Chapter 834: Snatch! Frantically Snatching!
“It is just a Rank 3 Spirit Vein. It is not worth forming enmity with this person. Don’t forget our purpose in coming here. It is up to the three of us to solve the crisis of the Merfolk Race.”
After the girl’s reminder, Mu Yun’s expression slowly turned grave.
Princess Yao Yan sent another glance in the direction Xiao Chen had taken. Then she said, “Let’s go. Let’s look for your big brother first before going to the Treasury Hall. We have to obtain the Extreme Thunder Sword.”
——
Hehe! What dense Spiritual Energy! With this, the Lunar Cassia Tree will mature ten years faster. Xiao Chen, keep doing your best and find more Spirit Veins. Peak Spirit Veins will be even better, Ao Jiao said excitedly.
Inside the Immortal Spirit Ring, Ao Jiao manipulated the formation within it, inlaying the Spirit Vein’s origin into it.
Hearing that this could only save him ten years, Xiao Chen immediately felt disappointed. He said, “A Rank 3 Spirit Vein can actually save me only ten years? The Lunar Cassia Tree takes five hundred years to mature. How many Spirit Veins does it need exactly?”
Ao Jiao curled her lip and retorted, Just be satisfied. Your Immortal Spirit Ring is already of a high grade. If it were another Martial Emperor’s Immortal Spirit Ring, the formations would not be intact. You would already be very fortunate if it could save you five years.
However, if you can obtain a Peak Spirit Vein, you can save one hundred years. If it is a Holy Spirit Vein, it can make the Lunar Cassia Tree mature right away. The Dragon Mark Fruit that you need can reach a thousand years in age immediately.
To think Ao Jiao could even say this! Peak Spirit Veins could generate Superior Grade Spirit Stones. Even in Rank 9 Sects, they were limited, what more Holy Spirit Veins. The Supreme Sky Sect apparently had only two of those.
Xiao Chen smiled bitterly and looked around, continuing his search for Spirit Veins.
When it came to finding Departed Spirit Flowers, Xiao Chen was not as good as the Ghost Race and Corpse Race. Every skill had professionals. He simply had no way to compete with the professionals.
So Xiao Chen just followed a group of Ghost Race cultivators searching for Departed Spirit Flowers on the grassy plains.
As the Ghost Race cultivated the power of death, they would not care about the Spirit Vein’s origins. By following behind them, he could pick up the leftovers. Naturally, he would not interfere in the conflict between the Corpse Race and the Ghost Race.
The battles between the two races were an eye-opener for Xiao Chen. One side controlled Demonic Corpses, which exuded black smoke, while the other side summoned Yin Soldiers, which gave off a cold wind. The large-scale battles were magnificent.
By following this group of Ghost Race cultivators, he gained a lot. The speed of finding Spirit Veins was so fast that it made him excited. In just a day, he collected another five Rank 3 Spirit Veins.
This continued until this group of Ghost Race cultivators met up with another group. When Xiao Chen saw the Eight Ghost Palanquin, he sighed, knowing that this easy and relaxed situation was coming to an end.
“Young Master Xiao, please wait.”
A girl walked out of the palanquin and stopped Xiao Chen.
The Ghost Race’s younger generation had gathered together under Qing Cheng’s lead and now assembled the other Ghost Race cultivators. Naturally, Xiao Chen could not follow behind them to take advantage of the situation.
His earlier actions already incurred the dissatisfaction of those Ghost Race cultivators. However, they could not do anything to him, so they pretended not to notice.
When Xiao Chen heard Qing Cheng’s voice, he quickly turned around but did not blindly approach her. With five demonic geniuses of the Ghost Race and hundreds of Ghost Race Inferior Grade Martial Sages around, he would not endanger himself.
“Young Master Xiao is really cautious. Will you come closer? I have something I want to discuss with you,” Qing Cheng said as she revealed a faint smile. She had a fair complexion and a face as calm as still water as she looked at Xiao Chen from two kilometers away.
