Cultivating Immortality: I Have a High-Martial World

Chapter 113 Undercurrents, Three Strange Events

No one noticed anything unusual about Li Zhenqian.

All the Foundation Establishment disciples present focused their attention on Lin Chen.

And extended an invitation to Lin Chen.

"Brother Lin, would you like to join us in suppressing the bandits and restoring peace to Yanlai?"

These people had all witnessed Lin Chen's performance in the sect competition.

He's at the late stage of Qi Refining, so incredibly brave, and has achieved perfect Foundation Establishment... I'm afraid he'll be hard to beat below the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Lin Chen pondered for a moment after hearing this.

Although he was confident in suppressing the bandits on his own, there were three groups of bandits after all. If he could go with these sect disciples, he could also test the waters.

Let's assess the level of those three cultivators first, then it won't be too late for me to make my own move...

Thinking of this, Lin Chen cupped his hands and said:

"Very good then. I will be grateful for your guidance from my fellow disciples from now on!"

Soon, the dozen or so Foundation Establishment disciples discussed and made their own preparations.

An hour later, the disciples gathered in the square.

Lin Chen didn't have much to prepare. He first returned to the market town at the foot of the mountain, gave Huang Xin some instructions, and then received an advance payment of next month's spirit stone salary.

As Lin Chen left, more than two hundred disciples stared at him with undisguised admiration.

Where can you find a boss who will let you know if you need anything and even advance your salary?

……

Back at the disciple plaza, Lin Chen waited for a while before the Foundation Establishment disciples arrived one after another.

Just then, Junior Brother Nie walked towards Lin Chen and greeted him:

"Senior Brother Lin has made truly remarkable progress! It hasn't been that long... and he's already at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!"

As he spoke, there was no shortage of envy in his tone.

Lin Chen smiled, then asked with some doubt:

"Brother Nie, why are you alone... Where is Brother Ping?"

Nie and Ping were the same fellow disciples who had worked with Lin Chen to wipe out the traitorous cultivators more than a year ago. Li Zhengqian was also present at the time.

Later, the two said they were going back to prepare for the foundation building ceremony, and they were not seen for a year.

After hearing this, Junior Brother Nie sighed, his face still etched with sorrow, and said:

"Brother Ping hadn't even had time to establish his foundation before he was killed by a thief during a mission..."

"It's a pity that my brother and I swore an oath to build our foundations together, but now I'm the only one left..."

Lin Chen fell silent after hearing this.

In the past year or so, nearly a quarter of the inner disciples of Changchun Sect have died.

The death of Senior Brother Ping seems to make sense...

My deepest condolences, Brother Nie!

Lin Chen patted him on the shoulder, comforting him.

Before long, more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators each mounted their magical artifacts and headed north.

Lin Chen also took out the purple jade gourd, stepped on it, and followed behind the group at a leisurely pace.

The mission intelligence flashed through my mind:

Their destination was Yudai City, located two thousand miles north of Changchun Gate.

Jade Belt City is also an important city within Yanlai territory, with nearly a million mortals living in the city, as well as some cultivators who reside there.

Three hundred miles away from Jade Belt City, there is a mountain range called Jade Belt Mountain.

Originally, the cultivators on Jade Belt Mountain were not a threat.

However, as the war raged for more than a year, the remnants of the Jiexiu sect from within a thousand miles were gradually absorbed into the Jade Belt Mountain.

The reputation of this Jade Belt Mountain Stronghold grew, boasting hundreds of Qi Refining Tribulation Cultivators and seven or eight Foundation Establishment Tribulation Cultivators.

The leader of Jade Belt Mountain Stronghold called himself Jade Belt Scholar.

He is skilled in strategy and magic, and also has excellent swordsmanship. He is a cultivator at the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Their goal this time was to annihilate all the cultivators from Jade Belt Mountain.

……

Heading north, more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators traveled by flying artifacts.

In just a few hours, they had crossed mountains and ridges, covering more than two thousand miles.

Before evening, the group arrived at Jade Belt City.

To avoid having any spies or accomplices in Jade Belt City, everyone disguised themselves and entered the city one after another.

They then checked into the agreed-upon inn in batches.

It wasn't until nightfall that everyone met together.

"Everyone, the cultivators who have undergone tribulations at Jade Belt Mountain are no ordinary people. We must proceed with caution."

"How about we find our sect's informants tomorrow, get firsthand information, and then formulate a plan of action?"

Li Fengping is a smart man, he said.

After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, a mountain stronghold of hundreds of cultivators is not easy to conquer. We should obtain firsthand intelligence first..."

"Then tomorrow at noon, summon our spies in Jade Belt City and obtain detailed intelligence before making a decision!"

The group quickly made a decision and returned to their respective inn rooms.

"Lin...Senior Brother? When did you reach the mid-Foundation Establishment stage?"

