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Chapter 369: Wishing For A Hundred!

If someone were to follow the wine jar as it drifted along the Bombax River, they would eventually find themselves in an extremely well-hidden underwater cave. Then if they entered the cave, they would end up traveling through a long, narrow waterway and arrive at a strange pitch-black area where a mysterious force prevented all living creatures from approaching.

Whenever aquatic creatures entered this black area, they would disappear and then reappear at some corner upstream in the river. If they ventured further into this magical black hole... they would find an underwater cavern.

The cavern was filled with talismans of gold and silver colors. It looked like a cage where a monster had been sealed, but the only resident of this underwater cavern was an old man with disheveled hair, a dirty face, and raggedy clothes.

His messy hair and beard had almost completely covered his face. Peeking out from behind his hair, his pitch-black eyes shone brightly like stars, still burning with the will to survive. He looked like a cold-blooded beast that had gone mad from being trapped.

"Haa..."

The old man exhaled and placed the empty wine jar in his left hand on the ground. Then, treating the fingers on his left hand like a saber, he used them to slash his already cut and bruised right hand.

Sizzle.

His veins had almost dried up, but he still managed to squeeze out a few drops of blood into the wine jar. The blood immediately transformed into a black substance that exuded a chilling aura. The pain of forcing his blood out left him clenching his teeth in agony.

Something seemed to stir inside the wine jar, causing it to rock gently. The old man shoved the wine jar into the black hole in the wall with great force.

Boom.

As the wine jar was sent out, ripples flickered across the black hole.

That was when the old man finally lay down on the ground with satisfaction, his head dripping with sweat. He'd sent out another Spirit-Slaying Jar into the world.

The old man's name was Xuan Yinzi. He had once been a prominent and extremely powerful figure among the diabolical sects, capable of shaking up the whole world. Of his many titles, the most illustrious one was the Sect Leader of the Dark King Sect.

That's right. Xuan Yinzi used to lead the largest diabolical sect, the Dark King Sect. He had undoubtedly been the top figure among those in the diabolical sects. However, the glorious first half of his life started to decline when he took on a taciturn and reserved disciple.

That boy...

Just the thought of that disciple still had Xuan Yinzi gritting his teeth in rage.

Xuan Yinzi had imparted his divine arts to that disciple and even made the disciple his trusted assistant. He had no idea that the disciple had harbored ill intentions against him.

...

That disciple had somehow managed to secretly gain control over the True Form of Ksitigarbha. With its power, that disciple went on to snatch away Xuan Yinzi's control over the Great Dao of the Profound Darkness and became the new Dao Master of the Profound Darkness. That disciple then naturally became the Dark King Sect's new sect leader.

Xuan Yinzi's cultivation level fell miserably to the seventh and a half realm. On top of that, his disciple banished him, forbidding him from returning to the Dark King Sect in this life.

Nevertheless, Xuan Yinzi did not get discouraged. He wanted to reclaim everything he had lost, but that was impossible with his current cultivation level. He had to return to the highest level he had achieved in the past... and surpass it!

Consequently, he set his sights on the legendary Immortals' Storehouse. However, he got into a fight with someone for the map that had the location of the Immortals' Storehouse, and that person sealed him here at the cost of their life.

...

Apart from the talismans, the walls of the cavern were covered with horizontal strokes that Xuan Yinzi had drawn. He was unaware of the passage of time in this place, so he marked the days according to his qi-circulation cycles. There were tens of thousands of strokes on the wall; he'd been trapped there for a very long time.

Fortunately, he used to be a great drinker of liquor, and the wine he loved most was the peculiar Soul Wine, which was stored in earthen jars. So, he had numerous wine jars piled up like a mountain in his storage enchanted tool, and he used them to make the Soul-Slaying Jars.

After doing his utmost for several decades... Xuan Yinzi finally tore a small opening in the seal. It wasn't enough for him to escape, but he could send out the Soul-Slaying Jars that he'd made with his blood essence.

"The life of a seventh-realm Eminent One is worth trading several decades of my lifespan for..." Xuan Yinzi muttered. "But that's all I can do."

As long as the Soul-Slaying Jars went out, they would quickly capture remnant souls. Once they had accumulated enough power, the jars would then return to the cavern. If he could recover eighty percent of his power... then it would be an easy feat for him to break out of the seal through this small hole!

The person who had sealed Xuan Yinzi couldn't have gone far and had likely perished nearby. Once Xuan Yinzi got out of this cavern, he could easily search for the map to the Immortals' Storehouse.

Now, he just needed to send out as many Soul-Slaying Jars as possible and wait for the jars to return. Then he would be able to reach his peak cultivation level again!

His foundational qi had dried up a long time ago, and he had exhausted his vitality. The only usable energy he had left was the small amount of spiritual qi in his blood. Using that meager amount of spiritual qi, he was able to make around ten Soul-Slaying Jars a day. This was his limit.

He really wished he could make a hundred Soul-Slaying jars a day! Nevertheless, any more would be tantamount to suicide.

Even if only three jars returned every day, he would be able to escape within a year!

I, Xuan Yinzi, swear that once I get out, I will reclaim everything I lost!

...

"When will you be back?" Wen Yulong asked urgently.

"Not sure," Chu Liang answered. "It will depend on how things play out."

He was going to participate in an operation for the Dark King Sect. Diabolical operations were always unpredictable. Chu Liang might never return, or he might return the next day.

