Chapter 255: Chapter 161: Not Picking Up Free Money? A Flawed Mindset

"The one thing I hate most in this life is scum like you, relying on Magical Artifacts to act all high and mighty in front of me."

"Now that those three Flying Swords are gone, how do you want to die?"

’High and mighty?’

Xiao Chen didn’t quite understand what the man was talking about.

But that didn’t stop him from taking out the Golden Melon Thunder Hammer, the Flowing Color Golden Light Pearl, the Lotus Jade Ruyi, and the Snakebone Spear.

As he took out one Top Grade Magical Artifact after another, the Northern Wanderer’s expression shifted again and again, finally turning a ghastly purple.

’These are damn Top Grade Magical Artifacts, not cabbages!’

’How could Xiao Chen just pull out so many of them?’

But there was no time to dwell on it. Seeing the Golden Light Pearl rise into the air, the Northern Wanderer hastily launched a preemptive attack.

Once all these Magical Artifacts were activated, he would have absolutely no chance of winning.

But fortunately, with the Sword Array no longer blocking the way, his Soul-breaking Needle had room to work.

Until the Lingyuan Sect developed a counter, he held an absolute advantage against all Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators of the Righteous Dao.

"Blood Sacrifice Secret Technique: Soul Severing!"

A streak of red light shot from his hand, aiming straight for Xiao Chen’s forehead.

As expected, it pierced through the Tassel Brocade Handkerchief, and the Golden Armor Technique shattered on the spot.

But as the Northern Wanderer watched with anticipation, Xiao Chen simply raised his right hand and caught the Soul-breaking Needle between his index and middle fingers.

"Such petty tricks are useless against me."

Xiao Chen applied a little pressure, and with a SNAP, the Soul-breaking Needle broke in two.

Terror seized the Northern Wanderer. Without the Soul-breaking Needle, he now had absolutely no chance of winning.

He immediately dashed southwest, trying to escape, and tossed three Talismans behind him to block pursuit.

But it was merely a futile struggle.

"Down!"

With a wave of his hand, Xiao Chen sent the Flowing Color Golden Light Pearl crashing down from above.

The Northern Wanderer activated his Ringed Water Black Tortoise Shield to block the Treasure Pearl.

But then he saw a flash of white light, which transformed into a great snake and bit down directly on his Spirit Shield.

"Go!"

Xiao Chen waved his hand again, and the Lotus Jade Ruyi shot towards the back of his opponent’s head.

"No!"

With a final, wretched scream, the Northern Wanderer was killed on the spot.

Having lost its master, the Ringed Water Black Tortoise Shield flickered a few times before shrinking into a small, six-inch-long shield.

"Oho!"

Xiao Chen flew over in pleasant surprise, retracting the Snakebone Spear. "A fine treasure indeed."

’With this Snakebone Spear, I can now directly restrain an opponent’s Defensive Magic Shield during Magical Combat.’

’In a way, isn’t this my very own Soul-breaking Needle?’

’Besides, in past fights, I always had to shatter an enemy’s Defensive Spiritual Artifact before I could finish them off.’

’After the battle, whether it was a Magic Shield or a Magic Robe, they would all be reduced to a pile of fragments.’

’But now, things are different. I can get an extra piece of loot.’

’This Ringed Water Black Tortoise Shield is a Top Grade Magical Artifact. At current market prices, this Spirit Shield alone is worth at least twenty thousand Spirit Stones.’

Xiao Chen collected the Storage Bag and retrieved his Flying Swords from the spent Spirit Talismans.

Then, he patiently and meticulously cleaned up the battlefield once more.

’The strategy is the same as always: create a good disguise and avoid revealing my trump cards whenever possible.’

However, while cleaning up, Xiao Chen made an unexpected discovery: the Northern Wanderer hadn’t just chosen a random spot to meditate.

Under the pine tree where he had first spotted his opponent, there were traces of Magic.

"Whoa, that’s a huge Array Plate."

Xiao Chen dug around it and found an Array Plate buried in the ground, a full six feet square.

Not only that, but the Array Plate was also embedded with a hundred Spirit Stones.

They looked a bit unfamiliar. He casually pulled one out. "Hey, are these Middle Grade Spirit Stones?"

Whether in Li State or Hezhou, these things weren’t very common.

Only a few disciples from major families used them, and mostly to show off their status.

The first reason was that Middle Grade Spirit Stones were too valuable; many items weren’t even worth a hundred Spirit Stones.

Even for expensive goods, the price was rarely an exact multiple of a hundred. Plus, there was almost always haggling involved, and every stone saved counted.

Since everyone had Storage Bags, it was actually more convenient for cultivators to carry Low Grade Spirit Stones for transactions.

The second reason was that Middle Grade Spirit Stones were also considered a type of strategic resource.

Apparently, many Tier Three Arrays—especially those that could threaten even a Golden Core True Man—required Middle Grade Spirit Stones to achieve their maximum explosive power.

The reason Middle Grade Spirit Stones weren’t monopolized was simply that they were produced in various locations, making a monopoly too difficult to establish.

’Isn’t this quite the windfall?’

Xiao Chen pulled out all one hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones, which was the equivalent of ten thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones.

Afterward, he dismantled the Array Plate from its Array Base.

Normally, dismantling an installed Array Plate is very difficult. Anyone who wasn’t an Array Master could easily damage it.

But Xiao Chen had a simple solution: he just used his Flying Swords to dig out the entire Array Plate along with its Array Base.

This would of course destroy the Grand Array, but that was the whole point. He was there to dismantle it.

’An Array left behind by the Northern Wanderer couldn’t possibly be anything good.’

’There must be more than one of these.’

Having dealt with the Array Plate, Xiao Chen’s thoughts turned to the rest of the Middle Grade Spirit Stones.

’If I can find the Array Deployment Map, I should be able to locate the other Array Plates.’

With this in mind, he picked up the Northern Wanderer’s Storage Bag and began the Refinement process right then and there.

"There’s actually more?"

Xiao Chen swept his Divine Sense across the contents and found another hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones inside the Storage Bag.