txolops Chapter 104 A Terrible Omen! I won't go out no matter who invites me!
Chapter 104 A Terrible Omen! I won't go out no matter who invites me!
A vast collection of fantasy novels.
Lin Chuan has become one of the most active hunters in the Jinguyuan camp.
He would leave the camp every two or three days, and each time he would return fully loaded.
With daily divination to predict good fortune and avoid misfortune, he was always able to accurately avoid danger and find lone or worthy demonic cultivators to fight.
Whether it was ambushing and launching sneak attacks, crushing them head-on, or releasing the Blood Jade Spiders to assist from the sidelines—in three months, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators from the six major demonic sects who died at his hands reached forty-three!
Forty-three Foundation Establishment cultivators!
If this number were to get out, it would be enough to shock the entire Jinguyuan camp.
It should be noted that an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator is considered quite capable if he can kill three to five people in three months.
Killing ten people makes one a top hunter, and killing twenty is enough to make one famous in the region.
He killed forty-three people.
But of course he wouldn't be foolish enough to report it truthfully.
Each time he returned to camp, he would only report that he had killed one person, or occasionally two.
After three months, he reported only ten kills.
Even so, the achievements of ten Foundation Establishment cultivators are already quite remarkable.
After all, although there are many Foundation Establishment cultivators on Jingu Plain, only a few can consistently hunt them.
Killing ten people in three months is a remarkable achievement, enough to make him stand out among the disciples of Huangfeng Valley, without being shocking or arousing suspicion.
The storage bags and magical artifacts of the demonic cultivators he actually killed all quietly ended up in his pocket.
……
That day, Yu Chaohai suddenly came to see him.
"Junior Brother Lin, pack your things and come with me. Master has come to the camp today as well; I'll take you to pay your respects."
Lin Chuan was not surprised to hear this.
Because the divination this morning already showed—
Today's divination result: Minor good fortune.
[The divination reads: Today, you went to pay your respects to Master Li Huayuan and received his praise, being bestowed with a mid-level intermediate spell, "Thousand Blades Technique."]
"Come with me."
Yu Chaohai turned and led the way.
Lin Chuan followed him through rows of stone houses and tents, and arrived at a stone house that was several times larger than the residences of ordinary disciples and was guarded by dedicated personnel.
A person stood at the entrance of the stone house.
The man was of medium build and had an ordinary face, but at this moment he resembled a loyal guard, standing watch outside the house.
Lin Chuan recognized him—his fourth senior brother, Song Meng.
"Second Senior Brother, Eighth Junior Brother." Song Meng nodded and greeted the two upon seeing them.
"Fourth Junior Brother, is Master here?" Yu Chaohai asked.
"Yes, Master's wife is here too. Please wait a moment while I go in and announce your arrival." Song Meng turned and pushed open the door, returning a moment later to say, "Master wants you to come in."
Lin Chuan and Yu Chaohai straightened their robes and pushed open the door to enter.
The interior is simply furnished, but much more spacious than an ordinary stone house.
Seated in the main seat was an elderly man dressed in a simple blue robe, none other than Li Huayuan.
Beside him sat a woman dressed in elegant palace attire, with her hair styled in a high bun, possessing a beautiful face and gentle temperament—his teacher's wife.
"Disciple Lin Chuan (Yu Chaohai) greets Master and Mistress!" The two bowed in unison.
"Get up." Li Huayuan raised his hand to help Lin Chuan up, his gaze falling on Lin Chuan with undisguised satisfaction and approval in his eyes. "Lin Chuan, I've only just arrived at the camp when I heard you've achieved some impressive results. You've killed ten Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Demonic Path in three months? Hmm?"
"It was all just luck," Lin Chuan said respectfully. "This disciple was just lucky; I only encountered ordinary people."
