A Natural-Born Demonic Cultivator

A flash of pale blue light appeared, and the world changed color.

Compared to the terrible experience with the rune array last time, this time the pillar of light was much more comfortable.

After only a brief feeling of weightlessness, we found ourselves on a wide underwater beach.

Xiao Chen looked down and saw a large expanse of white and soft sea sand beneath his feet.

There were no obvious landmarks in any direction, only a few scattered corals or irregularly shaped large rocks.

You can also see Seashell clinging to rocks, or crabs that aren't completely hidden in the sand, with one claw tip sticking out.

This crab was lucky.

Because Xiao Chen didn't care about catching it.

But it wasn't very smart; it actually chose to take the initiative and hunt down the intruder that had suddenly appeared and entered its attack range.

Then it was immediately torn into eight pieces.

"Since I don't know which way to go, I'll go this way."

Xiao Chen simply walked straight ahead.

Then, unsurprisingly, they arrived at the end of the ruins, which was sealed off by layers upon layers of restrictions.

Great, we've already ruled out a wrong direction right from the start.

He immediately turned around and walked in the opposite direction, and sure enough, he soon came across a large expanse of colorful Coral Forest.

Among them are giant Coral Tree that perch on large rocks, reaching heights of several meters or even tens of meters.

"This ruin is quite large."

As Xiao Chen strolled through the Coral Forest, he extended his Divine Sense and discovered that a hundred miles ahead, the entire area was also covered in coral.

If we include the more than 600 miles of border he accidentally discovered earlier because he went the wrong way.

I'm afraid the surrounding areas alone would be nearly a thousand miles away.

Of course, Xiao Chen had seen even longer places before.

The problem is, he hasn't seen a single cultivator so far!

It should be noted that nearly ten thousand rogue cultivators had already rushed into the ruins before he entered.

Most of them were Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and their escape speed couldn't possibly be that fast.

In other words, the area surrounding this site extends for thousands of miles.

Moreover, it is likely to be so vast that it could randomly disperse so many cultivators to different locations.

"Hmm, it doesn't seem that big."

Just as he was thinking of other cultivators, a broken Flying Sword appeared in front of Xiao Chen.

The remaining blade was pitted and uneven, as if it had been corroded by poison or some kind of extremely hot liquid.

The importance of Flying Sword to cultivators goes without saying.

Since the Flying Sword has already broken, it seems that its owner must have perished as well.

"Whoosh!"

A whooshing sound rang out.

Suddenly, a bright red arrow of blood shot out from the top of a blood-red coral tree as tall as a person, heading straight for Xiao Chen.

"Snow Surge Spirit Armor!"

Xiao Chen skillfully cast Law Technique, and an Ice Armor immediately appeared, blocking the incoming blood arrow.

"Sizzle!"

Accompanied by a piercing sound, wisps of white smoke rose from the Ice Armor.

It turned out that it wasn't a blood arrow at all, but boiling Crimson Spirit Water.

When it landed on the Ice Armor, it immediately eroded several holes.

It was almost identical to the marks on the Flying Sword.

"What is it?"

Xiao Chen scanned the area with his Divine Sense but could not see anything unusual.

However, he didn't dwell on this point too much, and instead unleashed a backhand strike. "Condensing Fire Palm!"

In this situation, regardless of whether there's a problem with the coral itself or something Profound Mystery, just attack it first.

He had no intention of protecting the Coral Forest from destruction.

"Boom!"

The raging flames completely engulfed a large area of nearby coral.

"Squeak!"

A two-foot-long nematode suddenly emerged from the Coral Tree.

Its entire body was blood red, almost identical to the Coral Tree in which it hid. It was neither afraid of Divine Sense detection nor of naked eye observation.

But being flesh and blood, it rolled twice in the flames and then fell still.

The surface gradually solidified, turning completely black.

However, a small crack appeared in the middle of its abdomen, revealing a round, blood-red Spirit Pearl.

Upon picking it up, I found it contained an exceptionally abundant amount of blood Spiritual Power, fully meeting the standards of a third-tier Spirit Pearl.

Due to its special properties, if a suitable use can be found, it should even be more valuable than a regular third-tier Spirit Pearl.

"Such a strange insect exists?"

Xiao Chen now understood the whole story, but he was still somewhat surprised.

