Chapter 310 : A Gathering of True Monarchs

Chapter 310: A Gathering of True Monarchs

“Selling four copied fragments of the 《Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method》.

Among them, the Heavenly-Gang sequence numbers are Thirty-One and Thirty-Five; the Earthly-Sha sequence numbers are Fifty-Nine and Sixty-One.

The transaction method is sealed auction. Spirit Stones are not accepted. Only barter is accepted. Interested parties may contact privately.”

This message was like a massive stone thrown into a deep pool, instantly stirring up tremendous waves within the Ten Thousand Treasures Assembly Group Chat.

“Heavenly-Gang Evolution Method! Is this real?”

“Heavenly-Gang sequence ranked Thirty-One? Is that the evolution method of the Sky-Patrolling Thunder Chi?”

“Interesting. Heavenly-Gang sequence ranked Thirty-Five is Wutu Rock-Molten Scale. I’ve searched for decades—never thought I’d encounter it today.”

“What a grand move. Even copies of the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method can be taken out for sale!”

The moment the message appeared, dozens of cultivators clicked on the profile named ‘Hu Beauty’. Chen Beiwu was no exception.

However, the seller was extremely cautious. Neither the avatar nor the account information revealed even the slightest clue.

Chen Beiwu was not surprised.

Within the Immortal Alliance, any cultivation family with even a modest background almost regarded the exclusive evolution methods of their Companion Beast as their very lifeblood.

Not to mention something like the 《Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method》, which could serve as the very foundation of a family and be passed down through generations.

Chen Beiwu was not exaggerating. Although the sequence rankings of this Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method were relatively toward the back, it was still a highly renowned evolution method, fully capable of becoming the foundational heritage of a cultivation family.

Any rational and well-ordered family or cultivator would never lightly sell such a core secret method tied to the rise and fall of their Dao lineage.

No matter how high the price of this 《Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method》 might be, it would always be a one-time deal. It was far inferior to maintaining a monopoly over it and turning it into a long-term family inheritance capable of generating enormous profits.

However, fragments and copied versions circulating within the Immortal Alliance were another matter entirely. It was normal for cultivators to trade those.

In Chen Beiwu’s eyes, Hu Beauty’s actions did not amount to tearing down her own walls.

Thinking of this, Chen Beiwu did not immediately enter a bid. Instead, he sent a message to Senior Sister Su.

Very soon, his phone vibrated. A reply popped up:

“I asked around. Even the Ten Thousand Treasures Assembly administrator does not know Hu Beauty’s identity. Her true identity is likely known only to her referrer.”

“What is it? Junior Brother is interested in the copied fragments of the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method as well?”

Chen Beiwu glanced at the message and replied, “Just curious. Not particularly interested.”

He knew his own situation.

Although he had now forged the Yuanshi Golden Core and for a time his reputation within the Yuqing Immortal Sect was unmatched, the cultivation resources he lacked were still lacking. He simply did not have the qualifications to enter the competition for a copied fragment of the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method.

Unless Chen Beiwu was willing to accept investment from certain True Venerable clans, otherwise, without a relationship of shared interests, many cultivation families would never hand over vast cultivation resources without reason. At most, they would send gifts to show goodwill and obtain a few lecture quotas.

Chen Beiwu understood this well.

He now had a master; he was not a lone wanderer. If the resources given were too few, they were meaningless.

If too many were given and he became “well fed,” then in the future, if the Dao Venerable Immortal Families and True Venerable clans of the Yuqing Immortal Sect wished to recruit him, they would have to pay an even greater price. It was better to maintain the current balance.

Simply put, speaking realistically, taking a position too early yielded the greatest profit—but also carried the greatest risk.

The major forces within the Yuqing Immortal Sect were basically sitting firmly, watching from the sidelines. They would not easily step into the fray.

If Chen Beiwu did not open the hall to teach the law and establish his name, then relying solely on the title of one who had forged the Yuanshi Golden Core would make it difficult to attract talented scions from powerful clans as his Foundational Faction Base.

It was precisely because he understood this that Chen Beiwu’s resolve to open the hall to teach the law and expound the Path of Core Formation grew ever firmer.

“Many long-established True Venerable clans, Nascent Soul True Clans, and even some powerful cultivation merchant associations hold fragments or copies of the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method,” Senior Sister Su quickly sent another message.

“But the evolution methods they possess are basically those ranked toward the end of the sequences.”