After entering the room, Li Zhenqian, who had been holding back all day, finally couldn't help but ask.

Lin Chen glanced at him indifferently. Because the inn had limited rooms, he had to share a room with Li Zhenqian.

"Uh, about a month ago, right? How come..."

Lin Chen glanced at Li Zhenqian and said casually.

Upon hearing this, Li Zhenqian gritted his teeth. He had only broken through to the third level of Foundation Establishment a few days ago.

This shows that the gap between the two is widening!

Thinking of this, Li Zhenqian pointed at Lin Chen and said:

"Senior Brother Lin, you should go to sleep... I'll keep watch!"

Lin Chen shook his head and said:

"I don't usually sleep; I just cultivate myself..."

As he spoke, Lin Chen found a corner, sat cross-legged, and took out spirit stones to cultivate silently.

Seeing this, Li Zhenqian clenched his fists even tighter, with only one thought in his mind:

"Lee Jin-gan, Lee Jin-gan! There's someone even more talented than you who works even harder than you. You absolutely must surpass him!"

Thinking of this, Li Zhenqian decided not to sleep and spent the whole night learning to meditate and cultivate like Lin Chen.

A true scholar!

Unfortunately, his attention was entirely focused on Lin Chen, and he couldn't concentrate on his cultivation all night.

……

Early the next morning.

After Lin Chen finished his cultivation, he saw Li Zhenqian staring at him from another corner, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Uh, Junior Brother Li, are you practicing an eye-related technique? Is it the Bright Eye Technique or the Purple Eye Thunder Technique?"

Lin Chen asked curiously.

Li Zhenqian's expression was somewhat grim, and he could only mumble, "Let's go, according to the plan we need to find our informants in the city..."

Lin Chen nodded slightly; they had indeed taken on this responsibility yesterday.

So the two left the inn and strolled around Jade Belt City.

On both sides of the street, which was about ten feet wide, there were many stalls and shops.

Rouge and face powder, candied fruits and snacks, or even restaurants, inns, and jade pawnshops...

Jade Belt City is a major economic city in the north. It is famous for producing beautiful jade in the Jade Belt River outside the city, which has made the city's economy very developed.

Although not as large as the capital Yanlai, it is still the second largest city in Yanlai.

Lin Chen strolled around, occasionally buying a couple of pieces of beautiful jade from the mortal world to admire.

After walking for a while, Li Zhenqian behind them suddenly let out a sneer.

"Haha, are all the men in Jade Belt City dead? Why are women being forced to set up stalls and sell goods?"

Lin Chen frowned, about to speak, but suddenly realized that it seemed to be true.

Along the way, most of the street vendors were women, but very few men came out to set up stalls.

This is illogical, since in ancient society, there was no reason to let one's own women show their faces in public.

"Hmm, Junior Brother Li is indeed very observant... This does seem a bit illogical."

Lin Chen sighed in admiration.

Li Zhenqian, standing behind him, paused for a moment. He had only made a sarcastic remark and hadn't grasped the underlying meaning.

The two walked to the entrance of a small alley and saw a blind man setting up a stall.

According to intelligence, this blind man is the sect's informant in Jade Belt City.

Lin Chen glanced at him carefully and felt that the blind man looked somewhat familiar.

So he tentatively asked, "A plate of pig's head?"

"Two ounces of strong liquor!" the blind man blurted out, but was startled for a moment.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, he packed up his stall and walked towards the alley behind him, giving Lin Chen a hand gesture as he left.

"As expected, wasn't this the mole in Guangyuan Town? How did he get transferred to Yudai City...?"

Since it was someone he knew, Lin Chen felt much more at ease.

So after leading Li Zhenqian around a few more times, they turned and entered a deep alley.

Upon seeing Lin Chen, the blind fortune teller took off his sunglasses, looked him up and down, and muttered:

"Hey kid, it's you? You've already reached Foundation Establishment in just one year?"

"Hehe, I only managed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage by sheer luck... Why did you transfer to Jade Belt City, fellow Daoist?" Lin Chen asked with some confusion.

"Sigh..." the blind fortune teller began to complain.

It turns out that more than a year ago, after the war started, all the towns needed informants, and since Guangyuan Town was not far from Changchun Mountain, the informants were transferred to the front line.

And so the blind fortune teller came to Jade Belt City, where he has been for over a year.

After learning about the situation, Lin Chen nodded slightly and said:

"Fellow Daoist, why don't you tell me about the situation at that mountain stronghold first?"

After hearing this, the blind fortune teller said:

"That Jade Belt Mountain Stronghold is no ordinary force of cultivators, especially since that Jade Belt Scholar is very cautious."

"He has many spies in Jade Belt City, observing the cultivators coming and going... You weren't discovered when you arrived, were you?"

