Chapter 99, Big Harvest and Zhou Daoyi’s Fortune

Translator: Raznick

 

Zhou Chun stood by the riverside, staring down at the lifeless body of the black-robed old man. He let out a breath, wiping away the non-existent sweat from his brow. The situation that had just unfolded was no less perilous for him. 

 

Had the two streaks of Hard Gold Sword Energy not felled the black-robed old man on the spot, Zhou Chun would likely have sustained injuries. After all, that claw was comparable to a second-grade artifact.

 

Fortunately, those two Hard Gold Sword Energy techniques did not disappoint him. They were worth the torture he endured to master this secret art.

 

Looking down at the body of the black-robed old man, Zhou Chun steadied his nerves and let out a mocking chuckle, saying, “For a Qi Refining cultivator to slay a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even if I told someone about it, they wouldn’t believe me.”

 

Such an upset—defeating a cultivator of higher cultivation—was not unheard of in the cultivation world, but it was extremely rare. Usually, only cultivators with deep backgrounds could achieve this, relying on various treasures bestowed by their Seniors.

 

But for Zhou Chun to accomplish this solely through his own strength? That was extraordinary.

 

Even though his opponent was already severely injured and lacked a suitable artifact, it was still no easy feat.

 

Under normal circumstances, even in such situations, few Qi Refining cultivators would dare to act with the courage of Zhou Chun to hunt down a Foundation Establishment cultivator. When Zhou Chun made his decision, he had already surpassed many of his peers in the cultivating community. Let alone that he actually succeeded!

 

His satisfaction at this point was completely beyond concealment. After feeling satisfied for a while, Zhou Chun shifted his gaze to the black-robed old man’s right hand. As the black-robed old man died, his right hand, which had transformed into a dragon claw, quickly reverted back to its human form. This only piqued Zhou Chun’s curiosity further regarding the Dragonized Sutra.

 

If cultivating it would turn a person into a monster, Zhou Chun wouldn’t be interested in this secret art no matter how powerful it was.

 

Fortunately for Zhou Chun, he’d been given a chance at cultivation—a chance to finally do things right. Why would he be so foolish as to turn himself into an inhuman monster? But looking at The Dragonized Sutra, it seemed that the process was still centered on human principles, with the dragon transformation merely being a means of enhancing one’s power rather than turning them into something otherworldly.

 

That made things interesting. Zhou Chun wasted no time and stepped forward to thoroughly search the body of the black-robed old man. He collected every item worth taking before casually setting the corpse ablaze until nothing remained but ashes.

 

After covering his tracks, Zhou Chun didn’t rush to check his loot on-site. Instead, he quickly retrieved the Rock Turtle and left the scene.

 

In the cultivation world, one of the biggest taboos was checking your haul at a remote killing site. You never knew if you might become prey for someone who’d overheard the commotion and decided to investigate.

 

After racing for a dozen miles, Zhou Chun finally stopped at a village of ordinary people.

 

As they say, the greatest recluses blend into the hustle and bustle of the city. If someone appeared in the wild mountains or valleys, most cultivators passing by in the sky would easily regard them as fellow cultivators. Even some Foundation Establishment cultivators might be curious enough to cast their Divine Sense down for a look.

 

But in a village like this one—where ordinary people live and bustle about—it’s common for Foundation Establishment cultivators to simply glide past at cloud height, not even sparing a glance below.

 

Inside a guest room of an inn, Zhou Chun checked in first. He then meditated for several hours to restore his depleted spiritual power. After that, he took out the stone jar and drank several large mouthfuls of Spiritual Water to purify the Savage Qi within his body. Only after these preparations did he retrieve the storage bag from the black-clothed old man’s remains.

 

The black-robed old man’s storage bag wasn’t any better than his own.

 

Its interior volume was slightly larger, measuring about a hundred square feet, capable of holding an entire room’s worth of items.

 

Apparently, it was said that only Violet Palace Stage or Golden Core Stage cultivators’ storage bags would truly differ from lesser ones. These higher-tier storage bags not only had greater internal capacity but were also protected by restrictions akin to password.

 

If someone else obtained such a storage bag and didn’t know the correct arts to unlock them, they wouldn’t be able to open it at all. Even attempting to force it would likely damage the bag, causing its contents to spill into another dimension.

 

After Zhou Chun expended considerable effort to erase the black-robed old man’s Divine Sense mark, he began extracting and cataloging each item from the storage bag.

 

It was evident that despite the storage bag’s larger capacity, it wasn’t fully utilized. In fact, only a fraction of its space was occupied, including some personal belongings, occupying less than half its total volume.

 

Many of the items were records detailing the Dragonized Sect’s recruitment and development of new members. Upon a quick glance, Zhou Chun was surprised to find that just under old man’s influence, there were already over a hundred new recruits! Among these individuals were even some cultivators from clans who weren’t faring well in their own circles.