Whether from the perspective of physical size, Spiritual Power reaction, or the degree of resistance after being attacked.

This Blood Red Threadworm is only at the Foundation Establishment Realm stage.

However, in terms of stealth and the lethality of that venom, it's worth considering...

It's likely that even cultivators who have just entered the Golden Core stage are very likely to fall victim to this.

In other words, this is a special second-tier spirit insect that, if used properly, can counter ordinary Golden Core cultivators.

Considering that it contains Blood Spirit Pearl, large-scale breeding might be a good way to earn Spirit Stone.

If a few of these could be captured and sent to the Southern Domain, they would be enough to become the protective treasures of many Lineage.

Xiao Chen looked around. "If there are a lot of these nematodes, the casualties at this site could be exceptionally high."

This Coral Forest, stretching for hundreds of miles, will likely become a burial ground.

He walked a short distance further and encountered another Flying Sword that had been completely corroded and destroyed.

The difference this time was that there were also dozens of plump, white insects, about the thickness of a thumb, gnawing on the remains of the Flying Sword.

Even as Xiao Chen approached, she remained unresponsive, continuing to eat as if nothing was wrong.

"Whoosh!"

"Boom!"

The Blood Red Threadworm lurking nearby attempted a sneak attack, but were burned to a crisp along with the larvae on the ground by the Condensing Fire Palm.

However, inside the larvae, there are only a few tiny, almost invisible, Spirit Pearl, about the size of sesame seeds.

Moreover, the color isn't pure enough; it's not even as good as a Low-grade Spirit Stone.

It seems that only adult insects can produce qualified Blood Spirit Pearl.

"This density is too high! There's no way to survive."

In the six hundred miles of Coral Forest, Xiao Chen encountered eleven similar incidents.

Along the way, they acquired a total of thirteen Blood Spirit Pearl.

This was only what he saw; there must have been many more cultivators who left silently.

It seems this New Ruin is not friendly to low-level cultivators; there will likely be heavy casualties.

However, if one has the ability to kill the Blood Red Threadworm and harvest the Blood Spirit Pearl...

Even this one item alone would be considered a considerable gain for an ordinary cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist, save me! There's Bandit Cultivator!"

Suddenly, a loud shout came from the right rear, and a round-faced Golden Core cultivator rushed out of the Coral Forest in a disheveled state.

He frantically manipulated the spirit shield to protect his back.

He shouted for help to Xiao Chen, trying to get assistance.

"Where do you think you're going? Today I will uphold justice on behalf of Heaven!"

Behind him, a Green Robe Cultivator robes wearing a bamboo hat and carrying Flying Sword caught up.

After emerging from the Coral Forest, his speed suddenly increased, clearly surpassing that of the round-faced cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist, save me!"

Seeing that he couldn't escape, the round-faced cultivator rushed straight to Xiao Chen's side, trying to hide behind him.

At the same time, he cried out, "Fellow Daoist, he's Bandit Cultivator! He wants to kill me and steal my treasure!"

"I am deeply sorry to have encountered this calamity today. I implore you, fellow Daoist, to lend me your assistance. My Lineage and I will certainly repay you handsomely afterward."

"I will be very grateful!"

Unexpectedly, the Green Robe Cultivator pointed his sword and said, "You beast! How dare you spout nonsense and distort the truth! You are truly shameless!"

However, he glanced at Xiao Chen and was slightly taken aback.

He then flicked his wrist, twirled the sword, and sheathed Flying Sword.

He reached out and removed his bamboo hat. "Daoist Xiao, this person is Bandit Cultivator, do not let him escape!"

Without the bamboo hat to conceal his identity, Xiao Chen immediately recognized the person as Zhang Shouquan.

Wait, why did you switch to using a sword?

I'd never heard of them using Swordsmanship before.

However, Xiao Chen also noticed that Zhang Shouquan not only had Flying Sword at his waist, but he had also changed his Spirit Robe.

In addition, the bamboo hat that conceals his face suggests that he is trying to actively hide his identity.

That is indeed the case.

Zhang Shouquan is currently hiding from his enemies, and has therefore changed his appearance.

If it were any other cultivator here, he would have directly killed that round-faced evil cultivator, even if he was misunderstood.

However, he happened to run into Xiao Chen.

