Sinister People

Su Shi'er knew nothing of what happened afterward.

Nor did he know that someone had already set their sights on him.

But he acted cautiously. He ran dozens of miles in one breath, then used another Escape Talisman before finally stopping.

He glanced at the fiery red flying sword. Seeing that it was merely a Low-grade Magical Artifact, he did not give it much thought.

Then, he circulated a thread of True Yuan to inspect the Storage Pouch in his hand.

"This... I truly never expected that a mere Tianhua Peak disciple at Qi Refining Stage Five could gather four pieces of Second-Grade Material in just two days?!"

"Adding this Profound Clear Ice Lotus, that means I only need to gather half the remaining materials before I can become an Official Disciple."

After checking the Tianhua Peak disciple's Storage Pouch, he was initially stunned, then his face lit up with delight.

Inside the Storage Pouch were, astonishingly, four pieces of Second-Grade Material: one spiritual plant and three chunks of ironstone. Other than that, there were only some of that disciple's personal belongings.

Apart from several talismans, there did not seem to be anything more valuable.

Just as he was about to withdraw his senses, Su Shi'er raised his brows and pulled out a palm-sized Parchment Map.

Several immortal paths and locations were marked on the Parchment Map. The most eye-catching of them was a location circled in red: the Spiritual Plant Garden.

"Hm? Could this be the map of the Spiritual Plant Garden Meng Tianyi mentioned back then?"

Su Shi'er's breathing caught, and he immediately understood.

But after sweeping his gaze over it, he could not help feeling somewhat vexed. This map was exceedingly crude. Aside from several marked locations and a few descriptions, it contained no other information.

"I have no idea where I am right now. None of the places I've passed through these past days correspond to any of the locations on this map."

"Looks like even if everyone had a copy of this map, they still might not actually be able to find the Spiritual Plant Garden."

"Still, Tianhua Peak has nothing if not people. A single peak with over a thousand people—

Even if not everyone had a map, most of them probably knew about the Spiritual Plant Garden. With so many people, surely a hundred or so could find it. No wonder... no wonder Tianhua Peak was so confident."

Though he had vaguely guessed Tianhua Peak's plan, this map was as good as useless, leaving Su Shi'er rather disappointed.

But on second thought, gathering so many spiritual materials right at the start was still a good thing.

At this rate, he could certainly try to break into the top ten within the peak. Or, after purchasing enough materials to advance to Official Disciple, he could choose to enter seclusion and cultivate for two months.

Over the next few days, relying on the Heavenly Eye Technique and darting about everywhere, he found another two pieces of Second-Grade Spiritual Material.

"This Ancient Forbidden Zone really is huge! The sect has truly spared no expense to strip this place of its materials! In these ten days, I've searched no fewer than twenty locations, yet nearly all of them had already been picked clean?!"

"Still, the Heavenly Eye Technique is not a spell specifically meant for treasure hunting. Several times, it actually led me to demon beast lairs? Good thing I ran fast..."

That day, Su Shi'er activated the Heavenly Eye Technique and hurried through an unknown forest.

Under his watchful gaze, wisps of golden spiritual energy drifted from the distance.

"Judging from the distribution of gold spiritual energy in the air, it should definitely be a metal-attribute material."

Muttering softly, Su Shi'er soon emerged from the forest and arrived at a small hill.

The moment he spotted two corpses lying on the hillside, his pupils contracted, and his first instinct was to run.

After retreating several steps, however, he stopped and studied them carefully.

They were the bodies of an old man and a burly man.

The burly man lay in a pool of blood, a sword wound slashed across his throat. He had clearly died after being killed by a single sword stroke.

In his hand, he clutched a golden stone the size of a pigeon egg.

Before him, the old man lay on the ground, gripping a Low-grade Magical Artifact longsword. Three nails were embedded in his brow, while four more iron nails lay scattered nearby, seemingly knocked down by a flying sword in a hasty exchange.

"Hm... if I'm not mistaken, what that burly man is holding should be a top-grade Second-Grade Material, Glazed Gold."

"From the look of things, the two must have fought over this Glazed Gold. The burly man was no match for his opponent and had his throat cut by a sword, but before he died, he fired seven iron nails and dragged the old man down with him!"

Su Shi'er analyzed the scene silently, unable to stop himself from sighing inwardly.

They were clearly fellow disciples, yet they fought until one side died and the other fell for the sake of various materials.

This sight made him deeply feel the cruelty of the cultivation world. This was no trial at all—it was plainly an arena for life-and-death duels.

Shaking his head helplessly, he immediately stepped forward to collect the treasures.

"They killed each other, so this is a windfall for me!"

As he was thinking this, Su Shi'er's gaze landed on the burly man's tiger's mouth. His pupils shrank, and his steps paused.

"Wait. With such thick calluses, how could this big man's weapon possibly have been iron nails?!"

As the thought flashed through his mind, Su Shi'er's breath caught, and cold sweat instantly drenched his back.

He had already used the Heavenly Eye Technique to inspect the surrounding area and had not seen anyone else at all.

Had he not noticed this detail in time, if he had simply walked over, there would likely have been another corpse on the ground the next moment—his own.

"Who could be so sinister?!"

Muttering to himself, Su Shi'er continued forward without changing expression.

But when he approached the two corpses, he suddenly stopped.

Without hesitation, he used the Object Manipulation Technique to draw the four scattered iron nails into his sleeve and store them in his Storage Pouch.

Having done that, he immediately turned to leave.

"Bastard, leave this lady's Soul Severing Nails behind!"

At that moment, an angry, crisp voice rang out.

A wave of spiritual energy rippled through the air. Then, a seductive woman with a curvaceous figure, full in front and rounded behind, appeared.

The instant she appeared, she flung out three Flame Talismans. Three head-sized Fireballs tore through the air and smashed toward Su Shi'er.

"Hm? There really was someone! It's actually her?!"

Su Shi'er's pupils abruptly contracted. He immediately recognized her as the Female cultivator surnamed Chu who had sold him talismans at the trading square half a year ago.

"You really are no good, you woman. Scamming me was one thing, but you even tried to ambush me. Next time we meet, I'll make you pay!"

Su Shi'er glared viciously at her and immediately cursed.

Half a year ago, the top-grade talisman he had bought had been switched under the cover of darkness, and another Qi Gathering Pill had vanished as well. Other than this woman, he could not think of anyone else who would do something so wicked.

As he spoke, before the attacks could land, he stomped hard. The Shadowless Illusionary Steps immediately unfolded, and amid a gust of wind, his entire body soared into the sky.

"I'm no good? You bastard, you took this lady's things and still think you're in the right?! Do you think you can escape today?"

The Female cultivator surnamed Chu had also been somewhat surprised to see Su Shi'er. This brat was actually still alive? What kind of joke was that?

But the moment she heard Su Shi'er's words, rage flared within her, and her chest heaved violently with fury.

With a flick of her hand, she threw out three Ice Spike Talismans.

The talismans activated, instantly forming three finger-long ice spikes that shot toward Su Shi'er in the air with lightning speed.

The ice spikes glinted with a cold light as they flew through the air. One glance was enough to tell that their power was extraordinary.