Chapter 469 - 345: Fatal Attraction
In the Earth Fire Palace of the Nanchu Sect, Chu Hongshang lounged lazily on the central throne. Toying with a Flying Sword Communication in her hand, she said to Chu Duo below:
"They’ve asked me to go. By my calculations, they should be closing in on the Cloud-Clawed Lizard’s lair. While I’m gone, you are all to guard our gates closely. Don’t leave rashly. Even if you hear rumors that I’ve been killed, body and soul, you are not to go out."
Chu Duo’s expression was perpetually grim. Looking at Chu Hongshang, he couldn’t help but say:
"Disciples like Shadowless and Xi Jing are on the verge of Core Formation. Why must you wade into these muddy waters at a time like this?"
As Chu Duo spoke, his face was illuminated by the glow of the magma behind the throne, making his expression look indistinct and almost unreal.
But Chu Hongshang understood his unspoken meaning. For years, Chu Duo had remained within the Nanchu Sect, rarely venturing out. He neither sought his own opportunities nor participated in any grand events. As a result, this Golden Core Cultivator from the Nanchu Sect was a stranger to most of the outside world.
"That’s all the more reason I have to do these things. It’s better to have everyone’s eyes on me. It stops them from looking elsewhere and digging up trouble."
After Chu Hongshang spoke in her usual languid tone, the grand hall fell silent. A moment later, she looked at Chu Duo and sighed.
"There are some things you and I have no control over. Outsiders see us as mighty Golden Core and Nascent Soul experts, but in the eyes of others, we’re merely chess pieces. All we can do is play our parts. Everyone has their own calling."
Her voice had barely faded when her figure flickered and vanished. Chu Duo was left behind, his gaze deep and inscrutable, his thoughts impossible to guess.
.....
In the Barbaric Wilderness, at the camp of the Military Array Great Stronghold, Fang Qingyuan watched the various demon beasts swarm like a tide and frantically assault the encampment, a thrill rising in his heart.
’How long has it been since I’ve seen a sight like this?’ Tens of thousands of demon beasts swarmed and battered the defenses, but the human’s military array was like the ancient, unchanging mountains. No matter how these mindless, driven beasts charged, it stood firm and unmoving.
Every so often, a group of elite cultivators would charge out, surgically eliminating the more troublesome demon beasts before returning with ease. ’Such is the bearing of a Major Sect Disciple.’
Some performed well, and some... did not. The disciples from the Qingyuan Sect, for instance. For many, it was their first time witnessing the charge of ten thousand beasts. Several of the younger cultivators were so frightened they could barely keep a steady grip on their Magical Artifacts.
Thankfully, Jiang Tianfang and Jiang Wanqin were watching from the rear, preventing an even bigger embarrassment. Still, among the fifty Qi Cultivation Disciples, Fang Qingyuan spotted a few with real potential.
One young man, wielding a sword-type artifact, was calm and decisive. Every strike he made was effective, and he already carried himself with remarkable poise for his age.
Watching the young man, Fang Qingyuan searched his memory for a name. ’He must be Lou Yuan.’ He recalled that the boy had a fortunate encounter years ago, and he had asked Liu Xun to keep an eye on him. It had been a few years, and now Lou Yuan was already a Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation cultivator.
Besides Lou Yuan, there was another young cultivator, one Fang Qingyuan knew even better: Gu Changfeng, the attendant who had once served at his door. He too had become a Late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator at a young age.
’Their cultivation speed is even a bit faster than mine was back in the day,’ he mused. ’By the time I reached the Late-stage of Qi Cultivation, I was already over forty.’
Pulling his gaze from his disciples, he casually unleashed a few techniques to save two disciples from other divisions. Fang Qingyuan then continued to patrol the battlefield, offering help where needed.
After a long time, as the assault on the perimeter began to wane, Fang Qingyuan looked out at the beast tide. His gaze seemed to pierce through the forests and mountains, searching for the mastermind behind the tide: the Cloud-Clawed Lizard.
