Chapter 49: A Sword Comes from the West, Pressing Down on the Great River

Just blast them to pieces, and that’s that!

Qin Liangchen spoke with great bravado, and the confidence in his words was unmistakable.

Luo Chen was half-skeptical about this.

But thinking about it carefully, he had risen from humble beginnings, established a family and career in the complex and difficult area of the Great River Market, and even sent his son to the Luoyun Sect, which was second only to the Yuding Sword Sect.

He must have had his own exceptional qualities.

The rules for the eighteen death duels between the two gangs had been fully revealed as news spread by word of mouth over these past few days.

Limited to those below Foundation Establishment, with no restrictions on methods.

The only restriction was likely the number of talismans used, strictly controlled to within ten.

This point had been raised by Mi Shuhua of the Poshan Gang.

It was likely out of fear that the Dajiang Gang, backed by the Lianyun Merchant Alliance, would be wealthy and generous enough to provide the participating cultivators with a mountain of talismans.

Compared to spells and magic treasures, talismans were faster to activate and their power was not inferior to spells of the same rank.

If someone really prepared dozens of talismans and launched a spirit stone war, the scene would be simply too beautiful to imagine.

No Qi Refining cultivator could launch a counterattack under a barrage of overwhelming talismans.

The warning had already been given; Luo Chen couldn't keep nagging.

In fact, as an outsider, he couldn't possibly know more than the upper echelons of the Poshan Gang.

Even the inside information Sun Shou had casually mentioned to him might not be that accurate.

The two chatted for a while longer, and the scent of food drifted from the kitchen.

Time to eat!

Luo Chen immediately trotted home and brought out the red-braised pink pig hind leg meat he had been stewing all morning; today's meal didn't count as mooching, as he had provided the ingredients too!

"Come, try your sister-in-law's cooking. Before Xiaohu joined the sect, the thing he missed most was the food his mother made."

Qin Liangchen greeted him warmly, and Luo Chen didn't stand on ceremony, picking up his chopsticks and grabbing a piece of meat.

"Mmm, not bad, delicious!"

Murong Qinglian smiled and shook her head, pouring a cup of wine for the two men.

Qin Liangchen drank a cup of wine first, then picked up the meat Luo Chen had braised.

"Living alone, I'm afraid you just make do with whatever you eat. If you ask me, from now on..."

His eyes widened, as if the taste in his mouth was lacking.

Then he impatiently picked up another large chunk of meat, this time chewing it carefully.

"It melts in the mouth, fatty but not greasy, and there's a faint medicinal fragrance in the meat, refreshing and crisp like mint."

"Madam, Little Luo's cooking seems to be even better than yours!"

Words of praise were endless, and Qin Liangchen didn't know the meaning of restraint, reaching for the dish repeatedly.

Murong Qinglian was quite surprised; rogue cultivators who were willing to put effort into their food were truly rare these days.

After tasting a piece of the meat Luo Chen had made, she also narrowed her eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Little Luo's meat is truly delicious."

Luo Chen chuckled, not being humble at all.

In reality, his cooking skills were actually quite impressive.

It was likely due to his identity as a mixed-race Sichuan-Chongqing person in his previous life, having practiced a good set of culinary skills under his mother's nagging since he was young.

He might not be very skilled at handling ingredients, but his use of various seasonings and spices was deeply rooted in the essence of Sichuan cuisine.

Later, he even used his cooking skills to find a beautiful girlfriend.

It was just a pity that after going to the big city to struggle, life wasn't just about good food.

Sigh, the past is like the wind, not worth mentioning!

After transmigrating, Luo Chen discovered that the ingredients in the cultivation world were simply top-tier.

All kinds of spirit beast meat, monster meat, vegetables, and fruits had unique flavors because they were soaked in spiritual energy.

The original owner of this body also had unique insights into some medicinal herbs.

Combining the two, he could improve his diet with limited resources every few days.

The snacks he occasionally made, such as beef jerky and stir-fried bitter hazelnuts, were all well-received by Wang Yuan, Chen Xiuping, Gu Caiyi, and others.

Logically speaking, cultivators didn't place much importance on the desires of the palate.

But in reality, that was only for high-level cultivators.

Low-level cultivators couldn't achieve grain Grain Bigu for a hundred years.

Even because they were constantly circulating the violent spiritual energy from the outside world, they often suffered meridian damage during the refining process.

Therefore, dietary supplements were quite popular among low-level cultivators, second only to elixirs and medicinal baths.

Luo Chen was even more so; no matter how difficult life was, he never lacked spirit rice and monster meat.

Without these diets containing spiritual energy, his body, which was already lacking in aptitude, would have long since been unable to bear the hardships of cultivation.

The three ate and drank while chatting.

Upon learning of Luo Chen's identity as an alchemist, Qin Liangchen and his wife were extremely surprised.

Luo Chen was also curious about what the two were doing for work now.

After some inquiries, he learned that they were actually doing business too.

"The Guyuan Mountain Range is rich in products. Back then, my wife and I led people to conquer Ziyue Lake, which is abundant in a type of spirit fish."

