Chapter 109: Super Rich, Eight Extremes Divinity Crystal!

Crack!

Dark clouds roiled, electric snakes wandered!

Zhang Lianhao, the moment he sensed the Niu Mo's aura erupting, shot out from the Town Temple Office building, unleashing the power of the Illusory Appearance, and sped across the road.

When he arrived, he saw that hulking figure, like a mountain, with double pupils flowing with golden smoke, who gave him a cold, indifferent glance.

He seemed utterly unperturbed and unafraid by his appearance.

Zhang Lianhao narrowed his eyes.

He is an official, the Niu Mo…… is a thief!

He wasn't afraid of him, even releasing his aura, as if he had been waiting specifically for his arrival!

Right after he appeared, he plunged into darkness and shot away—this shows he never even regarded the Town Temple Office, it's practically a provocation.

Although the Niu Mo's eyes, overflowing with golden smoke, showed no emotion.

But his actions and behavior were undoubtedly provocative.

"He knows the Town Temple Office is investigating him… so he displays this attitude to show he fears nothing? After killing, he still provokes—truly a lawless outlaw……"

Zhang Lianhao's expression showed neither joy nor sorrow; he tapped his toes, and his figure shot out like a goshawk, leaping over the courtyard below that resembled hell.

He landed on the long street and gave chase.

The Niu Mo…… since he dared to appear, he even dared to provoke the Town Temple Office.

Zhang Lianhao naturally wouldn't let this opportunity to catch the Niu Mo slip by.

He possessed Illusory Appearance cultivation, his martial arts had reached the level of a Late-stage Grandmaster, his martial prowess and divinity were both formidable; placed in Jin Guang Prefecture City, though he couldn't compare to the old monsters of the five great clans and sects, he still stood at the peak.

Boom—

The spring wind instantly turned scorching, his violent qi and blood blazing like a furnace within his body, true qi rampaging and surging; as he fell onto the long street, in an instant countless afterimages were dragged out.

But he soon halted his steps, because he had lost the trail.

"What an excellent Breath Concealment Technique!"

"I can only lock onto him with my naked eye; even if I release my divine sense, I cannot perceive his movements—finally, when he slipped around a corner and I lost sight, I lost him."

He stood on the long street, the spring breeze swaying, the willows drooping gently.

Yet Zhang Lianhao gripped the Gilded Silver Tiger-head Spear, and a feeling of stifled resentment welled up in his heart.

"Niu Mo……"

He slightly lowered his head, etching that adorable Cute Ox Mask deeply into his memory.

He didn't continue the pursuit, because he could no longer catch up.

He returned to the Million Gambling House, where the Town Temple Office's Divine Agents had already arrived and sealed off the establishment.

Zhang Lianhao stood atop a roof stacked with black tiles, gazing toward the far end of the long street, the sound of horse hooves trampling echoing across the wide stone-paved street.

A unit wearing gleaming golden armor rushed over; the two at the front rode on horseback, followed by about forty or fifty armored soldiers.

"Jin Guang Prefecture Divine Guard Army……"

"Their speed is pretty quick; normally I haven't seen them this efficient."

Zhang Lianhao glanced, gave a cold snort, gestured to the Divine Agents below, then leapt into the courtyard reeking of blood.

His gaze fell at once on the corpse of the Cursed Iron Corpse that had been pinned to death.

"The Ten Capital Corpse God Envoys of the Corpse God Sect refined this Cursed Iron Corpse; below Grandmaster level it's hard to kill, yet…… it was blown apart."

Zhang Lianhao put away the Gilded Silver Tiger-head Spear.

He narrowed his eyes, scanned around; thick deathly aura mingled with the smell of blood.

He walked over to Lin Da's headless corpse and recognized the identity of the Second Chief of the Million Gambling House.

"Imbued with the Ten Capitals' Corpse Curse Seal, all the martial artists in the courtyard bore the Corpse Curse Seal…… yet they couldn't resist the temptation."

"The Corpse God Sect's infiltration is truly omnipresent; the Corpse Curse Seal can help break innate bottlenecks—this temptation is too great……"

Zhang Lianhao sighed.

Even many renowned Grandmasters couldn't withstand this temptation, choosing to join the Corpse God Sect; how could those martial artists who had long seen no hope of breakthrough not be swayed?

