Chapter 162: If You're Not Eager to Pick Up Money, Your Thinking Is Flawed!

Chapter 162: If You’re Not Eager to Pick Up Money, Your Thinking Is Flawed!

Whoosh!

A water-blue signal arrow exploded in the sky.

Northern Wanderer fired the distress arrow just before Xiao Chen’s sword array could seal off the area.

Then he spat curses: “Xiao Chen, you despicable, treacherous, lowborn scoundrel!”

“F* your mother!”

Xiao Chen shook his head. “Look at you, getting all worked up again. Can’t even handle a little setback? How fragile is your psyche?”

Northern Wanderer’s face flushed crimson with humiliation and rage. If glares could kill, Xiao Chen would’ve been reduced to ashes.

Before this large-scale invasion, the Western Wanderer—the eldest of the Four Great Wanderers—had explicitly warned against provoking Xiao Chen at Qingyang. The priority was preparing the Ninefold Heaven and Earth Demon Transformation Array. Any variables threatening the sect’s plans should be avoided at all costs.

But Northern Wanderer never agreed with that logic.

In the past month alone, rumors about Xiao Chen had spread like wildfire across Hezhou.

It started with his meteoric rise to the top of the monthly rankings, followed by the Wind-Thunder Pair Swords worth 110,000 spirit stones—a prize that made countless cultivators envious. Then came the tale of him cleaving a Foundation Building Peak expert in one strike at Xianghe Bazaar, sparking endless chatter. The final straw was his ambush in the Black Flame Mountains, where he eliminated the White Bone Gate’s Foundation Building expert.

To say Xiao Chen was riding a wave of glory would be an understatement.

Everyone knew the fastest way to fame was to topple the current star and use them as a stepping stone.

Northern Wanderer had studied Xiao Chen’s intelligence reports and believed himself far superior. Especially now, with the Soul Severing Needle in his arsenal, the gap should’ve been insurmountable.

He’d assumed the array preparations would delay their confrontation. But then Xiao Chen walked right into his trap.

The moment Xiao Chen appeared, Northern Wanderer felt elated. With Linsui Divine General at his side, he’d planned to gang up on Xiao Chen.

But he hadn’t anticipated Xiao Chen’s Golden Light Counter-Technique Talisman—a specialized countermeasure against spirit-summoning arts.

Even more absurd, such talismans usually couldn’t affect a divine general of Linsui’s caliber. Yet Xiao Chen’s version had been specially reinforced. The instant the golden light swept over it, Linsui Divine General dissolved into nothingness.

That alone would’ve been bad enough. Without his spirit beast, Northern Wanderer still had his signature water techniques.

But then Xiao Chen casually pulled out three top-grade magic artifacts—Flying Swords—and deployed a sword array.

The reports hadn’t mentioned any of this!

If his reflexes had been a heartbeat slower, he wouldn’t have even had time to fire the distress arrow.

Desperate, Northern Wanderer realized the sword array’s assault was relentless. Alone, he couldn’t break free.

Xiao Chen wasn’t even fighting fair—he was just overwhelming him with talismans and artifacts.

This reminded Northern Wanderer of a bitter past.

Back then, despite reaching Cultivation Great Perfection, he’d been bullied by a Core Formation Mid-Stage disciple from Yueyue Immortal Sect. Why? Because he was a solitary cultivator with no influential background. He’d tried resisting, but they refused to duel him. Instead, they’d beaten him half-dead with their magic artifacts.

Now, the situation felt eerily similar.

His water techniques were useless—no chance to fight back. How could he not feel humiliated?

In his mind’s eye, Xiao Chen’s figure overlapped with that hated Yueyue disciple.

Hence the furious curses.

But rage wouldn’t save him. Calming himself, he noticed something odd.

“Golden Light Counter-Technique Talismans haven’t been available for a year. Where did you get that?”

As he shouted, Northern Wanderer raised his Ringwater Xuanwu Shield to block.

This enhanced talisman required a rare spiritual material found only in the Eastern Territory. Even if Hezhou had stockpiled some, they should’ve expired long ago.

Xiao Chen shrugged. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

This one came from Dongfang Xingzhe, originally meant to counter the Su Family’s array. To maximize effectiveness, Dongfang had brought the strongest talismans he could find.

And indeed, it worked like a charm—driving Northern Wanderer to the edge of panic.

“Xiao Chen, I’ll make every friend and family member of yours pay for what you’ve done today!”

As the Lesser Trinity Sword Array intensified, even the top-grade Ringwater Xuanwu Shield began to crack.

Northern Wanderer gritted his teeth and activated his ultimate trump card.

The water droplets left by Linsui Divine General’s dissolution surged upward, rapidly coalescing into a humanoid figure.

Simultaneously, streams of water burst from Northern Wanderer’s body within the array.

When the droplets settled, he’d vanished from the sword array, replaced by a puddle of water.

Puh!

Northern Wanderer spat a mouthful of blood, his aura now unstable. But he didn’t pause, hurling two secret talismans from his storage bag.

