Chapter 117: Red Feather 40943909 (Part Two) Shi Yu bowed slightly, speaking softly, "That old skeleton's Jie Kui, that Jie Kui knows an incredible formation, one that could even trap the peak Nascent Soul stage Old Skeleton himself! The core of that formation lies with this Jie Kui. Therefore, this King had to resort to a sneak attack; I admit it’s somewhat humiliating!"

Xin Jia roared in reprimand. The Immeasurable Divine Chains suddenly shattered into hundreds of blinding beams of golden light. With a shake of his great hand, the entire sky was engulfed by golden light raining down upon Red Feather Sorcerer King. These lights twisted and soared, taking the shape of coiling dragons dancing, and within the bowl-sized thick golden beams, countless divine, esoteric runes could vaguely be seen flickering. The golden light struck with electric speed, wrapping around the Red Feather Sorcerer King almost the instant it was launched.

"Heh heh heh, a mere firefly daring to cast its light!" The Red Feather Sorcerer King let out a few light chuckles. His gaunt body suddenly expanded; his muscles swelled rapidly like over-inflated balloons. He let out a lion-like roar to the heavens and violently shook his arms outward. With a sharp crack, the Red Feather Sorcerer King’s arm bones were pulverized by the Immeasurable Divine Chains, and he stumbled back several paces, his face bloodless. Staring in horror at the chains now binding him, the Red Feather Sorcerer King gasped, "What kind of magic is this—"

Gu Xie Chen smiled; Xin Jia stood tall and proud, utterly beneath answering such a question!

This was the Immeasurable Divine Chain. It was forged from Innate Materials that Gu Xie Chen had obtained from an ancient ruin in the South Sea. Xin Jia and a hundred subordinates then fueled the forging process with their Natal True Fire. Although Xin Jia and the others were far weaker than their peak strength, under Zhao Yi’s precise direction, they formed an exquisite formation, harnessing a wisp of the Heaven and Earth True Fire to barely succeed in casting these Innate Materials.

Innate objects are wondrous beyond measure. Coupled with the countless Yellow Turban Strongman lineage secret talismans and runes that Xin Jia infused during the casting, this newborn Immeasurable Divine Chain could bind even an Immortal, let alone a mere mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like the Red Feather Sorcerer King?

Clenching his fist, Gu Xie Chen leaped up and smashed a fierce punch toward the Red Feather Sorcerer King’s face. He hissed under his breath, "Damned woman! It was supposed to be a fair exchange; how dare she plant a trap within the traded goods! When I return to Qiu, I will deal with her!"

The Red Feather Sorcerer King endured the blow. Gu Xie Chen’s pure physical strength alone was several thousand tons; this full-force punch carried astonishing, overwhelming might. The force of the blow shattered the air; the punch aura sucked in the surging heat currents from the surrounding air, causing the temperature above the lava lake to plummet near freezing point. The crimson-tinged punch pulverized the Red Feather Sorcerer King’s head, and the immense force even tore through his upper body—

It dispersed, vanished. The Red Feather Sorcerer King transformed into countless streams of red light, drifting upward toward the cavern walls.

Another cluster of scarlet flames erupted from beneath Xin Jia and Yi Huan’s feet. Both cried out in pain as the flames licked them, melting away more than half their forms before they followed Zhao Yi’s fate, transforming into purple light that flew back into Gu Xie Chen’s Sea of Consciousness for recovery. The streams of red light converged behind a stone stalagmite on the cavern wall, and another Red Feather Sorcerer King emerged, smiling as he absorbed all the red light back into his body.

The innate divine ability unique to Nascent Soul cultivators: the External Incarnation! What the Immeasurable Divine Chain had bound was merely a primordial spirit clone; the true Red Feather Sorcerer King had been hidden behind the stalagmite on the cavern wall!

Gu Xie Chen was enraged, "It seems you have studied my methods quite thoroughly!"

The Red Feather Sorcerer King floated down onto the platform where the Blazing Orchid grew, chuckling, "Indeed. Even a Grandmaster like Old Skeleton suffered at your hands, leaving this King no choice but to be extremely cautious. Looking back now, caution was indeed the right course! Had I not been careful, I might have been beaten to death by that single punch of yours? Young friend, your fist strength is formidable!"

Sighing, and calculating the disparity in strength between himself and the Red Feather Sorcerer King, Gu Xie Chen managed a wry smile, "Alright, Sorcerer King, you sought me out. What is it you wish to discuss?"

