Chapter 231: "Scholar" or "Martial"?

Chapter 231: "Scholar" or "Martial"?

"Hiss!"

Standing on the deck, the Heavenly Axe Sect Master couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine as he witnessed the scene before him. Even though it wasn't the first time he had seen it, each time was still awe-inspiring!

The power displayed far surpassed his own at the peak of Refinement Void, and even with all his strength channeled into the "Fourth Axe," he could only manage to achieve less than two-thirds of the effect.

But the problem was, this was his full-power attack, while it was just a casual strike for the elder.

The difference between them was like that of clouds and mud, or heaven and earth!

Only those at the peak of Refinement Void could truly sense Chen Qiu's strength, while those below that level could only feel that he was powerful, but they had no real concept of how strong he was.

The gap was one that made others look up to him in awe!

And Chen Qiu was currently only at the first layer of Refinement Void. If he were to reach the peak of Refinement Void, slaughtering those of the same cultivation level would be as easy as killing chickens and dogs.

"Kill!"

At that moment, on the deck beside him, Fat Dragon roared, brandishing a long knife and leaping down without even activating his protective spiritual energy. He jumped straight from the sky towards the peak of the Maiden Sword Sect.

"Ah?"

The Heavenly Axe Sect Master was slightly startled, but before he could say much, he too roared and charged downwards!

In an instant, nearly a hundred robust adult dragons and over fifty Mocking Heaven Sect disciples followed suit.

These individuals were all at the Divine Transformation cultivation level, and even though they hadn't reached Refinement Void, the sheer number of Divine Transformation cultivators was overwhelming. The Heavenly Axe Sect Master could hold his own against the Refinement Void experts, but the remaining Maiden Sword Sect disciples would have to bear the brunt of the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples' slaughter.

Led by Fat Dragon, the rest of the group also jumped down without any hesitation.

There was no strategy or formation, just pure recklessness and charging ahead.

Qiu had already unleashed a heavenly thunder that swept the ground, leaving many of the remaining Maiden Sword Sect disciples dead or injured. Going down now was mostly to clean up the aftermath, with relatively little pressure.

On the deck, Chen Qiu withdrew his gaze from the Maiden Sword Sect below and paid little attention. If not for the presence of the Heavenly Axe Sect Master, they would indeed lack some mid to high-level combat power, and he would have had to intervene.

But with the Heavenly Axe Sect Master, there was no need for him to worry.

The entire process was like a fish in water.

A Refinement Void expert as a fighter was still very useful.

Only then did he turn his attention to the sky above his dantian.

His eight Heavenly Path Mystic Treasures had finally been fully assembled, and he had obtained the final effect of the complete set.

The first effect was:

"The power of the Thunder Summoning Art will be enhanced."

The second effect was:

"The power of the Thunder Summoning Art will be enhanced again."

And the third and final effect was:

"The power of the Thunder Summoning Art will be greatly enhanced once more."

Excellent.

All three enhancements focused on the Thunder Summoning Art, which was quite useful for him. He had lost count of the number of ways he had strengthened his Thunder Summoning Art and only knew that its power might be slightly different from that of an ordinary person's.

At this moment, his combat strength had reached the pinnacle of what was possible at the first layer of Refinement Void.

To improve further, he would need to raise his cultivation level.

Soon, nearly an hour had passed.

This time, it took a little longer, as the Maiden Sword Sect was larger than the Bai Family, and it was more troublesome to sweep through their territory. After nearly an hour, the Heavenly Axe Sect Master and Fat Dragon returned to the deck of the flying ship.

"Another bag."

Fat Dragon grinned and handed over a burlap bag, saying, "Qiu, this time we're really going to tire out the shopkeeper."

"570,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones in cash, 170,000 more than the Bai Family, and who knows how many are in the storage rings."

"The sects on the Vast Continent are indeed wealthy, much richer than those on the Profound Heaven Continent."

