Chapter 109: Super Wealth, Eight Extremes Divinity Crystal!

Chapter 109: Super Wealth, Eight Extremes Divinity Crystal!

Crackle!

Dark clouds rolled, and lightning serpents slithered through the sky. The instant Zhang Lianhao sensed the surge of the Demon Ox's aura, he burst out from the Temple Enforcement Command building, displaying his Illusory Form abilities and crossing the distance in an instant.

When he arrived, he saw the towering figure, with golden smoke flowing from his dual pupils, who gave him a cold, fearless glance.

As if his appearance didn't faze the Demon Ox in the slightest.

Zhang Lianhao narrowed his eyes.

He was an official, and the Demon Ox was a thief! Yet, the Demon Ox showed no fear and even released his aura, as if waiting specifically for Zhang Lianhao's arrival.

After Zhang Lianhao appeared, the Demon Ox immediately plunged into darkness and shot away, blatantly disregarding the Temple Enforcement Command and openly provoking them.

Although the Demon Ox's golden smoke-filled eyes showed no emotion, his actions were undeniably provocative.

"He knows the Temple Enforcement Command is investigating him, so he's showing off his fearless attitude. After killing, he still dares to provoke, truly a lawless rogue..."

Zhang Lianhao's expression remained impassive, and with a light tap of his toes, his body soared like a falcon, gliding over the hellish courtyard below.

He landed on the long street and gave chase.

The Demon Ox had the audacity to appear and even provoke the Temple Enforcement Command.

Zhang Lianhao wasn't about to let this opportunity to capture the Demon Ox slip away.

With his Illusory Form cultivation and advanced martial arts skills, reaching the level of a Grandmaster in the later stages, Zhang Lianhao's martial prowess and divine aura were formidable. In Golden Light City, he stood at the pinnacle, though he couldn't compare to the old masters of the five great families and sects.

Boom!

The spring breeze instantly turned scorching, and powerful blood energy raged like a furnace within his body. True energy surged and lashed out, creating countless afterimages on the long street in an instant.

However, he soon halted his pursuit, as he had lost track of his target.

"What a masterful Breath Control Ability!"

"I can only lock onto him with my naked eye; even releasing my Divine Awareness can't sense his movements. After a turn at the corner, I lost sight of him and couldn't keep up."

Zhang Lianhao stood on the long street, the spring breeze brushing past, and the willow trees swaying gently.

But as he clutched the gilded silver tiger-headed spear, a sense of frustration and anger welled up within him.

"Demon Ox..."

He slightly lowered his head, deeply imprinting the image of the cute bull mask in his mind.

He didn't continue the pursuit, as it was futile.

Returning to the Million Gambling House, the Temple Enforcement Command's Divine Enforcers had already arrived and sealed off the gambling house.

Zhang Lianhao stood on the roof, made of overlapping black tiles, and looked down the long street. The sound of horse hooves clattered on the wide, blue stone street.

A group of soldiers clad in dazzling golden armor approached, with two leaders riding at the front and about forty to fifty armored soldiers following behind.

"The Golden Light City Divine Guard Army..."

"They're pretty fast; I've never seen them this efficient before."

Zhang Lianhao glanced at them, let out a cold laugh, and signaled to the Divine Enforcers below before leaping into the bloody courtyard.

His gaze immediately fell upon the corpse of the Cursed Iron Corpse, nailed to death.

"The Corpse God Sect's Ten Capital Cities Corpse God Envoy, who had cultivated the Cursed Iron Corpse. It's difficult to kill a Grandmaster, yet this one was blasted to death."

Zhang Lianhao sheathed his gilded silver tiger-headed spear.

He narrowed his eyes and scanned the area, taking in the thick death energy mixed with the scent of blood.

He walked over to the headless corpse of Lin Da, the second-in-command of the Million Gambling House, and recognized his identity.

"Imprinted with the Corpse Curse Seal of the Ten Capital Cities, all the warriors in the courtyard were marked with the Corpse Curse Seal... They couldn't resist the temptation."

"The Corpse God Sect's infiltration is indeed pervasive. The Corpse Curse Seal can help people break through their inherent bottlenecks, and the temptation is too great..."

Zhang Lianhao sighed.

Even renowned Grandmasters who had been famous for a long time couldn't resist this temptation and chose to join the Corpse God Sect. How could these warriors, who had lost hope of breaking through, not be swayed?

