Chapter 944: Mine, All Mine
“Let’s go. I want to see who s.n.a.t.c.hed my Peak Spirit Veins.”
Xiao Chen revealed a smile and took the lead in leaving.
As long as it was not Di Wuque who obtained the Beautiful Mountain and River Painting, it would be fine. Now that the Muddy Sky Gate possessed it, Xiao Chen could study it, using his connections to Qi Wuxue.
He was very interested in the s.p.a.ce Dao contained in the Beautiful Mountain and River Painting. However, the most important thing now was the one hundred Peak Spirit Veins.
Most of the hundred dragons formed by the Peak Spirit Veins in the Heavenly Ruin Wasteland were already subdued. However, the compet.i.tion for them did not diminish. Not many people left.
Those cultivators who obtained Peak Spirit Veins were very confident and wanted to collect a few more. The hearts of men were never satisfied.
Those that did not obtain a Peak Spirit Vein were even more anxious, obsessed with thoughts of acquiring one.
The Immortal Equipment had nothing to do with these people; they did not have the ability to fight for it. However, quasi-Emperors did not care for Peak Spirit Veins. Furthermore, with so many Peak Spirit Veins, these people had to try competing for them.
“Bang!” The ground burst open. Xiao Chen and his companions appeared on a flatland.
“We finally came out. I wonder if Di Wuque and Tian Youxi have left yet.” At this moment, not only was Ye Chen completely recovered back to his peak state, but after relying on the energies of Ma.s.sacre, Death, and Ruin in the Cycle Banner, his strength had also soared.
Now, Ye Chen felt very confident. He hated that he could not have a big battle with Di Wuque right at this moment to decide who was stronger once and for all.
An unconstrained feeling appeared in Xiao Chen’s heart. He said, “Old Jiu, lead the way. This time, we will charge in openly.”
Lord Jiu sniffed a couple of times and raised his head in laughter. He said, “Coincidentally, there are two targets about one hundred and fifty kilometers to the north. I recall that they subdued a Peak Spirit Vein earlier.”
“Let’s go!”
Without saying anything else, the three immediately headed for the north. Along the way, Lord Jiu was very excited. He had wanted to make a move long ago. Unfortunately, he was not strong enough. He could only watch.
With Lord Jiu leading the way, the targets did not have any chance of escaping. After one hour, the targets appeared before the three.
However, they only saw two corpses still wearing spatial rings. They did not find any Peak Spirit Vein.
Ye Chen frowned slightly and said, “Who did this? He managed to kill two grandmaster-level Martial Sages so fast. He can’t have taken much time; we were chasing them.”
Xiao Chen bent down and checked for the cause of death. There were no marks on the surface except a palm imprint on both their chests. Their ribs were not shattered, but all their internal organs were; hence their instant death.
“It was a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage,” Xiao Chen said with a grave expression.
Among grandmaster-level Martial Sages, there were both strong and weak. Most grandmaster-level Martial Sages just had higher and deeper cultivations than Superior Grade Martial Sages, their air of a grandmaster just crossing the threshold.
As for the Demonic Brilliant Two Elders, over time—one or two centuries—they had gained unique understandings of their own Daos as they acc.u.mulated experience in the martial way.
The cultivations of such people were horrifyingly deep and vast. A casual move from them could put enormous pressure on people. They would be able to merge the Martial Techniques they learned and alter them to suit themselves.
Another level up would be the level of the Supreme Sky Sect’s Han Qinghe. Not only was his cultivation deep and vast, but he also thoroughly grasped the air of a grandmaster.
Simply by raising his hand, such a grandmaster-level Martial Sage could bring out one hundred and twenty percent of any Martial Technique he learned. Cultivators at that stage were known as great grandmaster-level Martial Sages.
These people could establish their own sects and leave behind their own inheritances. They would not fall for a thousand years. If they ran into a fortuitous encounter, they would be able to ascend to heaven in one go, becoming quasi-Emperors.
