Chapter 230: To The Vermilion Bird Province

— A few days later, aboard Wei Chen’s Flying Ark —

Within the flying ark’s cultivation chamber, Wei Chen cultivated peacefully after buying a set of Underworld Qi Pills. He could already feel himself touching the threshold of the Soul Transformation Realm.

The silver-like membrane preventing him from advancing further could be brute-forced open, but he chose not to. This was not one of those life-and-death scenarios where a protagonist gets his ass kicked and needs to break through mid-fight, leaving a permanent flaw in his otherwise flawless cultivation and spending 200+ Chapters fixing the damage afterward.

He was not that type of guy.

Plus, he was not some hot-blooded protagonist who would charge forward despite lacking the cultivation to match his opponent.

One might ask, what if the situation forces you to move forward, you idiot!? Are you going to let things get worse or run away like a coward!?

Of course not. Why would he do that?

He was an American, and he would solve it the American way.

The kind of situation where most protagonists are forced to fight opponents stronger than themselves usually happens because of their own overconfidence, some nonsense about Dao Heart, pride, destiny, or other weird excuses. But in the end, it all came down to two things.

Inadequate preparation and insufficient firepower.

So, as an American at heart, he would solve it by bringing more firepower.

Right now, his Death Star, currently on standby in the Underworld, could shift from the Underworld into the Mortal Realm with a snap of his fingers.

All of his people were standing by at their battle stations, ready to unleash hell on anyone whose cultivation exceeded his own and whom he could not personally fight back against.

Besides, he also had about a dozen emergency talismans that he had ’requested’ from Lady Yan after offering a feast for both Lady Yan and that little troublemaker Ningning.

This... was his preparation.

Overwhelming firepower.

American style.

But...

Despite all of that preparation, he still needed to swagger around and slap the shit out of anyone who messed with him.

That was why he needed to be diligent, but not reckless.

While Wei Chen was in the middle of slowly cultivating with the help of the Underworld Qi pill, he felt discomfort in his Dantian, the same feeling as when he drank milk that was no longer fresh, the kind that was already bordering on the expiration date after being left out at room temperature.

He exhaled and quickly dispelled most of the underworld qi he had refined. It was already reaching the limit that his living body could handle.

Yes, Wei Chen’s black hole core was powerful and could digest every type of qi, and with The Samsara Sovereign’s Scripture as his main cultivation method, he was able to make use of underworld qi without suffering the backlash that average people would.

But... in the end, his nature was still that of a living, breathing being, not an existence that had transcended life and death like Lady Yan, little Ningning, or the higher-ups in the underworld.

Like humans who drank too much cola, excessive sugar in the body would still cause problems. Weight gain, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, gout, diabetes, and even certain cancers were all the result of long-term excessive sugar intake.

His situation was similar to those people who consumed too much sugar. He was already at the threshold where it would start causing problems for his mortal body, a body that still had not transcended life and death.

And yes, The Samsara Sovereign’s Scripture that he cultivated could eventually allow him to transcend life and death while still remaining a living being. At that point, he would possess a transcendent body like Lady Yan’s, one that completely ignored the laws of Heaven and Earth and could freely make use of either normal spiritual qi or underworld qi.

But that perk was deep in the late skill tree.

His cultivation still had not reached that stage yet, so he could forget about surviving solely on underworld qi.

To balance his body and cultivation, he needed normal spiritual qi, and lots of it. He was certain it would bankrupt the hell out of anyone if he were to sneak into someone’s vault and cultivate there.

Cultivating in the open like he did now would not work either. It would cause environmental damage and create enough commotion to draw unnecessary trouble.

Hmm... what to do... what to do...

Without a solution, Wei Chen decided to take a rest for now. He slowly stood up and walked out of his cultivation chamber to the lounge, where he brewed himself a cup of coffee.

"Yo, what’s up? Are you okay, bro? You look like you just had a hard stool." Bob, who was staying in the lounge, asked. He stood behind the counter bar making some simple fries to eat.

"Well... it’s not exactly like a hard stool. It’s more like drinking expired milk and feeling your stomach churn, but nothing wants to come out." Wei Chen explained.

"Bro... c’mon, I’m making fries here. Show a bit of respect, will you?" Bob retorted.

"You asked." Wei Chen replied nonchalantly as he sipped his coffee.

The two hit it off quickly and eventually discarded all formality, talking to each other like buddies. It had been a long time since someone had spoken to him this casually.

Wei Chen set down his coffee cup and asked, "How long does it take to reach Vermilion Bird Province? It’s already been three days."

"Why? Missing your wife already?" Bob teased as he took the fries out of the hot oil.

"Something like that." Wei Chen replied without a care.

He did leave Dream Butterfly back in Thousand Treasure City to cultivate inside his pagoda. If not for the fact that his damn pagoda would expand itself whenever he used it, he would have already brought it with him.

And during this journey, he did not know what kind of shitty young masters he might run into, so he wisely left that idiot young master magnate back at home. He would rather wait until she had enough power to storm into a great clan like the Ximen Clan and slap their ancestor around for fun before bringing her out to a place he was unfamiliar with.

At that moment, his phone rang, and he took it out to see who was calling.

It was Ximen Hao. Wei Chen had contacted him before coming here to help arrange lodging, secure a sky port for docking, and smooth over the official procedures and red tape required to enter Vermilion Bird Province.

"Hello? It’s me, Wei Chen." Wei Chen answered the call, wondering why this guy was calling him.

"Young Master Wei, I already sent my men to receive you at the border of Vermilion Bird Province. I also booked our Ximen Clan’s private Void Shipping Lane for you."

"Void Shipping Lane? What’s that?" Wei Chen asked in confusion.

"Oh! I forgot the term would be unfamiliar to you since it’s rare for developing provinces like Azure River Province to have Void Shipping Lanes. It’s an infrastructure system that helps flying arks speed up their travel time. Distances that normally take weeks to cross can be reduced to hours! Months can turn into days!"

While Ximen Hao was in the middle of boasting, Wei Chen came to a conclusion.

So... it was like those sci-fi settings with space lanes, huh?

Well... understandable. This damn world was so huge that flying arks needed Distance Shortening Arrays just to travel efficiently.

"Cut the crap, man. Where are your men?" Wei Chen interrupted Ximen Hao’s boasting streak.

"What’s the rush? I was just about to offer our Ximen Clan’s technological marvels to your wife’s Thousand Treasure Pavilion to help them develop! Aren’t you interested in hearing my offer?" Ximen Hao suddenly dangled a fat piece of meat in front of him.

"This isn’t like you, man... why the sudden generosity? Do you need something from us?" Wei Chen asked. There was definitely a catch behind this guy’s offer.

"Ohhh, no no no no, you misunderstood me, my friend. This is just a gesture of goodwill. The Ximen Clan is wealthy enough already. We are the richest clan on the continent, and you know that. We just want to share the joy with you!"

Is this guy Suneo or something? Why does he boast so much? Wei Chen thought to himself.

At that moment, a servant entered the lounge.

"Young Master Wei! A group of experts with a flying ark has stopped us. They said they are Young Master Ximen’s men," the servant reported.

"Got it." Wei Chen said to the servant before turning back to the phone. "Seems like your men are here. I’ll end the call first."

"Okay... I’ll wait for you at the estate," Ximen Hao said before ending the call.

Inside his mind, however, he cursed his men for being too efficient. He still had not pushed his true agenda yet!

Well... Young Master Wei Chen would eventually stay at his estate anyway. There was no rush. He could always speak his mind later.