“Yellow Spring Secret Technique!”

The talismans transformed into mountainous shapes, crushing down on the sword array.

The three Flying Swords froze mid-strike.

With the immediate threat neutralized, Northern Wanderer wiped his lips and glared at Xiao Chen.

“Didn’t expect me to escape, did you?”

“I hate nothing more than trash like you, hiding behind magic artifacts and pretending to be strong.”

“Now that your swords are gone… how do you want to die?”

“Pretending to be strong”? Xiao Chen blinked, confused.

But he didn’t waste time arguing. Out came the Golden Melon Thunder Hammer, Radiant Golden Light Pearl, Lotus Jade Ruyi, and Hua She Bone Spear.

As each top-grade magic artifact appeared, Northern Wanderer’s face darkened—finally turning the color of fermented cabbage.

These were top-grade artifacts, not cabbages!

How many did Xiao Chen have?!

No time to dwell. As the Golden Light Pearl ascended, Northern Wanderer struck first.

If those artifacts fully activated, he’d have zero chance.

Thankfully, without the sword array blocking him, the Soul Severing Needle could shine. Before the Spirit Origin Sect’s countermeasures, it held absolute dominance over any Foundation Building cultivator in Orthodox Dao.

“Blood Sacrifice Secret Technique!”

A crimson beam shot from his palm, piercing Xiao Chen’s forehead.

The tasseled handkerchief tore apart. The Golden Armor Technique shattered.

But as Northern Wanderer anticipated triumph, Xiao Chen raised his right hand. Two fingers—index and middle—snapped shut, catching the Soul Severing Needle mid-flight.

Ping!

The needle snapped in half.

Northern Wanderer’s soul nearly fled his body. Without the Soul Severing Needle, he had no hope left.

He bolted southwest, hurling three talismans to block pursuit.

Futile.

“Fall!”

Xiao Chen roared. The Radiant Golden Light Pearl smashed downward.

Northern Wanderer raised his Ringwater Xuanwu Shield, but a white light flashed—a serpent emerged, biting through his spirit shield.

“Go!”

The Lotus Jade Ruyi struck his opponent’s skull.

“No!”

A scream. Northern Wanderer collapsed, dead.

His Ringwater Xuanwu Shield flickered, shrinking into a six-inch miniature.

“Oh-ho!”

Xiao Chen zipped over, retrieving the Hua She Bone Spear. “What a treasure!”

With this spear, he could directly counter an enemy’s defense techniques during duels—a “Soul Severing Needle” in its own right.

Previously, he’d always had to shatter an opponent’s defense artifacts before finishing them off, leaving only debris.

Now? He’d gain an extra trophy.

This Ringwater Xuanwu Shield was a top-grade magic artifact. At current market rates, it alone was worth at least 20,000 spirit stones.

Xiao Chen stored the shield in his bag, retrieved his Flying Swords from the spent talismans, and carefully cleaned the battlefield.

Same old strategy—conceal his trump cards, avoid exposing his secrets.

But as he worked, he noticed something odd.

Northern Wanderer hadn’t chosen his meditation spot randomly.

Beneath the pine tree where he’d first detected him, Xiao Chen found faint spell traces.

“Huh. A big formation disk.”

He dug it up—a six-foot-square disk, embedded with a hundred spirit stones.

He plucked one out, frowning. “Middle-grade spirit stone?”

Uncommon in Li Zhou or Hezhou. Only a few noble families used them—and mostly for showing off.

First, middle-grade stones were prohibitively expensive. Most items weren’t worth 100 stones, and prices rarely rounded to exact hundreds. Bargaining was standard. With storage bags, carrying lower-grade stones was more practical for transactions.

Second, middle-grade stones were strategic materials. Rumor had it that certain third-tier formations—especially those threatening Golden Core Zhenren cultivators—required their high-grade energy to activate.

The reason middle-grade spirit stones haven’t been monopolized is because they’re sourced from different regions, making them hard to control completely.

“Does this count as unexpected wealth?” Xiao Chen muttered, yanking out all hundred middle-grade spirit stones at once. This was like gaining ten thousand lower-grade spirit stones overnight.

He then dismantled the formation disk embedded in the array’s foundation. Normally, removing a pre-installed formation disk was difficult—non-specialists risked damaging it. But Xiao Chen had a clever solution: he used his Flying Sword to carve out the entire disk along with its foundation base. This would inevitably destroy the formation, but that was precisely the point. After all, this formation had been left behind by the Northern Wanderer—surely nothing good.

“There’s probably more than just this one, right?” After securing the disk, Xiao Chen turned his attention to the remaining middle-grade spirit stones. “If I can find the array formation blueprint, I should be able to locate the other disks.”

With that thought, he grabbed the Northern Wanderer’s storage bag and began refining it on the spot.

“Seriously? There’s actually more?” His spiritual sense scan revealed another hundred middle-grade spirit stones inside the bag. Additionally, the Northern Wanderer had carried 13,229 lower-grade spirit stones. Nine thousand of these were packed into three identical large chests—clearly looted from some spirit vein warehouse.