"The members of our sect who won the Fragrance of Enlightenment are all waiting anxiously for you to deliver the incense," Wen Yulong said, pressing for Chu Liang to take action.

A few days ago, Chu Liang had taken advantage of the rumors about him and Jiang Yuebai to promote the Fragrance of Enlightenment in the Mount Shu Sect. The incense quickly became extremely popular.

His promotional slogan was especially effective.

With the Fragrance of Enlightenment, everyone can have a Transcendent Spirit! With berries and incense, you'll live a long life!

Many people wanted to buy the Fragrance of Enlightenment, but Chu Liang didn't have enough stock to meet the demand. He had been waiting diligently by the Bombax River every night, but only ten wine-jar monsters would appear each day.

That meant there would only be ten Intoxicating Spirit Flowers each day, allowing Chu Liang to harvest forty to fifty Intoxicating Spirit Flower Leaves. Wen Yulong wouldn't even be able to produce five hundred sticks of the Fragrance of Enlightenment with that amount. Furthermore, it would take a long time for the next batch of Intoxicating Spirit Flowers to bloom because the Herbal Wood Spirit Powder couldn't be used indefinitely.

Five hundred sticks of incense might sound like a lot, but the Fragrance of Enlightenment couldn't be purchased one stick at a time. A cultivator needed to use at least ten for there to be a significant effect on their cultivation.

However, five hundred was Chu Liang's limit. He really wished he could kill a hundred each day! Nevertheless, there were never more than ten.

So, Chu Liang implemented a reservation system. All members of the Mount Shu Sect could put in a reservation to purchase the Fragrance of Enlightenment, and their names would go into a lucky draw. The winners of the lucky draw would get to purchase fifty sticks of Fragrance of Enlightenment.

Consequently, all of Mount Shu was waiting eagerly. Those who didn't win awaited the next draw, those who did waited for their shipment, and those who had already received their incense used it up very quickly and wanted more.

The craze over the Fragrance of Enlightenment even overshadowed the rumors about Chu Liang and Jiang Yuebai. Everyone forgot about how the Fragrance of Enlightenment was revealed; they just wanted to try it.

It was an aid in comprehending the Dao! Was there a stronger temptation for cultivators? There were extremely few treasures with such effects in the world, so this was the first time there was something that everyone in the sect had a chance of acquiring.

The berries that Chu Liang sold were popular too, but they were seen as more of a novelty item, whereas the Fragrance of Enlightenment was undoubtedly useful. This was why the sect members had a very different attitude to the latter.

However, the great enthusiasm of Chu Liang's fellow sect members left him feeling totally helpless. After all, Chu Liang couldn't split himself in two. Even if he used the Immortal Art: External Manifestation, he couldn't send his clones more than a thousand li away. The Intoxicating Spirit Flower Seeds would only be given as a reward if he killed the wine-jar monsters in person, but he couldn't easily abandon his rare undercover position in the White Bone Hall.

While Chu Liang was thinking about all that, almost ten top talents from various sects arrived at Silver Sword Peak. They had agreed in advance to meet on Mount Shu before leaving to converge with Ghost Face.

Of course, the veteran undercover agents Monk Pushan and Luo Yao—the core members of Chu Liang undercover team—were there too. They had become quite familiar with Silver Sword Peak, yet every time they went there, they would be amazed to find that it was slightly different from before. It was currently the off-season for the Berry Wonderland, but if Pushan and Luo Yao had gone to visit earlier, they would have been even more shocked.

Next up was Zhuge Guanxing from the Fog-Hidden Mountain of Immortals. The beautiful young man smiled, and his eyes narrowed into narrow crescent slits, making him seem rather astute.

As Zhuge Guanxing glanced around Silver Sword Peak, he grinned and said, "I heard that Mount Shu had a new fruit garden, but I didn't expect it to be this large.

"Oh? A sixth-realm Golden-Furred Hou? Well, that's impressive.

"Is that Senior Di Nufeng's residence? Let's avoid it."

Ji Lingyu had arrived with the four core disciples of the Great Astral Sect. This runaway youth was actually missing home, but her family hadn't come looking for her. Returning on her own would be too embarrassing, so she decided to stay with this group for now.

The core disciples of the Great Astral Sect showed no signs of discord. The time for the most important part and most brutal competition of the trial was soon approaching, but their bond remained strong.

They all respected their eldest senior brother Ren Hongdao, cared deeply for their junior sister Tang Shi, fully trusted the wise[1] and courageous Yun Chaoxian, and greatly admired the skills of Li Fujian's second uncle.

Chu Liang was not surprised by that. It was well known that the Great Astral Sect was of one mind, so they wouldn't have any problems with unity.

Zhang Chen, the last member of the undercover squad, wasn't there.

"Brother Zhang asked me to apologize to everyone," Ren Hongdao said. "The academy assigned him an important mission at the last minute, so he can't join us for this operation."

Chu Liang felt a bit regretful about that. The head disciple of the Ascending Dragon Academy had left a deep impression on Chu Liang. He had a feeling that Zhang Chen was the strongest among them. Even if Zhang Chen wasn't the best fighter, he was definitely the most reliable.

"No matter. We have many people in our group; Ghost Face shouldn't mind that we're one less," Chu Liang replied.

It was common for diabolical sects to gain or lose a member anyway.

1. Lol no, this isn't a translation mistake. It could also be interpreted as “resourceful”, but considering the way the author likes to joke around, it should probably be “wise”. ☜