"The Niu Mo…… is ruthless and vicious, his means strong enough; with such a force, one person could wipe them all out, and among them was a Cursed Iron Corpse……"

"A Cursed Iron Corpse—even a Grandmaster martial artist encountering one would find it a huge headache; after all, the opponent is extremely resistant to blows, its iron-like body akin to refined steel."

"But……"

Zhang Lianhao examined the Corpse God Envoy's corpse, his eyes narrowing slightly, for…… this Envoy had been utterly smashed to pieces by a terrifying, peerless power!

That power……

It likely already reached the level of an Early-stage Grandmaster!

"The Niu Mo…… has become a Grandmaster?!"

Zhang Lianhao drew a deep breath; according to the information given by Zhang Xiangyang, this Niu Mo, when he first appeared in Fēiléichéng three years ago, had only just reached the Opening Tendons and Tempering Bones stage.

Three years…… and he's already a Grandmaster?!

"No, not necessarily a Grandmaster—just possessing Grandmaster-level power bursts, combined with divinity……"

Zhang Lianhao, after some investigation, basically confirmed the Niu Mo's method of killing.

"Using Divinity Crystal Powder to suppress the Corpse God Envoy's divinity eruption, forcing him to rely solely on bodily strength, thereby achieving a crushing explosion kill……"

"This shows that in terms of divinity, the Niu Mo is relatively weak…… being able to devise using Divinity Crystal Powder as a countermeasure is indeed as vicious and treacherous as Zhang Xiangyang described."

"But being able to envelop the entire small courtyard with Divinity Crystal Powder…… that method is quite remarkable."

Zhang Lianhao couldn't help but think of the mechanism that shot Qin Yuqing from dozens of li away; this Niu Mo…… likewise mastered such means.

Both are like that, wantonly committing murder……

All are the posture of lawless outlaws.

"Hey, interesting." Zhang Lianhao chuckled; anyway, it wasn't his headache—the Town Temple Office does handle these trivial matters, but most of its energy is still focused on the three Guiyi Miao outside the prefecture city.

But these lawless madmen, killing without restraint, the ones suffering headaches are still the Divine Guard tasked with keeping order in the prefectural city.

The Bull Demon… is talent, such talent should join my Temple Suppression Office.

Besides, the Bull Demon's identity can be confirmed—it's not Li Che… the news brought back by Shi Lei and Hong Yonggang, they personally saw Li Che enter the Imperial Observatory and start his daily work on a fixed schedule.

The Imperial Observatory is more than ten li away from this Million Gambling House, and Li Che also has a solid alibi… people can't just teleport, can they?

Zhang Lianhao completely dismissed his suspicions about Li Che.

Zhang Xiangyang said Li Che was the Bull Demon, but that was merely speculation; he naturally didn't fully believe it, relying instead on his own judgment.

Now the judgment has been made…

Li Che could absolutely not be the Bull Demon!

One person cannot simultaneously appear in places separated by more than ten li.

……

……

Imperial Observatory.

Clifftop Treasure Pavilion.

Li Che took off his bamboo hat, shed his black robe, donned the clean robes of an Imperial Observatory Guest Official, smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes, gripped the Fēiléichéng chess piece, and shifted to the anchor point he had left in the Imperial Observatory.

Even after returning to the Imperial Observatory, Li Che pushed the Dragon Elephant Golden Vajra Dao Fruit's aura-concealing effect to the extreme.

After all, there are strong ones within the Imperial Observatory; if he didn't conceal his aura coming and going, he'd likely be noticed by those with intent.

Like Gong Yunli and Gongyang Liancheng, who initially oversaw the guest official examinations, they are two Void-Phase cultivators not inferior to Zhang Lianhao, the chief of the Temple Suppression Office.

The Void-Phase realm is a fuzzy realm between the Foundation and Divine Aspect realms.

Strictly speaking, it can be considered the Divine Aspect realm, since a Divine Aspect has been condensed, albeit somewhat blurred; its power naturally falls short of a true Divine Aspect, lacking some of its majestic pressure.

Besides that, the Imperial Observatory also has a Principal Director and two Vice Directors, who are undoubtedly true Divine Aspect patriarch-level existences!

