Chapter 282 - 267: [God of Wealth]
Seven Great Masters from the Righteous and Demonic Daos, peerless figures of the current era standing just one step away from the Realm of True Monarch, faced off in the sky above the Valley of No Life.
Nan Dou, San Si, Jiu Li, and Reincarnation—the four titans of the Demon Dao—linked their auras, which were as deep as an abyss and as heavy as a mountain. Their vast demonic might stained half the Celestial Vault with a deep, eerie color.
Opposite them were the Laughing Buddha Venerable, the Dragon Slayer Sword Master, and the one the Demon Dao feared most: the seemingly gentle Confucian King, Huangfu Qianqiu.
Though the three leaders of the Righteous Dao were outnumbered, their presence was no less imposing.
Buddha Light shone brilliantly, Sword Qi pierced the heavens, and an elegant aura concealed the might of the Celestial Constitution. They stood against the overwhelming demonic power, claiming the other half of the sky.
Seven massive auras, each powerful enough to shake a region and make the very Heaven and Earth Laws twist and tremble, silently collided, intertwined, and crushed against one another above the valley.
The sky changed color. Leaden clouds hung low, and serpents of lightning flickered within them, yet they dared not strike down.
All was silent. Even the wind seemed to have been frozen by the terrifying pressure, afraid to blow.
Down in the valley, Cultivators from both the Righteous and Demonic Daos found it hard to breathe, their Divine Souls throbbing with pain.
Facing these three ancient monsters of the Righteous Dao, who had appeared so suddenly and were clearly prepared, the gazes of Nan Dou Master and his three companions turned as somber as still water.
Their joint arrival confirmed the Southern Orthodox Dao’s determination to claim this Imperial Soldier.
On the surface, it was three against four. But one could not forget that down below, beneath the Red Dragon Banner of the World-Suppressing Army, another figure sat within the Central Army Tent, one who had yet to truly make a move—the current Sect Leader of the Celestial Secret Sect, Celestial Master Chen.
Counting him, the situation was a four-on-four stalemate.
Besides, who knew what other tricks the south had hidden up its sleeve?
"What are you waiting for?" The Dragon Slayer Sword Master was the first to break the silence, his voice as bone-chillingly cold as his blade’s edge. His gaze, however, was precisely "nailed" to San Si Master on the opposite side.
The Sword Pavilion and the Northwest Cyan Sect—one Righteous, one Demonic—were both hailed as the world’s foremost masters of the Sword Dao.
Rumor had it that the two sects shared a common origin but later parted ways due to ideological differences. One entered the mortal world to uphold righteousness, while the other renounced it to pursue the demonic path.
But only the two sects themselves knew the truth.
And since both sects were notoriously tight-lipped about it—they’d cut down anyone who asked—it was impossible to know if the rumor was true.
"Time waits for no one. If not now, when?" The Dragon Slayer Sword Master’s knuckles pressed against the Ancient Sword in his embrace.
"Amitabha Buddha. My Buddha is Compassion," the Laughing Buddha Venerable said, still wearing his signature smiling expression.
"Patron Dragon Slayer, please be patient. The Imperial Soldier is before us, and its spiritual nature is extraordinary.
If we attack directly, the commotion will be too great. We’ll inevitably attract more unforeseen complications."
"What’s there to be afraid of?" The Dragon Slayer Sword Master sneered. "If worst comes to worst, we’ll just sink this entire Northwest Demon Cave! It’ll be a clean sweep!"
"Fine by me!" Upon hearing this, the light of black and white reincarnation in the Reincarnation Master’s eyes flared. Behind him, the phantom of the Yellow Springs faintly flowed through the void, and the wails of Ten Thousand Ghosts seeped into one’s very Divine Soul.
"The moment you dare to sink the Northwest, I will personally go south and leave a million skeletons and a thousand li of scorched earth under your Sword Pavilion’s rule! Do you believe me or not?!"
