Chapter 333: "The Cat's Nine Lives"

Chapter 333: "The Cat's Nine Lives"

Having regained his strength, Chen Qiu didn't linger and chat with Jiang Bu Ping. Instead, he vanished into the void, returning to his own Little World.

He reappeared on the peak of the mountain behind the city.

The moment he landed, Fei Long and the others rushed over with excited faces. "Brother Qiu, I..."

However, before they could finish their sentence, Chen Qiu waved his hand, sending Badan and his tribe out. Then, he found Xing Dou, the head of the Alchemy Hall of the Cao Tian Sect, among the crowd. With a hoarse voice, he said, "I'm a bit hungry. Prepare something for me to eat when I wake up."

As soon as he finished speaking, his injuries overwhelmed him, and he fainted, his eyes rolling back.

Just as he was about to fall, Fei Long quickly stepped forward, catching Brother Qiu in his arms. His face contorted as he roared, "Brother Qiu! Brother Qiu!!!"

His reaction was as if Chen Qiu had already passed away.

After performing for a while and seeing no reaction from the crowd, Fei Long slightly embarrassedly wrapped Brother Qiu in a protective layer of Spirit Qi, causing him to float in the air. He then turned to Xing Dou, "Uh, let's go to the Heavenly Palace and see how serious Brother Qiu's injuries are."

Xing Dou nodded.

The others weren't overly worried. After all, if Brother Qiu could ask for food upon waking up, his injuries probably weren't too severe. Fei Long, on the other hand, licked his lips, feeling a bit unsatisfied.

He often felt that something was wrong with his mind.

For some reason, he frequently imagined Brother Qiu suddenly dying, and then he would be beside the corpse, wailing in agony. This scene kept flashing in his mind, but it was unlikely to ever happen.

"Damn it!"

Jiang Bu Ping looked at the empty space in front of him, frowning in displeasure. "What an impolite guy, leaving without even saying goodbye?"

Just then—

Badan and the others suddenly appeared, their eyes filled with bewilderment. They had no idea how they had been thrown out.

He glanced at this group of people, then turned away and flew towards the distance, ignoring them. He only cared about Chen Qiu, or rather, the Cao Tian Sect's leader. As for the others, he didn't give them a second thought.

Although Badan had become a True Immortal and the strongest in the Tide Immortal Plane, in his eyes, they still didn't have the qualifications to speak to him.

Even though he was currently in a sorry state, he still had the dignity of a Half-Step Immortal Emperor.

He planned to send "Miss Bai" back to the Bai Family, as he had promised. After all, he hadn't decided yet if he wanted his own body back. If necessary, he could always kidnap her again later. Having this burden by his side was quite troublesome.

The history of this world was corrected every thirty thousand years.

The last correction, thirty thousand years ago, not only erased memories related to the Cao Tian Sect but also altered all records of that great war. It included the fact that the victor of the promotion to the Twelfth Rank Immortal Plane did not encounter opportunities but instead faced a world-ending battle. All these secrets were corrected.

No one remembered these events, and there were no records of them either.

Only in places beyond the reach of the Heavenly Dao did some information remain.

It was fortunate that history had been corrected.

Otherwise, the Cao Tian Sect would not only have dominated the Fifth Rank Immortal Realm but would have faced an immediate world-ending disaster upon showing any sign of prominence. In the eyes of many, the Heavenly Dao was akin to an evil force, but the Cao Tian Sect was even more demonic.

The Heavenly Dao merely slaughtered a Twelfth Rank Immortal Plane.

In contrast, the Cao Tian Sect intended to annihilate millions of Immortal Realms.

With such a comparison, who could be considered the villain? Even before the Heavenly Dao awakened, the higher-ranked Immortal Realms, upon hearing of the Cao Tian Sect's resurgence, immediately crushed the entire sect with overwhelming power, eradicating it in its infancy!

The heavenly tribulation was gradually coming to an end.

The spectators in the distance also gradually regained their senses, and everyone's eyes were filled with awe. They all clearly realized one thing: the scene they had just witnessed might be a significant event in the history books.

Perhaps they, too, would be mentioned in those books.

"Immortal Emperor Chen Qiu, in the Tide Immortal Plane, with his Tribulation Peak cultivation, had crossed the Third Rank Heavenly Tribulation. Numerous cultivators watched from a distance."

