Chapter 661: Chapter 262: Ruan Lingchun’s Astonishment: Voluntarily Offering the Map

Xiao Chen knew there had to be some kind of danger lurking around the crystal.

So he had already prepared his defenses, silently chanting the name of the Jade Platform Fire Lotus.

But when he discovered the danger was just some vines, he was actually a little disappointed, and even a bit confused.

Admittedly, the vines were somewhat deadly.

’But this alone probably wouldn’t be enough to threaten elite cultivators, would it?’

After all, the Cangran Secret Realm had been around for a very long time. It wouldn’t make sense for only the map to leak without any accompanying warnings.

’So, there must be other dangers?’

Xiao Chen scanned his surroundings, remaining on high alert.

He wasn’t afraid of an ambush from other cultivators, but if the danger came from the Secret Realm itself, things could get unpredictable.

He didn’t want to activate the Blade of Night unless it was a critical moment.

A trump card was a trump card for a reason—you couldn’t just play it casually. It had to be kept hidden.

He patiently finished inspecting the seventh location.

Unfortunately, he didn’t find another crystal.

It seemed that each location could only produce a single Dao Crystal.

’So there’s a pattern to it?’

Xiao Chen got his bearings and started heading back toward the sixth location.

However, just as he turned, the vines seemed to receive some kind of order.

One after another, they shot up from the ground, weaving themselves between the surrounding trees to form a dense, blood-red web that blocked his path.

"Oh?"

Xiao Chen watched the vines, lost in thought. ’What’s this about? I can go in, but I can’t go back?’

But if this was all they had, it wouldn’t be enough to stop him.

With the help of his Flying Sword, he broke through the web of vines—a barrier that could have stopped an ordinary cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage—without much effort.

However, once he had sliced through all the vines before him...

...Xiao Chen found a birch tree standing up right in front of him.

Thanks to his Divine Protection Veil, he was certain it wasn’t an illusion.

It was, without a doubt, a birch tree about a foot in diameter. It tore its roots from the earth and used them like spider legs to haul itself upright.

"Whoa, are you a Spirit Monster?"

Far from panicking, Xiao Chen actually greeted it.

However, the birch tree ignored him, simply aiming its branches and every one of its leaves right at him.

The message was clear: if he tried to retreat any further, it would attack.

"Hmph. Who do you think you’re looking down on?"

Xiao Chen strode forward. "You think you can stop me by yourself? If you’ve got the guts, bring a few more. I’ll tear you all down and dig out your Tree Hearts."

Before the words had even left his mouth...

...the ground suddenly began to tremble.

Another tree, a pine, also stood up.

It was followed by a cypress, then a poplar... In the blink of an eye, dozens of trees around him had risen from the ground.

Like a platoon of archers, they all aimed their branches at Xiao Chen.

’Alright, mystery solved.’

’So this is where the real danger was.’

’I never would have guessed the Blood Vine Forest was hiding so many Spirit Monsters.’

Judging from their auras, each tree was equivalent to a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

That’s why even a full team of cultivators would have to be extremely careful here.

Xiao Chen, however, decided to make good on his word.

"BOOM!"

"CRACK!"

"THUD~!"

One giant tree after another was struck down and immediately chopped in two.

"I told you I’d tear you all down and dig out your Tree Hearts! You really thought I was joking, didn’t you!"

Xiao Chen snatched the faintly trembling Tree Heart, stored it in his Vast Sea Ring, and immediately charged toward the next Spirit Monster.

In less than forty-five minutes...

...all thirty-six giant trees had been reduced to a field of shattered lumber.

At a market price of roughly fifty thousand Spirit Stones per Tree Heart...

...that meant he had just netted at least 1.8 million Spirit Stones!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.