Cultivating Immortality: I Have a High-Martial World

Chapter 144 The Traitor of the Righteous Alliance, Internal Crisis

Lin Chen, who was standing on the flying sword, stopped.

He watched with great interest a cultivator several dozen feet away.

This cultivator had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and a righteous appearance. At this moment, his face was filled with terror as he looked at Lin Chen and said:

"Fellow Daoist, these demonic cultivators have been chasing me for a long time! Please save my life!"

As he spoke, the cultivator, stepping on his flying sword, subconsciously moved closer to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen stood still, squinting at the figures in the distance.

Three or four cultivators pursued relentlessly, stopping ten feet away from Lin Chen.

After sizing up Lin Chen several times, the cultivators grinned maliciously:

"Kid! We, the Wild Wolf Faction, advise you to get as far away from us as possible and stay out of our way!"

"Otherwise, you'll lose your head and your centuries of cultivation—don't blame us for not warning you!"

Upon hearing this, the righteous alliance cultivator who was being chased became anxious and hurriedly said:

"Fellow Daoist, I don't know if you are a colleague of my Righteous Path Alliance, but I have important information to report, and it is of great importance..."

As the righteous alliance cultivator spoke, he moved closer to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen spoke when he was still a foot away from Lin Chen.

"So it's the Wild Wolf Sect in person! I'm just a rogue cultivator, with no intention of getting involved in your struggles..."

"Okay, I'm leaving now!"

With that, Lin Chen rode his flying sword, turned around, and prepared to leave.

Upon hearing this, the few cultivators from the Wild Wolf Sect were stunned.

The righteous alliance cultivators who were being chased were also stunned...

"Fellow Daoist, what's wrong with you...?"

Seeing Lin Chen running further and further away, the righteous alliance cultivator stopped pretending.

He snorted coldly and said:

"I thought I'd run into a fat sheep, but it turns out he's a coward... Everyone, stop pretending and let's chase him down together!"

"Yes, Elder!" The Wild Wolf Sect disciples, their previous arrogant demeanor gone, replied respectfully.

So the five cultivators chased after Lin Chen together.

When Lin Chen sensed the killing intent behind him, he sneered.

Lin Chen had guessed that these cultivators were in cahoots the moment they appeared.

After all, in Lin Chen's perception, the cultivator being chased was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

The ones chasing them later were only in the early Foundation Establishment stage...

Although he concealed his presence, how could he escape Lin Chen's perception?

"Tsk tsk, they're not even trying to hide it anymore! They've actually managed to fool me with this honey trap scam..."

After escaping several hundred feet, Lin Chen deliberately slowed down.

The cultivators quickly caught up and frantically unleashed spells behind Lin Chen.

However, Lin Chen's protective true essence blocked all of his spells.

Lin Chen's heart stirred slightly, and four flying swords flashed past, instantly killing the four Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Wild Wolf Sect.

Even the remaining elder of the Wild Wolf Sect, who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, was startled.

He snorted coldly and said, "I thought she was an easy target, but it turns out she's a tough nut to crack..."

"What bad luck! If I hadn't killed you, I would have faced punishment from the sect leader when I got back..."

The Wild Wolf Sect elder was confident that he could also kill four early Foundation Establishment stage disciples in an instant.

So he activated his inner energy, and several flying knives slashed towards Lin Chen.

……

A moment later, the Wild Wolf Sect elder, his face filled with terror, frantically fled on his longsword.

"Monster! How can there be such a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator? His skills are almost on par with those of a Pseudo-Core Formation cultivator!"

Looking at his lost left arm, the Wild Wolf Sect elder gritted his teeth, offered up his life essence, and activated a secret technique, increasing his speed by another three points.

He transformed into a streak of red light and fled frantically towards the rolling mountains to the north.

Lin Chen, meanwhile, calmly pursued from behind.

They always maintained an ambiguous distance, seemingly trying to catch up, but always falling short.

As he chased, Lin Chen shouted:

"Where do you think you're going? The demonic path has the right to kill you!"

Occasionally, he would unleash two flying swords that brushed past the Wild Wolf Sect elder, scaring him so much that he didn't dare to turn his head back.

But in reality, Lin Chen didn't even need a second sword strike to kill someone who had only reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

This time, his goal was not simply to kill these few Wild Wolf Sect cultivators.

Lin Chen spared the Wild Wolf Sect disciple in order to find the Wild Wolf Sect's stronghold in the vicinity.

