Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race
Chapter 431 - 339 Divine Sense Contest (Vote for Monthly Tickets)_1

Chapter 431: 339 Divine Sense Contest (Vote for Monthly Tickets)_1

At 7PM, the sky darkened, but the number of people on the streets did not decrease; in fact, they increased.

In a vast estate, Fairy Chu Buyu, Shen Long, and more than a dozen Nascent Soul Cultivators sat around a green stone table, sipping tea and chatting leisurely.

"Taoist Friend Shen, I heard your mistress hails from the Han Family, and you haven’t taken a dao companion yet, have you? Have you ever considered marrying a female cultivator from the Han Family to strengthen familial relations?"

A plump, rosy-cheeked elder in green robes said with a chuckle.

"Taoist Friend Su is joking. I have not such intentions,"

Shen Long said seriously.

The elder in green robes was called Su Shanhe, born into the Su Family of Black Phoenix Island, which had a competitive relationship with the Han Family.

"I heard that Taoist Friend Shen has raised two mutated fourth-level Spirit Insects, and with their help, you’ve slain many Nascent Soul Stage Barbarian Cultivators. I wonder if Taoist Friend Shen has any special insights on raising Spirit Insects, or if there’s an elixir that could increase the chances of mutation?"

A tall and lean man in golden robes asked politely, his face filled with anticipation.

The man in the golden robes had a square face and large eyes, and he wore a golden Spirit Beast Bracelet on his left hand.

"The Miracle Elixirs that can mutate Spirit Insects are those few; their materials are hard to find. You, Taoist Friend Xu, surely know of any useful methods."

Shen Long said with a smile.

The man in golden robes was one of the Ten Immortals of the Northern Sea, the Golden Bee True Monarch, whose Life-Bound Spirit Insect, the Four-Winged Golden Thunder Bee, aided him in vanquishing many foes, making his name famous throughout the Northern Sea Cultivation Realm.

"True! What Taoist Friend Shen said is correct. I remember Taoist Friend Xu has a mutated fourth-level Spirit Insect, don’t you? Why would you need advice from Taoist Friend Shen?"

A robust male voice rang out.

The Golden Crow True Monarch and Xu Mo entered, with the Golden Crow True Monarch wearing a broad smile.

"Its Mutated Divine Power is a support spell, not much help in combat,"

explained the Golden Bee True Monarch.

"Taoist Friend Qin, Taoist Friend Xu, you’re here; please, take a seat,"

Fairy Chu Buyu invited them to sit.

Xu Mo took a seat, smiling warmly at Shen Long, "Taoist Friend Shen, we have not seen each other for decades; you’ve advanced to the Middle Stage of Nascent Soul. Congratulations!"

"Long time no see, Taoist Friend Xu. Do you know Taoist Friend Qin?"

Shen Long asked casually.

Xu Mo nodded with a smile, "Indeed, we do know each other. Taoist Friend Qin has spoken to me about you more than once."

Shen Long had a sudden realization; that explained it. No wonder both Xu Mo and the Golden Crow True Monarch had asked for Shen Long’s help in refining the Three-Leaf Jade God Pill.

The group engaged in idle chatter, turning to the topic of the Barbarian Tribe. The Golden Crow True Monarch said, "Speaking of which, back when the Tianyuan Tribe invaded the Qian Yang Realm, it would’ve been nice to extinguish the Barbarian Tribe outright and avoid all the trouble."

"It’s not that simple. I’ve heard that Divinity Transformation Cultivators led the effort to destroy the spatial passage from the Tianyuan Realm to the Qian Yang Realm, cutting off the Tianyuan Tribe’s reinforcements. Without backup, the remaining Tianyuan Cultivators were no match and were quickly annihilated by the native Cultivators of the Qian Yang Realm,"

Shen Long said.

"Establishing a safe spatial passage is no easy feat, but demolishing one is much simpler,"

Fairy Chu Buyu agreed wholeheartedly.

Su Shanhe added, "Indeed! I’ve heard that the Tianyuan Tribe tried to construct a new spatial passage, finding a new node in space to invade the Qian Yang Realm from another location, but the new passage was quickly destroyed as well."

After chatting for more than an hour, they moved on to the exchange session, where everyone brought out their items for trade.

