Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 414: Chapter 385: The Coming Storm

”How did he resist?”

On a lone boat at sea.

A few Golden Core Cultivators each occupied a corner, their brows furrowed. Xu Chuan’s face was cold as he paced back and forth, barely able to contain his rage.

”He didn’t take the bait for the Undersea Palace. How is he not taking the bait for the Essence of Water either?”

On the lone boat, a Golden Core Cultivator cradling a long spear lowered his head, pondering, so angry he could have gnashed his teeth to dust.

”Xu Chuan, could it be that you exposed us?”

SWISH—

Everyone’s gaze snapped towards him.

Xu Chuan’s eyelid twitched. He gritted his teeth and said:

”Everything was carried out according to plan. We put out several lines of bait at once. There was a huge commotion about the Undersea Palace, but he still didn’t make a move. He even strictly forbade the Jinyun Valley disciples from going out. How can you blame that on me?”

At the mention of the Undersea Palace, the others fell silent.

That had also been their handiwork.

They had used a Foundation Establishment Cultivator as a lure to bait Jinyun Valley, but who would have thought their target wouldn’t budge? On top of that, Duobao was growing impatient and had been berating them for not making their move yet.

”By the way, Cao Jishui, how are things going in the sea?”

Xu Chuan glanced at an old man sitting on the deck, fishing. The man wore a bamboo hat pulled low over his face and paid no attention to his surroundings. Xu Chuan sighed inwardly, then turned to the Golden Core Cultivator dressed as a fisherman.

Everyone else looked over as well.

The latter, who was occupying his own spot, nodded slightly.

”Not very smoothly. It will still take some time to build up to a large scale...”

”Since he won’t take the bait, it seems this is our only option.”

”Fellow Daoist Cao Jishui, we’re counting on you.”

”Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to give Jinyun Valley a grand gift.”

The fisherman-like Golden Core Cultivator nodded slightly, his gaze turning toward the island with a chilling coldness.

”Heh heh, you think you can stay as safe as a mountain just by turtling up? Let’s see how you escape my grasp this time!”

...

’What’s fake can never be real. Thousands of people have been searching for over half a month, and there’s been no news at all about the Undersea Palace. The original rumor was most likely false. The only possibility is that it was a ploy to lure us deep into the Jinghai.’

Aboard the Spiritual Boat, at the railing.

While holding a fishing rod, Chen Che cultivated the Celestial Derivation Five Elements Skill and reviewed the recent events in his mind.

As for Xu Chuan.

He had grown suspicious of him, but the man really did seem to be out exploring the sea.

He would go out sometimes alone, sometimes with others, showing no signs of anything unusual.

Chen Che, however, wasn’t in a hurry.

He gave a letter to the Little Chick and had it make a trip to Chu State. After it returned empty-handed,

Xu Chuan, who had been going out to the deep sea every day, never came back. It was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth, and no one saw him again.

At the same time,

the many restless Cultivators also calmed down.

In their view, if an Undersea Palace had truly appeared, Jinyun Valley would certainly not have just stood by and done nothing.

”This Xu Chuan must be one of the Golden Core Cultivators that Duobao contacted. This time, he wanted to use the Essence of Water to lure you in. If you had actually gone, I’m afraid you would have walked right into their trap.”

Upon hearing of Xu Chuan’s disappearance, Meng Qianxun couldn’t help but sigh. The dangers were simply impossible to guard against.

”It seems the matter of the Undersea Palace was most likely fake as well.”

Meng Changtu grasped the key point.

’If we hadn’t been able to resist the temptation and had rashly gone into the deep sea, we would have probably met a disastrous end.’

”They’ve set traps for us repeatedly, but we haven’t taken the bait. They definitely won’t give up so easily and must have other tricks up their sleeves. We have to stay on guard.”

Chen Che opened his eyes.

”No matter how careful they are, there’s always a loophole. We can’t just sit here and take their punches. It’s best if we can find a way to bait them out,”

Meng Qianxun added.

”They are in the dark while we are in the light. In this vast Jinghai, how are we supposed to find them? Besides, now that the Essence of Water has been exposed as a fake, we’ve already alerted them. Finding them won’t be easy now.”

Meng Changtu sighed and shook his head.

’To investigate a Golden Core Cultivator, you need a Golden Core Cultivator. This means we’d have to get involved personally.’

The father and son both wore worried expressions.

After all,

they had only reached Core Formation a short time ago and didn’t have many connections in this circle.

Chen Che’s eyes were half-closed as he remained silent.

’Whatever comes, I’ll deal with it.’

’In the face of absolute power, all tricks are just a waste of effort.’

Still, that half-bottle of Essence of Water had been a great help. It had allowed his Water Element Skill to directly enter the second stage. Coupled with the vast Water Energy in the Black Tortoise Calm Sea, its progress was now catching up to his Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique.

