45: Let me take you into the trap, I will harvest everything

The dense miasma, carrying a scent of decay, pierced their nostrils.

Su Qing followed behind Lu Yuan, her heart still not recovered from the terrifying pressure of the Three-Headed Serpent King.

She looked at the black, muddy stone in Lu Yuan's hand and finally couldn't help but ask softly.

"Senior Brother Lu, that Purple Smoke Grass is worth at least a hundred contribution points. Why did we..."

Lu Yuan didn't turn back, his footsteps unwavering.

His voice, devoid of any ripples, passed through the miasma, calm.

"Because that grass is bait."

"Bait?"

Su Qing was puzzled.

"Used to attract everyone's attention."

"Making them overlook the truly valuable things beneath the surface."

Lu Yuan stopped, weighing the stone in his hand.

A slight spiritual energy emanated from his fingertips, and the mud on the stone's surface flaked off, revealing its true nature.

It wasn't a stone.

It was entirely black, yet its texture showed subtle, almost imperceptible spatial ripples, as if a folded world was contained within.

"This is... the raw ore of a Void Crystal?"

Su Qing's breathing hitched for a moment, her voice tight.

A small Void Crystal the size of a fingernail was an exorbitant price in the Sect's Exchange Hall, enough to make inner Disciples fight over it madly.

And the one in Lu Yuan's hand was the size of a fist.

Lu Yuan put away the raw ore, his gaze directed towards a certain direction deep within the swamp.

"This thing doesn't appear alone."

"Let's go, our hunting ground is over there."

... The two traveled for another half a day, arriving at a hidden valley surrounded by giant vines and cliffs.

Inside the valley, the spiritual energy was several times denser.

On the cliffs, black crystals shimmered with faint light, precisely Void Crystals.

A small ore vein.

Light shone in Su Qing's eyes, and she instinctively wanted to go forward and mine.

Lu Yuan stopped her again.

"Don't rush."

He led Su Qing into an extremely hidden rock crevice and set up a concealment array.

"We'll wait a bit."

Lu Yuan said calmly, then closed his eyes.

Although Su Qing was anxious, her trust in Lu Yuan was deeply ingrained, so she could only patiently suppress her aura and wait quietly.

Lu Yuan's consciousness had already sunk into the Exchange's light screen.

"Do you want to buy a 'call option on Ye Chen and the Heaven Sword Sect's Chief Disciple will engage in a major battle here'? Price: 50 Karma points."

"Yes."

The transaction was completed.

Lu Yuan took out a piece of raw Void Crystal ore the size of a fingernail and flicked it.

The raw ore transformed into a faint streak of light, silently flying out of the valley and landing on a mandatory path a few miles away.

After doing all this, he took out another piece and, using the same method, flicked it in another direction.

All that was left was to wait.

About an hour later.

A disheveled but ecstatic figure stumbled into the valley.

It was Ye Chen.

He was covered in injuries, clearly having just gone through a fierce battle, but when he saw the Void Crystals covering the mountain walls, all his fatigue and pain were replaced by wild joy.

"Hahahahaha! Heaven has not forsaken me! This opportunity is mine!"

Ye Chen laughed loudly, his eyes full of greed, and immediately moved to start mining.

Just then.

Another, even sharper sword light flashed into the valley entrance.

The newcomer, dressed in white, but with several tears, had a sinister expression. It was Jian Wuchen, the Chief Disciple of the Heaven Sword Sect who had previously escaped from the swamp.

He also saw the ore vein, and his eyes instantly became fervent.

When his gaze met Ye Chen's, that fervor immediately transformed into cold killing intent.

"It's you!"

He had just been hunted by the Three-Headed Serpent King, suffering heavy losses. He barely escaped using a Escape Talisman (escape talisman) granted by his sect, only to discover this treasure trove, initially thinking it was a turning point from despair.

He didn't expect that this Loose Cultivator, with whom he had a grudge in Danyun City, would also be here.

Ye Chen, seeing Jian Wuchen, also frowned and said coldly.

"I discovered this place first. If you know what's good for you, scram."

"You discovered it first?"

