CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 365: GATHERING AT WO HU TEMPLE

Wo Hu Temple Market was bustling with noise and excitement.

As night fell, the market began to open for business. The Bear Demon pushed open the hotel window and saw the bustling crowd, causing his brow to furrow involuntarily.

Curious ones have long counted that there are only twenty-three Immortal Peaches in total, while the cultivators gathered at Wo Hu Mountain are at least thirty to fifty thousand in number. Though realms vary in height and as of yet, no sightings of a super Great Demon, standing out among so many cultivators to obtain an Immortal Peach is like climbing to heaven!

Originally, after a moment of hesitation yesterday, he wanted to give up and head home. Unexpectedly, new rumors spread in the community saying that the barrier was arranged by the Immortals personally, making it impossible to break with force.

The Immortals have said that the Immortal Peach is given to those fated to receive it, and without fate, even cultivating to the Tribulation Crossing Realm would be of no avail.

This gave him renewed hope—since he was here, he might as well try his luck in front of the barrier. What if he had the fortune to be the one chosen for an Immortal Peach?

However, the Bear Demon was conflicted again, surely there would be unwilling cultivators secretly waiting to kill the one who obtained the Immortal Peach and steal the treasure.

Nevertheless, in less than half a day, a new rumor updated that when the time comes, all cultivators can reach their hands into the barrier, and if chosen by the Immortal Peach, it will drop into their hands automatically. They can store it in the storage bag with a single thought, making it impossible for others to detect.

There’s also a rumor that the last time the Immortal Peaches matured, there were a total of twenty-six, but because there were too few cultivators knowing about it, not all could be given away, and they fell to the ground and turned into ashes regrettably. Thus, three fewer fruits were formed this time.

If this continues, the Immortal Peaches will gradually produce fewer and fewer until they no longer bear fruit.

Therefore, this time the news of the Immortal Peaches’ maturity spread quickly, ensuring that there were enough people to derive benefits so that next time the number of Immortal Peaches could be ensured.

"Wo Hu Temple isn’t such a big place; even if everyone tries one by one, there would be an order, and those at the back have no hope." The Bear Demon sighed again, adjusted his state after a meal and prepared to station at Wo Hu Mountain.

In any case, it’s within these couple of days, and he doesn’t want to get up early for nothing.

"Tweet!"

As the Bear Demon arrived at the crowded Wo Hu Mountain, he heard a crane’s cry.

Looking up, he saw dozens of youths sitting cross-legged on a gigantic flying mount, the team leader looking impressive and evidently of strong stature.

"That’s the Elder of Broken Star Sect leading the younger generation for training. Major Sects have it really good, taking over the mountain top directly and no one dares to say anything."

Beside him, there was an old lady, pursing her lips while grumbling, her envious tone becoming more resentful, "And Medicine King Valley’s group, arriving late and still occupying good spots. Why don’t they focus on alchemy to increase lifespan instead? They insist on competing for Immortal Peaches, hardly enough even before the Major Sects divvy them up."

Despite saying so, she showed no signs of giving up.

The Bear Demon shaded his eyes with his hands and looked over, finding that near-lake locations at Wo Hu Mountain were occupied by sects and families he’d heard of and those he hadn’t, all asserting their claim, evident from their uniform attire and ornate swords hinting at formidable combat power.

Further outward...

"Hey? That young cultivator!" His eyes quickly locked onto the vaguely familiar figure.

At that moment, the young man was surrounded by two beautiful girls, a graceful young gentleman, a tall and burly man, as well as a young servant whose realm wasn’t high.

Given the Bear Demon’s strength, aside from the strong man and young servant, he couldn’t discern the realms of anyone, including that young man. Moreover, judging by their attire, they were clearly either wealthy or noble, tempting him to approach.

Yet he hesitated, the group, although not occupying a forward position, did not seem to be pressed by the nearby cultivators, hinting at their considerable strength. Otherwise, no one would be so accommodating as to offer them space.

Is it appropriate to force a connection based on single acquaintance?

"Whoosh~"

As the Bear Demon was pondering, suddenly a chilling ghostly aura pervaded the air, prompting him and other cultivators to look over.

What they saw was a bright red bridal sedan chair carried by sinister ghostly aura, seemingly light yet swiftly flying over. The festive red flowers and characters, complemented by ghostly flames nearby, appeared uncannily eerie, making one’s scalp tingle.

Everyone knew the Ghost Bride was one of the most resentful among ghost types. Even among ghost cultivators of the same realm, the Ghost Bride often has the upper hand in strength.

"How unlucky, why are ghost cultivators getting involved?" The Bear Demon pursed his lips, showing a look of disdain, casually sweeping away the white paper money carried by the wild wind.

Following the bridal sedan were two orderly rows of corpse ghosts.

They all wore the same bright red wedding attire, their pale, iron-blue faces expressionless, movements unified yet stiff, floating straight here with ghost flames hovering around.

"Bang!"

The bridal sedan happened to land beside Jiang Yuan, followed closely by the twenty corpse ghosts. Many nearby loose cultivators backed away, unable to afford confrontation, giving way to them.

"Mr. Jiang, I arrived late." The sedan curtains lifted autonomously, revealing Tang Qin’s beautiful smiling face, yet overshadowed by her luxurious red bridal attire and green ghost flames that added an intense layer of eeriness to her allure.

The counterpart rose to offer greetings, Jiang Yuan quickly returned the courtesy, then introduced Yun Mo and Yun Shu to her.

Hu Zhile also stepped forward for greetings, the formalities ending the encounter.

"Unexpectedly, so many gathered, for just a few Immortal Peaches, if contention arises..." Tang Qin was determined to obtain the Immortal Peach, she glanced at the sea of people, her pretty eyebrows furrowed as she asked, "Mr. Jiang, should we move closer? With the day drawing near, being far behind puts us at a disadvantage in a skirmish."

Jiang Yuan’s expression was serious, he waved his hand, questioning, "Miss Tang, does this scene strike you as normal?"

Tang Qin paused slightly, "You mean, an event that was supposed to be secretive attracted so many cultivators, something seems amiss?

Yet, what my people found out is the last time, too few people to divide the Immortal Pear evenly, leading to fewer results this time. Anyway, the barrier set by the Immortals will automatically select the chosen ones. To ensure quantity, deliberately spreading the news seems well-reasoned."

"Miss Tang is well-informed, heard even the latest rumors in the market." Jiang Yuan stared at the semicircular barrier already obscuring view of peach trees, raising questions, "We all know these Immortal Peaches are ownerless, flowering every four hundred years, bearing fruit every four hundred years, maturing every four hundred years, calculating this means the last maturity was twelve hundred years ago.

Can anyone live for over a thousand years, except probably some ancient monster?

With so many rules, so much information, who’s leaking it? Especially with gaps, reducing the barrier yesterday, filling doubts with new information immediately later, which big shot is this free?"

Bai Yunqi, firmly trusting his venerable family, crossed his arms over his chest and added, "Besides, even if there were not enough cultivators last time for the Immortal Peaches, the descendants, disciples, and grand disciples of one living thousands of years must be plentiful. Pulling in one’s kin to try for it, keeping wealth within the family wouldn’t be bad?

Yet it’s publicized widely even into the Netherworld, I too think the venerable family’s suspicion is reasonable, this matter certainly not simple."