At the same time,

with the help of the Wangxian Pill, Chen Che had also successfully stepped into the Golden Core Fourth Layer.

Compared to the rapid advancement of his Cultivation Realm, the growth of his Divine Sense was now as slow as a turtle’s crawl. Even with materials like Soul Nourishing Incense, it would still take decades of patient effort.

After experiencing the rapid growth brought by the object of faith, Chen Che found this speed rather hard to bear.

Unfortunately,

the only Divine Dao Cultivator he knew was Chen Xi. There weren’t even any Divine Dao Cultivators under the jurisdiction of the Star-Picking Sect. It was worth mentioning that after Chen Xi carried out the ”Peach Blossom Spring Plan” and partitioned Shuzhou, her fanatical followers were also improving at a rapid pace.

Combined with the Pill Liquid nourishing her body, she was now preparing for Core Formation.

As for Xiao Chan in Faqian City, after receiving the Wangxian Pill, he had grandly paid for ten years of lodging at the Celestial Garden Inn—the same inn Chen Che had stayed in previously.

It seemed he was fully prepared to wait out the Primordial Sect for the next ten years.

Moreover, he had everything he needed—Spirit Stones, Magical Artifacts, and Materials—so staying in Faqian City wouldn’t hinder his Cultivation.

This move put the two Golden Core Cultivators from the Primordial Sect in a difficult position. Although ten years was nothing compared to the eight-hundred-year lifespan of a Golden Core Cultivator, who would want to waste their time on this?

As for Jinyun Valley, there was little more to say.

Even though Chen Che was not In the Valley, the foundational structure he had established was still in place, allowing it to continue operating smoothly. And as long as he was alive, Jinyun Valley would never fall, just like the Star-Picking Sect in its early days.

Furthermore, his presence in the Black Tortoise Calm Sea had, to a large extent, actually benefited Jinyun Valley. Many Cultivators who were unwilling to come to the Black Tortoise Calm Sea would choose to go to Jinyun Valley instead.

This, in turn, further contributed to its prosperity.

Therefore,

Chen Che had recently been looking for suitable candidates to establish a permanent base in the Black Tortoise Calm Sea, which would open up another source of revenue for Jinyun Valley.

After all, resources were the most important thing for a Cultivator’s Cultivation. The vast number of Aquatic Race beings in the Black Tortoise Calm Sea was practically inexhaustible. Even if they were to leave in the future, it could serve as a continuous source of resources.

Unfortunately,

he had wandered around the Zhurong Daoist School a few times but hadn’t run into the Dean again. He had even tried to subtly probe Li Tingyu a few times, but Sister Li said the Dean was as elusive as a divine dragon, and seeing him was no easy feat.

’It made sense. This person was one of the most prominent figures on the Earth Element Star. If he didn’t choose to show himself, who could possibly find him?’

Chen Che had wanted to find the Dean through Zong Yudao, the ’Child of Fortune’, but unfortunately, after his ’internship’ ended, the ’Child of Fortune’ had gone back to the Six Continents to work. He had gloriously joined his father’s security company and couldn’t find the time to get away.

This left Chen Che feeling a bit frustrated. He could only search for a way to complete the Sword Pill in the library, and his progress stalled for a while.

On top of all this, there was still some good news.

The Dragon Turtle Egg had finally hatched.

The newborn Juvenile Turtle looked no different from an ordinary sea turtle, about half the size of a palm. But who could have imagined that after thousands of years, this little creature would be able to carry a mountain on its back and dominate a region of the sea?

Because it had been constantly nourished with Spiritual Qi, the Juvenile Turtle was very affectionate toward Chen Che, and he signed a contract with it with almost no difficulty.

Having another Spirit Pet to compete for affection made the Little Chick very unhappy. On several occasions, when Chen Che wasn’t looking, it tried to gobble the turtle up in one bite. After a few stern warnings, it finally behaved and gave up the idea.

Chen Che chose not to release the Juvenile Turtle into the Black Tortoise Calm Sea, but instead kept it by his side to raise.

Although a Dragon Turtle could reach Nascent Soul Cultivation upon adulthood, its mortality rate as a juvenile was quite terrifying. The probability of one reaching adulthood was less than one in a hundred thousand, as most were preyed upon by other Demon Beasts during their youth.

With the Juvenile Turtle’s company, Chen Che’s boring days at sea became a little more colorful.

However, to the frustration of Meng Qianxun and his father, they still hadn’t found any trace of Xu Chuan and his group.

After all,

the Black Tortoise Calm Sea was immense, and their targets were Golden Core Cultivators. If they intentionally tried to hide, finding them would be far more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.

But while they were still searching for their whereabouts, something strange happened in the Black Tortoise Calm Sea over the past few days:

The Aquatic Race near the Black Tortoise Calm Sea had vanished!