“The true core materials of the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method are actually all in the hands of the Thirteen Immortal Sects and the Five Great Grotto-Heavens.”

“If Junior Brother is interested, there’s no need to waste resources on barter. You can directly use academic credits to exchange for the qualification to view the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method—but only the lower-ranked evolution methods are available for viewing.”

Seeing these messages, Chen Beiwu flipped his palm, and the Yuqing Immortal Sect student identification appeared in his hand.

Because he had been in closed-door cultivation breaking through to the Golden Core, Chen Beiwu had missed many classes. Relying on theoretical courses, he had earned very few academic credits.

After factoring in the one hundred credits required to comprehend the Supreme Sutra of Boundless Salvation of Taiyuan, his academic account balance had actually been negative for quite some time.

Fortunately, being ranked first on the Yuqing Rankings granted one thousand academic credits every ten years, directly lifting Chen Beiwu out of poverty and causing his balance to surge to 916.

“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister.”

After replying, Chen Beiwu logged onto the Yuqing student official website and noticed a red notification dot.

He opened it and found that it concerned the Taiyuan Heavenly Realm approval procedures he had applied for long ago but which had never been approved.

[Approved]

‘This efficiency seems a bit unusual,’ Chen Beiwu thought.

Senior Brother Jiang Chuan had helped him initiate the application process in advance because entering the Taiyuan Heavenly Realm to comprehend the Three Pure Ones Marvelous Method of Companion Landscape Immortal Art involved extremely complicated approval procedures and required the assent of high-level sect authorities.

Chen Beiwu had previously asked about the timeline and learned that the approval process for the Taiyuan Heavenly Realm could range from fifty years to over a hundred years, depending on when the high-level leadership of the Yuqing Immortal Sect had time to process it.

Now it seemed that forging the Yuanshi Golden Core carried extremely high value, enough for the sect leadership to handle it as a special case and expedite the matter.

However, biting off more than one could chew was unwise. Chen Beiwu’s most pressing matter at present was to convert his fundamental cultivation method and comprehend the Yuanshi Dongzhen Qinghua Commanding Myriad Tribulations and Myriad Spirits Immortal Law. He had no time to enter the Taiyuan Heavenly Realm.

“Iron Egg, come here.”

After opening the sect’s academic credit exchange website, Chen Beiwu beckoned toward Iron Egg, who was lying on the ground.

“Woof.”

Iron Egg stood up, trotted over, and leapt into Chen Beiwu’s arms, his gaze fixed on the phone screen.

“Which evolution method do you think is suitable?” Chen Beiwu asked softly.

Compared to blindly pursuing bloodline strength, he cared more about Iron Egg’s own thoughts.

There was no other reason. Bloodline evolution was no trivial matter—it even carried mortal danger.

The reason Golden Egg’s transformation into a Flood Dragon had gone smoothly was, first, because the transformation method for the Golden Scale into a Flood Dragon was not difficult to obtain; it had simply been ignored because the evolution conditions were too harsh.

Second, True Monarch Jiang Chuan had personally given guidance in class, helping Chen Beiwu and Golden Egg clarify the difficult points in advance.

Third, Golden Egg had been bolstered by the Crimson Fortune Dragon’s auspicious fortune encounter.

Fourth, Golden Egg possessed the third-tier peerless Treasure Art All Rivers Embraced and the Gilded Body, capable of manifesting the path of a Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beast, granting extremely high fault tolerance.

But Chen Beiwu would never underestimate the difficulty of bloodline evolution just because Golden Egg had succeeded once.

Even though the Yuanshi Profound Insight he had awakened possessed the power to enlighten Innate Bloodlines, shed the mortal shell, and reverse destiny.

“Woof.”

Iron Egg’s gaze shifted slightly, and a look of hesitation appeared in his eyes.

