In my twilight years of cultivating, I became a Supreme Daoist of the Longevity Path

Chapter 42: 039: Snatching Souls, Recruiting Subordinates_1 Chapter 42: 039: Snatching Souls, Recruiting Subordinates_1 “Brother Chen, please look at this.

This is the Soul Snatching Array Disk.

Even though it’s a first-order Array Disk, it’s nonetheless a Soul Snatching Array, so it’s much more valuable than other first-order Array Disks.”

Jiang Qiang anxiously and respectfully took out a colorful round disk and handed it to Chen Dengming.

Chen Dengming took it over and inspected it.

He found that the lines on the disk were intricate, and it was engraved with quite a few odd runes.

But he could roughly tell that it was a kind of array.

Only, the disk looked somewhat old.

...

It had an ancient charm and didn’t seem newly made.

“Why is there no spiritual energy fluctuation in this Disk?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiang laughed.

“Brother Chen, this Disk hasn’t been activated yet, how could there be any spiritual energy fluctuations?

Moreover, to activate this Disk, you need to purchase a set of Array Flags.”

“I have to spend money to buy them?” Chen Dengming frowned.

Jiang Qiang’s heart jumped.

He hurriedly laughed and said, “Not necessarily, in fact, I can make them.

It’s just that it would take some time.

If you’re not in a hurry…”

Chen Dengming’s brow relaxed.

“That’s fine, I’m not in a hurry to use it.

Once this Soul Snatching Array is set up, can it really take the specific Spiritual Energy in the vicinity at will?”

Jiang Qiang nodded.

“Indeed!

Suppose you have a fire spiritual root.

After setting up the Soul Snatching Array, if you configure it to snatch the fire attribute spiritual energy in the vicinity, it will naturally help you to significantly improve your cultivation speed.

Principally speaking, the Soul Snatching Array is similar to the Spirit Gathering Array in assisting cultivation, but it’s more accurate.

However, it consumes more Spirit Stones.

And, you will need to constantly change your cultivation place while using this array for cultivation.

After all, if one kind of attribute spiritual energy in a certain area is depleted too much, it will take some time to recover.”

“That’s fine.”.

Chen Dengming was quite delighted.

Using this Soul Snatching Array during cultivation would extradite the Gold Spiritual Energy in the surrounding air first, helping his cultivation.

Once the Gold Spiritual Energy in the surroundings was depleted, he would then snatch the Wood Spiritual Energy.

Wouldn’t that mean there wouldn’t be so much Gold Spiritual Energy attacking the Wood Spiritual Energy anymore?

This meant there would not be such large internal consumption, and his cultivation speed would naturally be much faster.

However, this would primarily depend on the cost of the Spirit Stones consumed by this array.

After asking several more questions and verifying that his idea could be implemented, Chen Dengming asked, “Speaking of which, is it for this Array Disk that Hutong Street is hunting and killing you?

If you’re reluctant to offer this Array Disk to Qian Yuan of Hutong Street, why would you easily show it to me?”

Jiang Qiang took a deep breath, knowing he had to explain.

He looked both angry and frustrated.

“It’s not just about the Array Disk, but also the construction diagram to construct the Array Disk.

Except, I have already destroyed the blueprint, but I still remember it in my head.

The one you have is an original Array Disk I found in a forest.

It came along with the blueprint.

That man surname Qian wanted to capture me so that he could enslave me to further study the way to construct the Soul Snatching Array and to continue serving him.

But how could I serve him?

He’s a beast!”

“It seems he’s got a grudge.

Did Qian Yuan, this damn beast, do something to betray him?

Is that why this man rebelled?”

Chen Dengming thought to himself.

Jiang Qiang continued, “If I give you the Disk, there is a chance I might survive.

However, if I were to return, I would prefer to die than live.

Thus, I would like to gamble on that.”

Upon saying this, Jiang Qiang paused, gazing at Chen Dengming with sincerity.

“Brother Chen, your strength is compelling.

If you are willing to escort me to Brocade Mill, located two thousand miles west, I am willing to draw out the blueprint for the construction of the Soul Snatching Array Disk for you.”

Chen Dengming shrugged.

“What use do I have for that thing?

I can’t make it and selling it is just too much trouble.

Right, you paid me a low-grade Spirit Stone as a fee for my intervention last time.

Isn’t it time to add a bit more money?”

Jiang Qiang’s expression was peculiar as well as regretful.

Immediately after, he chuckled and saluted.

“Brother Chen, as you see, I’ve been on the run for a while.

I have reached the end of my resources.

Apart from this Disk, I am really…”

“Alright.

I’m just joking.”

Chen Dengming put away the Array Disk, and stretching out his hand, patted Jiang Qiang’s shoulder and said thoughtfully.

“So, although I won’t escort you to Jingxiu Workshop, I could offer you another option.

That is you could follow me.

I won’t oppress you like that Qian fellow.

Moreover, I can provide you with a certain degree of safety.

You could consider it.”

“Follow…

you…?” Jiang Qiang seemed hesitant.

He was not a fool.

Qian Yuan was a sixth-stage Qi Cultivator, and though Chen Dengming did show strong strength, he was after all a second-stage Qi Cultivator and unlikely to be Qian Yuan’s match.

“Just by following me doesn’t mean declaring war against Qian Yuan, but at least, it would give you some safety.”

Chen Dengming immediately saw through Jiang Qiang’s thoughts and lightly laughed.

“Actually, I’m like you.

I’m also Qian Yuan’s enemy.

Qian Yuan once issued a bounty for me, and I don’t know if he rescinded it.”

“You were also hunted?” Jiang Qiang was surprised.

