Heavy Sword - 3
Later that night, Yuan Yi was cultivating in the center of the
With winter approaching, the qi in the area diminished. It wasn't as potent or ubiquitous as it was before. At first, Yuan Yi thought he may have exhausted it all, but the cold reminded him of basic rules of nature. Plants don't grow in the cold.
Yuan Yi wondered what this formation could do in the spring, when it was the season of vitality and growth. On an ancient mountain like this, the qi must certainly be extremely powerful. Not to mention the fact that the Brilliant Sword Sect was built on a Great Vein. They called it the Dragon Vein Node, and it was one of the largest in the Nine City States.
He was mentally checking his status to see how fast his cultivation improved. Over an hour, it rose by an entire 4%. He was so close to breaking through to the 7th stage of Qi Condensation. Two more after that, and he would be in the Qi Refining realm, an essential step in building one's foundation for a Golden Core.
He was at his calmest, most serene state, when he heard a sound in the distance. A rustle of dead leaves from a force too heavy to be the wind. Like a step.
Yuan Yi took a deep breath and he focused his mind. He reached out with his senses, mentally imagining a growing sphere of awareness. At first it extended only as far as the formation in the field, but it grew to reach the trees beyond, and then further into the forest.
He suddenly became aware of the small animals hiding in the trees. A squirrel here, an owl there. A mouse hiding beneath the leaves, and a fox prowling among the roots looking for food.
His breathing became deeper and he was no longer focused on cultivating at all. The reason was simple. He felt a threat. There was something tangible in the air that warned him of the possibility of violence and death. It was like an ominous portent.
Then he sensed them. Two individuals were hiding behind a tree. He could even hear their calm heartbeat, but most of all, he could sense their killing intent. They were not out for a stroll in the dark, nor were they lost. They came with a purpose and that purpose was to kill Yuan Yi.
Yuan Yi considered striking first, but wielding a sword among all those trees and branches would not end well for him. With his awareness, he could only sense their presence. They could have small weapons, or armor, or any number of things that would put Yuan Yi at a disadvantage.
His best course of action was to remain still and feign ignorance.
Draw them in, then slaughter!
Yuan Yi focused on his breathing, trying to conceal his own murderous aura. He thought of Lan Xiaohui, and the Dao of the Sword. This brought peace to his heart.
Meanwhile, the two approached closer and closer. Eventually, they reached the edge of the forest and Yuan Yi decided to take a risk and remain still. If they had bows, they could fire on him now. Yuan Yi hoped they didn't.
Perhaps he was right, because they approached closer and closer, sneaking so well that they barely created a sound. At this range, Yuan Yi could even tell how profound their cultivation was. They were both in the 6th stage of Qi Condensation.
Once they were within ten meters, they produced the first sound. A heavy step as they leaped over the wooden fence, and bellowed a shout.
"Die!"
Yuan Yi rose to his feet immediately, drawing his sword and slashing it towards the first attacker. His sword caught a glimpse of the moonlight, as it produced a deep, hollow sound. His attacker was surprised and tried to parry Yuan Yi's sword with his own, but when the two swords collided, Yuan Yi's sword cut through the other sword, and on its way up, slashed through the assailant's neck.
Blood erupted from the wound.
Yuan Yi immediately turned his body, before the first blood drop fell on him, with such force that his motion caused the nearby fallen leaves to be blown away. He slashed the second attacker's knee with a fluid move, which surprised his defenseless opponent, and as his enemy began falling, Yuan Yi stabbed him through the neck with his sword, skewering him and arresting his fall.
This is the first time Yuan Yi properly looked at them, and assessed their equipment. They both had swords, and these were the same two that attacked Yuan Yi back then. The two he did not recognize. They didn't wear a Sect uniform, instead they had dark robes.
Yuan Yi withdrew his sword and allowed the corpse to fall to the ground.
[You have earned 45 CP. Current CP: 125 / 250.]
[You have earned 50 PP. Current PP: 50.]
Yuan Yi wondered about that new currency.
[PP stands for Progression Points. Obtain Progression Points from doing various tasks like crafting items, collecting herbs, or killing vermin. Exchange the points in the Progression Shop for useful items.]
Yuan Yi frowned. He did not kill 'vermin'. He killed living, breathing people. They probably had families and dreams and hopes.
[Vermin is vermin.]
Yuan Yi disagreed wholeheartedly with that statement. People were not vermin. Yes, he did not feel regret over killing these two - they brought it on themselves. But Yuan Yi could not allow himself to become so heartless as to think of them as just vermin, or points to be collected. What could he exchange the points for anyway that was worth more than a life?
[Progression Shop]
1x [Celestial Immortal] Cultivation Law (500,000 PP)
1x [Sky Saint] Magic Weapon (100,000 PP)
1x [Divine Emperor] Phoenix Breath Refining Flame (250,000,000 PP)
...
1x Entry Manual for Alchemy (1000 PP)
1x Entry Manual for Treasure Refining (1000 PP)
...
1x
The list went on and on, listing all sorts of wonderful items of different ranks. Some he could even buy, if he wanted to. The list mostly pertained to common and rare herbs and alchemical materials, including items for treasure forging.
But what truly interested him was the Dimensional Processing Ring.
[Dimensional Processing Ring]
- The Dimensional Ring allows the wearer to store items in a dimensional storage, inaccessible to others.
* At the Mortal Grade, it has a capacity 10 cubic meters and costs 100 PP.
* At the Spirit Grade, it has a capacity of 50 cubic meters and costs 500 PP.
* At the Profound Grade, it has a capacity of 100 cubic meters and costs 5000 PP.
...
- The Processing modifier automatically refines items placed inside the dimensional storage. Iron ore will become iron ingots, spiritual herbs will become spirit stone, or refined paste, and so on.
- The Harvesting modifier automatically harvests nearby resources when the ring is activated. It will collect herbs, ore, and other items.
- The Imperfect modifier limits control over the ring's functions and introduces losses. At the basic level, it wastes space inside the dimensional storage and requires the user to manually place items. When combined with other functions such as resource collection or processing, it introduces losses in the output.
"Things like this exist?" Yuan Yi wondered out loud, as he glared into the forest, to try and hopefully perceive more attackers. Some things were worth more than a moral compass.
Perhaps sensing the moment of weakness, the system delivered a solution.
[Minor quest issued: Call them vermin.]
"No!"
[Rewards: 1x Imperfect Dimensional Processing Ring - Mortal Grade.]
Yuan Yi spat on the corpses. "Vermin."
...
[Quest completed: Vermin is vermin.]
A ring appeared in the air, at eye level from Yuan Yi, and fell into his hand. This alarmed Yuan Yi for several reasons. It meant that the entity had some control over the world. Somehow.
But more importantly, it also excited Yuan Yi! He had a ring! For free!
He immediately sent qi into the ring to check its contents. Maybe it came with a gift?
Instead of opening the dimensional storage, Yuan Yi accidentally activated the ring.
All the herbs were swept up in an instant, including the corpses at his feet. They were sucked into the ring, becoming smaller and smaller, so as to fit in.
"No!!" Yuan Yi screamed. "It wasn't ready for harvest!"
[You obtained 500 spirit stones, 4x [Spirit] Spirit Herb Paste, 1x [Profound] Spirit Bead, 1x [Celestial] Memory of Regret, 4x [Mortal] Iron Ingot.]
"Yes!!" Yuan Yi howled. "500 Spirit Stones?!"
He never saw more than 20 in his entire life. Now he had 500! With 500 spirit stones, he could live comfortably in the Outer Sect for years. He was filthy rich!