"The Wild Wolf Sect moved away from Yanlai territory a year ago, and this place is only a little over two thousand miles from Changchun Gate, yet we've encountered a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Wild Wolf Sect..."

"It seems there must be a base nearby..."

"If we're going to do it, we're going to do something big!"

Lin Chen thought to himself.

It would be best if we could kill the Core Formation cultivators of the Wild Wolf Sect. If not, killing a few dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators to vent our anger would be acceptable.

Although several years have passed, the death of my senior brother Cen Wushan is still vivid in my mind.

Ultimately, the death of the senior brother was inextricably linked to the Wild Wolf Sect.

……

So Lin Chen gave chase.

After flying for about a hundred miles, they saw the Wild Wolf Sect elder disappear into some deep mountain.

Lin Chen's heart stirred slightly, and he quickened his pace. Sure enough, he saw the Wild Wolf Sect elder activate a hidden formation and disappear into a mist in the blink of an eye.

"Heh, illusionary fog formations and protective arrays? Child's play..."

Lin Chen summoned Long Ba and Feng Jiu with a wave of his hand, and then led the two puppets into the maze.

The surrounding fog was so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

But Lin Chen remained calm, his divine sense surging outwards in all directions like a tidal wave.

The maze formation does indeed have the effect of shielding divine sense.

But there is a limit...

With Lin Chen's Golden Core stage divine sense, plus the amplification from the Heavenly Evolution Technique.

This mere illusion array has limited interference.

Lin Chen circled the formation a few times, quickly locking onto his target. A smile played on his lips as he gave the order to Long Ba:

"Smash that boulder!"

Upon hearing this, Long Ba raised his hand, and a nano-bomb flew towards the situation several meters away.

boom!

With a loud bang, the boulder was instantly blasted into pieces.

After the dust settled, a natural cave behind the boulder was revealed.

At the same time, the mist in the mountain valley quickly dissipated.

"So that's the cave hidden behind this rock! And this rock is also the key point of the maze..."

Lin Chen snorted coldly and made a hand gesture to Long Ba and Feng Jiu.

So, with two martial arts puppets in front and Lin Chen following behind, they slowly ventured deeper into the cave.

This cave is naturally formed, with a large interior space and many side paths and stone walls blocking the way.

After becoming a stronghold of the Demonic Sect, the interior was modified many times, making it much larger and likely able to accommodate thousands of people.

As soon as Lin Chen entered the cave, the Wild Wolf Sect elder who had fled earlier revealed a sinister smile.

"You've got the path to heaven but choose the path to hell!"

"How dare three mere people trespass on the territory of my Wild Wolf Faction!"

Beside him, several Foundation Establishment cultivators at the peak of their cultivation level were also sizing up Lin Chen.

"Old Wang! You've made a huge mistake by leading people into this cave stronghold! How are we supposed to use this stronghold now?" a Foundation Establishment cultivator said with distress.

"I was forced into this situation; this kid's got some skill! He kept chasing me, so I had no choice but to flee back to our base... But this kid's probably a big fish! Let's all make our move!"

The Wild Wolf Sect elder, who was being chased by Lin Chen, shouted twice.

Then, seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators attacked Lin Chen.

In an instant, all sorts of magical treasures and spells came crashing down on Lin Chen.

Seeing this attack, Lin Chen did not panic at all, but calmly released his protective true essence.

The attacks of seven or eight Foundation Establishment Perfection and late-stage cultivators were completely blocked within three feet of Lin Chen, without even harming a single hair on his head.

Immediately afterward, Lin Chen's heart stirred, and with a surge of true essence, all the magical treasures and spells were repelled.

"This...how is this possible?!"

"You're saying this is a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Where did you get yourself into trouble with a Core Formation cultivator?!"

The seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators were stunned and immediately turned around to question the Wild Wolf Sect elder.

Even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator were strong, it would be impossible for them to block so many magical treasures and spells with just a single protective aura...

Only a Core Formation attack could have such a crushing force.

"Damn it, what are you all standing there for? Run! Go inform the leader..."

The seven or eight cultivators instantly lost their will to fight and scattered, fleeing into the cave.

Even the elders who were initially being chased by Lin Chen were stunned.

He looked at Lin Chen with surprise, his eyes clearly asking three words: "You're playing me?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow, and with a wave of his hand, a flying sword pierced through his throat.

Blood splattered high, and a fine head rolled to the ground.

