Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 240 - 234: Giving You A Magical Tool, Robbing the Heavenly Court【Second Call For Subscription】_1
Sha Chen’s words made the Black Bear Spirit’s face turn pale. He was utterly terrified.
He exclaimed in shock, "Master, I don’t want to become a Daluo Golden Immortal anymore. I’m quite happy as I am."
Sha Chen glared at him and said, "Without any ambition, I don’t keep useless things around here. If you don’t agree, then get out right now."
The Black Bear Spirit was on the verge of tears, kneeling and kowtowing on the ground.
Leaving now would be akin to seeking death, and he certainly did not wish to die.
Sha Chen mixed threats with inducements, exhausted all kind words, and kicked and punched him until the Black Bear Spirit desolately agreed.
He said with a smile, "Don’t be so downcast. Could I harm you? Achieving this task isn’t something that will happen in a moment’s notice either."
"We still have two to three months to prepare, right? I can teach you some Divine Powers and spells, and even give you one or two Magical Tools. Your chances of success are quite high."
The Black Bear Spirit felt like crying. High chances of success!? He thought there was no chance at all.
Sha Chen wanted him to hijack the provisions of Li Jing’s million-strong army—steal their resources—and then escape for a while before safely returning.
At first, he thought Sha Chen wanted to use him as bait to draw attention away and make his own escape, planning to abandon him.
But now it seemed that Sha Chen was purely greedy, not content with dwindling supplies and wanting to take the initiative to rob the Heavenly Court’s provisions.
This insane behavior was something the Black Bear Spirit could never have imagined coming from the cautious and careful Sha Chen.
But on second thought, it did seem very much in line with Sha Chen’s cautious nature. After all, it wasn’t Sha Chen who was going to do the hijacking; it was him, the Black Bear Spirit. If he got caught, Sha Chen might just eradicate his soul to avoid revealing secrets, causing him to die a complete death. Then the Heavenly Court wouldn’t be able to interrogate him about anything.
Thus, other than victory, he had no other choice.
The Black Bear Spirit cried inside. Sha Chen isn’t seeking wealth through danger, because Sha Chen himself is in no danger at all and might even use me as bait. All the wealth will belong to Sha Chen, and all the danger will fall upon me, the Black Bear Spirit.
Sha Chen patted the Black Bear Spirit’s shoulder, consoling him, "Don’t look so gloomy. It’s not a big problem. It seems perilous, but the potential gains are also great. Plus, with me backing you up, what’s there to fear?"
The Black Bear Spirit rolled his eyes frantically. You’re trapped here, barely able to protect yourself, and you’re going to be my backup?
He was certain that if something went wrong, Sha Chen would definitely abandon him.
The Black Bear Spirit pleaded, "Master, can we not go? Our resources can still last for about a year or so. In the meantime, let’s find a chance to break out. Then, I’ll go gather more resources for you to repay your kindness in teaching me."
Sha Chen said, "Old Bear, although the resources can last another year or so, we can’t wait until they’re all used up before we start to worry. As the saying goes, ’Without long-term planning, there will be immediate worries.’ We must prepare early."
"The soldiers and generals outside may seem numerous and strong, but they are actually a loose mess, impressive only on the outside. You have already cultivated to the peak of Greater Primordial Golden Immortal, and you have minor achievements in the Eight-Nine Profound Art and the 72 Polymorphic Transformations. I will pass on two Magical Tools to you, and you will surely capture them effortlessly."
The Black Bear Spirit knew Sha Chen had made up his mind and it was impossible to change it, so he resigned himself to his fate.
He just hoped that Sha Chen would be reliable and teach him some powerful Divine Powers and spells, and provide suitable Magical Tools.
Thereupon, he knelt and agreed, much to Sha Chen’s pleasure.
Initially, Sha Chen thought the Black Bear Spirit would refuse, and he would have to find another way to force his agreement. Now that he had agreed, it saved Sha Chen a lot of trouble.
The Black Bear Spirit said, "Master, the Heavenly Court’s provisions will definitely be heavily guarded; it’s difficult for me to infiltrate. Moreover, I don’t know where they store their provisions."
