"Just blow them to pieces, and that's the end of it!"
Qin Liangchen spoke with immense bravado, the confidence in his tone unmistakably evident.
Luo Chen was half-believing and half-skeptical.
Yet on closer thought, the man had risen from humble beginnings, established a home and career in a place as complex and ruthless as Dahe Market, and even managed to send his son into Luoyun Sect, a major sect second only to the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.
He had to have extraordinary strengths of his own.
As word of mouth spread over the past few days, the rules of the two gangs' eighteen-man death match had also been laid out in full.
Restricted strictly to those below the Foundation Establishment stage, with no limits on methods.
The only limitation was likely on the number of talismans allowed, strictly capped at no more than ten.
This condition had been proposed by Mi Shuhua of the Mountain Breaker Gang.
It was presumably out of fear that the Great River Gang, backed by the deep pockets of the Lianyun Merchant Alliance, would lavish their combatants with heaps of talismans.
Compared to spells and magical artifacts, talismans could be triggered rapidly, and their might rivaled spells of the same rank.
If someone were truly to prepare dozens of talismans and fight a war of sheer spirit stones, the resulting spectacle would be too horrifying to behold.
No Qi Refining cultivator could launch a counterattack under a deluge of talisman bombardments.
Having offered his warning, Luo Chen had no intention of nagging any further.
In truth, as an outsider, there was no way he could know more than the Mountain Breaker Gang's upper echelons anyway.
Even the inside scoop that Sun Shou had casually passed along to him might not be entirely accurate.
The two chatted a bit longer before an aroma wafted out from the kitchen inside the house.
Dinner was ready!
Luo Chen trotted back to his quarters at once and brought over the braised hind leg of pink swine he had been simmering all morning. This meal would not be a mere freeloading visit—he had contributed a dish as well!
"Come, taste your sister-in-law's cooking. Before Xiaohu left for the sect, what he hated leaving behind most was his mother's food."
Qin Liangchen welcomed him warmly. Luo Chen stood on no ceremony, picking up his chopsticks to grab a piece of meat.
"Mm, wonderful. Delicious!"
Murong Qinglian shook her head with a smile and poured a cup of wine for each of the two men.
Qin Liangchen took a sip of his wine first, then picked up a piece of the meat Luo Chen had braised.
"Living alone, you probably just make do with whatever you can slap together. If you ask me, from now on—"
His eyes went wide, feeling as though he had barely caught the flavor before it vanished.
He could not wait to pick up another large chunk of meat, chewing it thoroughly this time.
"It melts in your mouth, rich without being greasy, and the meat carries a faint herbal aroma, refreshing and crisp like mint."
"Darling, Xiao Luo's cooking seems even better than yours!"
Praise poured forth without end. Qin Liangchen showed no restraint, dipping his chopsticks again and again.
Murong Qinglian was quite surprised. Rogue cultivators willing to invest real effort into food were truly a rare sight these days.
Taking a bite of the meat Luo Chen had prepared, she narrowed her eyes in delight.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao Luo's meat really is delectable."
Luo Chen gave a chuckle, showing not a shred of false modesty.
In truth, his culinary skills were indeed quite impressive.
It was likely thanks to his background in his past life, where, born of Sichuan-Chongqing heritage, he had been nagged by his mother into honing superb cooking skills since childhood.
He might not have been a master at butchering and prepping raw ingredients, but when it came to using various seasonings and spices, he had thoroughly mastered the essence of Sichuan cuisine.
Later on, it was relying on his cooking that he had landed a beautiful girlfriend.
Unfortunately, when he moved to the big city to make a living, life ceased to be only about good food.
*Ah, the past is like the wind; best not to dwell on it!*
After crossing over, Luo Chen discovered that the ingredients in the cultivation world were of absolute top quality.
All manner of spirit beast meat, monster beast meat, vegetables, and fruits possessed distinct and extraordinary flavors from being steeped in spiritual energy.
The original host of this body had also possessed unique insights into certain medicinal herbs.
Combining the two, he was able to improve his meals every few days with his limited resources.
The snacks he occasionally prepared, such as beef jerky and stir-fried bitter hazelnuts, had earned rave reviews from Wang Yuan, Chen Xiuping, Gu Caiyi, and the rest.
Reasonably speaking, cultivators did not place much stock in the desires of the palate.
In reality, however, that applied only to high-ranking cultivators.
Low-ranking cultivators could not subsist on the wind and dew or fast for a hundred years.
In fact, because they constantly circulated violent external spiritual energy, their meridians frequently suffered damage during the refining process.
Consequently, dietary nourishment was quite popular among low-ranking cultivators, ranking just behind medicinal pills and herbal baths.
This was all the more true for Luo Chen. No matter how tight life became, he had rarely run out of spirit rice and monster beast meat.
Without these foods infused with spiritual substances, his body—inherently lacking in aptitude—would likely have crumbled under the hardships of cultivation long ago.
The three ate and drank as they chatted.
Upon learning that Luo Chen was an alchemist, the Qin couple was utterly astonished.
Luo Chen, in turn, was curious about what they did for a living now.
After asking around, he discovered that they were actually running a business as well.
"The Guyuan Mountain Range is rich in resources. Back then, the two of us led a group to take over Ziyue Lake, which yields an abundance of a certain spiritual fish."
