Ah, I've Got Another Idea

After finishing their business, the two chatted for a few more minutes.

It mainly consisted of comments on different Spirit Artifact, or polite remarks about continuing cooperation if needed in the future.

The conversation gradually turned to the unusual phenomena surrounding the Shattered Gold True Monarch.

After all, his condition, where his Essence was so depleted that his eyes were slightly dark, was not common among cultivators, let alone Nascent Soul True Lord.

Anyone who sees this will be filled with doubt.

"Sigh, it's actually the same thing as last time."

When asked about this, Shattered Gold True Monarch seemed a little embarrassed. "When you came last time, I happened to receive a rare item from an old friend."

"I was busy forging weapons in the middle, so I didn't have time to deal with it."

"About two months ago, the Giant Elephant Soul Severing Spear was finally completed, and I finally had some free time."

"So I figured I might as well find something to do since I was just idling around, and I took that strange object out again."

"Sigh, how should I put it?"

The Shattered Gold True Monarch chuckled self-deprecatingly, "The item itself is a good one; it's almost certainly an ancient artifact from the Ancient Times."

"Unfortunately, the restrictions on it are a bit too complicated, and the materials used are too insidious, even offensive to the natural order."

"In addition, I overlooked two small details during the process, which resulted in a significant waste of my Essence."

His tone was ambiguous, and his words were rather tactful.

Obviously, that kind of thing is not suitable to be discussed openly.

It might be fine for close friends to talk about this privately, but it's not appropriate to say too much in front of cultivators from the Holy City.

Moreover, the implication that it violates natural law and morality is already quite clear.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen immediately understood.

The so-called strange object is most likely a Devil Artifact left behind by a demonic cultivator, or it is an evil object from a wicked sect but whose nature is not much different from that of Devil Artifact.

He wouldn't say he's an expert in everything, but he's certainly quite knowledgeable.

He knew that if he didn't handle it properly, especially if he started without mastering the corresponding demonic cultivation method, he could easily suffer a backlash and lose a lot of Essence.

As for the existence of Devil Artifact artifacts in the New Cultivation World, that's nothing unusual.

As the saying goes, a large forest has all kinds of birds.

The so-called demonic path in the Cultivation World originates from a small group of cultivators who want to take shortcuts.

As long as there are people in the New Cultivation World who want to take shortcuts, the demonic path will inevitably develop as well; the only remaining issue is the degree of its development.

However, at this point, Xiao Chen suddenly felt a little curious.

Could it be that the New Cultivation World is also ahead of the Storm Sea in the development of demonic arts?

However, this issue is clearly not suitable for discussion with the Shattered Gold True Monarch.

Moreover, he was clearly not a true demonic cultivator; he was most likely only interested in the crafting techniques used on Devil Artifact.

Of course, theoretically speaking, such hobbies are extremely dangerous.

As one's understanding of the demonic path deepens along the way, one inevitably encounters various temptations.

If one's self-control is not strong enough, it is easy to fall into the evil path and find it difficult to extricate oneself.

However, even though Xiao Chen had guessed this situation, he did not offer any advice.

Firstly, since the two haven't had much contact, bringing this up directly might seem like they're being too forward with someone they don't know well.

Secondly, these things are actually not very useful just by talking about them.

Once you become tainted by demonic practices, they are, in some ways, more terrifying than alcoholism or gambling addiction.

At this point, while it's not fair to say that they completely ignore the advice of outsiders, they mostly treat it as nothing.

The only way to change the situation is to either figure it out yourself or have external forces intervene and change the circumstances; otherwise, nothing will work.

"I see. Then we should pay more attention and take good care of ourselves during this time to try and make up for lost weight."

So Xiao Chen didn't press further, but simply followed up with a concerned question, "Although a short-term loss of Essence isn't a big problem, prolonged depletion could potentially damage your very foundation."

"You people who are so engrossed in studying the Dao Arts often forget to eat and sleep."

"But actually, only by taking good care of your health can you make better and longer-term progress."

These words were actually heard by Xiao Chen from elsewhere, and when he said them, they sounded rather old-fashioned.

