Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 479 The Multiple Impacts of the Great Sweep (Part 1)

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

During this time, he has been focusing on seclusion and cultivation in the Black Iron Cave, rapidly condensing his 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 a clear mind, it's hard not to feel that it's a bit too boring.

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 seclusion for more than three months on Ji'e 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 lunar eclipses, it still felt quite different from being alone in seclusion in their cave.

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

With the help of the Devouring Spirit and Essence Technique, Xiao Chen condensed a total of 1,514 strands of true essence in one go.

However, it also absorbed more than 15 million low-grade spirit stones.

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 late stage of the Nascent Soul realm."

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

"I feel like I can start preparing for breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage now."

For other newly promoted True Lords, this question may be somewhat distant.

But for him, it seems a bit too late to start thinking about it now.

After all, normally, a major event like breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage requires at least 20 or 30 years of preparation, if not 100 or 200 years in advance.

"We also need to prepare for wood-elemental Dao crystals or similar spiritual items as soon as possible."

Xiao Chen has gradually discovered that as his cultivation level improves, the importance of spiritual objects for enlightenment becomes increasingly prominent.

This could become a significant factor influencing whether a breakthrough is 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 up and adjusted my condition.

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

"Moreover, half a year has passed, and the great purge in the new cultivation world should have ended by now."

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

"Especially my fully fused magical artifact, it's been almost a year and a half, it should be finished by now."

Xiao Chen had been eyeing this custom-made spiritual artifact for some time now.

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

Having more handy weapons is definitely better than having none.

After all, most people wouldn't lack custom-made spiritual artifacts. There are probably only a handful of True Monarchs who can break through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage but don't yet have their own custom-made spiritual artifact.

But this was also an unexpected event.

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

This time is not only not late, but it can even be said to be very early.

Ultimately, it was because his cultivation speed was so fast that everything else seemed to be a step 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 and flew more than 100,000 miles to the east in one breath.

Finally, they found a rock to stand on and then activated the Dimensional Sorcerer's Emblem after a long time.

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

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 energy is too thin, and I always feel like I'm about to trigger altitude sickness."

When Xiao Chen last came here, he was still in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

However, this time he had already reached the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and his cultivation and spiritual sense range had been further enhanced, making him more sensitive to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him.

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

"Why didn't you just absorb all the spiritual energy in the world? If you're so capable, then don't leave any behind."

Xiao Chen couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath, then walked out of the small mountain valley and headed towards Guiyun 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 fields or spirit mines enclosed by spirit-gathering arrays, it is rare to see cultivators active in the outside world.

After noticing this, Xiao Chen paid attention and did some mental calculations, discovering that the number of travelers now on the road 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 find them.

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

We arrived at the outskirts of Guiyunfang 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 cultivators leading the team guarding the gate and checking those entering and exiting from their left and right sides.

What are these people thinking?

Even though they had already determined from the magical traces left at the battle scene that the person who killed Hua Jian Zhenjun was also a Nascent Soul Zhenjun.

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

Surely they don't really expect to catch someone with such a simple 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 poster hanging at the entrance.

Sure enough, it was the most prominent and largest wanted poster at the very top.

It remains a bounty for the 'Broken Sword Demon Lord'.

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

The situation below has changed drastically. Not only have dozens of new wanted posters been added, but nearly half of them are for Golden Core cultivators.

Xiao Chen noticed that it even included a cultivator surnamed Wu who originally ran a spirit medicine shop in the market.

According to the wanted notice, he secretly colluded with the Rebel Immortal Alliance, supplying them with a large amount of spiritual medicine, and violently resisted arrest after the incident.

Another wanted poster was hanging next to it.

The person arrested above is a manager surnamed Yan hired by the cultivator surnamed Wu, who has the cultivation level of the late Golden Core stage.

"Wait, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator still has the surname Yan?"

Xiao Chen glanced at the detailed description below the wanted poster: "Originally belonging to the Hundred Pills Pavilion, isn't this the place where Chen Fan tested medicine?"

He had met the other person once before, but he never expected that he would see him again now, only on a wanted poster.

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

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

"Fellow Daoist Xu, I heard someone outside say that Fellow Daoist Wu seems to have really joined the Reverse Immortal Alliance. Do you think this is believable?"

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

"Sigh~, back then everyone said that Fellow Daoist Wu had gotten involved with Guiyun Sect, but who could have known that he would end up like this."

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

That fellow Daoist Xu seemed to have anticipated this: "I told everyone long ago that this industry is murky."

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

"Fellow Daoist Wu didn't believe me and thought I was lying to him. But you've seen what happened now. Anyone who dared to open a spirit medicine shop was labeled a heretic."

Oh?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen glanced at the wanted posters again and indeed found that nearly half of the Golden Core cultivators 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~, as a result, only Shangjiafang in the city is still selling spiritual herbs, and the prices are generally more than double what they used to be. The Shang family of Hongqiu is really damn greedy!"