A million soldiers and generals eating, drinking, and living require resources.
Especially since they were camped by the Flowing Sand River, their daily Cultivation needs amounted to a substantial expense.
If it were an ordinary day with them stationed in the Heavenly Court, the common soldiers would be provisioned by the logistics department. The consumption was immense but also fixed and delivered by each department separately. Hijacking the resources of one department wouldn’t amount to much.
But with a million-strong army led by Li Jing, distribution was unified and scheduled.
However, the consumption by the million-strong army was minor; Sha Chen was not interested in the trivial amount of low-grade Spirit Grass, Elixirs, and Immortal Pills. Taking them would only occupy space.
What he aimed to hijack were the Cultivation requirements of the heavenly generals, who, on most days in the Heavenly Court, used their own resources, with salaries distributed annually.
But while on a campaign, they received daily distributions, not aimed at breakthroughs but at maintaining their peak condition.
Therefore, the amount of Immortal Pills and Elixirs brought by the Heavenly Court for the generals was enormous.
In addition to Cultivation needs, there were various treasures and divine items for forming arrays, as well as an array of Elixirs for healing, detoxifying, and averting disaster.
If the battle was to be resolved in a day or two, the consumption wouldn’t be much.
But since Li Jing had set up camp again, the resources consumed daily were astronomical.
Li Jing himself must have been under immense pressure, and Sha Chen, using his Six Ears of All Heavens Divine Power, had heard Li Jing being punished by the Jade Emperor several times.
The resource consumption by Li Jing’s encampment was massive.
But the Jade Emperor had not sent any decree informing about the condition of Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad, nor whether they could directly attack the Flowing Sand River.
Neither had he ordered Li Jing to retreat but had only scolded him.
Likewise, Li Jing had grown worried, his hair whitening from all the stress, as he arranged and distributed resources daily to every soldier and general, a massive mental undertaking.
Furthermore, the location where the Elixirs and Immortal Herbs were stored needed to be changed every now and then, not to mention it was heavily guarded.
The Black Bear Spirit said, "If it were an ordinary person, they would put Elixirs and Immortal Herbs into a Qiankun Bag and carry it on their person. However, the Immortal Pills and Elixirs for the million heavenly soldiers are stored in specialized Space Magical Treasures and are not carried by individuals."
Sha Chen said, "Don’t worry, the Magical Tool I lent you is exactly what you need to find them."
That’s when he took out the Dragon-seeking Ruler he had gotten as a reward. As soon as he brought it out, it almost made the Black Bear Spirit’s eyes pop out of his head.
HISS.
"Master, is that the legendary Dragon-seeking Ruler? Is it true that the Daoist Ancestor gave it to Kunpeng, a formidable being of ancient times, at Fenbao Cliff?"
"How did it end up in Master’s hands? It is said to be made from the spine of a primordial dragon, one of the ancestors of the Dragon Clan, and it has the ability to detect Spiritual Energy. It can also help regulate and ensure smooth flow of Divine Power in the body. Its uses are indeed boundless."
Sha Chen nodded and said with a smile, "Exactly as you say. Moreover, the Dragon-seeking Ruler, being made from the dragon’s spine, is incredibly hard, and it can be used as a bladeless sword."
The Black Bear Spirit was overjoyed, eagerly taking the Dragon-seeking Ruler and lovingly caressing it, reluctant to put it away.
He double-checked and asked, "Master, are you really giving this to me?"
Sha Chen reaffirmed, "I’m lending it to you, temporarily lending it to you. You’ll have to return it to me afterwards."
Lending it. With some disappointment, the Black Bear Spirit thought that even temporarily possessing such a Magical Tool was enough to make him happy.
But then, the thought of using it to seek out the Heavenly Court’s Immortal Pills and Spiritual Medicine, sending him on a suicidal mission, dampened his spirits.
But upon deeper reflection, he thought, Sha Chen is willing to lend me this Magical Tool; he must be confident in my upcoming mission. Otherwise, wouldn’t he be afraid of losing the treasure?
