Chapter 142: Fen Tian Sha – You Clearly Absorbed the Sha Qi

Chapter 142: Fen Tian Sha – You Clearly Absorbed the Sha Qi

After leaving Elder Chen’s quarters, Xiao Chen made a detour to the Merit Hall.

“Uncle Xiao, that… you’re still short ten contribution points,” the attendant said.

“Ah, I’ll cover the difference with spirit stones then.”

Xiao Chen handed over twenty spirit stones to settle the debt, successfully exchanging them for the Nahuuo Talisman.

He casually flipped through the exchange ledger, which listed an eclectic array of items as always.

Back when he first saw this ledger, he’d been envious of the treasures it contained. But now, most of them seemed mundane. Even rare second-tier spiritual elixirs, superior-grade magic artifacts, mystic-tier techniques, or earth-tier cultivation methods—coveted by foundation-building cultivators and sect disciples alike—felt like mere trifles to him.

He recalled Huang Haoran once mentioning how he’d joined Chu Mo Dian and thrown himself into missions just to accumulate enough points for a superior-grade fire resistance shroud. Most foundation-building cultivators shared similar goals—either upgrading their own artifacts or securing techniques for their families. Xiao Chen, however, was an exception.

With Su Laoye’s help, he’d skipped the superior-grade stage entirely, acquiring two top-grade magic artifacts at once. Now, he even possessed more top-grade artifacts than superior-grade ones. The treasures others coveted had become irrelevant to him—either useless or unnecessary.

Returning to Cuiwei Valley, Xiao Chen didn’t rush to study the newly acquired Nahuuo Talisman. Instead, he headed to the pavilion in the back courtyard, gazing at the green mountains and clear waters as he contemplated his next move.

Plans often changed, and this year’s schedule had already unraveled. He’d intended to focus on cultivation, but after obtaining an Internal Elixir and secret techniques from the Xuantian Immortal Palace, two urgent tasks had emerged.

Acquiring the Internal Elixir was complicated, primarily because someone in the Cangyan Sect clearly harbored ill will toward him. Normal channels were futile, and forceful methods were out of the question. Xiao Chen refused to sink to such lows, and provoking a confrontation with a Golden Core Zhenren was too risky.

Yet there was a simpler path—resource exchange. While the Cangyan Sect wouldn’t sell a yao beast’s Internal Elixir, families like the Ji or Guo might, provided he offered an irresistible price.

From Elder Chen, he’d learned that a cloud leopard’s Internal Elixir in Hezhou had sold for a staggering 20,000 spirit stones.

“Spirit stones, spirit stones, spirit stones! Always running out,” Xiao Chen sighed. “Maybe a windfall would help?”

He could easily secure an Internal Elixir by parting with a couple of top-grade artifacts. To clans, these were heirlooms capable of bolstering their fortune for generations.

“Still, core formation isn’t urgent yet. I’ll wait until I have more spirit stones.”

He ticked off his unfinished tasks: postponing the Eastern Domain Spirit Pearl’s cultivation technique, delaying the gathering of spirit herbs for Iron Bone Pills, shelving research on demonic weapons, and dedicating just half an hour nightly to nurturing the spirit pearl.

All things considered, nothing seemed pressing.

“The priority now is finding Sha Qi,” he decided. Both the Internal Elixir and Sha Qi could boost his core formation success rate.

Reclining in the pavilion, he reviewed the Xuantian Consumption Secret Method in his mind. Earthly Sha Qi came in many forms, but as a foundation-building cultivator, he could only refine milder Five Elements Sha Qi. These emerged only in areas where heavenly qi was scarce yet one of the Five Elements was exceptionally concentrated—a rare condition.

Searching blindly across Li Zhou would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Instead, Xiao Chen visited Sect Hall to borrow geographical records from Mei Yong. As one of Li Zhou’s Three Great Sects, Lihuo Sect’s ancient texts documented the land’s landscapes in detail, saving him 99% of the effort.

Though puzzled by Xiao Chen’s sudden interest in maps, Mei Yong warned, “These records rarely change, but some details might be outdated. If you find discrepancies, bring back updated notes for future reference.”

Xiao Chen readily agreed. Using the maps, he narrowed down six potential Sha Qi sites.

The Xuantian Immortal Palace’s master had left a Qi-observing technique to locate Sha Qi within a twenty-mile radius. For a month, Xiao Chen scoured Li Zhou, detecting only a faint Blood Sha Qi at a butcher’s home—yielding a rare Yin Sha Spirit Herb, a blood jade, worth thousands of spirit stones on the Black Market.

Yet beyond this, he found nothing. Without Five Elements Sha Qi, even the Xuantian Consumption Secret Method was useless.

“Who knew Sha Qi conditions would be this strict?” he mused, standing at his final dead-end location.

