Chapter 1109: The Five-Hundred-Year Grand Competition; The Dao Protector (II)

Luo Chen's mouth twitched. "You've certainly been keeping a close eye on me."

"Hahahaha! Don't take it personally. The Heaven Origin Trade Alliance has connections throughout the Northern Sea, so information tends to reach us before most."

The next moment, his tone abruptly shifted. "You were already that powerful as an Adept. Now that you're a Sage, you must be even stronger. Nine days ago, you overwhelmed Heaven Splitter using only your Nascent Soul Domain. That alone tells me everything I need to know. I can't think of anyone better suited to protect my granddaughter."

Luo Chen fell silent. Indeed, any one of the feats he had accomplished could have become a legend in its own right. An ordinary Adept could have boasted about even one of them for the rest of their life, yet Luo Chen had accomplished many. And Fu Chaosheng did not even know the full extent of what he had done...

After considering the matter, Luo Chen asked, "How dangerous is the competition?"

"I'd be lying if I said there was no danger. But you won't be allowed to kill one another. Sages are far too valuable to the sect. We would never risk losing them in an internal competition."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!"

Luo Chen fell silent again and lowered his head in thought. Fu Chaosheng waited without pressing him; he understood that the favors he had granted Luo Chen a century ago no longer held the same weight. At the time, he had been a Sage guiding a promising Adept. Now that they stood as equals, those old kindnesses were not enough to bind him to something like that. All in all, their relationship simply was not close enough for him to demand repayment without considering the risk.

Only after a long silence did Luo Chen raise his head. "Sorry for waiting, but this isn't an easy decision. If I agree to protect your granddaughter, I'll inevitably come into conflict with the other geniuses of the sect. One wrong move could earn me enemies I can't afford to make."

Fu Chaosheng's expression shifted. "My family may not be one of the sect's most powerful clans, but we've existed for thousands of years. We should at least be able to protect you from—"

Luo Chen cut him off. "Then why didn't you choose someone from your own family?"

Fu Chaosheng stiffened as the question struck directly at the weakness he had tried to hide. If the Fu family still possessed the strength he had just implied, he would never have needed to seek help from an outsider. His position as an elder of the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance might seem exalted to those outside the sect, but the title carried far less weight within its hierarchy.

In truth, he was little more than an executive elder charged with overseeing the sect's external affairs, and the kind of people assigned to such posts rarely stood at the heart of its power. Clearly, Luo Chen had seen through his assurances all too easily.

This time, it was Fu Chaosheng's turn to fall silent. Under Luo Chen's unwavering gaze, he could only force out a bitter smile. "I suppose there's no point hiding it from you. My family has been declining for years. Until my granddaughter formed her Nascent Soul, I was the only Sage left holding the family together. Now that she has reached the Nascent Soul Realm, I finally have hope again. I want her to become an Ascendant and raise the family to the ranks of the great clans. For that, I'm willing to risk everything."

The resolve in his voice seemed to dispel his earlier dejection. He produced a glazed bottle and handed it to Luo Chen, who immediately recognized the soul essence Netherfire had promised him.

Fu Chaosheng watched him take it with undisguised satisfaction. "You seem to need this badly. If you agree to protect my granddaughter, I'll give you two more bottles."

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Each one refined from ten million souls?"

"Don't underestimate my reach. The Northern Sea has been at war for years, and plenty of devilish cultivators have been refining soul essence in secret. As an elder of the Trade Alliance, obtaining a few bottles isn't difficult."

The offer was already tempting, but Fu Chaosheng was not finished. "And that's not all. I can recommend you for a position as a guest elder of the Dao Sect. With that status, even if you offend some of the other geniuses inside the pocket world, they won't dare come after you openly."

A guest elder of the Dao Sect! Luo Chen drew in a slow breath. Truth be told, the offer had already convinced him, but since Fu Chaosheng was the one asking for his help, there was no reason not to negotiate for better terms.

"To be honest, I'm truly grateful for everything you've done for me, and I do want to help. But I've only recently formed my Nascent Soul, and there are still many problems with my cultivation that demand my attention. If you could help me take care of a few matters, I'd have more time to cultivate and prepare. Then, when the five-hundred-year competition begins, I'll be able to give it everything I have."

Fu Chaosheng immediately understood that Luo Chen intended to bargain. His smile did not waver. "A few small matters? Go on."

Luo Chen smiled as well and immediately listed each of his so-called trivial matters. By the time he finished, Fu Chaosheng could already feel a headache coming on. Fortunately, none of them was truly difficult. With his authority in the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance and the connections he had built over the years, he could handle them without much trouble.

Moreover, Luo Chen was not asking him to bear the cost either. He was willing to pay whatever was required and needed only Fu Chaosheng's influence to arrange matters that would otherwise take far more time and effort. Even some of his requests were not a condition of his agreement but merely a business transaction he hoped to conduct through the alliance.

***

Old Ghost Nan Qi hurried into a room somewhere in Duskmist Court. "Heaven Splitter, you didn't keep your promise last time. This time, you have to help me."

Heaven Splitter frowned. "I didn't break my promise. Netherfire never gave me the chance."

"I don't care. You wouldn't be where you are today without my Gale Control Gu. It's time you paid me back."

Heaven Splitter took a slow breath. "Fine. What do you want?"

Old Ghost Nan Qi's expression turned vicious. "We find a chance to kill Wilderness Hermit. You can have everything he owns, except the bottle of soul essence refined from ten million souls. That belongs to me. Think about it. He's only just reached the Nascent Soul Realm, yet he already has that kind of strength and wealth. He must be hiding an incredible fortune. Don't tell me you're not tempted. And after what happened in the Origin Convergence Palace plaza, he used you to make a name for himself. Are you really going to let that go?"

Heaven Splitter did not deny it. After thinking for a moment, he nodded. "When do we act?"

"After the conference ends," Old Ghost Nan Qi replied. "By then, everyone will be heading back to their own territories, and no one will bother getting involved. With the two of us working together, Wilderness Hermit and Resonant Jade won't stand a chance."

Heaven Splitter smiled. "That could work. I heard the kid exhausted a great deal of his vital essence while treating Netherfire. He'll probably stay in Duskmist Court for a while, so we have plenty of time to plan."

Old Ghost Nan Qi smiled as well, as though everything was already within his grasp.

What neither of them knew was that Luo Chen had already left Duskmist Court far behind.

***

Somewhere deep under the sea, the glow of a candle crept upward through a dark chamber enclosed by foul-smelling walls of flesh. Corrosive fluids seeped from the fleshy folds, and the sight made even Luo Chen's skin prickle despite the strength of his body. Without protection, the fluid could likely dissolve his body within moments.

Luo Chen studied the grotesque chamber around him. "So this is Black King's stomach..."

Sang Jinghe glanced around nervously. "Sage, where are we going next?"

Luo Chen gave a faint smile. "We'll head to Coldlight Island first, just as planned. After that, we'll go to Divine Origin City and wait for Sage Fu."

With that, he took out a chair, settled comfortably, and opened a thin booklet covered in beast hide. Before long, he was absorbed in its contents.

Coldlight Island meant little to Sang Jinghe, but Divine Origin City was close to the former territory of the Myriad Immortal Society and even closer to Earth Mulberry Island. The thought of going so near his old home stirred an unexpected nervousness in him. He could not help wondering how his junior brothers in the Earth Mulberry Sect had fared over the years.

Meanwhile, Black King sped through the depths in his flood dragon form. Powerful currents roared around his enormous body as he wound the islands that rose along the deep-seated spirit veins and carried them swiftly toward Coldlight Island.

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