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

Fellow Daoist Xu sneered, "It's nothing more than giving those above a bad reputation."

"It must be that during the previous sweep, a big shot from the Holy City in the special envoy delegation took a liking to our local medicinal herb business."

"So he found an excuse to sweep up all the other spirit medicine shops in the city, and also took away all the spirit medicines they had on hand, 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 have all gone up in price, none of them have dared to double their price directly."

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

At this point, both of them were somewhat indignant.

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

Xiao Chen was also greatly surprised after hearing this.

Unexpectedly, the so-called great sweep in the Holy City not only targeted the Reverse 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 cultivators on the wanted list to join the Reverse Immortal Alliance.

No wonder the Holy City clearly holds an absolute dominant position and has an absolute advantage in power.

However, the rebellious cultivators who secretly resisted here were still repeatedly suppressed, and even after one group was arrested, another group would appear, as if they could never be eliminated.

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

Becoming a heretic will eventually lead to being caught and executed, but not becoming a heretic 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 courage 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 a 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 Guiyun 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 massive sweep! It has turned Guiyun 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 Reverse Immortal Alliance at all.

Instead, it seems more like they are using the pretext of eliminating unorthodox cultivators to oppress low-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.

This is a bit strange.

The Cai family is one of the four great families in the blessed land of Zejing.

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 fully fused spiritual artifact, 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 were injured.

Look this way!

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

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

"How did it get into this state?"

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

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

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

The kid 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 tell you in detail about 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-type spiritual 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 Guiyun Sect's internal affairs elder to two lavish meals, and then bribed the boy beside him.

Then, they secretly sent him that fourth-tier water-type 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, Guiyun Sect also began to cooperate with the Holy City envoy and the newly promoted Nascent Soul Venerable to conduct a thorough investigation.

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

Although it was only a temporary appointment during the large-scale crackdown, it made his situation much safer.

From being someone who was panicking and worried about being arrested, they became henchmen who followed the special envoys around all day, responsible for rushing out to capture the rebels.

Then, just two months ago, he was accidentally injured in a battle where he resisted arrest.

So things became even easier from then on. He could naturally hide away to recover from his injuries, as long as he took good care of the ledger.

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 of the big sweep.

Even so, Zhang Cunfu is already very satisfied.

At least he has survived the major crackdown on Guiyunfang City.

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 'Guiyun Sect'. His name is on the back.

"Getting this is like getting a talisman."

Zhang Cunfu said with a big smile, "Of course, this is just a small talisman at best. My real talisman is always you, senior."

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

His last statement was correct, in every sense of the word.

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

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

The first time they said they would smooth things over, they actually managed to suppress the matter of the lost Yellow-level cultivation technique.

The second time he said he wanted to 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 Monarch, within the Guiyun Sect?

Hmm... seems a bit troublesome, and also 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 Guiyun 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 mess caused by the small group of envoys who had come specifically to investigate the truth behind Hua Jian Zhenjun'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 rogue cultivators from the wasteland, and beheaded them as a warning.

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

In reality, it was a huge miscarriage of justice, a disguised form of killing innocent people and taking 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 in Zejing Blessed Land over the past six months.

The first thing is that the special envoy delegation for this large-scale operation was exceptionally large.

In addition to the newly promoted Venerable One who led the way as usual, the original twenty-four Nascent Soul True Monarchs who accompanied him were directly expanded to fifty-eight!
That's more than double the amount!

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

Even the properties and members of the four major families, as well as the disciples of the Guiyun Sect, must be subject to investigation.

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

During that period, a mound of human heads was erected at the entrance of Guiyunfang Market.

In other words, the area of ​​Zejing Blessed Land is actually very 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 Reverse Immortal Alliance was indeed forced out, a genuine Nascent Soul True Monarch.

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

However, they happened to run into a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator who was personally leading the search team, and to make matters worse, the other party 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 destroyed back then, and it wasn't until last month that the original houses were repaired."

Zhang Cunfu seemed to still have some lingering fear when he said this: "The sixteen Guiyun 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 senior who defied the odds... that senior fought desperately to break through."

"I heard that despite being pursued and intercepted by several True Lords, they managed to break through and escape to a place more than 5,000 miles away."

"It looked like there was hope of escaping."

"As a result, that Venerable One actually delivered a punch from a thousand miles away, ending the battle directly."

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

"But now the hills over there are missing a piece, and Diecui Mountain has been turned into a super big deep pit."

"It is said that the pit is over a hundred feet deep and over a thousand feet long. Just looking at it is enough to scare a person to death."

"It's a pity that I still need to 'recuperate my injuries' in the market, otherwise I really want to go there and see with my own eyes the traces left by the Venerable One's attack."

"I heard that the Guiyun 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.

(End of this chapter)