The texts had warned of Sha Qi’s rarity, but experiencing it firsthand was sobering. Areas with weak heavenly qi also lacked Five Elements mana, and what little accumulated was quickly consumed by spirit herbs, mines, or solitary cultivators.

“Is there even Sha Qi in Li Zhou? Or did the demonic cultivators find theirs elsewhere?” A sudden thought struck him—Li Zhou’s historical demonic calamities! If Demon Heads had drawn power from Sha Qi here, their origins might hold clues.

Returning to the sect, he sought Mei Yong again. “Senior Brother Mei, do we have records of demonic calamities?”

Mei Yong hesitated. “Ancient accounts exist, but the last major incident was nearly a thousand years ago. Why the sudden interest?”

Xiao Chen deflected, “Curiosity about demonic cultivators’ recent activities.”

Mei Yong shrugged, handing him a token. “The old records are in Scripture Pavilion’s top floor. Help yourself.”

Using his spiritual sense, Xiao Chen scanned the archives, filtering over 500 texts mentioning “Sha Qi.” After five days, he found a clue:

“Long ago, I journeyed south beyond ten thousand li, reaching a basin where hot springs steamed and mist swirled. There, I glimpsed faint Sha Qi lingering within.”

The passage pointed south, describing a basin and hot springs—vague but promising leads.

With these three conditions in place, the search became much easier. Xiao Chen flipped to the front page to check the travelogue’s publication date. “This book must be at least twenty thousand years old,” he murmured.

“I just hope the hot spring still exists after all this time.”

A month earlier, he’d noticed subtle shifts in the flow of rivers and streams compared to records from centuries ago. Fortunately, after riding his sword southward and patiently searching for half a month, he finally located a basin containing a hot spring.

Xiao Chen hastily dissipated his sword beam and used the Qi-observing secret technique to investigate. A flame erupted skyward, threatening to ignite the heavens.

“This feeling… it’s the Heaven-Scorching Malevolence!” Xiao Chen relaxed, relieved. “Great! Finally found it.”

But soon, he frowned. The flame only appeared in the basin’s southeast corner.

“Huh? Isn’t the amount of malevolence here unusually low?”

This basin naturally had the ability to accumulate energy. After twenty thousand years, it should have been brimming with malevolent Qi.

“Oh no!” Xiao Chen suddenly realized. “There’s a thief.”

Given the terrain, even if the malevolence had diminished, it should have dispersed evenly, not clustered in one spot. Someone had clearly come first and begun extracting it.

Unless the malevolence had solidified into a physical form, like the Blood Jade, the collection process for Five Elements Malevolent Qi was notoriously slow—requiring six months to a year to fully harvest.

Xiao Chen immediately activated the Seal Acupoint and Conceal Breath Technique to mask his cultivation realm before stealthily entering the basin to investigate.

Inside, an elderly man and a burly youth were using a specially crafted gourd to collect the energy. Without the Xuantian Consumption Secret Method, they couldn’t dare absorb the malevolence directly into their bodies, relying instead on magical artifacts to contain it.

Alternating shifts to maintain the gourd’s mana supply, they spent the rest of their time either cultivating or idly chatting.

“Master Wang, my Fire Raven’s ignition process is complete. What do you think?”

“Xiao Qian, you’re truly impressive for your age. At your stage, reaching this cultivation realm isn’t easy. When I was your age, I’d barely broken past the limit.”

“Hah, what else can I do stuck here all day? Cultivating spells is the only way to pass the time.”

Qian Yong tucked away his Fire Raven and approached the gourd. According to Luo Yun San Ren’s orders, they could return once the gourd was full.

Yet the so-called malevolence, though seemingly abundant in the basin, melted away when collected. A month yielded only a trickle. After over a year here, they still needed two more months to fill the gourd.

Qian Yong leaned closer to inspect the gourd’s progress.

“Be careful! Don’t let even a speck touch you. One trace of this malevolence, and no one can save you.”

Master Wang wasn’t worried about Qian Yong’s safety—it was the inconvenience of losing his rotation partner that troubled him.

“Something’s wrong! Someone’s approaching!”

Master Wang’s expression darkened as he felt his external mana mark trigger.

Qian Yong extended his spiritual sense, then relaxed. “Relax—it’s just a random Foundation Building cultivator who wandered in.”

“Perfect. Let’s have some fun to kill time.” He drew his Flying Sword and strode out.

“Foolish!” Master Wang barked, rising gravely as he halted the collection process and retrieved the gourd. “Anyone who reaches here can’t be ordinary. This person’s suspicious—we’re going together.”

“What’s the big deal? Even a Foundation Building Late Stage expert wouldn’t scare me!” Qian Yong grumbled. With his strength, most Late Stage cultivators were no match for him. If a Golden Core Zhenren appeared, he’d concede defeat.

