Chapter 139: Finding a Treasure Map

He Changjiu, with a dark and ruthless expression, hissed, "Young Cliff Master, he has emerged!"

"Attack! Hack him to death and seize the Earth Crystal!"

Shang Xuanyun had gone to great lengths to accumulate just one Earth Crystal; he was loath to part with it at any cost. Coupled with the humiliation he had just suffered, he was now consumed by impatient fury.

In an instant, all the Black Wind Cliff disciples raised their longswords, unleashing sword qi as they charged toward Qin Chuan.

The onlookers watching from the rear couldn't help but curse.

"Shameless! Absolutely shameless!"

"The people of Black Wind Cliff truly have no sense of honor!"

...

At that moment, Qin Chuan appeared to be moving forward at a leisurely pace, yet the next instant, he vanished entirely, leaving all the attacks to strike nothing but empty ground.

Only Shang Xuanyun caught sight of Qin Chuan moving toward him at an astonishing speed, his eyes cold and terrifying.

In that heartbeat, Shang Xuanyun had the sudden, chilling illusion that he was facing a peerless master. Terrified, he shoved He Changjiu forward.

He Changjiu never imagined that the high-and-mighty Young Cliff Master would use him as a human shield at such a critical moment.

Qin Chuan’s lips curled slightly, and with a single strike, he cut down both He Changjiu and his spirit weapon.

"Ah!"

"Ding! Target eliminated..."

"Ding! 'Slaughter' triggered."

Taking advantage of the brief opening, Shang Xuanyun’s eyes flashed with a sharp light as he drew his purple spirit weapon to meet the challenge.

"Moonlight Over the Heavens!"

Suddenly, a dozen streaks of sword qi danced through the air, and the purple glow radiating from his weapon was truly dazzling to those watching.

Clearly, Shang Xuanyun was no soft target. As the Young Cliff Master of Black Wind Cliff, he was significantly more powerful than the outer sect disciples.

What Shang Xuanyun was employing was a "Sword Technique"—a fusion of swordsmanship and spirit weapon abilities. To perfectly command spirit weapons, the people of the higher planes had created countless techniques to complement the inherent skills of their armaments.

"Moonlight Over the Heavens" was one such technique. Shang Xuanyun’s original form was that of a Ghost Moon, so the sword technique he practiced was perfectly aligned with his true nature. His spirit weapon possessed similar abilities, making the power behind the strike far from ordinary.

The cultivation system for human bodies differs greatly from that of spirit objects.

The three primary stats are: Attack, Spirit Defense, and Agility.

Aptitude is divided into: Comprehension and Potential.

Combat techniques include: Sword Techniques, Blade Techniques, and so on.

The most formidable are spells and secret arts—high-level knowledge that the average person cannot access.

The entire combat system relies on spiritual power, which is derived from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Humans absorb this energy through various means and convert it into spiritual power; the more one possesses, the higher their level.

The recovery of spiritual power also takes time, much like the cooldown period of a skill. However, humans can consume medicinal pills to recover spiritual power rapidly, an advantage that spirit objects cannot replicate.

At this moment, Shang Xuanyun’s stats were: Attack 1200+, Spirit Defense 1500+, and Agility 1000+.

This was similar to the stats of spirit objects. "Moonlight Over the Heavens" granted a 50% increase to Attack, bringing the power of his sword technique to over 1800.

After unleashing his technique, a wicked smirk played on Shang Xuanyun’s lips. "You’re dead!" he thought.

However, his smile froze the next second. He felt his attack weaken drastically, and his vision blurred. A longsword glowing with a crimson light swept toward him.

*Clang!*

Shang Xuanyun’s spirit weapon snapped into two pieces, and the crimson-glowing blade came to a halt at his throat.

"A... a red-tier spirit weapon?! This... this is impossible!"

A sharp, piercing aura radiated from his throat throughout his entire body, nearly shattering his soul. Trembling violently, he fell to his knees.

"Big... Big Brother, let’s talk this out. Please... don't kill me."

Facing the terror of death, Shang Xuanyun couldn't even speak clearly, kneeling and begging for mercy without a shred of dignity.

The scene was like a "King Bomb" in a card game, leaving the onlookers’ heads spinning. The contrast was too jarring; the once untouchable Young Cliff Master had been reduced to a pathetic wretch groveling on the ground.

"Good heavens, Shang Xuanyun has completely disgraced Black Wind Cliff."

"Even if he survives today, he will be the laughingstock of the Spirit Realm forever!"

"No, even if he dies, he’ll still be a laughingstock!"

...

At this moment, those who had been oppressed by Shang Xuanyun felt an incredible sense of vindication.

"Speak. What are you doing here?"

"I... I am here to patrol..."

...

Yiyi’s beautiful eyes flickered as she whispered, "Grandfather, will Young Master Qin kill Shang Xuanyun?"

