6: Chapter 6: Counterattack

Xiao Yuan returned to the Scrap Recycling Station. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, his footsteps paused.

In the air... there was a trace of unfamiliar Spiritual Qi residue, very faint, but it didn't escape the sharp perception of his newly mastered Great Turtle Breathing Technique.

The corners of his mouth hooked up, and he sneered inwardly: "There really are 'guests' waiting at the door."

Yet his face feigned nonchalance as he hummed a little tune and walked inside, while secretly circulating his Spiritual Qi, holding onto a few Talismans, and keeping his newly acquired top-grade spirit sword ready to be summoned at any moment.

...

At this moment, the two Qi Condensation 4th Layer Disciples hiding in the shadows of the inner room's corner were about to explode with grievance.

They had been squatting in this ghost place for a full three days!

Three days, do you know how they spent these three days?!

Right beside them was the earth fire pit. That scorching heat wave rushed over in waves, roasting them until they were sweating profusely, their mouths were dry, and their Spiritual Qi couldn't even circulate smoothly.

They didn't dare to Cultivate, fearing they would be affected by the earth fire and contract fire poison. Every once in a while, they still had to use True Essence to clear the scorching heat from their bodies.

Yet they didn't dare to leave, afraid that the moment their front foot left, that brat would sneak back on his back foot; if the mission wasn't completed, Senior Brother Chen's side wouldn't be able to answer for it.

Just when the two of them were about to be roasted into dried salted fish, cursing their mothers in their hearts for the one hundred and eighth time, and almost about to give up—

Xiao Yuan had returned!

The spirits of the two were instantly revived. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with viciousness and the excitement of impending relief.

"Make a move!" One of them transmitted via voice.

Two Qi Condensation 4th Layer Disciples dealing with a Qi Condensation 1st Layer little Trash, wouldn't it be as easy as taking candy from a baby? They even felt that Senior Brother Chen was making a fuss over nothing, using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.

Just at the split second when their Spiritual Qi surged and they prepared to launch a sudden attack.

Xiao Yuan, who had just stepped into the doorway, suddenly raised his head, accurately looking in the direction where they were hiding, the corners of his mouth hooking up into an undisguised sneer.

"Not good!" The two of them were shocked in their hearts at the same time.

But it was already too late!

"Thorny Cage!" Xiao Yuan gave a low shout.

"Swish rattle—!"

Countless tough vines with sharp spikes emerged out of thin air, instantly tying the two of them into zongzi! The spikes pierced into their flesh, and their Spiritual Qi circulation instantly stagnated.

"What?! Intermediate Spell?!" The two widened their eyes, their faces full of astonishment and disbelief.

Wasn't this good-for-nothing at the Qi Condensation 1st Layer? How could he possibly cast such a strong wood-attribute Spell?!

Before they even had time to let out an exclamation, they heard a clear and crisp sword hum!

A cold light flashed!

A colorful, flowing Flying Sword swept past like a gale.

Two heads carrying horrified expressions soared into the sky.

Until their deaths, they still couldn't figure out: How were they instantly killed by a "Qi Condensation 1st Layer" Trash?

...

Xiao Yuan quickly put away the Spell and Flying Sword, vigilantly perceived his surroundings, and confirmed there were no other ambushes before stepping forward quickly.

"Looting corpses time has arrived!"

He nimbly pulled off the Storage Pouches from the waists of the two and probed his Divine Sense inside.

As a result... the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Low-Grade Spirit Stone: Only twenty-three pieces in total, how shabby!

Low Grade Spiritual Plants: Several, not worth much money.

Cultivation Technique: A book titled Elementary Talisman Refining Method》, which recorded the production methods of four types of tier-1 Talismans (Fireball Talisman, Ice Arrow Talisman, Body-Lightening Talisman, Vajra Talisman), which was quite an unexpected harvest.

Medicinal Pill: Three Low Grade marrow cleansing pills, five blood-recovery pills. Their qualities were all Low Grade.

Magical Artifact: One Low Grade spirit sword, one Low Grade spirit saber. The workmanship was rough, and the Spiritual Qi was thin.

Other than that, there wasn't even a single hair.

"Tsk, even poorer than me." Xiao Yuan curled his lips, but thinking about the original owner's virtue of emptying his family's Foundation to fawn on the goddess, it seemed... his previous self was seemingly even more miserable than these two.

He swept all the items into his own Storage Pouch, and then flicked his fingers toward the two headless corpses.

