Chapter 124: Though Born as Ants, One Should Harbor the Ambitions of a Sea God

As it turned out, the so-called Black Emperor Sect was a family-run operation, with the strongest members being Golden Core cultivators. One was known as the Black Emperor’s Envoy, and the other as the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus. They were husband and wife, and they had a daughter who held the rank of Holy Maiden of the Black Emperor. Most of the sect’s followers were rogue cultivators of varying levels of ability; in particular, the rank-and-file members were almost entirely mortals. It was an evil cult that had only emerged in the vicinity of the Yan Kingdom within the last fifty years.

The Hundred Refinement Sect, by contrast, had only one Golden Core expert and a dozen or so Purple Mansion elders. It was so weak that it was barely considered the top sect in the Yan Kingdom, falling far behind the Heaven-Monitoring Tower, let alone the Five Elements Sect. It seemed that while the countries around the Great Yue were remote, their underlying strength was quite formidable.

With this basic understanding, the disciple began gossiping about the sect leader with great enthusiasm. He spoke of the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus sneaking over for midnight trysts, or mysterious groaning sounds coming from the spiritual fruit orchard at night. Such rumors were obviously fabricated; a Golden Core cultivator wouldn’t lower herself to performing a sex show for others. However, his description of the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus made Cao Chengyu itch with curiosity. Why not give it a try? A relationship without feelings, purely physical—it would be a great way to test the functionality of the ranking system and perhaps smooth his path of cultivation.

Cao Chengyu moved his divine sense to open the ranking list, and sure enough, the "Cao Cao Radar" reacted to her.

【Character Ranking】— Yan Kingdom.
...
No. 17: "Holy Mother of the Black Lotus (Mo Qingyu)"
Introduction: 623 years old, early-stage Golden Core cultivator. She loves the color black and the lotus flower. She claims to be "untainted by the mud, pure and unstained by the ripples," believing that the whole world is drunk while she alone is sober. She even looks down on her husband for this reason.
Current Favorability: 0
...

Well, well, the opportunity had arrived. He didn’t mind a flirtatious woman, nor did he mind one who thought herself a "white lotus." What Cao Chengyu feared most were those truly in love. This Holy Mother of the Black Lotus seemed to have a massive psychological flaw; people who prided themselves on being unique were most in need of a soulmate’s validation. There was plenty of room to maneuver here.

He tossed the disciple a few dozen spirit stones and then took out ten medium-grade spirit stones, intending to stay here for five days. Plotting that if they wouldn't let him leave, he would make them enjoy his presence, he handed the purchased goods to Lin Yunjiao and headed out again.

Lin Yunjiao wrinkled her delicate nose, not quite understanding why Cao Chengyu was going out again at a time like this. The top priority should be to settle down; with a whole family of mortals in tow, she was under immense pressure. She clenched her fists, feeling her strength returning, and returned to the quiet chamber to continue her cultivation. She was naturally talented, and back in the Eastern Region, her family had provided her with ample resources. Now, at only thirty-something years old, she could make a push to reach the Purple Mansion stage before her hundredth year.

***

After Cao Chengyu went out, he placed all thirty maid-type melee puppets on the spirit boat to ensure his family’s safety. He went alone to the immortal bazaar in Blood Crystal City to gather information. The bazaar was a mixed bag of people, and with the high foot traffic of the Yan Kingdom, one could hear plenty of news just by listening to the chatter. Of course, one still had to judge what was true and what was false.

He had just found a seat in a tavern run by a cultivator when a discussion started at the table next to him.

"Brother Lin, do you believe what those Black Emperor Sect people were saying earlier?"

"You mean about the stolen treasure? And a treasure with both Yin and Yang attributes at that? Bah."

"Oh? Does Brother Lin have some insight?"

"You’ve asked the right person." The man was dressed in an elegant robe with a feathered fan; he was quite handsome and possessed a calm, collected demeanor. The way he waved his bird-feather fan really gave off the vibe of a master strategist. "Let me tell you, I just learned from a friend that it was a treasure from the blood crystal mines that was taken by a rogue cultivator, which is why the city was locked down. As for what exactly the treasure is..."

Seeing Brother Lin rubbing his fingers together, the other man looked annoyed but tossed a few spirit stones over.

"Listen closely. This is insider information I learned from my younger brother’s girlfriend." He looked around, casting a particularly wary glance at Cao Chengyu, before leaning toward the other man’s ear and whispering, "They say it’s a treasure from the inheritance of the True Person of Yin and Yang, which the Holy Maiden of the Black Emperor needs to break through to a Dao Body."

"This..." Cao Chengyu was speechless. This "Brother Lin" only had the cultivation of the Qi-Refinement realm and didn't even know a simple sound-transmission spell; he could hear everything.

The friend of Brother Lin suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Are you talking about the True Person of Yin and Yang, that Golden Core formation master famous throughout the Mountain Ridge Region?"

"Hey, keep your voice down!" Brother Lin glared at his friend, then noticed Cao Chengyu glancing over and moved his stool to the side. "That’s right. I’m telling you, my brother’s little girlfriend is the Holy Maiden of the Black Emperor herself. I heard it with my own ears; there’s no way it’s fake."

"What?! How dare you tell such a lie!" The man jumped, landing on his bottom, looking terrified. "Brother Lin, you can’t just say things like that. That’s the Holy Maiden! Aren’t you afraid of having your tongue ripped out? I am!"

Brother Lin curled his lip. He knew this would be the reaction; he had told many friends, but no one believed him. He just wanted to collect a few spirit stones from his brothers who were sucking up to him. He couldn’t get anyone to believe him, even though he hadn't believed it himself the first time he heard it from his brother. "Believe it or not, I’m done talking. Let’s drink, let’s drink."

Cao Chengyu felt a strange sensation. Could he really run into a relative of the person involved just by walking around?

After the table had finished a few rounds of drinks and the friend had left on some pretext—which he suspected was just to dodge the bill—Cao Chengyu leaned over, holding a bag of spirit stones in his right hand, and said with a smile, "Friend, could you tell me the story of your brother and the Holy Maiden?"

Brother Lin looked at him warily and said nothing. Cao Chengyu simply poured the spirit stones onto the table. The man’s attitude changed instantly. "Hehe, fellow Daoist, I am Lin Wangyuan. How should I address you?"

"Me? Just call me Hua Wuque."

"Brother Hua, I have long admired you."

"Tell me about it. To be honest, I want to meet the Holy Maiden. Do you have a way?"

"You’ve found the right person." Having pocketed the spirit stones, Lin Wangyuan began to boast. It was clear that much of what he said was exaggerated, highlighting his own role in the story.

Cao Chengyu filtered it all out and understood the gist of the truth; it was quite dramatic. The Holy Maiden of the Black Emperor had been kidnapped as a child. Her parents had been too focused on building the sect and rarely spent time with her. After being kidnapped by a rival faction, they were then ambushed by bandits, and by some stroke of luck, the two groups wiped each other out. Eventually, she ended up in Blood Crystal City, where she was saved by the Lin brothers.

Of course, these Lin brothers were just mortals, and their elders had long since passed away. Lin Wangyuan was at most a bystander; the main role was played by his younger brother, Lin Fan. Both had happened to possess talent for cultivation, and the Holy Maiden, grateful for their help, had passed on the sect’s foundational techniques to them. At the time, they were all very young and came from humble backgrounds, and the Holy Maiden had never waited for her parents to come and bring her home.