Mo Zhuiwen looked solemn. "He will."

As expected, once Qin Chuan had extracted the information, he swung his sword and severed Shang Xuanyun’s head without even a flicker of hesitation.

"Ding! Target eliminated..."

"Ding! Gained 96 Merit points."

"Ding! Eliminated Black Wind Cliff inner sect disciple; rewarded with 96 Merit points."

...

The crowd erupted. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"He died? He actually killed the Young Cliff Master of Black Wind Cliff!"

"My god, I think I’m losing my mind!"

...

Yet, it was not over. Qin Chuan wove through the remaining Black Wind Cliff disciples, taking one down with every stroke, showing no mercy.

Before long, the bodies of the Black Wind Cliff outer sect disciples lay scattered in front of the Treasure Pavilion.

"This..."

Time seemed to stand still, and the surrounding area fell into a deafening silence. The crowd stared with wide, disbelieving eyes.

In the midst of their shock, Qin Chuan calmly cleaned up the battlefield and slowly walked away.

It was only when his back disappeared from view that someone finally shrieked.

"He killed him! The Young Cliff Master of Black Wind Cliff, Shang Xuanyun, has been killed!"

...

In an instant, Blackwater Town descended into chaos, and everyone fled in a panicked scramble.

Watching this, Yiyi was stunned. "Grandfather, this..."

"Let us leave as well. Tell our people that when the Black Wind Cliff arrives, they must report exactly what happened."

"Understood."

Because those who fled lacked the powerful backing of the Treasure Pavilion, they had no desire to stay and be the targets of Black Wind Cliff’s wrath.

...

Meanwhile, Qin Chuan located the hidden cache of strategic supplies and, while searching Shang Xuanyun’s body, discovered a treasure map.

The map detailed every stronghold of strategic supplies in the outer reaches of Black Wind Cliff.

Upon infiltrating a stronghold, Qin Chuan cut down a few more outer sect disciples, steadily rising to level 31.

He then took out the two Earth Crystals, finding them increasingly appealing the longer he looked at them.

An invisible suction force began to swirl, and Qin Chuan swallowed the equivalent of 200 million points without hesitation.

"Ding! Gained 10 billion Evolution Points."

"Master is truly a peerless genius! To refine an Earth Crystal with such ease—it leaves me astonished!"

Long Ao was also taken aback. In all his long years, he had never heard of anyone capable of refining Spirit Crystals or Earth Crystals. He wholeheartedly agreed with Zizi’s assessment: Qin Chuan was a monster.

After this, Qin Chuan had accumulated over 20 billion Evolution Points. Following a series of ruthless upgrades, his status panel underwent a massive transformation.

[Host]: Qin Chuan
[Title]: One-Star Senior Elite (+50 to all attributes)
[Species]: Dragon-Pattern Cold Crystal Sword (2)
[Tier]: Tier 4 Peak (Adds 20% Sharpness, 10% Speed)
[Quality]: Legendary (Adds 30% to all attributes)
[Level]: 31
[Attributes]
Sharpness: 872 + 1220.6 (140%) + 436 (50%) = 2555+
Durability: 838 + 879.9 (105%) + 251.4 (30%) = 1968+
Speed: 808 + 848.40 (105%) + 323.2 (40%) = 1980+
Evolution Points: 1.312 billion / 13.312 billion
Experience Points: 10.018 billion / 106.496 billion
Merit Points: 4896
[Skills]
Flow Strike: Stage 1 Flow Strike Lv.3, Stage 2 Glide Lv.5 (25m controllable range)
Flicker: Stage 1 Flicker Lv.3, Stage 2 Immunity Lv.6 (1.8 seconds)
Reinforcement: Stage 1 Reinforcement Lv.3, Stage 2 Freeze Lv.6 (30%+10% slow, 5% freeze damage, 60%+5% freeze chance, 3s freeze duration)
Heaven-Falling Flow Strike: Stage 1 Heaven-Falling Flow Strike Lv.3, Stage 2 Movement Lv.2
[Chakra Talents]
Root Chakra Layer 1: 298/1000 (Vitality)
Sacral Chakra Layer 1: 298/2000 (Vitality), Quality Upgrade chance increased to 10%.
Heart Chakra Layer 1: 298/1000 (Vitality)

"Combined with the system's 10% bonus, the fixed quality upgrade chance has reached 20%."

"This wave of evolution occurred three times, and I am now the Dragon-Pattern Cold Crystal Sword. My durability has also increased significantly; the properties of the Earth Crystal are truly excellent."

"There are dozens of strongholds left. If I wipe them out, I should be able to gain another two or three levels."

After reviewing his progress, Qin Chuan set his next objective.

At the same time, news of Shang Xuanyun’s death began to spread far and wide.