Although those Divine Aspect powerhouses wouldn't casually sweep their divine sense, Li Che felt it was better to be safe.

Maintaining the Sleeping Dragon Elephant's concealed state, even if a divine sense swept over, it would be hard to detect him; entering the Imperial Observatory would draw no attention, preserving his alibi.

The 'Yearning Willow Wood Body' obtained from Old Master Xu could be learned; it allows creating a willow wood clone and better fabricating an alibi.

Li Che smiled, his eyes flickering, as he thought of a divine secret technique.

He cultivates divine secret techniques, but they are relatively slow, so he never delved into this particular art.

After dispelling the Sleeping Dragon Elephant, Li Che quietly stepped into the warm, comfortable pavilion heated by a brazier.

Shangguan Qinghong still had bare, crystal-clear feet, squatting on a chair holding a braised chicken claw, nibbling it while reading a romance novel.

Brother Li, you're here?

Shangguan Qinghong suddenly lifted her head, looked toward Li Che, and twitched her nose.

Smells of blood? Brother Li, where did you go?

Shangguan Qinghong asked.

Li Che's heart jolted—she could even smell that?

Are you a dog, Shangguan Qinghong?

Ah, I went to the Temple Suppression Office regarding the matters of Fēiléichéng; you've probably heard about it…

Li Che sighed and said.

Upon hearing that, Shangguan Qinghong's brows relaxed—she went to the Temple Suppression Office…

It's fine; going there, getting a bloody smell is normal.

Qinghong, regarding the last job I took, I've finished carving the wooden sculpture; you can contact the client so he can come pick up the divine wood carving.

Li Che said.

Shangguan Qinghong nodded, gave Li Che a strange look, and said, 'Brother Li, this wooden statue took you a while—half a month to finish, rather time-consuming.'

'For the first order, I naturally need to build a reputation; afterward I'll speed up.'

Li Che smiled and gave a brief explanation.

After bidding farewell to Shangguan Qinghong, he headed toward his own work cubicle.

The Imperial Observatory assigns a work cubicle to each guest official.

Even higher floors have better-quality professional cubicles; there are specialized rooms for alchemy, woodcarving, weapon forging, talisman crafting, etc., and renting them requires spending divine crystals.

Li Che is dirt poor now…… he can't afford that expense.

Upon entering the cubicle area, Li Che could see other guest officials; he spotted a weapons-forging master who had rented a forging cubicle, wearing a short jacket, revealing a robust physique all over.

Upon meeting Li Che's gaze, the weapons-forging master gave a slight nod.

Another cubicle was a talisman room; a handsome-bearded guest official inside was sipping tea, saw Li Che's gaze, and smiled, nodding.

Relations among guest officials are never too bad, after all they could be potential clients.

Li Che entered his own cubicle, locked the door, and the Heaven-Earth chessboard unfolded, sealing off any probing.

Although no one would release divine sense to probe inside the Imperial Observatory's cubicles, caution is the most basic virtue for survival in this world; better safe than sorry.

Seated in the chair, Li Che exhaled, his eyes gradually turning icy.

'Corpse God Sect…'

Vicious enough!

Sure enough, they're after his daughter Xixi.

'Moreover, the Corpse Curse Seal that I suppressed with the Chess Saint Dao Fruit is actually of Eight Extremes grade… no wonder it won't wear off.'

Li Che exhaled, his heart sinking slightly; being targeted by such a colossal entity as the Corpse God Sect is certainly no good thing.

The Corpse God Sect is not like the aristocratic clans of Jinguang Prefecture City; they won't be intimidated by the might of a Divine Sect branch.

'There are Corpse God Sect members in the Million Gambling House; what about the Black Snake Gang watching my family at the alley entrance?'

Or perhaps it's the power behind them, one of the three major gangs of the prefecture city, the Fishermen's Gang?

And there's the big boss of the Million Gambling House… he's not here today; we need to find a chance to get rid of him, to cut the weeds and pull out the roots.

Li Che's eyes were icy cold beyond compare; he slowly closed his eyes, and his whole body exuded a thick killing intent.

After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes, and the killing intent gradually receded.

These forces have set their sights on his daughter, so Li Che… will set his sights on them.