On the Profound Heaven Continent, pillaging a sect wouldn't yield such a large harvest. When they had raided the Cause Sect, they had only obtained around 10,000 Spirit Stones. This Maiden Sword Sect was equivalent to fifty-seven Cause Sects.

And this was just the cash on hand, the Spirit Stones stored in the treasure vault for the sect's daily operations, such as disciples' salaries, activating Spirit Gathering Arrays, Mountain Defense Arrays, and regular sect purchases. The Spirit Stones in the storage rings were still unknown.

They had only counted the medium-grade Spirit Stones and hadn't even considered the low-grade ones. As for high-grade Spirit Stones, the treasure vault had almost none, as they were generally scarce and mostly found in storage rings, which needed to be opened to be tallied.

"Very good."

Chen Qiu nodded in satisfaction. It was said that obtaining cultivation resources on the path of cultivation was as difficult as ascending to heaven, but he felt it wasn't that bad.

In just a few hours, he had acquired 970,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones, equivalent to half of his stockpile.

This was just the count of Spirit Stones, not including other gains. With another one or two million Spirit Stones, he would have enough to cultivate all the way to the peak of Refinement Void. He estimated that the Twelve Thrones Competition would take one or two years, or even longer, like two or three years.

During this time, he could focus on secluded cultivation and break through to the Body Fusion Stage.

He could also learn the "Body Fusion Killing Move"!

This way, by the time the Twelve Thrones were all contested, he would have just reached the Body Fusion Stage. Otherwise, if he hadn't reached that stage, the State Continent Shackles would be lifted.

Without the means of "Permanent Exile," facing so many Body Fusion Stage cultivators and stronger opponents, he would feel a bit insecure.

His plan was simple.

He intended to go into seclusion for one or two years, until his cultivation reached the peak of Refinement Void. Before secluding himself, he needed to prepare sufficient cultivation resources to ensure he wouldn't run out halfway through and have to leave seclusion to gather more.

In addition to his own cultivation resources, the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples also required cultivation resources, and this group was his foundation.

"Elder."

The Heavenly Axe Sect Master respectfully handed over a leather-bound book, saying, "This is the Entry Directory of the Maiden Sword Sect."

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu was in a good mood and smiled as he nodded, then looked at the map in his hand, "Continue, to the next one!"

The Refinement Void experts who had come to surround and kill him earlier had all been from sects that were now eradicated due to their previous grudges. Once these vengeful sects were dealt with, the remaining sects would need to be handled with more diplomacy.

Sending fruit baskets and receiving gifts in return would be the primary approach.

Of course, it would depend on whether the other sects were cooperative.

On the deck of the flying ship, Chen Qiu carefully flipped through the Entry Directory obtained from the Maiden Sword Sect. This sect had also recorded many basic entries, and he found that most of the recorded entries were of lower grades.

The quality of the entries in this directory was slightly higher.

For example, purple entries were rarely included, and the chances of information from such entries being leaked were also smaller.

After all, these entries represented one's trump cards, and revealing their effects meant exposing one's secrets to others. Others could easily set up traps based on the entry's effects.

For this reason, these leather books recording the entry directories were so rare, having been slowly passed down for over a thousand years.

The entry directory from the Maiden Sword Sect mainly consisted of entries suitable for women and those compatible with the Heartless Sword Art.

For instance, the token in his hand was an heirloom of the Maiden Sword Sect. Anyone who met the inheritance condition, which was to personally kill one's beloved husband, and touched this heirloom, would gain a fixed entry.

Entry Name: Heartless Person

Entry Level: Green

Entry Effect: Your cultivation speed will be doubled.

It was a powerful heirloom, and with this entry, the Maiden Sword Sect became a top-tier force in the Mystic Heaven State. Most entry sets were based on this "Heartless Person" entry.

For example:

Heartless Person + Cruel and Ruthless + Heart Cooled and Soul Chilled + Ascend Step by Step + One Sword Slay Heaven + Heartless Sword.

