71: Refuse to cooperate and make a deal

“Your Excellency, what is the meaning of this, coming from Yue Wudao, the great bandit of Taiheng Mountain?” At that time, Chen Cuo had spared He Yuanren, precisely because he wanted him to return and obtain the “North Dipper Seven Kill Fist” to nourish the silver kill holy sword and refine a wisp of Geng Metal Qi.

He hadn't expected He Yuanren to bring his elder brother directly. Was this an attempt to reclaim Face?

However, the other party raised his hand and handed him a Secret Manual, which truly puzzled him. After flipping through it, he immediately knew it was an Innate Cultivation Technique, and it was in the same lineage as the “North Dipper Seven Kill Fist,” being its continuation.

Yue Wudao removed his cloak, revealing a young Face with long, narrow eyes and captivating brows. Deep within his eyes was a shocking killing intent.

“With the descent of the Greedy Wolf and the dominance of the Seven Killings, the White Lotus Sect’s uprising has begun, and the Qian Country’s demise is set. I am here to seek cooperation with Chief Chen.”

Yue Wudao did not mention the grievances between Chen Cuo and He Yuanren but instead spoke a proposition that Chen Cuo had not anticipated. Chen Cuo used the Life-Death Talisman Seal to sense the Seven-Colored Divine Needle on He Yuanren’s body and found that it had not been expelled. He Yuanren’s life was still in Chen Cuo’s hands.

Although he didn’t understand what Yue Wudao meant by proposing cooperation, Chen Cuo still refused, saying, “I’m sorry, but I have no intention of cooperating with a bandit. Your Excellency, please return!”

“As for the Life-Death Talisman on your body, this Cultivation Technique is more than enough to buy your life. I can use other things to offset it.”

He had promised He Yuanren that if he found the “North Dipper Seven Kill Fist,” he would spare his life, but he hadn’t said he would remove the Seven-Colored Divine Needle. However, with Yue Wudao present, he had to give him some Face, and there was no need to dwell on He Yuanren’s life or death, so he directly removed the Divine Needle for him.

Yue Wudao’s eyes flickered with surprise as he watched Chen Cuo use the Life-Death Talisman Seal to manipulate the Seven-Colored Divine Needle’s Divine Ability.

The reason Yue Wudao was willing to offer the “Big Dipper Seven Kill Sword Scripture,” such an Innate Cultivation Technique, to redeem He Yuanren’s life was to seek cooperation with Chen Cuo. But seeing Chen Cuo’s astonishing ability to manipulate the Divine Needle, he was truly amazed.

He naturally recognized the Seven-Colored Divine Needle, which possessed unparalleled power and specialized in breaking horizontal Cultivation Techniques. However, to manipulate it with such precision, perhaps only Chen Cuo, throughout history, could do so.

For Chen Cuo, he wanted the Cultivation Technique, but cooperation was unnecessary, so he directly refused Yue Wudao.

Yue Wudao had originally intended to force Chen Cuo into submission with his cultivation, but now he completely abandoned that idea. His mind raced. His original intention was to establish cooperation with Chen Cuo’s Iron Eagle Gang, relying on the Iron Eagle Gang to provide them with funds and develop Wei City into a rebel army base.

With the descent of the Greedy Wolf and the presence of the White Tiger, the Seven Kill Sword Scripture he cultivated required him to bear the mandate of heaven and achieve a Breakthrough to Innate through slaughter.

Originally, when He Yuanren told him about Chen Cuo’s strength, he didn’t believe it and even thought of using both threats and inducements, which was why he and He Yuanren had secretly snuck into Chen Cuo’s residence.

However, Chen Cuo had no intention of being an enemy of the other party. After all, Yue Wudao had not shown hostility at first. Although secretly sneaking into his house was very annoying, it would have been inappropriate for Yue Wudao, as the bandit leader of Taiheng Mountain, to arrive openly.

The “Big Dipper Seven Kill Sword Scripture” was very precious. After Chen Cuo looked through it, he found that this Cultivation Technique perfectly met his requirements and was much more valuable than He Yuanren himself. Since Yue Wudao’s offer of cooperation was rejected, he couldn’t owe him a favor. Chen Cuo naturally had to settle the account, which was why he asked what he needed to offset it.

Yue Wudao understood Chen Cuo’s meaning. Since Chen Cuo was unwilling to cooperate, he no longer brought it up. Instead, he took out a white-gold stone and said, “This item is called the Killing Stone. It possesses both the essence of the earth element and the meaning of the Seven Killings. I need a wisp of Shaomu Qi to nourish the Seven Killing Qi.”

“Impossible. I also need Shaomu Qi to nourish Geng Metal Qi. Please make another request!”

“Chief Chen, don’t be so quick to refuse. The gangmu stone fetus…”

Then Yue Wudao explained that the gangmu stone fetus is born from the Mother Stone of the earth, and the function of Shaomu Qi is to promote the growth of various Metal Qi. Any kind of Metal Qi can be transformed and carried, depending only on the material of the nourished item and the Cultivation Technique’s attributes.

For example, by using the Killing Stone, the Seven Killing Qi that Yue Wudao nourished using Shaomu Qi as a guide was produced. By using the silver kill holy sword, the Geng Metal Qi was produced.

Moreover, Shaomu Qi is born within the gangmu stone fetus and can continuously absorb the power of the earth to re-condense after being used, making it inexhaustible.

A wisp of Shaomu Qi, in a place with abundant earth Qi, would take approximately only ten years to generate.

With things explained to this extent, Chen Cuo naturally agreed. However, he definitely had to use it himself first. He had already begun nourishing Geng Metal Qi earlier, and it was impossible to let Yue Wudao use it first, as that would ruin his efforts.

After both parties swore an oath, Yue Wudao also agreed. Ten years was not a long time for an Acquired Perfection Martial Artist; their lifespan was already close to 150 years, or even longer, especially since Yue Wudao was still very young.

He also wasn’t afraid of Chen Cuo breaking the agreement, not only because he would soon achieve a Breakthrough to Innate but also because he knew Chen Cuo was his kind of person.

They would both achieve a Breakthrough to Innate, and similarly, they would not stop at the Innate Realm. They both had speculations about the Realm beyond Innate. If one wished to seek the foundation for Immortal Ascension, one must achieve a state of having all matters within one’s heart, free from Karma entanglement, otherwise, it would definitely be a major obstacle to future cultivation.

The Seven Killing Qi was his Innate Spiritual Root. With his Spiritual Root settled, he could safely achieve a Breakthrough to Innate and avoid the Mortal World’s mundane affairs.

Chen Cuo and Yue Wudao made an agreement, arranging for the other party to come for a wisp of Shaomu Qi in ten years.

Seeing Yue Wudao leave, Chen Cuo blinked, upgraded the security of his entire residence, set up some traps, and then began his cultivation.