Sha Chen was naturally afraid of that, but he had already refined the Magical Tool. If the Black Bear Spirit died, he could simply summon the tool back to himself. No loss there, he thought.
The Black Bear Spirit then asked, "Master, didn’t you say there were two Magical Tools? Where is the other one?"
A sly smile appeared on Sha Chen’s lips as he gestured with his hand, and a fiery red pillar materialized out of thin air, entwined with thirty-six fire dragons.
HISS!
The Black Bear Spirit was nearly scared witless, exclaiming in horror, "Dragon Piling? Master, how did you come by a Dragon Piling?"
Sha Chen replied indifferently, "Jinzha felt that the Dragon Piling was no good after I cracked it, so he discarded it and I picked it up."
The Black Bear Spirit was nearly faint with fright at such a claim, which he found utterly unbelievable.
But he had been cultivating with Sha Chen the whole time, and since Sha Chen couldn’t leave, it was very possible the Dragon Piling had come to him during his arduous training.
However, since the Dragon Piling was Jinzha’s Magical Tool, it was incomprehensible how it could have ended up in Sha Chen’s possession.
As for being discarded by Jinzha as Sha Chen said, the Black Bear Spirit didn’t believe a word of it.
Furthermore, the Dragon Piling was a system reward; Sha Chen had not claimed it until recently when he retrieved it from within the Buddhist Pagoda, which then flew out and landed in his hands.
During this period, Jinzha, having lost his treasure, was so furious that he was wailing and searching everywhere, almost driven to madness.
The Black Bear Spirit took the Dragon Piling and noticed it no longer bore Jinzha’s aura, only that of Sha Chen, which indicated it had been refined by Sha Chen. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Sha Chen said, "This Magical Tool isn’t of much use to me, so I’m giving it to you. With it, you won’t be defenseless against pursuers."
The Black Bear Spirit was so moved that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed in thanks.
Sha Chen not only imparted Divine Powers and Cultivation Techniques but also presented him with a Magical Tool, treating him as his own, which almost moved the Black Bear Spirit to call him father.
Actually, Sha Chen was reluctant to give the Dragon Piling to the Black Bear Spirit, but keeping it was useless to him as anything other than firewood. It was better to give it to the Black Bear Spirit to increase the chances of success in his endeavors.
After the system handed the Dragon Piling to him, it had repaired the cracks he had caused, and its power was still formidable.
In the Black Bear Spirit’s hands, it was sure to have an effect beyond expectation.
Even Sha Chen could imagine the astonished expressions of the immortals when the Black Bear Spirit hijacked the Heavenly Court’s Elixirs and Immortal Pills and then engaged in battle using the Dragon Piling.
Jinzha would probably be furious to death.
But as satisfying as such a scenario would be, it was far too dangerous, too much of a magnet for hatred.
Having given and lent the two Magical Tools to the Black Bear Spirit, Sha Chen’s next step was to teach him the Qingyun Zong Divine Power.
This Divine Power would give the Black Bear Spirit a stronger ability to escape, so that, if discovered, he would not be so easily captured.
Sha Chen said, "I haven’t taught this Divine Power to many, so treasure it well. Use it only as a last resort."
He also imparted the Flowing Light Flying Dance Divine Power to the Black Bear Spirit as a camouflage.
The Black Bear Spirit was overjoyed. With this Divine Power, he felt somewhat relieved.
「Three months later.」
The Black Bear Spirit had managed to cultivate this Divine Power, although only to the introductory level, but that was enough for self-preservation.
But as the time to act approached, his fear returned.
Pleading, he said, "Master, is it possible not to go?"
Sha Chen replied, "You can. How about I go in your stead? After all, my Qingyun Zong has already reached Great Accomplishment, and my Cultivation level and array of Magical Tools and Divine Powers far surpass yours, making my likelihood of success greater."
The Black Bear Spirit was elated and exclaimed, "Really, Master? You’re not joking with me, are you?"
Sha Chen replied, "I might as well acknowledge you as my master."
The Black Bear Spirit was so filled with joy he was ready to leap for happiness and said, "Master, you must be joking, right?"
Sha Chen responded, "It was you who joked with me first."