But interrupting the collection meant wasting time—another day trapped in this wretched place. To him, this was just Master Wang’s excuse to slack off. That sly old fox was too cunning. Next time, he’d never partner with him on a long-term mission.

Master Wang countered, “The sect’s sacred mission comes first. I’m being cautious for safety.”

“Let’s go together—don’t let him escape.”

They reached the basin’s edge, using their mana marks to flank Xiao Chen.

Qian Yong, starved for company, revealed himself instead of attacking immediately. “Halt!”

Spotting Xiao Chen’s calm demeanor, he sneered. “Well, well—a pretty boy! You’ve come to entertain us, haven’t you?”

As he spoke, Master Wang took position behind them, raising a magic shield and conjuring a water barrier for defense.

Xiao Chen, no longer hiding, swept his spiritual sense outward. “Who are you? Who sent you to harvest this malevolence?”

“You’ve got guts,” Qian Yong said, his tone hardening as he noted Xiao Chen’s composure. “Roasting Divine Flame!”

At his shout, a thousand Xuan Fire Ravens burst from behind him, instantly forming a massive Fire Raven Formation.

Xiao Chen blinked in surprise. Normally, even at grand mastery of the Fire Raven technique, one could summon at most a hundred ravens. Only with hex-enhanced cultivation could one break through to a thousand. What was happening here?

But there was no time to ponder. As the divine flame surged, he immediately deployed the Treasure Gourd of Hidden Flame.

“Contain!”

The raging flames were sucked into the gourd.

“What?! Impossible!” Qian Yong’s face paled. His pride, the Roasting Divine Flame, had been instantly neutralized by the opponent’s artifact. Thirty years of relentless cultivation into the Xuan Fire Raven technique—half his arsenal was now useless.

“Watch his gourd! It doesn’t just absorb flames—it can release them for counterattacks!” Master Wang warned.

He turned to Xiao Chen, suspicion in his eyes. “That’s the Su family’s top-tier magic artifact, the Hidden Flame Gourd. Who are you to the Su family?”

Master Wang, his hair and beard snow-white with age, had clearly recognized the artifact. Decades ago, he’d suffered a bitter defeat from it.

Yet recalling Luo Yun San Ren’s orders, he gritted his teeth, drawing a three-inch-long small sword.

“Qian Yong, this kid’s no ordinary foe. Use your full strength—don’t let him play his trump card!”

He spat a mouthful of vital blood onto the sword. The blade, already tiny, shrank further to just an inch long before transforming into a blood ray, hurtling toward Xiao Chen’s chest.

Qian Yong, still stunned by the mention of a top-tier artifact, now saw Master Wang unleashing a desperate move. He hastily threw a jade talisman, chanting a spell as he thrust three fingers forward.

“Transform!”

The talisman became a ten-zhang-long, water-vat-thick serpent, its gaping maw lunging at Xiao Chen.

Compared to someone like Lu Wuqiang, these two Foundation Building Late Stage experts were clearly inferior. Xiao Chen casually tossed a jade bowl backward to block the sword while deploying a tasseled brocade handkerchief to intercept the serpent.

Effortlessly, he neutralized both attacks. Then he retrieved a newly acquired Lotus Jade Ruyi from his storage bag and swung it forward.

“Die!”

Qian Yong, overconfident in his Roasting Divine Flame, had neglected defense. The Lotus Jade Ruyi struck his temple, splattering his brains instantly.

Xiao Chen then took out the Radiant Golden Light Pearl but paused, turning to Master Wang.

“You’re from the Luo Tian Sect, aren’t you? Who ordered you to collect this malevolence? Speak, and I might spare you. Refuse, and share his fate.”

Master Wang ignored him, drawing an identical sword. This time, he dipped its tip into the malevolence-filled gourd before spitting another mouthful of blood.

Xiao Chen flicked his handkerchief to block, but this time, an invisible sword qi pierced through his defenses, embedding itself in his dantian.

A searing pain erupted as the malevolence invaded his core, threatening to burn away his cultivation.

Master Wang exhaled in relief. Qian Yong had died too quickly, and if this strike failed, he’d have fled. Now, with the malevolence inside Xiao Chen, the threat was neutralized.

“Seven Star Sword Technique—Kaiyang!”

A mighty sword beam erupted.

Master Wang’s face turned ashen. “You were infected with malevolence! How could you—”

The sword beam cleaved him in two mid-sentence.

Xiao Chen picked up the gourd. “Heaven-Scorching Malevolence indeed. The Demonic Dao’s methods are truly sinister—but fortunately, I’m just a bit better.”

Thanks to the Xuantian Consumption Secret Method, he instantly suppressed the invading malevolence.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end