This was the first time Fang Qingyuan had so brazenly used his Mind Divine Techniques to observe a Nascent Soul being. On his Mind Map, an immense point of light radiated in every direction, as brilliant as a blazing sun.
This blazing sun even seemed to have weight. On Fang Qingyuan’s Mind Map, it appeared as a heavy lead ball dropped onto a spider’s web. The web strained under the weight, sinking into a deep depression, but thankfully, its powerful resilience kept it from tearing.
This was the sensation Fang Qingyuan experienced during his observation. The spiderweb was a manifestation of his Mind Divine Techniques, and the blazing sun was the fluctuation of True Essence Blood and Qi projected by the Cloud-Clawed Lizard, a Nascent Soul Ancient Beast.
Fang Qingyuan’s brazen probe clearly infuriated the Cloud-Clawed Lizard. It let out another heaven-shaking roar, and under its influence, the beast tide’s assault grew even more ferocious.
In response, Fang Qingyuan gave a scornful smile. ’If the Cloud-Clawed Lizard had any real courage, it would have come to face me itself. Why just roar from a distance, too afraid to approach?’
"Junior Brother, Sect Leader Le has summoned you."
Situ Jingyu appeared behind Fang Qingyuan, summoning him to a council in the center of the military array.
Fang Qingyuan looked over at Situ Jingyu and noticed that after many days of slaughter, her aura had ascended to a new level since they first entered the Barbaric Wilderness.
Ever since he and Situ Jingyu had killed the Black Poison Frog two months ago, Fang Qingyuan felt that her cultivation base had been surging upward. After they teamed up to take down another Golden Core Demon Beast, her cultivation had reached the peak of the Third-Layer Golden Core.
’This must be a technique for accumulating momentum,’ he thought. ’Like a crucible, it’s melting down all her fighting spirit and killing intent, forging them into something new. On the day it’s fully forged, she will surely break through her bottleneck and become a Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator.’
’It must be a Breaking Through Secret Technique from her master’s lineage. I wonder if our relationship is good enough for me to ask her about its secrets.’
As the thought crossed his mind, he considered his own situation. His cultivation level was already sufficient; he just needed to put in the time to meticulously refine his Magical Power. Then, he would also have to figure out how to break through his own bottleneck.
"Let’s go together. And Senior Sister, you look quite imposing today."
Situ Jingyu was dressed in a fiery red robe, her hair styled in a high bun and held with a phoenix hairpin. It was a stark contrast to the simple attire she wore when they first entered the Barbaric Wilderness.
"I have my Junior Brother to thank for that. You’re the one who let me have the Inner Core from that Golden Core Demon Beast. I can’t hold on to money; as soon as I get it, I spend it. I traded the core for cultivation resources and used what was left to buy this robe. What do you think? It’s beautiful, right?"
Seeing her delighted expression, Fang Qingyuan didn’t have the heart to say anything. ’It’s a bad time to be selling an Inner Core,’ he thought. ’It would be much better to wait until after the war. The traders from the other sects are driving the prices down mercilessly right now.’
But she’d already made the trade, so Fang Qingyuan decided not to spoil her mood. He followed Situ Jingyu into the central Grand Council Hall. The moment he stepped inside, his eyes landed on Chu Hongshang.
At the head of the grand hall, two main seats were occupied. Chu Hongshang sat in one, and Yuan Duo in the other. Compared to Yuan Duo’s grand and unrestrained presence, Chu Hongshang seemed much quieter.
In the brilliantly lit hall, Chu Hongshang was dressed in a dark, curved-hem brocade robe that seemed to absorb all the light around it.
And yet, the vermilion accents on her cross-collar, cuffs, and sash seemed to capture that absorbed light, letting it flow slowly over her body.
The elegant and dignified color palette was a perfect match for her fair skin, which, under the hall’s light, took on the texture of fine porcelain and jade.
A solitary, slender figure in a vast hall.
For some reason, the sight struck a chord deep in Fang Qingyuan’s heart. ’How have I never noticed before,’ he wondered, ’that Chu Hongshang has such a fatal allure?’
And at that very moment, a desire he could only call avarice quietly bloomed in the depths of his heart.