These six entries formed an entry set called "Heartless Sword."

In this set, the main combat entry was the Heartless Sword, which made one's sword techniques more formidable the more pain one felt in their heart. The other entries played supporting roles.

This entry set was relatively easy to match.

Since the "Heartless Sword" entry also had a jade slip, and all entries in this set had jade slips produced, it was almost certain that one could collect the entire set as long as they lived long enough.

However, the drawback was also evident.

Most cultivators couldn't pass the Heart Demon Tribulation, as they had too many heart demons, stopping them at the Essence Condensation stage. Those who dared to cultivate to the Essence Condensation stage would die during the tribulation.

Of course, correspondingly, before reaching the Essence Condensation stage, their cultivation speed and combat power were significantly stronger than other cultivators. It could be said that there were gains and losses.

Thus, under the night sky, the group aboard the flying ship headed towards their next target.

Their next target was the Buddha Sect!

This was the last sect that had come to blockade the Heavenly Hall that day. On that day, the Peak Essence Condensation cultivators had brought out most of their Essence Condensation cultivators, leaving only one Essence Condensation cultivator to guard the sect.

After those Peak Essence Condensation cultivators died at the Heavenly Hall, these sects became juicy targets, and many had been eyeing them greedily during this period.

So, when they arrived above the Buddha Sect, they witnessed a chaotic scene. Two sects had joined forces to attack the Buddha Sect, intending to devour this juicy target.

".

Standing on the deck of the flying ship, Chen Qiu looked down at the scene below, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

The next moment, dark clouds loomed over the city, and a gale raged with heavy rain. Everyone in the midst of the chaos suddenly realized and looked up. Above them, a large group of people had appeared, and this familiar heavenly phenomenon made everyone understand.

Chen Qiu had arrived!

In recent days, Chen Qiu's memory stones had spread throughout the Mystic Heaven State, and the most distinctive feature was that when you saw dark clouds looming, accompanied by a raging storm and thunderous auras in the air, with countless heavenly thunders roaring, you could be sure that Chen Qiu was there.

Do not doubt it.

You've encountered Chen Qiu.

If you flee fast enough, you might save your life.

Almost instantly, the two sects reacted and chose to endure an attack from their opponents to forcefully disengage from the battlefield and flee into the distance!

"Retreat!"

"Go, go!"

They had been eyeing the Buddha Sect for a long time. After all, with the Buddha Sect's abbot and Essence Condensation cultivators all dying at the Heavenly Hall, the sect's elite combat power had been nearly wiped out, making it seem unstable.

The reason they hadn't made a move until now was that the Buddha Sect's elite cultivators had died at Chen Qiu's hands. Strictly speaking, the Buddha Sect was Chen Qiu's spoils of war, so they hadn't dared to act.

But seeing that Chen Qiu hadn't shown up for so long, they assumed he wasn't interested in this target. They had just launched their attack when Chen Qiu appeared!

Damn it!

They dared not complain and quickly retreated first.

"Come at us!"

At that moment, dozens of Buddha Sect disciples in cassocks floated angrily in the air above the Buddha Sect, at the same height as the flying ship. They formed an unknown formation, and golden lights surged from their bodies.

"We swear to stand with the Buddha Sect until the end!"

Ever since the day Chen Qiu broke through to the Essence Condensation stage and killed dozens of Essence Condensation cultivators, news of it had spread throughout the Mystic Heaven State. Many cowardly disciples from both the Maiden Sword Sect and the Buddha Sect had fled beforehand, as it was clear to all that Chen Qiu would seek revenge.

As for the remaining disciples, they were willing to share the fate of their sects.

They were the more loyal ones.

"What a mess."

Chen Qiu shook his head, not wanting to waste effort. His index finger trembled, and countless thunder dragons covered the group of Buddha Sect disciples in front of him, slamming them heavily onto the Buddha Sect's Mountain Defense Array.

"Begin!"