Lin Chen shook his head. They had come in in batches, so they shouldn't have been discovered.

The blind fortune teller breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then began to recount the information he had obtained.

"The Jade Belt Scholar appears to be at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment... but whether he has any hidden cultivation levels remains to be seen."

"Besides him, there is a second-in-command in the stronghold who is at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and six other Foundation Establishment cultivators..."

"This group of cultivators is fierce and warlike, skilled in magic, and has somehow acquired a batch of Five Thunderbolts, whose power is astonishing and can threaten even Qi Refining Perfection cultivators... Be extremely careful if you encounter them!"

"At the same time, there are several hidden strongholds on Jade Belt Mountain, with hundreds of cultivators taking turns on guard duty... Be very careful if you want to enter the mountain! I heard that there is also a secret passage in the stronghold that the Jade Belt Scholar used to escape..."

The blind fortune teller gave a general overview of the intelligence gathered in the mountain stronghold.

Lin Chen frowned slightly after hearing this. It seemed that this cultivator from the Road of Tribulation was indeed quite troublesome.

There were sentry posts on the mountain, and secret passages were dug for escape at any time... This scholar with the jade belt was indeed a cautious person.

But what Lin Chen cared about more was the Five Thunder Seeds!

"It's very likely that I sold this batch of Wu Lei Zi..."

Lin Chen thought to himself.

Over the past year, he has sold several thousand Wu Lei Zi coins, mostly purchased by independent cultivators.

It's inevitable that some of these cultivators would be mixed in, secretly purchasing a batch of goods.

However, Lin Chen couldn't let a minor setback deter him from pursuing his goals. He could buy his magic treasures from the thieves, but he didn't want to earn spirit stones instead.

After the blind fortune teller revealed all the information about Jade Belt Mountain Stronghold, Lin Chen couldn't help but ask a question:

"Fellow Daoist, as I've traveled through this city today, I've seen mostly women selling goods on the streets. Why are there so few men?"

Upon hearing this, the blind fortune teller's expression changed slightly, but he still whispered:

"Three strange things have happened in Jade Belt City over the past year..."

"The first strange thing is that a year ago, Zheng Gongzi, the lover of the famous Nan Lingling in the city, returned home drunk. The next day, he was found dead on the street, only his skin remained, but his flesh and bones had vanished..."

"Since then, every three to five days, day or night, mortals in the city have been skinned alive and died a gruesome death... Many cultivation families in the city have tried to investigate, but to no avail."

"From then on, only women went out to make a living in Jade Belt City, while men only dared to stay at home and dared not go out easily."

Lin Chen frowned slightly after hearing this.

To die a violent death in the street, leaving only a skin and no flesh... that's just too gruesome!

The blind fortune teller continued:

"The second strange thing is that there are often ghostly cries in the cemetery outside the city, and any mortal who passes by the cemetery will inevitably fall seriously ill."

"Even more bizarrely, most of the ordinary people in the city have said that they received dreams from their ancestors in their past lives, asking them to go to the cemetery to pay their respects... but those who went returned disoriented and died within a few months..."

"This third strange thing is related to the second strange thing."

"Since the incident at the cemetery, wealthy families in the city have paid for many Qi Refining cultivators to come and investigate, but to no avail."

"Only the Wild Dog Gang from the south of the city mobilized hundreds of black dogs, using their blood to exorcise the evil spirit, and finally subdued the ghost on the grave..."

"This was supposed to be a good thing, but some passersby happened to walk through the cemetery and saw the black dog transformed into human form, digging up graves and gnawing on bones. It was chilling..."

Upon hearing the blind fortune teller's words, Lin Chen and Li Zhenqian frowned and exchanged a glance.

In chaotic times, many monsters are born.

The strange occurrences in Jade Belt City are indeed quite astonishing...

"Brother Lin... let's go report the situation at the stronghold first. We haven't accepted any of the strange quests in the city..."

Li Zhenqian, standing to the side, shivered, looking at the dark alley around him, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Although he had cultivation to protect him, he was only fifteen or sixteen years old, a time when he believed in ghosts and gods...

After hearing this, Lin Chen stroked his chin and said to the blind fortune teller:

"Thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoist. Once this matter is resolved, you will be able to return to the rear..."

The blind fortune teller sighed after hearing this and said, "I hope so!"

……

After returning to the inn, Lin Chen told him all the information about Jade Belt Stronghold and also mentioned the strange things happening in the city.

Li Fengping frowned slightly after hearing this and said:

"In chaotic times, even ordinary people cannot live in peace!"

"However, we're here to suppress bandits... let's report these strange occurrences in the city to the sect first and then decide what to do!"

The others nodded slightly after hearing this.

"Let's first devise a plan for conquering the mountain!"

A senior student with an upright appearance shared his thoughts.

