Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 161: Chapter 154: Words Left Unspoken

”PHEW!”

Inside the mine tunnel.

Zhao Ping pushed his True Essence to its limits, each stride covering several dozen feet. As soon as Han Tong died, he knew the battle was lost and turned to flee.

”He’s terrifying. How is he so strong?”

Hearing the bloodcurdling screams behind him, Zhao Ping’s eyes were filled with terror.

The scene today had scared him out of his wits. He had originally thought their forces were strong enough to assassinate Lu Yi himself. He never expected that before Chen Che, they would be as fragile as clay chickens and pottery dogs—utterly defenseless.

Even Han Tong couldn’t withstand a single sword strike, a single palm strike from him!

’Where the hell did this kid come from? Could he be a Golden Core Sect Member? Good thing I ran fast. Dammit! After betraying Jinyun Valley and with Han Tong dead, I can’t stay with the Han Family anymore either.’

Zhao Ping fled like a madman, his thoughts racing:

’But the good thing is, neither of those two families is as strong as the Primordial Sect. As long as I get far away from Yunzhou and Chi State, I’ll be fine.’

The thought had barely formed.

”SWOOSH!”

Suddenly, the hum of a sword sounded from behind him.

He glanced back and saw a rainbow of light whistling toward him. In a flash, it was right before his eyes. In that instant, he could just make out two tiny, fly-sized words elegantly carved onto the blade:

Pure Jun!

’So this sword is called the Pure Jun Sword...’

That thought flashed through Zhao Ping’s mind before he was plunged into eternal darkness.

...

SWOOSH!

The Pure Jun Sword circled the mine once before returning to its sheath. Only then did Chen Che slowly retract his gaze.

Traitors must die, no matter the circumstances.

He looked around again.

Han Tong and his Han Family clansmen were all dead. Severed limbs and fresh blood littered the ground.

Meng Qingxuan still stood in the same spot, a look of stunned disbelief on her face. Clearly, she had not anticipated this outcome. When they had faced Han Tong, she had even resolved to cover the retreat herself at the critical moment, buying Chen Che a chance to survive.

”Zhao Ping is dead too?”

Seeing the Flying Sword return from its pursuit, Meng Qingxuan fell silent for a moment before she couldn’t help but ask.

”That’s right.”

Chen Che nodded slightly and turned to look at her.

Seemingly understanding something, she said in a low voice,

”Every cultivator has their secrets. I am willing to swear on my Daoist heart that I will never speak of today’s events to a third person!”

’Swear on her Daoist heart?’

Chen Che frowned inwardly.

If swearing on one’s Daoist heart actually worked, the world would have long been at peace. On Earth Element Star, such oaths were even classified as superstition.

But in this world, many people still believed in them wholeheartedly. If a cultivator who had made an oath met a violent end, most people would assume it was because they had broken their vow and were suffering the consequences. In reality, it had nothing to do with the oath at all.

’Forget it.’

Seeing Meng Qingxuan insist on finishing her oath, Chen Che slowly shook his head.

Besides, his strength wasn’t some earth-shattering secret. His biggest secret was the Two Realms Seal in his mind.

”What should we do with this place?”

Meng Qingxuan asked, seeing Chen Che pick up Han Tong’s Storage Pouch.

”We’ll release the demon spiders to destroy the bodies and erase all traces.”

Opening Han Tong’s Storage Pouch, Chen Che felt a slight sense of regret, but also a faint sense of relief.

Fortunately, it only contained a large amount of Spirit Stones and a few Pills, nothing particularly special.

Otherwise, he would have lamented killing the man too soon.

As for Soul Searching or Soul Refining...

Those were Evil Techniques. Once used, one’s True Essence would be tainted with Evil Qi that couldn’t be hidden.

”We’ll say we were ambushed, fought a fierce battle together, and accidentally broke into a demon spider nest, which gave us the chance to escape.”

After speaking, he took a few steps back and slapped the rock wall.

CRACK!

The rock wall cracked on impact, revealing a web of fractures.

