With every item Ye Qin spotted, he mentally recited its name and snatched it swiftly. One stalk of each herb was enough; his eyes darted around, scanning the Cold Pond vicinity for any other medicinal plants the Azure Elixir Sect might require.
Meanwhile, a throng of several dozen cultivators rushed toward a patch of Fire Thorns Ye Qin had deliberately left exposed as bait. They bombarded each other with fireballs and water arrows.
"Ow!"
A burly man covered in scars and sporting a thick beard braved the danger of being simultaneously assaulted by several spells to seize a few Fire Thorn fruits. Perhaps his protective barrier was too weakened, but as he grabbed them, his hand stung sharply from a thorn. With a cry of pain, his eyes turned bloodshot within moments; his breath grew ragged, and his aura became utterly violent.
"Hah!"
The scarred, burly man roared, wildly swinging the spirit sword in his hand, hacking recklessly at the cultivators around him. Those cultivators were enraged, fighting back fiercely until the frenzied, scarred man was hacked into frozen, charred fragments.
The chaotic scramble among the hundreds of Qi Refining stage cultivators at the bottom of the Cold Pond intensified.
"Brothers, kill them! Don't let them take the spiritual items!" "Get lost! We found that first!" "Watch my spell—Rapid Fireballs!" "Hmph! Earth Shield!"
Watching the chaotic battle, Ye Qin felt a secret dread. He cautiously guarded his surroundings, careful not to be targeted, constantly dodging and weaving to evade the fireballs and wind blades shooting from every direction. If someone maliciously ambushed him, he would simply launch a seed of the Fire Thorn to entangle the opponent, then swiftly use the Earth Evasion Technique to retreat far away, refusing any drawn-out confrontation.
With so many cultivators in the Cold Pond, an attack from another could come at any moment; no one could afford to chase him relentlessly.
Moreover, the Fire Thorns Ye Qin deployed were not easily shaken off. Many cultivators entangled by the thorns were quickly swarmed by others who seized the opportunity, hacked to pieces, and reduced to ashes.
The number of cultivators dying in the Cold Pond grew steadily, reaching at least forty or fifty.
Ye Qin's cold gaze inevitably fell upon the bodies of the fallen. Their swords, blades, and accessories were all spirit artifacts! Those common spirit artifacts, obtainable in the Immortal Fate City market, he ignored. But some rare, high-grade spirit artifacts were treasures that money couldn't necessarily buy in the marketplace.
He moved quickly, searching the items dropped by the deceased cultivators: one, two, three. There was no time to discern their value; he just collected them first.
As Ye Qin reached for a cloth pouch, he suddenly sensed a sharp, piercing aura attacking him from the side.
Bang!
His protective barrier vibrated violently. Ye Qin had no time to dodge and took a massive blow, sent tumbling several zhang before regaining his footing, his light barrier noticeably dimmed.
"Heh, this one is mine!"
A stout man in a yellow short shirt, at the fifth level of Qi Refining, wielding a massive iron hammer, grinned maliciously at Ye Qin, stooping down to pick up the pouch-like object. He weighed it in his hand, seeming satisfied, and tucked it into his robes.
Ye Qin’s expression instantly darkened.
He quickly checked his spiritual power. After entering the Cold Pond, he had continuously used his entanglement spell and withstood various magical assaults. His current spiritual power was less than one-fifth remaining, dangerously close to exhaustion. He couldn't remain in the Cold Pond any longer. If he suffered several more powerful spell attacks, his power would deplete, rendering him no different from a mortal commoner—a single fire spell would instantly kill him.
The yellow-shirted man was roughly his equal in strength, clearly noticing Ye Qin’s dwindling spiritual power. Relying on his own greater reserve, the man knew Ye Qin dared not fight him head-on, which prompted this decisive snatching attempt.
Ye Qin glared fiercely at the cloth pouch. That small bag seemed to be a rather rare spirit artifact. Biting down hard, he pulled out a small gourd from his robes and downed the entire contents of Chen Sang Wine in one gulp.
The potent wine, mixed with spiritual energy, spread rapidly. The spiritual energy followed the wine's path, swiftly nourishing the meridians throughout his body. His already dried-up spiritual power began to stir.
This small mouthful from the gourd—costing barely over ten low-grade spirit stones—did not restore much power, only enough for two uses of his entanglement spell. However, if he could snatch something truly good, the value would far exceed the cost.
Ye Qin fiercely gulped the wine again. The yellow-shirted man was momentarily stunned by the sight, his eyes wide with shock, "You have immortal wine that restores spiritual power!"
"Go die!"
Ye Qin let out a cold, sinister laugh. Flipping both palms, two fire seeds materialized in his hands. Spiritual power swiftly enveloped them, and with a flick of his finger—
"Entanglement Spell!"
Whoosh!
The two Fire Thorn seeds shot out.
The yellow-shirted man panicked and quickly tried to dodge with his great iron hammer. But his yellow earthen armor barrier made him surprisingly slow. The seeds struck one of his legs, and instantly, the man was wrapped entirely by the Fire Thorn vines, bound tightly.
Ye Qin lunged forward, drawing his palm sword, and stabbed fiercely! He aimed directly at the yellow-shirted man's earthen barrier.
"Clang!" A sharp metallic sound rang out.
The incredibly sharp palm sword was directly repelled!
