Chapter 155

“Are we still going to Crescent Moon Bay?” Jiang Lin asked Chen Jingzhai, who was pondering in silence.

“Go my ass!” Chen Jingzhai sneered. “We still have time. When the Eastern Ocean Remains makes its appearance, Disciple Nephew Chu Jingsong will naturally come looking for us. It won’t be too late to meet up then.”

“What are you going to do?” Jiang Lin asked, unsurprised.

“Of course I will make a move.” Chen Jingzhai was expressionless. “The Luo Sheng Sword School has never been afraid of battle, and they will pay their debts. A mere rogue cultivator who dares to intercept us must pay the price.”

“Take me with you!” Jiang Lin said excitedly.

“No.” Chen Jingzhai shook his head. “Stay here and protect the tower ship. If I need help, I’ll ask you to help. If I’m deep in trouble, you can help to contact the sect.”

“Master-Uncle?” Jiang Lin grimaced.

“Don’t worry.” Chen Jingzhai smiled and patted his shoulder. “I have Protector Hei Ji to watch my back, so there won’t be any problems. When the time comes, you will have a share of the spoils of war and earn enough to advance to the Golden Core Plane.”

“How can I do that? I don’t deserve it.” Jiang Lin quickly shook his head and refused.

“As long as Master-Uncle says so, then so it shall be. Don’t be so wishy-washy.” Chen Jingzhai said unhappily, “Remember my words. Don’t leave the tower ship easily. Their safety is in your hands.”

With that, he flew out of the tower ship so quickly that Jiang Lin did not even have time to react.

Jiang Lin took a deep breath as he looked at the empty deck and the water outside the tower ship. Turning around and entering the ship, Jiang Lin seized the time to refine the 18 Flying Daggers.

Chen Jingzhai circulated the Presence Concealment Technique and quietly returned to the East Pole Spirit Turtle Island.

The island was not defenseless. In fact, there were sensing and guarding formations. What was more, they were interconnected. If any malice was detected, the guarding formation would be activated.

However, one had to be at least a Foundational Cultivator to trigger the formation. Otherwise, no matter how malicious a Meditation Plane cultivator was, their destructive power was limited.

Chen Jingzhai had the Presence Concealment Technique. He restrained his aura and landed on the island from another direction. He carefully avoided the guarding formation and set foot on the island. His first move was to refine the Profound Finger Compass.

Only a few lights lit up on the Profound Finger Compass after he injected spiritual power into it. The rest of the compass was still gray. This meant that the person had died.

Chen Jingzhai was not in a hurry to take action. After all, there were still some lights left. As expected, these were accomplices.

The Profound Finger Compass had two layers. The inner layer was the accomplice, and the outer layer represented the target.

He summoned Hei Ji again and at the same time, he also summoned the second Grade 4 spirit deity.

The Grade 4 sea beast that he and Hei Ji had killed was created by the Supreme Sky Master. Chen Jingzhai also used his Innate Qi to preserve the spirit deity’s Grade 4 strength.

It was still an inferior Grade 4. Perhaps it was because he was young and strong that this spirit deity’s body had condensed into a form. Judging from his aura, he was stronger than Hei Ji.

Chen Jingzhai named him Hei Wuchang. He was a male spirit deity and looked very strong. He was pitch-black and radiated coldness. His aura was well concealed.

Chen Jingzhai did not have a Grade 3 puppet on hand, so he asked Hei Wuchang to use his spirit deity body to make a move.

Compared to Chen Jingzhai or Hei Ji, Hei Wuchang was the most suitable candidate to perform this mission. This was because the spirit deity came and went without a trace. He was sufficiently strange and his methods were very brilliant. After all, it was a Grade 4 existence, and even in the spirit deity state, it had the strength of a Grade 4 existence.

Chen Jingzhai handed the fishbone flute to Hei Wuchang and left with the compass.

It was currently nightfall. Other than the city, market, and town, the rest of the island was very quiet.

Using the Profound Finger Compass, Chen Jingzhai found the other party’s lair. Seven or eight of the cultivators had gathered and seemed to be discussing the fall of their accomplice during the day.

This matter did not seem to be worth the fuss. After all, accidents happened to cultivators alike.

They had obviously run into a tough nut this time, and they paid no attention to their dead accomplices. The main agenda of their gathering was to discuss how to make up for the loss. Their discussion was heated and not very guarded.

The moment Chen Jingzhai approached, their connection with the Profound Finger Compass alarmed them. However, at this moment, Hei Wuchang and Hei Ji both attacked.

Hei Ji’s attack was extremely direct and violent. She instantly appeared beside the target and punched his head until it exploded.

On the other hand, Hei Wuchang used the fishbone flute to confuse four or five targets. He knocked them out and brought them to Chen Jingzhai.

When two Grade 4 cultivators were up against a few Foundational Cultivators, it was naturally a clean outcome. Chen Jingzhai was very satisfied with this.

He let Hei Wuchang plunder the wealth while he took this group of people into the Grotto-heavens. After confirming that they had not missed anything, Chen Jingzhai escaped with Hei Wuchang and Hei Ji.

The entire event took less than 10 minutes, and no one was alarmed.

The underground of the island.

Chen Jingzhai opened up a cave. He sat cross-legged on the ground and casually summoned his spirit servants.