Xiao Chen contemplated for a while before looking around. Then, suddenly, electric light burst out from under his feet, and he instantly covered the distance of two kilometers.
Green flames appeared in the eyes of the Ghost Race cultivators that he had been tailing earlier. They became restless, and a chill wind started blowing.
When Xiao Chen saw this, he smiled coldly to himself. This group of Ghost Race cultivators apparently had a strong opinion about him. However, he had not done anything but observe their fights with the Corpse Race and pick up the Spirit Vein that they did not need.
“What’s the matter? Just say it.” Xiao Chen had already made some guesses in his heart. If he was right, then perhaps he would still be able to gain something.
Qing Cheng was rather direct. She said, “If you want to collect Spirit Veins, we can help you. However, you have to agree to help us deal with the Corpse Race. After all, if you search on your own, you will not be as effective.”
Xiao Chen’s lips curled up as he replied, “Sorry. That is not sufficient for me to make a move to offend the Corpse Race.”
His answer was as Qing Cheng expected; she had known that her offer would not be enough to move him. She continued, “What if I say we can find you a Peak Spirit Vein’s origin? Will you still reject me?”
A Peak Spirit Vein could produce large amounts of Superior Grade Spirit Stones. Comparisons of sect accumulations were normally made using the number of Peak Spirit Veins.
Sects frequently needed to use Superior Grade Spirit Stones to reward their disciples. Without enough resources, they would not be able to attract new disciples.
Although Peak Spirit Veins were valuable, their importance could not be calculated purely from their monetary value. To Xiao Chen, if he could find a Peak Spirit Vein, he might be able to make the Lunar Cassia Tree and Dragon Mark Fruit mature sooner.
However, when Xiao Chen heard Qing Cheng’s words, his first reaction was not excitement. Instead, he considered the gains and losses.
Spirit Veins were useless for the cultivation of the Corpse Race and Ghost Race. However, it still had monetary value. They could use it to exchange for other treasures and would not simply give it to Xiao Chen for nothing.
If he guessed correctly, the enemies of the Ghost Race, the Corpse Race, also knew the location of the Peak Spirit Vein. It was possible that the other side sought help as well.
Qing Cheng also knew that Xiao Chen had the Death Throne. Working together with them posed some risk for him. It would be very normal for them to want to kill him after he ceased to be useful.
In the time it took for a spark to fly, Xiao Chen simulated the possible outcomes in his mind. After a moment, he said decisively, “Alright, I agree. I hope that you keep your promise after the matter is done.”
A look of joy flashed in the eyes of the four cultivators behind Qing Cheng.
A group of more than a hundred people started traveling quickly across the vast grassland. As they rushed around, Qing Cheng explained the details of the matter to Xiao Chen.
The last time the Sage Mark Monument opened, in this same grassland, the Ghost Race and Corpse Race cultivators discovered three Departed Spirit Flowers bearing fruit.
It went without saying that the Departed Spirit Fruit of the Departed Spirit Flower contained much stronger powers of death.
Unfortunately, these Departed Spirit Fruits were still short of maturity. Furthermore, a Black Flame Sovereign Snake guarded them. The two races had no choice but to give up on them.
Now that ten years had passed, those three Departed Spirit Fruits should have matured already.
For Departed Spirit Flowers to bear Departed Spirit Fruits, three flowers at that, the Spirit Vein hidden beneath them would definitely be of high rank.
“Our strength is about equivalent to that of the Corpse Race. However, we heard that they are working with the Iron Hand Sovereign’s descendant, Kui Dou. At that time, we will have to rely on Young Master Xiao to deal with Kui Dou,” Qing Cheng said gently, giving off a sense of extreme frailty.
Kui Dou advanced to Martial Sage through body tempering. Xiao Chen estimated that Kui Dou’s physical body was now a Rank 3 Sage Body, more powerful than Xiao Chen’s peak Rank 2 Sage Body.