HISS HISS HISS~

Smelling the blood, the demon spiders behind the wall went into a frenzy, gathering and repeatedly ramming the barrier. In an instant, they broke through the wall and poured out like a tide, swarming over the corpses on the ground. A portion of them surged toward the two of them.

Chen Che led Meng Qingxuan in an unhurried retreat, collapsing the surrounding cave walls to seal off the passage as they went.

To make it look more convincing, the two of them tore their robes and smeared them with a few bloodstains.

They had just finished when a rush of hurried footsteps approached. From the mine tunnel, Lu Yi arrived in a hurry with a large group of disciples and miners. Seeing the duo’s disheveled state, his heart tightened, and he immediately asked,

”A miner reported hearing sounds of a fight from the lower levels of the mine. What just happened?”

”It was Zhao Ping...”

Chen Che, having already prepared his story, explained without a hint of panic,

”He was bought by the Han Family. He led people here to set up an ambush, luring Miss Meng and me here. Miss Meng and I joined forces, broke open a demon spider nest, and managed to escape.”

”That’s right!”

Meng Qingxuan chimed in.

”So it was him...”

Lu Yi’s expression turned grim, his killing intent flaring.

”During the negotiations these past few days, Han Tong wouldn’t concede an inch. I knew something was fishy!”

It turned out that during their several negotiations, Han Tong had described the internal situation of Jinyun Valley with such precision that Lu Yi had vaguely sensed something was wrong and was planning to investigate discreetly.

”It seems that when the negotiations failed, they decided to make a move on you.”

Lu Yi was not surprised that Chen Che had managed to escape.

After all, the man had already demonstrated considerable strength, even killing Tributor Li right in front of him, showcasing a certain ruthless decisiveness.

Moreover, with Meng Qingxuan by his side—a woman from a major clan—she was certain to have life-saving measures provided by her family.

”Tributor Chen, return to the main cave immediately in case any other hidden Han Family members try to harm you. It’s best you don’t go out for the next few days. I will immediately dispatch the valley’s elite to protect you. Once I’ve settled matters with the Han Family, I will personally escort you back to the Market...”

Lu Yi said at once.

The corner of Chen Che’s mouth twitched.

”Alright.”

...

News that Chen Che had been ambushed in the mines caused an immediate sensation.

Lu Yi not only launched a strict investigation of the valley’s disciples but also screened the miners, publicly executing several who were deemed suspicious.

At the same time, he furiously awaited negotiations with the Han Family.

Unexpectedly, the Han Family cultivators all left overnight. Only one other high-ranking member of the Han Family came, and they conceded, asking for only thirty percent of the mine. Lu Yi found this strange and guessed it was related to the attempted assassination a few days prior.

He led a group to start searching for clues.

「Three days later.」

Lu Yi, carrying a long saber, found Chen Che immediately to explain the situation.

”Among the cultivators who attacked you that day was Han Tong. I found his personal saber in that area. I never would have thought he was also involved in the ambush!”

Lu Yi’s expression was jubilant. This was good news.

”He was among the ambushers?”

Chen Che feigned ignorance.

”That’s right. Luckily, you were quick-witted that day and released the demon spiders. Otherwise, you would have been doomed.”

”His cultivation is so high. How could he have died to the demon spiders?”

Chen Che deliberately raised the question.

”There are thousands, tens of thousands of demon spiders—they’re innumerable. I couldn’t find his remains, so I suspect he was either overwhelmed in an instant or exhausted from the fierce battle and ultimately couldn’t escape.”

Lu Yi explained,

”When that section of the mine was opened that day, even I was caught off guard.”

With Meng Qingxuan’s testimony, Lu Yi had no reason to be suspicious of the matter.

Then, Lu Yi brought up a second matter:

”With Han Tong dead, the Han Family has backed down. I took the opportunity to push their share down to twenty percent. They didn’t dare agree and said they needed to go back and ask their ancestor for instructions.”

A ten percent difference might not seem like much,

but over the years, it would add up to a considerable amount.