【Its face was green and it had three eyes. Its mane resembled molten iron thorns. It limped on a single leg and specialized in devouring pill flames. It could advance into Earthly-Sha Sequence Fifty-Nine, the Three-Eyed Suan Mastiff.】

【Within the alchemy chamber dwelled a beast shaped like a dog with a crimson mane. It guarded the furnace fire so it would never extinguish. By sniffing the pill aura, it could determine success or failure. It could advance into Earthly-Sha Sequence Twenty-Seven, the Pill-Ash Fire Xu.】

【Its eyes contained dual pupils—one pupil burned with Purifying Flame, the other incinerated with Defiling Blaze. It could advance into Heavenly-Gang Sequence Thirty-Four, the Purity-Defilement Flame Hound.】

【It grew by feeding on Yin Fire and shed its form by absorbing Nether Flame. It could advance into Heavenly-Gang Sequence Twenty-Three, the Nether Radiance Prison-Patrolling Hound.】

……

Looking at the renowned Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Methods displayed one after another on the phone screen, Iron Egg hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

These evolution methods were indeed excellent, but for some reason, he felt not the slightest stir of bloodline resonance in his heart.

Sensing Iron Egg’s thoughts, Chen Beiwu was slightly startled, then let out a soft laugh.

His tone was indulgent, tinged with affection. “You little fellow, your taste is quite picky.”

The academic credit exchange channel provided by the Yuqing Immortal Sect was meant to encourage students to cultivate diligently and integrate into the sect.

Truly core cultivation methods belonging to the sect were basically never listed for exchange.

What Chen Beiwu could redeem through academic credits were only evolution methods ranked toward the back of the sequences or those already partially made public.

He had just browsed for a long time and did not see a single exclusive evolution method ranked within the top twenty. It was understandable that Iron Egg found none to his liking.

“Woof.”

Iron Egg rubbed against Chen Beiwu’s trouser leg, then rolled over to expose his belly in a coquettish display.

Seeing this, Chen Beiwu closed the Yuqing Immortal Sect official website. After hesitating for a moment, he sent Hu Beauty a message:

“Do you have an evolution method for a fire-attribute black hound?”

Aside from asking Hu Beauty, Chen Beiwu also posted a request to purchase an evolution method in the Ten Thousand Treasures Assembly Group Chat.

The result exceeded his expectations. After waiting for more than ten minutes, not a single private message came.

“Not enough channels. It seems I still need to build a name for myself.”

Chen Beiwu put away his phone and did not dwell on it further.

……

Yunmiao Upper Sect, Three-Mountain Cave Residence.

“Senior Hu, are you sure this won’t expose us?”

Chen Qin looked at the flood of private messages popping up and felt somewhat uneasy.

The Illusion-Tailed Fox shook her head confidently. “What we are selling are only copied fragments of the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method, not the original texts imbued with Dao’s Rhythm. The authenticity of their contents is difficult to verify and may even contain incomplete or erroneous portions.”

“Rest assured. Such copied fragments are impossible to attract the attention of major figures. At most, they will draw the notice of Golden Core True Persons and Nascent Soul True Monarchs.”

At this point, the Illusion-Tailed Fox glanced at Chen Qin and spoke bluntly. “Don’t blame this one for speaking harshly. Your aptitude is mediocre, and you have been stuck at Late-Stage Foundation Establishment for a year.

“If this one did not take out the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method to exchange for cultivation resources, your probability of forming a core in this lifetime would be less than thirty percent. As for forging a First-Grade Golden Core, the probability is practically zero.”

“If you were more promising, this one would not have to risk selling off family assets in the Ten Thousand Treasures Assembly.”

Hearing this, Chen Qin pursed her lips but did not refute.

Could this really be blamed on her?

Senior Hu’s origin was now depleted. Even after forming a Companion Contract, she could only grant augmentation through the Three Meridians, slightly improving Spiritual Root aptitude.

As a result, not only could Chen Qin not compete with her peers, she was effectively missing half a Spiritual Root amplifier.

Fortunately, with Senior Hu’s guidance in cultivation methods, Chen Qin’s speed in breaking through realms was not slow.

“Mm, not bad. This one has the highest offer. We can negotiate.”

The Illusion-Tailed Fox nodded in satisfaction. With a swipe of her forepaw, she ignored a private message inquiring about a fire-attribute black hound evolution method.

“By the way, Senior Hu, I plan to visit the Yuqing Immortal Sect next month,” Chen Qin suddenly said.

“No problem. But this one will remain at the Yunmiao Upper Sect and will not accompany you.”

The Illusion-Tailed Fox glanced at Chen Qin, her tail swaying happily behind her.

Being lovestruck was not without its benefits. At least there was backing to rely on.

Ever since Chen Qin obtained a lecture quota to attend the Yuqing Immortal Sect, the Golden Core Lecturers of the Yunmiao Upper Sect had become far more amiable, even taking the initiative to show goodwill. All procedures received green-light approval.