However, to the ears of the Shattered Gold True Monarch, it sounded somewhat familiar.

Absolutely right, that's the taste!

Back when he was still in the Holy City, he would occasionally see the powerful figures from the Seven Great Clans, or the managing cultivators of the Holy City.

Those people especially love to care for others; they're almost all cut from the same mold.

Judging from this, Fellow Daoist Xiao in front of me seems to be quite satisfied with the Spirit Artifact.

Overjoyed, he neglected his pretense and subconsciously spoke according to his usual habits.

However, Shattered Gold True Monarch didn't point it out. Instead, he pretended that he hadn't guessed anything yet. "Fellow Daoist, you're very thoughtful."

"I did neglect my duties a little before, and I was already thinking of getting some treatment."

"The main problem is that I'll be staying here for a while, so it's not very convenient to move around. But the supplements I ordered are on their way and should arrive tomorrow."

They gave each other a few words of agreement with normal expressions, and then sat outside the meditation room for a while.

After chatting for about half an hour, Xiao Chen calmly got up to say goodbye.

According to the plan he had devised before coming, his next step should be to discuss countermeasures with Master Cai.

If you can find a good excuse, then show your face again to further solidify your False Identity.

If there's no good reason, then pretend to continue your seclusion, but actually go back to explore the Vast Sea Secret Realm Inner Realm first, and come back when you have free time after you're done.

However, now that he has successfully obtained the Complete Fusion Spirit Tool, Xiao Chen's mentality has undergone some subtle changes.

How should I put it?

It's somewhat similar to the feeling he had when he was young, finding a relatively straight wooden stick and wanting to pluck it from the roadside flowers and grass.

Having acquired a powerful new weapon, his instinct was to find something to poke at it and test its feel.

So much so that after Xiao Chen came out of the cave, he couldn't help but slow down his escape speed and look around to find a suitable target.

Unfortunately, looking at the whole process, there wasn't a suitable target to make a move.

Firstly, even in the New Cultivation World, only the Holy City has a relatively large number of Nascent Soul True Lord; they are still very rare in other places.

Secondly, due to the scarcity of Spiritual Qi, let alone finding Nascent Soul Great Demon in the wasteland, not even the footprints of Golden Core Demonic Beast can be seen.

Judging from the current situation, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Giant Elephant Soul Severing Spear may not have a significant chance of being fully utilized until it enters the Inner Realm.

"Or perhaps I should go back and train with Great Demon?"

Xiao Chen thought for a moment, "It just so happens that there are still a few fish that escaped the net over at the Compassion Sea. We can go back and see if there are any new clues."

"It's just that the Kunpeng Sea separates us, making the round trip a little more troublesome."

Although his escape speed was already very fast, it would still take him a month or two to travel.

Considering that the Inner Realm will most likely open within two months, rushing to open both is clearly not a good option.

While he was pondering, Xiao Chen had already returned to Pingyi City.

Compared to half a year ago, when the city was rather deserted, now one can easily tell that there are many more independent cultivators active on the streets.

In particular, there are now a large number of street stalls.

The stalls often use a long wooden stick or bamboo pole to hang colorful wine flags.

They then sold the Spirit Wine by loudly hawking it in Earthenware Pot, porcelain bottles, gourds, and even bamboo tubes.

This really puzzled Xiao Chen, who didn't quite understand what was going on.

Normally, it would be reasonable for Pingyi City to become slightly more prosperous as Cai Youde became famous and the Cai Family seized the property from the Shang Family.

The question is, why are there so many more vendors selling alcohol?

If Xiao Chen remembered correctly, it was not easy to do business selling Spirit Wine in the Cultivation World; usually only Lineage cultivators could participate.

This is because even Spirit Wine made with the same formula can have different storage periods.

Given the market's tendency to require a minimum investment of ten years, or even several decades or centuries, it's often difficult for independent practitioners to participate.

This type of work requires long-term investment, and while the returns are relatively considerable, they are not enough to be called exorbitant profits.

Most of the time, only cultivation Lineage or even some small sects would do this.