Although it would only appear in the history books as a brief mention, possibly without even a name, it was still one of the few opportunities to leave a mark on the continent's historical records.

The continent's history books were not like family or sect chronicles; only events that could change the continent's landscape would be recorded.

As the crowd gradually came to their senses, a wailing sound suddenly rose from among them. Everyone's attention had been focused on the battle, and they had completely forgotten about Zhongzhou City. The city's defense array had been completely destroyed, and one side of the city wall had collapsed entirely.

About one-twentieth of the shops and houses had been reduced to rubble.

This meant that many people's property would be wiped out.

This was because the impact of the shockwave was mainly in the sky, and Zhongzhou City was large enough to withstand it. If the impact had been at the center, the entire city would have been reduced to ashes.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn this heavenly tribulation, give me back my shop!!!"

A bald middle-aged man angrily pointed at the sky, his voice filled with grief and rage. In his heart, he wanted to curse Chen Qiu, but he dared not. Although Chen Qiu was not present, if someone recorded his words, he might face disaster.

He knew whom he could curse and whom he couldn't.

For a moment, many people looked at the ruins of Zhongzhou City with sorrow and pain. The shops in Zhongzhou City were not cheap, and the remaining rent would likely not be refunded by the city lord, meaning a significant loss of Spirit Stones.

It was uncertain if Zhongzhou City could afford to compensate for so many Spirit Stones.

Most importantly,

Many people relied on their shops for a living, and now that the shops were gone, they would have to rent new ones.

Fortunately, they didn't suffer much loss in terms of goods, as storing them in their storage rings was not difficult, and they collected them as they fled.

Most people didn't suffer severe losses, but the most significant impact was on Zhongzhou City. Although the city lord didn't have to refund the rent, rebuilding these shops would still require considerable effort.

At that moment—

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

A middle-aged man in a luxurious robe stepped forward, his voice amplified by spiritual energy, reaching everyone's ears: "Many of you should know me. I am the City Lord of Zhongzhou City."

"All shops destroyed in this heavenly tribulation."

"There are two solutions."

"First, the remaining rent will be refunded in full."

"Second, the rent will not be refunded. Instead, you can find a new shop in another part of Zhongzhou City, in a similar location, with a slightly better business district."

"For all residences destroyed in this heavenly tribulation."

"Rented residences will have their rent refunded."

"Purchased residences will be fully reimbursed."

As his words fell, the crowd that had been wailing in sorrow moments ago now burst into joyous cheers, exclaiming, "The City Lord is truly virtuous!"

Standing beside the City Lord was an elderly man who whispered, "City Lord, I must remind you that this is the time of the Ascension Assembly, when the prices in Zhongzhou City are at their highest. The rent and purchase prices of those residences are not cheap."

"The City Lord's Mansion might not have enough spirit stones to fulfill such a promise, and the consequences of failing to keep it are unimaginable."

"No worries."

The City Lord of Zhongzhou City narrowed his eyes and spoke softly, "I've just checked the situation. The destroyed area consists mostly of residences, with shops being the minority. It's a residential area."

"Almost ninety percent of those residences are rented, and the leases are set to expire right after the Ascension Assembly, which they were rented for."

"We don't have to refund any rent for these residences."

"In other words, we only need to refund a small portion of the spirit stones, and in this moment when the entire world is watching, we can earn an excellent reputation. With this, people's trust in Zhongzhou City will grow, and the city can gradually develop towards becoming a 'Witness'—a neutral and trustworthy intermediary for transactions between powerful forces. This is a worthwhile investment."

The term 'Witness' refers to a neutral and trusted intermediary when two forces engage in a large-scale transaction and are unfamiliar with each other. They hand over spirit stones and goods to this Witness, who completes the transaction on their behalf.

This Witness is often someone well-known and respected by both parties.

Even so, there have been instances of Witnesses turning against the parties, cheating them, or even taking advantage of both sides.

Zhongzhou City has always aspired to become such a force—a neutral and trustworthy intermediary that others can rely on.

As for the destroyed residences and shops, their value lies in the fact that in Zhongzhou City, the actual cost is negligible, and reconstruction would not be too difficult. The only regret is that Zhongzhou City's walls have a rich historical heritage spanning tens of thousands of years, and nearly half of one wall has been destroyed, which is irreversible.

