Black Journey to the West: The Imposter Star Lord

Chapter 81 He still has to thank us (4th update of 10,000 words daily)

This can be considered an opportunity for them to participate in the competition for the incense.

In addition, everyone received 30 points, Chen Xiang received an extra 40 points, Cao Xing received 60 points, and Wu Peng surprisingly received the highest, with an extra 80 points.

"Oh dear, I don't want points, I want opportunities! You wicked god, you can't be so biased!"

Wu Peng collapsed in front of Yang Wenhui's sculpture, crying his heart out and rolling on the ground.

Although he wasn't sick, he still didn't have any opportunities. Seeing his fellow disciples looking radiant and their cultivation greatly improved made him feel worse than if he were killed.

Xing Haitao and the others originally wanted to teach him a lesson, but seeing his appearance, they felt embarrassed to do so.

"Someone has died!"

Just then, Chen Xiang suddenly raised his head and said with a cold face.

If someone dies, it is considered elimination, and the eliminated person must compensate for the full amount of losses and penalties, which will fall on Chen Xiang's shoulders.

The deduction of a full 30,000 taels of silver immediately alerted Chen Xiang.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked around.

"Senior Brother Zhou! Senior Brother Zhou!!"

Just then, someone saw Zhou Hai lying motionless on the ground. Upon closer inspection, they found that Zhou Hai was lifeless. They touched him with their fingers and found that he was already cold.

"Dead!"

Everyone was stunned and looked at each other, never expecting that Zhou Hai had actually been tormented to death by illness.

"Senior Brother Zhou, why did you leave so suddenly?"

Wu Peng rushed over and collapsed onto Zhou Hai's body, wailing loudly.

No, you can cry all you want, but why did you take Zhou Hai's magical artifact?

Everyone looked down on Wu Peng's little tricks, but no one bothered to investigate further.

After all, who would offend a shameless and ruthless person who's willing to risk their life for the sake of something belonging to a dead person?

So he simply let Wu Peng search Zhou Hai's body until there was nothing left, and then watched as Wu Peng carried the body out, dug a hole, and buried Zhou Hai.

Of course, there's another side to the story: even though Wu Peng had taken their money before, he ultimately saved their lives.

Even though they really wanted to tear Wu Peng to pieces at the time, after surviving the ordeal, they were still somewhat grateful to him.

At this point, the latest rankings also appeared.

Currently, Shangfang Temple ranks among the top three due to its large number of visitors, followed by Sanqing Temple and Baolin Temple.

Further on are Qiankun Cave, Yalong Cave, Guangyuan Temple, and Lingsheng Mansion.

However, this ranking is only the visible figures. In terms of the amount of capital invested, Ling Sheng Fu, which is ranked lower, actually has the highest amount.

As for Shangfangguan, many people now believe that their ranking is merely a result of cheating, lacking real strength. They believe that if they encounter the main force of other teams, they will inevitably be exposed as weak.

At this moment, a new bullet screen popped up in front of everyone: [The second round of the incense-grabbing competition is about to begin]

As the barrage of comments appeared, the sky above was suddenly torn apart, and countless golden rays pierced through the clouds, falling towards the earth.

These golden lights ranged in size from millstones to fragments of meteors.

It quickly plummeted into the surrounding mountain streams, dense forests, and rivers.

After it landed, it flashed with golden light, which could be clearly seen from a hundred meters away.

[Hint: Collect incense fragments to fuse with incense. The more incense you collect, the higher your score. There is a six-hour deadline; the bottom three sects will be eliminated.]

A golden light fell before the crowd, transforming into an incense burner. All they needed to do was toss the incense they had found into the burner.

The Fragrance Competition will officially begin after a cup of tea's time; please be prepared.

Seeing the barrage of comments popping up in front of them, Wu Peng and the others couldn't help but frown. This level was clearly going to involve competing with the main forces of other factions.

This is not something that Shangfangguan (上观) excels at.

Just then, a chanting sound was heard from afar.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when practicing the profound Prajnaparamita—"

The chanting grew louder and louder, as if it were being sung right next to my ear.

"That voice!"

As the group walked out of the Five Plagues Temple, they saw the Buddha's light shining brightly in the distant forest, bringing auspicious light to all directions.

"Another Golden Core cultivator!" Chen Xiang's face was grim.

There are more and more Golden Core stage cultivators. I have now broken through to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, but I am still far from the Golden Core stage.

I've had enough luck, but—I don't have that much time left.

Chen Xiang unconsciously clenched his fists.

Cao Xing, standing to the side, was also frowning. He had already made plans in his mind. If things came to a last resort, he would recite a secret incantation. Even if he was not strong enough, the three gods would surely help him secretly.

This is also the secret to why he can always remain calm.

But such an outcome would only leave Qing'e with the impression that she is utterly hopeless.

If possible, Cao Xing hoped to gain some advantages for himself. Only by letting Qing'e see that his true self did have certain potential would he have the opportunity to participate in the gods' projects in the future.

Even if it's just as good as being a pawn of a star lord, I'd still like to get a share of the spoils.

However, he is currently only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and it is impossible for him to break through to the Golden Core stage in a short period of time.

Just as Cao Xing was feeling troubled.

"younger brother!"

Bixia's voice came quietly: "I can break through to the Golden Core stage, but I'm afraid—it will cause too much trouble."

"real!"

Cao Xing's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected his older sister to cultivate so quickly.

Strange, in theory, my physical constitution should be better than my older sister's, so why is my cultivation speed slower than hers?

However, let's put this issue aside for now. Since my sister is confident in breaking through to the Golden Core stage, that would be the best outcome.

