17: Taking advantage of someone's misfortune

Northern Wasteland Mountain Range.

Inside an extremely well-hidden cave, Yang Lingchen summoned the Vast Heaven Jade from within his body, placed it into the soil, and then entered the haotian jade space.

Yang Lingchen took out Li Tianxing's Storage Pouch and poured out over two thousand Spirit Stones along with many precious medicinal herbs.

Looking at these two thousand-plus Spirit Stones, Yang Lingchen's eyes flickered with the light of excitement; with these Spirit Stones, he was confident he could Breakthrough to the third layer of the Bright Profound Realm.

Having done a good deed only to be met with ingratitude, the frustration in Yang Lingchen's heart was beyond words.

However, the moment he saw these two thousand Spirit Stones, that gloomy mood instantly vanished without a trace.

Originally, Yang Lingchen hadn't planned to do anything to that young girl, but the subsequent situation had exceeded his expectations. Since he had already thoroughly offended her anyway, he might as well extort her for one more sum.

He sat cross-legged, calmed his mind, and took out all of the Spirit Stones.

Circulating the Vast Heaven Art, he began to continuously absorb the Spirit Stones in his hands, simultaneously converting the Spiritual Qi into Profound Qi to launch an assault on the third layer of the Bright Profound Realm.

In the blink of an eye, several hours passed.

At this moment, Yang Lingchen had reached the critical juncture of his Breakthrough. He immediately gritted his teeth and brought out all the remaining Spirit Stones.

As the Spirit Stones were refined and absorbed by him one by one, Yang Lingchen soon touched the threshold of the third layer of the Bright Profound Realm.

“Boom... Boom... Boom...”

“Third layer of the Bright Profound Realm.”

Having finally successfully broken through to the third layer of the Bright Profound Realm, Yang Lingchen felt a pang of heartache seeing the two thousand-plus Spirit Stones in his hands completely exhausted.

If anyone knew that Yang Lingchen had broken through from the first layer of the Bright Profound Realm to the third layer in just a few days, their jaws would absolutely drop in shock.

Under normal circumstances, an ordinary person's speed of refining Spirit Stones could never be as rapid as his.

A typical Bright Profound Realm Cultivator could only refine ten or so Low-Grade Spirit Stones a day at most.

Yet Yang Lingchen could refine Spirit Stones without limit, all thanks to the Divine-Grade Cultivation Technique he practiced, the Vast Heaven Art.

“It seems I need to find a way to earn Spirit Stones. Currently, the only feasible method is Alchemy, relying on Medicinal Pills to earn Spirit Stones,” Yang Lingchen pondered silently in his heart.

Leaving the haotian jade space, Yang Lingchen reappeared in the Northern Wasteland Mountain Range.

At this point, the missions he had accepted were all completed, but he didn't plan on heading back just yet, as this place was undoubtedly an excellent Trial Grounds.

Another three days passed in a flash. During these three days, Yang Lingchen's God Slaying Sword Art and Phantom Art became increasingly proficient, reaching the level of perfection.

On this day, as Yang Lingchen passed through a dense forest, he heard the sounds of weapons clashing coming from within.

Out of curiosity, Yang Lingchen cautiously crept toward the dense forest.

Concealing his aura, he lay quietly within the thick bushes.

Through the dense branches, he saw a man and a woman engaged in a life-and-death struggle within the forest. Both were constantly swinging their battle swords, attacking each other fiercely.

“It's Feng Xueqing.”

Yang Lingchen recognized the woman among them; it was precisely Feng Xueqing, who had participated in the assessment with him.

To Yang Lingchen's surprise, Feng Xueqing's cultivation level had actually reached the third layer of the Bright Profound Realm.

“Isn't this cultivation talent a bit too startling?”

The young girl's figure was graceful and beautiful, her proud chest swaying continuously with her movements, while the long sword in her hand constantly released Sword Qi to strike at her opponent.

“Tsk... tsk... damn, they're really big.” Yang Lingchen watched from the side with great interest.

Just then, he accidentally caught sight of a profound spirit ginseng not far away.

“Holy crap, a profound spirit ginseng.”

