Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Smashing with Money
First-rank Qi Replenishing Pills were of little use.
The tasks she issued were all for purchasing Second-rank Qi Replenishing Pills or higher.
The Second-rank ones cost ten low-grade spirit stones.
The price was steep, but there was no other choice.
Third-rank ones took a huge leap in price, selling for fifty stones.
Because Qi Replenishing Pills were common medicine, the price below Third Rank was still manageable.
But the players were still on the move, and she only had a single Second-rank Qi Replenishing Pill on her.
She didn’t know how much longer she could last!
’Weren’t there supposed to be senior brothers and sisters watching over this area? Where are they? Somebody, come save me!’
From the intense battle, Song Jiulai wiped the sweat that had beaded on her forehead.
Spotting a low mountain ahead, she ran directly for the mountainside.
At the same time, she blasted another large Fireball over, followed by a water ball.
The mingling of water and fire created steam. No matter how tough the Demon Horned Snake’s hide was, it couldn’t withstand it. After all, it was only a Second-tier Demon Beast.
A steaming wound quickly appeared on its flesh.
Even though it wasn’t a fatal blow, it still had an effect; its speed clearly slowed for a moment.
This gave Song Jiulai the chance to run up the mountain.
Its vertical black pupils constricted further as it constantly shook its massive head, HISSING.
Song Jiulai quickly ascended the mountain and ran toward the other side.
She popped a few of the First-rank Qi Replenishing Pills and First-rank Blood Replenishing Pills she had brought.
The effect wasn’t great; it was mostly for comfort.
At least she felt much better mentally.
Her heart was still pounding.
But there were no signs that she was on the verge of life and death.
Because she knew in her heart that she still had the system as a safety net; she didn’t yet feel that suffocating despair of imminent death.
She glanced around. This was a spot on First Mountain. Looking out, she saw dense forests all around. Amidst the sea of green, only a few clearings were visible, but there was no discernible way out.
A mortal who wandered in here would find it nearly impossible to ever walk out.
But a Cultivator’s memory was different from a mortal’s. She still remembered the way she came.
Suddenly, from a certain direction, a trace of an aura drifted over!
The aura carried a corrosive stench, like the smell of the Demon Horned Snake.
But Song Jiulai wasn’t sure if it was her imagination. However, that direction was very likely the one the man had fled in.
She steadied herself and immediately made a decision.
HISS—
The sound was closer now, and Song Jiulai’s calf still cramped up as a conditioned reflex.
Damn it!
’This thing is fast.’
Before she even saw its shadow, she launched another Fireball.
ROAR—
The Demon Horned Snake was hit squarely by the Fireball again.
SPLOOSH—
The enraged Demon Horned Snake spat out another mouthful of pus, and dozens of small snakes swarmed up the mountain to where Song Jiulai had just been.
But the Second-rank Qi Replenishing Pill she had just taken had only restored half her Spiritual Energy. She wouldn’t be able to take two more hits like that.
As she ran, Song Jiulai had the system monitor the Sect’s account. Finally, after a few minutes, another Second-rank Qi Replenishing Pill appeared.
There was also another message.
[Fan Guzhou exchanged 500 points and submitted fifty low-grade spirit stones.]
[Fan Guzhou has completed the ’Third-rank Qi Replenishing Pill’ mission you issued.]
***
Jin Shu was by a small stream, looking at his own face.
He had been carelessly corroded by the Demon Horned Snake’s pus. He had to take two Second-rank Blood Replenishing Pills just to slow the corrosion.
He had run out of Qi Replenishing Pills, his Spiritual Energy was mostly depleted, and he had no way to restock on Elixir Pills. This trip had been a bit of a loss.
If it weren’t for accidentally finding that Earth Spirit Mushroom.
It wasn’t because of the Earth Spirit Mushroom’s price, but because an elixir pill formula he needed to concoct happened to require it.
But in the process of picking it, he had inevitably disturbed the Demon Horned Snake.
The demon beast at the Peak of the Second Order had launched a surprise attack, spraying pus in his face. This caused his Spiritual Energy to be constantly eroded; otherwise, he wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.
