Xiao Chen walked deeper into the area, his pace neither hurried nor slow. When he encountered any unruly demonic beasts, he simply raised his hand and dispatched them with a single spear thrust—10 points for a third-tier beast, 20 points for a fourth-tier, and 50 points for a fifth-tier. Having fought his way through, the scoreboard before him had already reached 290 points, placing him in the upper-middle tier among the participating cultivators.
He wasn't in a hurry to steal other cultivators' points; instead, he was more interested in the opportunities hidden deep within the mountains. The Black Wind Mountains were a notoriously dangerous place in the Northern Region, rumored to contain thousand-year-old spiritual herbs and even ancient cultivators' caves. If he could find them, it would be far more worthwhile than killing demonic beasts to earn points.
"call--"
A gentle breeze swept by, and Xiao Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing.
Something's not right.
The surrounding air seemed to thicken, and the scent of grass and trees carried a subtle energy fluctuation, like... an array?
"Kid, stop now."
A mocking voice came from ahead. Suddenly, pale golden runes lit up the previously deserted forest clearing. The runes intertwined to form a net, creating a sealed array that trapped Xiao Chen in the center. Outside the array stood a young man dressed in the attire of the "Danxia Sect" of the Eastern Region, a haughty smile on his lips. He was none other than Chen Yun, a cultivator from the Eastern Region.
Chen Yun sized Xiao Chen up and down, his eyes full of contempt: "From the Southern Region? Seeing that you have quite a few points, voluntarily leave your points here, kowtow three times, and I'll let you go, how about it?"
Xiao Chen gripped the rusty iron spear and said calmly, "Are you sure... you can handle me?"
Chen Yun sneered as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world: "Southern Region cultivators are indeed arrogant. Do you know the origin of my 'Spirit Locking Array'? Let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator like you, even a Deity Transformation cultivator would have to put in some effort to break the array! Do you think you can be an exception?"
He had already made his plans: the Southern Region cultivators had lost face in the Dragon Locking Secret Realm, so their strength couldn't be that great. This Xiao Chen looked young, but he had quite a few points. He could just snatch him as a stepping stone, earning points while also damaging the reputation of the Southern Region. Why not?
"A spirit-locking array?" Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow, circulating his spiritual energy slightly to sense the array's fluctuations. This array was indeed quite sophisticated; the flowing runes could suppress spiritual energy, but for him... it was too crude.
He didn't even intend to use a gun; he simply swept the area with a casual shot.
"Wildfire Spear Manual - Sweep!"
The rusty iron spear created a black gust of wind, seemingly casual, yet it precisely struck the weakest point of the array runes.
"Snap!"
With a crisp sound, the pale golden rune net shattered instantly like broken glass, and the spirit-locking array... was broken.
Chen Yun's smile froze, his pupils shrinking sharply: "No... impossible! This Spirit-Locking Array..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Chen appeared before him like a ghost, the tip of the rusty iron spear firmly pressed against his throat, the cold shaft of the spear against his skin, making the hairs on his body stand on end.
"You...you mustn't do anything rash! I'm from the Danxia Sect of the Eastern Region!" Chen Yun's voice trembled with fear, all traces of his previous arrogance gone. He could feel the sharp killing intent on the tip of the spear; if the other party exerted even the slightest force, his throat would be pierced!
"If I had known you were this fierce, I... I would never have dared to stop you!" Chen Yun was filled with regret. This was no "weakling" from the Southern Region! This was clearly a tiger pretending to be weak!
Xiao Chen's eyes were icy: "Hand over your points."
"I'll hand it over! I'll hand it over!" Chen Yun quickly took out his points jade token and presented it with both hands. "I have 180 points, you can have them all!"
Xiao Chen took the jade tablet, input his spiritual power, and the score on Chen Yun's jade tablet jumped instantly, while his score screen flickered once—290 + 54 (30% of 180) = 344 points.
His spear tip remained motionless: "Anything else?"
Chen Yun was taken aback, then realized—the other party thought it wasn't enough. He gritted his teeth, as if making a huge decision: "I...I have some information, could I exchange it for the remaining points?"
"What news?" Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow.
"In the deepest part of the Black Wind Mountains, in the 'Dragon Pool,' there lives a Black Water Dragon, a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator!" Chen Yun lowered his voice, his tone tinged with excitement and apprehension. "That dragon guards a 'Millennium Dragon Saliva Grass,' which is said to help people break through to the Nascent Soul realm! I overheard this by chance, and I was originally planning to find an opportunity to team up with others and try my luck..."
A dragon on the verge of becoming a deity? A thousand-year-old dragon's saliva herb?
A flicker of interest flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes. He was currently in the Nascent Soul stage, still quite a distance from the Divine Transformation stage. If he could obtain the Dragon Saliva Grass, it might accelerate his breakthrough; moreover, the points from that dragon... must be considerable.
"This news isn't worth your points." Xiao Chen sheathed his rusty iron spear, cleared his jade token points, tossed it back to him, and then took a step back. "Get lost."
Chen Yun felt as if he had been granted a pardon and ran away as fast as he could. He didn't dare to look back until he was quite a distance away. Looking at Xiao Chen's back, his eyes were filled with fear and relief—thankfully, he hadn't actually made a move, or he would have lost his life.
Xiao Chen looked in the direction where Chen Yun disappeared, and then looked towards the deepest part of the mountain range, where he could vaguely sense a huge fluctuation of water-based spiritual energy, carrying a faint dragon's might.
"A half-step Nascent Soul dragon..." Xiao Chen gripped his rusty iron spear, a hint of fighting spirit curling at the corner of his mouth.
The point of the points tournament is to encounter stronger opponents and seize greater opportunities, isn't it?
Without further hesitation, he turned and walked towards the Dragon Pool. His steps were faster than before, and his spear intent gradually rose, like a sharp sword about to be drawn, its edge fully revealed.
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