Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments

Chapter 339 - 182: Spirit Lake Wanderer, Huidong Commerce Association, Spirit-Locking Smoke

The Immortal Binding Rope was undone, but she made no move to flee.

Instead, she knelt on the ground and begged, "Kill me. Please, just kill me!"

Xiao Chen paused the Curse. "I’d love to give you a swift end, but you need to seize the opportunity."

She immediately spilled everything, like beans from a bamboo tube. "Tonight, a quarter past seven, in the Birch Forest south of Wenxiang Town. That’s when the offerings are handed over."

"I don’t know who the Main Priest is. Godmother takes the offerings away herself."

"*Cough*... She never tells us what happens to the offerings, and we’ve never cared."

"Godmother will be waiting in the forest a Quarter Hour beforehand. That’s the only place you can find her."

"I don’t know where she goes the rest of the time."

"That’s all I know! Kill me, please, just kill me!"

Xiao Chen pressed, "This godmother you mentioned, who is she? Is it Spirit Lake Wanderer?"

"Yes, Godmother is Spirit Lake Wanderer."

"No, that’s not right. Godmother has three names. At home, she’s just ’Mother.’ Outside, she’s called Spirit Lake Wanderer."

"And if she’s at the Commerce Association, she’s called Fairy Yurong."

As she spoke, she pulled out a Skull and a Token. "With the bone, she’s Spirit Lake Wanderer. With the Token, she’s Fairy Yurong."

The Token was inscribed with the word "Huidong."

.

After getting all the information, Xiao Chen drew his sword and gave her the swift end she desired.

He used Sword Control to fly toward Wenxiang Town, his mind racing.

’It seems some Demon Cultivators are trying to use this chaos to conduct a blood sacrifice.’

’I just didn’t expect the Huidong Commerce Association to be involved.’

Xiao Chen didn’t know much about the Huidong Commerce Association. He only knew it was a hub for many Loose Cultivators and was said to have deep connections in the Eastern Domain.

But as for the specifics, he was completely in the dark.

For one, he’d never had any dealings with them. For another, with the trade routes now severed, the Huidong Commerce Association’s presence had faded significantly.

But it now seemed the Huidong Commerce Association wasn’t as dormant as he’d thought.

’Forget it. I’ll find out what’s really going on once I capture Spirit Lake Wanderer and question her.’

Wenxiang Town was not far from Xiangye Mountain, less than two hundred li northwest of Xianghe Market.

Arriving before 7 p.m., Xiao Chen reached the outskirts of Wenxiang Town ahead of schedule.

He used the Sealing Acupoint Concealing Qi Technique to hide his aura and laid in ambush within the Birch Forest.

Just as 7 p.m. arrived, he saw a slender, cloaked figure walk into the forest.

Soon, another female cultivator landed, holding two unconscious Cultivators in her grasp.

"Godmother, I’ve brought the offerings."

"Good girl, Zhifang. You’re always the first to complete your task. You truly are Mother’s precious treasure."

The two then began to chat, and the content of their conversation was much the same as what Xiao Chen had already learned.

Spirit Lake Wanderer had adopted sixty goddaughters in total, eventually cultivating four of them into Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The second-eldest had been unwilling to aid a tyrant in her evil deeds after learning about the offerings, so she was disciplined by "family law."

The remaining third and fourth daughters had been trained as skilled Tribulation Cultivators, specializing in capturing various offerings.

They mostly captured Qi Refining cultivators, as this was a low-profile approach that wouldn’t easily attract the attention of the Lingyuan Sect.

Hezhou had over one hundred thousand Qi Refining cultivators in total; a few disappearances were perfectly normal.

After all, Cultivators were prone to conflict and adventure, so no one would care why a particular Loose Cultivator suddenly vanished.

Over the years, even the fourth daughter—the one who had pursued Hu Feipeng—had killed several dozen Qi Refining cultivators, and she had the lowest kill count.

According to the woman’s confession, the eldest sister, Zhifang, who was the first to reach Foundation Establishment, had brutalized hundreds of Cultivators.

And not all of them were offerings; some were silenced to cover their tracks, while others were captured and tortured to death for sport.

Before long, the third daughter also landed, bringing three Cultivators with her. She threw two, already unconscious, to the ground.

At the same time, she pushed the last one, a conscious female cultivator, forward.

"Godmother, Eldest Sister, look what I found."

"I followed that wretched man all the way to his home and discovered he has a daughter—and she has an Extreme Yin Body, too."

"I didn’t ’sample the goods’ this time. I brought her back specially as a tribute to Mother."

HISS!

Xiao Chen’s brow furrowed as he watched the trembling young woman.

He had laid his ambush in the Birch Forest early, planning to simply wait for his prey to walk into the trap.

In his original plan, the captured "offerings" were supposed to be Foundation Establishment Cultivators, so he would only need to be slightly careful during the fight.

That was why he had hidden himself a bit farther away, to reduce the risk of being discovered.

But he never expected there to be an extra hostage—one who was only at the third layer of Qi Refining and appeared to be injured.

If a fight were to break out now, her safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

"SHLICK!"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out.

With a single sword strike, Spirit Lake Wanderer sliced the young woman in two. "You’re messing around!"

"What did I tell you before you left this morning?"

"We’re capturing Foundation Establishment Cultivators this time. There’s no room for any mistakes. If we’re discovered, the consequences will be dire."

The third daughter sounded aggrieved. "Mother, I was very careful the whole way. There’s no way anyone could have discovered me."

"I just got excited when I saw such fine prey. You don’t find a toy this good once in a year."

But Spirit Lake Wanderer just frowned. "You dare talk back to me!"

"Now get out there and keep watch! See if you were followed."

Carrying a Qi Refining cultivator like that would lower her Escape Speed, making it easy for anyone with intent to track her.

"No need to go outside. Let’s just talk here in the forest."

As Xiao Chen’s voice fell, three streaks of light instantly descended around the eldest sister, trapping her directly within a Sword Array.

Simultaneously, a rope shot straight toward Spirit Lake Wanderer—it was the Immortal Binding Rope.

He himself, wielding a large hammer, charged toward the third daughter.

It was the same principle as always: when outnumbered, he liked to strike at the weakest link first to quickly thin their ranks.