The Yinshan Old Ancestor had experience scavenging too, but that was many years ago. Of course, given his temperament, he wouldn’t have gone scavenging the way Chen Qing did. He’d done many acts of murder and robbery, sending people to their graves. Still, as brutal as he was, it was his first time meeting someone like Gu Han.
He’s so arrogant and presumptuous. This guy definitely just entered the business and hasn’t experienced the cruelty and beatings of the scavenging world in the Tiannan Realm!
He stared at Gu Han, his smile not reaching his eyes. “Forget it. Seeing how young you are, I think you lack scavenging experience. Let me teach you the basic rules. Before you scavenge, you must pick a suitable target. This is the most fundamental and also most important condition.”
Gu Han raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? That’s interesting. No one’s ever told me that.”
The Yinshan Old Ancestor strode forward with a sinister grin. “No need to thank me. After all, you’re buying this rule with your life. It’s more than enough to make you remember it even in your next life!”
Gu Han ignored him and instead looked at Chongming. “Master Rooster, how about you take this one?”
Chongming rolled his eyes and similarly ignored him. Again? How many times now? For all the years in the Profound Heaven Great Domain, I’ve always been protected by the Sword Chiefs. How come things have changed with this guy? Is he trying to set me up?
Gu Han seemed somewhat disappointed. “Fine.”
He glanced at the Yinshan Old Ancestor again and slowly raised his sword. “I hope you have more things in your storage ring. Otherwise, I’ll have taken another loss on this strike.”
The Yinshan Old Ancestor’s cultivation surged to its peak. “Cocky!”
A wave of qi spread out, vaguely condensing into the shape of a bone claw. Accompanied by the wailing of ghosts, it descended upon Gu Han.
Such was his habit. No matter how weak his opponent was, he would go all out, giving them no chance at all. Thanks to this, he had escaped countless crises and eliminated numerous future threats, rising from a scavenger of those days to the current Yinshan Old Ancestor, famous throughout this region.
Beneath the all-encompassing bone claw, Gu Han’s face turned deathly pale as he swayed like he would collapse at any moment. Yet, he still extended his sword with firm resolve. The sword's momentum was slow and unremarkable, as if he were making one final, desperate struggle.
The Yinshan Old Ancestor was in high spirits, his grin growing sinister. “After this, I’ll use your head as a wine flask and roast that bald rooster on the side. That should make for a fine meal!”
The bone claw’s power surged again.
Chongming’s eyes went wide as he leaped up and lunged at the old ancestor. “Fucking hell! That bastard just insulted me!”
Relying solely on brute force, he broke through the blockade of saintly might and energy, arriving directly before the Yinshan Old Ancestor. “The Great Might King Seal!”
A supremely illusory, five-colored great seal descended, but lasted only for a short while before vanishing completely. Though it carried only a trace of power, that tremendous force still drove the Yinshan Old Ancestor halfway into the ground. What a strong rooster!
His heart tightened, but before he could react, Gu Han’s sword had arrived. Just as before, the sword momentum was unremarkable, yet it easily pierced through all obstacles and landed between his brows. A three-cun sword mark appeared between his brows, and the light in his eyes rapidly faded away.
Gu Han leaned on his sword, swaying unsteadily. “Any more experience you’d like to impart to a rookie like me?”
The Yinshan Old Ancestor stared dazedly at the furious Chongming, forcing out these last words on his final breath before his consciousness was extinguished for good, “Don’t... provoke... roosters...”
If he were still alive, Gu Han would’ve given him a thumbs up.
Chongming puffed out his chest proudly. Ignoring Gu Han entirely, he strode off to the side to rest. Gu Han picked up the Yinshan Old Ancestor’s storage ring, and his eyes lit up. There were two half-saint herbs and forty to fifty drops of Transcendent Substance! If he were in peak condition, he wouldn’t have given these things a second glance. But for him right now, they were undoubtedly life-saving resources.
Suddenly, something caught him by surprise. “Oh? This is...”
He took out a black, translucent object no larger than a grain of rice from his storage ring. The moment it appeared, an incredibly pure wave of soul power fell into his perception, and even the dizziness and sharp pain in his head eased considerably.
Gu Han suddenly remembered. “It’s that thing!”
It was exactly the black crystal Steward Yue had used to treat Ah Sha.
Chongming sensed that pure soul power as well, his eyes snapping open. “Soul Crystal?”
Gu Han was taken aback. “You know what this is?” 𝚏𝗋ℯⅇ
Chongming shot him a glance, full of contempt. “Of course! The biggest use of this thing is replenishing soul power. It’s nothing special. Back in the Profound Heaven Great Domain, that fool used to trick me into eating this every day, saying it would heal me. Later on, I got sick of it.”
Gu Han was speechless. Since Steward Yue, he’d never seen this thing again, nor even heard of it. Clearly, its rarity far surpassed that of saint herbs.
Got sick of it... For a moment, he actually found himself thinking the same thing as Chen Qing. Is my vision really inferior to even a rooster’s?
“Master Rooster, what cultivation level were you at before?”
Chongming rolled his eyes. “I forgot. All I remembered was that I was a little stronger than you at your peak.”
“A little?”
“Yeah, just a little.”
Gu Han felt somewhat comforted. “Then this thing—”
Chongming flew into a rage, as if insulted. “Brat, I’m not having it! Even if you kill me, I’m not having that!”
Gu Han was taken aback. He looked at the soul crystal, which really did resemble a grain of rice, and seemed to understand something. Since the rooster wouldn’t eat it, he’d just take it for himself. As he stuffed the two half-saint herbs and the Transcendent Substance into his mouth, he immediately sat cross-legged and began absorbing the pure soul power.
Deep within his consciousness space, the little figure manifested from his soul opened its eyes. With a wave of its hand, it drew that soul power in, absorbing it. Its form grew increasingly solid. The two sword marks between its brows flashed once, radiating a sharp, unparalleled aura in all directions.
Moments later, the soul crystal was completely exhausted. Gu Han’s injuries had been restored by thirty percent, and the dizziness and sharp pain had lessened considerably.
He hadn’t expected that a soul crystal the size of a grain of rice could have such a tremendous effect. “This is some great stuff!”
At that moment, he sensed some faint stirrings coming from the golden seal that hadn’t changed in ten years.
Qian Ye?