The Great Purge's Multiple Effects (Part One)

Xiao Chen was unaware of White Beard and his group's movements.

During this time, he focused on Closed-door cultivation within the Black Iron Cave Residence, rapidly Condense True Essence.

He cultivated for a full two months in one go.

It wasn't until the day before the start of spring that I finally gave myself a short break to adjust my state of mind.

Even with Heart of Clarity, it's hard not to find it a bit too tedious.

Xiao Chen stood up, stretching his limbs as he couldn't help but sigh, "I really don't know how the other cultivators manage to maintain such long periods of seclusion."

He also went into Closed-door cultivation for more than three months on Secluded Doom Island last time.

But things were different back then; Su Li was still there to keep you company on the island.

Even though the two barely spoke a word to each other most of the time, except during Moon Eclipse, it still felt quite different from being alone in seclusion in their cave abode.

Fortunately, the two months of continuous hard work have also brought considerable benefits.

With the help of the Spirit Devouring Yuan Great Method, Xiao Chen condensed a full 1,514 strands of true essence in one go.

However, it also absorbed more than 15 million Low-grade Spirit Stone.

It's no exaggeration to say that he spends money like water.

"At this rate, it feels like it won't be long before I reach the Nascent Soul Late Stage."

Feeling the surge of true energy within his body, Xiao Chen couldn't help but smile slightly, "If everything goes smoothly, I should be able to reach the edge of the Nascent Soul Great Perfection by next year at the latest."

"I feel like I can start preparing for my breakthrough to the Spirit Transformation now."

For other Newly Promoted True Monarch, this question may seem somewhat distant.

But for him, it seems a bit too late to start considering this now.

After all, normally, a major event like breaking through to the Spirit Transformation requires at least twenty or thirty years of preparation, if not a hundred or eighty years in advance.

"We also need to prepare for Wood Element Dao Comprehension Crystal or similar spiritual items as soon as possible."

Xiao Chen has gradually realized that as his cultivation level improves, the importance of Enlightenment Spirit Item becomes increasingly prominent.

This could very well become a crucial factor in determining whether a breakthrough will be successful.

It's best to make thorough preparations so that you can handle the breakthrough with ease and confidence, rather than rushing around in a panic when the time comes.

After finishing his mental calculations, Xiao Chen took a rare half-day rest.

I've rested and recuperated and am now in good condition.

Early the next morning, he left the cave abode: "Today is the beginning of spring, it's time to settle the deal we agreed on earlier."

"Moreover, six months have passed, and the Great Purge in the New Cultivation World should have ended by now."

"I wonder how Zhang Cunfu, Master Cai, and Chen Fan are doing now."

"Especially my Complete Fusion Spirit Tool, it's been almost a year and a half, it should be finished by now."

Xiao Chen had been eyeing this Custom Spirit Tool for some time now.

In particular, the Vast Sea Secret Realm is about to open, and we will be facing the top Nascent Soul True Lord from the other domains.

Having more handy weapons is definitely better than having none.

After all, most people wouldn't lack Custom Spirit Tool. There are probably only a handful of True Lord who can break through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage but don't yet have their own Custom Spirit Tool.

But this was somewhat of an accident.

After all, Xiao Chen had already commissioned someone to customize his own Spirit Artifact less than three years after breaking through to the Nascent Soul.

This time is not only not late, but it can even be described as very early.

Ultimately, it was because his Cultivation Speed was so fast that everything else seemed to lag behind.

There's no way around it; geniuses always encounter troubles that ordinary people can't even imagine.

To ensure safety during the journey, Xiao Chen deliberately came out of the Black Iron Cave Residence and flew more than 100,000 miles to the east in one breath.

They eventually found a rock to stand on and then, after a long time, activated the Dimension Sorcerer Emblem.

In an instant, the world spun around him, and he found himself in another Cultivation World.

Having not traveled through time for a while, Xiao Chen once again experienced that intense feeling of unease.

Fortunately, after undergoing Body Tempering, his recovery speed is much faster now.