"The number of cultivators in Jade Belt Mountain is large and they are very troublesome. There are also sentry posts searching inside and outside the mountain. I'm afraid we'll fall into an ambush before we even get to the top."

"Furthermore, there are secret passages in the mountains; if we act rashly, we may not be able to eliminate the enemy leader!"

Lin Chen nodded slightly after hearing this. The person who spoke was named Wan Xun, and he was the only late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator among them.

Wan Xun glanced around and then fixed his gaze on Li Fengping.

"Brother Li, you are skilled in formations... In your opinion, before our final assault on the mountain stronghold, could you set up a formation in advance to gain the upper hand?"

After listening to this, Li Fengping pondered for a moment and nodded, saying:

"Theoretically, it is possible, but Jade Belt Mountain is too large, and it is difficult for me to set up a formation by myself."

He looked up at Li Zhenqian, Ao Shixiang, and several other disciples skilled in formations, and added:

"However, if we could pinpoint the exact coordinates of the Tribulation Cultivator beforehand, and then have several Foundation Establishment cultivators work together to set up the formation, perhaps that would be feasible!"

Lin Chen nodded upon hearing this.

Indeed, a direct attack is not the best strategy. If we can set up a formation in advance to gain the upper hand, we can save a lot of energy.

As a result, Wan Xun's plan was unanimously approved by everyone.

"In that case, we will proceed in batches... Some cultivators will accompany me to gather intelligence and investigate the layout of the stronghold."

"How about having a fellow cultivator skilled in formations prepare the details for the formation setup?"

Wan Xun, displaying the demeanor of a senior disciple, took the lead and spoke.

Li Fengping nodded and came to Lin Chen's side, saying:

"Junior Brother Lin, you are also quite skilled in formations. Why don't you set up a formation with us?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Chen agreed.

So, over the next three days, the group split into two teams.

Wan Xun led four Foundation Establishment disciples to scout out the terrain of Jade Belt Mountain in advance, as well as the distribution of major outposts and strongholds, and drew up a detailed map.

Li Fengping then led the remaining five people to prepare for the formation setup.

……

On the fourth day, after the intelligence and terrain surveys were basically completed, Li Fengping led several people up Jade Belt Mountain.

"Gentlemen, there are four outposts on Jade Belt Mountain, each several miles apart..."

"In your opinion, what formation would be best?"

Li Fengping looked around and then fixed his gaze on Lin Chen.

After a moment's thought, Lin Chen said, "I believe that Senior Brother Ao's Earth Dragon Trapping Elephant Formation is the most suitable..."

Upon hearing this, the group turned their gaze to Ao Shixiang.

He had previously demonstrated the power of the Earth Dragon Trapping Elephant Formation during the sect competition.

On this Jade Belt Mountain with its rich geological features, the power of the Earth Dragon Trapping Elephant Formation can be further enhanced.

After listening, Ao Shixiang pondered for a moment and nodded, saying:

"Indeed, if we set up the Earth Dragon Trapping Elephant Formation, we only need to set up five formations... to cover four strongholds. Finally, the formations will be interlocked, bringing more of the power of the mountain stronghold into the village."

"At that time, even Foundation Establishment cultivators will not be able to escape easily."

"However, the arrangement of the Earth Dragon Trapping Elephant Formation will inevitably cause disturbances in the earth's veins. If it is discovered by the traitorous cultivators..."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhenqian, who was standing to the side, spoke up.

He then took out a set of array flags from his storage bag and said:

"This formation is a great array for concealing the aura passed down in my Li family. It is most effective at concealing any abnormal fluctuations caused by the formation."

"As long as this formation is set up in advance, the Earth Dragon Trapping Elephant Formation will not be discovered!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Shixiang's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "As expected of the Li family of Yanlai City, they truly have a rich heritage!"

"Alright, in that case, I'll leave the arrangement of the formation to you. Just follow my instructions and assist me!"

Everyone's faces lit up with joy, as long as the Earth Dragon Trapping Elephant Formation was activated.

The cultivators on Jade Belt Mountain were trapped like turtles in a jar, with no chance of escape.

After hearing the praise, Li Zhenqian looked at Lin Chen with a smug expression, feeling lightheaded.

So, following the plan, everyone first set up a concealment formation.

Afterwards, they worked together to set up the Earth Dragon Trapping Elephant Formation.

During this time, the group also had to conceal their movements to avoid being discovered by the mountain bandits.

Therefore, it took a whole night to set up the formation, and the five earth dragon trapping elephant formations were not completed until the early hours of the next day.

Li Fengping let out a long sigh to relieve his fatigue, then looked up at the sky. There were still two hours until dawn.

So he said:

"Everyone, let's take a short rest..."

"Before dawn, we'll simultaneously activate five formations, first taking out the sentry posts... then launching a full-scale attack on the mountain stronghold!"

(End of this chapter)