The person who killed the two before the group was at the great grandmaster level.
Ye Chen a.n.a.lyzed, “Normally speaking, the great grandmaster-level Martial Sages of the various sects have things that they need to do. Peak Spirit Veins are useless to them. They could access the sect’s Holy Spirit Vein at any time, so the one who did this is likely to be a loose cultivator.”
Lord Jiu’s lips twitched as he asked, “Which old fellow is so shameless? For the sake of one or two Peak Spirit Veins, he made such a move. Is he not afraid of damaging his reputation?”
Great grandmaster-level Martial Sages were people who were only one step away from ascending to heaven. Such deeds would be detrimental to one’s reputation when spread.
Xiao Chen stood up and said, “One or two Peak Spirit Veins would not be worth him making a move. Like us, he is probably targeting all one hundred Peak Spirit Veins.”
“That is impossible. Aside from this Lord Jiu, no one can remember who obtained the Spirit Veins and their auras,” Lord Liu argued, unconvinced. “Even a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage would not be able to do this.”
“Never mind, just continue leading the way. Let’s not care about this first. However, we need to make preparations to clash with a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage.”
As the group continued forward, Lord Jiu sniffed the air and revealed a smile; he found another target.
However, the group was again too late. All they saw was a corpse. They did not manage to obtain anything.
“d.a.m.n! We are too late again.”
Even after locking on to a third target, the result was the same. Someone had s.n.a.t.c.hed the Peak Spirit Vein before they did.
The corpses on the ground had all been killed in one blow. At this moment, it was clear that the great grandmaster-level Martial Sage had the same target as them.
Xiao Chen’s expression turned cold. After thinking for a while, he unfurled his Freedom Wings. His body became as light as the wind. Crystalline pure-white feathers fell around him.
“Old Jiu, point out the direction. Even if it is a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage, I will fight it out with him today.”
Xiao Chen looked in the direction where Lord Jiu pointed in. Various scenes appeared before his eyes before coming to a stop.
Then, he took a step, bringing Lord Jiu and Ye Chen fifty kilometers forward with him. The folded s.p.a.ce behind the three formed an interesting scene.
This time, they were not too late. Five targets stood before them, only one of which had reached grandmaster-level Martial Sage.
Without needing Xiao Chen to make a move, the considerably strengthened Ye Chen used his killing saber Dao to dispatch the grandmaster-level Martial Sage and obtained the Peak Spirit Vein.
Lord Jiu smiled happily as he familiarly looted the spatial rings. Ye Chen handed the Peak Spirit Vein to Xiao Chen for safekeeping.
After that, Xiao Chen spread his wings again, and the three quickly left this place.
After a while, an old man descended on the same location. He wore long azure robes. As he moved, he looked very graceful, exuding an imposing aura that resembled nature itself.
If Lord Jiu were here, he would recognize this person. This azure-robed old man was Zhuang Zhenghe, the tenth rank in the Primal Chaos Domain’s Evil Cultivator Ranking. He had practiced his Ancient Buddhist Palm Technique to the acme of perfection, reaching an incredible level.
As Zhuang Zhenghe looked at the corpses on the ground, he frowned slightly. However, he did not mind this. The Heavenly Ruin Wasteland was essentially a chaotic place. People killing each other for treasure happened frequently.
The most important thing was that even if the Peak Spirit Vein were taken away, it would not matter. The Spirit Vein would end up in his hands sooner or later.
Zhuang Zhenghe possessed a damaged Secret Treasure called an Armillary Sphere. As long as a Spirit Vein left the ground, he could detect it from up to two hundred and fifty kilometers away.
Normally, this was a lousy Secret Treasure. However, it was now very useful in the Heavenly Ruin Wasteland.
The instant the one hundred Peak Spirit Veins flew out, he aspired to collect all one hundred of these Peak Spirit Veins.
“This time, heaven is helping me. After collecting the one hundred Peak Spirit Veins, I will have the resources necessary to go to the Heavenly Starry Ocean and establish my own sect. I will gain great Luck and advance to Martial Emperor!”