In just a few breaths, he had recovered.

"But every time I come here, I feel that the Spiritual Qi is too thin, and I always feel like I'm about to trigger altitude sickness at any moment."

When Xiao Chen last came here, he was still in the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

However, this time he had already reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, and his cultivation and Divine Sense Range had been further enhanced, making him more sensitive to the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi around him.

This is precisely why I felt even more clearly that the Spiritual Qi here was extremely scarce.

"Why didn't you just absorb all the Spiritual Qi in the world? If you're so capable, why don't you leave not a single drop?"

Xiao Chen couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath, then walked out of the small mountain valley and headed towards Gui Yun Market along a familiar route.

Along the way, he clearly noticed a significant decrease in the number of independent cultivators active in the outside world.

Aside from the vicinity of Spirit Field or spirit mines enclosed by Spirit Gathering Formation, it is rare to see cultivators active in the outside world.

After realizing this, Xiao Chen paid special attention and did some mental calculations, discovering that the number of travelers now present was less than one-fifth of what it used to be.

If it weren't for his powerful Divine Sense, which discovered many rogue cultivators hiding in underground pits, he wouldn't have been able to cultivate.

He was starting to think that some terrible disaster had occurred here, causing widespread death and destruction.

We arrived at the outskirts of Gui Yun Market just as evening was falling.

It should have been the time for the cultivators here to come out and have some activities, but the number of cultivators coming and going in front of the spacious gate was still very small.

"They're still setting up checkpoints?"

Xiao Chen was somewhat surprised to see the two Golden Core cultivator leading the team guarding the gate, checking those entering and exiting from their left and right sides.

What are these people really thinking?

Even though they had already determined from the Magic Trace left at the battle scene that the person who killed True Lord Hua Jian was also Nascent Soul True Lord.

They should have known that if they hadn't pursued the suspect immediately, finding him later would have been extremely difficult.

Are they really hoping to catch someone with this makeshift checkpoint?

It's been more than half a year already, that's enough.

Xiao Chen was also somewhat speechless, but he didn't rush in. Instead, he took a look at the large wooden sign with the Wanted Notice hanging at the entrance.

Sure enough, it was the most prominent and largest Wanted Notice at the very top.

It remains a bounty for the ' Sword Breaking Devil Lord '.

The only difference is that the bounty has doubled compared to before.

The situation below has changed drastically. Not only have dozens of Wanted Notice been added, but nearly half of them are for Golden Core cultivator.

Xiao Chen noticed that this group even included a Wu Clan Cultivator originally ran a spirit medicine shop in the market.

According to the Wanted Notice, he secretly colluded with the Rebel Rebellious Immortal Alliance, supplying them with a large amount of spirit medicine, and violently resisted arrest after the incident.

Another Wanted Notice was hanging next to it.

The person arrested above is a manager surnamed Yan hired by the Wu Clan Cultivator, who possesses the cultivation level of the Late-stage Golden Core stage.

"Wait, Late-stage Golden Core still has the surname Yan?"

Xiao Chen glanced at the detailed description below the Wanted Notice: "Originally belonging to the Hundred Pill Pavilion, isn't this the place where Chen Fan tested his medicine?"

He had met the other person once before, but he never expected to see him again now, only on Wanted Notice.

Suddenly, two voices, not very loud, rose up behind him.

The voices weren't loud to begin with, but Xiao Chen's Divine Sense were sharp enough that he heard the conversation directly.

"Daoist Xu, I've heard some people outside say that Fellow Daoist Wu seems to have really joined the Rebellious Immortal Alliance. Do you think this is believable?"

"I suspect it's true. Since we're already wanted, we have no other way to survive if we don't go, so we might as well take a gamble."

"Sigh~, everyone said back then that Fellow Daoist Wu had connections with the Gui Yun Sect, but who could have imagined he would end up like this."

"What can be done? It's just bad luck. Why did he have to open a spirit medicine shop? As a result, he got targeted."