Out of curiosity, Xiao Chen stopped and observed for a while.

Only then did they realize that the Spirit Wine was just a facade, and there was more to it than Profound Mystery.

What those vendors were actually selling were spirit medicine and elixirs that had been dissolved in the wine beforehand.

Now, within the Ze Realm Blessed Land, the supply of Grass and Wood Spirit Pill has been monopolized by the Holy City Special Envoy, causing prices to continue to rise.

Therefore, in addition to using Metal Stone Pill as substitutes, some cultivators who were afraid of the poison in the elixirs came up with this method to bypass the Gui Yun Sect's inspections.

In addition, Spirit Wine itself contains abundant Spiritual Qi.

After the elixir is added, the taste changes, creating an opportunity for counterfeiting and encouraging many vendors to take advantage of the situation.

They mix genuine spirit wine, which has been dissolved in elixirs, with fake Spirit Wine, which has been dissolved in inferior elixirs or even has only a false amount of Spiritual Qi, and sell them together.

In the short time Xiao Chen stood there watching, a rogue cultivator and a street vendor got into an argument over it.

One side claimed to have bought counterfeit alcohol, while the other side accused the other of making false accusations, attracting many passing cultivators to watch the spectacle.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a perfect example of 'the higher-ups have policies, the lower-downs have countermeasures'!"

Xiao Chen chuckled, "If you can't sell spirit pills privately, then sell Spirit Wine that has been melted down with spirit pills."

"If we continue down this path, they might replace it with something else in the future, making it impossible to completely eliminate the problem."

"This can be considered the wisdom of the masses; it's truly remarkable."

However, this is merely a superficial appearance.

When Xiao Chen quietly arrived at the Cai Family's study and met with Master Cai...

They then discovered that the other party was planning to use the clan's stored Spirit Herb to have the clan's Alchemist refine low-grade spiritual pills in batches for making Spirit Wine.

"Isn't this a bit risky?"

Since it concerned the Cai Family, Xiao Chen asked one more question, "Didn't you say you were going to focus on fighting for the assets recently? How come you have time to deal with these things?"

"The key question is how many Spirit Stone we can earn this way."

"If the Gui Yun Sect finds out, wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

However, Master Cai explained, "Senior, this matter is the intention of the Gui Yun Sect."

"Otherwise, how could it have been done so easily under a pretext?"

"At this critical juncture, even cultivators without any problems can be arrested and taken back for investigation."

"Without the authorization of the Gui Yun Sect, even if the people below had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, they wouldn't dare to defy the rules and commit crimes."

That's true, such a little trick shouldn't be able to fool anyone.

Xiao Chen was somewhat surprised. "Why use this method? Wouldn't it be simpler to just open a new spirit medicine?"

It's important to understand that Gui Yun Sect were to do it this way, it would require going through two more intermediaries: the Cai Family and the peddler.

Normally, at least 20% of profits would be lost, or even more.

"Sigh, that Special Envoy envoy really went too far back then."

Master Cai continued to explain, "He not only closed all the other spirit medicine shops in the entire blessed land, but only kept one in the market area."

"And before leaving, they left behind a manager to oversee the accounts."

"We need to split the extra Spirit Stone we earn with the Gui Yun Sect 30/70."

Oh, this.

The classic 30/70 split.

To avoid any misunderstanding, Xiao Chen confirmed again. "He wants to take 70%?"

Master Cai nodded. "So Gui Yun Sect doesn't want to directly offend that Special Envoy, nor does it want to earn less than before, even though the pills have doubled in price."

"That's why we turn a blind eye to those vendors outside."

"The old man is leading his clansmen to help now, but in reality, he's just helping the Gui Yun Sect make money."

"Once things are done here, we can bring back more properties over there."

"It's just that the independent cultivators outside don't know this, and might think it's some good thing, a privilege reserved for the Four Great Families."

Oh, now Xiao Chen finally understood; there were actually several layers of relationships involved.

In this way, even if the Holy City's Special Envoy envoy comes back to investigate in the future, the Gui Yun Sect can still shift the blame onto those vendors.