 

However, these individuals were merely prospective members and had not yet undergone the Dragon Blood Baptism ritual. They also hadn’t been taught the Dragonized Sutra. Furthermore, as the Green Lotus Monastery stepped up its efforts to crackdown on Dragonized Sect infiltrators, it remained uncertain whether these prospective members would still be willing to join.

 

Despite this, Zhou Chun quickly realized that these records could prove invaluable to the Zhou Clan in the future. He carefully organized and stored them inside his storage bag. Then, he turned his attention to items that were truly valuable to him—starting with spirit coins.

 

The black-robedd old man’s storage bag contained an abundance of spirit coins, totaling over six hundred and fifty. This was Zhou Chun’s single biggest haul of spirit coins yet!

 

Then came the artifact. It was only now that Zhou Chun realized how astonishing this was. Inside the black-robed old man’s storage bag, there were eight artifacts. Out of these, three were superior first-grade artifacts, and five were average first-grade artifacts.

 

But here’s the kicker—none of these artifacts had been binding by the black-robed old man!

 

Zhou Chun guessed that these must have been kept in the Dragonized Sect for the old man to use in recruiting people or rewarding his subordinates.

 

Next up were the pills. The number inside the black-robed old man’s storage bag was also quite considerable, and they were categorized by type. Each kind of pill had a different quantity, and Zhou Chun could only recognize a few of them.

 

As for the rest, he’d have to consult with his own Clan Leader once he returned home. Only then might he be able to figure out what these mysterious pills did.

 

Lastly, there were the talismans. But there weren’t many of them in the black-robed old man’s storage bag. It was unclear whether they had been used up or if he hadn’t brought them along in the first place.

 

Zhou Chun also found within the storage bag some array flags and array discs. In addition, after reviewing other items inside the storage bag, Zhou Chun did not find the Dragonized Sutra that he had been so eager to obtain. Not even a single secret art.

 

This left him deeply disappointed.

 

But as they say, when one door closes, another opens.

 

Though Zhou Chun had not obtained the desired secret art, he discovered within the black-robed old man’s storage bag a large chunk of dragon blood stone and two dragon blood grass. These dragon blood items, it seemed, were also materials needed to cultivate Dragonized Sutra. Along with these dragon blood items, Zhou Chun found several other raw materials, including a sizable piece of Water Essence Jade, which was material for crafting a second-grade artifact.

 

Upon tallying all this, Zhou Chun estimated that even after setting aside the dragon blood items he intended to keep for himself and disregarding those unidentified pills and arrays, the remaining haul would still be quite substantial.

 

The black-robed old man’s storage bag held spirit coins and artifacts, as well as materials. Their value already exceeded two thousand spirit coins!

 

Such gains were by no means small.

 

Zhou Chun wasn’t inexperienced with big money, but upon estimating the profits, he couldn’t help but smile.

 

It was worth it!

 

This profit fully justified the risks he had taken before.

 

“No wonder they say stealing and killing pays well—working hard and living honestly, how slow that is compared to murder and robbery!”

 

Even Zhou Chun, who usually despised these murderous bandit cultivators, couldn’t help but feel his heart stir with such thoughts.

 

Compared to honest cultivators who earn spirit coins through hard work, bandit cultivators make money far too quickly!

 

A successful plunder could yield the equivalent of several years, even decades, of a cultivator’s normal gains.

 

Such risk-free ventures, once tasted, how many cultivators could resist indulging further and losing their way?

 

Of course, Zhou Chun was merely sighing at this state of affairs.

 

His moral compass and sense of self would never allow him to fully embrace the life of a bandit cultivator.

 

Had it not been for the black-robedd old man from the Dragonized Sect repeatedly targeting him, and had the Dragonized Sect not been an officially designated evil cult deserving eradication, he would never have sought trouble with the black-robedd old man this time.

 

After this moment of reflection, Zhou Chun packed everything away into his storage bag and set out for his clan.

 

With the dragon blood items in hand, all he desired now was to return to Nine Peaks as soon as possible and consult Third Elder Zhou Daoquan on how best to utilize these rare resources in nurturing the Silver Thunder Python.

 

After two days of continuous travel, Zhou Chun finally returned to Nine Peaks, a place he had been away from for over half a year.

 

At this time, both Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi and Fourth Brother Zhou Zhengyun had yet to return. After Zhou Chun came back, he was immediately questioned by several elders about the situation. He was well-prepared for this and quickly recounted what had happened at Flying Horse Mountain. However, he refrained from sharing his suspicions regarding Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi’s whereabouts or his act of killing a Dragonized Sect cultivator beyond their base level.

