Chapter 140: Chapter 139: Nothing is Faster Than Robbing

Wu Chen slept soundly.

He had trekked for over a month through vast mountains to reach Purple Mist Mountain, not to mention the Blood Slaughter Sect disciples he’d encountered along the way.

The deep forests were teeming with snakes, insects, rats, and ants. It was impossible to guard against all the various poisons, and ferocious beasts frequently appeared.

Ever since setting out on the road to the Blood Slaughter Sect, he truly hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep.

Even with the strength of the First Layer of the Organ Refining Realm, he was exhausted.

The physical fatigue was one thing; his Organ Refining Realm physique and the circulation of his internal energy could handle it. But the constant mental strain was truly unbearable.

Even though washing up in the clear spring water had helped, getting a good, long sleep felt far more reassuring.

Besides, he had run into an acquaintance, so Wu Chen wasn’t about to pass up this chance to rest.

He fell asleep under the warm sun, and when he opened his eyes again, the sky was filled with stars.

Wu Chen stared at the starry night sky, letting his mind go blank for a moment before gradually coming back to his senses.

Turning his head, he saw a straight figure standing about ten feet away, holding a sharp blade and vigilantly watching for any movement in the surroundings.

It was, of course, Xue Hongling.

"Thanks for standing guard."

Wu Chen greeted her as he climbed out from under his quilt. He stood up, stretched, then turned back to fold his bedding.

Well, "fold" was a generous term. He really just rolled it up with the blanket and tossed it into his storage pouch.

The sight made Xue Hongling’s brow furrow. She had to take several deep breaths to suppress the nameless irritation bubbling up inside her.

"You should get some rest, too. We’ll set out at dawn."

Wu Chen pulled out a brand-new set of bedding and, without taking no for an answer, shoved it into her arms.

It was the middle of the night. The silhouettes of distant mountains were visible under the starlight, and roars echoed from afar—sounding like a mix of ox and tiger—suggesting a fierce battle was underway.

Although it wasn’t a major disturbance, Wu Chen felt it was better for them to be fully rested and energized before setting out.

...

「The next morning.」

As the morning light spilled over the horizon, the entire secret realm brightened.

The two of them ate something to fill their stomachs before continuing deeper into the secret realm.

"It’s been a day since we entered the secret realm. I wonder if those other guys have found anything."

Wu Chen muttered to himself, holding the map in his hands.

He looked at the map, his gaze skipping over several nearby small areas of little value. It finally landed on a location about fifty *li* away, marked as a Blood Stone Ore Vein of exceptionally high value.

’Blood Stone.’

’Ordinary quality, one for three Contribution Points.’

’Medium quality, redeemable for ten Contribution Points.’

’High quality, redeemable for twenty Contribution Points.’

’Peak quality, redeemable for fifty Contribution Points.’

Perhaps because space on the map was limited and the values for different qualities took up too much room, there was no description of what Blood Stone was used for.

Wu Chen turned to Xue Hongling beside him. After all, the map had come from a Blood Slaughter Sect disciple, and since she was from the sect, she should know the purpose of Blood Stone.

He pointed to the location of the ore vein on the map and asked:

"What is this Blood Stone? Why is it so valuable?"

"It’s a type of iron ore used to forge weapons. It looks no different from a regular stone, but when you cut through the outer rock layer, you’ll find it’s dark red inside."

Xue Hongling glanced at the map where Wu Chen was pointing, then raised the dark red blade in her hand.

"This blade of mine was forged from ordinary Blood Stone."

"Medium and high-quality Blood Stones have a more vibrant color inside and can be used to forge Tier One weapons. The main difference is the level of impurities within."

"As for peak-quality Blood Stone, when you cut it open, the inside is like blood—exceptionally dazzling."

"About twenty of them... though it also depends on the Forging Master’s skill and what other materials are incorporated... can be used to forge a Tier Two weapon."

"Within the sect, we call them Blood Blades."

Wu Chen nodded slightly. From Xue Hongling’s explanation, he understood why peak-quality Blood Stone was so valuable: it was a material for forging Tier Two weapons.

But Xue Hongling wasn’t finished explaining. She continued:

"However, these ore veins are depleted. It’s extremely difficult to find peak-quality Blood Stone now, so basically no one ever gets those fifty Contribution Points."

