Chapter 38

Bang!

A cold and fierce sword beam flashed, instantly piercing a thumb-sized hole through the head of the beast that Chen Xi had struck to the ground.

The beast let out a mournful roar and fell to the ground with a thud.

"These beasts are formed from malevolent energy, making them virtually indestructible. Only by shattering their heads and extracting the malevolent pearl within can they lose their combat ability and dissipate into malevolent energy."

Du Qingxi stepped forward from the side, explaining while retrieving a pigeon-egg-sized black pearl from the beast's head.

"Here, take a look. This thing is useless to me, so you keep it. You can exchange it for spirit stones when we leave here." Du Qingxi casually tossed the malevolent pearl to Chen Xi.

Chen Xi caught the malevolent pearl and was taken aback. He suddenly realized that Du Qingxi's attitude toward him seemed to have changed, with a subtle hint of care.

"Let's go. In the Southern Barbarian Nether Region, we cannot fly. Our destination is still far away. If we don't arrive within a month, we'll waste this rare opportunity."

Without waiting for Chen Xi to fully appreciate this 'care,' Du Qingxi started walking toward the distance.

"Broom Star, keep up, don't fall behind." Duanmu Ze glanced at Chen Xi as if he were a clown, smirked, and then leaped forward with a graceful and elegant figure.

"Hmm, we need to hurry." Song Lin still looked half-asleep, moving like a drunk monkey, but despite his slow appearance, he stayed closely behind the group, which was quite remarkable.

Chen Xi didn't hesitate, using the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps, which had reached the 'Perception of the Subtle' realm. He lightly tapped the ground, and before the dust could even rise, his body had already soared over a dozen yards, like willow fluff carried by the wind. The movement wasn't particularly graceful, but it was simple and efficient, conserving both physical strength and true essence.

The sky in the Southern Barbarian Nether Region was always leaden gray, with sand and dust swirling and strong winds howling, enveloping the entire world in a thick, unbreakable fog, making it easy to get lost.

However, Du Qingxi had a small silver compass in her hand. Following the direction of the needle, the four of them advanced quickly, saving time on navigation.

Traveling was extremely tedious, and occasionally, a malevolent beast would dart out from the thick fog. Although these beasts couldn't harm Chen Xi and the others, they still slowed their progress.

To save time, besides Chen Xi, the other three all wielded their weapons.

Du Qingxi held a short, swallow-tailed curved knife with a dark green luster. A vivid green lotus flower was etched on it, with petals blooming gracefully, radiating a beautiful light. It was called the [Taiyi Green Lotus Knife], a rank-entering magical treasure.

Duanmu Ze wielded a sword a foot long and two fingers wide. The blade was like a pool of autumn water, with seven stars engraved on it, emitting a rainbow-like light and cold, shimmering starlight, making it highly spiritual. It was called the [Seven Stars Flowing Rainbow Sword], also a rank-entering magical treasure.

As for Song Lin, he held an umbrella-like weapon. The ribs were black and smooth, engraved with countless intricate runes, and the surface was composed of a thousand and eight interlocking sharp hooks, exuding a cold and deadly aura. It was called the [Heavenly Net Thousand Hooks Umbrella], undoubtedly another rank-entering magical treasure.

To protect themselves, the three of them also wore various pieces of equipment that shimmered with spiritual light, including armor, shoulder guards, wrist guards, belts, and even boots, all of which were of high quality and had mysterious effects. Chen Xi was dazzled and excited, unable to help but admire the fact that the children of these powerful families possessed many magical treasures that ordinary people couldn't afford.

Despite being equipped with these items, the three of them, due to the Yuan Sealing Pills, maintained their cultivation at the peak of the Innate realm. However, their combat prowess far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators of the same level. As soon as they sensed a malevolent beast approaching, one of them would take the lead, delivering a fatal blow with no chance of survival.

Chen Xi also held a sword. The sword was entirely green, with a sharp blade, called the [Green Thrust Sword]. It was purchased by Chen Xi during his seclusion in the small black room, along with the [Chaotic Wind Sword Technique], costing him over two thousand spirit crystals. If not for the three thousand spirit crystals he obtained by killing the dual-headed purple rhinoceros demon, he wouldn't have been able to afford this [Green Thrust Sword], which was only a high-quality mundane weapon.

Comparing people and things can be disheartening.

However, Chen Xi was already very content to have the [Green Thrust Sword]. After all, his background and circumstances couldn't compare to those of the children of powerful families who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Instead of envying and resenting them, he should focus on how to achieve his goals through his own efforts.

On the journey, with Du Qingxi and the others around, Chen Xi hardly had a chance to act. He only ran forward to dig out the malevolent pearls from the beasts' heads after they were killed. In less than an hour, he had collected over three hundred malevolent pearls, which was quite a windfall.

