Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 260: Chapter 234: Fishing in Troubled Waters, Alchemy with Yin Fire

They’ve found the Flying Boat!

Hearing the commotion, Chen Che’s heart skipped a beat. ’I’m too deeply entangled in this matter to ignore it.’

He set aside what he was doing and walked out, immediately spotting Sun Hao holding a fragment.

"Tributor Chen?"

Before Chen Che could even ask, Sun Hao looked up.

"What’s going on?"

Chen Che feigned ignorance, glancing at the Divine Dao Cultivators gathering around them.

"The True Master’s Divine Statue was stolen. We found a clue today, and I’m about to investigate. I’m in charge of this now."

Sun Hao looked at him.

"If you’re interested, Tributor Chen, you can accompany me."

"...Alright."

Chen Che gave a slight nod.

’It’s only natural to be curious. Acting evasive at a time like this would just seem strange.’

Sure enough, Sun Hao had no reason to be suspicious.

Seeing Chen Che eyeing the shattered Wood Armor in his hand, he tossed it over. Chen Che caught it and saw that the piece of Wood must have come from the deck. The edge was jagged, as if it had been broken off by brute force, but a single fragment revealed little.

The group departed in a grand procession. It was said there were two locations where the Flying Boat had gone down.

The first crash site was where the thieves had encountered a beast tide. One Flying Boat had crashed, leaving several corpses. This was the location Thousand Eyes True Master had previously discovered, but he had come up empty.

Then, because of the expedition to the Black Tortoise Calm Sea, Thousand Eyes True Master had to suspend his search and handed the matter over to Sun Hao.

"Who are the culprits?"

"I don’t know."

"How many of them are there?"

"It’s unclear."

Along the way, Chen Che indirectly probed with a few questions. He was relieved to find that, so far, no one knew the origins of this group.

The Wood Armor fragments discovered today were on a Nameless mountain peak, a distance of Three States from Hunzhou, even outside the Primordial Sect’s sphere of influence. Besides the shattered Wood Armor, there were also some Demon Beast corpses.

When Chen Che arrived with the others, Divine Dao Cultivators were already stationed nearby.

"What’s the situation?"

Sun Hao asked.

A Divine Dao Cultivator, who had already investigated the situation, hurried to report:

"Although the Flying Boat escaped the beast tide, it was still being pursued by several Demon Beasts and ended up colliding with the mountain peak here. The debris is widespread, so the collision must have been severe. There are also drag marks on the ground, which must be from the Divine Statue falling during the impact..."

As he spoke, he gestured to the corresponding marks on the mountain, the depressions in the ground, and the shattered fragments of the Flying Boat.

All the evidence lined up.

"A Divine Statue nearly two hundred zhang tall... there’s simply nowhere to hide it."

Sun Hao crouched down, his hand tracing the crater left by the Divine Statue’s fall, seemingly lost in thought.

"Use this as the starting point. Search for any mortals or Cultivators nearby and ask if they saw which direction the Flying Boat went. Someone must have seen something..."

"Yes, sir."

The Divine Dao Cultivators scattered.

After arranging everything, Sun Hao rose to his feet. His gaze paused for a moment on the Little Chick on Chen Che’s shoulder. "Tributor Chen, how about you have your Demon Beast scout the area again?"

Chen Che’s eyes flickered.

"Alright."

...

The many Divine Dao Cultivators questioned the mortals at the foot of the mountain, but still came up with nothing.

The collision had occurred in the dead of night, and many of the villagers had been too terrified to go outside and investigate. The few who were bold enough to look saw nothing on the dark, windy night.

Therefore, another long search was now required.

"We have plenty of time ahead of us..."

Chen Che offered a word of "consolation." Back in Hunzhou, just as he set foot in the Sacrificial Hall, he suddenly heard a voice call out.

"Tributor Chen."

Chen Che was startled for a moment. He glanced back across the hall and saw Thousand Eyes True Master sitting cross-legged beneath the Divine Statue, absorbing a black mist in a classic meditative posture.

Beneath the black mist, a cracked, demonic mask flickered in and out of view, looking increasingly sinister.

The voice came from beneath the mask.

"I hear you and Sun Hao went to investigate the stolen Divine Statue. Did you find any clues today?"

"Reporting to the True Master, no..."

Chen Che recounted the day’s events truthfully, his tone conveying the appropriate amount of surprise and indignation.

"I have occupied Hunzhou for nearly a thousand years. Although Divine Statues have been stolen on occasion, no one has ever dared to lay a hand on this specific one. It’s not just you; even I find it unbelievable."

Thousand Eyes True Master’s words were icy, laced with a barely concealed killing intent.

"I suspect someone is pulling the strings from behind the scenes."

"It could also be one of the other Golden Core True Masters."

Chen Che subtly offered a misdirection. "I feel that an ordinary Foundation Establishment Major Cultivator wouldn’t have such nerve."

"Indeed. That is what I was thinking as well."

Thousand Eyes True Master nodded slightly, his tone carrying a note of approval. "But no matter who it is, I will make them pay the price..."

Chen Che nodded on the outside, but inwardly he was unnerved.

...

Back in the Sacrificial Hall, Chen Che discovered the amount of Materials in the Alchemy Room had doubled. A quick glance revealed more of the same: unknown bone ash, fresh blood, and various Spiritual Objects wreathed in Yin Sha Qi.

One of the main ingredients still hadn’t arrived.

It was said to be Souls—a large quantity of them.

His days in Hunzhou weren’t boring. He often mingled with the search parties, gradually getting a clear picture of Thousand Eyes True Master’s subordinates.

There weren’t many living people. So far, he had only seen himself, Sun Hao, and a dozen or so members of the Great Chen Royal Family.