Shen Long exchanged a fourth-level Green Thunder Falcon Demon Core with Su Shanhe for two fourth-level Yin Beast Demon Cores, and he also acquired a Blood Clam Beast Demon Core and a thousand-year-old Qingfeng Grass, enjoying a modest gain.

Xu Mo presented a segment of thousand-year-old Golden Thunder Bamboo, which Fairy Chu Buyu exchanged for.

Once the exchange was over, the Cultivators left one after another.

"Taoist Friend Shen, please wait a moment,"

Xu Mo called out to Shen Long and quickly followed after him.

Shen Long paused, slightly surprised, and then stopped.

"Taoist Friend Xu, what can I do for you?"

Shen Long asked.

"Taoist Friend Shen, may I have a word with you in private?"

Xu Mo asked politely.

After contemplating briefly, Shen Long nodded in agreement and followed Xu Mo to a three-story-tall blue pagoda.

"Taoist Friend Shen, I heard you have a powerful Divine Sense. I would like to contest our Divine Senses with one another, what do you say?"

Xu Mo asked eagerly.

"Heard from whom?"

Shen Long’s brow furrowed; he rarely showed his Divine Sense to outsiders. Needless to say, it must have been the Golden Crow True Monarch who told Xu Mo. They had once ventured deep into the heart of the Barbarian Tribe together, where Shen Long evaded high-ranking Barbarian Cultivators with his powerful Divine Sense.

"Taoist Friend Xu, you are mistaken; my Divine Sense is not particularly strong,"

Shen Long tactfully declined.

It was indeed peculiar for Xu Mo to seek him out for such a contest without any apparent reason.

"Taoist Friend Shen, here is a Middle Stage fourth-level Yin Beast inner core. If you win the contest of Divine Sense, this Demon Core will be yours. What do you say? I have no ulterior motives; I’ve been stuck at a bottleneck for many years and just want to learn from you. A contest of Divine Sense will cause no hard feelings,"

Xu Mo insisted, his tone sincere as he produced a black Demon Core.

Shen Long pondered for a moment and then nodded, "This isn’t a suitable place. Let’s contest our Divine Senses near the marketplace!"

With Yin Beasts being rare, and since the contest of Divine Senses would not affect him much, Shen Long agreed.

"Agreed,"

Xu Mo accepted.

After leaving the marketplace, Shen Long and Xu Mo flew southeast. They stopped after traveling around fifty li.

Shen Long’s Divine Sense spread out, carefully scanning the nearby sea to guard against ambush.

Seeing Shen Long’s caution, Xu Mo did not mind.

"Taoist Friend Shen, are you ready?"

Xu Mo said.

Shen Long nodded and replied, "Taoist Friend Xu, just bring it on."

The center of Xu Mo’s brows emitted a blinding golden light as a two-inch long golden flying knife shot out, heading straight for Shen Long.

Divine Consciousness Manifestation!

Only Nascent Soul Cultivators with exceptionally strong Divine Sense could master this ability. Generally speaking, it was Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivators who could harness this power. Divine Consciousness Manifestation attacks greatly drained Divine Sense and were easily dodged by enemies, so Nascent Soul Cultivators rarely used Divine Sense attacks against their opponents.

Shen Long snorted coldly as a bright red light burst from between his eyebrows, and a red flying knife about a foot long shot out to meet the attack.

The red flying knife collided with the golden one, which disintegrated like paper mache, and the red knife continued towards Xu Mo.

Xu Mo’s figure shifted, skillfully dodging the red flying knife.

"Taoist Friend Shen, this Demon Core is yours now."

Xu Mo flicked his wrist, and a black Demon Core flew out from his hand towards Shen Long.

Shen Long caught the black Demon Core, examined it carefully, and found no issues. There were no other Cultivators around.

Confusion spread across his face as he could not figure out what Xu Mo was scheming with his gourd.

Unable to understand, Shen Long decided not to dwell on it and transformed into a stream of Escape Light, leaving the area to return to the marketplace.

Xu Mo also returned to the marketplace, finding his way to a quiet courtyard with green tiles. Golden Crow True Monarch was sitting in a stone pavilion dyed in verdant tones.

"How was it? I wasn’t wrong, was I? Taoist Friend Shen’s Divine Sense is on par with that of Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivators."

Golden Crow True Monarch said.