"I wonder how many spirit stones these malevolent pearls can sell for. I heard that only in the capital city of the Great Chu Dynasty, Jinxiu City, are there people who buy them. If that's the case, it will be quite troublesome to exchange the pearls for spirit stones."

Chen Xi thought to himself. Jinxiu City, the capital of the Great Chu Dynasty, was a million miles away from the Southern Border. Only after reaching the Purple Mansion realm could one fly using magical treasures. Even then, it would take at least ten to fifteen days to reach.

"What do you need to sell them for? From my observation, these small pearls contain a trace of the extremely rare Profound Nether Malevolent Energy. When you reach the Nirvana realm, using it to form the Nirvana Wheel will have effects that will exceed your imagination."

Ji Yu's voice suddenly echoed in his mind, making Chen Xi stiffen for a moment before returning to normal. He was already used to the unpredictable nature of the cave spirit.

However, this was the first time Chen Xi communicated with Ji Yu through his soul, so he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Can you sense my thoughts?"

"No, but I can guess from your expression when you were holding the malevolent pearls and frowning in thought," Ji Yu replied.

Chen Xi understood and felt a sense of relief. It was absolutely intolerable for anyone to have their secrets and thoughts easily revealed.

"By the way, you said these malevolent pearls contain a trace of Profound Nether Malevolent Energy?" Chen Xi suddenly realized the significance of Ji Yu's words and was taken aback.

The world contains various malevolent energies, classified into three grades—Heaven, Earth, and Human—each with three sub-grades, making a total of nine grades.

Common malevolent energies like Spirit Melting Malevolent Energy and Ice Soul Malevolent Energy belong to the lowest Human grade. Malevolent energies that reach the Earth grade are already rare, and those that reach the Heaven grade are even rarer and more precious.

Profound Nether Malevolent Energy is a type of Heaven-grade malevolent energy. As for its specific grade within the Heaven grade, Chen Xi wasn't very clear, as he rarely paid attention to such information.

However, even with just the term 'Heaven grade,' Chen Xi was certain that if he claimed to possess Profound Nether Malevolent Energy, it would attract the covetous attention of countless powerful cultivators!

The reason for this is that cultivators must use malevolent energy to form the Nirvana Wheel in their dantian to break through the Nirvana realm.

The Nirvana Seven Refinements, one refinement per wheel, and to form the Nirvana Wheel, one needs not only sufficient true essence but also malevolent energy, which is the key!

The strength of a Nirvana realm cultivator is closely related to the grade of the malevolent energy used to form the Nirvana Wheel. A cultivator who forms the Nirvana Wheel with Human-grade malevolent energy is far inferior to one who uses Heaven-grade malevolent energy in terms of innate cultivation.

Upon learning that a small malevolent pearl contained a trace of Heaven-grade malevolent energy, Chen Xi's excitement was understandable.

"That's right, but the amount of Profound Nether Malevolent Energy in these pearls is extremely small. Collecting ten thousand pearls would yield a palm-sized amount of Profound Nether Malevolent Energy." Ji Yu sighed, "If you're not afraid of the trouble, I can teach you the extraction method."

Although the Nirvana realm was still a distant goal for Chen Xi, being able to collect Profound Nether Malevolent Energy now was better than spending time collecting it later.

Moreover, Profound Nether Malevolent Energy was a rare Heaven-grade malevolent energy, and Chen Xi wouldn't miss such a great opportunity. He agreed without hesitation.

Ji Yu was straightforward. Before Chen Xi could react, a concise and refined technique appeared in his mind.

The technique was called the [Hooking and Sinking Technique], a method specifically for extracting malevolent energy. It was ingeniously designed and not too difficult to practice.

Chen Xi quickly mastered the technique but couldn't try it out immediately since they were still on the move.

Chen Xi wasn't in a hurry. The cultivation of any technique requires time and effort, just like making talismans or cooking. Only through diligent practice can one achieve proficiency.

Knowing the significance of Profound Nether Malevolent Energy, Chen Xi became even more diligent in collecting malevolent pearls. This change immediately drew a series of disapproving glances from Duanmu Ze, who didn't hesitate to mock and ridicule Chen Xi.

Phrases like "a bumpkin who's never seen the world," "a shameless and insatiable greedy person," and "a broom star obsessed with wealth" poured out of Duanmu Ze's mouth, like a long-winded and bitter woman who never ran out of complaints.

Finally, Du Qingxi couldn't stand it anymore. She turned back and gave Duanmu Ze a cold glance, which made him reluctantly shut up.

"Hmm, little Zeze, actually quite cute..." Song Lin muttered at the right moment.

Li... Little Zeze?

Duanmu Ze's eyes widened, and he stumbled, almost falling over.

Damn! So disgusting!

Duanmu Ze opened his mouth but didn't know what to say, as he sadly realized that he never seemed to act normally in front of that detestable Chen Xi.