At this moment, Yang Lingchen finally understood the reason; these two were actually fighting over this profound spirit ginseng.

profound spirit ginseng was an extremely rare Spirit Medicine of heaven and earth. If a Bright Profound Realm Cultivator consumed it, they could directly increase their cultivation by a minor Realm.

“I must get my hands on this profound spirit ginseng,” Yang Lingchen said secretly in his heart.

His cultivation level was currently in the Bright Profound Realm. If he obtained this profound spirit ginseng, his cultivation level could increase by another minor Realm.

Yang Lingchen suppressed his aura and then moved his body quietly, continuously creeping toward the direction of the profound spirit ginseng.

“Feng Xueqing, I am determined to have this profound spirit ginseng. If you continue to pester me, don't blame me for being ruthless.” A sinister coldness was revealed in the young man's eyes.

“Chen Junjie, with just your meager skills you want to compete with This Young Lady? Who gave you the courage? It's one thing to be ugly, but you have the nerve to come out and scare people.” While attacking, Feng Xueqing didn't forget to mock her opponent.

“Feng Xueqing, you are looking for death!” Chen Junjie instantly flew into a rage.

He hated it most when others mentioned his appearance, yet Feng Xueqing just had to poke his sore spot. How could this not make him furious?

The battle sword in Chen Junjie's hand swung out, the Sword Qi carrying a dazzling light as it instantly slashed toward Feng Xueqing. The surrounding air seemed to be twisted by the force of this sword strike.

Feng Xueqing's figure flashed as she quickly evaded this strike, while the long sword in her hand formed a sword array that rapidly shot toward Chen Junjie.

Facing Feng Xueqing's sword array, Chen Junjie couldn't help but frown and immediately retreated. Although his cultivation level was much higher than hers, this sword array of hers made him quite wary.

As the battle continued, both sides' eyes had turned red with bloodlust, but because their combat power was not far apart, neither could defeat the other in a short time.

Just then, the two exchanged a heavy blow and were each pushed back over a dozen meters.

At that exact moment, Yang Lingchen's figure was like a bolt of lightning, instantly appearing beside the profound spirit ginseng.

He plucked the profound spirit ginseng without hesitation, and his figure then turned into an afterimage, instantly vanishing from the spot.

When he reappeared, Yang Lingchen was already dozens of yards away.

“scoundrel, you stop right there!” Feng Xueqing shouted in a delicate, angry voice, immediately performing her movement technique to chase after Yang Lingchen.

“Kid, you're looking for death!”

At this time, the young man also discovered that Yang Lingchen had snatched the profound spirit ginseng, and he was instantly fuming with rage.

Yang Lingchen fled frantically all the way, while Feng Xueqing followed closely behind him, refusing to let go.

As for the young man named Chen Junjie, he had long been left far behind by the two. Although his cultivation was at the seventh layer of the Bright Profound Realm, in terms of speed, he was worlds apart compared to Yang Lingchen and Feng Xueqing.

“scoundrel, you're dead! How dare you steal This Young Lady's profound spirit ginseng!”

The more Feng Xueqing chased, the more alarmed she became. She was using a top-tier movement technique! How could this kid run faster than her?

“Little Tigress, it's impossible for you to catch up to me. If you keep chasing, be careful not to shake your big buns right off.”

Yang Lingchen laughed loudly, then he increased his speed once more and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.

“Ahhh...! This Young Lady is furious! scoundrel, one day This Young Lady will break your third leg!” Feng Xueqing said crossly.

After running wildly for a period of time.

Yang Lingchen changed direction and began searching for Yao Beasts in the mountains to temper his Physical Body.

Yang Lingchen attached great importance to the cultivation of the Physical Body. A powerful Physical Body would not only give him an absolute advantage in close-quarters combat but also enhance his defensive capabilities.

Sometimes, when Profound Energy was exhausted, at least the cultivation of the Physical Body could sustain his combat power.

Another three days passed in the blink of an eye. During these three days, Yang Lingchen killed countless Second-Rank Yao Beasts, and his cultivation level became even more stable.

On this day, Yang Lingchen found a cave, intending to consume the profound spirit ginseng.

Just now, he had discovered that the medicinal effects of the profound spirit ginseng were gradually dissipating; if he didn't consume it in time, it would likely become a useless ginseng.