Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 385: Chapter 356: Acting Sect Leader

”Don’t call me Sect Leader. I’m only the interim. Some things can be said, but other things shouldn’t be said carelessly...”

Primordial Mountain.

Sixth level, in a mansion.

True Master Duobao slowly poured tea and took a leisurely sip. Though an Elder of the Primordial Sect, he knew that while some things could be coveted, others could not. Power, wealth, Realm... not things everyone could get their hands on.

”Yes, yes. I misspoke. I deserve to...”

Ye Yuanji was terrified, raising his right hand and lightly patting his own cheek.

His flattery had backfired. He had thought Duobao would love the title, but he never expected the man to be so cautious. It seemed he had his own standards after all.

”The Primordial Sect can only have one voice. I am merely managing things on behalf of the Sect Leader. Once the Sect Leader comes out of seclusion, our Primordial Sect might even be promoted to a Nascent Soul-level power.”

Duobao set down his teacup and glanced up toward the mountain peak.

After offering a few more words of praise, Ye Yuanji picked up his cup and asked tentatively, ”What about Jinyun Valley?”

”I’ve already sent someone with a letter. He’ll be busy for a while. I’ve given you the opportunity; whether you can seize it is up to you.”

Duobao’s eyes narrowed, his heart filled with seething hatred.

However, his hatred wasn’t for Chen Che, but for those in Faqian City. He’d heard that the bounty on his head was still climbing nonstop after he left, showing no signs of stopping.

So, the most urgent task was to find out who was leading the charge in posting the bounty.

”Thank you, Daoist Brother.”

Ye Yuanji nodded in pleasant surprise, unable to hide his joy.

The Ye Clan had dominated Yunzhou for a long time, but that situation had been shattered. In just one short year, more than half of the clan’s upper echelons had perished. Was his family truly to be relegated to cowering in a single corner from now on? How could he accept that?

...

...

After seeing Tang Linli off, Chen Che turned and returned to the main hall.

”Is something wrong?”

Seeing the look on Chen Che’s face, the others took the letter and passed it around. Their expressions all changed slightly as they read. When they learned that Duobao had become the Interim Sect Leader, their gazes grew focused.

”But why would Duobao become the Interim Sect Leader?”

Everyone was baffled.

After all, Duobao had always had a poor reputation, and recently, he had supposedly fallen out with the other Golden Core cultivators.

Besides his strength, he seemed to have no other merits. Now, it seemed he was trusted to an extraordinary degree.

”Interesting!”

Meng Changtu held the letter, his eyes filled with a cold sneer.

It was called a letter, but in reality, it was more like a task list. Besides the Pill Pills Chen Che needed to refine, there were many other tasks for him to do. As an Upper Sect, the Primordial Sect’s responsibilities didn’t just cover the sect itself, but also the subordinate factions under its jurisdiction.

”Huang Shiwo’s third disciple has gone missing in Chu State. Investigate the reason. Find him, dead or alive.”

”The Wanyan Mountain clan has been annihilated. A clan member is suspected of betraying them, slaughtering the entire family overnight.”

”A Golden Core Great Demon has appeared in Xuzhou, occupying Zhanhai Lake. Go and drive it away.”

”...”

”The Evil Cultivator Xiao Chan has supposedly been sighted in Faqian City. Go and apprehend him...”

He read seven or eight items in a row. When he got to the last one, Meng Changtu almost laughed in anger. He looked up at the crowd. ”The great Duobao, reduced to using such low-handed tricks.”

”They may be dirty, but they’re effective.”

Chen Xi looked at Chen Che. ”With so many tasks, you’re bound to make mistakes, unable to tend to every detail. Once you make a mistake, they’ll have something to hold over you. Of course, it won’t be a fatal mistake, just enough for a reprimand at most.”

”The truly vicious and insidious part is the danger level of the tasks.”

Chen Xi was the founder of the Chen Clan, Lu Qinglian was the Lady of the Lu Family, and both Meng Qianxun and Meng Changtu had served as clan heads. Although Xiao Chan had no official standing, he was also aware of the dirty dealings within Major Sects.

This method not only wears people out, but if a few highly dangerous tasks are slipped in, it basically means the disciple who accepts them won’t be coming back.

”Doesn’t the Sect Leader care about this?”

Meng Qianxun looked toward Xiao Chan.

Xiao Chan slowly shook his head.

What is an Interim Sect Leader? It’s someone who holds the power of life and death when the Sect Leader is away. Everyone in the Primordial Sect, from top to bottom, must obey his commands... Of course, it’s also the best time to eliminate dissenters.

Chen Che, however, was relaxed and even smiled.

”Whether he cares or not, what does it matter? These are the only tricks Duobao has. I’ll just casually pick one or two to complete so he has no reason to fault us.”

”I’ll take the mission to hunt down Xiao Chan. I’ll just kill a few impersonating Tribulation Cultivators and call it a day.”

Xiao Chan produced a Black Spear. It was the weapon of Spear Master Yan Tianxing, perfect for concealing his ’Hermit Fushan’ identity.

”Wanyan Mountain is relatively close to Hunzhou. I’ll send people to investigate,” Chen Xi also spoke up.

”Then leave the matter in Xuzhou to me,” Lu Qinglian said with a slight nod. Her family was originally from Xuzhou.

”Changtu and I will take care of the rest.”

With Meng Qianxun’s words, the entire list of tasks was divided up among the group in a matter of moments.

”Noted!”

Chen Che didn’t say much more, just cupped his hands in a salute.

