant’s nest. We must nip this problem in the bud to prevent future disaster."

"The more difficult he is to deal with, the more reason we have not to ignore him."

"Poisonous Fiend, do you have any useful poisons on you?"

"I can dispatch a few more people to sneak in with it."

Daoist Poisonous Fiend frowned slightly. "I used to have some methods that were effective against Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

"But I’ve never tested them on a Fake Pill Cultivator."

"Besides, even if someone else had my poisons, they wouldn’t be able to achieve the same effects without my corresponding Poison Techniques."

Master Nijie grew frustrated.

If he was truly determined, he had several ways to eliminate Xiao Chen. But his rational mind told him it wasn’t worth wasting a precious trump card on a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Yet he couldn’t rest easy simply ignoring the problem.

Seeing this, Master Yaoshang offered a suggestion. "Why not let my disciple give it a try?"

She had taken on a disciple in recent years, one she was grooming to be her successor.

"That disciple of yours?"

Master Nijie waved his hand dismissively. "Even with a Demon Soldier, she’s no match for a Fake Pill Cultivator."

Some Demon Soldiers could allow for a surprise victory, but only when the combatants were of similar strength.

The Four Directions Wanderer had already fallen to him; clearly, Xiao Chen’s strength was on a completely different level from an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"I wouldn’t be so sure."

But Master Yaoshang simply smiled. "It’s an old saying that even the greatest heroes have a weakness for beautiful women. My disciple looks almost identical to Yaohua. What cultivator could see her and not be smitten?"

"That Xiao Chen is just a young man in his twenties, and he doesn’t have a cultivation partner."

"If we can stage a ’hero rescues the damsel’ scenario, I refuse to believe he won’t fall for it."