That Daoist Xu seemed to have anticipated this. "I told everyone long ago that this industry is fraught with difficulties."

"Don't even touch it if you don't have powerful connections."

"Fellow Daoist Wu didn't believe me, thinking I was lying to him. But you've seen what happened now: everyone who dared to open spirit medicine was labeled Rebellious Cultivator."

oh?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen glanced at the Wanted Notice again and indeed found that nearly half of the Golden Core cultivator originally belonged to various spirit medicine shops.

Most of the others were also involved with them.

Immediately afterwards, I heard the two people behind me still sighing.

"Sigh~, now only Shang Jia Workshop in the city is still selling spirit medicine, and the prices are generally more than double what they used to be. The Hongqiu Shang Family is really damn greedy!"

"Hmph, you really think it's their skill?"

That Daoist Xu scoffed, "It's nothing more than giving those above them a bad reputation."

"It must be that during the previous Great Purge, a high-ranking figure from the Holy City in the Special Envoy delegation took a liking to our local spirit medicine trade."

"So they found an excuse to raid all the other spirit medicine shops in the city, and also took all the readily available spirit medicine, so he could make a profit without any investment."

"Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?"

"And look at the other items, although they've all gone up in price, none of them have dared to double their price."

"Because they've already figured out that you won't buy the elixir from Shang Jia Workshop, and you won't be able to buy it anywhere else either. Sooner or later you'll have to obediently come back."

At this point, both of them were somewhat indignant.

They whispered amongst themselves, cursing the Holy City's exorbitant taxes and levies.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen's eyes were opened.

Unexpectedly, the so-called Great Purge in the Holy City not only targeted the Rebellious Immortal Alliance, but also wantonly bullied normal independent cultivators.

The key point is that by doing this, they've essentially forced all ten or so Golden Core cultivator on the Wanted Notice to join the Rebellious Immortal Alliance.

No wonder the Holy City clearly holds absolute dominance and has an overwhelming advantage in power.

However, the Rebellious Cultivator who secretly resisted were still repeatedly suppressed, and no matter how many were arrested, new ones would appear, as if they could never be eradicated.

So the source of Rebellious Cultivator cultivation, or at least one of the sources, is here.

Becoming Rebellious Cultivator will eventually lead to being caught and executed, but not becoming Rebellious Cultivator means certain death.

Choose one of two dead ends.

Who could stand this?!

Either way, it's a dead end; anyone with a shred of guts would have fought those beasts in the Holy City.

Xiao Chen sighed for a moment, then easily passed through the Checkpoint and entered the market.

First, go to the usual spot and leave Secret Mark in the corner of the wall.

Then I took a walk around the streets and observed the current situation in the market.

Before even entering, Xiao Chen had already guessed that the situation inside the market might not be too good.

But when he actually entered, he discovered that there were hardly any normal shops left in the vast Gui Yun Market.

Nearly two-thirds of the shops remained closed during peak hours, showing no intention of doing business.

The few remaining shops all have items that are at least 30% more expensive than before.

Street stalls have decreased by nearly half, and bargaining between buyers and sellers is exceptionally fierce.

"What a Great Purge! It has Gui Yun Market into a chaotic mess, with all businesses in ruins."

Xiao Chen became increasingly speechless as he read on; he felt that this didn't seem to be targeting the Rebellious Immortal Alliance at all.

Instead, it seems more like they're using the guise of eliminating Rebellious Cultivator to oppress lower-level rogue cultivators.

"Huh, the Cai Family's shop is closed too?"

Xiao Chen turned a corner and suddenly noticed that a teahouse with the words "Cai Family" engraved on the lower right of its signboard had also closed down.

That's a bit strange.

The Cai Family is one of the Four Great Families in the Ze Realm Blessed Land.

Even their businesses will be affected?

Or is there some problem with the Cai Family themselves?

Xiao Chen had originally intended to inquire about the Complete Fusion Spirit Tool, and now that he had discovered this situation, he decided to go to the Cai Family after meeting Zhang Cunfu.

