Free Web NovelChapter 262: Chapter 236: Divine Statue Acquired, Eradicating the Roots
"After the Flying Boat was damaged, it made it this far before it could no longer pull the Divine Statue. It plowed through this mangrove forest, knocking down countless trees. We just need to follow this trail to find the statue!"
After a month, Cao Xiong and Zhou Jing were the first to find the trail.
They looked up, their eyes scanning the area.
Before them was a vast marshland filled with countless red trees. The tall trees were crudely snapped, and a massive drag mark stretched deep into the woods. The trail was obvious, with broken trees at varying heights.
It was clear the Flying Boat had tried to gain altitude several times, but had failed each time.
"There’s a body!"
Following the drag marks, Cao Xiong caught a glimpse of a corpse hanging from a branch, covered in maggots, flies, and even poisonous insects like centipedes.
"It’s still fresh. Must be one of those thieves."
"If one were to hide the Divine Statue, Ze State is indeed the most suitable location."
Zhou Jing nodded.
Ze State—the name itself meant "Great Wilderness Marsh."
Don’t be fooled by the dense trees; the ground was just a thin layer of topsoil over a bottomless swamp. Anything that sank into the marsh would be covered by a new layer of soil within days, lost forever.
"I’ve been thinking about this for days. These thieves must have had someone directing them."
Having found a lead, Cao Xiong’s mood improved significantly. He even had the leisure to discuss the bigger picture. "Finding the Divine Statue is one thing, but if we can unearth the mastermind behind it, that would be another great achievement!"
"The mastermind... that’s not something we can get involved in, is it?"
Zhou Jing frowned.
"Then it won’t be our business. These two accomplishments are enough. It will be enough for me to be reinstated to my former post, and enough for you to no longer have to fear Chen Che."
Cao Xiong clasped his hands behind his back and smiled. Suddenly, his eyes caught something up ahead, and his gaze sharpened.
"We’ve finally found the Divine Statue!"
...
...
"What a fine Pill!"
In the Imperial Mausoleum, Chen Yin cradled the Yin Spirit Pill. He took a gentle sniff, and a wisp of gray Pill Qi drifted into his nostrils. He instantly felt a jolt in his mind, as if his Soul Body had solidified considerably.
’As expected of a Tier Three Elixir! It works wonders for both strengthening and repairing the Divine Soul!’
Chen Yin praised it endlessly, his heart filled with joy.
He originally thought it would take at least another month. He never expected it to be finished so quickly.
After all.
It was refined using a pile of human lives.
"A joyous occasion!"
Chen Yin looked up.
"Host a banquet for Tributor Chen... wait, where is Tributor Chen?"
"Reporting to the Old Ancestor, Tributor Chen has returned to Jinyun Valley... He said he would be back in three to five days."
Chen Xi reported truthfully.
"Never mind. Alchemy requires a balance of work and rest. He’s been cooped up for a month; it’s normal that he’d grow restless." Chen Yin nodded. The man was a Tributor; he had no right to question his whereabouts. Besides, the pill was already finished.
Thinking of this, he turned his head.
"How are your studies coming along?"
"I’ve basically understood it all from watching, but I don’t know how long it will take to actually try it myself."
"Then you should explore it on your own."
...
...
’The Divine Statue...’
After leaving Hunzhou, Chen Che had taken a long detour before secretly turning back.
He had long guessed the truth would come out, but he hadn’t expected them to find it so quickly. It would be one thing if it were just about the Divine Statue, but people like Thousand Eyes True Master, Cao Xiong, and Sun Hao wouldn’t believe that a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators would steal the statue for no reason.
They were even subtly suggesting there was someone else pulling the strings.
Chen Che felt helpless about it.
That was why he had used an excuse to leave the moment the pill was successfully refined.
’The Divine Statue has reappeared. This matter must be handled sooner rather than later. I have to eliminate this threat as soon as possible. I can’t just wait for them to come knocking at my door before I fight back. I must find them before anyone else does, before the Ghost Market’s Foundation Establishment cultivators find them...’
The Little Chick flew at great speed, the wind whistling past his ears, but Chen Che’s heart was as calm as still water.
He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
It was unfortunate, but also a fortunate coincidence.
Thousand Eyes True Master was not around, which meant there was still a chance to remedy the situation.
SWOOSH!
Suddenly, Chen Che’s eyes flashed, and the Little Chick beneath him flapped its great wings, soaring madly upward.
In the distance, three Flying Boats were cruising side by side.
’Flying Boats. Those must be the Cultivators Cao Xiong brought with him.’
He slipped into the cover of the clouds and extended his Divine Sense, faintly hearing the sounds of celebration from within the Flying Boats.
The stolen Divine Statue was 136 zhang tall. Having been taken to a place dozens of states away, transporting it back by manpower alone would take an unknown amount of time. Since it had been stolen with a Flying Boat, they now planned to use Flying Boats to bring it back.
’They’ve found it, just as I thought.’
After listening for a moment, the Little Chick overtook the Flying Boats and sped toward Ze State.
He had set off at dusk. A sun set and another rose. It wasn’t until nightfall on the second day that he finally saw a vast marsh forest in the distance.
From afar, the petioles and flowers of the trees were all red, making it look like a sea of fire.
’Is that Ze State?’
As his Divine Sense spread out, a boundless marsh forest under the night sky came into view, with a faint mist rising from within. Looking down from high above, he could see a massive drag mark that stretched deep into the Marsh Forest.
It looked as if a behemoth had passed through.
’That’s the trail left by the Divine Statue being dragged.’
Chen Che’s gaze focused.
Within his sea of consciousness, countless flames flickered.
They were Demon Beasts. Their auras, tinged with a ghostly green fire, were hidden beneath the Marsh Forest. As they stirred and churned, they produced a skin-crawling sound of shifting earth. At the end of the trail, there was a large, collapsed section of the forest.
The surrounding trees had all fallen outward, as if from a central explosion.
A single glance was enough to tell that something colossal had crashed here.
Hanging in the nearby trees was a shattered Flying Boat. A long chain extended from it deep into the mire, pulled completely taut.
