Chapter 100: Are You Trying to Extort Me?

A few days later, Xu Zhe had already left the Valley of Buried Immortals.

He altered his appearance and aura, then purchased a brand-new Myriad Phenomena Jade Plate in a city within the Western Kun Continent.

Upon probing the device with his divine sense, Xu Zhe was astonished to find that the new jade plate updated immediately. All the information from his previous jade plate—including the recorded footage sent by Zhu Chongli before his death and the records of the eccentric old man he had encountered in the Valley of Prodigies—automatically appeared in the new one.

"Cloud backup?"

Xu Zhe frowned. This was not good news. If these jade plates functioned like modern smartphones, where data was preserved in the cloud and automatically restored upon linking a new device to one's divine sense, it meant that those in control of the Spirit Network could access the data on everyone's devices. Consequently, most people would never store their true secrets or major affairs on a Myriad Phenomena Jade Plate.

"This means that even if Wang Jianguo's jade plate were repaired, it likely wouldn't contain any critical information." Xu Zhe took out the damaged jade plate he had retrieved from the Valley of Buried Immortals, feeling a wave of disappointment. He no longer held high hopes for its contents, making it difficult to determine who was lying between Li Chungang and Gu Jia'er.

Based on his encounter with Li Chungang’s avatar in the valley, Xu Zhe was certain it was not an impostor. Although years had passed and Li Chungang had changed—in appearance, temperament, behavior, and even personality—these changes were traceable. They had evolved from the person he once was; he hadn't simply become a different person for no reason. As for the truthfulness of his words, however, Xu Zhe found it hard to judge.

As for Gu Jia'er, the fact that she was trapped in that predicament when he found her was likely genuine. A normal person, regardless of their methods, would not risk their life just to engineer a chance encounter with him. Of course, even if her entrapment was real, it did not mean everything she said afterward was true. Thus, both individuals were marked with a question mark in Xu Zhe’s mind, awaiting further investigation.

Another point that intrigued Xu Zhe was the divine sense that had appeared later. If he guessed correctly, it belonged to a powerhouse at the Mahayana stage—or at least someone infinitely close to it. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for that divine sense to possess such intensity, reaching deep into the Valley of Buried Immortals and probing such a remote location, all while remaining so concealed that it was only detected when it drew near.

"Logically, if that person’s divine sense was able to track us, they should know someone is investigating them, and likely suspect it was Li Chungang and his group. Yet, Li Chungang was hiding from them, not wanting anyone to know he had met me. What is the point of that?" Xu Zhe pondered, a look of confusion on his face. "As he claimed, was it simply to avoid implicating me and dragging me into the mess?"

"No, that doesn't add up. If that were the case, he didn't need to meet me at all; he could have simply acted as if I didn't exist. That would have been the best way to avoid involving me. Yet, he took the risk to see me, only to leave me with incomplete information."

Xu Zhe’s furrowed brow gradually smoothed out, but his expression grew increasingly grave. His suspicion toward Li Chungang had deepened, and he began to lean toward the possibility that Li Chungang was lying. However, Li Chungang had mentioned one crucial piece of information: someone was orchestrating a grand scheme to collect the bloodlines of one hundred prodigies. If nothing else, the person he referred to was likely the owner of that divine sense.

"Mahayana stage cultivation, collecting a hundred beast bloodlines... are they attempting bloodline fusion?" Xu Zhe was stunned. The person’s audacity was immense; were they not afraid of bloodline conflict leading to self-detonation? Even if they succeeded in fusing a hundred bloodlines, it wouldn't make them powerful; they would merely become a freakish hybrid—a thankless effort. With that kind of time, they would be better off contemplating their cultivation and seeking a breakthrough.

"Fellow Daoist, do you need the 'Thirty-Day Alchemy Crash Course'?" A sneaky voice suddenly came from in front of him.

Xu Zhe’s attention was drawn by the title. He looked up to see a petite woman in a slovenly Taoist robe peddling something to a male cultivator nearby. A closer look revealed a dirty, tattered book in her hand, with the title "Thirty-Day Alchemy Crash Course" written on the cover.

"No, no, I don't practice alchemy." The male cultivator shot her a look of disgust and annoyance, waving a hand before walking away.

The woman didn't mind. She looked around and her gaze locked with Xu Zhe’s. "Fellow Daoist!" She immediately hurried toward him.

"No need. I am quite accomplished in the art of alchemy myself. But I’m curious: what grade of pills can one actually refine with your so-called thirty-day crash course?" Xu Zhe asked with a faint smile.

The woman ignored his question, her face lighting up. "So, you’re an alchemist! Then you absolutely need this 'Thirty-Day Alchemy Crash Course'."

"How so?" Xu Zhe asked, amused.

"Surely you know that Gu Jia'er, the Holy Master of Putuo Holy Land, has returned? After three hundred years, the Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven is finally opening again. If you can master even fifty percent of this course, you’ll easily place in the Divine Pill Competition and secure a spot in the Grotto-Heaven," the woman said, lowering her voice as if sharing a great secret.

Xu Zhe’s eyebrows shot up. Gu Jia'er? The Holy Master of Putuo Holy Land? He was shocked; could someone like her really be a Holy Master?

"Fellow Daoist, what do you think?" the woman asked.

