Chapter 660 - 262: Ruan Lingchun’s Astonishment: The Proactive Offer of the Map
Chapter 660: Chapter 262: Ruan Lingchun’s Astonishment: The Proactive Offer of the Map
Next to each location, two numbers were noted in tiny print.
They were ’one’ and ’three’.
This indicated that in the past, a Dao Crystal had appeared three times within a hundred-li radius of this location.
"Hmm? How is there nothing here?"
However, after searching the entire second location, Xiao Chen was disappointed to find that there was no second Dao Crystal.
He sighed, a little disappointed. "I thought I could get seven Dao Crystals this time."
But it seemed now that the map only indicated the most likely places for Dao Crystals to appear.
It was essentially an accumulation of past experiences and wasn’t entirely reliable.
Then again, according to the statistics in the booklet he’d read earlier,
in most cases, only two to three Dao Crystals were confirmed to appear in the Secret Realm. The actual total was most likely no more than five.
Xiao Chen had only been inside for a short time and had already found one.
He was already quite lucky, so there was no need to push for a perfect outcome.
"Hopefully, I can find just one more at the other five locations."
Xiao Chen adjusted his mindset and followed the map’s directions, continuing on to the other locations.
The third location was also empty.
However, in the process of searching, he saw traces of Magic in a certain spot.
Xiao Chen moved closer to inspect them carefully.
Strangely, the traces all seemed to have come from a single source. It didn’t look like they were left behind from Magical Combat.
And yet, there were imprints from several different types of Water Magic at the scene.
This included a large amount of residual ice crystals and a small, newly-formed pond.
Just by looking at the residue, Xiao Chen could imagine someone casting Magic with all their might not long ago.
"How strange."
Xiao Chen couldn’t quite figure out what had happened.
But he could at least deduce one other fact: another Cultivator had reached the third location before him.
This was to be expected, really.
Xiao Chen immediately realized that since his map was based on an accumulation of past experience,
it stood to reason that the Ruan Family wouldn’t be the only ones to collect such information.
It was very likely that others possessed something similar, perhaps even a map more precise and detailed than his own.
"Whew. Then I can’t just search these spots in order."
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Chen changed his route and headed straight for the seventh and deepest location.
His advantage was still his speed.
If he could just beat the others and be the first one to arrive,
he would have a good chance of finding another Dao Crystal.
If he found nothing, it wouldn’t be too late to turn back and check the sixth location.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Two blood-red vines, twisted like braided rope, suddenly shot up from the ground, lashing through the air toward Xiao Chen as he traveled.
Each was as thick as a man’s thigh.
A closer look revealed that their surfaces were covered in hidden barbs, each as thick as a little finger.
Normally, they lay flat against the vine. Only when entangling a Cultivator would they suddenly shoot out, piercing through any Protective Profound Light to drill straight into the flesh.
The Blood Vine Forest was never a safe place.
The deeper one went, the more frequent these attacks became.
SWISH—!
Without looking back, Xiao Chen unleashed a streak of Sword Light with a flick of his wrist.
It sliced both attacking vines in two.
The severed sections on the ground still tried to wriggle toward him, but they were too slow and were quickly left far behind.
At first, Xiao Chen had just used his fists and kicks.
After all, since his breakthrough in Body Refining, he had grown accustomed to solving problems with pure strength.
But he soon discovered that there was wisdom in using tools.
’Especially when it comes to chopping things up, a sword is just so much more useful than my fists and feet!’
Or rather, when both methods could easily dispatch the vines, the Flying Sword’s advantage in attack range was undeniable.
At the very least, these Blood Vines, which were so perilous for ordinary Cultivators, were nothing more than annoying weeds to Xiao Chen.
「One day later.」
Thanks to his superior speed and the sharpness of his Flying Sword, he arrived smoothly at the seventh location.
This was nearly the deepest part of the entire Blood Vine Forest.
The deep-red vines, visible everywhere, seemed to have given up on camouflage. Every so often, a few would lie brazenly across the path.
"Excellent!"
Xiao Chen surveyed his surroundings and nodded in satisfaction. "Since the Blood Vines are undisturbed, it means no one else has been here yet."
He had rushed here precisely to get a step ahead of everyone else.
With a casual wave of Sword Light, he chopped the exposed vines on the ground into pieces.
He began to search the vicinity carefully.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen noticed something as his Sword Light had just flashed past.
In a patch of grass to his front left, an unusual light seemed to flash for an instant.
"Hahaha, I see you!"
Xiao Chen immediately rushed over and parted the lush groundcherry grass.
Sure enough, he saw a translucent crystal lying quietly on the blood-red ground.
Profound runes were sealed in its center, making it look exceptionally captivating.
It was a Wood Element Dao Crystal.
He immediately reached down to pick it up.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
The instant Xiao Chen bent down,
six vines suddenly sprang up from the groundcherry grass, lashing down at him from all directions.
BOOM!
Layer upon layer of Fire Lotuses suddenly bloomed from Xiao Chen’s body.
They easily incinerated all the encroaching vines, turning them to ash.
From the moment he realized that the number of Dao Crystals produced was directly related to the number of Cultivator casualties...