Chapter 176: Chapter 141: Heaven-Burning Fiend: You’re Clearly Afflicted with Evil Qi

’After twenty thousand years, this entire basin should be brimming with Earth Evil Qi.’

"This is bad!"

Xiao Chen reacted instantly. ’There’s a thief.’

Given the terrain, even if the amount of Evil Qi was insufficient, it should have been dispersed evenly, not gathered in one spot.

This clearly meant someone had gotten here first and was already extracting the Evil Qi.

This wouldn’t happen unless it was a special type of Evil Qi that had already solidified into a physical object, like the Blood Jade.

Earth Evil Qi, such as the Five Elements Evil Qi, was extremely slow to collect. It often took half a year, or even a full year, to gather it all.

Xiao Chen quickly used the Sealing Acupoint Concealing Qi Technique to hide his Cultivation level.

Then, he slipped into the basin to find who was competing with him for the Evil Qi.

Inside the basin, an old man and a burly young man were using a special gourd to collect the Evil Qi.

They didn’t have the Mystic Sky Eating Secret Technique, so they naturally couldn’t, and wouldn’t dare, to absorb the Evil Qi directly into their bodies. They had to rely on a special Magical Artifact to contain it.

Because of this, aside from taking turns supplying Magical Power to the gourd, they spent the rest of their time either cultivating or just chatting out of boredom.

"Elder Wang, my Fire Crows have now completed the Add Fire process. What do you think?"

"Qian, you’re quite impressive. It’s not easy to reach your level of Cultivation at your age. Back when I was your age, I had only just managed to reach the Limit-Breaking stage."

"Hah, it’s only because I’m cooped up here all day with nothing else to do. Besides practicing Magic, there’s nothing else to relieve the boredom."

Qian Yong recalled his Fire Crows and walked over to the gourd.

According to the mission Luoyun Wanderer had assigned them, they could leave as soon as this gourd was full.

But this so-called Evil Qi, which seemed to fill the entire basin, would instantly melt away the moment it entered the gourd.

They could only collect a small wisp in one month.

They had already been here for over a year and still needed another two months before they could hope to fill the gourd with Evil Qi.

Qian Yong couldn’t resist leaning closer to the gourd again, trying to gauge how much longer it would take to fill.

"Be careful. You absolutely cannot touch that Evil Qi. If you get tainted by even the slightest bit, no one can save you."

Elder Wang wasn’t actually worried about Qian Yong being corrupted by the Evil Qi. He was worried that if Qian Yong died here, there would be no one to rotate shifts with him.

Then this miserable chore would fall entirely on his shoulders.

"Not good, someone’s coming!"

Elder Wang’s expression suddenly changed. He sensed that the Magic Power Mark he had left outside had been triggered.

Startled by his words, Qian Yong immediately sent out his Divine Sense to investigate.

He quickly breathed a sigh of relief. "Hmph, I thought it was something serious. It’s just some Qi Refining Cultivator who wandered in by mistake."

"Perfect. I’ll catch him and have some fun. It’ll be a good way to kill some boredom."

As he spoke, he took out his Flying Sword and started to walk out.

"Fool!"

Elder Wang shouted, his face grim. He stood up and stopped the process of collecting the Evil Qi.

Reaching out, he put away the gourd. "How could any ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator make it here?"

"There’s definitely something wrong with this person. We go together."

.

"Why do you have to be so careful? So what if it’s a late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator?"

Qian Yong grumbled, feeling very displeased. ’With my abilities, an ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator is no match for me.’

’If it were a Golden Core True Man, then I’d just have to accept my fate.’

Although the process of collecting Evil Qi could be paused midway,

it would take even more time to gather it again. All in all, it meant they would have to stay in this godforsaken place for another day.

’In my opinion, this is just an excuse for Elder Wang to be lazy.’

’That old fox is just too cunning. The next time there’s a long-term mission like this, I’m definitely not coming with him.’

Elder Wang, however, placated him, "The Holy Sect’s business is what matters most. I’m just being cautious."

"Let’s go together. We absolutely cannot let him get away."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the edge of the basin. Guided by their senses of the Magic Power Mark, they cornered Xiao Chen, one in front and one behind.

Perhaps because it had been too long since he had seen anyone else,

Qian Yong didn’t attack immediately. Instead, he showed himself and bellowed, "Halt!"

Then he got a good look and said with a sly grin, "Well, well, look what we have here. A pretty boy."

"Not bad. You knew I was bored all by myself, so you served yourself up on a platter to entertain me."

While he was talking, Elder Wang on the other side had also gotten into position. He first took out a Magic Shield, then conjured a Water Curtain as another layer of Defense.

Once Xiao Chen realized he had been discovered, he dropped his pretense.

His Divine Sense swept over them as he asked calmly, "Who are you? Who sent you here to collect Evil Qi?"

"Got some nerve."

Seeing Xiao Chen’s completely calm expression, devoid of any panic, Qian Yong’s own expression grew serious. "Luotian True Fire!"

As his voice fell, a full one thousand Profound Fire Crows unfurled their wings and flew out from behind him.

In an instant, they formed a Super Fire Crow Array.

Huh?

’Luotian Profound Fire Crows?’

Xiao Chen was slightly taken aback at the sight. ’If I remember correctly, even at the Great Success stage of the Profound Fire Crow technique, one can summon a hundred Fire Crows at most.’

’It’s only because of my Augment’s bonus that I can break that limit and possess a thousand Fire Crows.’

’What’s going on with this guy?’

But seeing the opponent’s Luotian True Fire erupting toward him, he had no time for deep thought and immediately brought out his Fire-Storage Treasure Gourd.

"Absorb!"

Following his command, the surging Luotian True Fire was all sucked into the Treasure Gourd.

"What? That’s impossible!"

Qian Yong’s expression changed drastically. He never would have imagined that the Luotian True Fire he took so much pride in could be completely absorbed in an instant by his opponent’s Magical Artifact.