As long as we eliminate them before they make a move on Xixi…

then Xixi's safety will be somewhat assured.

"'There's not much I can do as a father… I can only help you get rid of some maggot-like things.'"

His heart stirred.

Two Qiankun jades appeared before him.

One came from the Ten Capital Corpse God Envoy of the Corpse God Sect, and the other from the second-in-command of the Million Gambling House.

"'It's been a long time since I received anyone's generous gift.'"

Li Che felt a myriad of emotions.

After arriving at the prefecture city, he finally settled down; previously, after killing the Qin Prefecture's gray-faced spy and Qin Yuqing, he never had the opportunity to receive their gifts.

But his heart felt immense pain.

Not touching the corpse after killing someone always makes him feel as if ants are crawling on his body.

After calming his mind, Li Che began to tally his spoils, breaking the seal on the Qiankun jade; under his divine sense, everything inside was laid bare at once.

Li Che first tallied the wealth of the second-in-command of the gambling house.

Three thousand taels of silver notes, a hundred gold leaves, and a pile of scattered silver coins—Li Che was too lazy to count them precisely.

Next, there was a volume of the Ten Capital Divine Foundation Method, and a middle-rank Divine Pulse Method…

There were various weapons, but they were merely ordinary refined iron arms; for Li Che, who had used divine weapons, they held little appeal.

Not a single bottle of martial elixir… quite a regret.

But what truly stirred Li Che's emotions was…

In the second-in-command's collection, there were actually two Ten Capital Divine Crystals!

"'Not bad; it's not as shabby as I imagined.'"

Li Che finally showed a satisfied smile; although the two Ten Capital Divine Crystals weren't many, at least they were a gain.

In terms of wealth, this second-in-command even falls short of the Divine Foundation elder of the Fēiléichéng clan, but the two divine crystals make up the difference.

Continuing the inventory, this time he opened the blind box of the Corpse God Sect's Corpse God Envoy.

Unlike the wealthy second-in-command of the gambling house, the Corpse God Envoy's Qiankun jade held little money; Li Che first searched for divine crystals…

"'Struck it rich…'"

His eyes glimmered slightly, his heart stirred, and he poured out ten divine crystals emitting a faint white glow all at once!

Among them was a divine crystal the size of a palm, containing a force that made even Li Che, who possessed the Temple God divine rank, feel an almost suffocating rank pressure!

"'Eight Extremes Divine Crystal!'"

Li Che's pupils contracted, somewhat shocked!

The Ten Capital Corpse God Envoy of the Corpse God Sect… actually held an Eight Extremes Divine Crystal?!

No…

The Ten Capital Envoy actually had such wealth?!

"'Perhaps… this Eight Extremes Divine Crystal is of great use to the Corpse God Envoy?'"

Li Che pondered.

But regardless of its great use, now…

This Eight Extremes Divine Crystal belongs to Li!

Thanks for the gift, Elder Envoy!

Adding the two from the second-in-command, that makes eleven Ten Capital Divine Crystals and one Eight Extremes Divine Crystal!

Not counting the Eight Extremes Divine Crystal, they already exceed Li Che's four months of salary!

Indeed, working for wages can't earn big money!

Li Che was overjoyed; for him, divine crystals could save a lot of time in ripening the maturity of his 【Immaculate Heart】 Dao fruit!

As long as the 【Immaculate Heart】 Dao fruit ripens to level 3, he can awaken the embryonic form of the 【Immaculate Heart】 divine ability!

This is also the third divine ability embryonic form Li Che has mastered!

"'A cultivator from such a great sect indeed possesses wealth far beyond what a mere underling of the Fishermen's Gang could match…'"

"'Moreover, this Corpse God Sect's Corpse God Envoy likely just infiltrated the Million Gambling House; these divine crystals are probably his operational supplies, especially that Eight Extremes Divine Crystal… possibly even tied to the Corpse God Sect's plan.'"

"'One Eight Extremes Divine Crystal and eleven Ten Capital Divine Crystals—can they help me raise my 【Immaculate Heart】 to level 3?'"

"'If it's truly not enough, within the city of Guangfu, the Corpse God Sect's Corpse God Envoys should still have plenty…'"

Li Che lowered his eyelids, playing with that Eight Extremes Divine Crystal exuding rich divine aura and a strong rank-suppressing feeling, and exhaled a breath.