Next, the group sat together again and finished dividing the spoils from the Traveling Palace before taking their leave separately.

After all, they had been rushing about for many days on this trip, and no one was in peak condition. The missions from the Primordial Sect were all very tricky. To be safe, they needed to seize the time to rest and recuperate. It wouldn’t be too late to deal with the tasks afterward.

Chen Che was no exception.

As for the Jade Sword, it was ultimately given to him. No one could make heads or tails of it yet. They were mainly terrified of its characteristic of forming an Array upon landing. If handled improperly, the clan’s grounds could turn into an Asura Killing Field.

Without four or five Golden Core cultivators, they likely couldn’t hope to control this Jade Sword.

So, knowing that Jinyun Valley had an Array Spirit, they simply gave it to Chen Che.

’An Array Spirit should be able to control this item,’ Chen Che thought. ’If I can integrate it into the Sword Array, it should be able to increase the strength of the Mountain Protection Array.’

Toying with the Jade Sword in his hand, Chen Che looked up, and a transparent figure immediately appeared before him.

”Take this and study it. You are not to break the seal. Once you understand its properties, come and tell me.”

With a flick of his wrist, the Jade Sword flew over.

”Yes.”

The Array Spirit received the Jade Sword with both hands, and its figure then vanished again.

Array Spirits could also cultivate.

Of course, they had their limits. Because an Array Spirit relied on an Array for its existence, the Array’s foundation was equivalent to its innate talent. And Arrays could be upgraded, either by replacing the Array Foundation or by having them merge and devour one another.

To what extent they could be merged, Chen Che didn’t know.

After all, records concerning Array Spirits were truly scarce.

’First, I’ll take care of some miscellaneous matters. The Primordial Sect’s business can wait. I didn’t expect Duobao, with such a terrible reputation, to become the Interim Sect Leader. It seems he’s trusted to an extraordinary degree. If it were in Jinyun Valley...’

Chen Che went to the back mountain forest again and planted a portion of the Taibai Jade Bamboo.

After the previous incident, the forest had returned to peace. Demon Beasts were even perched all over the Willow Tree Demon, and the forest was filled with the sound of birdsong. The Little Chick stood on the largest branch, which didn’t even bend under its weight.

Wait...

’If it were Jinyun Valley, and I were to enter seclusion, I would definitely pick someone I trust. But given what Duobao has done in the past, could it be...?’

Chen Che’s gaze turned sharp.

The most criticized aspect of True Master Duobao, under the banner of the Primordial Sect, was his use of various methods to seize and plunder, obtaining many strange and rare Spirit Treasures. He even coerced many Artifact Refiners into Artifact Casting for him.

The rumor outside had always been that Duobao acted on his own authority. He had even caused huge commotions a few times and was sent away as punishment. But now, it seemed there was something strange about all this!

’Could it be that ”that one” was the one directing Duobao to do many of these things?’

After planting the Taibai Jade Bamboo and checking on the Earth Store Profound Tree to confirm it was unaffected, Chen Che finally stopped his wild thoughts.

At a time like this, further speculation was useless.

Walking out from the back mountain, Chen Che flicked his fingers, and several Sound Transmission Paper Cranes turned into streaks of cyan light and flew away.

The tasks from the Primordial Sect had to be done, but there were still many affairs within the valley waiting for him to arrange. He summoned Liu Yuanqing and gave him a portion of the Taibai Jade Bamboo, telling him to find a suitable location to plant them.

Chen Che no longer held out hope for finding the Divine Court Wood. Having been to the Primordial Sect a few times, he knew that this item was considered a strategic resource even there, only distributed to cultivators who had performed meritorious service.

And the Liu Family, after all, had started out with Spirit Plants. Although they couldn’t compare to some other great clans, they weren’t too bad, as the clan had endured for two or three hundred years. Perhaps their potential wasn’t high enough, but their experience was certainly sufficient.

In this dog-eat-dog world, a family that could sustain its legacy must have some skills.

As for these Taibai Jade Bamboo, their numbers were limited, and each one used was one less. If he could expand the scale of cultivation, that would be a truly endless source of wealth.

After all, it’s easy to cut back on expenses, but much harder to open up new sources of income.

In addition, he also summoned Huang Daozheng.

This was the Foundation Establishment Tributor whom Chen Che had previously tasked with keeping an eye on the Garlic-nosed Elder and collecting the Divine Statues of Celestial Divine True Master. After a period of observation, although this person was belligerent, he was quite meticulous in his work.

So Chen Che gave him another task: to establish an intelligence network for Jinyun Valley.

He couldn’t rely on hearsay for all his information.

If they couldn’t gather key intelligence, he was afraid that enemies would be at their gates before Jinyun Valley was even prepared. Coming from the modern era, Chen Che understood the importance of firsthand information better than anyone.

However, this system was only in its infancy. For now, it could only cover the area within Jinyun Valley’s sphere of influence. Even then, information from within this area wasn’t always timely, so receiving news from the outside world was still quite difficult.

Not only was the investment enormous, but it might not even play a significant role for the next few years, or even decades.

”Help me search for any news regarding Chu State, Xuzhou, and Wanyan Mountain...”

Chen Che flicked his finger, sending the Primordial Sect’s task list over to him.

Although Meng Qianxun and the others had taken on some of the tasks for him, he couldn’t just wash his hands of the matter. He had to stay informed.

However, a piece of good news soon swept away the gloom in Chen Che’s heart:

Liang Yuan had forged a Tier Three Spirit Sword!