If they were to actually fight, he definitely wouldn't stand a chance, given his swordsmanship skills which he'd only practiced for a little over a month.

In this situation, if Zhang Shouquan continues to conceal his identity and the two sides rely on verbal arguments, it will be almost impossible to determine who is right and who is wrong.

So he simply chose to reveal his identity in an attempt to gain Xiao Chen's trust.

When the round-faced cultivator realized that the two seemed to know each other, he was immediately terrified and tried to continue his escape.

"Stop!"

Xiao Chen turned around and grabbed him. "Why are you running? Feeling guilty?"

In fact, the moment he saw Zhang Shouquan, he felt that the other party was unlikely to lie.

But just in case, and also out of curiosity, he decided to ask one more question, "Daoist Zhang, what's this guy doing?"

Zhang Shouquan first put his straw hat back on, once again concealing his presence.

He then explained, "Daoist Xiao, you are unaware of this. I just saw this beast capturing Foundation Establishment Cultivator everywhere to feed those Coral Worm."

"Use flesh and blood to feed the larvae, thereby harvesting more Blood Spirit Pearl."

ah?

Is this even possible?

Xiao Chen immediately looked at the round-faced cultivator with new respect; this was truly good material for becoming a demonic cultivator!

It's a real shame you were born in the Eastern Domain; the Divine Fire Sect needs someone like you much more.

"Fellow Daoist, I was just confused for a moment, and suddenly my mind was clouded by lard."

The round-faced cultivator, pinned down by a single hand and unable to break free, immediately cried out and begged for mercy, "I'm willing to give all my Blood Spirit Pearl to you, fellow Daoist, plus another 100,000, no, 200,000 Spirit Stones."

"I was wrong, I will never do it again. Please, fellow Daoist, have mercy on me this once!"

Xiao Chen shook his head. "You're being very disrespectful to me. How could you try to bribe me with my money?"

With a sudden burst of strength, he twisted the other man's head off.

Considering that the Divine Fire Sect no longer exists, it's a good idea to send him down to reunite with them.

Oh dear, I did another good deed today.

Xiao Chen then picked up the round-faced cultivator's Spirit Artifact and Storage Ring and threw them to Zhang Shouquan: "Since Fellow Daoist Zhang discovered his crimes, these things are yours to keep."

If I hadn't passed by here, these things would have belonged to the other party.

However, Zhang Shouquan threw the things back and shook his head. "I chased him not for profit, but because I couldn't stand that kind of violence."

"Since it was Daoist Xiao who ultimately killed this fiend, then this thing naturally belongs to you."

Okay.

Since Zhang Shouquan didn't want it, Xiao Chen didn't refuse any further.

Neither of them is the type to lack a pittance.

However, since they had met by chance, he immediately extended an invitation. "It is fate that we met today. Would Daoist Zhang be willing to travel with me?"

Firstly, Xiao Chen had been thinking of befriending Zhang Shouquan.

This joint exploration of the ruins is a perfect opportunity.

Secondly, Xiao Chen also wanted to follow Zhang Shouquan's lead.

The other party took the best things last time in the Guiyun Secret Realm.

With such luck, perhaps this time I'll encounter some special fortuitous opportunity.

If Xiao Chen is nearby, it'll be convenient for him to tag along.

Speaking of this, I still miss Lin Ping'an a bit. Back then, I always gained a lot by following him.

"Um... I'm really sorry, I'm a little unavailable right now."

Zhang Shouquan hesitated for a moment, then took the initiative to explain, "Daoist Xiao should have noticed some clues as well, so I won't hide anything from you."

"I recently offended some people, and they've teamed up to hunt me down."

"If we travel together, and we are discovered, it will likely implicate you. I'd better travel alone."

"I'll take my leave now, and hope to meet you again someday!"

Without waiting for a response, he activated his escape technique and left.

Good grief, you're being hunted down too.

No wonder he was wearing a bamboo hat and carrying Flying Sword.

Xiao Chen actually wanted to express his opinion; he wasn't afraid of being implicated.

But after thinking about it, given Zhang Shouquan's abilities, the force that could make him so cautious was probably not an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, but rather Nascent Soul Stage force.

In that case, it's best not to get involved and just watch from the sidelines.