The Corpse God Sect is nothing good…

Just consider it as eliminating harm for the people.

Besides the divine crystals, the Corpse God Envoy's collection is much simpler.

There is a divine weapon, a long sword that exudes an extremely icy chill.

……

【Divine Weapon (Ten Capital Upper Grade): Ice Soul Bone-Crushing Sword】

【Craftsmanship: forged from hundred-year cold-iron, using the blood of the demon worm 'Bone-Crushing', mixed with the six desires' body-touching divinity, then tempered in icy spring water; it can achieve 'body-touching divinity', and when drawn, it can freeze and corrode a person's tendons and bones!】

【Mastery: Six Desires Body-Touching Divine Nature Method, nurturing nature like a river and above】

Mastery, Six Desires Body-Touching Divine Nature Method, Cultivating nature like a river and above

But we need to identify terms for the glossary: "Six Desires Body-Touching Divine Nature Method" is a technique/method. Should we include it as a term? It's a technique name. We'll include it as "Six Desires Body-Touching Divine Nature Method". However we need to decide whether to translate technique names by meaning (per the rules). Yes, cultivation techniques must be translated by meaning. So we translate the whole phrase.

Similarly, "Cultivating nature like a river and above" is just a descriptive phrase, not a proper name, so it's likely not a term for the glossary.

…… (just ellipsis). No terms.

A Ten Metropolises Top Grade divine weapon, but it requires cultivating the Body-Touching Divine Nature aspect of the Six Desires Divine Nature to wield it.

Ten Metropolises Top Grade Divine Weapon, Six Desires Divine Nature, Body-Touching Divine Nature, Mastery

To Li Che, it's basically useless.

Terms: Li Che (Li Che). The phrase "chicken rib" means useless; we'll translate it as "useless". No new term.

"Afterwards, I'll go to the Black Market to sell it and exchange for Divine Nature Crystals." Li Che wasn't polite either, after all it's a Divine Weapon, not a cheap item, and he directly stored it in his own Cosmic Space.

Black Market Divine Nature Crystal Cosmic Space Divine Weapon

Apart from the divine weapon, there were medicinal pills; he dumped out a pill that was pitch black, and a thick deathly qi filled the air.

Medicinal pill, Deathly Qi

Li Che directly employed the Thousand Analysis Hand to initiate appraisal.

Thousand Analysis Hand Appraisal

"Nine-Rank Top Grade Martial Pill — Corpse God Myriad Ghost Deathly Qi Condensed Martial Pill! After taking it, it will erode the flesh with deathly qi, tempering through pain, breaking through shackles, and can be consumed."

Nine Rank Top Grade Martial Pill, Corpse God Myriad Ghost Deathly Qi Condensed Martial Pill

"This is meant for the cultivators of the Corpse God Sect who practice Corpse Curse."

Corpse God Sect Corpse Curse cultivator

Li Che frowned; the Thousand Analysis Hand appraisal indicated the pill was fine, though its medicinal properties might differ from those of ordinary martial pills.

Thousand Analysis Hand medicinal property ordinary martial pill

After storing the medicinal pills, Li Che directed his attention to the cultivation method.

Cultivation method

"Six Desires Body-Touching Compared to Corpse Nurturing Nature Method" and "Six Desires Body-Touching Compared to Corpse God Foundation Method" — these two books pertain to divine nature.

Six Desires Body-Touching Compared to Corpse Nurturing Nature Method, Six Desires Body-Touching Compared to Corpse God Foundation Method

Li Che took a quick look, then stored them away; the Six Desires Divine Nature... he doesn't want to cultivate it for now.

Terms: Six Desires Divine Nature (again).

Primarily, his Seven Emotions Divine Nature is still incomplete; venturing into the Six Desires as well feels like biting off more than he can chew.

Seven Emotions Divine Nature, Six Desires Divine Nature

Furthermore, the Six Desires Divine Nature Method is more nefarious than the Seven Emotions, so Li Che prefers to stay prudent.

Six Desires Divine Nature Method, Seven Emotions Divine Nature

Apart from that, there is Divine Nature Martial Arts!

