209: Chapter 209: The Third Sheath Arrives

Shen Xiaochuan stood in the wind and snow. Just after clicking "Agree to Receive," his phone began ringing incessantly. He didn't look at the screen; instead, he closed his eyes, filtering through the messages one by one by feel. His ears were filled with System notification sounds, one after another, like an unrelenting alarm clock. His faith points were increasing by 3 points per second, but his gold coin account had only a little over two thousand, so he didn't dare spend recklessly.

He found seven useful pieces of information coming from Siberia and Northern Europe. He selected the three in the best condition: clear coordinates, intact corpses, and souls still present. He replied directly with "Confirm Transaction," and three rare-grade snow monster corpses were immediately obtained. This deducted six hundred faith points and cost less than three hundred gold coins. He wasn't in a hurry to buy the rest; first, he went to the trading area to post an announcement:

[Exchanging 100 catties of cold-resistant grain for one rare-grade snow monster corpse, valid for the first fifty people]

As soon as this message was sent out, the area below immediately became lively.

"Are you really giving grain?"

"I have one, buried under the ice, I can dig it up."

"How much grain do you have? I have three corpses."

Shen Xiaochuan didn't reply, letting the System automatically register those who met the criteria. He knew that the whole world was currently short on food, especially cold-resistant crops. Skydome City still had grain reserves, while others had long since run out of food. Using grain to exchange for corpses was cheap and allowed him to obtain resources.

Two hours later, twelve corpses arrived. He inspected them all, and they all met the requirements—the Yin Qi hadn't dissipated, the bodies hadn't rotted, and they were indeed Pure Yin Bodies. He breathed a sigh of relief, put two into his storage space, and marked the remaining ten as "To Be Sacrificed."

With only a little over one thousand eight hundred gold coins left, he couldn't spend money recklessly anymore. He changed his strategy and added a new rule to the trading area:

[202 Gold Coins + 5 units of insulation Materials = 1 rare-grade snow monster corpse, limited to small and medium deities, maximum of two sold per person]

This was intended for those with some strength but lacking supplies. They had corpses but no Materials. Insulation Materials were exactly what they urgently needed. Within half an hour of the announcement being posted, nine deities accepted the order. The corpses were transmitted one by one; he inspected them all, and every single one was qualified.

As evening approached, the total reached forty-seven. It wasn't enough. The priest said he needed three hundred, which was still too far off. However, if he could just scrape together 91, he could exchange them for the scabbard. He would complete this step first.

Sitting in the snow, he took a piece of dry rations from his inner pocket and took a bite. The wind made his face ache, so he squinted as he continued to check his private messages. Suddenly, a new message popped up from an anonymous account, including a picture: a snow monster had been skinned, its corpse placed in an ice coffin, with a tag reading "Arctic Circle, collected at a Yin Vein entrance, soul lock intact."

Shen Xiaochuan enlarged the image. There was a rune brand on the corpse's chest, a type of Soul-Sealing Technique. This treatment could keep a soul from dissipating for three years, which was much better than ordinary ice-sealing. He immediately replied: "Double the price, trade immediately."

The other party quickly replied: "I don't want gold coins, I want five hundred catties of grain."

'Deal.' He directly transferred the quota. This corpse was worth three ordinary ones; it was worth it.

The wind grew even stronger at night. He leaned against a rock to eat while monitoring the data. His faith points were rising steadily at 3 points per second, accumulating over two hundred thousand a day. But he was spending money too fast now. He calculated that at this rate, it would take half a month to gather three hundred corpses. But the priest's words were always in his head: "The scabbard won't be kept forever."

He couldn't wait.

The next morning, he logged on again. The news that the "Eastern God King is buying snow monster corpses" had already spread in the trading area, and more and more individual sellers began to respond. A minor deity from Soviet territory turned in five at once, all dug up from the underground of an abandoned city. Shen Xiaochuan took them all and threw in a set of anti-freeze protective gear as a reward.

By noon, the total reached seventy-six.

At three in the afternoon, eighty-three.

At six in the evening, the ninety-first.

He stopped all operations and opened his backpack to confirm the quantity. Ninety-one rare-grade snow monster corpses were neatly arranged in the slots, each emitting a faint glow of Yin Qi. He stood up, brushed the snow off his body, and walked toward the altar.