"Although the gang takes most of the profits, what remains is more than enough to support our family's cultivation."
Amidst the boastful words, there was no lack of pride and satisfaction in the hunts they had waged in the mountains in earlier years.
From this mere tip of the iceberg, Luo Chen roughly understood why the Great River Gang and the Lianyun Merchant Alliance coveted the safe passages into the mountains controlled by the Mountain Breaker Gang.
Just a single harvesting ground for spiritual fish allowed the Qin couple, both at the ninth level of Qi Refining, to live a thriving, prosperous life.
And that was with the Mountain Breaker Gang taking the lion's share, leaving the Qin family with only a fraction.
Looking at the bigger picture, over a thousand members of the Mountain Breaker Gang had cultivated and explored the Guyuan Mountain Range for over a century.
Advancing wave after wave, there was no telling how many herb-growing grounds and monster beast roaming patterns they had charted.
These were riches that would make anyone green with envy!
As the three were chatting, all of them suddenly raised their heads at once.
A piercing shriek detonated like a thunderclap out of a clear sky.
Then, as far as the eye could see, a golden streak of light shot from the western horizon like a meteor, hurtling straight toward Dahe Market.
"What is that?"
The golden light flew with such speed that one moment it was at the edge of the sky, and the next it was right before their eyes.
Luo Chen stood up in haste, his eyes fixed intently on that streak of golden light.
About five breaths later, the golden light decelerated. Dragging a faint furrow left by displaced air, it plunged into the depths of the market like a homing bird darting into a forest.
The Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion!
Qin Liangchen stepped up beside him, standing shoulder to shoulder as he looked at the white trail lingering in the clear sky, and drew a deep breath.
"A sword cultivator—it's a sword cultivator from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. And a Golden Core sword cultivator, no less, flying by steering sword light after advancing a sword pellet into a magic treasure!"
A sword pellet magic treasure, traveling upon light.
A sword from the west!
Luo Chen was shaken to his core.
This was his first time witnessing the might of a high-ranking cultivator in this world.
Though it was merely a fleeting glimpse, that thunderous aura ripping through the void and sweeping unhindered across heaven and earth left him unable to calm his racing heart for a long time.
"Among those of the same realm, sword cultivators possess the strongest offense and the swiftest flight speed. It is precisely because the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect possesses such a wealth of top-tier combat power that they can hold their ground at the edge of the Million Mountains."
Qin Liangchen offered his critique of the broader world, then stroked his chin and said, "This Golden Core Master has likely come to preside over the opening of Dahe Market's Dao Discussion Platform."
Luo Chen was curious. "Would a mere Dao Discussion Platform really warrant dispatching a Golden Core Master?"
"Haha, Xiao Luo, that's where you're mistaken." Qin Liangchen chuckled, pointing toward the sealed hill behind the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion. "The Dao Discussion Platform is one of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect's few major revenue sources. Once opened, if managed properly, it brings in a fortune in spirit stones."
"Moreover, although each market is only garrisoned by a sect Foundation Establishment cultivator, the defensive setup is fundamentally built according to Golden Core standards."
"For example, the grand defensive formation of Dahe Market's inner city is a Golden Core array capable of warding off a Tier 3 beast king."
"It's just that sword cultivators face great hurdles in advancing, which is why the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect cannot station a corresponding Golden Core cultivator in every single market."
Luo Chen understood. The infrastructure was Golden Core tier.
Yet because the sect had too few members of that caliber, they could only rely on Foundation Establishment cultivators to hold down the fort.
"This Golden Core Master likely arrived ahead of the rest simply because his flight speed was too fast."
Qin Liangchen looked toward the distant sky, musing thoughtfully, "With the launch of the Dao Discussion Platform, there should be many inner and outer sect disciples arriving to handle the routine chores."
He truly lived up to his reputation as a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining who had traveled through other regions; his breadth of knowledge far exceeded that of ordinary low-ranking cultivators.
True to his judgment, roughly an hour later, several faint streaks of light appeared in the western sky above Dahe Market.
About seven streaks of diverse colors were escorting an enormous flying boat, gliding steadily toward Dahe Market.
This "steadily" was only in comparison to the speed of that sword arriving from the west earlier.
In reality, their pace was also exceedingly swift.
From the moment they first came into view to the moment they halted in the sky above Dahe Market, less than half an incense stick of time had elapsed.
Such an unreserved, swaggering display naturally drew the attention of the entire Dahe Market.
Countless people lifted their heads, fixing their gazes upon the seven figures treading flying swords and the flying boat hovering overhead like a vast shadow.
Then, a multitude of figures emerged from the vessel.
Qi Refining cultivators, either steering flying sword artifacts or casting the Wind Riding Technique, filed out from within the flying boat.
Then, like mayflies, they entered the inner city one after another.
Once everyone had departed, the flying boat slowly shrank, shooting into the towering Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion as if summoned back by someone.
With that, not a single person or object remained in the sky.
It was as if the scene moments before had been nothing more than an illusion.
Yet within Dahe Market, whether local rogue cultivators or visiting practitioners, all knew that this place had welcomed its true masters.
The name of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect weighed heavily on the hearts of all.
Chapter 49