If the other party is still not satisfied and insists on continuing the investigation...

Then arrest and punish the disciples in charge of patrolling and the small Lineage that provided the Spirit Herb.

Generally speaking, that's where it ends.

If the Special Envoy is determined to pursue the matter relentlessly, then the Cai Family in the middle should be brought out as the 'masterminds,' accused of orchestrating and planning all of this.

To put it bluntly, those vendors, the outer disciples of the sect, and the Cai Family are just three layers of scapegoats.

They were all pawns used by the Gui Yun Sect to secretly oppose the Holy City.

"So, the Cai Family's actions actually carry the risk of being purged afterward."

Xiao Chen asked, "Can't I refuse this?"

His False Identity is now with the Cai Family.

Therefore, he certainly doesn't want any problems to arise in the Cai Family, nor does he want any potential hidden dangers to emerge from the Cai Family.

However, upon hearing this, a slight bitterness appeared on Master Cai's face. "Alas, there really isn't a good solution at the moment."

"Things might only get better after the senior breaks through to the Nascent Soul using False Identity."

Within the Ze Realm Blessed Land, only the Four Great Families are qualified to be third-level scapegoats.

Those two families with Nascent Soul True Lord still alive would definitely not agree, so there was really no other choice.

From the Cai Family's perspective, the Optimal Solution was almost always to agree, while taking on the risks and seizing the Shang Family's assets.

Relatively speaking, they are scapegoats in the third layer, so the risk is not particularly high.

If they don't agree, it will incur the displeasure of the Gui Yun Sect.

They were also worried that the Shang Family would agree in exchange for the Gui Yun Sect's favoritism and protection towards the Shang Family.

That would be pleasing neither side, so it's better to be bolder and try to fight for a better future for the Lineage.

Master Cai did this partly out of necessity, but it was also a risky move.

However, he was always an adventurous person; otherwise, he wouldn't have considered genuinely cooperating with the Rebellious Immortal Alliance.

After all, he still doesn't know that Xiao Chen is not actually a cultivator from the Rebellious Immortal Alliance.

However, it's also hard to say whether Master Cai simply felt he was already on the Rebellious Immortal Alliance's pirate ship and decided to give up entirely.

Compared to such a serious matter as secretly colluding with the Rebellious Cultivator, being a potential scapegoat seems insignificant.

"Yes, don't worry, that day won't be far off."

Xiao Chen reassured him, "When Cai Youde breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, he will naturally be known to the outside world as Nascent Soul True Lord of the Cai Family."

"At that time, everything that should be there will be there, and nothing will be missing."

He was truly sincere about this.

Whether it was to better conceal their identity or out of a sense of reward.

Xiao Chen will sincerely try to help the Cai Family gain some benefits in the future.

Of course, if he could break through to the Nascent Soul stage as Nascent Soul within just a few years...

Then there's probably no need to actively seek it out; the benefits that come to us on our own initiative will certainly be plentiful.

Even if we can't say that everyone in the family will rise to prominence, the Cai Family will at least benefit greatly.

"Oh, speaking of which, there's something else I wanted to discuss with you."

Xiao Chen immediately relayed the information and possible speculations he had heard from Zhang Cunfu.

Then he asked, "I have something important to attend to recently, so I definitely won't have time to cultivate at the Gui Yun Sect."

"Is there any way to make a public appearance and still refuse their invitations without arousing too much suspicion?"

Upon hearing this request, even Master Cai couldn't help but frown.

Given their current situation, refusing the Gui Yun Sect's invitation was not an easy task.

Moreover, for ordinary cultivators, being able to cultivate in blessed lands is actually a great thing.

If there were another chance to go to the cultivation chamber within the Spirit Vein, that would be an even greater opportunity that would be fought over fiercely.

Even though the Cai Family has its own Spirit Gathering Formation, the cultivation effect is not as good as that of a cultivation room built within Spirit Vein.

In other words, normally they shouldn't have rejected such a gesture of goodwill at all; on the contrary, they should have happily accepted it.