"Moreover," the City Lord continued after a brief pause, "I've already used an array disc to record Chen Qiu's heavenly tribulation. I don't plan to repair these ruins. Instead, I intend to set up a massive illusionary array here."

"I will turn this place into a tourist attraction."

"With the strength Chen Qiu has displayed, his journey won't end at Human Immortal. It might not even be considered his starting point."

"If..."

"If Chen Qiu becomes an Immortal Emperor in the future, would you be willing to spend a small amount of spirit stones to experience the scene of him overcoming the Third Rank Heavenly Tribulation?"

"Furthermore, this will also create an invisible bond between Chen Qiu and Zhongzhou City."

"In the future, anyone who wants to destroy Zhongzhou City will have to destroy the ruins left by Chen Qiu. Unless the benefits are truly enormous, no one will dare to bear such consequences."

"Also, think about it. How long has it been since the Tide Immortal Plane produced such a remarkable figure?"

"Once this news spreads, countless people will come to see it. You know, in the cultivation world, there's always a group of people who love exploring the traces of powerful cultivators, as if they can gain insights from it."

"And..."

"I have an even crazier idea."

"The Ascension Assembly happens once every ten thousand years, which is too long."

"I plan to hold it annually. I want to recreate the Ascension Assembly on the foundation of these ruins, with Zhongzhou City providing the rewards. The final challenge will be the heavenly tribulation scene. This way..."

The elderly strategist, standing beside the City Lord, who was brimming with excitement, remained silent, his face expressionless.

He really wanted to say, "Who's the strategist here?"

He had been the old City Lord's strategist and steward, but with the old City Lord's passing and the young City Lord's official ascension, he now served as the young City Lord's advisor and steward.

However, he hadn't offered any suggestions in a long time.

The young City Lord had too many ideas, and he was struggling to keep up. Many of the young lord's ideas seemed outrageous. For instance, recreating the Ascension Assembly was an incredibly bold plan.

Admittedly, if this plan succeeds, the benefits will be immense.

But what kind of rewards would you need to attract top-tier forces to participate every year? It's a huge initial investment with no guarantee of when it will pay off.

However, there was one thing he truly admired about the young City Lord—his positive mindset.

What he initially thought was a terrible situation now seemed like a blessing in disguise after the young City Lord's analysis.

Ever since the Young Master of the City took over, he has implemented numerous plans that have impressed even himself.

For instance, the "Immortal Graveyard" plan, which brings a significant amount of Spirit Stones to Zhongzhou City each year.

Before this, no one had ever thought of selling a graveyard to immortals. It's not just nonsense; no one had ever seen immortals neatly buried in a graveyard.

The Young Master of the City had a Codex Entry:

Codex Entry Name: Entry Domain

Codex Entry Grade: Purple

Codex Entry Effect: You can deprive yourself of a certain Codex Entry and place it in a specific location. Within a hundred zhang of this Codex Entry, all cultivators within the range will be affected by the Entry's effect.

A somewhat peculiar Codex Entry, he always felt that its greatest use was to find a Codex Entry that enhances individual cultivation speed, then detach it and place it in a secluded area, turning it into a permanent and immovable Entry that increases cultivation speed for everyone.

It's actually quite powerful.

It can be a very strong foundation for a faction.

But the Young Master of the City used this Codex Entry to build a graveyard.

Codex Entry Name: Reincarnation

Codex Entry Grade: Purple

Codex Entry Effect: After your death, your residual soul will unconsciously wander in the Netherworld. After ten thousand years, you will be resurrected.

Yes.

With these two Codex Entries combined, the Young Master of the City possessed a graveyard where anyone buried there would be resurrected after ten thousand years. It's a rather magical combination, at least in his opinion. He never expected that, coupled with the Young Master's promotion, this place would become the famous and only "Immortal Graveyard" in the Tide Immortal Plane.

However, there was a problem.

Most immortals rarely die of old age; they usually meet their end due to accidents. It's not like they can bury themselves in the graveyard beforehand.

In other words,

The graveyard's core customers are those who cannot directly trade with the graveyard. The secondary core customers, who are the relatives of the core customers, are the ones who can make transactions.

But how many people are willing to spend a large amount of Spirit Stones to have their master or father resurrected after ten thousand years?