The main problem is that Xiao Chen himself has a lot of troubles to deal with right now. Leaving aside those far away in the Storm Sea, there's the Yi Family Old Ancestor he encountered a few days ago.

It's best to avoid things like this as much as possible.

To deliberately offend even more Nascent Soul True Lord is simply a sign that one is living too comfortably.

So Xiao Chen glanced in the direction Zhang Shouquan had left, deliberately changing his angle, and continued exploring forward.

After leaving the Coral Forest for about two hundred miles, a stone-paved road, resembling a main road, finally appeared ahead.

Continuing along this road for about two hundred miles, we finally saw a massive Palace Complex in the distance.

Looking into the distance, one can see thousands of palaces unfolding one after another.

With its jade towers and golden halls, green tiles and vermilion eaves, coral pillars and tortoiseshell beams, triple-tiered gilded brackets, and twelve water-covered Bell Tower, it resembles the legendary Dragon Palace.

Wow, it's so beautiful!

Xiao Chen sighed as he looked at the beautiful scenery before him.

He immediately quickened his pace.

If nothing unexpected happens, there must be something good inside this Palace Complex.

It's quite a coincidence, I wonder if it's because someone arrived earlier.

The towering, six-zhang-high (approximately 33 meters) red Palace Gate was now fully open to both sides.

There are four small doors on each side, all of which are unobstructed.

Xiao Chen followed the central avenue, his gaze passing through the 999-step White Jade staircase ahead, and glanced at the central hall.

He glanced at the side door again, and through the winding corridor, he could vaguely see the soaring eaves of the side hall.

Where are the good things hidden?

Xiao Chen thought for a moment. If he were the builder of the ruins, he certainly wouldn't have placed the truly valuable items in the most obvious, easily visible main hall.

So he decided to go check out the side hall on the right first.

Walking along the corridor to the outside of the side hall, the first thing you see is a thick layer of protective barriers.

Moreover, compared to the woodshed-like places we passed along the way.

The protective barriers around the side hall were clearly several times thicker.

Under normal circumstances, breaking such a complex and large-scale restriction would take at least a day and a night.

Based on this situation, it can be inferred that the main hall will only be more complicated, and it will take a very long time to get in.

That means that if Xiao Chen is quick enough, he could even go around to the main hall for a look after exploring the side hall.

At that time, some of the cultivators who arrived first should be able to break through the most complex restrictions.

"This schedule is absolutely perfect!"

Xiao Chen praised himself, then casually took out the array plate of the Profound Yellow Inverse Flow Formation from his Vast Sea Ring and began to set up the array.

He is now a cultivator with a solid foundation, and no longer needs to painstakingly grind down the restrictions using his own true essence like ordinary rogue cultivators.

Once the array is set up correctly, the problem can be easily solved.

Three hours later.

With a barely perceptible cracking sound, a burst of spiritual light suddenly erupted from the door of the side hall, then vanished completely.

"Squeak!"

Driven by the Formation Power, a crack was directly pushed open.

"Whoosh!"

A silver needle, as thin as a cow's hair, shot out from the crack in the door.

It actually pierced through the formation and headed straight for Xiao Chen.

Fortunately, as Body Cultivator, he reacted quickly enough, immediately raising his hand and firmly clamping the Flying Needle with his index and middle fingers.

"Smack!"

The Flying Needle actually exploded on the spot, spewing out a light purple smoke that instantly enveloped his entire body.

Xiao Chen took a whiff and smelled a faint magnolia fragrance.

It smells quite nice.

Moreover, it contained a rich Spiritual Power. He immediately opened his mouth wide and swallowed all the purple qi, refining it on the spot.

It actually added a layer of true essence to the Flawless Golden Core.

"It tastes pretty good!"

Xiao Chen nodded in agreement.

Only then did he push open the door and enter, searching for the treasures left inside.

Although it was a side hall, it was extremely spacious.

It is about ten zhang deep from front to back, and several tens of zhang deep from north to south.

Passing the eight-leaf screen at the entrance and parting the jade beaded curtain, one finds various exquisite furnishings inside.

Despite the passage of countless years, thanks to a subtle flow of Spiritual Qi swirling within the room, the entire space remained spotless.

In order not to miss any hidden treasures, Xiao Chen patiently opened every cabinet and every drawer.