If they refuse, that actually suggests there might be a problem.

There's really no good reason to avoid arousing suspicion.

"On my way here, I came up with a reason."

Xiao Chen asked, "I heard that in the past, many members of the Cai Family died unexpectedly, severely damaging the family's vitality."

"Let's not discuss the truth today."

"How about we say we're worried about leaving them outside and want to stay in the clan to cultivate?"

This reason is indeed plausible, because for cultivators, especially Genius Cultivator, safe growth is of paramount importance.

However, Master Cai felt that this reason was not quite appropriate.

He pondered for a few moments, then said tactfully, "Your idea is indeed quite good."

"There might be a few minor issues in certain aspects."

Before he could finish speaking...

Xiao Chen interrupted directly, "Well, it's just the two of us here, no need to be so polite. Just tell me what's on your mind."

"I've never been the type to care about these little details or get angry over them."

Master Cai immediately nodded. "What you say is true, senior. It's mainly because I'm getting old and my speech isn't very fluent."

"Incidentally, he's also always a bit timid when it comes to thinking things through."

"If we say we're worried about safety after going to the Gui Yun Sect, then conversely, we're questioning Gui Yun Sect's ability to guarantee order within the blessed land."

"It can't even protect the Core Disciple who can enter the training room."

"Although that's not what we meant, once it gets out, some unscrupulous people will inevitably misinterpret our meaning."

"They might even go and slander us to the Gui Yun Sect."

Master Cai's words were quite tactful; in fact, there was no need for outsiders to slander him. Gui Yun Sect itself should have developed doubts and dissatisfaction upon hearing them.

The main problem is that the Cai Family is in an absolutely weak position when facing the Gui Yun Sect.

So much so that it must be handled with extreme care.

So annoying!

Xiao Chen felt that it would be much more difficult for him to take the newly acquired Giant Elephant Soul Severing Spear and rush into the Gui Yun Sect to kill all three Nascent Soul cultivators inside.

That's probably easier than coming up with a damn reason here.

However, this False Identity was prepared for a future trip to the Holy City.

Unless you've made up your mind not to go to the Holy City again, and not to compete for the new Three Talents Spirit Strengthening Pill, or any other possible Breakthrough Spirit Item.

Otherwise, one should patiently make preparations beforehand to avoid revealing one's true colors in front of Spirit Transformation Venerable in the future.

Never mind, a small act of impatience could ruin a great plan.

Xiao Chen simply lay down on the rocking chair in the study, looking up at the exquisite patterns on the skylight. "It seems I'll still have to trouble you, sir, to help me think of a better reason."

"Of course, there's no need to push yourself too hard."

"If all else fails, we can just say I'm still in seclusion and postpone the breakthrough."

Master Cai first said that it wasn't hard work at all.

Then, frowning, he paced back and forth in the study, pondering possible solutions.

However, this reason is indeed not easy to find.

He paced back and forth for about 15 minutes, trying to come up with almost every excuse he had ever heard of, but still couldn't think of a suitable one.

Instead, Xiao Chen suddenly sat up. "Hey, I've got another idea."

"What do you think about us announcing to the public that I'm going to search for treasure in the Secret Realm?"

"This Secret Realm will probably open in about two months, so I need to get Secret Realm first. I won't have time to return to this blessed land until it's over."

That's right, what Xiao Chen was talking about was actually what he was planning to do next.

The only difference is that he is actually going to the Vast Sea Secret Realm.

However, nominally, he planned to announce that he was going to a certain Secret Realm in the New Cultivation World.

Of course, this idea requires an essential prerequisite. "In the next two months, will any suitable Secret Realm or ruins open for Golden Core cultivator to enter?"

Upon hearing this question, Master Cai paused for a moment.

After pondering for three breaths, he said with slight hesitation, "There is no such place in the Ze Realm Blessed Land or the surrounding area."

"Unless you travel thousands of miles to Dongsha Blessed Land, there happens to be a relic there that opens every year in late spring and early summer."

"However, the journey is long, and the situation within the ruins is complex, so we may encounter danger."