"The Demon Ox is indeed ruthless and vicious, and his skills are formidable. With this lineup, he killed them all alone, including a Cursed Iron Corpse..."

"Even Grandmasters find Cursed Iron Corpses troublesome. After all, they are extremely durable, with bodies as tough as fine iron."

"But..."

Zhang Lianhao examined the Corpse God Envoy's corpse, and his eyes narrowed slightly, because... this Corpse God Envoy was completely crushed by a terrifyingly powerful force!

That power...

Seemed to be at the level of an Initial Stage Grandmaster!

"The Demon Ox... has become a Grandmaster?!"

Zhang Lianhao took a deep breath. According to Zhang Xiangyang's intelligence, this Demon Ox had only reached the level of Sinew Opening and Bone Tempering when he first appeared in Thunder City three years ago.

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

"No, it's not certain that he's a Grandmaster. He might just have the ability to unleash Grandmaster-level power, combined with his divine aura..."

Zhang Lianhao probed further and basically determined the Demon Ox's method of attack.

"He used Divinity Crystal powder to restrict the Corpse God Envoy's divine aura, forcing him to rely solely on his physical strength, resulting in a crushing defeat."

"This indicates that the Demon Ox is weak in terms of divine aura... Using Divinity Crystal powder as a means of combat is indeed as sinister and treacherous as Zhang Xiangyang described."

"But being able to cover the entire courtyard with Divinity Crystal powder is quite unusual."

Zhang Lianhao couldn't help but think of the mechanical art that shot down Qin Yuqing from dozens of li away, and the Demon Ox seemed to possess a similar skill.

Both of them were lawless rogues, killing without restraint.

"Hey, this is interesting." Zhang Lianhao laughed, as the headache wasn't his problem. The Temple Enforcement Command dealt with these trivial matters, but they focused more on the three strange temples outside the city.

However, the Divine Guard Army, responsible for maintaining order in the city, had a real headache dealing with these lawless rogues.

"The Demon Ox is a talent... He should join our Temple Enforcement Command."

"Also, we can confirm the Demon Ox's identity; it's not Li Che... Shi Lei and Hong Yong just sent a message that they personally saw Li Che entering the Heaven-Enraged Bureau, starting his daily routine."

"The Heaven-Enraged Bureau is over ten li away from the Million Gambling House, and Li Che has a solid alibi... People can't teleport, right?"

Zhang Lianhao completely dismissed the possibility of Li Che being the Demon Ox.

Zhang Xiangyang's speculation that Li Che was the Demon Ox was just a guess, and Zhang Lianhao didn't fully believe it.

Now, he had made his judgment...

Li Che could never be the Demon Ox! One person couldn't be in two places over ten li apart at the same time.

...

...

Heaven-Enraged Bureau.

Cliffside Divine Tower.

Li Che removed his hood and black robe, putting on the neat robe of a Guest Scholar of the Heaven-Enraged Bureau. He smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes, gripped the Thunderbolt Chess Piece, and teleported to the anchor point he had left in the Heaven-Enraged Bureau.

Even after returning to the Heaven-Enraged Bureau, Li Che still kept the 【Lion Elephant Vajra】

Li Che pushed the concealment effect of the Dao Fruit to its limit.

After all, there were also powerful figures within the Heaven-Enraged Bureau. If he didn’t conceal his aura while coming and going, he might be noticed by someone with ill intentions.

For instance, Gong Yunli and Gong Yang Liancheng, who were responsible for the guest scholar evaluation, were both Void Phase cultivators, not weaker than the Chief Officer of the Temple Enforcement Command, Zhang Lianhao.

The Void Phase was a vague realm between the Divine Foundation and the Divine Appearance realms.

Strictly speaking, it could be considered part of the Divine Appearance realm, as a Divine Appearance had been condensed. However, it was somewhat blurry, and its power was naturally inferior to that of a true Divine Appearance, lacking some of the overwhelming aura.

In addition, the Heaven-Enraged Bureau had an Inspector and two Deputy Inspectors, who were undoubtedly true Divine Appearance-level elders!

Although these Divine Appearance cultivators wouldn’t casually sweep their divine awareness, Li Che felt it was better to be cautious.

