[Name]: Lin Chen
[Spiritual Root]: Five Elements Pseudo Spiritual Root
[Realm]: Eighth Level of Qi Refining Stage
[Luck]: 1000+ (Continuously rising, Child of Destiny)
[Constitution]: Three Yang Physique
[Status]: Extremely excited, about to soar into the sky, countless future opportunities, fairies and beauties from all walks of life throwing themselves at him.
One thousand luck points. Not bad at all.
Wu Qin did not think it was too little. He simply watched quietly as Lin Chen walked out of the city gate, pulled out a flight talisman, and prepared to head back to the sect.
His gains from this short trip had been far greater than he ever expected. He had actually picked up a simple-looking ring that once belonged to a high-grade alchemist. Inside it were not only a huge pile of medicinal pills and spirit stones, but also stacks of pill formulas and detailed alchemy methods that most people could only dream about.
He felt he was exceptionally gifted and would surely be able to learn everything quickly and become an excellent alchemist in no time. After all, cultivation came down to four main things — wealth, companions, techniques, and a good environment — and alchemy was one of the fastest ways to gather resources.
With enough resources in hand, beauties would start looking at him with new eyes. He believed that as a man it was completely normal to put in extra effort upfront if he wanted a real relationship with a beautiful woman. A simp who simps to the very end will have everything in the end. Other men wanted to simp but never even got the chance or the ability to do it properly.
He was going to simp, simp, simp, and keep simping for a lifetime.
"Hehe, once Senior Sister comes out of Siguo Cliff, I might finally have the chance to capture her heart," Lin Chen thought with a wide grin. "The most beautiful Fairy Qingyue in the entire Southern Border… if I could have even one relationship with her, I'd be willing to lose twenty years of my life without regret."
He could not help but lose himself in fantasies about a bright and wonderful future. The road ahead looked golden.
Swish, swish, swish—
Three sharp arrows tore through the air without warning. Lin Chen's eyes widened in shock. He quickly used a movement technique to dodge, but the flight talisman in his hand was damaged and he dropped straight from the sky.
He activated a Wind-Riding Talisman at the last second to suspend himself in mid-air. That was when he saw four burly men closing in from every direction, surrounding him completely. Three of them were at the late stage of Qi Refining, and the leader stood at the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Who are you people? I am a disciple of the Lingyun Sect. Aren't you afraid of death?" Lin Chen tried to sound calm and steady as he shook a small bell in his hand. He figured that if he could hold on for just half an incense stick's time, Senior Sister Ye would arrive to save him.
"Hmph, kid, it doesn't matter who we are. Don't try to scare us with the Lingyun Sect name," the Foundation Establishment leader sneered. "Today we're going to teach you the lesson that wealth should not be flaunted so openly."
"You spent over ten thousand medium-grade spirit stones in just two days. We're very envious. If you want to live, tell us right now — where did you get so many resources?"
"After we kill you and run far away, where can't we go with that kind of wealth? Would the Lingyun Sect really hunt us down frantically for a mere utility disciple like you?"
The four men each held their weapons ready, looking completely confident of victory. The battle was about to explode at any second.
Relying on the advantage of his many talismans, Lin Chen managed to counter-kill one of the Qi Refining cultivators in a quick exchange. But when it came to facing the Foundation Establishment expert, he still found it extremely hard to cope. There was simply no helping it. Every major realm brought a qualitative difference in power.
The liquid spiritual qi of the Foundation Establishment stage was several times greater than that of the Qi Refining stage in purity, reserves, and raw strength — sometimes even more than ten times stronger. Fighting across major realms was only possible for true prodigies like Xiao Qingyue, who held huge advantages in cultivation techniques, treasures, spells, and combat experience.
After dozens of fierce rounds, Lin Chen was already injured and bleeding. He quickly pulled out a four-legged, two-eared green cauldron to protect himself.
The Foundation Establishment cultivator's eyes lit up with shock. "Is this… a profound weapon? A magic treasure?!"
His eyes turned red with greed in an instant. How could a mere Qi Refining cultivator possibly own such a valuable treasure?
Lin Chen was not panicked at all. He trusted that the defensive power of this Bixuan Cauldron was far beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could break through in a short time.
But suddenly, he lost all control over the cauldron.
The large green vessel flew rapidly to the other side on its own. Lin Chen's face turned pale with horror.
It was over.
His pupils shrank as he felt a terrifying pressure sweep over the entire area. A horrifying wave of soul power instantly killed the three remaining attackers.
Bang—
The Foundation Establishment burly man exploded into a fine mist of blood.
Lin Chen could not move at all. He dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, both kneecaps shattering from the impact.
