Free Web NovelChapter 399: Chapter 382: Windfall
"Has Zheng Dasheng set out?"
"Yes, Protector Zheng has already gone, but... Your Highness, Protector Zheng is from..."
Master Xu wanted to explain. After all, Zheng Dasheng possessed a Life Artifact and had extraordinary strength. Anyone who could become a Protector for the Saintess was a powerful individual with great potential. Plus, the Sect behind him was also very strong. It was better to win over such a person than to suppress him.
Mingren smiled faintly. "Good. I want to see him if he’s alive, or his corpse if he’s dead."
Master Xu could only nod. Dealing with someone who possessed the Holy Light Demon Collapse Body was difficult. You never knew what they truly cared about.
’But this is a being with the potential to become the strongest expert in the world, no less than the Holy Daughter’s Holy Statue! And he came from the Celestial Secret Sect...’ Master Xu trembled. ’What kind of era is this? The appearance of a Holy Statue isn’t exceedingly rare, but for the legendary Ten Great Holy Statues to appear one after another is far from ordinary...’
"Your Highness, have you decided to return to the Cultivation Academy now, or...?"
"Is there any big excitement happening lately?"
"A dragon’s roar was heard from the Dragon Soul Mountain Range. It seems a Giant Dragon is about to fall, and its Dragon Cave will open. It has attracted experts from all sorts of Sects. Our Extreme Dao Alliance will also be sending experts..."
"Heh heh, very good. I’ll go join the fun."
"That’s wonderful! We can arrange for you to meet the Saintess!" Master Xu said, pleasantly surprised.
Mingren wagged his finger. "I just want to go take a look for myself. Remember what I said? I’m willing to join the Extreme Dao Alliance, but on one condition: don’t interfere with me. Even if the Extreme Dao Alliance wanted to destroy the Cultivation World, I wouldn’t care."
"Understood."
A bucket of cold water was instantly dumped on Master Xu’s enthusiasm. Sometimes, he really didn’t know what the other party was thinking. ’But what can I do? He has the Holy Light Demon Collapse Body.’ Zheng Dasheng had probably cursed Mingren to die ten thousand deaths, but for a disciple of the Celestial Secret Sect, this kind of Sacred Body was an object of aspiration. The more Mingren acted this way, the more Master Xu felt that this was *truly* a Sacred Body!
Master Wang and Mo Chen, one old and one young, found a table and ordered a large plate of wild beef and a jug of wine. The Monkey Wine was all gone. To be precise, Mo Chen and Master Wang had swiped the Monkey Demon’s entire stock before they left.
Even the most delicious flavor gets old if you eat it all the time, and neither Wang Meng nor Mo Chen had been polite about it. The wine wasn’t actually that great, but neither of them cared. When it came to drinking wine and eating meat, the most important thing was who you were with.
"Four of the Ten Great Sects are here this time. What a magnificent lineup!"
"I heard the Star Alliance has also made a move."
"That’s rare. Don’t they usually look down on participating in things like this?"
"Damn, it depends on what it is! This is a Dragon Cave. Who wouldn’t want to try their luck?"
"There’s going to be a good show to watch. In any case, if we can kill the Giant Dragon outside its Dragon Cave, we could all get some benefits. Even a few drops of Dragon Blood would be great."
"I wonder which branch of the Dragon Race this Giant Dragon is from. Just getting to see it would make this trip worthwhile."
Wang Meng, having been to the Slaughter Space and witnessed city-wide battles, wasn’t too surprised by a scene of this scale.
"A lot of people are hoping to strike it rich. Us included."
"Haha, a toast to striking it rich!"
The old man and the young man could find any excuse to happily drink a pot of wine.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the tavern.
"The people from the Cyan Cloud Sect are here! Even their Young Master came personally!"
"Damn, they brought two Supreme Elders as escorts! The Cyan Cloud Sect is really sparing no expense!"