"His Divine Sense is incredibly powerful, surpassing even that of Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivators. It seems he has consumed his fair share of Miracle Elixirs to enhance Divine Sense."

Xu Mo spoke with a grave tone.

Golden Crow True Monarch seemed surprised and asked, "Really? His Divine Sense is stronger than that of Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivators?"

"I’ve matched my Divine Sense against Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivators before, and we were evenly matched. My Divine Sense is not as strong as his," Xu Mo said earnestly. He had consumed some Miracle Elixirs to improve his Divine Sense, which was now comparable to that of Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivators.

Golden Crow True Monarch nodded and said, "That’s good to know. However, he possesses considerable Divine Skills. If we invite him to act, and there really are good treasures, we might not be able to compete with him."

"Wu Dong and Wu Xi have disappeared without a trace; they might have encountered an accident. If we delay further, too many things could happen overnight. My Divine Sense is weaker, even less than yours. Alone, I cannot break the restriction."

Xu Mo said.

He and Golden Crow True Monarch were both at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, but Xu Mo’s Divine Sense was stronger.

Golden Crow True Monarch sighed and said, "We have no other choice. Those fools, Wu Dong and Wu Xi, left the marketplace without a word and we’ve lost contact with them. I thought they went to break the restriction secretly, but apparently not. I have no idea where they’ve gone. If we manage to break the restriction and they reappear, then what should we do?"

"Hmph, would we even need to bother with them by that time? Though it’s odd, they were worried you would go after the treasure and kept following you. Why would they suddenly split up without saying anything? It really is strange."

Xu Mo expressed his puzzlement.

"Maybe they ran into an old enemy, or perhaps they’re stuck at a bottleneck and went out to hunt Monster Beasts. Anyway, let’s not worry about it for now. If they haven’t shown up by the time the auction ends, we’ll go find Taoist Friend Shen and ask for his help," Golden Crow True Monarch said.

······

The three days passed quickly.

Shen Long arrived at Chu Buyu’s residence and managed to see her with ease.

"Fairy Chu, are you ready?"

Shen Long asked.

Chu Buyu nodded and replied, "Taoist Friend Shen, please follow me."

She led Shen Long to a secret chamber, whose stone walls were inscribed with numerous Fire Attribute runes, torrents of heat waves rolling out.

In the bottom left corner, there was a Soundproofing Array about three feet wide. Pointing at it, Chu Buyu said, "Taoist Friend Shen, please stay inside the Soundproofing Array to avoid disturbing my Artifact Refining. Take out the treasure you wish to refine!"

Shen Long took out the Zyphyxial Blade and asked solemnly, "Fairy Chu, how confident are you?"

This was about his Life-Bound Magic Treasure, so he had to be cautious.

"I am completely confident."

After saying this, Chu Buyu opened her mouth slightly, and a flag shimmering with red light flew out.

"A Spiritual Treasure!"

Shen Long was pleasantly surprised.

"Ever since I returned from the Donghua Cultivation Realm, I’ve been collecting materials to upgrade my Life-Bound Magic Treasure, the Lihuo Flag, to a Spiritual Treasure. The Spiritual Treasure that appeared at the auction half a year later was also crafted by me," Chu Buyu declared confidently.

"It’s not that I don’t trust you, but this treasure is very important to me."

Shen Long explained.

"Rest assured! If I say I can do it, I definitely can," Chu Buyu said seriously.

Shen Long nodded and handed over the Zyphyxial Blade to Chu Buyu before stepping on top of the Soundproofing Array.

Chu Buyu infused a spell into the Soundproofing Array, and a pale cyan light screen appeared, enveloping Shen Long inside.

He couldn’t hear any sounds from outside, but he could see the process of Chu Buyu’s Artifact Refining.

Chu Buyu sat cross-legged on a red meditation cushion, quietly collecting her spirit.

After about the time it took to brew tea, Chu Buyu opened her eyes, shook her sleeve, and a golden Refining Furnace shot out, landing on the ground.

The Refining Furnace had four pairs of handles with a flame pattern on its surface.

Chu Buyu opened her mouth slightly, and a ball of azure blue flame emerged, falling onto the bottom of the Refining Furnace. She threw the Zyphyxial Blade into the furnace along with other materials, closed the furnace lid, and began the Artifact Refining process.