Wu Qin teleported right in front of him and calmly placed his right hand on the crown of the young man's head.
"Spare me… please… let me go…" Lin Chen's teeth chattered violently, terrified beyond words. He did not want to die.
He finally understood that before reaching a certain level of strength, showing off always came with a terrible price. Flaunting wealth? Giving medicinal pills to beauties just to simp? Without real power, it was no different from a child carrying gold through a busy market. It was a straight path to one's own death.
"Stop!" A woman flew over at high speed and shouted urgently.
[Hand of Plunder]
[Ding, obtained one thousand Luck points.]
The moment the system's voice rang out, Wu Qin wasted no more words. He crushed Lin Chen's head directly.
Using a spell from the Ancient Nether Soul Devouring Art, he devoured and refined the young man's soul, pulling out fragments of his recent memories in the process.
The Ember Sea Demon Flame then burned the physical body to nothing but ashes.
Only a few tiny black particles and a simple, ancient-looking ring remained on the ground.
There should be no way for him to resurrect now, right?
He had actually picked up that bargain at a small roadside stall. The Child of Destiny had still been too crafty for his own good. No one else could see that the ring was a treasure, yet the restriction on it had conveniently failed the exact moment it reached his hands.
Inside, he had found so many resources that he became incredibly excited. Feeling high-spirited and unstoppable, he went on a wild shopping spree across the city. His way of picking up girls was simple — handing out medicinal pills left and right. He could not wait to "duo-queue" with beauties and sweep away all the gloom of being looked down on in the past.
What a talent.
Wu Qin put the ring away safely and turned to look at the woman dressed in a cyan Daoist robe who had just arrived. She was at the middle stage of Golden Core. From the patterns on her robe, it was clear she was a true disciple of the Lingyun Sect.
If Wu Qin's realm had only been Golden Core and he had hesitated even for a second, Lin Chen might have actually survived.
"Who are you? Why did you kill a disciple of my sect?" Ye Liuying asked, her voice full of wariness. She simply could not sense this person's realm at all.
Wu Qin noticed a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator hidden behind her, clearly acting as her protector. At the same time, the divine thought of a Soul Transformation stage expert from the Lingyun Sect had already swept over the entire area.
This was the real benefit of having a strong background. When you stepped out into the world, these things truly mattered.
"Mother, it's him!" Song An and his group arrived at that exact moment. Four Foundation Establishment stage cultivators immediately moved to surround Wu Qin.
Madam Song glanced at Ye Liuying first, then fixed her eyes on Wu Qin. She felt an inexplicable unease in her heart. "Are you an evil cultivator? A demon cultivator? How dare you snatch my son's resources?"
Song An shouted with a smug look on his face, "Surrender quickly, and we might still leave you a way to live."
Wu Qin simply stopped hiding. He fully revealed his aura without holding anything back.
Soul Transformation cultivation!
Everyone's faces turned pale with shock. Their bodies trembled as if they were standing right on the edge of a bottomless abyss.
Demonic flames surged into the sky behind him, transforming into a hundred-zhang-tall, hideous and terrifying Dharma Idol. The figure was pitch black and profound, with glowing crimson eyes, a pair of huge twisted claws, and massive wings that emitted a heart-palpitating aura.
The Heavenly Demon Dharma Idol that had once thrown the Five Domains into chaos — Demon Venerable Wuji?!
"You are the Wuji Demon Lord?!" Ye Liuying cried out in alarm. Hearing her master's urgent call, she hurriedly flew backward to safety.
The moment Wu Qin raised his hand, the hundred-zhang Dharma Idol condensed a massive palm print and pressed it down over the entire field.
Heaven Overturning and Earth Flipping Palm.
Madam Song turned pale with horror. She sacrificed a low-grade magic treasure gold hairpin and a high-grade profound weapon compass at once.
But she still could not withstand the power of that single palm strike. Both treasures shattered instantly, quickly losing all their spirituality.
She used what remained of her power to protect Song An and gave him a sudden push with a spell, screaming from the bottom of her heart, "Son, run!"
"Profound Wind Void-Rending Sword!" Madam Song unleashed her strongest sword strike, but the difference in strength was simply too great. Even her life-bound sword shattered in moments.
She was completely powerless to resist.
The absolute gap in realms was not something her so-called sword intent or magic treasures could ever make up for.
"Wuji Demon Lord, stop!" The Peak Master of the Lingyun Sect, Huang Feng of the Nascent Soul stage, threw out the magic treasures Meteor Sand and Mountain-Dominating Shield.
He wanted to save Fairy Fengling at all costs.
The golden square shield covered the top of Madam Song's head, protecting her life, while dense red sand and stones attacked like a sudden rainstorm…