"Why don’t we test that theory?!" The Dragon Slayer Sword Master’s gaze shifted to the Reincarnation Master. The Ancient Sword in his arms let out a clear dragon’s cry as its Sword Aura pulsed.
A terrifying Sword Intent, condensed to the point of shattering reincarnation itself, shot toward the sky.
It violently tore a narrow, thousand-li-long gash in the leaden clouds overhead. The Sword Qi lingered at the edges of the tear, scorching the void itself.
"You think I’m afraid of you?!"
The Reincarnation Master met him head-on. He took a step forward, and the phantom of the Yellow Springs behind him expanded violently, transforming into a terrifying vision of the Netherworld opening wide.
Chilling Ghost Qi and the Dao Rhyme of Reincarnation filled the air. Countless ferocious ghostly hands and phantom Judges could be faintly seen rising and falling within, as it charged toward the sky-piercing Sword Intent!
TZZZSSST—!
Before the Sword Intent and Ghost Qi even made contact, the space between them shrieked with the terrifying sound of being torn apart and annihilated by two opposing, extreme forces.
Tiny spatial rifts, radiating an aura of destruction, appeared out of thin air, only to be swiftly repaired by the greater Heaven and Earth Laws.
The collision of the two Great Masters’ auras had already caused the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism within a thousand li to spiral out of control, and the Earth Veins faintly whimpered in protest.
The auras of the three Demon Dao Great Masters—Nan Dou, San Si, and Jiu Li—simultaneously locked onto the Laughing Buddha Venerable and Huangfu Qianqiu to prevent them from interfering.
The smile on the Laughing Buddha Venerable’s face didn’t change, but his Buddha Light grew increasingly solid.
Huangfu Qianqiu gently shook his head. The bamboo scroll in his hand began to move on its own, as if he were preparing to speak and quell this imminent top-tier conflict with "reason."
Every Heart and Spirit focused on this place was caught in their throats.
A great war was on the verge of erupting!
Just at this critical moment, when everyone’s attention was captivated by the seven Great Masters in the sky...
...the Golden Divine Tree—the God of Wealth—which had just manifested, its form holding up the heavens and shaking the earth, radiating a supreme Dao Rhyme that connected all things...
...it... moved!
Its massive, thousand-zhang-tall crown, which covered the entire area, seemed to be kneaded by a giant, invisible hand as its golden light frantically collapsed and condensed inward.
Its trunk, as thick as a mountain, rapidly grew thinner and shorter.
The entire process was unbelievably fast, completed at almost the exact same moment the Dragon Slayer Sword Master drew his sword and the Reincarnation Master manifested the Yellow Springs!
In the blink of an eye, the Imperial Soldier, the God of Wealth, which had intimidated everyone present and stirred countless desires for greed and conflict, transformed from a Divine Tree that touched the sky into the size of an ordinary person.
Then, under everyone’s astonished and dumbfounded gazes...
...the two thickest main roots of the God of Wealth, with a "POP! POP!", transformed into... two shapes that looked remarkably like human legs!
And then...
...this Divine Tree with two human legs tentatively tapped its feet on the ground below, which had been turned as hard as glazed glass by the golden light.
Next, it suddenly bent over, and its two "root-legs" began to move, one after the other—
SWOOSH!
Without a single look back, it took off at a full sprint!
’The Imperial Soldier... grew its own legs... and ran away?!’
’It ran away??!!’
’What the hell is going on?!’
After a brief, suffocating silence...
"After it!!!"
Almost simultaneously, the seven Great Masters in the sky, who had been at each other’s throats just a moment ago, let out a unified roar.
The seven terrifying figures, whose power could reshape landscapes, instantly transformed into seven brilliant rainbows of different colors, madly chasing after the golden afterimage of the sprinting sapling.
Below, the Cultivators from all factions, who had just snapped out of their stupor, were like ants on a hot plate. They used their various Divine Techniques to transform into streams of Escape Light, swarming recklessly in the direction the Imperial Soldier had fled.
