Chapter 838: Running after Gaining Benefits
“Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations! Transform! Transform! Transform!” Xiao Chen shouted. His body split into nine; then the nine figures each split again into nine, forming eighty-one.
Under Xiao Chen’s control, each figure started spinning rapidly, creating a wind current and forming a hundred-meter-long tornado flying forward quickly.
Sand and rocks whirled around. The eighty-one tornadoes kicked up a vast amount of dirt and fallen leaves as they moved. Xiao Chen hid inside a tornado. The real one was difficult to differentiate from the fakes.
“Chase!”
Naturally, Wei Hua, Wang Can, Qing Cheng, and the others would not let Xiao Chen off so easily. Hundreds of Inferior Grade Martial Sages along with countless Demonic Corpses and Yin Soldiers rushed forward.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” Many strong attacks shattered the tornadoes. The Yin Soldiers and Demonic Corpses instantly eliminated the clones within.
The sinister Yin Soldiers howled in the wind. They did not have a material body and flew the fastest, giving chase relentlessly as they moved about in the clouds.
Attacks shattered tornadoes in rapid succession. When only eight remained, Xiao Chen came to a stop. The strong winds stopped blowing, and the eight figures merged back into one.
He tilted his body down and dived, once again increasing the distance between himself and the group behind.
Seeing all of Xiao Chen’s clones destroyed, Wei Hua and the others showed expressions of joy. Then, they sped up further.
The distance between Xiao Chen and his pursuers narrowed. However, when it looked like they were about to catch him, he suddenly stretched out a hand and waved. Seventy-two beams of light flashed from the ground.
Then, the lights all gathered. The Universe Flags reappeared in Xiao Chen’s hand. He smiled faintly, and electric light burst out under his feet, instantly doubling his speed.
The trapped Black Flame Sovereign Snake discovered that the restriction was gone. It immediately soared into the air and spat out streams of black flames as it opened its jaws.
Miserable cries rang out. The unfortunate cultivators of the two races on Xiao Chen’s tail became the target of the Black Flame Sovereign Snake’s rage.
The arrows left in the Black Flame Sovereign Snake made it bleed continuously. Furthermore, it was locked up for such a long time. Its rage and frenzy were easily imaginable.
“Black Flame Sovereign Snake! Run! Quick, run!” Wang Can cried out loudly. He wanted to regather the Corpse Race cultivators and retreat.
However, the scene now was very chaotic. The Black Flame Sovereign Snake charged forward. As it opened its jaws, it launched flames that threw the ferocious group into complete disarray.
Fortunately, this was the world within the Sage Mark Monument. After one died, they would only be sent out. Otherwise, the losses would be too great to bear.
Qing Cheng saw a white figure drawing away with ease in the distance. Her eyes turned cold as she waved her hands.
Eight spirits carrying a white palanquin appeared. Qing Cheng pushed off the ground and flew into the palanquin.
“Ji Shizhan, Su Bai, lead the rest of the people straight to the Treasury Hall. I’ll chase him.”
Qing Cheng gave some instructions, and the eight spirits carried the white palanquin and quickly flew forward.
Ji Shizhan and Bai Su sighed wordlessly. Ever since Qing Cheng’s debut, she had never failed on such a level before, continuously tricked by another person.
First, along the way, Xiao Chen looted all the Spirit Vein’s origins. Then, he made use of the Ghost Race to fight the Corpse Race.
This last one was the worst. When Xiao Chen tried to escape, he released the Black Flame Sovereign Snake, which eliminated most of the Ghost Race cultivators. By the time they reached the Treasury Hall, they would not have much of a force left.
Most importantly, after putting a lot of thought and effort, and even using her trump cards, the Departed Spirit Fruit, which Qing Cheng had believed she would obtain easily, had not fallen into her hands.
Qing Cheng suffered defeat in every aspect. Given her pride, she would definitely be unable to accept it.
Xiao Chen put away the Universe Flags. After he released the Black Flame Sovereign Snake, he had managed to leave rather smoothly.
The berserk Black Flame Sovereign Snake would not be that easy to deal with. It would already be very good for the two races to be able to cut their losses.
Even if the two races could spare some effort to chase him, there would not be too many people. If there were just a few people, he had nothing to fear.
This harvest could be said to be enormously fruitful. Xiao Chen now had seven million Astral Coins and six hundred thousand Black Astral Coins, which equaled sixty-seven million Astral Coins altogether.
He was no less wealthy than the scion of a prominent clan or the next leader of a sect.
Wei Hua’s Sage Grade inner vest was nothing special, but it was better than nothing. It gave Xiao Chen another layer of protection.
As for the Lunar Cassia Tree and Dragon Mark Fruits in the Immortal Spirit Ring, with the addition of so many Spirit Veins, Ao Jiao kept herself busy with a smile on her face.
The flowers of the Lunar Cassia Tree would blossom once he left the Sage Mark Monument. The five Dragon Mark Fruits would also reach eight-hundred-odd years in age. These were worth using so many Spirit Vein’s origins.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen came to a stop. Raising his head, he looked up and saw a dim light suddenly landing ahead of him.
Then, the light remained still. When he looked carefully, he found that it was actually a white palanquin borne by eight spirits quietly floating in front.
“Young Master Xiao, that is a good trick. Qing Cheng really underestimated you. As the ancients said, suffering disadvantages is a fortune. Qing Cheng will definitely remember this disadvantage I suffered all my life.”
Qing Cheng’s cold voice came from the palanquin. The tone did not contain any joy or grief, sounding extremely calm.
Xiao Chen carefully sized up this white palanquin. He had long felt that this palanquin was extraordinary. Now, it seemed that at the very least, its speed was extraordinary. However, he did not know if it had other functions.
