I Can Reincarnate Infinitely

By the time Du Youqian returned to the caravan, he was carrying two more Soul-Imbued Jades.

There was no sign of anything unusual. No one knew that the caravan now had two Tier Three Ghost Cultivators among them.

The direct combat prowess of a Ghost Cultivator was typically far inferior to that of a Human Race Cultivator of the same tier.

However, when it came to ambushes or fighting in specific environments, a Human Race Cultivator could die a very frustrating death.

Creating those specific environments was a bit difficult.

But ambushes were a different matter.

Even a Cultivator with a powerful Divine Sense, one who wasn’t afraid of the toll and constantly scanned their surroundings, would find it difficult to detect a Ghost Cultivator’s sneak attack!

This was because a High Tier Cultivator’s Divine Sense usually covered an enormous area—dozens or even hundreds of miles in every direction.

If they were to process every single piece of information within that range, not even a Core Formation Cultivator, let alone a Nascent Soul or Divinity Transformation Cultivator, could bear the strain.

Even a quantum computer wouldn’t have the processing power for that.

Therefore, when Cultivators scanned with their Divine Sense, they usually only looked for living things and fluctuations in Spiritual Qi, automatically filtering out inanimate objects and various natural phenomena.

And Ghost Cultivators, damn it, weren’t living things! They had no Spiritual Qi fluctuations either!

This meant that even a Nascent Soul Master or a Divinity Transformation True Monarch would have a hard time defending against a sneak attack from a mere Golden Core Ghost Cultivator.

If Du Youqian kept Meng Xiao and Xi Mengran by his side, he would gain two expert assassins for ambushes and stealth kills.

But after weighing his options, he decided to send them to the Ghost Kingdom instead.

If they could carve out a niche and establish a faction within the Ghost Kingdom, that would be the ideal outcome.

Failing that, it would still be excellent if they could raise their cultivation in the Ghost Kingdom and attempt to promote to Tier Four.

At the very least, they could also try to obtain or raise Thorny Insects.

As long as he had Thorny Insects, Du Youqian could turn the entire Long-tailed Golden Chicken clan into his staunchest allies.

Although the current Long-tailed Golden Chickens were useless in a fight, once their bloodline evolved thanks to the Thorny Insects, they could become outstanding combatants.

It might take a few thousand years, but when a Great Power laid out their plans, didn’t they operate on a timescale of millennia and eons?

Du Youqian was ambitious. He already saw himself as a Great Power in training.

He didn’t expect the Long-tailed Golden Chickens to be of much use in the next few hundred or even thousand years, aside from serving as transport drivers.

The point in time when the Long-tailed Golden Chicken clan could become a significant asset to Du Youqian was at least one or two thousand years in the future!

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The journey back was not entirely peaceful.

The caravan was laden with specialty goods that the Four Principles Sect had procured from the vast western regions of the Endless Desert Sea. These items were already very expensive in the Endless Desert Sea; if transported to the Immortal City Alliance, the profits would be at least tenfold.

The various factions, large and small, and the Tribulation Cultivators along the route would naturally be overcome with greed if they heard of it. If they didn’t, all was well.

Du Youqian had already built a fearsome reputation around the Binyin Sect and Four Principles Mountain, but the other regions of the Endless Desert Sea lacked a sufficient understanding of his true strength.

Even though Du Youqian had used harsh methods along the way to kill a few malicious Core Formation Cultivators, hoping to intimidate the lowlifes...

...many reckless fools still coveted the caravan from the shadows. They believed Du Youqian was just a slightly stronger Core Formation Cultivator, and that if they gathered a few more Core Formation Cultivators, they could overwhelm the caravan with sheer numbers.

The ignorant are often fearless.

Du Youqian had not established an intelligence network in the Endless Desert Sea.

So, naturally, he couldn’t have known that people were joining forces to plot against him.

However, the constant, furtive Core Formation Level Spiritual Qi fluctuations appearing in his Divine Sense made him realize that the caravan was being targeted by a considerable number of enemies.

Du Youqian wasn’t worried. He could easily handle three to five Core Formation Cultivators.

Against seven or eight, he could, at a certain cost, kill them all.

Even if a dozen Core Formation Tribulation Cultivators appeared at once, at worst, he would just abandon the caravan and flee, then pick them off one by one in retaliation before reclaiming all the goods. He himself would be in no danger.

