Chapter 49: A Sword from the West, Pressuring the Great River

"Just crush them, and that'll be that!"

Qin Liangchen spoke with great bravado, his confidence evident in every word.

Luo Chen was half-skeptical.

However, upon closer reflection, the man had managed to rise from nothing, establish a home and career in a place as complex and difficult as Dahe坊, and even send his son to the Luoyun Sect—a major sect second only to the Yuding Sword Sect.

He must have some extraordinary qualities.

The rules for the eighteen deathmatches between the two gangs had also been fully revealed as news spread through word of mouth over the past few days.

The fight was limited to those below the Foundation Establishment stage, with no restrictions on methods.

The only restriction was likely the number of talismans allowed, strictly controlled to within ten.

This rule had been proposed by Mi Shuhua of the Poshan Gang.

It was likely a precaution against the Dajiang Gang, fearing that with the backing of the Lianyun Merchant Alliance, they might be wealthy enough to provide their cultivators with a massive stockpile of talismans.

Compared to spells and magical tools, talismans could be activated much faster, and their power was not inferior to spells of the same rank.

If someone actually prepared dozens of talismans to wage a war of spirit stones, the scene would be quite something.

No Qi Refinement cultivator could launch a counterattack under a sky-covering bombardment of talismans.

The warning had already been given, so Luo Chen saw no need to nag further.

In reality, as an outsider, he couldn't possibly know more than the high-ranking members of the Poshan Gang.

Even the insider information Sun Shou had casually mentioned might not have been entirely accurate.

The two chatted for a while longer before the aroma of cooking wafted from the kitchen.

"Time to eat!"

Luo Chen immediately scurried home and brought out the braised pink pork hind leg that had been stewing all morning. This meal didn't count as freeloading; he had contributed the dish!

"Come, try your sister-in-law's cooking. Before Xiaohu joined the sect, the thing he missed most was his mother's food."

Qin Liangchen greeted him warmly. Luo Chen didn't stand on ceremony and immediately picked up his chopsticks to grab a piece of meat.

"Mmm, not bad, delicious!"

Murong Qinglian shook her head with a smile and poured a cup of wine for the two men.

Qin Liangchen took a sip of wine first, then picked up a piece of the meat Luo Chen had been eyeing.

"You live alone, so I'm afraid you probably just eat whatever is convenient. If you ask me, in the future..."

His eyes widened, as if his mouth couldn't quite process the flavor.

Then, he impatiently grabbed another large chunk of meat, chewing it carefully this time.

"It melts in the mouth, rich but not greasy. There's even a faint medicinal fragrance in the meat, refreshing and crisp like mint."

"Madam, it seems Xiao Luo's cooking is even better than yours!"

As the praises flowed incessantly, Qin Liangchen, who knew nothing of restraint, kept reaching for more.

Murong Qinglian was quite surprised; these days, it was truly rare to find a rogue cultivator willing to put such effort into their food.

After tasting a bite of Luo Chen's meat, her eyes also narrowed slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao Luo's meat is truly delicious."

Luo Chen chuckled, not being modest in the slightest.

In truth, his cooking skills were indeed quite formidable.

It was likely thanks to his heritage from his previous life—being of Sichuan-Chongqing descent—and the constant nagging from his mother that he had developed such culinary prowess.

He might not have been an expert at processing raw ingredients, but his use of various seasonings and spices captured the very essence of Sichuan cuisine.

Later, he had even used his cooking skills to land a beautiful girlfriend.

Unfortunately, moving to a big city meant that life wasn't just about gourmet food.

Ah, the past is like the wind; there's no need to mention it!

After crossing over, Luo Chen discovered that the ingredients in the cultivation world were top-tier.

Various types of spirit beast meat, demon beast meat, vegetables, and fruits all possessed unique flavors due to being imbued with spiritual energy.

The original owner of this body also had unique insights into certain medicinal herbs.

Combining the two, he could use his limited resources to improve his meals every few days.

The occasional snacks he made, such as beef jerky or stir-fried bitter hazelnuts, had received high praise from Wang Yuan, Chen Xiuping, and Gu Caiyi.

Logically speaking, cultivators did not place much importance on worldly cravings.

But in reality, that only applied to high-level cultivators.

Low-level cultivators could not achieve the state of "eating wind and drinking dew" or fasting for a hundred years.

In fact, because they spent years transporting violent spiritual energy from the outside world, they often suffered meridian damage during the refinement process.

Therefore, dietary supplementation was quite popular among low-level cultivators, second only to medicinal pills and medicinal baths.

Luo Chen was no exception; no matter how difficult life became, he rarely ran out of spiritual rice and demon beast meat.

Without these spiritually infused foods, his already mediocre physique likely wouldn't have been able to endure the hardships of cultivation.

The three of them ate and drank while chatting.

Upon learning of Luo Chen's identity as an alchemist, Qin Liangchen and his wife were extremely surprised.

Luo Chen, in turn, was curious about their current occupations.

After some inquiring, he learned that they were actually in business as well.