There were also several cultivation manuals: The Blood Refinement Divine Manual, The Blood Sacrifice Secret Technique: Soul Severing Needle, and hidden inside a storage box, The Nine Secrets of the Yellow Spring, among others.

The rest were mere earth-tier techniques—nothing special. There were also some spare magic artifacts and miscellaneous items worth about 3,000 spirit stones.

Beyond that, three items stood out.

First was a vial of “Crimson Flame Marrow.” This rare third-stage fire-element spirit herb resembled a liquid elixir—swirling inside the jade vial like molten lava. In truth, the entire vial contained just a single drop of flame marrow. Cultivators could swallow it to resist fiery energy invasions or enhance their lava-body cultivation. For twelve hours afterward, fire mana control would surge dramatically. Fire spells below the third stage would see at least tenfold efficiency gains, with lower-tier spells gaining even more—doubling per tier reduction.

“Donghe?” Xiao Chen noticed a signature at the vial’s base and a pattern of flowers encircling a moon. He recalled a Donghe County about 130 li away. According to The Hezhou Travelogue, most shops there bore this emblem, marking them as part of the Yan family—the sole foundation-building family in Donghe County. “No wonder this belongs to them,” he mused. “The Yan family must’ve been powerful back then.” In Lihuo Sect territory, all third-stage spirit herbs were private property of Golden Core Zhenren. For the Yan family to possess this drop meant they’d once been formidable—though they’d ultimately fallen in this demonic calamity.

Second was a pair of Sky-Replenishing Fungus, a special wood-element second-stage spirit herb. Used as the main ingredient in Heaven-Mending Longevity Pills, it could extend a foundation-stage cultivator’s lifespan by three years on first use. While not the strongest in its class, its advantage lay in reusability—two more doses could add two and one years respectively, totaling six years of life extension. Xiao Chen had seen this formula in Elder Chen’s pill manual. “One batch makes six pills. Buy one, get one free, then six more—that’s twelve pills total. At a thousand stones per pill, that’s over ten thousand stones.” This fungus alone could fetch at least twenty thousand spirit stones.

Third was a map detailing the latest battlefield situation and an unused formation disk. The map showed Qingyang County marked in red, planned control zones in blue, and six prominent purple markers. One was Xiao Chen’s current location—Solitary Pine Ridge. Using mana to connect the six points formed a convex hexagon, its protruding tip pointing toward Luoyan Mountain. Clearly, this was a formation tied to the frontline.

“This isn’t a battlefield map—it’s a treasure map!” Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up. He immediately headed southwest to claim the remaining 400 middle-grade spirit stones. If you’re not eager to pick up money, there’s something wrong with your mindset!

Meanwhile, the Divine Flame Cult’s operations were accelerating.

Thousands of miles away in Wan Hua Valley, a cold wind swept through blooming red plums. Female cultivators gathered at the valley entrance, too preoccupied to admire the scenery.

Yao Hua Zhenren stood on a boulder, lost in thought as the wind brushed her face. The Spirit Origin Sect’s collapse had come too quickly—it threatened Wan Hua Valley’s interests. She’d wanted to weaken the sect, not see it crippled. The Divine Flame Cult’s overreach forced Wan Hua Valley’s hand.

Suddenly, a white cloud overhead darkened, and torrential rain poured down. The valley’s protective formation flickered as raindrops bombarded it. Yet all rain near Yao Hua Zhenren evaporated into mist.

“Who dares disrupt Wan Hua Valley?!” Yao Qin Zhenren flew out, hurling a jade bracelet from her wrist. It soared into the clouds, erupting in flames that incinerated the storm, revealing a crimson-robed woman.

“You’ve always been hot-headed, Junior Sect Sister Yao Qin,” the woman chuckled. “You should learn from your elder sister—stay calm no matter what.”

Yao Qin glared. “Traitor! You dare return here!” She recognized the seductive demonic cultivator instantly—Yao Shang, their second elder sister who’d defected a century ago.

Yao Hua Zhenren’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been away from Hezhou for a hundred years. Why return now?”

“Why not?” Yao Shang unclipped a colorful sash, transforming it into a wide couch. She lounged back. “The sun’s perfect. Why not share wine and plum blossoms instead of fighting?”

Her Golden Core Mid-Stage aura surged, making valley disciples gasp even under the formation’s protection.

Yao Hua Zhenren understood immediately—Yao Shang had come to stop them aiding the Spirit Origin Sect. With only two Golden Core cultivators—herself (Golden Core Late-Stage) and Yao Qin (Golden Core Early-Stage)—Wan Hua Valley’s defenses were vulnerable. But Yao Shang’s presence here meant a stalemate: they couldn’t reach Luoyan Mountain, but neither could she. This indirect restraint eased pressure on the Spirit Origin Sect’s frontlines.

“Junior Sect Sister, don’t act rashly,” Yao Hua Zhenren stopped Yao Qin. “We’ve reunited after so long. I’d like to chat with Elder Sister Yao Shang.”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end