Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 494: Chapter 221: Preparations of Various Factions, Entering Celestial Star Island

’Disciples from the Yin Corpse Sect again, and even Foundation Establishment Cultivators have come.’

Xiao Chen frowned slightly. He had seen many cultivators in similar attire on his journey, but he hadn’t expected Foundation Establishment Cultivators to also come join the fray.

And judging by their familiar greetings, they were clearly regulars.

The fate of the cultivators they purchased was likely all too clear.

This was the Sea of Darkness, a land of lawlessness and chaos.

Deception and forgery were commonplace here. No one asked about the origins of goods; determining authenticity was solely up to the buyer.

Evil Techniques and the Demon Dao simply operated under a different guise, adding an extra step of disguise to their processes.

In a place like this, Xiao Chen could already foresee that combat would inevitably erupt, not just inside the Relic, but even on its periphery.

Since he was going to explore the Relic, he had no illusions about being able to stay out of the conflict.

That made it essential to go back and study the intelligence he had just acquired.

If for no other reason than to recognize which faction his enemies belonged to when the fighting started.

One good thing about the Chaohui Pavilion was that the intelligence you paid for with Spirit Stones was truly detailed.

In the Sea of Darkness, there was a widely-known saying about its power structure: the "One Sect, one Creed, and the Eight Great Families."

The "One Sect," of course, was the Yin Corpse Sect, whose status was supreme and unshakeable.

In the last five hundred years alone, three of their Nascent Soul True Monarchs had made public appearances.

Furthermore, the Chaohui Pavilion specially noted that the Yin Corpse Sect had a history of activating its Sect Protection Array for no apparent reason, suggesting the true number of such experts was likely even higher.

The "one Creed" was the Fu Bing Sect, which Xiao Chen had encountered earlier.

It had been founded single-handedly by the rapidly rising Fu Bing True Monarch and, in a mere seventy years, had become a behemoth second only to the Yin Corpse Sect.

The most crucial point, according to the information currently held by the Chaohui Pavilion, was that the Fu Bing Sect likely had over one hundred Golden Core Cultivators in its ranks.

Although only thirty-four of these had been confirmed through reliable intelligence channels.

However, based on various widespread rumors, they had tallied over two hundred Golden Core True Men who might have some connection to the Fu Bing Sect.

This included cultivators like Qiu Fanghui, who claimed to have extremely close ties with the Fu Bing Sect.

As for the last part of the moniker, the Eight Great Families, the Chaohui Pavilion provided a list of a full fourteen surnames.

Among them was the Zhang Family, whom Xiao Chen had seen earlier in front of the Treasure House.

The reason for the fourteen surnames was that there had never been a definitive list for the so-called Eight Great Families.

The Sea of Darkness was a peculiar place; no family had ever managed to last for more than a thousand years.

Most of the time, when a family’s Golden Core patriarch perished, the family’s power would immediately disintegrate.

Occasionally, an outstanding Golden Core descendant might delay the inevitable for a time, but their influence would never last beyond two generations.

Because things changed so quickly, rumors were rampant and there was no consensus.

Thus, the Chaohui Pavilion had deliberately noted several extra families, stressing that these fourteen were merely the ones currently powerful and that the roster would likely be reshuffled in a few years.

’They’re all just newly-risen Golden Core families, then. Nothing to worry about.’

Xiao Chen set down the first intelligence report. This was undoubtedly good news for him.

In this kind of contest, local powers were often the most troublesome element.

Not only did they have the advantage of local connections during the competition inside the Relic, but there were also external factors to consider.

For example, cultivators who were lucky enough to make it out of the Relic alive might not be able to leave safely with their haul if they had offended a local power.

In fact, they didn’t even need to be offended. After all, the man himself is innocent; it’s the treasure he carries that’s the crime.

It was common for a Local Bully to wait outside, rested and ready, to ambush the weary, or to use superior numbers to overwhelm the few.

Fortunately, this time, Xiao Chen only needed to be wary of the Fu Bing Sect and the Yin Corpse Sect.

At least both were reputable powers and would hopefully be a bit more concerned with appearances.

"Hiss... I’m not so sure about that."

After witnessing the chaos of the West Market, Xiao Chen found it difficult to have any expectations about the moral bottom line of these two sects.

He couldn’t help but muse aloud, "Let’s just hope the worst-case scenario doesn’t happen."

The worst-case scenario, of course, would be a Nascent Soul True Monarch shamelessly intervening to bully a weaker cultivator in revenge for one of their disciples.

Normally, this concern would lead many cultivators to actively avoid disciples from major powers inside the Relic.

Xiao Chen, however, secretly resolved that if he encountered a fortuitous opportunity, he would seize it.

He just had to be clean and efficient, leaving no witnesses behind.

The reason he thought this way was because the second intelligence report he’d purchased from the Chaohui Pavilion contained a very important piece of information.

It stated that there was an extremely high probability that only cultivators at or below the Golden Core realm could enter the Relic.

This information also came from the Celestial Secret Pavilion, making it highly reliable.

The report also explained that the reason the Relic would open on the evening of the tenth day of the seventh month and was expected to close on the evening of the seventeenth was precisely because its appearance was tied to a celestial event.

Currently, the area within a fifty-thousand-li radius of the Relic’s entrance was completely shrouded in a dense white fog.

According to the information provided by the Master of Destiny, only when a specific celestial alignment occurred would the surrounding fog briefly dissipate, revealing the island’s true form.

’So it’ll last for a total of seven days.’

Xiao Chen did the math. ’That’s a little long.’

A longer duration meant the cultivators who entered would have more opportunities to find treasures.

Then again, the longer it lasted, the higher the chance of cultivators running into each other inside the Relic, and the higher the probability of them trying to steal treasures from one another.

The Chaohui Pavilion report also included a special note.

Given that this Relic was related to a celestial event, it was best to prepare relevant techniques or tools in advance.