On top of that, the Demon Horned Snake was relentlessly pursuing him.
If he hadn’t run into that cultivator...
Jin Shu’s face was dark. ’A Cultivator in the Early Stage of Qi Refinement has no hope of withstanding a Demon Horned Snake at the Peak of the Second Order. Once that female cultivator is almost dead, the Demon Horned Snake should leave. Then I can go back and check.’
’Doing this sort of thing on First Mountain is still risky.’
’This whole place is strange, inside and out.’
’Low-level Cultivators are actually protected during their training?’
Jin Shu, who had gone through countless hardships to come here from the Tianyang Sect, could never understand why the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect had such a rule.
Where he came from, mortals were ants, no different from beasts in the eyes of Cultivators.
But here, mortals could actually coexist with Cultivators.
’It’s simply absurd.’
’Mortals are lowly. They aren’t even worthy of looking a Cultivator in the eye.’
Suddenly, Jin Shu sensed a disturbance.
A faint aura was coming from another direction.
He narrowed his eyes warily, but the aura was faint enough that he ultimately decided to go and take a look.
It was a few hundred meters away. When he walked over, the shock on his face was impossible to hide.
Before him lay the fallen body of the Demon Horned Snake. It was still breathing faintly, but the pustule on its forehead had burst—a clear sign that its end was near.
And not far from it was Song Jiulai, one of her arms more than half-corroded.
If she didn’t take medicine soon, she would eventually die from the corrosion.
She knelt on the ground, propping herself up with her continuously rotting hand. Her lips were deathly pale, cold sweat poured down her face, and her whole body trembled.
Seeing this, Jin Shu let out a disbelieving snort after his initial shock. "You killed the Demon Horned Snake?"
Impossible.
’Completely impossible.’
’She’s just a Cultivator in the Early Stage of Qi Refinement. How could she possibly do it?’
How could she not?
From the beginning of the fight until now, Song Jiulai had popped at least five Second-rank Qi Replenishing Pills, all of which the players had bought for her immediately after selling their materials.
At the same time, she had also taken several Second-rank Blood Replenishing Pills.
The Blood Replenishing Pills ensured her body wouldn’t suffer too greatly after depleting her Spiritual Energy, giving her a certain amount of reaction time.
As long as one had money, there was no shortage of Second-rank Elixir Pills in the Alchemy Workshop.
Although Second-rank Elixir Pills had no stacking effect and became less effective with each use, the Demon Horned Snake simply couldn’t handle being pelted with money like this. Add to that the abnormal mental method Song Jiulai cultivated through her system—one of her Fireballs was worth three from anyone else—and the Demon Horned Snake had already fought its most glorious battle.
It didn’t die to superior martial skill—it was bludgeoned to death by money.
When the pus burst, Song Jiulai was hit as well.
But had she paid such a high price just for a snake?
Seeing Song Jiulai’s wretched state, the wound on her arm still corroding, Jin Shu didn’t know how she’d done it, but he knew her end was also near.
’With just a light pinch, I could easily crush her to death.’
He felt no sympathy, sneering, "Hand over the Jiezidai on you. Remove your mark from it, and I might spare your life."
Cultivators at her current level couldn’t yet store things in their Sea of Consciousness, so the Jiezidai on Song Jiulai was very conspicuous.
Song Jiulai’s lips trembled, and as she tried to speak, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Jin Shu narrowed his eyes, a look of pity for Song Jiulai flashing within them.
He walked over slowly. "You can’t blame me. If you must blame someone, blame your own bad luck—"
The moment he drew near, Song Jiulai’s finger suddenly twitched.
Jin Shu realized something was wrong, but in the next instant, the ground beneath his feet was controlled by the Water Manipulation Technique. It turned into mud on the spot, and Jin Shu sank into it.
Jin Shu immediately tried to use a movement technique to escape, but the mud was surprisingly tenacious. He failed to break free on his first try and could only watch as Song Jiulai shoved an elixir pill into her mouth.
A Third-rank Qi Replenishing Pill.
The next second, two Fireballs the size of basketballs came smashing straight toward Jin Shu.
Jin Shu’s pupils contracted violently.
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