Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

Targeting a massive boulder Morin had dislodged, Mu Chen swung his arm forcefully. Broken Star transformed into a silver streak of light, shooting toward the boulder like lightning. With a crisp DING, it pierced straight through the rock. Before Mu Chen had a chance to assess it, the pierced boulder suddenly began to crackle with a KAKA KAKA sound, and finally, with a loud BOOM, it shattered into a pile of debris.

"This..." Seeing the destruction it had wrought, Mu Chen was left speechless.

The Profound Old Ghost pursed his lips. "You’re seriously underestimating the power of an Immortal Treasure, using it to attack a mere boulder. Let me be clear: it can tear through even ordinary Xuan Iron. Look closely. Its attack isn’t a simple piercing motion; it spins as it pierces. While both are forms of piercing, a spinning pierce is at least ten times more destructive."

"I see."

Mu Chen’s face lit up with understanding. He gazed at the Shattered Star Lock Chain coiled around his arm, unable to bring himself to put it down.

"Our business here is concluded. It’s been over half a year since you emerged. It’s time we get to the most important task."

The Profound Old Ghost gazed into the distance, his hands clasped behind his back, a look of deep nostalgia in his eyes. Mu Chen nodded. Then, as if remembering something, he took out an exquisite Storage Ring and said to the Profound Old Ghost, "Master, could you take a look at this for me? This should be the ring that belonged to the leader of the Morin Mercenary Corps. My Spiritual Power isn’t strong enough to erase the Spiritual Mark on it."

The Profound Old Ghost said nothing, simply taking the ring. A formidable wave of Spiritual Power, like a giant mountain, crashed down on the ring. With a soft CRACK, the Spiritual Mark on the ring was instantly obliterated.

"Here."

After doing this, the Profound Old Ghost didn’t even inspect the contents and simply tossed it to Mu Chen. Mu Chen quickly caught the ring, his hopes high for what it might contain. He extended his Spiritual Power into it. Inside the ring, there was nothing but a black Iron Box and a Medicine Bottle.

"How can this be?"

Frowning, Mu Chen’s face was a mask of disappointment. With a wave of his hand, he took out the black Iron Box and the Medicine Bottle from the ring. He set the black Iron Box aside for now and picked up the Medicine Bottle first. It was a blue Medicine Bottle that appeared to be made of some kind of jade. The bottle was sealed very tightly, suggesting the pill inside was extremely precious.

"Hm?"

Seeing the Medicine Bottle Mu Chen took out, the Profound Old Ghost thought for a moment before letting out a sound of surprise. "Let me see that bottle."

Without hesitation, Mu Chen tossed the bottle to the Profound Old Ghost, which made the Profound Old Ghost’s eyes go wide as he cursed, "You brat! You have no sense of propriety! This bottle is made of high-grade Blue Crystal. The pill inside must be no ordinary thing."

After speaking, the Profound Old Ghost carefully opened the bottle. A rich medicinal fragrance wafted out from within. Mu Chen took a light sniff and immediately felt his mouth begin to water.

"Heh heh, your luck really is something else, kid. This is a Martial King Essence Pill." The Profound Old Ghost quickly recapped the bottle and chuckled.

"A Martial King Essence Pill?"

Mu Chen suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. It was actually a Martial King Essence Pill! To call a Martial King Essence Pill a "pill" was, frankly, a bit of a stretch. Its fundamental difference from other pills was that they had to be refined from Medicinal Herbs, whereas a Martial King Essence Pill was refined using Primordial Power. This type of pill had a general name: a Martial Artist’s Primordial Pill. Any Martial Artist at the Grand Martial Master realm or higher could condense one. The effect of the condensed pill varied drastically depending on the Martial Artist’s realm, but its medicinal efficacy was always far greater than any other pill of the same level.

The reason for this was simple. The effects of pills made from Medicinal Herbs depended entirely on the user’s ability to absorb them. The stronger one’s constitution, the better the absorption; the weaker the constitution, the lesser the effect. A Martial Artist’s Primordial Pill, however, was different. It was condensed from pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. This meant that even with a poor constitution, as long as your Martial Artist Realm matched the pill’s level, you could unleash its full potential.

Its effect was something everyone coveted. If you consumed a Grand Martial Master Elixir upon reaching the Grand Martial Master realm, you would instantly advance a full Great Martial Master Ring Level. Similarly, consuming a Martial Spirit Essence Pill after reaching the Martial Spirit realm would allow you to advance a full Martial Spirit Ring Level.

Of course, Martial Artist’s Primordial Pills were incredibly rare—not because they were difficult to refine, but because almost no one was willing to make them. This was because deciding to refine a Martial Artist’s Primordial Pill meant sacrificing a Ring Level. In other words, if you were a First-Ring Martial King and wanted to condense a Martial King Essence Pill, you would first have to cultivate to the Second-Ring Martial King realm. Then, you would have to forcibly lower your Martial Artist Realm by one Ring Level to condense the pill. The prerequisite was that your own realm had to be higher than the First Ring. Unless one was desperately strapped for cash, no one would ever choose to refine one of these pills.

Forget Martial Spirit Essence Pills—most people weren’t even willing to refine a Grand Martial Master Elixir. Yet here Mu Chen was, holding a Martial King Essence Pill. This meant that as soon as he reached the Martial King realm, he could consume it and instantly advance a full level. The temptation was immense.