Maintaining the concealment state of the Sleeping Dragon Elephant, even if divine awareness swept over, it would be hard to detect him. Entering the Heaven-Enraged Bureau wouldn’t attract attention, helping him maintain his alibi.

"The Suspensive Thinking Willow Body I obtained from the Xu family’s old patriarch can be learned. It can create a willow body replica, which will better help me establish an alibi," Li Che thought with a smile, his eyes gleaming as he recalled a Divine Aura Technique.

His cultivation of the Divine Aura Technique was relatively slow, so he hadn’t delved into this secret technique.

Dissolving the Sleeping Dragon Elephant, Li Che quietly entered the warm and comfortable pavilion.

Shangguan Qinghong, with her crystal-clear feet still bare, was squatting on a chair, holding a braised chicken claw, munching on it while reading a romance novel.

"Brother Li is here?"

Shangguan Qinghong suddenly looked up, her nose twitching.

"Smell of blood? Where have you been, Brother Li?"

Shangguan Qinghong asked.

Li Che was startled. She could smell that?

Are you a dog, Shangguan Qinghong?

"Ah, I went to the Temple Enforcement Command. You should have heard about what happened in Thunder City..." Li Che sighed.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Qinghong relaxed. Going to the Temple Enforcement Command...

That’s fine. It’s normal to have the smell of blood after going there.

"Qinghong, the wooden sculpture I took on last time is complete. You can contact the customer and tell them to come and collect the divine wood sculpture," Li Che said.

Shangguan Qinghong nodded, giving Li Che a strange look. "Brother Li, it took you a while to complete this wooden sculpture. Half a month, that’s quite a bit of time."

"The first job, I wanted to build a good reputation. I’ll speed up next time," Li Che smiled, offering a simple explanation.

He then bid farewell to Shangguan Qinghong and headed towards his workroom.

The Heaven-Enraged Bureau provided a workroom for each guest scholar.

There were even better-quality professional workrooms on higher floors, specializing in alchemy, wood sculpture, armory, and talisman-making. Renting them required spending Divine Crystals.

Li Che was currently very poor... he couldn’t afford it.

In the workroom area, he could see other guest scholars. Li Che saw a master armorer who had rented an armory workroom, wearing a short jacket and showing off his muscular physique.

Noticing Li Che’s gaze, the master armorer nodded slightly.

Another workroom was a talisman-making room, where a guest scholar with a fine beard was brewing tea. Seeing Li Che’s gaze, he smiled and nodded.

The relationship between guest scholars was generally good, as they might all be potential clients.

Entering his workroom, Li Che closed the door and locked it, the Heaven and Earth Chessboard enveloping the area, blocking any probing.

Although no one would release divine awareness to probe in the Heaven-Enraged Bureau’s workrooms, being cautious was a fundamental trait for survival in this world. Better safe than sorry.

Sitting in a chair, Li Che exhaled, his gaze gradually turning cold.

"Corpse Deity Sect..."

How vicious! Indeed, they are targeting his daughter, Xi Xi.

"Moreover, the Corpse Curse Seal I suppressed with the Chess Sage Dao Fruit was at the Eight Extremes level... no wonder I couldn’t erase it."

Li Che exhaled, his heart sinking. Being targeted by a behemoth like the Corpse Deity Sect was definitely not a good thing.

The Corpse Deity Sect was not like the noble clans and sects in Golden Light City; they wouldn’t fear the influence of the Divine Sect Branch.

"Million Gambling House has members of the Corpse Deity Sect. What about the Black Snake Gang monitoring my family at the alley entrance?"

"Or perhaps their superior, one of the three major gangs in the city, the Fishing Gang?"

"Then there’s the head of the Million Gambling House... who wasn’t there today. I need to find an opportunity to eliminate them, cutting the root of the problem."

Li Che’s gaze was icy cold as he slowly closed his eyes, his entire body emanating a thick aura of malevolence.

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

These forces are targeting his daughter, so he, Li Che, will target them.

As long as he eliminates them before they make a move against Xi Xi...

Xi Xi’s safety will be secured.

"I can’t do much... but I can help you get rid of some maggots."

His mind flickered.

Two Heaven and Earth Jades appeared before him.

One was from the Corpse Deity Sect’s Ten Cities Corpse God Envoy, and the other from the Second Head of the Million Gambling House.

"It’s been a long time since I received such generous gifts."

Li Che sighed with mixed feelings.