"Flame Explosion Spell!"

A small cluster of blazing flames landed on the corpses, igniting with a "bang" sound, quickly burning the corpses along with the bloodstains cleanly, leaving not even a trace of ash behind.

Done and dusted.

The relaxed expression on Xiao Yuan's face gradually faded, replaced by a bit of solemnity.

His decisive strike just now was out of fear of being ambushed and killed covertly.

Although there were no living captives to interrogate for confessions, one thing that could be determined was that ninety-nine percent of the time, the one trying to get him killed was Chen Yin.

Although he could now rely on equipment and Spells to covertly kill those at Qi Refining Stage 8 and below, his own cultivation base was only at the Peak of Qi Condensation 3rd Layer.

If he encountered those at the 5th or 6th layers of Qi Condensation with solid Foundations and possessing numerous treasures, or if the number of people was large, it would still be dangerous.

Not to mention that Chen Yin himself was at the Peak of Qi Refining Level 9. If he were to make a move personally, Xiao Yuan would have no confidence in dealing with this fellow.

When all is said and done, one's own strength is the hard truth.

But with his exasperating mixed Five Elements Spiritual Roots, if he wanted to improve quickly, he could only rely on aggressively throwing Medicinal Pills at it.

Where would Medicinal Pills come from? They had to be refined by the small tripod.

The small tripod needed energy!

Where did energy come from? At present, the most reliable path... cough cough.

Going to provoke Ye Qingcen again carried too high a risk.

If driven to extremes, she might really drag him down with her in mutual destruction.

Xiao Yuan touched his chin, thinking that the matter of finding other female cultivators needed to be expedited.

But before that, he had to get another batch of inferior Medicinal Pills. After all, the Sect's scrap items were only delivered once every seven days.

Although four days had already passed and new scrap items would be delivered in three days, the problem was, among the scrap items delivered next time, who knew how many waste pills there would be, and whether there would be any Medicinal Pills he could use?!

Even if he had energy, without Medicinal Pills it would all be in vain.

Fortunately, he still had twelve marrow cleansing pills of perfect quality on his body. Exchanging them for Low Grade marrow cleansing pills could yield at least ten times, or even more.

As for the thirty-seven tier-1 top-grade Talismans, these were his life-saving trump cards, and unless it was absolutely necessary, Chu Jing did not plan to take them out to sell.

He tidied up the scene, confirmed that no traces were left behind, then changed into a clean set of clothes, circulated the Great Turtle Breathing Technique, and disguised his cultivation base to around the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer.

This way, he wouldn't be too conspicuous, nor would people feel he was too easy to bully, and he could still play the pig to eat the tiger!

What was somewhat regrettable was that his Great Turtle Breathing Technique had not been cultivated to Minor Achievement, otherwise, he could have also changed his appearance.

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Yuan walked out of the Scrap Yard, with his target—the marketplace at the foot of the mountain!

Xiao Yuan wrapped himself up like a zongzi, and even smeared some dust on his face, before stealthily sneaking into the marketplace at the foot of Jade Maiden Palace.

He found a Medicinal Pill shop that looked relatively reliable and took out twelve perfect marrow cleansing pills.

The shopkeeper's eyeballs almost popped out. After inspecting the goods for a long time and confirming they were truly of perfect grade, his attitude instantly became warm enough to melt an iceberg.

In the end, Xiao Yuan used these twelve perfect Medicinal Pills to exchange for one hundred and forty ordinary Low Grade marrow cleansing pills.

"Tsk, this exchange ratio... a bloody loss." Xiao Yuan muttered inwardly, but there was no help for it; making him wait for waste Medicinal Pills once every seven days might not even be enough.

For ordinary Medicinal Pills like these, the marketplace at the foot of the mountain had large quantities and guaranteed satisfaction. After refining them with the immortal cauldron once more, they would be another batch of perfect-grade ones. This mode happened to suit him, a "big spender on pills".

Clutching a large bag of Medicinal Pills, he prepared to return to the Sect with satisfaction. On the road, his mind had already begun to calculate:

"These Medicinal Pills, besides taking them myself, what else can they... be used for...? For instance, finding a female cultivator who lacks resources and is willing to 'cooperate', exchanging Medicinal Pills for 'recharging'?"

Thinking of the creation cauldron's bizarre recharging method, the corners of Xiao Yuan's mouth twitched: "What a sin! This immortal cauldron... damn it, is too improper!"