The Cyan Cloud Sect was a Major Sect ranked eighth in the Star Alliance. They didn’t use the garbage public Teleportation Arrays outside. Instead, they tore through the void to forcefully teleport here. They were accompanied by the Cyan Cloud Sect’s elite Cultivators, led by two Supreme Elders.
A single Giant Dragon wasn’t the main prize. It wasn’t that the Giant Dragon was unimportant, but that it was nearly impossible to capture one, even with overwhelming power. The pride of the Dragon Race did not allow for defeat, even for a dying Giant Dragon. Therefore, upon facing a crisis, a Giant Dragon would usually detonate its Dragon Core, leaving its attackers with nothing.
So, the competitive Sects still focused on sending their disciples inside to see what they could find in the Dragon Tomb.
Wang Meng watched the endlessly glamorous entourage of the Cyan Cloud Sect outside and a small smile appeared on his face. He’d actually run into an acquaintance—Yi Fan. It seemed his status in the Cyan Cloud Sect wasn’t low either. ’Makes sense,’ he thought. ’Anyone who was invited to that competition wouldn’t be weak.’
"What’s wrong? Jealous? I’m telling you, join my Taiyin Sect, and I guarantee you’ll become a Master’s Disciple. There are tons of benefits! The Extreme Dao Alliance might be powerful, but they don’t dare to openly oppose us. You’ll definitely be more impressive than those brats from the Cyan Cloud Sect."
Mo Chen urged, even bringing up the title of Master’s Disciple.
Wang Meng smiled faintly. "Old Moo, I’m already very grateful that you’re willing to help me."
Mo Chen was helpless. ’This kid really is stubborn.’
’It was precisely because of this that Mo Chen wanted him to join the Taiyin Sect even more. Even if they weren’t successful at the Dragon Cave this time, the Taiyin Sect’s power was more than enough to support his breakthrough to Minor Perfection.’
’However... Mo Chen didn’t insist. He wasn’t entirely confident either. A Five Elements Body would surely consume an astonishing amount of resources. Even if his junior brother, the Sect Leader, agreed for his sake, it would likely be a reluctant decision. It would be fine if Wang Meng actually succeeded, but if not, it would put everyone in a difficult position. These were the rules of the Cultivation Realm, and there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, he didn’t even know if he would live to see that day.’
’Wang Meng had thought of this as well. The Extreme Dao Alliance was a prime example. After all, Mo Chen didn’t run the Taiyin Sect.’
Yi Fan and another young man were surrounded in the center. It had been over a year, and Wang Meng could tell that Yi Fan had definitely reached Minor Perfection. For these famous Major Sects, the cultivation pace of their disciples was planned for optimal progression. Moreover, these prestigious sects never skimped on cultivating their elite disciples. For a sect with a long history, the most important thing was its legacy. Only by establishing a good line of succession could they maintain their current glory.
Without a doubt, the Ten Great Sects had succeeded in this.
In their histories, there had never been a generational gap. Even if their own sect lacked a disciple worthy of the responsibility, they would find a way to get one.
The Young Master of the Cyan Cloud Sect, Bu Qingyun, was a top-tier expert of the younger generation in the Star Alliance. His Cyan Heaven Connecting Cloud Technique had reached a sublime level, and his mastery of Sword Technique was so profound that even the Cyan Cloud Sect’s Sect Leader praised it endlessly. The Cyan Cloud Sect had sent their two top young experts, escorted by a Great Perfection master. It looked like they were determined to succeed.
As the people around them murmured, in the presence of the Ten Great Sects, all other so-called experts were like fleeting clouds.
The Cultivators present couldn’t help but feel a mix of envy, jealousy, and hate. The Cyan Cloud Sect’s disciples had already arranged everything perfectly. Bu Qingyun and Yi Fan didn’t need to worry about food, clothing, housing, or travel.
For them, traveling through the Small Thousand Realm was a kind of luxury.