I hope nothing bad happened to them.

After all, it's not easy to find a suitable partner like that.

It was just around dusk.

Xiao Chen had only waited for about 15 minutes when he noticed a figure hurrying towards him from outside the alley.

It was Zhang Cunfu who had just come out of the Market Warehouse.

However, compared to six months ago, he has clearly lost a lot of weight.

He looked pale, and his breathing was somewhat unstable, as if he had been injured.

Look this way!

As usual, Xiao Chen walked around behind him and patted him on the shoulder. "What's wrong with you?"

"Didn't we already tell you to smooth things over?"

"How did it get into this state?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cunfu immediately turned around with a delighted smile, "Senior, I've missed you so much these past few days!"

"During these days of the Great Purge, I was worried day and night..."

"We've been waiting for you to return safely."

The young man immediately started flattering him with great enthusiasm, but he didn't complain, so it seemed like he hadn't encountered any major problems.

"Stop talking nonsense to me!"

Xiao Chen immediately relaxed, then glared at him and said, "Answer my question honestly."

"Let me also give you a detailed account of the situation and changes in the market over the past six months."

Upon hearing the reprimand, Zhang Cunfu immediately became serious.

He recounted in detail the causes and consequences of his injuries.

To talk about his injuries, we have to start with the Fourth-Order Water Spirit Fruit that Xiao Chen left behind before they parted ways.

After receiving the items, Zhang Cunfu immediately put them into operation.

First, they invited the Gui Yun Sect's Internal Affairs Elder to two lavish meals, and then bribed the attendant beside him.

Then, they secretly sent him that Fourth-Order Water Spirit Fruit, and with some of their existing connections, they actually managed to get him on that end.

Therefore, he became increasingly successful within the sect.

When the Great Purge arrived, Gui Yun Sect also began to cooperate with the Holy City Special Envoy and the newly promoted Spirit Transformation Venerable to conduct Big Sweep.

He even managed to land a job as a market inspector.

Although it was only a temporary appointment during the Great Purge, it made his situation much safer.

From being someone who was panicking and worried about being arrested, they became henchmen who followed the Special Envoy around all day, responsible for rushing out to capture the Rebellious Cultivator.

Then, just two months ago, he was accidentally injured in a battle during a fight against the Rebellious Cultivator.

So things became even easier from then on; he could naturally hide away to recover from his injuries, as long as he looked after the ledgers.

For this reason, Zhang Cunfu even deliberately did not take any healing pills in order to slow down the healing process of his injuries.

This would allow him to reasonably extend his recovery time.

He even felt a little regretful that he hadn't dared to get seriously injured because he was afraid of dying.

Otherwise, we could rest for a longer period and completely get through the time for the Great Purge.

Even so, Zhang Cunfu is already quite satisfied.

At least he has survived the Big Sweep on Gui Yun Market.

The next step mainly involves investigating the other side of the Cultivation World. They won't return unless there's a major upheaval, so things are much easier now.

While recounting his story, Zhang Cunfu even took out a token to show Xiao Chen.

The front of the item is engraved with the two large characters 'Patrol', and the lower right corner has the three smaller characters ' Gui Yun Sect '. His name is on the back.

"Getting this is like getting a talisman."

Zhang Cunfu smiled broadly as he said this, "Of course, this is just a small talisman at best. My true talisman is always you, senior."

"I am able to get to where I am today entirely thanks to the care and guidance of my seniors."

His last statement wasn't wrong; it wasn't wrong in any sense.

If Xiao Chen hadn't approached him, his situation would be completely different now.

But I really didn't expect Zhang Cunfu to have so much potential; at least he was able to get things done once he got the tools.

The first time they said they would smooth things over, they actually managed to suppress the news of the lost Yellow-grade Technique.

The second time he said he would bribe the Elder, he not only cleared up the suspicions but also ensured his safety.

So much so that Xiao Chen felt he could continue investing in him.

What if we could support an Elder, or even a Nascent Soul True Lord, within the Gui Yun Sect?