The two have a Heart-to-Heart Mantra, so there's no need to expose the elder sister. With the Heart-to-Heart Mantra, plus the magic treasure [Azure Gold Ruyi] and the Pure Yuan Yin Spirit in his possession, he has so many means to protect himself. Even if he is at the Golden Core stage, he might still have a chance.

As for the news of my sister's breakthrough—

"Fellow disciples!"

At this moment, Chen Xiang suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention.

Chen Xiang then bowed deeply to the crowd with his hands clasped in respect.

This action startled everyone, who were wondering why Chen Xiang suddenly wanted to perform such a grand salute.

Chen Xiang then spoke up, saying, "Fellow disciples, I must apologize that I cannot participate in this incense-grabbing competition."

"Huh?? Senior Brother Chen, you must be joking. We're already not strong enough. Are you asking us to go up here ourselves?" Zhang Jue asked in surprise.

Xing Haitao added, "Senior Brother Chen, you are the last disciple of Master Jin Yuan. Without your help, we might not be able to win many incense offerings."

Faced with the crowd's doubts, Chen Xiang calmly explained, "Fellow disciples, please be patient and listen to me."

"Two people have already broken through to the Golden Core stage, and there may be more in the future. If we don't have a Golden Core expert among us to help us, even if we manage to get through the second stage, we'll probably just have to wait to die in the third stage. So please allow me some time, fellow disciples. I will definitely live up to your expectations and cultivate to the Golden Core stage."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately fell silent.

Chen Xiang is right; there is no Golden Core stage expert in charge.

Given that they were already at a disadvantage, even if they managed to hold out until the third level, their chances of successfully seizing the incense in the end were extremely slim.

"Old Cao, what do you think of that?"

Wu Peng walked to Cao Xing's side and asked in a low voice.

"He's right."

Cao Xing surprisingly agreed with Chen Xiang's words and stepped forward to say, "Senior Brother Chen is right. I agree with Senior Brother Chen. Let Senior Brother Chen break through here, and we can compete for incense offerings, even if we fall behind in points this round."

"Huh!"

Cao Xing's initiative to speak up for him surprised Chen Xiang. When Chen Xiang looked at Cao Xing again, he suddenly felt that the kid seemed much more pleasing to the eye.

"Sister, you and Chen Xiang should break through together! Let him cover for you."

Cao Xing was unwilling to reveal his sister's existence unless absolutely necessary.

With Chen Xiang standing in front of them, the two of them breaking through together will only be perceived by people as Chen Xiang's special physique causing a greater anomaly.

"Okay!" Bixia agreed, but then asked doubtfully, "But will he agree?"

"Haha, he should thank us."

"I agree!"

Seeing that Cao Xing agreed, Wu Peng immediately raised his hand to show his agreement, followed closely by Zhang Jue and Xing Haitao.

Seeing this, Lu Hao, Yang Shengshui, and Li Tong also stood up to express their approval.

With everyone's unanimous agreement, Chen Xiang felt a sense of relief, believing that his luck was on his side and he was sure to succeed in breaking through.

After a brief discussion, the group concluded that the larger golden lights would inevitably be the most sought-after targets, and it would be best for them to avoid getting too close to prevent encountering the main forces of other powerful groups.

Everyone spread out and focused their attention on the scattered golden lights.

With their current points, little by little, they can maintain a mid-level position even if they drop two or three places in the final rankings, and won't be eliminated.

Just in case, everyone spared no expense, renting high-grade magical artifacts, talismans, and recovery pills, arming themselves to the teeth.

Of course, this amount of money was enough to make Chen Xiang feel the pinch for a while, but compared to the importance of his Core Formation, it was nothing.

Feeling relieved, Chen Xiang even bought a set of talisman arrays and set them up around the Five Plague Temple.

Now it remains to be seen how much incense offerings everyone can bring back.

You've spent so much money, so please don't let me down!

Chen Xiang took a deep breath, preparing to return to the temple and begin his secluded cultivation.

To his surprise, when he turned around, Cao Xing bumped right into him.

"Jingle bells—"

A pair of empty pill bottles rolled out of Cao Xing's sleeve. Looking at these bottles of top-grade Qi-stabilizing pills, Chen Xiang's lips twitched uncontrollably.

A quick glance revealed more than ten.

My money! Is this guy a reincarnation of a Pixiu?

Chen Xiang felt helpless, but he couldn't help but be curious about Cao Xing. Logically speaking, after consuming so many top-grade Qi-stabilizing pills, even someone with average talent should have reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. How come this Junior Brother Cao in front of him only looked to be at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage?

Was he deliberately hiding his true abilities?

Well, even if he's deliberately hiding his talents, so be it.

You'd better bring me back a lot of incense offerings. Once I break through to the Golden Core stage, I'll have a way to make you vomit up double what you've swallowed.

"Oh dear, Senior Brother Chen, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Cao Xing quickly squatted down and picked up the pill bottle on the ground.

"It's alright, it's a blessing that Junior Brother can eat so much. As long as we don't waste any, I'll take care of whatever Junior Brother eats," Chen Xiang said with a hearty expression.

"Sigh, senior brother, I just bought this bottle of pills not long ago. I was thinking of finishing them all, but there are two left. Please eat them first."

Cao Xing picked up a bottle of pills, shook it gently, and found two pills inside. He quickly stood up and handed it to Chen Xiang.

Chen Xiang took it, opened it, and sure enough, there were two more top-grade Qi-stabilizing pills.

Each one was worth over a thousand taels of silver, and Chen Xiang couldn't bear to waste it, so he immediately put it into his sleeve: "Thank you, junior brother."