They even carefully removed the base plate to ensure there were no hidden compartments inside.

Unfortunately, they only found some Second-Order Spiritual Object and a few relatively common Third-Order Spiritual Object, which together were worth only about 100,000 Spirit Stone.

For other cultivators, this is not a small amount.

But for Xiao Chen, it was better than nothing.

"Looks like we'll have to go to the inner room."

Based on his previous experience, the innermost room with the bed would contain the most valuable items in the entire side hall.

Sure enough, after parting the draped red silk and green gauze, a square table came into view.

On the table is a Moon Ring Tray, on which rests a Round Strange Stone.

One end is milky white, and the other end is jet black, each occupying half of the body.

Two distinct Spiritual Power, one yin and one yang, coexist within the stone, yet remain clearly separate and do not interfere with each other in the slightest.

"This is... Yin Yang Stone?"

Xiao Chen didn't know what this thing was called, but he could tell at a glance that it was definitely a good thing.

I carefully sensed the Spiritual Power inside, and it was incredibly abundant!

This means that this Strange Stone is at least Fourth-Order Spiritual Item.

"Good, good, good, it was worth the trip!"

Xiao Chen immediately stored the entire tray into his Vast Sea Ring.

With this fourth-tier Strange Stone, his exploration of the New Ruin was now considered to have at least a guaranteed reward.

Unfortunately, after searching the entire hut, no other spiritual items were found besides the Strange Stone.

The room was quite simple, with only a table, a pair of cabinets, a bed, and a pair of porcelain vases placed on the bedside table.

Xiao Chen got up to leave, but then suddenly stopped. "Wait, this bed looks pretty good too."

The furnishings that could be placed in the side hall were naturally all treasures.

Whether it's the Purple Leaf Eight Immortals Table, the Blue Enamel Gold Inlay Cabinet, or the Gold Plated Cold Jade Bed, you can see that they all contain the craftsman's painstaking efforts.

Of course, the key point is that it was a Jade Ice Bed.

At first glance, it seems quite ordinary, not a particularly valuable material.

However, when Xiao Chen tried to sit cross-legged on it and absorb the surrounding Spiritual Qi to cultivate...

The flowing Spiritual Qi instantly activated the inscriptions hidden inside the jade bed.

Instantly, a simple Spirit Gathering Formation formed beneath him.

A slight chill rose up, helping him to calm his mind and concentrate on his cultivation.

"Goodness, it was hidden so well, I almost missed it."

Although Xiao Chen can now enter a meditative state at any time, he doesn't really need this effect anymore.

But other monks don't have Hextech; they'll definitely need it.

Considering that this item can be passed down through generations, if it can be sold at the next major auction, it could fetch at least four or five hundred thousand Spirit Stone.

"Take it away! It must be taken away!"

To avoid damaging the Jade Ice Bed, Xiao Chen specifically chose to take out his Flying Sword and start cutting from the floor.

He then stored the Gold Plated Cold Jade Bed in his Sundries Ring.

To ensure nothing was missed, he also re-inspected the rest of the furnishings in the side hall.

But this time there really weren't any other spiritual objects.

After leaving the side hall, Xiao Chen went to take a look at the main hall.

Strangely, however, there was no trace of other cultivators around the main hall, and the massive restrictions remained completely undamaged.

What's going on?

Where did the other cultivators go?

We can't let the Coral Forest block our way, can we?

That doesn't make sense. There are several hundred Golden Core cultivator here this time alone.

However, this is also a good thing; if no one comes, no one will compete with me for my things.

"Alright then, let's do it ourselves."

Xiao Chen re-established the Profound Yellow Inverse Flow Formation and began to break the restrictions.

This time it indeed took five times longer to finally get it done.

The main hall's Palace Gate was also three zhang high and one zhang wide, and was extremely heavy.

The Formation Power alone was not enough to move it.

Xiao Chen summoned the Ghost Mask Profound Light Shield, unleashing its Protective Spiritual Light, before reaching out to push open the door.

"So heavy?"

Even with his arm strength, he couldn't budge it at first.

Xiao Chen took a deep breath, raised his arms horizontally, and suddenly exerted force.

"Squeak~~~!"

With a teeth-grinding scraping sound, the two Palace Gate were finally slowly pushed open.