"Just lucky?" Li Huayuan laughed. "Killing ten Foundation Establishment cultivators in three months? If that's lucky, then there would be lucky every day on the battlefield. You don't need to be modest; I know what I'm doing."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Yu Chaohai and Lin Chuan, and said earnestly, "I have many disciples, but few can truly achieve great things. Yu Chaohai, you have been in the late Foundation Establishment stage for many years, your foundation is solid, and you have a good chance of breaking through to Core Formation. Lin Chuan, you have made extremely rapid progress, your temperament is calm, and you are decisive in combat, so you also have a great future. Both of you must continue to work hard."
"Disciples will follow Master's teachings," the two said in unison.
Li Huayuan nodded, took out a light blue jade slip from his storage bag, and casually tossed it to Lin Chuan.
"Take this spell and study it. I don't have anything good to give you, consider it a reward for your achievements this time."
Lin Chuan took the jade slip, scanned it with his divine sense, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Thousand Blades Technique" is a mid-level spell that can condense countless blades to attack enemies in a devastating barrage.
When cultivated to its peak, a thousand blades can be unleashed simultaneously, making it difficult for even the defensive magic weapons of cultivators of the same level to withstand them.
Li Huayuan was notoriously stingy throughout the entire Yellow Maple Valley.
It's not easy to get anything out of him.
This intermediate-level spell is definitely not cheap, and it's clear that he genuinely wants to cultivate Lin Chuan as his prized disciple.
"Thank you so much, Master!" Lin Chuan said sincerely.
"Alright, go down. Be careful on the battlefield." Li Huayuan waved his hand.
The two said their goodbyes and left.
……
Back in his stone house, Lin Chuan took out the jade slip again and examined it carefully.
"Finally, I've been generous this once." He smiled and put the jade slip away.
However, he has no interest in practicing such advanced intermediate spells right now.
Currently, his main focus is on the Great Evolution Technique and the Undying Golden Body, and his daily cultivation time is already quite limited. Although the Thousand Blade Technique is excellent, it can only be put aside for now, and he can study it again when he has more time later.
He sat down cross-legged and continued to cultivate the Great Evolution Technique.
……
The next morning.
Lin Chuan opened his eyes right on time, and golden light appeared before him.
However, when he saw the contents of the divination, his pupils suddenly contracted, and a layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out on his back!
Today's divination result: Very inauspicious.
[The divination reads: Today, you accepted Yu Chaohai's invitation to hunt demonic cultivators outside the camp. However, in a canyon, you encountered a demonic cultivator in the early Core Formation stage who dared to attack in broad daylight, breaking the rules! Although you summoned your Bloodline Flood Dragon, which had recovered about 50% of its injuries, to fight, the Core Formation cultivator's abilities far exceeded your expectations. In the end, you fled severely injured, while Yu Chaohai... his fate is unknown.]
"What?!"
Lin Chuan suddenly stood up, his expression changing drastically.
Core Formation cultivator!
In this Golden Drum Plain, the Core Formation cultivators on both sides have always had a tacit understanding—to fight at night and not to take action during the day, leaving the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators to fight.
This is an unwritten rule to prevent Core Formation cultivators from taking action during the day, causing large-scale casualties on one side and triggering an uncontrollable all-out war.
But rules are rules, and there are always crazy people who don't follow them.
If one were to encounter a Core Formation stage early-stage cultivator who doesn't follow the rules...
Lin Chuan's mind raced.
The Bloodline Flood Dragon has recovered about 50% of its injuries. With the strength of a level 5 demon beast, it can barely contend with a cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation, but it definitely cannot last long.
Even with the Blood Jade Spider and numerous magical artifacts as trump cards, he would still find it difficult to withstand the direct onslaught from a Core Formation cultivator.
The divination indicates "serious injury," which is already a stroke of luck.
Just then—
"Bang bang bang!"
A noise came from outside the stone house, accompanied by Yu Chaohai's voice: "Junior Brother Lin? Are you there?"
Lin Chuan felt a chill run down his spine and pushed open the door to go out.
Sure enough, Yu Chaohai was standing outside the door with a smile on his face.
"Junior Brother Lin, I only learned of your formidable combat prowess after hearing Master's praise yesterday. Killing ten Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Demonic Path in three months—truly remarkable!" Yu Chaohai laughed heartily. "Why don't you join me today to hunt down demonic cultivators? Let me witness your skill in slaying them!"