Jian Wuchen was so enraged he laughed. He was convinced that Ye Chen had used some scheme to lure the Serpent King, causing the deaths of his junior brothers.

Now encountering him here again, he was certain that Ye Chen had been eyeing this place for a long time.

"I haven't settled the score with you from the swamp yet. Now, you still want to monopolize this ore vein?"

"Leave your life and the ore vein behind!"

Before his words finished, a sharp sword qi had already slashed down towards Ye Chen's head.

Ye Chen, also an arrogant individual, seeing the other party resort to deadly force without a word, was consumed by rage.

"Courting death!"

Boom!

The two Geniuses, in this narrow valley, fiercely fought each other.

Sword qi ripped through the air, and the light of Magical Artifacts illuminated the cliffs.

Both were already injured, and now they fought with their lives on the line, various secret techniques from their hidden arsenals emerging one after another.

The valley walls continuously collapsed, and shattered rocks flew everywhere.

Lu Yuan, hidden in the shadows, showed no change in expression.

He merely raised a finger, and a trace of imperceptible Karma power quietly emanated.

Ye Chen, who was about to use a secret technique to recover spiritual energy, suddenly had a flash of the humiliating scene where Lu Yuan snatched the Dragon Saliva Jade in Danyun City. His mind froze, and the circulation of his spiritual energy experienced a momentary stagnation.

On the other side, Jian Wuchen's eyes flashed with the image of his junior brothers tragically dying in the serpent's mouth. Rage surged, and the angle of his sword strikes became even more ruthless, completely abandoning defense.

Bang!

Ye Chen was struck by a sword, a deep, bone-revealing wound cut across his chest.

Jian Wuchen was also hit in the abdomen by Ye Chen's desperate blow, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

Both were severely injured.

They were both panting, their spiritual energy exhausted, glaring fiercely at each other, neither able to launch a fatal blow.

Just then.

The entire valley was suddenly enveloped in a faint white mist.

The mist rapidly thickened, obscuring vision and blocking divine sense.

"An illusion array?"

Both were startled simultaneously, and an ominous premonition surged in their hearts.

In the mist, footsteps sounded, neither fast nor slow.

A figure calmly passed through the core area of their intense battle, walking towards the intact Void Crystal ore vein.

"It's you!"

Ye Chen clearly saw that ordinary face, his eyes almost bleeding.

Jian Wuchen also recognized this Qingyun Sect Disciple, whom he had reprimanded at the edge of the swamp, and the muscles on his face twisted in extreme shock.

Lu Yuan ignored them.

He walked to the cliff, summoned a shovel-shaped Magical Artifact, and began to mine calmly.

One piece.

Two pieces.

Piece after piece of Void Crystal was cleanly stripped off by him and put into his storage bag.

His demeanor was not like someone plundering treasure in a perilous secret realm, but rather like someone picking ripe fruit in their own backyard.

Ye Chen and Jian Wuchen's eyes turned red. They struggled to get up, but due to their severe injuries, even moving a finger was incredibly difficult.

They could only watch helplessly as the treasure they had fought desperately for was effortlessly taken away by this "ant" who had been hiding in the dark.

This humiliation was more unbearable than being killed.

Soon, the entire ore vein was mined clean.

Lu Yuan weighed the heavy storage bag, a satisfied expression on his face.

He turned around, glanced at the ground, with no intention of delivering a finishing blow.

Killing them would incur immense Karma.

But keeping them alive, and making them hate each other, held greater value.

Lu Yuan's figure was about to disappear into the mist.

He suddenly stopped and, in a hoarse, completely unfamiliar voice, said something in Jian Wuchen's direction.

"You waste of the Sword Sect, thank you for helping me hold him back."

With that, he no longer lingered, completely merging into the mist.

The mist slowly dispersed.

Jian Wuchen struggled to lift his head, only to see Ye Chen use his last ounce of strength, summon an escape talisman, and transform into a streak of blood-light, disappearing miserably into the sky.

And the ore vein was already empty.

"Ye Chen!!!"

Jian Wuchen let out a mournful roar, unlike a human voice. Overcome with rage, he spat out another mouthful of blood and completely fainted.