Du Youqian simply performed a divination, but the trigrams gave him no warning.

So, regarding these Core Formation Cultivators with obvious ill intent hovering at the edge of his Divine Sense’s range, Du Youqian was almost dismissive.

The managers of the caravan below also felt uneasy. The Tier Three Long-tailed Golden Chicken, with its exceptionally sharp intuition, went directly to Du Youqian and said, "Fellow Daoist, either you go deal with those people, or we find a place to stop. We can’t keep going. We’re in unfamiliar territory here. If those people ambush us and manage to split us up, it’ll be difficult to handle."

The Long-tailed Golden Chicken was not stupid, so it was no surprise to Du Youqian that it had come to this conclusion.

Du Youqian simply smiled and replied, "I have it under control. There’s no need to worry, fellow Daoist."

Considering Du Youqian’s track record, the Long-tailed Golden Chicken was left speechless. "Alright, as long as you have a plan, fellow Daoist. I won’t meddle."

However, the anticipated attack never came.

It was only when they reached Huailai City and that "Master Su Quan" sent a Core Formation Master named "Hu Po" to welcome the caravan and present several brocade boxes that Du Youqian understood what had happened.

With his Divine Sense, he could naturally perceive that the boxes contained human heads.

The thick stench of blood was fresh, with no sign of decay. Even the souls had been sealed within the skulls by some special technique, unable to escape.

’Is this "Master Su Quan" trying to show goodwill, or is this a show of force?’

Of course, it was possibly both.

The carrot and the stick had been the best method of management since ancient times.

Du Youqian was certainly not her subordinate, but based on their previous interactions, she clearly wanted to recruit him into her network.

’Then again, this method is a bit crude. It doesn’t quite match "Master Su Quan’s" unfathomable image.’

Since a gift had been delivered, Du Youqian would certainly have to pay a visit to express his thanks.

But before that, he needed to gather some basic intelligence.

For example, where was "Master Su Quan" currently residing? How was her relationship with the Nascent Soul Guardian of Huailai City after they became Dao Companions? What was the Nascent Soul Guardian’s temperament? Would a handsome young man like himself showing up at their door make the other party jealous?

The person sent to gather information returned quickly, but the intelligence they brought back left Du Youqian stunned.

"What? They were married for less than two years, and she’s already a widow? And now she’s supposedly appearing in public with another Huailai Town Guardian, exchanging flirtatious glances? This... This is too much."

Du Youqian thought about it. ’Considering this woman’s background, it’s not that hard to understand.’

’After all, she’s from the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect.’

Among the Cultivators of the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect, people like Lin Sha were the minority. The likes of this "Master Su Quan" were far more common.

"How did her former Dao Companion die?" Du Youqian asked.

"It’s said that last year, her former Dao Companion helped her attack the Chen Kingdom, seeking to avenge her and wipe away her shame. But he was killed in battle by the Lord of Chen, and Master Su Quan fled in a panic. For the past year, Master Su Quan has been constantly contacting the relatives and friends of that Huailai Town Guardian, rallying support under the banner of avenging her late husband. She’s inviting many experts and will likely gather seven or eight Nascent Soul Cultivators to attack the Chen Kingdom again. Most of those Nascent Soul Cultivators are the Chiefs of nearby Immortal Cities."

Du Youqian mulled this over, then asked, "So her plan to attack the Chen Kingdom again isn’t a secret? Even you could find out about it so easily?"

"Yes."

After answering, seeing Du Youqian lost in thought, the subordinate who had gathered the intelligence quietly withdrew.

Du Youqian was pondering, ’What is this "Master Su Quan’s" true intention?’

’Does she really want to conquer the Chen Kingdom?’

But Du Youqian’s previous guess was that the Lord of Chen and "Master Su Quan" were two of a kind, that they were just putting on an act.

’Then... could it be that "Master Su Quan" wants to organize the nearby Nascent Soul Cultivators to send them to their deaths? And then, taking advantage of the power vacuum left by the absence of high-level martial force, she and the Lord of Chen will seize control of the entire surrounding area?’

Du Youqian was startled by his own speculation, but upon further thought, he felt his guess was probably close to the truth.

’That "Master Su Quan"... that widow... what a ruthless heart!’