But for most people, securing those basic necessities was the very first problem they had to consider.
"Heh heh, the Cyan Cloud Sect is getting anxious too," Mo Chen said smugly, blowing a smoke ring.
"Oh? What do they have to be anxious about?"
"Heh heh, their strongest of the younger generation, Bu Qingyun, only formed a Life Artifact when he reached Minor Perfection. He didn’t manifest a Holy Statue. You tell me, are they anxious or not?"
"Is manifesting a Holy Statue that important? Is a Life Artifact necessarily worse than a Holy Statue?"
’Wang Meng felt that even someone like Mo Chen seemed to be obsessed with Holy Statues.’
"Not necessarily, but with a Holy Statue, you’re already halfway to success. Besides, it’s often a display of a Sect’s underlying foundation. Bu Qingyun and Yi Fan both have good aptitude, but unfortunately, neither of them manifested a Holy Statue. That’s why the Cyan Cloud Sect can only focus on strengthening their power, and why they sent such a large contingent to have them try their luck in the Dragon Tomb."
Mo Chen laughed. ’Actually, our Taiyin Sect is the same. As one of the three strongest Sects, the Taiyin Sect has no shortage of masters. But for us, it’s imperative to find a successor who possesses a Holy Statue. This is the pressure of being a prestigious sect. And Little Cheng will definitely be able to do it.’
Wang Meng smiled. ’He couldn’t even dream of having a Holy Statue; there was no room left in his Sea of Heart. The only thing he could hope for was a Life Artifact. He was confident that a Life Artifact born from a Five Elements Body would surely be extraordinary. Only by taking this gamble would he have the bargaining chips to take down the Extreme Dao Alliance.’
"Let’s go for a stroll. We won’t have much idle time like this for long."
Mo Chen said with a laugh.
Having eaten and drunk their fill, the two walked out of the tavern. With the gathering of Cultivators from all over, Thousand Dragons Undying City had become a massive marketplace.
"Dragon Bone Powder from the Dragon Cave! Ten thousand Spirit Stones a bottle!"
"Dragon Spirit Liquid! Genuine Dragon Spirit Liquid, honest to young and old!"
...
Many Cultivators were hawking their wares frantically, but that so-called Dragon Bone looked suspiciously like pig bone.
The goods here were a mix of real and fake. Many had been disguised by experts, making them truly difficult to appraise. By the time you figured it out, the seller would be long gone.
Suddenly, Wang Meng had a strange thought. ’What would happen if I used my Divine Sense to inspect these items?’
Wang Meng channeled his Divine Sense into his eyes, and a hint of gold appeared in his pupils. Instantly, the rows of items changed before his eyes.
The physical forms of the items blurred, replaced by a glow. Good treasures that possessed Spiritual Qi emitted a stronger light, while the ornate fakes were very dim.
’But to sum it up, it was all junk.’
A grand gathering like this was a rare occasion. It was basically a free-for-all for scammers. Anyone looking to buy genuine goods wouldn’t be doing it at a street stall like this.
But everyone harbored a bit of wishful thinking. It was all about trying your luck, right? Nothing from an auction house ever sold for a normal price, especially when facing the encirclement of the Major Sects. The only thing Loose Cultivators could do was be a spectacular audience.
Enjoying this feeling, listening to the sellers’ wild, exaggerated boasts had its own unique flavor.
Suddenly, Wang Meng noticed something unusual and came to a stop.
It was a very ordinary stall, displaying a jumble of random items. The seller’s attention, however, wasn’t on their own business.
Wang Meng noticed a mask. The Spiritual Attribute it emitted was quite strong. To his Divine Sense, its grade was considerably high.
Wang Meng stood there for a moment before the seller finally noticed him. "Hey, buddy. Everything I’ve got here is good stuff. Same price, take your pick."
Wang Meng looked at the seller. She was a... very roguishly dressed Female Cultivator. Of course, he couldn’t really say that. Everyone had their own style.