Chen Dengming confirmed with a smile, “Yes, in my Innate stage, I killed his subordinate cultivators and was hunted by him.”

Jiang Qiang was shocked.

“You?

But you now…”

He was somewhat dumbfounded.

He also knew about the manhunt last time.

But right now, only half a year had passed.

The Innate man of that time had become so powerful?

He had previously heard the cultivator in the yellow robe talk about offending someone, but before he could connect the dots, Chen Dengming had already acted …

“Wait, Brother Chen, I heard later you seemed to have gone to Luo Family?

And you’re refining, refining Gu for Miss Luo?”

Chen Dengming nodded, “Correct!

I just left Luo Family.”

Jiang Qiang immediately showed a smile on his face, “Good, Brother Chen, I will follow you from now on.”

“Good!”

Chen Dengming laughed, appreciating the influence of the Luo Family.

As soon as he mentioned the Luo Family, people would immediately pledge their loyalty to him.

He immediately handed over the uncomfortable, hot-to-the-touch inheritance of the yellow-robed cultivator, the low-grade Lotus Law Shield, four low-grade spirit stones, and two talismans and charms to Jiang Qiang.

“Since we are brothers, I’ll return the rewards you gave me initially, and give you a little more as the gift for our first meeting as leader.”

“Accept it, don’t refuse.

I will assign some tasks to you in the future, and of course, you won’t work for nothing.”

Back in the day, Chen Dengming was able to establish the large Chen Family, and train many loyal followers and shadow guards, he is naturally skilled at winning people’s hearts and recruiting soldiers and horses.

He used to feel that, upon arriving in the Cultivation World, everything started from scratch, and there was no one around him who he could send to run errands for him.

Now, if he can recruit a desperate cultivator who has some skills like Jiang Qiang, it’s definitely a good thing.

In the future, many things can be handed over to Jiang Qiang, and he doesn’t have to do everything himself, and spend time away from cultivation.

Jiang Qiang hesitated for a while before gratefully accepting the spirit stones.

Suddenly, the tension of this period seemed to relax, filling him with hope for the future again.

In fact, running to the Brocade Mill two thousand miles away might not necessarily result in a better life for him.

He didn’t know anyone there, and the situation may be even worse.

Not to mention, covering a distance of two thousand miles flying on a magic artifact would take five or six days and nights in the wilderness.

The demonic beasts in the wilderness would run wild at night, and any carelessness might cost him his life.

Being able to stay near the gathering place is naturally the best.

With the strength of Boss Chen, as long as Qian Yuan does not take action personally, only two or three people from Hutong Street might be a little troublesome, but those two or three people may not necessarily hunt him down.

…

Subsequently, Chen Dengming personally escorted Jiang Qiang to another secluded residence not far from the gathering place.

Here, with the illusion array set up by Jiang Qiang, there is a certain guarantee of safety.

On the way, he also basically figured out why Jiang Qiang had rebelled against Qian Yuan, ensuring that this person was not a spy or a double agent.

Originally, after Jiang Qiang obtained two array plates and array maps in the mountains, he hid all the items, but was discovered by people from Hutong Street in the same woods.

Qian Yuan asked Jiang Qiang to hand over the array map and array plate.

Jiang Qiang only took out one array plate and array flag, but refused to give up the array map.

As a result, a conflict occurred and Jiang Qiang’s Dao partner was tragically killed in the fighting.

Jiang Qiang escaped in the chaos, grieved and furious, and completely broke with Qian Yuan from then on.

After listening, Chen Dengming sighed.

Qian Yuan’s way of enslaving people was too brutal.

Although Jiang Qiang was an array master he had cultivated himself, he did not give him the most basic respect, and even oppressed him at every turn, resulting in such a serious outcome.

Now, the array master he had worked so hard to cultivate was his man.

After settling down Jiang Qiang, and agreeing on how and when to contact each other in the future, Chen Dengming left directly and returned to the gathering place.

…

Now that he has a Golden Silkworm Gu and Blood Centipede Gu as his trump cards, plus other Gu poisons, as well as instant Big Fireball Skills and Golden Spear Skills, and his cultivation is about to break through to Qi Cultivation Third Layer, he felt that he had initially stabilized his footing in the gathering place.

At least, as long as he doesn’t confront head-on with the leaders of forces like Xu Ning and Qian Yuan, his personal safety is still greatly guaranteed, and he is no longer a character who can be easily manipulated by others.

“My cooperation with the Luo Family has been successful…Luo Bing even made a three-year promise with me.

Although outsiders don’t know about this, it is convenient to use it to my advantage…My business cooperation with Xu Ning is, at the moment, ongoing.”

As Chen Dengming used his movement technique to progress quickly, he was quietly making plans.

He wasn’t that interested in imitating Xu Ning and others by building up his power in the gathering place, instead, he preferred to seize theirs directly.

If he can expend a small amount of energy to earn more spirit stones, and garner a few people to run errands for him in the future, minimizing the energy he expends on miscellaneous things, he is more than willing.

However, everyone has the thought of wanting to gain big profits with little effort, it depends on how he manages it in the future.

…

Soon, Chen Dengming arrived at the worn-out looking gathering place.

The faint spiritual might emanating from his body made the ordinary people immediately avoid the road and pay their respects.

Chen Dengming pulled down his bamboo hat slightly and went directly to Boss Hu’s magic artifacts shop in the east of the city.

After being away for a few months, naturally, the first thing he needed to do upon his return was to find out about the recent situation of the gathering place.

As a merchant and also a member of the neutral forces, Boss Hu was naturally the ideal person to talk to.

Moreover, he had once promised that if he made money, he would definitely order a suitable magic artifact saber from her shop.

Now was the time to fulfill that promise…

…

…