Former Interstellar Mercenary In Urban Cultivation World
Chapter 966: The Battle for Tokens Begins

Chapter 966: The Battle for Tokens Begins

"Is your life more important, or the soul pearls?" Temujin Lei shot back, continuing to fight while pulling back.

Seonho Ming gritted his teeth. He had no choice but to follow him as they retreated.

After they escaped, the two of them sheathed their weapons and ran. Not long after, the purple spirit arrived at their palace, only to find that the two humans had already fled. It immediately let out a furious roar.

"What’s going on with these spirits? Why are they suddenly acting like they’ve lost their minds?" Seonho Ming still felt uneasy hearing the roar.

"The situation has changed. Things are going to get more dangerous from here on," Temujin Lei said with a serious face, his tone calm.

"What do you mean the situation has changed?" Seonho Ming didn’t understand.

"I heard the elders and our sect leader talk about it. The spirits in the Immortal Palace are after the token we carry, which they call ’inscribed tokens.’" Temujin Lei explained.

Upon hearing this, Seonho Ming felt uncomfortable, wondering why the elders and sect leader hadn’t told him about it before.

"Why do they want our token?"

"It seems that something deep within the Immortal Palace is attracting them. Obtaining the inscribed tokens gives them a sort of pass. Don’t forget, the tokens come from the Path of All Immortals, so it makes sense that they are connected to the Immortal Palace," Temujin Lei said, as the chief disciple, he was clearly the most informed.

"Throw a black token out there," in another part of the Immortal Palace, facing the attack of over a hundred spirits, Dayeon Xinyue said calmly.

Without hesitation, a female disciple took out the black token from her storage and threw it without a second thought.

Immediately, over twenty spirits that had been attacking them shifted their focus and began chasing after the black token.

"It really works!" The female disciples were thrilled.

"Indeed, we were right. These spirits are after more than just our flesh and blood. Now, they’re also after our token. If we don’t give them what they want, they’ll keep hunting us down."

Dayeon Xinyue decisively ordered, "We need to retreat from here, regroup with others, and come up with a longer-term plan."

Everyone followed her orders without hesitation and began to retreat.

Similar events were happening throughout the entire Immortal Palace. Those who were afraid of the spirits’ fierce attacks no longer dared to advance, while others, driven by greed, were surrounded by spirits and unable to escape.

A massive swarm of wandering spirits poured out, targeting the inscribed tokens carried by human cultivators.

The spirits were relentless and would not negotiate with the cultivators; they simply sensed any sign of life and attacked without mercy.

At first, some people didn’t realize these spirits were after their tokens. They died without knowing that perhaps leaving the token behind could have saved them.

As more people fell, everyone gradually understood the spirits’ true objective. For some, survival became more important than holding onto the tokens, which had already served their purpose since they were now inside the Path of All Immortals.

The lower-level spirits collected the tokens and presented them to their superiors.

In one palace, a purple spirit sat on a throne. Below it, a bronze-colored spirit respectfully handed over the tokens it had seized.

The purple spirit glanced at the tokens, then suddenly swept them all off with a wave of its hand.

The subordinate immediately dropped to its knees, making guttural sounds—a form of communication among the spirits.

"Why are they all black tokens? I want silver tokens, crystal tokens, and even gold tokens—do you understand?" the purple spirit roared.

Its voice rippled in sound waves, causing the subordinate’s body to tremble. The subordinate quickly prostrated itself on the ground.

"Master, please calm down. When my forces attacked the humans, they only threw out black tokens," the subordinate explained.

"Foolish!" The purple spirit shouted angrily. "Black tokens are the least valuable to humans. To escape, they’ll naturally discard them. The higher-level tokens are still on them!"

The subordinate shuddered. "I will immediately send more to search again!"

"Get out! If you return with only black tokens next time, you won’t return at all," the purple spirit threatened, its voice filled with killing intent.

The subordinate scrambled out of the room, desperate not to become its master’s next meal.

Similar scenes were unfolding in various palaces.

But one location was different.

In an even larger palace, a crimson spirit sat upon its throne, its expression inscrutable as it looked down at the subordinates who had come to report to it.

The crimson spirit’s rank surpassed the purple spirit, making the latter one of its direct subordinates.

"Why have only the three of you come to see me? Where are the others?" In the depths of the crimson spirit’s red pupils, a fury was building.

The three subordinates exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. "We don’t know, Master."

"How dare they! Are they trying to betray me?" The crimson spirit roared in anger, causing the throne beneath it to shake violently before it settled back to its original state.

The entire Immortal Palace was crafted from a special material, especially these thrones, which were exceedingly difficult to damage.

The three subordinates didn’t know how to respond. Each of them was responsible for a specific area, and they rarely interacted with each other unless it involved competition over territory, achievements, or resources. They had no idea what the absent ones might be up to.

"My king, Quenya has always been suspicious. The energy he turns in has been diminishing—he’s likely been absorbing it for himself," a purple spirit on the left stepped forward, whispering.

The other two spirits glanced at him, knowing this was a rare chance to undermine Quenya, a frequent rival.

"To think of replacing me as king—you’ll need more than ambition!" The crimson spirit released an intense pressure. The three purple spirits trembled slightly; they understood well the strength of their king.