"The Guyuan Mountains are rich in resources. Back then, my wife and I led people to take control of Ziyue Lake, which is abundant in a certain type of spirit fish."

"Although the gang takes most of the profits, the remaining portion is enough to support our family's cultivation."

In his boasting, there was no shortage of pride regarding their hunting expeditions into the mountains years ago.

From this small piece of information, Luo Chen roughly understood why the Dajiang Gang and the Lianyun Merchant Alliance coveted the secure mountain access controlled by the Poshan Gang.

A single spirit fish habitat was enough to allow the Qin couple, both at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, to live quite comfortably.

And that was even after the Poshan Gang took the lion's share.

Looking at the bigger picture, the Poshan Gang had over a thousand members and had been deeply cultivating the Guyuan Mountains for over a hundred years.

With successive generations, who knew how many medicinal herb sites and demon beast patterns they had mastered?

All of these were interests that would make anyone's eyes turn red with envy!

As the three were chatting, they suddenly looked up simultaneously.

A piercing whistle exploded like a clap of thunder in a clear sky.

Then, within their field of vision, a streak of golden light shot across the distant horizon like a falling star, heading straight for Dahe坊.

"What is that?"

The golden light was so fast that it was on the horizon one moment and right before their eyes the next.

Luo Chen stood up hurriedly, his eyes fixed on the golden streak.

After about five breaths, the golden light slowed down, trailing a faint wake in the air, and dove into the depths of the market like a bird returning to its nest.

The Yuding Sword Pavilion!

Qin Liangchen walked to his side, looking at the white streak left in the sky, and took a deep breath.

"A sword cultivator. It's a sword cultivator from the Yuding Sword Sect. And a Golden Core sword cultivator flying on sword light after upgrading their sword bead into a magical treasure!"

A sword bead treasure, traveling on light.

A single sword strike from the west!

Luo Chen's heart was shaken.

This was his first time witnessing the power of a high-level cultivator in this world.

It was only a fleeting glimpse, but that momentum—breaking the air like thunder, traversing the heavens—left his mind unable to settle for a long time.

"Among cultivators of the same rank, sword cultivators have the strongest attack and the fastest movement. It is precisely because the Yuding Sword Sect possesses such a large amount of high-end combat power that they can hold their ground at the edge of the Million Mountains."

Qin Liangchen spoke with authority, then rubbed his chin and said, "That Golden Core Master must have come to preside over the opening of the Dahe坊 Dao Discussion Platform."

Luo Chen asked curiously, "Is a mere Dao Discussion Platform worth the deployment of a Golden Core Master?"

"Haha, Xiao Luo, you don't know anything." Qin Liangchen laughed and pointed to the small, enclosed mountain behind the Yuding Sword Pavilion. "The Dao Discussion Platform is one of the few major industries of the Yuding Sword Sect. Once it opens, if operated well, it can earn a massive amount of spirit stones."

"Furthermore, although every market is only guarded by Foundation Establishment cultivators from the sect, the basic configuration is built according to the standards of Golden Core cultivators."

"For example, the city-protecting array in the inner city of Dahe坊 is a Golden Core-level array capable of defending against a third-rank beast king."

"It's just that sword cultivators find it difficult to advance, so the Yuding Sword Sect cannot station corresponding Golden Core cultivators in every market."

He understood. The configuration was Golden Core grade.

But because the sect had too few people, they could only station Foundation Establishment cultivators to guard it.

"That Golden Core Master must have just been traveling too fast, which is why he arrived first."

Looking toward the distant horizon, Qin Liangchen said thoughtfully, "With the opening of the Dao Discussion Platform, many inner and outer disciples responsible for the trivial matters should be arriving soon."

As expected of a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator who had traveled to other regions, his knowledge was far greater than that of an average low-level cultivator.

His judgment was not misplaced. About half an hour later, several streaks of light faintly appeared in the west of Dahe坊.

About seven streaks of light of varying colors escorted a massive flying vessel, which slowly sailed toward Dahe坊.

This "slowly" was only relative to the speed of the sword strike from earlier.

In reality, their speed was also very fast.

From the moment they were first seen to when they came to a halt above Dahe坊, it took less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick.

Such an unmasked and grand display naturally drew the attention of the entire Dahe坊.

Countless people looked up, their eyes fixed on the seven figures treading on flying swords and the massive vessel circling above like a shadow.

Then, many figures appeared on the flying vessel.

One by one, Qi Refinement cultivators emerged from the vessel, either riding flying swords and magical tools or using wind-control techniques.

They entered the inner city one after another, like mayflies.

Once everyone had departed, the flying vessel gradually shrank and, as if being summoned back, shot into the towering Yuding Sword Pavilion.

At that point, nothing remained in the sky.

It was as if the previous scene had been nothing more than an illusion.

But within Dahe坊, whether they were local rogue cultivators or visiting cultivators, everyone knew that their true masters had arrived.

The name of the Yuding Sword Sect pressed heavily upon everyone's hearts.