 

Upon hearing Zhou Chun’s account, the elders were astounded by the tightly nested battle that had unfolded at Flying Horse Mountain, regretting they hadn’t been there to witness such an extraordinary spectacle. As for the reappearance of the Dragonized Sect in the cultivation world, the elders expressed their concerns as well and promptly reported the matter to Grand Elder Zhou Mingde.

 

After detailing the events at Flying Horse Mountain, Zhou Chun didn’t even get a chance to ask Third Elder Zhou Daoquan about the usage of dragon blood items. Instead, he was summoned by Second Elder, who was temporarily taking on the role of acting Clan Leader, to handle clan affairs.

 

It so happened that Second Elder Zhou Chongshan had been in seclusion, deepening his study of array theory. As a result, he lacked any practical experience in managing clan matters. These few days, he relied heavily on other experienced cultivators with “Jia” surnames for support, barely managing to get by.

 

Now, Zhou Chun, this experienced Clan Leader and aide, had returned. His heart actually felt a great sense of relief inside. Seeing this, Zhou Chun took out the array he had obtained from the black-robedd Elder and handed it over to the Second Elder for study. He then focused on assisting with various tasks himself. This way, the two of them each minded their own business, and things went smoothly between them.

 

Meanwhile, upon Zhou Chun’s return to the Nine Peaks clan estate, Zhou Clan’s Clan Leader, Zhou Daoyi, had run into some trouble. It turned out that after chasing the Blue Flood Dragon away, Zhou Daoyi, relying on his spirit pet, Sky Cloud Python’s sensitivity to the Blue Flood Dragon’s aura, had managed to keep track of its movements without losing sight of it.

 

During this time, he had also witnessed from a distance the second and third battles between the three Green Lotus Monastery Daoists and the Blue Flood Dragon. After those two battles, the Blue Flood Dragon’s injuries had become even more severe, with its inner core sustaining damage as well. Meanwhile, the three Green Lotus Monastery Daoists had also been injured in the Blue Flood Dragon’s desperate counterattacks. One of them had even been forced to withdraw halfway through the chase.

 

But just as the last two cultivators from Green Lotus Monastery caught up with the Blue Flood Dragon for the third time, intent on killing it, the cultivator from Dragonized Sect reappeared!

 

At this point, the woman from Dragonized Sect still hadn’t fully recovered from her injuries, but even so, teamed up with the Blue Flood Dragon, they managed to defeat and drive off the two cultivators from Green Lotus Monastery.

 

When Zhou Daoyi saw this, he thought his chances were completely gone.

 

What he didn’t expect was that after driving off the two cultivators, the Blue Flood Dragon and the woman from Dragonized Sect quickly turned on each other, arguing fiercely. In the end, the woman became so enraged that she raised her blade to strike the Blue Flood Dragon.

 

The Blue Flood Dragon hadn’t anticipated that the woman from Dragonized Sect, who had saved it twice, would turn on it so easily!

 

By the time it realized what was happening, it had already been struck in one of its wounds by the woman’s blade, splitting it into two pieces right then and there.

 

But the immense vitality of a Flood Dragon’s body allowed it to remain alive even after being cut into two.

 

In its final moments before death, it spat out its inner core at the woman from Dragonized Sect, delivering a powerful blow that left her critically injured, on the brink of death.

 

At that time, Zhou Daoyi was watching the scene from afar and was utterly stunned. He couldn’t have imagined how the situation would take such a dramatic turn. Unbounded joy filled his heart, overwhelming him with excitement. He rushed toward the scene with wild abandon.

 

Upon arrival, he found the Dragonized Sect woman unconscious and the Blue Flood Dragon dead. Filled with joy, he placed the Blue Flood Dragon’s inner core into a jade box and cast an art to extract its lingering soul, storing it in a jade vial.

 

After completing these crucial tasks, Zhou Daoyi approached the unconscious Dragonized Sect woman to assess her injuries. If she was beyond saving, he would deliver the final blow. If there was a chance to save her, he’d keep her alive and seek an opportunity to present her to Green Lotus Monastery for rewards.

 

An alive Dragonized Sect Protector, for the Green Lotus Monastery, which was urgently trying to understand the situation of the Dragonized Sect, was undoubtedly an invaluable treasure! However, what Zhou Daoyi never expected was that, as he approached the Dragonized Sect woman and knelt down to untie her storage bag, she suddenly opened her eyes and sprayed a pink mist towards him.

 

Caught off guard, he was struck directly in the face by the pink mist, causing his mind to go blank. When he finally came to, he found himself lying on the ground completely naked. Meanwhile, the Dragonized Sect woman, who had woken up before him, was also stark naked, confronting his own spirit pet, the Sky Cloud Python.

 

Her injuries, which had looked so severe earlier, now seemed to have healed considerably.