Before he died, his eyes were wide open, his face filled with disbelief.

Wasn't the accuracy of the flying swords quite poor before?

How come it was so accurate this time?

Lin Chen didn't stop, took a few steps forward, and then his sword flashed.

Within a few breaths, those seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators all perished in the Yellow Springs...

Lin Chen stepped over their corpses without stopping.

The gap between Golden Core and Foundation Establishment is that terrifying.

With a difference of several times in true essence and magical power, even the most powerful supernatural abilities and spells would have little effect.

With such an absolute difference in strength, an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would have virtually no chance to retaliate.

After killing the Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding the gate, Lin Chen's divine sense spread into the cave like a tide.

In an instant, the entire interior of the cave, with its intricate terrain and passageways, was laid bare before us.

At the same time, Lin Chen sensed that the other demonic cultivators hiding in the cave also had nowhere to hide.

"One, two...five...thirteen..."

"Hmm, twenty-seven cultivators in total, all at the Foundation Establishment stage... Tsk tsk, looks like this stronghold is quite large!"

Lin Chen touched his chin, then raised an eyebrow.

In his divine sense, one of the cultivators' auras was noticeably stronger.

"A pseudo-Core Formation cultivator... wow, and quite a sizable one at that!"

Lin Chen did not stop and continued forward.

Although the cave is well-hidden, it has a fatal flaw.

That means there's no room to escape!

As long as Lin Chen ventured deeper into the cave, those demonic cultivators hiding in the shadows would have nowhere to escape and would be killed by Lin Chen.

Not long after he started walking, Lin Chen saw several Foundation Establishment cultivators rushing towards him.

Holding spirit knives and magical weapons, they looked fierce and menacing.

"Hmm, that's quite an imposing presence..."

Lin Chen made a casual comment without even slowing down.

Several sword beams flashed, and a few more corpses appeared on the ground.

Lin Chen continued walking towards the interior of the cave.

A few minutes later, he saw more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered together, and the one leading them was none other than the pseudo Core Formation cultivator.

"Who are you! How dare you oppose my Wild Wolf Faction?"

"My senior brother is Ling Xuzi, the leader of the Wild Wolf Sect... I am the leader of the Demonic Sect..."

The fake Core Formation cultivator glared, looking quite fierce.

He said a lot, seemingly trying to intimidate Lin Chen with his imposing manner.

"Tsk tsk, why do cultivators in the cultivation world all like to introduce themselves?"

"Judging by their aura, they're quite fierce!"

Lin Chen muttered to himself.

Facing more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators and a Pseudo Core Formation cultivator, Lin Chen became slightly more serious.

The twelve flying swords slashed out simultaneously in an instant.

Unsurprisingly, the dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators were killed without even a chance to resist.

With Lin Chen's current spiritual control technique, the power of a single strike from his weapon could easily exceed one million jin.

It truly is a case of overwhelming force overpowering all techniques...

The cautious pseudo-core cultivator also stood there, stunned.

A bead of cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

"So fast..."

He had only one thought in his mind.

When I came to my senses, I felt my vision spinning as I looked at my headless corpse, and finally, I was plunged into darkness forever.

Lin Chen flicked his arm, shaking off the bloodstains from the precious sword.

"The posture is not bad, but unfortunately it's all show and no substance..."

Lin Chen made a brief comment before starting to clean up the spoils of war.

There were about thirty storage bags in total, containing many magical treasures, spirit stones, and pills.

This group of demonic cultivators were not impoverished rogue cultivators; they were quite wealthy.

The total value is no less than 100,000 spirit stones, which is a considerable fortune for Lin Chen.

But what really interested Lin Chen was the contents of the fake Core Formation cultivator's storage bag.

Lin Chen broke the restriction on the storage bag, and found a small mountain of spirit stones, a few magical treasures, and pills.

What interested Lin Chen even more was a pile of letters.

These letters record the cultivators and forces that this base has come into contact with over the past year.

The Demonic Sect was powerful while the Righteous Alliance was weak. In the end, many independent cultivators, and even some immortal cultivation forces, sided with the Demonic Sect.

Their transactions and information exchanges were recorded...

In other words, these letters contain records of many rebellious forces and rogue cultivators within Yanlai territory!

Even traitors within powerful forces!

"Wow, we really found a big fish!"

Lin Chen muttered something to himself, then began to read the contents of the letters.