Chen Che nodded to himself.

’Lu Yi really is a capable man.’

The Han Family’s elite had suffered heavy casualties this time, leaving them with no capital to wrestle with Jinyun Valley. Unless their Foundation Establishment cultivators personally intervened, they had no choice but to agree.

...

「The Han Family Ancestral Home.」

Inside a great hall.

”Han Tong, and dozens of our family’s elites...”

An elderly man in his seventies with high cheekbones sighed deeply, his eyes closed as he sat in a Grandmaster’s Chair at the head of the hall.

”We schemed for so long, and our bottom line was thirty percent. In the end, all we got was a twenty percent stake in the mine. Our losses this time were far too great.”

Another, younger Foundation Establishment Cultivator slammed his hand on his chair, a vicious look in his eyes.

”Big Brother, why don’t we intervene personally?”

”Absolutely not!”

The old man slowly shook his head and said faintly, ”If we intervene, it will certainly draw out Ye Jingzhou. He has been at Foundation Establishment for many years, and his strength is definitely greater than ours. If a third party gets involved, it will do us no good.”

”We’ll take the twenty percent for now. Once his lifespan runs out, Jinyun Valley will no longer have a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Then we can naturally seize the entire mine for ourselves!”

”When that time comes, they’ll have to spit out everything they’ve taken!”

A dark, sinister glint flashed in the younger Major Cultivator’s eyes.

”If it weren’t for Chen Che, we would have secured at least seventy percent of this mine. Once Ye Jingzhou is dead, I will definitely capture that brat. Since he’s so good at alchemy, I’ll chop off his legs and make him concoct pills until he dies!”

...

The Han Family had suffered disastrous losses.

Jinyun Valley’s operations had been delayed for over a month.

Neither side was willing to drag things out any longer, so the peace talks were settled in a single day. The two parties agreed to each dispatch personnel to stand guard, and all mined Ore would be split eighty-twenty.

Once the guards arrived,

Chen Che and Meng Qingxuan were finally escorted back to the Market, ’protected’ by Lu Yi and a dozen of the valley’s elite, accompanying dozens of ore carts.

Having spent so long at the mine, Chen Che had just stepped back into the Market.

He was instantly enveloped by the clamor of human voices surging in from all directions, and for a moment, he found it a little unsettling.

”The owner is back!”

A cheer went up inside the Pill Shop.

Ding Fei bustled about, serving tea and water.

Zhao Deyou led a group of apprentices to come and ’pay homage,’ giving the place the air of a ’Little Jinyun Valley’ for a moment.

’As I thought, I’m not suited for a life of seclusion.’

Chen Che wasn’t one for crowds, but returning after more than a month away stirred a different kind of feeling in him:

’I wonder how those reclusive cultivators manage to endure it...’

After the establishment of the Immortal Sects, the number of cultivators on Earth Element Star surged. Many of the older generation of cultivators grew weary of it all and chose to retreat from the world into seclusion.

For example, the head of the Jiaoxu Daoist School of Yiben Daoist School was a cultivator from before the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall. After founding the school, he went into seclusion and never emerged. By the time he was discovered, he had already been dead for decades. It was only then that this group of cultivators, dedicated solely to pure cultivation and ignoring worldly affairs, entered the public eye.

Some experts claimed that this group of cultivators had solitary personalities and were not good at socializing.

However, the recluses themselves insisted that to achieve success on the path of cultivation, one had to abandon all worldly ties; otherwise, the road to immortality would be impossible to complete.

The debate still rages online to this day, but there has never been a resolution.

As he was lost in these thoughts, Chen Che suddenly felt a gaze upon him. He looked up to see Meng Qingxuan sitting beside him, her eyes as gentle as water.

”Sigh.”

Chen Che took a sip of tea and sighed inwardly.

Ding Fei keenly observed that after their trip, the relationship between the two seemed to have progressed significantly.

”Oh, right!”

Chen Che put down his teacup.

”Did anything happen in the Market while I was away?”