Lin Chuan's heart sank; they had indeed come.
He took a deep breath, calmly cupped his hands, and said, "Second Senior Brother's hospitality is too kind of me to refuse. However, I have other important matters to attend to today and cannot go out. Another day, definitely another day!"
"Something else important?" Yu Chaohai frowned slightly, clearly surprised. "What is it?"
"Uh... some personal matters, in short, I really can't go out today." Lin Chuan could only give a vague answer.
Upon hearing this, Yu Chaohai's smile faded slightly, and a hint of disappointment, even displeasure, flashed in his eyes.
In his view, it was a sign of respect that he, as the second senior brother, took the initiative to invite his junior brother to join his team.
The junior brother actually refused, which was quite disrespectful.
"In that case, let's do it next time." Yu Chaohai's tone was a little indifferent as he turned to leave.
"Senior Brother Yu!" Lin Chuan suddenly called out to him.
Yu Chaohai paused, turned around to look at him, his eyes questioning.
Lin Chuan's mind raced.
What should I do?
He couldn't very well say, "I predicted that you would encounter a Core Formation cultivator today, and you would die if you went there," could he? Whether Yu Chaohai believed him or not was another matter; the key point was that his secret would be exposed.
But not save them?
Although I didn't interact with this second senior brother much, he was generous and righteous, and he took good care of his fellow disciples.
His master, Li Huayuan, also valued him, saying that he had a good chance of breaking through to the Core Formation stage.
If we just stand by and watch him go to his death...
Lin Chuan frowned.
After a moment, he sighed softly.
"Fine, I'll save him this once."
"Senior Brother Yu, wait a moment!" Lin Chuan said.
Yu Chaohai stopped and looked at him with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong?"
Lin Chuan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior Brother, I originally intended to ask Master about some cultivation matters today. However, since Second Senior Brother is here today, I would like to... ask Senior Brother for some cultivation insights from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage to the late Foundation Establishment stage. Senior Brother has advanced to the late stage for many years, so you must have rich experience. I wonder if you could offer some guidance?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Chaohai was slightly taken aback, but the displeasure on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by a smile.
It turns out that Junior Brother Lin wasn't being disrespectful; he genuinely wanted to learn about cultivation.
He's the kind of person who loves to teach others.
He always gave his fellow disciples guidance on cultivation without holding anything back.
Lin Chuan was so earnestly asking for advice at this moment, so naturally he couldn't refuse, much less he would refuse.
"What's so difficult about that?"
Yu Chaohai laughed and walked back. "Come on, let's go inside and talk. Since you want to ask me, I'll explain it to you properly."
The middle to late stages of Foundation Establishment are both difficult and easy, depending on the circumstances...
Once inside the stone house, Yu Chaohai began to speak at length.
From the key to accumulating magical power, to the techniques for expanding meridians, to the methods for sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and even breaking through bottlenecks...
Yu Chaohai truly lived up to his reputation as Li Huayuan's strongest disciple. He was experienced and his explanations were detailed, and many of his viewpoints greatly benefited Lin Chuan.
As Lin Chuan listened, he nodded and asked questions from time to time, showing that he was eager to learn.
Time slips away unnoticed.
One hour, two hours.
Three hours...
Finally, most of the day has passed.
Yu Chaohai, his throat dry from talking, took a sip of spiritual tea and smiled, "That's about it. Junior Brother Lin has good comprehension; he should be able to grasp the essence. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me."
"Thank you for your guidance, Second Senior Brother!" Lin Chuan stood up and solemnly bowed his hands in thanks.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Most of the day has passed, and that "major calamity" should have been avoided.
Lin Chuan felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
Yu Chaohai got up to say goodbye, and Lin Chuan saw him to the door.
Watching Yu Chaohai's departing figure, Lin Chuan's gaze deepened:
"Perhaps, this action today can add a Core Formation cultivator to Yellow Maple Valley in the future..."