Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 73: The Choice
"Attack Wuyin Island?"
Zhang Yao shook his head and said:
"This kind of thing is too dangerous, I’m not planning to participate."
"That Elder Lady Liu might have left some precious inheritance, but the Liu Family and Yuwen Family are not to be trifled with either."
"High-grade Spirit Talismans and High-grade Magical Artifacts are great, but they can also kill!"
Hearing Zhang Yao’s words, Fatty Chen couldn’t help but show a hint of hesitation, feeling more and more undecided in his heart.
Not only him, among the dozen or so cultivators present, only a small number were actually tempted, while the rest still had reservations in their expressions.
To be frank:
Those willing to stay in the barren Lu Kingdom, instead of heading north for adventure, are mostly not hardcore gamblers, preferring stable cultivation.
In this situation, some of the older cultivators from Kongqing River exchanged glances and frowned.
"Everyone."
The elder with a lean appearance said in a deep voice:
"There’s no need for everyone to be daunted by the past prestige of the Liu Family."
"We are all cultivators at the early stage of Qi Refining, the difference in cultivation is not large, even if there are High-grade Magical Artifacts, how much power can they really exert?"
"As for possible High-grade Spirit Talismans... heh, if we swarm them, they probably won’t even have the chance to use them before they are all decapitated!"
Upon saying this, many cultivators also showed a contemplative look in their eyes.
High-grade Magical Artifacts are powerful, but only in the hands of cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining can they exert their full power.
If they fall into the hands of middle-stage Qi Refining cultivators, they can only exert fifty to sixty percent of their power; early-stage Qi Refining cultivators can exert at most twenty to thirty percent of their power.
This is also why Zhang Yao and Lunan chose to hide them, never willing to show their High-grade Magical Artifacts to others.
The same goes for High-grade Spirit Talismans, if the difference in magical power is too great, it takes time just to activate the talismans, which might be as short as two or three moments, but that’s already enough time to kill someone.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, what do you think?"
"This is a great opportunity, you two must not miss it."
"Indeed, not to mention anything else, Wuyin Island is the number one Spirit Vein in Lu, just occupying this island is a huge gain."
"You and your partner might want to reconsider..."
Some older cultivators from Kongqing River started persuading people at the banquet, and many were swayed by their arguments.
Zhang Yao was also approached by different people twice, but seeing his firm attitude of refusal, they decided to give up.
Eventually, a total of twelve cultivators from Celestial Capital Mountain and Kongqing River, decided to participate in the operation to jointly attack Wuyin Island.
In the Spirit Vein of Celestial Capital Mountain, only Zhang Yao, Zhao He, and Jiang Rou stayed behind, while the rest, the Li Brothers, Old He, and Fatty Chen, decided to join forces and take the risk.
From the Spirit Vein of Kongqing River, only the youngest cultivator chose to stay behind.
Three days later, those participating in the joint attack on Wuyin Island planned carefully before setting off, driving their magical artifacts with great momentum.
In the land of Spirit Vein, Zhang Yao, Zhao He, and Jiang Rou stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the escaping light of the group fade away and gradually disappear into the clouds.
"Alas..."
Zhao He sighed, with a trace of envy in his eyes.
He chose to stay because his aptitude was relatively better, giving him confidence to break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining before sixty.
But the thought of attacking Wuyin Island and possibly gaining substantial rewards gave him a faint sense of regret, while Jiang Rou next to him remained silent, showing little emotion.
"Fellow Daoist Zhao."
Zhang Yao, seeing this, smiled and said:
"The outcome of this venture is unpredictable; our choice to stay might actually be a good thing."
Lunan, at the Qi Refining Third Layer, could leave something for his descendants, so he didn’t believe that Elder Lady Liu hadn’t planned meticulously before her death.
He would never risk such trivial gains, even if he didn’t have Lunan’s inheritance, he would have made the same choice.
"Those cultivators without even a Magical Artifact joining the action are truly blinded by greed."
"Should something unexpected occur, they would likely be the first to die..."
Zhang Yao quietly shook his head with this thought.
Loose cultivators in Lu Kingdom are very poor, many don’t even have a low-grade Magical Artifact, like the Li Brothers from Celestial Capital Mountain, escorted by Old He and Fatty Chen, one each, to attack Wuyin Island.
If all goes well, that’s one thing, but if not, when it’s time to flee, how can Old He and Fatty Chen still care for them?
"As the saying goes, people die for wealth, and birds die for food. The allure of worldly fame and fortune is inescapable."
"Cultivators, if they have not truly become Immortal, are just people on the mountain."
A sense of understanding arose in Zhang Yao’s heart, and after some idle talk with Zhao He and Jiang Rou, he returned to his hall for quiet cultivation.
Only half a day later:
"Hmm?"
Zhang Yao suddenly opened his eyes, stopped the operation of his Profound Skill, with a slight change in expression:
"Such a strong fluctuation of spiritual qi... Have Old He and the others returned?"
He immediately got up and left the quiet chamber, quickly going outside to check.
"This..."
At the first sight outside the hall, his heart gave a slight jolt.
Fatty Chen, disheveled, sat on the ground panting heavily, covered in blood, looking extremely battered, and beside him lay Old He, fainted, with a missing left arm, his face pale.
"This! Old He..."
Zhao He and Jiang Rou, noticing the commotion, also hurried over, shocked at the scene before them.
"I regret it!!"
Fatty Chen wailed in a sorrowful voice:
"My regret is turning my insides green, I shouldn’t have listened to those guys’ misleading words, which made me lose my head!"
"I harmed them..."
Zhao He and Jiang Rou quickly moved forward to console him, also using healing spiritual techniques to help, and Zhang Yao also stepped in to assist.
After the injuries stabilized, Fatty Chen’s mood recovered somewhat, and he began to narrate his experience in a low, broken voice.
It turned out, Elder Lady Liu’s greatest inheritance was not Spirit Talismans or Magical Artifacts, but an entire set of Array Banners.
To refine into Array Banners signifies a true Killing, Trapping, or Illusion Array, far superior to the half-baked arrays that protect the Spirit Vein Lands.
With the help of that set of Array Banners, Wuyin Island had long been fortified like a strong citadel, which they were unaware of.
And the Yuwen Family, who took over Wuyin Island, being cultivators from the Imperial Family, had profound schemes and shrewdness, managing to feign vulnerability and lure them in.
As soon as they broke into Wuyin Island, thick fog surged and waves roared, Array Banners rose, powers fully unleashed.
Twelve cultivators faced the might of the Grand Array and were immediately slaughtered or injured, relying on someone detonating a Magical Artifact to forcibly break a path, allowing the remaining cultivators to narrowly escape.
"This..."
Upon hearing Fatty Chen’s account, Zhao He and Jiang Rou fell silent.
The Li Brothers, with low cultivation and no Magical Artifacts, died in the first instance of the Grand Array’s onslaught.
Fatty Chen and Old He were relatively fortunate, at least able to save their own lives, while the Kongqing River cultivators, charging first, suffered heavier casualties.
Cultivators are human too, and seeing their longtime comrades, with whom they’ve shared countless talks on Dao, perish caused sorrow in their hearts.
"Alas."
Zhang Yao, seeing this scene, could only sigh quietly:
"If only they had known this, what need was there to do it in the first place..."