Most of the letters were just as Lin Chen had imagined. Some smaller forces had contacted the Demonic Sect in advance, hoping to have a place in the event that the Righteous Alliance was defeated.

Over the past year, no fewer than twenty small families and factions have come and gone...

But to Lin Chen's surprise, there were old acquaintances of his in this force.

"So, even one of the four great families is colluding with the demonic sect?"

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes; this was not good news.

The four major families of Yanlai City are almost the strongest local forces in Yanlai, except for Changchun Gate.

If they were to surrender to the Demonic Sect, and were to collude with them at a crucial moment, the impact on the entire war situation would be enormous.

"Fortunately, I discovered it in advance... If he really does betray us, perhaps we can turn the tables on him?"

Lin Chen thought to himself.

Afterwards, he destroyed all the evil cultivators in the entire cave stronghold to cover his tracks.

They then blew up the cave exit before leaving the desolate mountain.

They flew towards the Purple Smoke Realm again.

Lin Chen's goal this time is still to do business on the front lines.

As for the ambush by the demonic sect along the way, it can only be considered an unexpected gain at most.

……

One day later, in Xinliang City.

Lin Chen's arrival delighted the town garrison commander.

Even he didn't expect that Lin Chen would actually come back...

As soon as Lin Chen entered the city, Shao Wenmin dropped everything he was doing and ran over from afar.

"Senior Xu! Have you taken care of all the trivial matters concerning your relatives and friends?" Shao Wenmin's eyes shone brightly.

Lin Chen shook his head and sighed:

"Lord Shao, I do have some matters to attend to and am temporarily unable to help you guard this city..."

"However, I can recommend someone whose strength is no less than mine! My friend is the perfect person to guard Xinliang City!"

After saying that, Lin Chen gave Long Ba a wink.

Hearing that Lin Chen still refused to stay, Shao Wenmin was slightly disappointed, but still mustered her spirits and asked:

"May I ask your name, senior?"

"Long Ba." The puppet Long Ba answered succinctly, giving only a brief reply.

"This..." Shao Wenmin was immediately embarrassed. He had originally wanted to be polite and get to know each other better.

Seeing this, Lin Chen quickly said:

"Shou Shao, my friend is a man of few words and prefers quiet to talking to others."

"However, his strength is beyond doubt!"

Lin Chen lowered his voice and said, "Fellow Daoist Long entered the mid-stage of Core Formation ten years ago."

Upon hearing this, Shao Zhenshou's expression changed immediately, and he looked at Long Ba with even greater respect.

He immediately said:

"Senior Long, I request that you guard Xinliang City. Regardless of whether the enemy comes to invade, the Righteous Alliance will provide you with a salary of 50,000 spirit stones per year."

"If the enemy attacks, there will be an extra reward for each time you repel them!"

"Would you be willing, senior?"

Long Ba had already received Lin Chen's instructions, so he nodded and said:

"Alright. However, I prefer tranquility and usually cultivate alone. Please do not disturb me unless it is absolutely necessary."

Shao Wenmin nodded repeatedly after hearing this:

"Don't worry, senior, I will definitely prepare a quiet residence for you, and I guarantee that you will not be disturbed."

After a pause, Shao Wenmin said to Lin Chen:

"Senior Xu, you should receive a reward of 30,000 spirit stones for introducing a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator to our Righteous Path Alliance."

After saying that, Shao Wenmin counted out 30,000 spirit stones and handed them to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen accepted it with a smile, his heart already bursting with joy.

"Good heavens, introducing a Core Formation cultivator costs 30,000 spirit stones... Doesn't that mean my hundred-plus martial arts puppets are worth close to five million spirit stones?"

"Besides, the martial arts puppet guardians also receive a salary! This salary naturally goes into my pocket..."

Thinking of this, Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

He seemed to see a broad road to prosperity, a real plan to make a fortune.

What kind of magic weapon is this?

Just rent a hundred puppets to the Righteous Alliance!

Every year, you don't have to do anything, and you get ten million spirit stones.

However, Lin Chen also knew that this was something he could only think about.

Even if he wanted to rent puppets, he didn't have more than a hundred cities to guard!

Lin Chen's main reason for sending this Dragon Eight Sect to Xinliang City was to connect and expand trade routes.

And very importantly, to bring back intelligence on the battle situation at the front.

Lin Chen accepted the 30,000 spirit stones, but without counting them, he said:

"Brother Shao, to be honest... I'm a businessman, and I've come to Xinliang City to do business."

(End of this chapter)