Chapter 77: Seven Consecutive Kills

“What are the requirements to become an immortal cultivator or a shaman?”
Hu San swallowed hard, his heart racing as a possibility dawned on him: the Greenwood Sutra he practiced might very well be the legendary foundational method for shamans.
“I don’t know what it takes to become a shaman, but there’s one essential requirement for immortal cultivation: a spiritual root. Spiritual roots are the source that senses the primordial energy of heaven and earth. Without one, you simply cannot cultivate.”
Chen Hai spoke without hesitation, “Spiritual roots are formed by the union of heaven and earth’s energy. Depending on their composition and amount, they’re divided into nine ‘colors’ and nine grades.”
“One to three colors are the lower grades, four to six colors are the middle grades, and seven to nine colors are the upper grades. There are legends of a supreme grade with ten colors, but that’s not something found in our humble region.”
“The grade of your spiritual root determines your future cultivation. With a lower grade, you can at best reach the Foundation Establishment stage and open the earth’s channels. With a middle grade, there’s a chance to ascend to the Golden Core stage. As for upper grades, barring calamity, you’ll almost certainly advance to Golden Core.”
“Spiritual roots are one in ten thousand, extremely rare. The richer the spiritual energy in a place, the greater the chance of a spiritual root forming. In a barren land like the Qilian Mountains, it’s unlikely any would appear.”
Clearly, though Chen Hai hadn’t spelled it out, everyone understood the implication: none of them had any hope of cultivating immortality.
“Phew!”
Everyone exhaled deeply. Hu San sighed, “Nephew, you’re truly blessed. In time, you’ll surely break through the earth’s channels and become a dominant power.”
Just then, he saw Haizhou walk in, realizing the moment had come.
Sure enough, Haizhou stepped forward, his face troubled, and said, “Chief, there’s an envoy outside requesting an audience, claiming to have urgent matters to discuss.”
“What urgent matters? Can’t he see I’m entertaining esteemed guests?”
Hu San immediately shouted in anger.
“He says it’s something you instructed, Chief. I dared not decide on my own, so I came to report. If you don’t wish to see him, I’ll drive him off at once.”
Haizhou’s face showed genuine grievance, his performance convincing.
“Oh, so that’s how it is.”
Hu San feigned sudden realization, then cupped his hands to Chen Hai, “Nephew, my apologies, but this matter is important and requires my personal attention. I’ll be gone for about an hour. Please enjoy a few drinks with everyone, and I’ll return shortly.”
He then instructed Haizhou, “You stay and entertain our guest. If anything goes wrong, I won’t be lenient. Understand?”
Haizhou nodded immediately.
Before Chen Hai could urge him to stay, Hu San hurriedly rose and rushed out of the hall.
“Commander Hai, does the Chief have urgent business?”
Chen Hai’s eyes flickered, unable to resist asking.
“Ha, don’t worry, Young Master, it’s nothing bad. Here, let me offer you a cup of tea. Once the dishes are served, we’ll have a proper drink together.”
Haizhou, feeling privy to the inside story, patted his chest confidently.
The others laughed, “Commander Hai, you’re too crude. Don’t you realize the Young Master is a legendary immortal cultivator? He won’t care for our mundane wine.”
“Immortal cultivator? What’s that about?”