The stone door was still in its original place, the cracks slightly hot. He pushed the door open and entered; it was very quiet inside, with water dripping onto the stone slabs—drip, drip, drip. The green fire hadn't lit up yet, but the ground was already starting to heat up.

The Evil Sheep Priest walked out, leaning on his staff. His eyes flashed with green light as he glanced at Shen Xiaochuan, his voice raspy: "Did you bring enough?"

"Ninety-one," Shen Xiaochuan said. "Every one of them meets the standard."

The priest didn't speak but waved his hand. The ground cracked open, and green fire rushed out, entangling every corpse. He inspected them quickly. Shen Xiaochuan stood still, hands in his pockets, his fingertips touching the copper gear pendant, which was still warm.

Three minutes later, the green fire retracted underground. The cracks closed up.

"Qualified," the priest nodded. "The quantity is sufficient, and the quality is acceptable. You may take the scabbard."

He turned and took a black box from the depths of the altar. Upon opening it, inside was a curved scabbard piece, pitch black all over, its surface carved with twisted runes. It looked as if it were made of bone and felt slightly warm to the touch.

Shen Xiaochuan reached out to take it. He felt its weight as soon as he touched it—at least several hundred catties. He steadied his wrist and flipped it over to see a line of small characters on the back: Bone of the Great Desolation, Bearing the Heaven-Severing Blade.

"Is this the third piece?" he asked.

"The final perfect grade scabbard piece," the priest said. "None of the others will do."

Shen Xiaochuan put the scabbard into his storage space. As soon as it was placed inside, his body seemed to vibrate, like a key being inserted into a lock but not yet turned.

"What about the blade itself?" he asked.

"You shouldn't ask," the priest shook his head. "You can only take the scabbard for now."

"Then what about the blueprints?" Shen Xiaochuan looked at him. "I need to know how to piece them together."

The priest paused for a few seconds, the green fire flickering. "If you want to exchange for them... you can."

"How?"

"Sacrifice fifty perfect grade exotic beasts," the priest raised his staff. "They must be perfect grade, with intact souls, and they must die by your hand or the hand of someone you designate. Not one less will suffice."

Shen Xiaochuan didn't frown or hesitate. "Fine, I accept."

The priest was a bit surprised. "Do you know how strong a perfect grade is? They aren't mongrels like those snow monsters; they are monsters born of heaven and earth. A single one could destroy a divine domain."

"I know," Shen Xiaochuan said. "But I already have ninety-one rare-grades as a foundation; the next step is to find perfect grades."

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

"I am," Shen Xiaochuan smiled slightly. "But I'm more afraid of someone else beating me to it."

The priest watched him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed, revealing sharp fangs. "Interesting. The last person who said that has long since had his bones vanish."

"I'm not the last person." Shen Xiaochuan patted his clothes. "Right now, I just want to know where it's easiest to encounter perfect grade exotic beasts."

"To the north." The priest pointed outside. "The further you go toward the center of the cold wave, the greater the possibility of them appearing. In the depths of the ice plains, they have their nests."

Shen Xiaochuan noted this down and said, "Mission accepted, I'm leaving. I'll come back and tell you when I bring the first one."

"I'll be waiting for you anytime." The priest retreated into the shadows, adding: "Remember, it must be killed by your own hand. Using someone else's hand doesn't count."

The stone door closed. Outside, the wind and snow were even stronger, and the sky was almost completely dark. Shen Xiaochuan stood on high ground, looking toward Skydome City, where there was a tiny speck of light in the distance. He touched the copper gear around his neck and confirmed once more that the scabbard piece was still in his space.

Then he opened the Faith Mall and posted a new bounty:

[Paying a high price for intelligence on the whereabouts of perfect grade exotic beasts. For authentic and valid info, rewards start at 1,000 faith points and can be stacked]

Posted successfully.

He didn't head down the mountain but crouched down, grabbed a handful of snow, and rubbed it in his hands. His palms turned red, but he didn't feel cold. He knew where he was going next—north, deep into the ice plains. That was where the things he wanted were.

The wind whipped the snow against his face as he stood up, brushed the snow off his pants, and walked down the mountain. His steps were steady, leaving one footprint after another.