The Purple Scaled Armor

Translator: Cinder Translations

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After everyone introduced themselves, Xuan Ye spoke.

"This trip to the ancient battlefield is fraught with dangers. Before we set off, I hope everyone can be honest and share what they are seeking. If our goals do not conflict, that would be best. If they do, we might have to reconsider our team."

Xuan Ye meant that if there were no conflicts of interest among the group, they could cooperate. However, if they sought the same treasures, especially if the quantity was limited, conflicts would inevitably arise.

Xuan Ye, clearly experienced in team adventures, was cautious and aimed to avoid conflicts as much as possible.

He continued, "To show my sincerity, I will start. My goal in the ancient battlefield's underground cave is the Snake Scale Fruit."

The Snake Scale Fruit is a spiritual fruit with a skin resembling snake scales. When consumed for the first time, it helps Qi Refining stage cultivators break through their bottlenecks. However, it has no effect if taken again.

For Xuan Ye to venture deep into the ancient battlefield for the Snake Scale Fruit, it was evident that he had encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation, likely being stuck there for a long time.

Xuan Ye added, "There are quite a few Snake Scale Fruits in the underground cave. If any fellow Daoist is interested, we can work together to obtain them and split the fruits."

The underground cave in the ancient battlefield has numerous branches and paths.

Their team was temporary and didn't necessarily have to risk their lives for others' goals. After reaching the underground cave, if their targets differed, they could part ways at any time.

This was why Song Wen wanted to find people to team up with. The underground cave had too many branches, and it was dark without any reference points. Without someone familiar with the terrain to guide them, relying only on a simple map from the black market, it would be easy to get lost in the complex cave system.

The area where the Snake Scale Fruit grows must be guarded by many snake-type demonic beasts, making it difficult to pick the fruit.

Therefore, Xuan Ye hoped that after reaching the underground cave, someone would join him in collecting the Snake Scale Fruits and share the risks.

Niu Ding, with a deep voice, said, "I am only here to retrieve my big brother's body. According to the survivor who was with him, my big brother died not far from the snake cave. Xuan Ye, we can go together then."

Xuan Ye's eyes lit up upon hearing this and he said, "Alright."

Song Wen glanced at Niu Ding curiously. If what he said was true, he seemed like someone worth befriending.

To risk his life to retrieve his brother's body suggested he wasn't a person of great evil.

However, Song Wen wondered how much truth was in his words. Was he really there for his brother's body, or for some treasure on it?

"I am here for the Hollow Cicada Wood."

Song Wen didn't conceal his goal. The information about the Hollow Cicada Wood in the underground cave of the ancient battlefield was already known to many.

Xuan Ye responded, "The Hollow Cicada Wood is deep in the cave, and it's quite dangerous. It won't be easy to obtain."

Song Wen nodded, "Thank you for the warning, Daoist."

At this moment, Lao Chun spoke.

"My senior sister and I are here to obtain a Forsythia. Our master, who is also her father, has been poisoned by a Bronze Corpse, and Forsythia is needed to detoxify him."

Bronze Corpses are zombies comparable to Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

Hearing this, Xuan Ye hesitated, "The place where Forsythia grows is even deeper than the Hollow Cicada Wood and extremely dangerous. Even if we all go together, it might be hard to reach safely."

Xuan Ye's words were clearly a way to decline. He implied that the place where Forsythia grows was too dangerous, and the senior sister and brother duo would have to go alone without expecting help from others.

Zi Yi, who had not spoken until now, said in a cold voice, "If any Daoist is willing to help, regardless of the outcome, I am willing to pay each person 500 spirit stones as a reward. If successful, I will add another 500 spirit stones."

Her words drew the attention of the others.

There were three people besides Lao Chun. If they all agreed to go, Zi Yi would have to pay 1500 spirit stones. If they successfully obtained the Forsythia, the total payment would be 3000 spirit stones.

3000 spirit stones would be enough to purchase a Forsythia plant.

Perhaps noticing the others' doubts, Zi Yi explained.

"My father is severely poisoned and urgently needs Forsythia. Unfortunately, there is none for sale in the market at the moment, so my senior brother and I have no choice but to venture out."

After hearing this, the three nodded in agreement.

Especially Song Wen, who was in a similar situation.

He didn't lack the spirit stones to buy the Hollow Cicada Wood. If he had enough time, he could have posted a high-priced mission in the black market to purchase it.

Generous rewards always attract brave men.

However, time was pressing, so he had no choice but to take the risk and go himself.

But with Zi Yi revealing that she had a lot of spirit stones, wasn't she afraid that someone might harbor ill intentions and kill her for her wealth? Or perhaps she had some reliance and wasn't afraid of the other three? Or maybe she didn't have enough spirit stones and was just luring them into taking risks for her.

"Since our goals don't conflict, let's make the most of our time and set off immediately."

Zi Yi fixed her gaze on Song Wen, urging him to depart quickly.

Among the group, only Song Wen had a flying boat. To depart, they needed his consent.

Song Wen's cultivation level was the lowest among them. They agreed to let him join the team because of his flying boat.

With a flying boat, they could greatly reduce travel time and the risk of crossing the ancient battlefield.

Prepared for this outing for many days, Song Wen nodded.

"I can depart at any time."

Song Wen knew that this trip to the ancient battlefield was extremely risky. Not only was the battlefield itself full of dangers, but there were also many robbers who killed for treasures, including members of the team who might turn against each other at any time.

For this reason, he spent spirit stones like water, buying various life-saving items.

After all, the greatest tragedy for a person is dying before spending all their spirit stones.

He wore a top-grade soft armor, an item he spent 1800 spirit stones on. This price was enough to buy two or three similar-grade offensive items.

Song Wen, with his current low level of magical power, couldn't sustain the soft armor for long. But in a crisis, he could still activate it for a short time.

Moreover, the soft armor, named "Purple Scale Armor," was different from the Ghost Head Shield. The shield required spiritual power to activate its defense, whereas the Purple Scale Armor provided a certain level of defense even without activation.

Additionally, he purchased five top-grade first-level defensive talismans called "Vajra Talismans."

He had also reached the "proficient" stage in his cultivation of the "Ten Thousand Poison Body Technique" and developed a powerful physical body with the "Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique." He was confident that he could withstand a full-force attack from a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

For offense, he bought a medium-grade magical weapon, the Soul-Breaking Awl.

He also coated his Mother-Son Poison Needles with the potent poison "Heavenly Fire."

TL Note: Heavenly Fire, previously translated as Fire Burns the Sky – a venom Song Wen purchased in chapter 50.

Over the past two months, the population of his Black-Bellied Beetle Gu had grown to over a dozen. To sustain such a large number, he consumed nearly ten spirit stones daily.

To his disappointment, there had been no new mutations among the beetles in the past year, and none had evolved into a stronger form.

However, nine of the beetles had grown to the strength of fifth-level Qi Refining over the year.

(End of the Chapter)