Haizhou’s eyes widened, curiosity painted across his face.
Seeing this, the last of Chen Hai’s doubts vanished, and he no longer pondered the Chief’s departure.
Soon, mountain bandits brought the dishes, and as before with Chen Ce and the others, the aroma of food and wine filled the hall, making everyone’s mouths water.
No doubt, everything was heavily seasoned—Hu San had poured in all the poisons he possessed.
At that moment, Hu San was in a hidden stone chamber beneath the mountain peak, its construction concealed yet with a wide view, allowing him to observe the peak’s happenings.
Seeing the food and wine delivered, and nothing amiss in the Hall of Exaltation, Hu San let out a sigh of relief. It seemed even immortal cultivators weren’t omnipotent; at least, Chen Hai hadn’t detected the deadly poison in the dishes.
In front of Hu San was a control panel for eight mechanisms, corresponding to the eight traps in the Hall of Exaltation.
Each mechanism controlled the hall, so Hu San didn’t need to observe in person—so long as the guests didn’t leave, they were within range.
Inside the hall, Chen Hai truly didn’t notice the poison. First, his experience and cultivation were shallow; second, the poison was far from ordinary, with a storied origin, though it had been diluted many times.
The hall was soon filled with the clatter of cups and laughter; the commanders, upon learning Chen Hai’s true identity, vied to flatter him with songs of praise.
Chen Hai was swept up in the revelry, emptying cup after cup, nearly forgetting his purpose altogether.
He had no idea how much he drank, only that he felt increasingly dazed. Suddenly, he noticed the rowdy bandits were silent; looking around, he saw them all slumped over the table.
“Bandits, huh?! So little capacity? Come on, drink another cup, just one more.”
Chen Hai desperately shook Haizhou, trying to wake him for another round, but no matter how hard he shook, Haizhou didn’t budge.
“Wait, what’s this? Dead!”
Realizing something was wrong, Chen Hai looked closely, seeing Haizhou’s face covered in golden spots, each the size of elm seeds. The sight sent a chill through Chen Hai.
He then noticed that everyone wasn’t just drunk—they were all dead.
“What’s going on?”
Terrified, Chen Hai stood abruptly, the world spinning around him. He spotted faint spots appearing on his own skin.
He immediately circulated his internal energy, expelling the wine from his system. Only then did he realize he’d been poisoned—and not by any ordinary toxin.
Frantically, Chen Hai rummaged through his storage for antidotes.
Meanwhile, in the stone chamber below the peak, Hu San nodded and muttered, “Almost time. Let’s begin.”
With that, he yanked at the first mechanism.
A crisp click sounded.
The once-open main doors of the Hall of Exaltation slammed shut.
Inside, Chen Hai felt a rush of foul wind overhead. Looking up, he saw the ceiling had ruptured, revealing a formation of iron spears forged from pure steel.
Dozens of iron spears, each as thick as an arm, were attached to the iron plate, and with the force of a mountain, they crashed down, covering the entire hall.
If Chen Hai hadn’t realized he’d been set up by now, his decade of cultivation would have been wasted.

“Hmph, you think such petty tricks can catch me?”
A cold smile flickered across Chen Hai’s face. Without visible movement, his sword leapt from its sheath, its icy light casting frost across the hall.
He gripped the hilt, slashing fiercely at the iron plate descending upon him. With a tearing sound, the steel plate was shredded like paper.
The spears, impossible to withstand, were all sliced to fragments, littering the floor.
Boom!
The entire plate crashed down, the spears embedded in the floor, crushing everything in the hall and raising a cloud of dust. Only where Chen Hai stood was there a gaping hole.
Chen Hai, sword in hand, stood at the breach, his face grim.
But before he could act, burning steel nets swept in from all sides. Dense yellow smoke billowed, the very fumes from the ore in the Valley of Death.
Amid the chaos, the walls suddenly sprouted countless holes, from which thick iron arrows shot forth.
The arrows were black as night, coated in poison. As soon as they hit the flaming nets, they ignited, turning the hall into an inferno.
With thunderous crashes, Hu San triggered seven mechanisms in succession. Iron walls began to move, their surfaces bristling with sharp blades, seemingly intent on turning anyone inside into minced meat.
Surrounded from all sides, the hall became a steel coffin.
The sounds of slaughter were endless. Even hidden in his stone chamber, Hu San felt his skin crawl—he knew well the power of these traps.
Truth be told, in a different place, he could withstand three or four traps at most before meeting his end.
“Perhaps Chen Hai is dead already?”
As this thought crossed Hu San’s mind, the steel coffin, gathered in a huge block, was sliced into eight or nine pieces. From within, a figure burst out—none other than Chen Hai.
Above his head hovered his sword, an ice dragon coiling protectively around him, and close to his body was a faint purple shield.
It resembled martial energy, but was far tougher. Hu San saw flames and arrows alike bounce off the shield, leaving only ripples.
“Impossible!”
Hu San could scarcely believe it: after all seven deadly traps, Chen Hai was merely pale, but otherwise unharmed.
What Hu San didn’t know was that Chen Hai’s energy was down to a third, suppressing the poison, activating his talismans, wielding his ice sword, and using water and antidote talismans. He was at the end of his strength, never before forced to such extremes.
“Damn it, looks like I’ll have to use the final move. Let’s hope it works; if not, I’ll just have to run for it.”
Hu San licked his dry lips and pulled the last mechanism.