"That said, although peak-quality Blood Stone is hard to come by, it’s the easiest to find. When you get close to it, your skin will feel a sharp, needle-like sting."

"Furthermore, the Tier Two weapons forged from peak-quality Blood Stone are extraordinarily strange. The more you kill with them, the more blood they absorb, and the sharper they become."

"Extraordinarily strange? The more you kill, the sharper it gets!"

Hearing this, Wu Chen repeated the phrase, his eyes lighting up.

’This is practically a weapon tailor-made for me!’

’If I’d had a Blood Blade like this earlier, after killing all those gangs, plus the Demon Corpses and the Blood Slaughter Sect members...’

’This Tier Two blade might have advanced to Tier Three all on its own!’

Xue Hongling seemed to read his mind and gently shook her head.

"I’ve heard that Tier Two weapons forged from Blood Stone are exceptionally tyrannical. The more enemies you kill and the more Qi and Blood they absorb, the more they stimulate the wielder’s own Qi and Blood, causing it to surge like a violent tide crashing against the shore."

"How could an ordinary Martial Artist dare to use such a weapon? How could they possibly handle it?"

"Within the Blood Slaughter Sect, only those two powerful black-robed Elders possess one."

"They are both at the Perfection stage of the Organ Refining Realm and can rely on the formidable power within their bodies to protect their hearts and organs, unafraid of the weapon’s backlash."

"But if an ordinary person were to wield such a weapon, their Qi and Blood would eventually reverse course in their organs, and they would suffer a fate of exploding and dying."

After speaking, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at this reckless young man, afraid he would do something foolish.

However, what she saw was Wu Chen’s eyes growing brighter and brighter after hearing her words.

He looked at Xue Hongling excitedly. "You mean there are two of them, ready-made, at the Blood Slaughter Sect outside this secret realm?"

Xue Hongling: "..."

’Great. That was a complete waste of breath.’

Xue Hongling truly didn’t understand where Wu Chen got the audacity to say such a thing. And what was there to be excited about?

’Shouldn’t he be afraid?’

’He’ll have to face Elders who are nearly at the Blood Coagulation Realm, and they’re armed with such tyrannical weapons.’

’Even a true Blood Coagulation Realm expert, without a comparable weapon of their own for protection, would have to retreat before the might of those two black-robed Elders.’

Of course, Wu Chen had his reasons for being excited.

’Compared to painstakingly searching for stones and then forging a weapon, what could be faster than just killing someone and taking theirs?’

Besides, in all these years, only two Elders in the Blood Slaughter Sect had managed to get one each. This showed just how rare peak-quality Blood Stone was in this ore vein; by now, it was probably completely depleted.

Even if he got lucky and found three or five pieces of Blood Stone, it would be nowhere near enough to forge a Blood Blade.

"In that case, let’s not go to this ore vein. Let’s go..."

After listening to Xue Hongling’s long explanation, Wu Chen figured there wouldn’t be much Blood Stone left here anyway. It would probably just be a bunch of Flesh Refining Realm disciples scrounging for ordinary stones.

Wasting ten days to half a month here, he’d be hard-pressed to earn even five hundred Contribution Points.

But as he looked at the vast map, he couldn’t decide on their next destination, so he turned to Xue Hongling beside him.

He knew that even if she had never been to this secret realm before, she would definitely know more than he did. He asked:

"On this map, where do the gathering places for those at the Meridian Passage Realm and above begin? Where are the resources richer?"

After all, although the map marked high-value locations, many of them, like the one with the peak-quality Blood Stone, had probably been picked clean long ago.

Only the disciples of the various sects would know the insider information about where resources were truly concentrated.

Just as Wu Chen expected, Xue Hongling extended a slender, jade-like finger and pointed to several locations on the map:

"The Vicious Insect Woodlands, the Wushan Cold Pond, the Flying Serpent Gorge..."

"These are all places that only those at the Meridian Passage Realm or higher have the ability to venture into."

"Plus, the secret realm only opens once every four years, so the rare treasures in these places have had time to mature."

Wu Chen nodded, put away the map, and looked into the distance.

"Then let’s start with the closest one—the Vicious Insect Woodlands! Let’s go!"

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