Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

The three walked down the street.

After meeting Zuo Qinlong, Chen Che finally had time to take in the sights of Celestial Ghost City. As a key transportation hub, the city was nearly as large as Jinyun Valley.

Cultivators from far and wide all passed through here.

On the towering black city walls that scraped the clouds, countless twisted, black runes were densely inscribed. From within the carvings, flashes of golden light occasionally flickered, giving them a mystical air.

A Third-level High Grade array: the Profound Celestial Thousand Blades Sword Array.

Having been updated over several generations, this Array covered nearly the entire city and was primarily designed for slaughter.

The city gate facing the Star-Picking Sect was completely sealed, prohibiting passage to prevent enemy cultivators from sneaking in. The walls were lined with all sorts of defensive artifacts, each one thrumming with Magic Patterns.

Within the city, prosperity and vibrancy greeted the eye.

Celestial Ghost City had stood for over a thousand years and weathered several eras, accumulating a deep-seated heritage. Walking through its gates, one found the streets spacious and clean—so much so that even several beast-drawn carriages traveling side-by-side wouldn't feel crowded.

The residence Zuo Qinlong arranged for the trio was not far from the City Lord's Mansion, in a quiet and secluded area. After dismissing the maids sent to serve them, they took a few laps around the courtyard. Aside from an Illusionary Mist Array meant to keep outsiders from entering, there were no other arrays on the premises.

They entered the main hall, sat down, and began by dividing the spoils from Ten Thousand Gods Mountain.

"I only want Gongyang Shuo's Soul-Calling Banner."

Xiao Chan waved a hand. "The rest is all yours."

The treasures of five Golden Core and five hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators, one Soul-Calling Banner, and all the Yin Ghosts nurtured on the mountain over many years—it was equivalent to him obtaining the accumulated wealth of two Evil Cultivators' entire careers.

Once he assimilated it all, increasing his strength severalfold would be no problem.

"I'll take thirty percent," Chen Xi stated directly.

Chen Che had no objections.

In truth, very few of the Evil Cultivators' weapons were usable. Over eighty percent had been refined using Evil Techniques; if used by disciples with low Cultivation Realms, their minds could easily be corrupted. Even if brought back to Jinyun Valley, the weapons would most likely be melted down and reforged.

The only items of any use were Pei Chu's Trident and Song Yuanxing's Flying Sword.

However, since Chen Che already had the Thunder Jade Gourd and a Sword Pill, these two items were of marginal use at best.

There was also a large pile of Pills, but every single one emitted plumes of black energy, making it impossible to identify their ingredients by appearance alone. He found a few Pills that looked normal, scraped off some powder to taste, and found them sour, astringent, and bitter.

Their side effects ranged from damaging one's meridians to harming one's Divine Soul.

After a moment of thought, Chen Che simply handed all these Pills to Xiao Chan.

"What am I supposed to do with these?"

Xiao Chan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Though he had been branded an Evil Cultivator, he had always practiced the orthodox techniques of the Primordial Sect and had no use for these things at all.

"If you ever reorganize the Ten Thousand Gods Sect, these might come in handy."

"But..."

"Not all Evil Cultivators are scoundrels like those in the Ten Thousand Gods Alliance. There are some decent ones out there; perhaps you can bring them into the fold."

As long as their Cultivation Techniques existed, Evil Cultivators could never be completely eliminated.

That being the case, why not bring those who still had a conscience under control? Of course, the task would be arduous and thankless, so it was better to leave it to Xiao Chan.

"Very well."

Xiao Chan nodded helplessly. It was a thankless job. As he accepted the Pills, he changed the subject.

"What do you all think of this City Lord, Zuo Qinlong? He gives me a terrifying feeling. Even if I used all my trump cards, I'm afraid I wouldn't last a single exchange with him. I originally thought he would be hostile toward our arrival, but thankfully, he has been very cooperative when it comes to defending the city."

Just then, Chen Xi, who was studying the Jade Scroll he had provided, chimed in.

"He's certainly not weak. The rumors say he's most likely at the Golden Core Eighth Layer, right? Forget you—even with me helping, we might not be able to handle him. But his life story is truly incredible."

According to the Lei Boyong siblings, Zuo Qinlong's rise to power was the stuff of legends.

Hailing from a mere Foundation Establishment Clan, his starting point wasn't particularly high.

In fact, during the clan's most difficult period, Zuo Qinlong's branch was on the verge of being stripped of their Direct Lineage title because they had failed to produce a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator for a long time.

Later, he cultivated with reckless abandon. Although he won the right to attempt Foundation Establishment in the family competition, he accidentally injured the Grand Elder's grandson on the tournament stage. In retaliation, the Grand Elder abused his authority and had him confined for half a year.