After arriving in the city, he had become much more restrained. Killing the Gray-Faced Secret Agents and Qin Yuqing from the Qin family didn’t give him the opportunity to obtain their gifts, which pained him deeply.

Killing without looting always felt like ants crawling all over his body.

Calming his mind, Li Che began to inventory his spoils, breaking the restrictions of the Heaven and Earth Jades. The contents were immediately visible under his divine awareness.

Li Che first inventoried the possessions of the Second Head of the Million Gambling House.

Three thousand silver notes, a hundred gold leaves, and a pile of loose silver. Li Che didn’t bother counting the details.

Next, he found a cultivation method for the Ten Cities Divine Foundation and a mid-level Divine Vein technique...

There were several weapons, but they were ordinary fine iron weapons, which held little appeal to Li Che, who had used divine armaments.

No bottles of Martial Pills, which was quite disappointing.

But what truly stirred Li Che’s emotions was...

The Second Head’s collection contained two Ten Cities Divine Crystals!

"Not bad, not as meager as I imagined."

Li Che finally showed a satisfied smile. Although two Ten Cities Divine Crystals weren’t many, they were still a gain.

In terms of wealth, the Second Head didn’t compare to the Divine Foundation elders of the noble families in Thunder City, but the two Divine Crystals made up for the difference.

Continuing to inventory his spoils, he opened the blind box from the Corpse Deity Sect’s Corpse God Envoy.

Unlike the Second Head of the Million Gambling House, who was wealthy, the Corpse God Envoy’s Heaven and Earth Jade contained little money. Li Che immediately searched for Divine Crystals...

"Jackpot..."

His eyes gleamed as he mentally commanded, and ten Divine Crystals, emitting a faint white glow, spilled out at once!

Among them, one Divine Crystal was as large as a palm, containing a power that made even Li Che, who possessed a Temple Deity-level Divine Aura, feel almost suffocated by the overwhelming pressure.

"Eight Extremes Divine Crystal!"

Li Che’s eyes widened in shock.

This Ten Cities Corpse God Envoy of the Corpse Deity Sect... actually possessed an Eight Extremes Divine Crystal?

!

No way...

The Ten-Capital Cities Divine Enforcer has such a background?

"Perhaps... this Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal has a great use for the Corpse Deity Envoy?"

Li Che pondered.

But regardless of its use, now...

This Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal belongs to the Li family!

Thank you, Divine Enforcer Big Brother, for your gift! Together with the two from the Second Master, there are now eleven Ten-Capital Cities Divinity Crystals and one Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal!

Excluding the Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal, this is almost more than Li Che's four months of salary!

As expected, working for others won't make you rich!

Li Che's mood soared, and the Divinity Crystal could save him a lot of time in maturing his Pure Heart Fruit.

As long as the Pure Heart Fruit matures to level 3, he can awaken the primordial technique of the Pure Heart!

This will be the third primordial technique Li Che masters!

"The background of this sect's cultivator is indeed beyond comparison to the leaders of the Fishing Gang's subordinate forces..."

"Additionally, this Corpse Deity Sect's Corpse Deity Envoy has just infiltrated the Million Gambling House. These Divinity Crystals are likely his operating funds, especially the Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal... which might also be related to the Corpse Deity Sect's plans."

"One Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal and eleven Ten-Capital Cities Divinity Crystals, can they help me raise my Pure Heart to level 3?"

"If it's still not enough, there should be more Corpse Deity Envoys of the Corpse Deity Sect in Golden Light City."

Li Che lowered his gaze, playing with the Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal that exuded a strong divine aura and a suppressed rank. He exhaled.

The Corpse Deity Sect is not a good thing...

Consider it as eliminating a threat for the people.

Aside from the Divinity Crystal, the Corpse Deity Envoy's collection was much simpler.

There was a divine armament, a long sword emitting an extremely cold chill.

...

【Divine Armament (Ten-Capital Cities High-Grade): Soul-Sealing Frost Bone Sword】

【Craftsmanship: Forged from century-old glacial iron, mixed with the blood of the "Bone-Eroding" spirit bug, infused with the Six Desires Body Touch Divinity, and tempered in glacial spring water, it can channel the Body Touch Divinity. When unsheathed, it can freeze and erode a person's tendons and bones!】

【Mastery: Six Desires Body Touch Divinity Law, Cultivation Level River or above】

...