Otherwise, the Illusion-Tailed Fox would not have dared to sell fragments of the Celestial and Earthly Beasts Evolution Method.

……

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month passed.

Water-Evolution Residence.

Chen Beiwu opened his eyes and exhaled a turbid breath.

After a month of cultivation, he had successfully comprehended the immortal law to its introductory stage, converted his fundamental cultivation method, and transformed the All Laws Converge, Heaven Book of the Divine Tree into the Yuanshi Dongzhen Qinghua Commanding Myriad Tribulations and Myriad Spirits Immortal Law.

Unfortunately, while he had mastered it, Golden Egg, Iron Egg, and the Five Qi Vine were still only halfway there, unable to enter the threshold. They needed time to gradually assimilate and harmonize their Companion Cultivation Method.

Scenting the faint pill fragrance in the room, Chen Beiwu reached out and patted Golden Egg and the Five Qi Vine, who were sleeping soundly.

Among the three companions, Iron Egg was the most diligent. Every day before dawn, he would remain in the Bamboo Alchemy Chamber refining pills.

As for the Five Qi Vine’s so-called farming, it was rather crude. Whenever seedlings sprouted in the medicine field, it would transplant them directly into the Five Qi Grove growing from its back.

“Nah.”

The Five Qi Vine rubbed its eyes. Without even washing up, it turned and sprawled near Chen Beiwu’s neck.

Golden Egg did not even lift his head. Activating the Ruyi Spiritual Art, he transformed into a three-headed flood dragon bracelet and hung upon Chen Beiwu’s right wrist, quietly acting as an ornament.

“You three…”

Chen Beiwu shook his head and rose to walk outside.

Today was no ordinary day. It was the day he would open the hall to teach the law and expound the Path of Core Formation. He wondered how many scions of powerful clans would take the bait.

……

Yuqing Teaching Building, Lecture Hall.

“Ziqing, where are we sitting?”

After presenting the invitation letter and entering the Lecture Hall, Xu Lingling felt somewhat dazed.

The reason was simple. The Lecture Hall, capable of accommodating over a hundred people, appeared exceptionally crowded at this moment.

Not only were the jade desks in the front rows filled, even the prayer cushions in the back rows were already occupied. Latecomers like them could only stand along the edges by the wall.

“Of course we sit according to the assigned seats,” Xu Ziqing glanced at her close friend.

Xu Lingling lacked confidence because there were simply too many prodigy cultivators standing within the Lecture Hall. Their auras were immensely powerful. Every single one emitted heart-palpitating Golden Core pressure.

Without a doubt, if these Golden Core cultivators were placed in the Nine Refinement Sect, they could fully serve as Golden Core Lecturers.

Even within the Tianyan Immortal Sect, they would be top-tier prodigies ranked on the Blazing Flame Rankings.

Even though Xu Lingling had a Golden Core father, she was unwilling to casually offend such prodigies.

Yet here in the Lecture Hall, these prodigies stood like ordinary people at the very back, without even a seat.

The reason was simple. Seated at the jade desks in the front rows were truly first-rate major figures.

These major figures were merely sitting there, not deliberately releasing any pressure, yet the natural aura they exuded still made Xu Ziqing and Xu Lingling’s hearts tremble.

Existences above Nascent Soul True Monarch!

And not just one—but a full sixteen!

Among them, several Nascent Soul True Monarchs had not even managed to secure jade desks and could only sit on prayer cushions.

Seeing this scene, Xu Ziqing pressed her lips together. The shock in her heart was beyond words. These major figures had actually come to listen to Chen Beiwu expound the Path of Core Formation!

The reason she could recognize them as True Monarchs of the sect was because the Xu Clan also had a Nascent Soul Patriarch presiding over it. The aura felt familiar.

As for whether there were Divine Transformation True Venerables among them, that lay beyond Xu Ziqing’s knowledge.

“Ah, maybe we should just forget it…”

Xu Lingling froze, glanced at the invitation letter in her hand, and swallowed nervously.

Who was she? Merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

When even Golden Core prodigies were standing, how could she and Xu Ziqing—two Foundation Establishment cultivators—dare to boldly sit down behind those Nascent Soul True Monarchs?

“What’s there to be afraid of? We’ll sit exactly as Beiwu arranged.”

Xu Ziqing pulled her timid friend forward.