After an incense stick's worth of time, Fat Dragon and the others returned to the flying ship. The ship handed over a bag that was obviously much lighter, and Fat Dragon said with a grim expression, "There are only eighty thousand spirit stones."

"The treasure vault only left behind the spirit stones needed to maintain the Mountain Defense Array. Many spirit stones were taken away by the Buddha Sect's higher-ups. Only the disciples remained in the sect, and the higher-ups had all fled at an unknown time, probably before we arrived a few days ago."

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu nodded and didn't care much. He turned to the Heavenly Axe Sect Master and said, "In the name of the Mocking Heaven Sect, issue a wanted notice for these fleeing higher-ups of the Buddha Sect."

All this time, he had been the target of wanted notices from various sects. This was the first time he had issued a wanted notice himself.

Damn it.

It was time for him to issue a wanted notice for others!

"Let's go to the next one."

Standing on the deck of the flying ship, Chen Qiu didn't feel discouraged by this setback. After all, there were so many sects waiting for him to visit, and he had plenty of room for error. Failing at one sect was insignificant.

However, the first few visits were all "Martial" visits.

The later ones were "Scholar" visits.

They wouldn't exterminate the entire sect, but rather, they would bring fruit baskets and visit with a friendly demeanor.

"The next one, let's see... Heaven Cleaver Sect?"

Chen Qiu looked at the map and turned to the side, glancing at the Heaven Cleaver Sect Master with a strange expression, "Are you holding a grudge against the Heaven Cleaver Sect? They say that a public servant should be impartial, but I've never seen someone so partial to their own interests. If you really have a grudge against them, I can help you wipe them out while I'm at it."

"No grudge... No grudge..."

The Heaven Cleaver Sect Master explained awkwardly, "When I was drawing this route, I thought I shouldn't be biased and exclude the Heaven Cleaver Sect, so I included them in the plan."

"No need."

Chen Qiu shook his head, "After all, they are allies. If it gets out that we raided even our allies' homes, what kind of reputation would we have?"

"Skip this one and move on to the next."

"I'll take a look at the Cause Sect." Chen Qiu suddenly raised his eyebrows, "Tsk, this is an old friend. I didn't expect there to be a Cause Sect in Mystic Heaven State as well. Let's go and see, this one might not be a Scholar visit, and we might have to use force."

Their group moved swiftly, and since there were no survivors from the previous visits, no one knew that a giant dragon had emerged in Mystic Heaven State, devouring each piece of fat one by one, following the optimal sequence like a greedy snake.

However, with the withdrawal of the two forces that had besieged the Buddha Sect, and some people being lured away by the bloody scent of the Bai Family and the Maiden Sword Sect, the news of the dragon's emergence gradually began to spread!

Up until now, the major powers hadn't shown much panic.

After all, whether it was the Bai Family, the Maiden Sword Sect, or the Buddha Sect, they were all sects that had besieged Chen Qiu in the past. It was normal for them to face retribution now. Chen Qiu had no grudges with them, so he wouldn't go after them.

The Heaven Cleaver Sect, on the other hand, was interesting. They had clearly been one of the sects besieging Chen Qiu, but now, for some unknown reason, they had transformed into an ally of the Mock Heaven Sect, even receiving a token of protection from them.

They were quite capable.

The Heaven Cleaver Sect was a tough sect, and its master was a formidable Physique Cultivator. His 'Heaven-Slaying Axe' and 'Fourth Axe' had been renowned as the strongest Physique Cultivator in the entire Mystic Heaven State for a long time. It was only known that he was exceptional in body refinement, but no one expected him to be skilled in flattery as well.

He was truly versatile, able to bend and stretch as needed, reaching the pinnacle of Physique Cultivation.

Mystic Heaven State, Cause Sect.

An elder lady sat in a rocking chair in a courtyard on a mountain, listening to a disciple's report. She then waved her hand, closed her eyes, and swayed in her chair, muttering in a dazed voice, "This Chen Qiu is truly powerful. Such a monstrous talent makes his peers seem dim in comparison."