"Although the gang took most of the profits, the remaining portion was enough to support our family's cultivation."

In his boastful words, there was no lack of pride and satisfaction in hunting in the mountains back then.

Relying on this tip of the iceberg, Luo Chen roughly understood why the Dajiang Gang and the Lianyun Merchant Alliance were so covetous of the safe mountain-entry channels controlled by the Poshan Gang.

Just a single spirit fish production site allowed the Qin couple, both at the ninth level of Qi Refining, to live a prosperous life.

And this was still after the Poshan Gang had taken the majority, with the Qin family only getting a small share.

Looking at the bigger picture, the Poshan Gang had over a thousand members who had been deeply cultivating the Guyuan Mountain Range for over a hundred years.

Through successive efforts, who knows how many medicinal herb production sites and monster movement patterns they had mastered.

These were all interests that made people jealous!

As the three were chatting, suddenly, they all looked up at the same time.

A sharp whistle exploded like a thunderclap in a clear sky.

Then, within their line of sight, on the distant horizon, a golden stream of light shot over from the west like a meteor, heading straight for the Great River Market.

"What is that?"

The golden stream of light was so fast that it was on the horizon a moment ago, and the next moment it was right before their eyes.

Luo Chen stood up in a hurry, his eyes burning as he watched the golden stream of light.

After about five breaths, the golden stream of light slowed down, dragging a faint trail left by displacing the air, and dived into the depths of the market like a bird returning to the forest.

Yuding Sword Pavilion!

Qin Liangchen walked to his side, looking together at the white trail left in the clear sky, and took a deep breath.

"A sword cultivator, it's a sword cultivator from the Yuding Sword Sect. And it's a Core Formation sword cultivator who has upgraded their sword pill into a magic treasure and is flying by riding the sword light!"

Sword pill magic treasure, traveling by escape light.

A sword comes from the west!

Luo Chen's heart and mind were shaken.

This was the first time he had seen the power of high-level cultivators in this world.

It was just a fleeting glance, but the momentum of breaking through the air like thunder, coming and going freely, left his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

"Among those of the same rank, sword cultivators have the strongest attacks and the fastest escape speed. It is precisely because the Yuding Sword Sect has such a large number of high-end combatants that they can gain a foothold on the edge of the Million Mountains."

Qin Liangchen pointed at the landscape, then rubbed his chin and said, "This Core Formation True Person must have come to preside over the opening of the Great River Market's Dao Discussion Platform."

Luo Chen was curious, "Is a mere Dao Discussion Platform worth the mobilization of a Core Formation True Person?"

"Haha, Little Luo, you don't know about this." Qin Liangchen laughed, pointing to the small, enclosed mountain behind the Yuding Sword Pavilion, "The Dao Discussion Platform is one of the few major industries of the Yuding Sword Sect. Once opened, if operated properly, it can earn a lot of spirit stones."

"Moreover, although every market only has Foundation Establishment cultivators from the sect to suppress the situation, the configuration is basically built according to Core Formation cultivators."

"For example, the city-protecting formation of the inner city of the Great River Market is a Core Formation formation that can defend against third-order beast kings."

"It's just that sword cultivators are difficult to advance, which is why the Yuding Sword Sect cannot configure corresponding Core Formation cultivators in every market."

Understood, the configuration is at the Core Formation level.

But there are too few people in the sect, so they can only let Foundation Establishment cultivators sit in charge.

"This Core Formation True Person must have just arrived first because their speed was too fast."

Qin Liangchen looked at the distant horizon and said thoughtfully, "With the opening of the Dao Discussion Platform, there should still be many inner sect disciples and outer sect disciples responsible for trivial matters coming over."

As expected of a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator who had traveled to other regions, his knowledge was much greater than that of ordinary low-level cultivators.

It did not exceed his judgment; about half an hour later, several escape lights vaguely appeared on the west side of the Great River Market.

About seven escape lights of different colors escorted a huge flying boat, slowly sailing toward the Great River Market.

This "slowly" was only relative to the speed of the sword coming from the west just now.

In reality, their speed was also very fast.

From the first time they were seen to the time they stopped above the Great River Market, it only took less than half a stick of incense.

Such an unmasked, swaggering formation naturally attracted the attention of the entire Great River Market.

Countless people looked up, fixing their eyes on the seven figures stepping on flying swords, as well as the flying boat hovering in the sky like a shadow.

Subsequently, a large number of figures appeared on the flying boat.

One by one, Qi Refining cultivators, either riding flying sword magic treasures or performing the Wind-Riding Technique, emerged from the flying boat.

Then, like mayflies, they entered the inner city one after another.

After everyone had left, the flying boat slowly shrank, as if it had been summoned back, and shot into the towering Yuding Sword Pavilion.

From then on, there was no one or anything in the sky.

It was as if the scene before was just an illusion.

But within the Great River Market, whether it was local rogue cultivators or visiting cultivators, everyone knew that this place had welcomed its true masters.

The name of the Yuding Sword Sect was deeply pressed upon everyone's hearts. ===== CHAPTER 50 =====