Holding the Blue Crystal Medicine Bottle, Mu Chen felt as if he were dreaming. The Profound Old Ghost smiled faintly. "He probably refined this Martial King Essence Pill himself, so you must use it the moment you advance to the Martial King realm."

"Mm."

Mu Chen nodded and carefully placed the Medicine Bottle into his empty Storage Ring. Only then did he pick up the black Iron Box he had set aside. The Iron Box was very plain. Its surface felt coarse to the touch. There were no strange symbols on it, and it wasn’t even locked. With a gentle flick, the lid of the Iron Box opened. What appeared before his eyes was a pristine-looking scroll.

’Could it be a Combat Skill?’

Mu Chen’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly took out the Scroll and eagerly unrolled it, only to be met with another wave of disappointment. This wasn’t a Combat Skill at all; it was just a map.

He scanned it quickly but found nothing special. Just as he was about to roll the map back up, the Profound Old Ghost suddenly stopped him. "Wait. Look at the back of the scroll."

Startled, Mu Chen turned the Scroll over. A line of small text appeared before his eyes. "In one year, an Exotic Treasure will appear at Cang Mountain Peak. Heroes from all lands are invited to vie for it."

"This is..." Mu Chen quickly flipped the map back over. He instantly analyzed the map’s information. To be precise, it was a regional map. The starting point was a town called Cold Frost Town. The journey was very long, and the destination was Cang Mountain, as mentioned in the text on the back.

"Let me see."

The Profound Old Ghost took the map and quickly scanned it. After a moment, he sighed, "How did it come to this?"

"What is it?" Mu Chen, who had been standing silently by, asked in confusion.

"I never expected this place to change so much in a hundred thousand years. Our destination is precisely Cang Mountain Peak, but a hundred thousand years ago, this was a vast Snow Realm. For thousands of miles around, there were no human inhabitants, not even a single Magical Beast. How did so many towns suddenly appear?" The Profound Old Ghost’s brows furrowed. Things were already beyond his expectations.

"Master, I’ve been wondering... Where exactly are we going, and what is there?" Mu Chen asked, confused, finally voicing the question that had been on his mind.

The Profound Old Ghost sighed again and said, "Fine. You were bound to find out sooner or later. Didn’t I tell you before that the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique can only be resolved by an Extreme Attribute?"

Startled, Mu Chen shot to his feet and exclaimed, "Could it be..."

"That’s right. Our destination is the hiding place of the Extreme Ice Attribute. It’s also where I once lived. Judging from that message, it seems the location has been exposed," the Profound Old Ghost said grimly.

"Then should we hurry there immediately?"

Thinking of the importance of the Extreme Attribute, Mu Chen grew anxious. ’If the world finds out, won’t someone else get there first?’

But the Profound Old Ghost just smiled faintly. "You don’t need to worry about that. The only difference between an Extreme Attribute and an Immortal Treasure is that an Extreme Attribute will always have some kind of Heaven and Earth Strange Spirit guarding it. A hundred thousand years is a long time; many things can change. It’s possible another Exotic Treasure appeared nearby, drawing attention. In any case, don’t assume the worst."

Hearing the Profound Old Ghost’s words, Mu Chen’s worried heart finally settled. Ever since his Master had displayed his ferocious power, Mu Chen had found his Master’s identity to be increasingly mysterious. It was as if he were shrouded in a fog, impossible to see clearly.

"Anyway, we’re still a long way from Cang Mountain Peak. From now on, besides your Cultivation, start heading toward Frost Cold Town every day. Your training here is more or less finished." After pointing in a direction, the Profound Old Ghost vanished without a trace.

Mu Chen was already used to his Master’s ghostly exits. He dusted off his clothes, stored the Iron Box Scroll in his Storage Ring, and looked at his strange yet familiar surroundings before setting off at a brisk pace toward Frost Cold Town.

「Three months later.」 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

A white-robed youth lay at the base of a cliff not far from Frost Cold Town. The youth’s frame was somewhat slight, but his delicate and boyish face was filled with determination. This was none other than Mu Chen, who had emerged from the Demon Beast Forest. Two months prior, while still in the Demon Beast Forest, he had successfully broken through to become a Third Ring Martial Artist, and his strength had improved once again.

After two months of relentless Cultivation, Mu Chen could faintly sense that he wasn’t far from breaking through to the Four-Ring Martial Artist realm. After the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique completed another full circulation within his body, Mu Chen exhaled a breath of turbid air and frowned. ’This speed is still a bit slow. It’s already been a year since I left home. By now, my sister’s strength has probably left me far behind.’

He looked up at the clear sky. Unconsciously, he had spent the entire night cultivating again. These days were truly monotonous. In three months, Mu Chen hadn’t seen a single person. Fortunately, he had Magical Beasts to practice with every day, which made it bearable. He clenched his fist, feeling the surging Primordial Power within him. Mu Chen nodded slightly. ’My physical strength now should be enough to withstand a full-power blow from a Grand Martial Master.’

Thinking of the mountain of Demon Cores piled up in his Storage Ring, Mu Chen felt a surge of confidence. For the past three months, he had been using Demon Cores nonstop, but they were all low-level, Level 1 and Level 2 cores that he could easily replenish. He felt there was no need to waste the Third and Fourth Level Demon Cores. He planned to wait until he reached Frost Cold Town to exchange them all for Purple Elemental Crystals to have on hand for emergencies.