Feeling deeply wronged, he left home in a fit of rage.

When he returned three years later, he had already reached Foundation Establishment and was promoted to the rank of Elder.

After that, Zuo Qinlong proceeded with steady, deliberate steps. He continuously raised his Cultivation, seized power piece by piece, and eventually became the Patriarch, leading his clan through several crises that threatened to annihilate them. Even more impressively, when his lifespan was nearly exhausted, he risked everything in a final gamble and successfully achieved Core Formation, ultimately rising to become the City Lord.

Of course, cultivators rising from humble origins are countless, but very few can reach such a Realm, which is why his story is considered legendary.

Chen Che nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. To rise from obscurity and reach Core Formation is impossible without perseverance, fortunate encounters, and strength. And the feeling he gives me is that he's even stronger than Lu Wanli. If I had to make a comparison..."

"Lu Wanli's presence is like one that could swallow mountains and rivers, while Zuo Qinlong is more restrained, giving off a feeling of latent power. I wonder if that's related to his personal history. In any case, he hasn't made a move in nearly a hundred years, so no one knows his true depths."

After the three had shared their thoughts, they all came to the same conclusion: Zuo Qinlong was extremely powerful.

Of course.

This was to be expected. If he weren't strong enough, he couldn't have kept Celestial Ghost Ridge suppressed for two hundred years.

"Zuo Qinlong's Jade Scroll says there are a total of twenty-six Golden Core cultivators outside the city. I wonder if any were missed."

Passing the Jade Scroll to Xiao Chan, Chen Xi turned and said:

"We have the geographical advantage here, plus the Mountain Protection Array. Defending Celestial Ghost City alone shouldn't be too difficult, but there's still an opening at Celestial Ghost Ridge that we might have to send people to guard. The situation isn't great. No wonder he's been constantly asking for reinforcements."

Xiao Chan closed his eyes to process the information, his brows knitting tightly.

"There might be even more. If there are Evil Cultivators among them, there will definitely be a few extra."

Evil Cultivators advanced faster than ordinary cultivators and, at times, faced almost no bottlenecks.

Another blood sacrifice like the Banquet of the Gods would be like consuming a Great Nourishing Pill. That was why Song Yuanxing had suggested Chen Che hold another Banquet of the Gods—it would immediately grant a significant boost in strength to a large number of Evil Cultivators.

Of course.

This method was not without side effects; their foundations would be unstable, and they would be more prone to cultivation deviation.

But due to survivorship bias, the Evil Cultivators who managed to survive and reach higher Cultivation Realms were all the more formidable.

"Even without counting the extras, the ones outside the city are already more than we can handle. Twenty-six Golden Core cultivators, and more than half of them have been at that Realm for over a hundred years, with established reputations to boot."

Taking the Jade Scroll from Xiao Chan and glancing at it, Chen Che's brow furrowed as well.

Not only were their numbers high, but the key issue was how long they had been in their Realm.

It was important to note:

This type of Golden Core cultivator usually had average aptitude, so their cultivation progressed slowly. Consequently, they spent all their time figuring out how to stay alive and expand their arsenal, which meant they all possessed a wide variety of tricks.

Several of them listed in the Jade Scroll were Tribulation Cultivators who rampaged through their territories.

There were even a few unfamiliar Golden Core faces, 'overseas dragons' from unknown origins who had come along to get a piece of the action. The Star-Picking Sect not only didn't object to this but seemed to tacitly approve.

"The situation doesn't look good at all!"

Chen Che's gaze was deep. 'What exactly is the Primordial Sect trying to do? Are they really preparing to give up?'

...

With the arrival of Chen Che's group, the atmosphere in Celestial Ghost City grew increasingly spirited. After holding out bitterly for so many days, reinforcements from the Primordial Sect had finally arrived.

Soon, talk of them filled the streets and alleys.

Compared to the trio's somewhat pessimistic attitude, the people of Celestial Ghost City were ecstatic.

"Did you hear? Valley Master Chen of Jinyun Valley entered the city yesterday!"

"Whoa, I thought the Primordial Sect had abandoned us! I can't believe reinforcements finally came. And this Valley Master Chen is no ordinary person!"

"That's right! With Valley Master Chen and City Lord Zuo here, the Star-Picking Sect can forget about setting foot past Celestial Ghost Ridge!"

...

This development also spurred the cultivators outside the city into action. Over the next few days, they launched several feigned attacks, but all were on a small scale and were dispersed before they even got close.

However, it was plain to see that the many cultivators outside the city were continuously gathering, clearly preparing for a large-scale assault on Celestial Ghost Ridge. One could even see the figures of Golden Core True Masters releasing their True Essence.

This meant the Golden Core cultivators outside the city were getting antsy and were eager to attack.