Xu Zhe collected his thoughts and shook his head. "I really don't need this crash course..."

"Ugh, if you didn't want it, you could have said so earlier. You’ve wasted my time!" The woman rolled her eyes and turned to leave, muttering, "If I weren't out of spirit stones to buy medicinal herbs, I wouldn't have bothered selling my labor of love. It’s your loss anyway."

Xu Zhe was taken aback, then laughed. "Miss, I said I didn't need it, but I didn't say I wouldn't buy it."

"You'll buy it?" The woman spun around, her eyes sparkling.

"I can buy it, but I have a few questions," Xu Zhe nodded.

"Fine, ask away," the woman agreed, clearly delighted.

"What is the Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven? And what is this Divine Pill Competition? Is it an alchemy contest? Does the winner get the spot to enter the Grotto-Heaven?" Xu Zhe asked, half-guessing.

The woman gave him a strange look. "As an alchemist, you don't know what the Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven is?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here," Xu Zhe reminded her.

"Why ask me? Look it up on the Spirit Network yourself! Forget it, since you’re willing to buy my book, I’ll tell you." The woman looked resigned. She tugged at the wide, sloppy collar of her robe.

Xu Zhe: "..."

*Ahem, you're exposing yourself, friend. We're in public—have some decorum!*

The next moment, she pulled a Myriad Phenomena Jade Plate from her robe, wiped off some soot, operated it a few times, and squinted as she recited: "The Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven is an ancient secret realm containing vast fields of ancient medicinal herbs and countless spirit medicines. It is also said to hold divine pills nurtured by heaven and earth. It is located within the territory of the Putuo Holy Land in the Southern Heaven Continent, and the key to opening it is controlled by them. According to the Four Continents Council, it should open every hundred years. Note: In the 9,683rd year of the Immortal Era, Holy Master Gu of Putuo Holy Land disappeared mysteriously, leading to the Grotto-Heaven remaining closed for the 9,700th, 9,800th, and 9,900th years—three hundred years in total."

The woman stopped and looked at Xu Zhe. "I’m tired of reading. Why don't you look at it yourself?"

"..."

Xu Zhe rubbed his forehead, sighing inwardly. He still hadn't grown accustomed to the age of the Spirit Network. If he had known he could check it on the jade plate, he wouldn't have needed to ask her. *A miscalculation.*

Still, this Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven was intriguing. It claimed to house pills naturally nurtured by heaven and earth? He had heard of such things in the Cangtian Domain, but they were almost always scams. Could heaven and earth truly nurture pills? At least in his era in the Cangtian Domain, it was impossible. However, according to the scholars of the Immortal Emperor families, such pills supposedly existed in ancient times. Hearing that a secret realm in the Southern Heaven Continent possessed them, Xu Zhe was immediately interested.

He had just broken through to the Golden Core stage as a Peerless Heavenly Core cultivator. His core was powerful and solid, which meant the difficulty of breaking the core to form a Nascent Soul would be exponentially higher. He would need a staggering amount of precious natural resources for that breakthrough. If the Divine Pill Grotto-Heaven truly contained divine pills, it would be an excellent opportunity to reach the Nascent Soul stage quickly.

"Fellow Daoist, are you done looking?" the woman asked, impatient.

"Yes, I'll check the Spirit Network for more details later," Xu Zhe said with a smile.

"Great, then let's trade. Five million low-grade spirit stones, or the equivalent in Spirit Jade via the network. I’m telling you, you’re buying my..." the woman started eagerly.

"Wait, what? Five million?" Xu Zhe’s expression changed; he thought he had misheard. Five million low-grade spirit stones? In the Cangtian Domain, he wouldn't have cared—it would just be a number. But here in the Qingci Continent, he knew exactly how significant that sum was. Based on standard cultivator income, its purchasing power was equivalent to hundreds of millions of dollars on Earth. Buying a "Thirty-Day Cooking Crash Course" for such a price would be absurd.

"Are you trying to swindle me?" Xu Zhe looked at her in disbelief.

The woman glared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Your price is ridiculous," Xu Zhe shook his head. He didn't want to waste more words and turned to leave.

"Ridiculous? You ignorant fool! Do you know who I am? If I didn't need exactly five million spirit stones to buy that specific herb, I wouldn't be selling my life's work! Stop right there, you jerk!" She lunged forward, grabbing his sleeve, looking furious.

"Let go," Xu Zhe said, his voice cold and brow furrowed.

"Why should I? You didn't buy it, but you intentionally asked me about the Grotto-Heaven, clearly just to toy with me and waste my time. How are we going to settle this?" she demanded, though she did release his sleeve.

Xu Zhe turned to face her, calm. "I had no intention of toying with you. I simply forgot that this information could be checked on the Spirit Network, so..."

Before he could finish, the woman’s gaze suddenly shifted behind him. Her expression changed, and she turned and bolted.

*Whoosh!*

The next moment, a black shadow streaked past Xu Zhe, heading straight for the woman.

"Eh?"

The shadow moved too fast to be clearly seen, but Xu Zhe sensed a familiar aura and froze.

"Li Chungang."

He sent a telepathic message to the figure with his divine sense.

The black shadow halted abruptly, stopping dead in its tracks. It turned around, looking at Xu Zhe in utter disbelief.