Divine Nature Martial Arts

"Corpse God Death Smoke Finger" — Nine Luminaries Divine Nature Martial Arts!

Corpse God Death Smoke Finger, Nine Luminaries Divine Nature Martial Arts

Once mastered, the finger wreathed in deathly qi rivals deadly poison.

Deathly Qi

What a vicious martial art!

No new.

Li Che narrowed his eyes slightly, but he flipped through it without showing any reaction.

No new.

After a while, the martial arts talent enhanced by the Dragon Elephant Golden Strength Dao Fruit had already given him a rudimentary grasp of the Death Smoke Finger.

Dragon Elephant Golden Strength Dao Fruit martial arts talent Death Smoke Finger

Besides, deathly qi is difficult to condense, but it's not a major problem; Li Che possesses a Deathly Qi Martial Pill, so he can still train in this martial art.

Deathly Qi Martial Pill

Not continuing to train in the martial art, Li Che's mind stirred.

No new.

Flowing light emanated from his pupils.

flowing light

【Dao Fruit: Dragon Elephant Golden Strength (lv3, 15%), Immaculate Heart (LV2, 24%), Chess Sage (LV2, 12%)】

Dao Fruit Dragon Elephant Golden Strength Immaculate Heart Chess Sage

The Dao Fruit's maturity has significantly improved.

No new.

Dragon Elephant Golden Strength increased by 2% from a fierce battle—not much, but at least it improved.

No new.

Next, Immaculate Heart remained largely unchanged, while the Chess Sage Dao Fruit increased significantly…

No new.

This is clearly due to his one-time absorption and condensation of numerous dead souls' divine nature chess pieces.

Dead Soul Divine Nature Chess Pieces absorb and swallow

However, the increase is only modest; reaching level 3 is still far away.

No new.

"If I could go to the Guiyi Temple to draw the Temple God's divinity and condense Temple God divine nature chess pieces, the improvement speed would increase significantly."

Guiyi Miao Temple God Temple God Divine Nature Chess Pieces

"In this battle, to secure a quick victory, I used one Temple God chess piece; now only six remain."

Temple God Chess Pieces

Li Che sighed.

No new.

Temple God chess pieces are used up one by one; however, activating the Ascending Tower State requires divine nature chess pieces as fuel.

Ascending Tower State Divine Nature Chess Pieces

"I need to find a chance to go to the Guiyi Temple."

No new.

"However, the Guiyi Temples in the prefecture city are all guarded by experts of the Temple Garrison Office, and there are Queer Gates blocking access, making it hard to get in."

Prefecture City Temple Garrison Office expert Queer Gate

Li Che suddenly felt nostalgic for the Temple God statue outside Feilei City that he had rubbed bald.

Fēiléichéng Temple God Statue

"Forget it; the old won't return, the new won't arrive, but there will always be a new Temple God waiting for me."

No new.

Li Che muttered a remark.

No new.

After clearing his mind of distractions, he took out the Eight Extremes Divine Nature Crystal.

Eight Extremes Divine Nature Crystal

Inside his chest, the Dao Fruit Immaculate Heart suddenly began to beat violently and strongly, and a tremendous suction force erupted from it.

Immaculate Heart

The faint white divine nature within the Eight Extremes Divine Nature Crystal was frenziedly consumed by the Immaculate Heart Dao Fruit.

No new.

Li Che suddenly opened his eyes; a faint tremor flickered in the depths of his gaze.

No new.

Yet he saw that the maturity of the Immaculate Heart Dao Fruit was soaring rapidly.

No new.

2%，2%，2%……

No new.

In almost a single breath, its maturity rose by 2%; this speed was far faster than Li Che had imagined.

No new.

Li Che discovered…

No new.

He realized he had somewhat underestimated the divine nature contained in the Eight Extremes Divine Nature Crystal!

No new.

Ten-thousand-word update—please vote for monthly tickets, recommend tickets, and keep reading; the days of running naked have indeed seen collections and readership drop, but Old Li will continue to burst out updates, so everyone please support him.

Lao Li ten thousand-character update

 (just whitespace? maybe empty). We'll output translation as empty? Probably just keep as empty line? But we must output 【N】 with translation. If line is empty, translation is empty string.

 (maybe a whitespace char). We'll output empty.

(End of Chapter)