Xiao Chen did not react to Qing Cheng’s words. He appeared utterly indifferent as he said, “Miss Qing Cheng, your words are too gracious. Actually, aside from the Death Throne, there is no conflict between us that is unresolvable.”
“No wonder you were so careful. You knew that your secret of the thrones has already been exposed. I may not be able to obtain the Departed Spirit Fruit today, but I must have the Death Throne.”
Qing Cheng formed hand seals, and two cold winds blew. Then, two ten-meter-tall Soul Reapers appeared, holding black sickles. Their figures flashed and appeared before Xiao Chen.
“Black and White Soul Reapers. In the legends of the Immortal Epoch, they are one of the incarnations of the ten Great Yin Masters of hell. They appear before a mortal dies to take their soul, bring it to the netherworld river, and put it through the six cycles of reincarnation.
“These are the Black and White Soul Reapers refined by my Ghost Race. Naturally, they are incomparable to the Black and White Soul Reapers of legend. However, they are as strong as Medial Grade Martial Sages. You had best not resist or even think of running. With your speed, you will not be able to outrun the Eight Ghost Palanquin.”
Qing Cheng clearly enunciated every word that she said from within the palanquin.
Xiao Chen sized up the Black and White Soul Reapers and smiled gently. “What strange self-confidence! Could it be that you really never considered why I dared to travel with you even though I knew that you have trump cards?
“Even if that Black Flame Sovereign Snake had not appeared, you would not have been able to obtain the Departed Spirit Fruit or the Death Throne. This is because I never let myself enter a dangerous situation unless I’m sure of the outcome.”
Xiao Chen waved his hand, and an ancient lamp appeared on his palm. He bit his tongue, and a mouthful of blood containing his blood essence infused with Mental Energy fell on the lamp wick.
A swaying flame lit up. The ancient lamp gently floated into the air.
Radiant rings appeared behind the ancient lamp while mysterious scripts on its body gave off a dark-green light. An illusory figure appeared in the light and grew increasingly more distinct.
“The immortal Dao brings life, cleansing the sins of countless people; when reading the scriptures once, the sages of the world praise it for being benevolent; when reading the scriptures twice, withered bones come to life…”
[TL Note: This is a Daoist scripture that exists in the real world. Apparently, it talks about the origin of life and the creation of the world. I might be wrong, though, as I have never read it for myself.]
The illusory figure gave off an immortal atmosphere. He opened his mouth and read the mysterious scripture, which contained the Dao of reincarnating ghosts and the power to cleanse the masses of sin.
Motes of light quickly drifted away from the Black and White Soul Reapers. Their glows gradually dimmed.
“Sin Cleansing Scripture!” Qing Cheng exclaimed in a fluster. She quickly formed hand seals and summoned back the Black and White Soul Reapers, which had already lost fifty to sixty percent of their strength by this time.
The white palanquin fell out of the air and tipped over on its side. “Crash!” The Sin Cleansing Scripture had cleansed the eight spirits serving as palanquin bearers.
Xiao Chen revealed a smile on his face. He put away the ancient lamp and took a big step forward. Electric light flashed underfoot, and he disappeared from this place.
Qing Cheng leaped out of the palanquin with an unsightly expression. She flicked her fingers and released another eight spirits to carry the white palanquin once more.
Then, she stared in the direction Xiao Chen had taken. Even after a long time, she did not give chase.
This time, she lost in a completely embarrassing manner. Initially, she had already suffered a miserable defeat. In the end, she foolishly sent herself up for the other party to trample on.
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Xiao Chen had obtained the ancient lamp at the Evil King’s final resting place. This was a King Grade Secret Treasure, which a half-Sage obviously could not refine completely.
After he advanced to Martial Sage, he had taken some time out to refine it as he rushed to the Kunlun Mountain Range.
Although Xiao Chen still could not bring out the full power of this Secret Treasure with his current cultivation, he gained a rough understanding of its effects after using it. In the end, he felt somewhat disappointed.
This lamp was called the Reincarnation Lamp. It was made by repairing the formation lines inside a broken Magic Treasure of the Immortal Epoch and adding in new materials. This process reforged it into a Secret Treasure suitable for Martial cultivators to use.
In fact, many Sage Grade Secret Treasures used pieces of the Immortal Epoch’s Magic Treasures for reforging. The bow of Xiao Chen’s First Senior Sister, Shui Lingling, and Ying Qiong’s Continuous Heavenly Rain Umbrella were the same.
The Reincarnation Lamp retained the main function of the original Magic Treasure. It summoned out the divine spirit of an immortal to chant the Sin Cleansing Scripture, cleansing the evil energy of spirits.
A King Grade Secret Treasure had become a simple supplementary tool. Aside from having suppressive effects on the Ghost Race, it was not very useful to the cultivators of the other races.
This was a pity for this King Grade Secret Treasure. In the Kunlun Realm, any King Grade Secret Treasure would sell for a high price at auctions.
The only thing stronger than a King Grade Secret Treasure was an Emperor Grade Secret Treasure. However, such Secret Treasures were normally used in Sovereign Sects and Clans to protect their headquarters; they would not take them out so easily.
Only a Martial Emperor could bring out the full might of an Emperor Grade Secret Treasure. So for people of the same cultivation realm as Xiao Chen, King Grade Secret Treasures were the most suitable.
Nevertheless, the Reincarnation Lamp might have other uses for him to discover after he fully refined it. No matter what, it was an inheritance from the Evil King.
Xiao Chen looked up at the distant pillar of light soaring into the sky. A look of anticipation flashed in his eyes. He wondered what kind of pleasant surprise the Treasury Hall would bring him.
He had another five days before he would be sent out of the Sage Mark Monument. He had to make full use of his time and rush over.