The only outcome of this group of rogue cultivators entering the Primordial Essence Grotto-heavens was that their bodies would become food and their soul remnants would be created by the Supreme Sky Master.

There was no need for Chen Jingzhai to interrogate them. The group of spirit servants spilled all the information they knew.

He found out that this group was loyal to Sage Kumu of Kumu Island. This sage settled on Kumu Island two hundred years ago. With the strength of a Golden Core Sage, he occupied the entire Kumu Island. He even changed the original name of the island and established Kumu Hall.

On the surface, the Kumu Hall sold elixirs and planted spiritual herbs. It also consisted of the orthodox faction of rogue cultivators who went down to the sea to gather spirit shells.

However, they were secretly plundering cultivators with the support of Sage Kumu. They mainly killed foreign cultivators, which were land cultivators from the Pulao Kingdom. For fear of being discovered by the Three Great Immortal Sects of the Eastern Ocean, they would only kill two Eastern Ocean rogue cultivators every year as long as the targets were rich enough.

Sage Kumu of Kumu Island was also on good terms with Sage Chang Xiao of the Mystic Sound Pavilion. Not only did they visit each other frequently, but they also communicated with each other. It was also because of this relationship that he could buy the unique Grade 3 talismans from the Mystic Sound Pavilion.

For the East Pole Spirit Turtle Island, Sage Kumu had specially set up the property. On the surface, they were selling elixirs to exchange for resources, but in reality, they were gathering information.

They also secretly did some assassination and stealing missions. The memories of Chen Jingzhai’s spirit servants were very clear. There were only so many of them, so they were wiped out by Chen Jingzhai in an instant.

The reason why they targeted Chen Jingzhai was also because he had stayed in the Treasure Pavilion for too long. It could be considered an undeserved calamity. Of course, it was their undeserved calamity now.

“Kumu Island, Sage Kumu?” Chen Jingzhai pondered.

He just wanted to know,

Why was this Beginning Golden Core Plane Sage so bold?

Did he think he could be unscrupulous just because he was on good terms with the Sage from Mystic Sound Pavilion?

The spirit servants gave him his answer. They did not dare to kill on the East Pole Spirit Turtle Island, but they would be fine once they left the island. This was because the cultivators on the East Pole Spirit Turtle Island could not care less about battles that happened out at sea.

“Actually, there’s no stopping the sea fighting. As long as rogue cultivators go to sea, they will definitely form groups.

“If it’s about exploring treasure and gathering resources, they’ll swear to share the gains.

“When two groups meet, if their strengths are equal, there’s a good chance they’ll ignore each other. But if they find out that the other party has gained a lot, they will definitely start a fight. If one side is at a disadvantage, they will definitely fight! It is not surprising. Rogue cultivators are hyenas. They’ll do anything for supplies.”

One of the spirit servants said to Chen Jingzhai.

This could be considered an emotional outburst. He had worked hard for the Kumu Hall when he was alive.

The Kumu Hall had not only given them elixirs, but also cultivation techniques. They had all been nurtured by the Kumu Hall when they were alive. For this, they had no choice but to work hard.

“How can Sage Kumu guarantee your loyalty?” Chen Jingzhai asked.

“It’s the Kumu Blood Curse,” said the spirit servant. “The blood curse that Sage Kumu planted in us. Now that we’re all dead, he must be able to sense it. But only when he can remember us.”

According to the spirit servant, the Kumu Curse was Sage Kumu’s unique secret curse. If it was planted in the blood of a cultivator, it would form a bloodline curse after a long time.

When the Kumu Blood Curse was activated, the victim’s entire body would begin to stiffen like wood, followed by stiff pain. At first, the effects were mild, but after a long time, it would be extremely painful and torturous.

However, this was not a bad thing. As long as he cultivated the spell technique passed down by Sage Kumu, not only could he withstand the pain, but he could also increase his cultivation and even become stronger.

However, this way, the spirit roots in his body would turn into wood, and his bloodline and physique would transform into the wood attribute. In the future, he would no longer be able to control himself in front of Sage Kumu and could only listen to his orders.

Therefore, they both loved and hated the Kumu Curse. The reason why they had advanced so quickly over the years was because of the Kumu Curse. However, every time the Kumu Curse erupted, it was torturous and would be sensed by Sage Kumu.

If the Kumu Curse did not break out, Sage Kumu would not sense it unless he took the initiative to ask the person to meet him. Sage Kumu could also trigger the curse if the Kumu Curse did not break out.

This was the first time Chen Jingzhai had heard of such a strange secret curse. He asked the spirit servant to hand over the spell technique to alleviate the Kumu Curse and sent the spirit servant into the Grotto-heavens.

“What blasphemous practices!”

After passing the spell technique to the Supreme Sky Master, it was quickly comprehended. Chen Jingzhai received the feedback from the Supreme Sky Master and already understood the core of this method. Only then did he feel disdain.

The so-called secret curse was actually an unorthodox method that combined Gu magic and curses. The spirit servant was actually just a vessel when he was alive. According to the Supreme Sky Master’s deduction, they did not have many days to live.

The more they used this spell technique, the more frequently the Kumu Curse would erupt, and the speed of the victim turning into wood would increase. In the end, the victim’s body would turn into wood and the Gu worm would seize control over it.