To be blunt, even if they do resurrect at that time, they won't be able to see them. Why spend the Spirit Stones?

At this point,

The graveyard's promotion also faced a dilemma, until the Young Master of the City changed the marketing strategy, shifting the focus from "Resurrection" to "Trust." He crafted numerous stories and had storytellers spread them far and wide.

For example, "A Thousand Gold to Bury a Confidant."

It tells the story of a faction leader who, in his grief over the death of his confidant in battle, buried him in the "Immortal Graveyard" and spent a significant amount of Spirit Stones.

From then on—

It became an instant hit.

Many faction leaders would spend a large sum of Spirit Stones to bury their fallen subordinates here, not because they truly wanted them to be resurrected after ten thousand years, but to inspire loyalty among their other followers.

Consequently,

The item being purchased changed from "Resurrection" to "Trust."

He also witnessed many faction leaders, accompanied by their followers, kneeling before graves, wailing in sorrow with tears in their eyes. Those tears were genuine, especially when paying the Spirit Stones.

Additionally, many former Young Sect Masters and Young Clan Leaders would, surrounded by their clansmen, bury the remains of the former Sect Masters and Clan Leaders here.

Often, when the former Clan Leader suddenly passed away, and the Young Clan Leader was young and lacked the authority to command respect, they would use the former Clan Leader's name to act, and expressing filial piety by burying the remains here was an excellent way to win over the former Clan Leader's confidants.

Burying in the "Immortal Graveyard" was clearly a good way to show filial piety.

After that, the business of the Immortal Graveyard flourished, although he felt helpless about it. It was supposed to be a graveyard that sold resurrection, but not a single customer cared about whether the buried bodies could truly be resurrected.

After a while,

The elder glanced at the Young Master of the City, who was still talking incessantly, and sighed softly. He had been distracted and missed much of the conversation, but none of that mattered anymore. He felt it was time to retire and find a suitable moment to let his son take over his position.

As the Zhongzhou City Lord had predicted,

Three days later,

Everything that happened within the Ascension Assembly, including Chen Qiu's tribulation, spread through the mouths of countless people, reaching nearly the entire Tide Immortal Plane. It became a hot topic of conversation.

Especially those who witnessed it firsthand, they couldn't help but excitedly share their experiences and observations with everyone they met.

The popularity of the name "Chen Qiu" even surpassed that of the "Ascension Assembly."

The Zhongzhou City Lord also promptly began promoting the idea of creating a massive Illusionary Array to allow everyone to witness that scene personally.

".

At this moment, many people from Zhongzhou City had already left, and although the streets were still bustling, there were noticeably fewer people after the Ascension Assembly. In a tavern, a young girl sat by the window, gazing towards the distant horizon.

This young girl was none other than the Princess of Wei Kingdom.

In terms of age, she couldn't be considered a young girl, but in appearance, she was indeed a typical young lady.

In the cultivation world, if one wished, it wasn't difficult to make oneself look more attractive and youthful.

However, most male cultivators didn't care about this and were unwilling to waste Spirit Stones on it, but almost all female cultivators were extremely concerned about their appearance and youthfulness.

For this reason, finding an ugly woman in the cultivation world wasn't an easy task.

The Ascension Assembly had ended, and she didn't leave immediately.

She planned to rent a shop here and had been searching for a suitable one with the Elder of Taiping Mansion these past few days.

"That..."

The Elder of Taiping Mansion suddenly seemed to think of something, his expression hesitant as he looked at the girl before him, "There's something I've always wanted to ask. You've never told me your real age. How old are your bones?"

"Even the idiots on the street know that this is a very impolite question to ask a girl."

Wei Wang answered earnestly, but she didn't notice that on the roof outside the window, a tangerine cat was sitting upright, also gazing into the distance with a dazed expression.

In the far horizon, countless black cracks floated in the sky. These were the marks left by the heavenly tribulation that day, and it would take at least several decades for them to naturally heal. However, as long as one doesn't enter these cracks, there won't be any harm.

If one insists on entering.

Then they will directly reach the void. To be honest, without these cracks, it would be much less convenient to travel to the void.

As for whether one can survive in the void, that's another matter.

My name is July Cat.

Yes, I'm back again.