Cultivating the physical body was very difficult. Those that succeeded in advancing to Martial Sage this way needed more than just talent. Their tenacity would be extremely scary.
Xiao Chen knew much more about the pain of tempering the physical body than ordinary people.
As Qing Cheng and Xiao Chen spoke, a small group that scouted ahead to search for ordinary Departed Spirit Flowers sent out an alert; they must have found something.
The Departed Spirit Fruits were far away. Naturally, the Ghost Race cultivators would not give up on the Departed Spirit Flowers they found along the way. They sent out many small teams to go and search. In the process, Xiao Chen had obtained another four Rank 3 Spirit Vein’s origins.
Electric light burst out under Xiao Chen’s feet as he left behind Qing Cheng, who was still speaking. He stood on a lightning dragon and arrived at the place in a few breaths.
Qing Cheng could not help being dumbfounded. Can you behave in a less unsightly manner? After all, you are still someone who can compete with Di Wuque. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at by others for rushing like that?
“If you add in this Spirit Vein’s origin, this fellow following us has collected ten Rank 3 Spirit Veins already. After exchanging them for Astral Coins, they would be a large sum of money.”
The person who spoke was called Ji Shizhan, one of the Ghost Race geniuses who ranked alongside Qing Cheng. He was very strong, but Qing Cheng had a higher status than he did. Hence, he was not as famous.
“That’s right. Ten Spirit Vein’s origins can be exchanged for a peak Sage Grade Secret Treasure. To think that this fellow is not ashamed at all!” the other Ghost Race girl, Bai Su, said, pouting and feeling extremely upset.
Qing Cheng’s eyes were as calm as still water. She said, “There are not many people who can deal with Kui Dou. He is one of them. Just let him do as he pleases first. We can talk about this further after we obtain the Departed Spirit Fruits.”
When Xiao Chen rushed over, the Ghost Race cultivators had already called out Yin Soldiers and were fighting with a group of Corpse Race cultivators. A cold wind blew, and the immaterial Yin Soldiers looked very frightening.
Yin Soldiers were undying puppets that the Ghost Race refined from the souls of the dead using special methods. They were similar to the Corpse Race’s Demonic Corpses. Both were infamous in the Kunlun Realm.
When the Ghost Race cultivators and Corpse Race cultivators saw Xiao Chen arrive, their expressions immediately turned unsightly.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly, and his figure flashed forward to the Departed Spirit Flower. After picking the flower, he punched the ground.
“Boom!”
The force traveled down to the Spirit Vein’s origin hidden underground. Then the Spirit Vein’s origin struggled out of its restraints, and a tricolored light flared. The sky filled with auspicious signs that slowly drifted down.
Xiao Chen looked up and quickly fixed his gaze on the dazzling Spirit Vein’s origin. He stretched his hand out and exerted a suction to pull it over.
After stuffing the Spirit Vein’s origin into the Universe Ring, he stood on a flickering electric light and vanished.
The Ghost Race cultivators did not find this strange. They immediately abandoned the Corpse Race cultivators and dispersed, continuing to search for Departed Spirit Flowers along the wayside.
Xiao Chen returned to the main group and handed the Departed Spirit Flower to Qing Cheng. He said apologetically with a smile, “Where were we earlier? Please continue.”
Ji Shizhan could not be bothered to ridicule him. They did not even want to watch this happen. To avoid getting frustrated over this, they immediately soared into the air, leaving only Qing Cheng to chat with Xiao Chen.
“We spoke about having you deal with Kui Dou. At the very least, you need to help us delay him,” Qing Cheng replied patiently.
Xiao Chen smiled. “Very well, I—”
Before Xiao Chen finished speaking, another alert came from a different direction. One more team had found a Departed Spirit Flower and entered into a conflict with the Corpse Race.