Ye Qin froze. This golden sword was supposed to have a "piercing armor" effect; why couldn't it penetrate this shield?
The bound yellow-shirted man, seeing this, burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! You tried to use that gold sword to pierce my Earth Armor? No way! The gold sword can break any armor, except for the strongest Earth Armor! Even if you tie me up, you can't kill me! My teammates are coming; you're a dead man! You'd better run for your life now!" He laughed so hard his face was twitching.
A cold glint appeared in Ye Qin's eyes.
The gold sword can't break Earth Armor?
He remembered Xu Qing spitting out his vital essence and using the Golden Light Sword to forcefully pierce the Earth Armor of the Yellow Demon Bear. This proved that as long as the spiritual power was strong enough, the gold sword could break the Earth Armor. He channeled his spiritual power into the palm sword and stabbed violently at the yellow-shirted man again.
The yellow-shirted man’s Earth Armor vibrated fiercely, pierced several fractions of an inch deep. The man’s face instantly paled in horror, and he cried out for help. But the Cold Pond was a scene of utter chaos with explosions everywhere; how many could hear his cries?
"Crack!"
The small palm sword shattered just as it pierced through the yellow-shirted man's Earth Armor.
Ye Qin dropped the broken sword. He searched the yellow-shirted man's robes, retrieved a cloth pouch, and dared not linger in the Cold Pond any longer. Leaving the man behind—who, without his protective barrier and stung by the Fire Thorns, was now howling and struggling—Ye Qin hastily trod the pond wall, ascended, and flew away toward the distant edge of the great canyon.
His spiritual power was below one-fifth; he couldn't withstand the assault of many spells. If he were targeted now, it would be extremely perilous.
He flew far away from the intensely chaotic Cold Pond.
Ye Qin arrived at the base of the great canyon cliff, found a concealed spot, and hid there, happily counting the items he had collected.
This was a huge haul.
He had salvaged at least ten spirit artifacts.
"The legendary Storage Bag!?"
Ye Qin curiously fumbled with the unassuming, rough little cloth bag in his hand. He tipped out a small pile of several dozen low-grade spirit stones, a few spirit blades, spirit swords, cultivation secret manuals, and other low-tier items.
This bag was the one he had fought the yellow-shirted man over. As for its original owner, no one knew.
He had heard other cultivators mention such items before but had never seen the bag itself. This bag could only store objects; it had no combat function, yet it was extremely expensive, costing five or six hundred spirit stones—more than a mid-grade spirit weapon.
Ordinary rogue cultivators in Immortal Fate City were mostly too poor to afford even low-grade spirit artifacts, let alone this specialized spirit artifact for storage. Even Xu Qing, the patrol team captain, would be reluctant to spend money on such an item. This bag alone was comparable to the Golden Light Sword he carried.
It was likely only a cultivator from a prominent family who would possess something like this, Ye Qin mused.
This bag was quite practical; he kept it.
He then examined the other items.
"Silk Robe Sachet!"
Silk Robe Fragrance was an extremely rare spice. A sachet containing it emitted an exotic scent that made one’s mind drift aimlessly, as if transported to a paradise.
Ye Qin smelled only a tiny bit of the aroma before falling into a slight daze. His heart sharply alerted him—the Spirit Mist Great Canyon was treacherous; he could not afford to be careless for a moment. He sharply bit his lip until blood flowed, forcing himself awake from the enchanting fragrance, shaking his head inwardly. This alluring scent was quite potent.
"Red Coral Bracelet!"
Made of red coral, this was a very cute little accessory spirit artifact with functions of clearing the mind and warding off evil. Its combat utility was minimal.
Another item for a woman.
"Azure Sun Fan!"
He chuckled. This fan was likely a wind-element spirit artifact. Every rib was exquisitely carved and looked quite valuable. Carrying it would make the owner appear exceptionally refined.
Ye Qin grinned. An object for pretension.
It was a pity he wasn't a scholar; otherwise, strolling down the street, fanning himself, would look quite appropriate.
He finished inventorying everything he had obtained in the Cold Pond.
Spirit Herbs: Two stalks—Cold Spirit Grass and Water Mist Flower. These two herbs were the most crucial, necessary for his entry into the Azure Elixir Sect.
Spirit Stones: Approximately two hundred low-grade Ice Spirit Stones, a very rare type of spirit stone. Nearly a hundred other various five-element spirit stones.
Spirit Artifacts: Over ten items—mainly spirit blades, spirit swords, and a spirit fan, including both low and mid-grade artifacts. The small collection of accessories, plus one storage bag, was enough equipment for a small team of cultivators.
He found that while he had acquired many spirit artifacts, very few were weapons that truly satisfied him.
Only the Storage Bag was truly useful. It contained a space of one zhang (about 3.3 meters), accessible via divine sense for storing items. Some items too large for his Purple Mansion, or ordinary spirit artifacts not worth placing there, could be kept inside this bag.
Ye Qin decided to place the spirit herbs and Ice Spirit Stones into his Purple Mansion, storing all other items in the Storage Bag, which he tucked into his robes. He sat down cross-legged to meditate and fully restore his spiritual power. Then, he emerged from his hiding spot, peered around cautiously—no one was in sight—and leaped onto the canyon wall, flying toward other areas of the Great Canyon. (To be continued. For more, please visit www**m for more chapters, supporting the author and legitimate reading!)