The Red Feather Sorcerer King looked at Gu Xie Chen with eager satisfaction and methodically laid out several conditions!

The first condition was that Gu Xie Chen must cease his punitive actions against the Three Sorcery Sect! The Red Feather Sorcerer King shifted all blame for the conflict between the Three Sorcery Sect and Gu Xie Chen onto Elder Wu, who had been killed by the Corpse Emperor. The three great Sorcerer Kings of the Three Sorcery Sect had personally purged all disciples and relatives of Elder Wu’s lineage. The Three Sorcery Sect now held no grievances with Gu Xie Chen, and he must drop his hostility toward them.

This condition was arguably reasonable, though it was somewhat shameless for the Red Feather Sorcerer King to propose such terms. But since the three great Sorcerer Kings could stoop so low as to blame a dead man, what could Gu Xie Chen say? He immediately nodded in agreement, "Fine. All past grievances with the Three Sorcery Sect are settled completely today!"

The Red Feather Sorcerer King immediately presented the second condition: Because of Gu Xie Chen’s hostility toward the sect, the Three Sorcery Sect received nothing during the Asian Dao Alliance’s distribution of rewards from Paradise Star. This dealt a massive blow to the sect’s reputation and standing within the Alliance, even causing rifts with several friendly allies. Furthermore, without receiving the elixirs and spiritual artifacts from Paradise Star, it was foreseeable that within the next three to ten years, the Three Sorcery Sect would sink to the bottom tier of the Asian Dao Alliance.

Therefore, Gu Xie Chen must provide substantial compensation to the Three Sorcery Sect—elixirs, medicinal herbs, scriptures, pill recipes, and spiritual artifacts—not a single item could be missing!

The third condition concerned the future lineage of the Three Sorcery Sect.

Also due to Gu Xie Chen’s antagonism, none of the promising psychics selected by the Psychic Academy had been sent to the Three Sorcery Sect.

While other sects in the Asian Dao Alliance were joyously recruiting large numbers of promising disciples, the Three Sorcery Sect received no fresh blood. In as little as thirty years, the younger generation of the Three Sorcery Sect would be completely eclipsed by the new generations of other sects.

Therefore, Gu Xie Chen must additionally select new disciples for the Three Sorcery Sect—

The fourth condition was so baffling to Gu Xie Chen that he almost found it ludicrous! The Red Feather Sorcerer King demanded that Gu Xie Chen completely sever ties with the Nine Nether Dao, abandon his master, and pledge allegiance to the three Sorcerer Kings of the Three Sorcery Sect as his new teachers.

The three Sorcerer Kings of the Three Sorcery Sect—Black Bamboo, White Jade, and Red Feather—each possessed unique mastery: Black Bamboo Sorcerer King excelled at vicious curses and possessed profound mastery of various poisons; White Jade Sorcerer King specialized in occult rituals, capable of regenerating flesh and bringing the dead back to life, while also possessing a physical body so refined it earned the moniker "Immune to All Methods"; and the Red Feather Sorcerer King commanded extremely powerful offensive and destructive sorcery, mastering the Five Elements arts—in terms of breadth of Five Elements knowledge, no one in the Asian Dao Alliance could stand beside him.

The Red Feather Sorcerer King generously smiled at Gu Xie Chen, "See? Four conditions. If you agree to them all, you will become the most valued disciple of our sect, with endless future benefits awaiting you. Why do you hesitate?"

Absurd. Gu Xie Chen merely laughed inwardly. Abandoning hostility toward the Three Sorcery Sect? That part held some logic.

Secretly supplying the Three Sorcery Sect with ten thousand disciples possessing good roots was simply laughable. Even if the Earth Federation could find that many suitable candidates for cultivation, wouldn't the other sects of the Asian Dao Alliance become jealous?

Providing the sect with spiritual herbs, artifacts, scriptures, and pill recipes was even more impossible! These treasures were hard-won by Zhao Yi from the three hundred and sixty blessed paradises of Paradise Star; every single item was a prized heirloom of those caverns. By what right should they be given to the Three Sorcery Sect?

As for betraying the Nine Nether Dao, abandoning his master, the Corpse Emperor—who was subtly the foremost Grandmaster of the (Evil Path) in the Asian Dao World—to instead pledge allegiance to the three great Sorcerer Kings? Unless Gu Xie Chen’s head had been kicked by a donkey!

