Chu Tian was both amused and exasperated by his new companion spell. However, after some thought, he realized that being invisible for three seconds could be a lifesaver in this world of cultivation. Sometimes, three seconds could change everything.
After grumbling for a while, he calmed down and examined the jade pendant in his hand. Seeing the character "Snow" engraved on it, Chu Tian chuckled. "A 40% discount? Is the Luo family running a shop or something?"
Just then, a golden light flashed toward him. The system's voice rang out urgently: “Ding! Danger alert!”
Chu Tian quickly used his Cloud Step technique to retreat from his original position. Moments later, a group of people emerged from the forest, many of them at the Golden Core Peak stage.
Among them stood a man in a brown robe, holding a silver staff with a skull engraved on its head. A faint purple light emanated from the skull, giving the middle-aged man, who had a face full of wrinkles and wild hair, an ominous presence. Floating in mid-air, he glared at Chu Tian with fury.
“Did you kill our young master?” the man demanded.
Chu Tian glanced at Lin Feng’s lifeless body not far away and replied with a smirk, “Isn’t it obvious?”
The middle-aged man’s expression darkened as he glared at the corpse. “You brat! You’re courting death!”
“Ding! Fury Value +1”
Sizing up the man, Chu Tian thought, Such strong energy. He’s probably at the Golden Core Perfection stage. He knew that going up against someone at this level would be tough. However, with his companion spell, Chu Tian couldn’t help but grin mischievously. “Hey, old man, who are you supposed to be? His dad? His brother? Or maybe just his lackey?”
“Ding! Fury Value +1”
The man’s aura flared with rage. “I am Ghost Meng, an honored guest of the Lin family, also known as Ghost Beast Luo. There’s not a family or sect in the surrounding cities that doesn’t know my name!”
Chu Tian snorted. “I live around here, and I’ve never heard of you. Talk about overhyping yourself!”
Ghost Meng sneered. “Ignorant brat! Today, I’ll cripple you and trap your soul in my ghost staff for all eternity!”
Unfazed, Chu Tian shot back, “Old ghost, don’t think you can scare me with that.”
Ghost Meng’s tone turned icy. “Scare you? Fine, then I’ll show you my other skill!”
He channeled spiritual energy into the skull on his staff. The purple glow intensified, and in an instant, numerous spirit beasts began to appear. Most of them were Earth-tier, but soon a few Heaven-tier beasts emerged.
These beasts seemed entirely under Ghost Meng’s control, their predatory eyes locked onto Chu Tian like he was prey. Ghost Meng sneered arrogantly, “See that? I can summon all the spirit beasts in the vicinity to do my bidding!”
Chu Tian’s first thought was how impressive it was. If he had this ability, it would be like having a constant delivery of shards and XP. Unfortunately, he couldn’t summon beasts himself, so he taunted instead. “That’s it? Just these? Not even enough to clean my teeth.”
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“Courting death!”
“Ding! Fury Value +1”
At Ghost Meng’s command, the spirit beasts charged at Chu Tian. Using his Cloud Step, Chu Tian dodged swiftly while unleashing sword techniques. The Earth-tier beasts were obliterated in an instant, while even the stronger Heaven-tier ones fell or were severely injured.
The system notifications came in rapid succession:“Ding! 10,000 XP, 10 shards.”“Ding! 1,000 XP, 1 shard.”“Ding! 5,000 XP, 5 shards.”
...and so on.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Chu Tian laughed maniacally. “Keep them coming, old ghost! Bring it on!”
Ghost Meng’s face turned red with fury. “Damn it! You’re asking for death!”
“Ding! Fury Value +1”
Enraged, Ghost Meng made his move. Like a ghostly wind, he suddenly appeared before Chu Tian, his speed astonishing. Chu Tian was alarmed but had prepared for this moment. He smirked inwardly and activated his companion spell: “Three-Second Invisibility.”
In an instant, Chu Tian vanished. Ghost Meng’s attack hit nothing but air, leaving him stunned and shouting, “Where are you, you bastard?!”
Suddenly, Chu Tian reappeared behind him, thrusting his sword forward. “I’m right here, old man! Stop yelling!”
Ghost Meng’s face twisted in shock as the sword pierced his body. He grunted in pain as a powerful golden light erupted from his body, flinging Chu Tian away.
While Chu Tian managed to land safely using Cloud Step, the protective layers of his Thousand Specter Armor absorbed most of the damage. Ghost Meng, on the other hand, was left with a gaping wound, blood pouring out.
“You dare hurt me?!” Ghost Meng roared.
“Ding! Fury Value +1”
Chu Tian laughed. “Careful, or I might go invisible again and finish you off!”
Terrified, Ghost Meng shouted to his men, “Retreat!”
Badly injured, he fled in a panic.
When Chu Tian reappeared three seconds later, he stood there exhausted, smirking bitterly. “Good thing I scared him off.”
Not taking any chances, Chu Tian quickly pulled out bottles of spiritual energy replenishing pills and devoured them. Thanks to his powerful dantian, he recovered rapidly.
Reflecting on his close call, he muttered, “This skill eats up half my spiritual energy each time. Using it twice nearly drained me dry. If I hadn’t scared them off, I’d be done for!”
Determined to stock up on more pills, Chu Tian checked his inventory. Realizing he was low, he sighed. “I’ll have to visit the nearest city and buy more tomorrow.”
After collecting the beast corpses, crystals, and blood, Chu Tian left the area. The next morning, he arrived at the gates of You City. “So, this is a Tier-3 city? It’s massive!”
Stepping inside for the first time, Chu Tian felt like a country bumpkin entering the capital. He looked around, grinning foolishly. “It’s almost like the imperial capital from ancient times.”
After wandering for a while, he found a shop specializing in buying and selling beast materials.
At the Sky Beast Pavilion, a well-known chain store in You City, Chu Tian sold all his beast materials. Walking out, his face lit up with joy. “Nice! All those beasts fetched me over three million spiritual stones. I should be able to buy nearly 100 Ten-Spirit Pills.”
Excited, he headed toward the city’s pill market. While passing a street, he noticed a large wooden board outside a shop with an announcement: “Superior Ten-Spirit Pills Available!”
Stunned, Chu Tian muttered, “Superior Ten-Spirit Pills?”
Unlike ordinary Ten-Spirit Pills, superior ones had much better recovery times. Lower-grade pills took half an hour to restore energy, mid-grade ones only a quarter-hour, and high-grade ones just a hundred breaths. Superior pills, however, worked almost instantly, restoring energy in mere seconds.
Tempted, Chu Tian moved closer to check it out. Just then, a stern female voice called out, “You’re the one who killed my brother!”
Puzzled, Chu Tian turned to see Ghost Meng and his group from the previous day. Despite looking pale and still injured, Ghost Meng was there, accompanied by a young woman.
The woman, around her early twenties, was slightly shorter than Chu Tian. However, what truly startled him was her appearance: a sallow face, dry skin, a prominent nose with a large black mole beneath it, and her eyes bulging like pigeon eggs. Her hair was tied into two tight buns, adding to her strange look.
Horrified, Chu Tian instinctively took a few steps back. “Where did this matchmaker come from?!”