The last time I appeared was on the Second Rank Continent, the Vast Continent, where I died in the body of Xiao Yue, the personal disciple of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect. It was at a victory banquet hosted by Chen Qiu, and Xiao Yue had brought me along.

At that time, Xiao Yue said she was tired and went back to her room to rest alone.

Soon after, her body was covered in black runes, similar to the existence of the Buddhist sect. She was dead beyond recognition, and I was also in Xiao Yue's arms, my body similarly covered in runes.

After this incident, I suddenly became aware of some things I had never known before.

At that time, no one knew how Xiao Yue had died, and perhaps no one knows even now. Maybe Chen Qiu didn't care about Xiao Yue, so he didn't bother to investigate the matter. After all, for Chen Qiu at that time, Xiao Yue was just an acquaintance from the Mystic Heavens Continent, so how could he remember such a person?

Only I know how Xiao Yue died.

She was killed by my curse.

No matter who it is, if they stay with me for too long, they will die from the Heavenly Dao's curse.

I had never known about this before.

Those runes were the curse of the Heavenly Dao.

I am the body of the curse.

I didn't even know I had such a curse, and it was only after Xiao Yue's death that I subconsciously received this information.

After that, by chance and coincidence, she had reincarnated several times, and her last reincarnation appeared in Zhongzhou City. There, she witnessed the scene from three days ago.

".”

July Cat sat on the roof, gazing into the distance with a dazed expression, her eyes devoid of their usual laziness and nonchalance, replaced instead by a sense of numbness and bewilderment.

She had had many masters.

Basically, every time she reincarnated as a demon beast, she would find a master, as it was always better to have someone feed her.

Xiao Yue was the master she had stayed with the longest.

Her feelings for Xiao Yue were actually quite deep, and she had even planned to tell Xiao Yue that she was once a human after they had spent enough time together. But she never expected that Xiao Yue would die from her curse.

It was only after Xiao Yue's death that she regained her previous life's memories.

She thought that she had traveled back in time to the body of a girl in Fufeng City, whose appearance was exactly the same as hers, and that she had the 'Nine Lives of a Cat' entry, which allowed her to reincarnate.

But in reality, that wasn't the case.

Before that, she had reincarnated many times.

The 'Nine Lives of a Cat' entry was just a manifestation, and in truth, she was immortal. The Heavenly Dao granted her immortality, allowing her to reincarnate after death, but she regarded it as a curse.

Anyone who stayed with her for too long would be cursed by the Heavenly Dao and die suddenly.

And every time she reincarnated eighteen times, her memories would be erased once.

The Heavenly Dao wanted her to live in eternal solitude, forgetting that she was the body of the curse, and to witness with her own eyes the death of her closest person due to her curse, and then restore some of her memories so that she would know that this person died because of her.

She didn't know what she had done wrong.

Such that the Heavenly Dao would use such means against her.

But ever since Xiao Yue's death.

She never approached anyone again, even if someone fed her, she would wait for them to leave before coming out to take the food.

She didn't want anyone to die because of her.

And with the restoration of some of her memories, she also understood why she had appeared in the Greater Xia Kingdom.

To eliminate this curse, there was only one way, and that was to break free from the Celestial Prison, and thus, no longer be controlled by the Heavenly Dao, and completely eliminate this curse. But obviously, her past self was too confident in her future self.

Could she break free from the Celestial Prison?

She did get out.

But she didn't count it as she had hitchhiked her way out.

In this life, she was still a tangerine cat, unable to cultivate, and could still reincarnate, observing this world as a bystander, so close yet so distant, as if it were untouchable.

She couldn't integrate into this world at all.

She could only

watch from afar.

And at this moment—

Inside the small world.

Chen Qiu had fully awakened, and his injuries weren't too severe, much better than the First Rank Heavenly Tribulation. He was mainly just exhausted and tired.

After sleeping for three days and taking a few restorative pills, he naturally woke up.

However, he didn't immediately notify Fat Dragon and the others.

Instead, he first examined his own gains.

Opening his storage ring, the first thing that caught his eye was Jiang Buying's corpse.

He had actually wanted to use this to block the heavenly tribulation, as this thing had remained intact after being burned by thousands of 'Immortal Execution' talismans for a thousand years, so it must be tough.

But after thinking about it, he realized it wasn't that meaningful.

The area was too small, and it couldn't block much. If it was about toughness, the Little Ant was still better.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end