Finding the thought amusing, Gu Xie Chen couldn't help but smile and ask, "Who says I possess spiritual artifacts or elixirs?"

The Red Feather Sorcerer King sneered, "Who doesn't know you possess spiritual artifacts and elixirs? When you trapped Old Skeleton at the Gu Corporation Headquarters, all three Sorcerer Kings of my sect were present, along with every single Grandmaster-level figure in the Asian Dao Alliance watching from afar. What were your Jie Kui wielding?"

Looking at Gu Xie Chen with mocking scrutiny, the Red Feather Sorcerer King shook his head, "The Azure Spirit Rejuvenation Pill you used to bribe Qiao An—do you think no one knew about that?"

Silence. Gu Xie Chen regarded the Red Feather Sorcerer King thoughtfully.

The Red Feather Sorcerer King said smugly, "However, given the immense contributions you made to the Asian Dao Alliance on Paradise Star, those old fellows were concerned about saving face. They knew you privately acquired some benefits, but since your constitution is unsuitable for cultivation, any spiritual artifacts or elixirs you hoard will ultimately turn to dust anyway, so they simply stood by and watched, not bothering to hold you accountable!"

Gu Xie Chen pointed at the Red Feather Sorcerer King and laughed, "The other Grandmasters overlook my possession of these treasures, yet you shamelessly come running to rob a junior like me?"

The Red Feather Sorcerer King’s face flushed, and he bristled with annoyance, "What do you know? For the prosperity of our sect, causing a little difficulty for a junior like you is nothing! Be honest. Besides the Azure Spirit Rejuvenation Pill, how many other miraculous finished medicines do you possess? Last time your Jie Kui set up that massive formation to surround the Withered Bone Divine Lord, I saw at least fifteen top-tier flying swords and magical treasures. How many treasures do you actually have? List them out, so you don't suffer later when you refuse!"

After a period of silence, Gu Xie Chen did not answer the Red Feather Sorcerer King. He carefully shifted a step to the side and asked with a smile, "Very well. We can discuss the elixirs and spiritual artifacts later. I have one more question: By demanding I sever ties with the Nine Nether Dao, you intend to legitimately seize all my possessions, don't you? But I truly don't understand why you could devise such an utterly idiotic condition?"

"Idiotic?" The Red Feather Sorcerer King glanced over proudly. He placed his hands behind his back and let out a miserable snort, "What do you know? Your constitution is incompatible with Daoist cultivation, which is why the Corpse Emperor only accepted you as a disciple but never passed on a single profound technique from the Nine Nether Dao. Even if you transfer to our Three Sorcery Sect as an outer disciple, it wouldn't be a major event."

He paused, then continued proudly, "Once you join our Three Sorcery Sect, the Little Sorcerer King of the White Jade can employ the Heaven-Reversing Divine Ability to transform your body’s aptitude from a physical, earthen form into one of pure jade quality. With the immense True Qi accumulated in your robust body, once your physique is reformed to be suitable for cultivation, you will immediately condense a Golden Core and achieve a Half-Immortal body. Even the Corpse Emperor doesn't possess such means!"

To transform his own constitution into one suitable for cultivation?

This truly was the comparison between rough stone and fine jade. A martial artist practicing the Federation’s martial arts, even one whose accumulated True Qi equaled that of a Golden Core cultivator, was merely relying on sheer quantity—like ten million pounds of rough stone versus a single piece of jade. Their value is utterly different, yet their market price might be equivalent. If the White Jade Sorcerer King truly possessed the Heaven-Reversing power to convert Gu Xie Chen’s physique to a cultivation-aptitude, given Gu Xie Chen’s current level of True Qi mastery, it would be like instantly turning ten million pounds of stone into jade. Condensing a Golden Core would be trivial!

The Red Feather Sorcerer King smiled triumphantly, softly asking, "Well, have you decided yet?"

After a stretch of silence, Gu Xie Chen raised his head and offered the Red Feather Sorcerer King his middle finger.

Nine streaks of purple light erupted from behind Gu Xie Chen, followed by thirty-six continuous bolts of purple lightning that roared down from the cavern walls, slamming toward the Red Feather Sorcerer King’s head.

Reminder: Mid-session break.

May 1st: Fifth Burst.

Where are the monthly tickets? (To be continued)