Hmm... seems a bit troublesome, and perhaps a bit unnecessary?

Well, let's just let things take their course for now.

So Xiao Chen simply nodded. "Stop with the sweet talk, let's get down to business."

Zhang Cunfu then recounted, in chronological order, the many events that had occurred in Gui Yun Market since the two had parted ways last time.

Most of them were trivial matters that he thought might be important, but were actually dispensable.

It was nothing more than the grudges within the market, and the Special Envoy caused by the small group of envoys who had come specifically to investigate the truth behind True Lord Hua Jian's death.

They investigated for a long time, but naturally they couldn't find any useful clues.

However, unwilling to return empty-handed, they went to the place where Chen Fan had once lived, captured a large number of Wasteland Rogue Cultivator, and beheaded them as a warning.

They claimed that they were all accomplices, spies secretly colluding with the Rebellious Immortal Alliance.

In reality, it was a huge miscarriage of justice, a disguised form of killing innocent people and claiming credit for their crimes.

It can't even be called a merit; it's merely to prove to the Holy City that although they didn't directly catch the real culprit, they were genuinely trying to do something.

Xiao Chen frowned as he listened.

How is such behavior any different from that of demonic cultivators?

In addition, two truly significant events have occurred within the Ze Realm Blessed Land over the past six months.

The first thing is that the Special Envoy delegation for this Great Purge operation was exceptionally large.

In addition to the newly promoted Venerable who led the way as usual, the original twenty-four Nascent Soul True Lord accompanied him were directly expanded to fifty-eight!

That's more than double the amount!

Their arrival truly brought the entire Ze Realm Blessed Land under extremely strict control during that period.

Even the properties and members of the Four Great Families, as well as the disciples of the Gui Yun Sect, must be subject to investigation.

In the end, more than two hundred Golden Core cultivator were captured and killed, and countless Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining were also captured.

During that period, a Jingguan of human heads was erected at the entrance of Gui Yun Market.

In other words, the area of Ze Realm Blessed Land is actually quite large; otherwise, it would not have been able to withstand such a loss.

The second thing is that, under such a thorough search, a high-ranking member of the Rebellious Immortal Alliance was indeed forced out—a genuine Nascent Soul True Lord.

The other party had changed their appearance and pretended to be a vendor passing by.

However, they happened to run into a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator who was personally leading the search team, and to make matters worse, the cultivator also happened to have mastered the Spirit Eye Technique.

Their disguise was immediately exposed, and a fierce battle ensued.

"Senior, you didn't see it. The entire South Street was smashed up back then, and it wasn't until last month that the original houses were repaired."

Zhang Cunfu seemed to still have some lingering fear as he recounted this. "The sixteen Gui Yun Sect disciples who went with me to investigate that day..."

"Only two of them, who were at the very back, survived; the rest were torn to shreds by the aftershocks of the battle."

"That rebellious... that senior fought desperately to break through."

"I heard that despite being pursued and intercepted by several True Lord, they managed to break through and escape to a place five thousand miles away."

"There was hope of escape."

"As it turned out, that Venerable one actually delivered a punch from a thousand miles away, ending the battle instantly."

"I only heard from a friend later that the original location of Die Cui Mountain was exactly 5,000 li away."

"But now the hills over there are missing a piece, and Die Cui Mountain has been turned into a huge crater."

"It's said that the pit is over a hundred feet deep and over a thousand feet long; just looking at it is enough to terrify a person."

"It's a pity I still need to 'recover' from my injuries in the market, otherwise I really want to go there and see for myself the marks left by the Venerable One's attack."

"I heard that the Gui Yun Sect is already arranging for people to fill in that area."

"Sigh, if I miss this opportunity, I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to see such a spectacular sight again in my lifetime."

However, despite what Zhang Cunfu said, his actions clearly showed that he chose to hide in the market, prioritizing his own safety.

On the contrary, Xiao Chen, upon hearing this, immediately felt the urge to go and take a look.