Her silver hair spread across the entire courtyard.

At that moment, seven or eight maids were kneeling on the ground, their faces serious as they combed the elder lady's hair, which was nearly ten zhang long, an incredibly exaggerated length.

This elder lady was the Supreme Elder of the Cause Sect, with a cultivation base at the initial stage of Essence Condensation.

In Mystic Heaven State, they were slightly stronger than the Zhang Family of Tai City. After all, the Cause Sect used to have an elder at the middle stage of Essence Condensation, but he had passed away recently, causing the sect's overall strength to drop by one level. Nonetheless, they still had a solid foundation.

Then,

The elder lady in the rocking chair suddenly stood up and turned to a middle-aged man standing in the courtyard. Her expression was somewhat displeased as she spoke in a low voice, "Based on your understanding of Chen Qiu, do you think he will come to our Cause Sect?"

This middle-aged man was someone she had met in Blooming City a while ago and had taken into the Cause Sect.

He claimed to be from the same hometown as Chen Qiu, also from the Profound Heaven Continent, and had been the patriarch of the Cao Family, with a cultivation base at the late stage of Divine Transformation. She had offered him a position as a sect elder.

"There's a high probability that he will come."

The Cao Family Patriarch's expression grew serious, and he spoke hastily, "First of all, this situation is very familiar. A similar incident occurred on the Profound Heaven Continent. That time, they also started by exterminating sects they had grudges with, and the Mock Heaven Sect called it a 'Martial' visit."

"Then they started visiting door to door with fruit baskets."

"Visits with fruit baskets are considered 'Scholar' visits."

"If you accept the fruit basket, you must give a gift in return, and the Mock Heaven Sect will mark you as a friendly force."

"But if you refuse to accept the fruit basket or refuse to give a gift in return, you will be marked as a demon force."

"At that time—"

The Cao Family Patriarch's expression turned helpless, "Logically, there's no need for us to worry. Our Cause Sect is like mosquito meat, and the Mock Heaven Sect usually doesn't bother with such small sects. Our strongest is only you, Elder Lady, at the initial stage of Essence Condensation, and we don't have much to offer."

"But our sect happens to be on the route from the Buddha Sect to the Dao Sect. The Mock Heaven Sect will definitely go to the Dao Sect because they are wealthy, and we're on their way. They might come by just for the convenience of it."

"But it's hard to say for sure."

"However, Elder Lady, my suggestion is that since Chen Qiu doesn't have high expectations of our sect, it's fine to give less, but our attitude must be good, especially since the name 'Cause Sect' is quite sensitive."

"Back on the Profound Heaven Continent, the Cause Sect there issued a wanted notice for Chen Qiu, and in the end, he slaughtered their entire sect."

"Understood."

The elder lady sitting in the rocking chair remained silent for a while before speaking, "I know how to handle this."

At that moment—

The Mock Heaven Sect group stood on the deck of their flying ship, shooting towards the direction of the Dao Sect, bypassing the Cause Sect without stopping.

From the Heaven Cleaver Sect Master, they learned that the Cause Sect was just a small, insignificant sect. The only reason it was included in the route was because it was on the way to the Dao Sect."

With the highest cultivation base being only at the initial stage of Essence Condensation, they were on par with the Zhang Family of Tai City. He wasn't very interested and didn't even bother to stop, as he didn't want to waste time. After all, the longer he delayed here, the more likely it was that the Dao Sect would escape.

He couldn't let a mosquito bite distract him from the juicy meat he was about to devour.

".

Standing on the deck, Chen Qiu gazed into the night sky, feeling the breeze on his face, and suddenly laughed. He felt a bit like a pirate, just as the Profound Heaven Daily had described him, with his bandit aura.

He felt a bit embarrassed.

PS: Please point out any typos, and I'll fix them later.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end