A high-grade divine armament of the Ten-Capital Cities, unfortunately, requires cultivation in the Body Touch Divinity of the Six Desires Divinity to wield.

For Li Che, it was useless.

"I'll sell it in the black market later to exchange for Divinity Crystals," Li Che thought, unceremoniously storing it in his Heaven and Earth Jade space.

Aside from the divine armament, there were also pills. He poured out an extremely dark pill, emitting a dense deathly aura.

Li Che immediately used the Thousand Dissection Hand to appraise it.

"Upper-grade ninth-rank martial pill... Corpse Deity Sect's Ten Thousand Ghost Deathly Qi Condensation Martial Pill! After consumption, it will erode the body with deathly qi, allowing one to break through their shackles through painful refinement. Can be consumed."

"This is for the Corpse Deity Sect's cultivators who practice the Cursed Corpse!"

Li Che frowned, appraising it with the Thousand Dissection Hand. The pill was fine, but its medicinal properties might differ from ordinary martial pills.

After putting away the pill, Li Che turned his attention to the cultivation methods.

《Six Desires Body Touch Corpse Nourishment Law》 and 《Six Desires Body Touch Corpse Divine Foundation Law》—these were two cultivation methods related to divinity.

Li Che glanced at them and put them away; he didn't want to cultivate the Six Desires Divinity for now.

Firstly, he hadn't even perfected the Seven Emotions Divinity, and cultivating the Six Desires on top of that felt like biting off more than he could chew.

Moreover, the Six Desires Divinity Law's sinister nature... was even more extreme than the Seven Emotions, so Li Che chose to be cautious.

Aside from the divine cultivation methods, there were divine martial arts!

《Corpse Deity Death Smoke Finger》, a Nine Stars divine martial art.

Once mastered, it allows the user to channel deathly qi through their fingers, akin to deadly poison!

What a vicious martial art!

Li Che narrowed his eyes slightly and began reading without showing any reaction.

After reading for a while, the talent boost from the Dragon-Elephant Vajra Fruit allowed him to grasp the basics of the Death Smoke Finger.

Aside from the difficulty in condensing deathly qi, it wasn't a big problem. Li Che had the Deathly Qi Martial Pill, so he could still practice this martial art.

Without further cultivating martial arts, Li Che's mind stirred.

A stream of light shone from his pupils.

【Divine Fruit: Dragon-Elephant Vajra (lv3, 15%), Pure Heart (LV2, 24%), Chess Sage (LV2, 12%)】

The maturity of the divine fruits had significantly increased.

The Dragon-Elephant Vajra, due to a fierce battle, had increased by 2%, which wasn't much, but at least it had improved.

The Pure Heart didn't change much, but the Chess Sage Fruit had grown considerably...

This was clearly due to the absorption and condensation of a significant number of deceased divinity chess pieces.

However, the increase was only average, and reaching level 3 seemed like a distant dream.

"If I could go to the Anomalous Temple and absorb the temple deity's divinity, condensing it into a temple deity divinity chess piece... that should significantly speed up the progress."

"In this battle, for a quick resolution, I used up one temple deity chess piece. Now, I only have six left..."

Li Che sighed.

Temple deity chess pieces... each one was precious, but entering the Ascension State required divinity chess pieces as fuel.

"I need to find an opportunity to visit the Anomalous Temple..."

"However, the Anomalous Temple in the capital city is guarded by the Temple Enforcement Command's experts, and the Deceptive Tower blocks the way, making it difficult to enter..."

Li Che suddenly missed the temple deity statue outside Thunder City, whose head he had rubbed bald.

"Forget it, out with the old and in with the new. There will always be new temple deities waiting for me..."

Li Che muttered.

After clearing his mind of distractions, he took out the Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal.

In his chest, the Pure Heart Fruit suddenly started throbbing violently, and a powerful suction force burst forth.

The faint white divinity contained within the Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal was frantically devoured by the Pure Heart Fruit.

Li Che abruptly opened his eyes, a slight tremor in his gaze.

The maturity of the Pure Heart Fruit was rapidly increasing.

2%, 2%, 2%...

In almost a single breath, the maturity increased by 2%, a speed far beyond Li Che's imagination.

Li Che realized...

He might have underestimated the divinity within the Eight Trigrams Divinity Crystal!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end