However, after this, the occasions of his targets being s.n.a.t.c.hed away happened more frequently. Zhuang Zhenghe’s face sank as he took out the Armillary Sphere and sent in his surging Law Energy.
A large portion of the Heavenly Ruin Wasteland lay within the range of the Armillary Sphere’s detection. Spots of lights appeared on the Armillary Sphere, each one of them representing a Peak Spirit Vein.
Zhuang Zhenghe looked around and discovered ten-odd spots of light densely packed together in the Armillary Sphere. Soon, he understood what was happening.
“Haha! So, someone else has the same idea as me. Well, with you helping, I can save a lot of time.”
He laughed as he put the Armillary Sphere away.
The battle of the quasi-Emperors had opened spatial tears all over the entire Heavenly Ruin Wasteland, activating several hidden restrictions.
This development reduced Zhuang Zhenghe’s efficiency. Naturally, he was delighted at the appearance of a helper.
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On the other side, Xiao Chen spread his Freedom Wings and used So Close Yet Worlds Apart continuously. Now, his efficiency increased significantly, and he stopped encountering situations where he got preempted.
Two days pa.s.sed while Xiao Chen collected twenty Peak Spirit Veins. Such a harvest made Ye Chen ashamed of himself. His own deeds in the Heavenly Starry Ocean were just small accomplishments before this, nothing to boast about.
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On the fourth day, the three finally met with a strong enemy.
After Xiao Chen ambushed the Demonic Brilliant Two Elders and the Black Mountain Four Bandits in the heavenly palace, the two groups had surprisingly joined forces. During this period, they had also collected many Peak Spirit Veins.
“Xiao Chen, you are getting bolder. To think you actually dare to appear before us!” The hemp-robed old man stared at the Freedom Wings with fervor after Xiao Chen leaped through the folded s.p.a.ce and appeared before them.
The leader of the Black Mountain Four Bandits, Meng Bai, held up his staff and said sinisterly, “We are about to leave this Heavenly Ruin Wasteland. Unexpectedly, a fat lamb came to us on its own accord. White Robed King Xiao Chen, do you know how valuable your head is now? It would tempt even great grandmaster-level Martial Sages.”
Smiling faintly, Xiao Chen retorted, “The few of you don’t have to worry for this Xiao. Just think about how to keep your own head first!”
A strong wind blew, carrying the sounds of killing.
Ye Chen’s black hair and eyes turned scarlet. He smiled and said, “Xiao Chen, let’s take this as that battle we never finished. Let’s see who can end theirs first.” Taking a step forward, he charged towards the Black Mountain Four Bandits.
Compared to the Demonic Brilliant Two Elders, the Black Mountain Four Bandits were slightly weaker. Even so, they were not weaker by much. Setting up such a compet.i.tion was rather fair.
Xiao Chen smiled and charged at the Demonic Brilliant Two Elders. When he thought about it, he realized this would be his third time fighting them.
In the first time, fighting just the middle-aged man had already been a struggle. In the end, Xiao Chen had to use one of his trump cards, an Immortal Art Magic Skill, to escape. He had had no chance of victory at all.
In the second time, he had fought them in the heavenly palace’s restriction. Using the Cycle Banner, he had a brief clash with the two.
In that battle, Xiao Chen used external aid to suppress the Demonic Brilliant Two Elders to the point they could not get up. That had not been a real fight.
The hemp-robed old man summoned out his flaming red fan. Fiery clouds immediately spread unbroken overhead for five kilometers around—a dreadful sight to behold. Then he demanded coldly, “Xiao Chen, hand over the Primal Essence Nature Pill, and the two of us can spare your life, letting you leave the Heavenly Ruin Wasteland.”
The Primal Essence Nature Pill was a King Grade Medicinal Pill that Mister Qin had spent a lot of effort to refine, failing many times before he finally succeeded.