The Great Masters would get the meat, but they wanted to at least drink the soup.
Qi Yun stood atop a rocky peak, watching this dramatic scene. The corner of his mouth twitched, and then a brilliant cyan-gold light flared in his eyes.
’An Imperial Soldier, indeed. This level of spiritual nature... is insane!’
He no longer hesitated. With a flicker, he also transformed into an inconspicuous streak of cyan light, mixing into the flood of Escape Lights that filled the sky.
...
As if sensing the seven terrifying auras behind it, which clung like a cancer to the bone, the God of Wealth, who was running so fast its legs were practically sparking, suddenly halted!
The crown, formed from fine golden branches and leaves, shook violently, as if it were a person scratching their head in a panic.
Immediately after, it extended a slender branch upward and forcefully plucked something from the top of its own resplendent golden crown!
JINGLE-JANGLE—!
It tore off a handful of strange, glittering, perfectly round Gold Coins, each engraved with four ancient, auspicious seal characters on its face!
These Gold Coins were no bigger than a fingernail.
But each one flowed with a gentle yet profound Treasure Light, and sealed within them were wisps of an ineffably mysterious Dao Rhyme of Creation.
A single glance was enough to stir one’s Heart and Spirit and give rise to an infinite craving.
After plucking the Gold Coins, two branches, acting like human hands, viciously flung them toward the pursuing swarm of Escape Lights in the sky!
"WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—!"
In an instant, a dozen or so streaks of golden Flowing Light shot out from the small tree’s "hands" like exploding fireworks, flying off madly and erratically in all directions—up, down, left, and right!
The God of Wealth itself then transformed into an identical streak of golden light, attempting to escape by fishing in troubled waters and flying off with the rest.
"A petty trick!"
"Ridiculous!"
In the sky, the quickest Great Masters to react snorted coldly.
Their Divine Sense spread out like a Celestial Net, instantly locking onto the direction the God of Wealth’s true body was fleeing. They increased their speed, continuing the relentless pursuit.
For the vast majority of Cultivators below, however, the Imperial Soldier was far out of reach, and the chase between the Great Masters was a battle of gods.
They couldn’t hope to intervene; just getting close risked being crushed by the aftershocks.
But these scattered streaks of golden Flowing Light... they seemed to be within reach?!
Many quick-witted Cultivators immediately withdrew their gazes from the distant Imperial Soldier and Great Masters, turning them fervently toward the golden lights that were zipping around like headless flies.
Though they didn’t know exactly what these things were...
...how could anything from the hands of the Imperial Soldier, the God of Wealth, be ordinary?
"Get them!"
It’s unclear who shouted it first, but instantly, more than half of the massive flood of Escape Lights that had been chasing the Imperial Soldier broke off and dove toward the scattered golden lights!
For a moment, the sky above the Valley of No Life was a chaotic scene of darting golden lights and flying figures. Shouts, angry roars, and the sounds of clashing techniques rang out once more, making the scene even more frantic than before.
Qi Yun, mixed in with the Escape Lights, didn’t blindly follow the main crowd toward the most conspicuous and densest cluster of golden lights.
Instead, he hesitated for a moment, calculating.
Just then, a calm voice spoke clearly, resounding directly in the depths of his Divine Soul:
"Go after them.
Those golden lights are the Innate Treasure Gold Coins nurtured by the God of Wealth.
Each coin contains the exceptionally rare Power of Creation.
They are not to be missed."
It was the voice of Nan Dou Master!
"Thank you for the guidance, Master." Qi Yun immediately replied respectfully with a Divine Thought and instantly accelerated toward one of the golden lights.
As for the Imperial Soldier itself...
’That is something True Monarchs scheme for.
Even the Great Masters are just henchmen.
Rather than letting greed get the better of me, getting myself beaten black and blue, and maybe even losing my life...
I’m better off taking this opportunity to snag some benefits.’
...