Perhaps due to the lack of Spiritual Qi, the Realms of these Royal Family members were rather low.

However, Cao Xiong of the Primordial Sect was very close with the True Master and was suspected of being one of his descendants.

The rest were all dead.

The majority of them were in the Qi Refining Realm, numbering around a thousand. There were only about forty in the Foundation Establishment Realm. The one with the highest Cultivation was the thirty-ninth generation ancestor of the Royal Race, a man named Chen Yin, at the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer. It was said that he was born with an exceptionally powerful Divine Soul, which was how he managed to reach such a Realm.

’The number of Cultivators is too small, isn’t it? Then again, it makes sense. The majority are dead, so they don’t need to eat, drink, or relieve themselves. That cuts down on the need for support staff by a lot...’

For a Golden Core Influence, it was all rather shabby.

But seeing Thousand Eyes True Master stationed beneath the Divine Statue, absorbing Souls, Chen Che understood the crucial point. For a Divine Dao Cultivator, the Power of Faith was fundamental. If he supported too many fellow Cultivators, they would just be splitting his Cultivation Resources.

In addition to this, Chen Che also handled the occasional battle reports sent from Jinyun Valley.

In the battle at the Black Tortoise Calm Sea, many Foundation Establishment Influences suffered heavy losses, with some even being completely wiped out. The Haizhou Hu Family was a case he had personally orchestrated. Once Hu Haiqing died, his subordinate families immediately turned on the Hu Family, carving up more than half of their influence.

The Hu Family was forced to call an emergency meeting, and their aggressive expansion immediately shifted to a defensive stance. Even with over ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators remaining, the Hu Family could no longer dominate half a state as they had before.

The Sixteen States were in chaos. Countless factions were attacking one another in a classic case of the big fish eating the small.

Although he wasn’t In the Valley, Jinyun Valley had feasted handsomely amidst the chaos.

With the help of Lu Qinglian, a Fifth-Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Jinyun Valley used the Yu Family as a springboard to easily seize nearly half of Chi State. This included seventeen rivers, nine mines, and countless forests and Spirit Fields.

The disciples In the Valley made significant progress through combat. Among them, Liang Yuan, the Chief of the Forging Hall, used a Foundation Establishment Pill Chen Che had left behind to become the valley’s sixth Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Furthermore, the one-year deadline had arrived, and the Wuyin Stone from the mine was now in transit.

This was the benefit of having established a solid framework earlier. Jinyun Valley was now like a well-oiled machine; even with its Valley Master absent for a time, it could continue to run on its own.

Beyond that, they had also collected a considerable amount of Fire Attribute Spiritual Objects.

Hu Yao knew how desperately Chen Che needed them and had even made a special trip to deliver them.

Meanwhile, the school term on Earth Element Star had also begun.

’It’s lucky the semester is starting off light. It gives me time to be here. Otherwise, I’d have to ask for another leave of absence...’

「Hunzhou.」

「Sacrificial Hall, Alchemy Room.」

Chen Che sized up the final delivery of Souls.

’That’s an incredible number of Souls. This one jar alone must hold at least ten thousand...’

Chen Che’s eye twitched as he looked at the Ghost Breeding Jar on the floor. It was sealed with a paper talisman but still rattled and shook, CLANGING VIOLENTLY. Wails, roars, and screams could be heard from within. And there were at least a hundred such jars!

As for where they came from, given the attitude of this world’s Cultivators toward mortals, he didn’t even need to guess.

’Who knows how many people were killed just to refine this Tier Three Elixir!’

Chen Che thought grimly.

With this, all the Materials for the Alchemy were ready. His leisurely days were over.

"Tributor Chen, the materials for the ’Yin Spirit Pill’ are all here. Can we begin the refining today?"

A Divine Dao Cultivator asked quietly from the side.

"Let’s begin!"

Chen Che glanced at him.

This Cultivator was named Chen Xi and had some talent for Alchemy. It was said that the Divine Dao Cultivators in the Imperial Mausoleum all consumed Pills he refined. He was supposedly an assistant sent by Chen Yin, but whether he was actually here to steal techniques, only they knew for sure.

But Chen Che wasn’t concerned.

His Alchemy Skill was part of a complete system from Earth Element Star. Without proper guidance, it was impossible to even begin to learn.

"Yes, sir."

Hearing this, Chen Xi immediately took up a position beside the Sacrificial Pill Furnace and lit the Yin Coffin Wood. A jet of green flame instantly flared up.

This was Yin Fire.

It was just like cooking: some dishes required a low flame for slow simmering, while others needed a high flame for stir-frying. Likewise, Pills with different attributes required different types of flames.

Due to the limitations of their Cultivation Technique and Cultivation level, a Cultivator’s flame might not be pure, so they often used external objects to assist. Chen Che’s Nine Transformations Spirit Flame Technique, however, allowed him to change his flame’s attributes at will.

"Rise!"

With an expressionless face, Chen Che flicked his finger. Several ceramic jars popped open, and their contents—fresh blood, bone ash, and other items—flowed like streams into the Pill Furnace.

"High flame!"

As Chen Che spoke, Chen Xi took out a black fan. He waved it, and a sinister wind instantly swept through the Alchemy Room, filled with sounds like the howling of wolves and the wailing of ghosts.

The Yin Fire flared, and the green flames rapidly enveloped the Pill Furnace.

「A moment later.」

The wailing and howling from within the Pill Furnace abruptly ceased.

Expressionless, he opened the Pill Furnace. As expected, it was a failure. He reached in and rubbed the ashes between his fingers, his brow furrowing slightly.

"This Pill... is truly difficult to refine!"

...