Chapter 128 Diminishing Returns

When Xu Chen realized that a single palm strike of his had obliterated thirty to forty million spirit coins, he felt truly miserable.

"Thirty or forty million spirit coins—what couldn't I have bought with that?"

"I might have even been able to afford a spiritual artifact."

"If I didn't need it, I could have given it to Dad."

"The treasure my mother has always loved, the Phoenix Feather Azure Dress, only costs a few million spirit coins."

Xu Chen looked at his own palm, silently calculating in his heart.

"Junior Brother, it's just thirty or forty million spirit coins. You can easily exchange for a few things once we return."

"Our Human Treasure Vault contains everything. Spirit coins are secondary; once we get back, you can exchange for as much as you want."

Seeing the dejected state of his "golden thigh," Zong Changshou couldn't help but offer comfort.

"If that strike had been a little lighter, we might have kept the body intact."

"That way, we could have retrieved the alien's head when we returned," Xu Chen muttered.

"..."

Li Chengfu, standing nearby, opened his mouth to speak but ultimately just sighed.

Four days later, Xu Chen descended like a shooting star into the center of an alien encampment. The vast, ocean-like force surged outward like a tidal wave. Yet, despite its seemingly violent appearance, the force was exceptionally gentle; everything in its path simply collapsed as if falling into a deep sleep.

"Quick, check if any of them are on the bounty list," Xu Chen signaled to the two men in the distance. Although he knew that those he could kill instantly were likely not on the list, he still habitually asked Zong Changshou to take a look.

The aliens, their heart meridians shattered, were dragged out, and Zong Changshou identified them one by one. Meanwhile, Li Chengfu busied himself scouring the camp for valuable treasures. In the distance, the Illusion-Colored Dragon Horse pulled a cleverly designed carriage behind it; no matter how rugged the mountain roads, it traveled as if on flat ground. This was the spoils of war from one of the alien camps, preserved solely thanks to Xu Chen's careful strikes. The carriage was piled high with inheritance items and damaged ancient artifacts.

"Junior Brother, I found something good." Li Chengfu ran over holding a pristine broadsword. The blade was black, eight feet long, with a flood dragon carved along the spine.

The moment Xu Chen took hold of the blade, he felt a connection as if it were part of his own bloodline. He swung it gently, feeling that it was exceptionally well-balanced.

"My Ink Shadow Blade was destroyed in that last battle; this one looks pretty good."

"Let's just hold onto it for now. I don't usually need it."

"I'll put it on the Dragon Horse then, for easy access." Li Chengfu nodded and placed the sword on the weapon rack of the Illusion-Colored Dragon Horse.

Once finished, the three of them and the horse continued on their journey. Xu Chen studied a book filled with Daoist scripts, which Zong Changshou had compiled for him.

"Junior Brother, there are 3,600 fundamental Daoist scripts. Each has its own classification, mostly falling under Yin-Yang, Five Elements, or Wind and Lightning."

"Within these, there are various branches."

"If you want to learn, you must start with the 1,800 fundamental Five Elements Daoist scripts."

"Today, let's learn the third script: Wood-Born Earth, Spiritual Dao Endowment, Transformation..."

Xu Chen walked while reading the passage, straining to listen to Zong Changshou's explanation. Li Chengfu, leading the horse ahead, seemed to be reminded of unpleasant memories and hurried the horse along. After listening to the lecture, head spinning, Xu Chen had barely grasped thirty percent of it.

"Junior Brother, just get a general understanding for now. Once we leave and return to the Human Dao Realm, you can have a renowned master explain it to you."

"A master's explanation comes with Daoist resonance, making it much easier to understand."

Observing the slightly pained expression on his "golden thigh," Zong Changshou felt that this task should probably be left to someone else.

"Alright." Xu Chen nodded slightly and put the book away; if there was a better way, he wouldn't force himself to suffer needlessly.

Just as the three of them and the horse were traveling through the ancient battlefield, the entire sky suddenly turned blood-red. Soon after, a massive downpour of viscous, blood-like liquid began to ravage the battlefield. Xu Chen immediately expanded his spider-web force, forming a giant umbrella to shield them from the downpour.

"Quick, find a place to hide. This rain isn't right." Xu Chen felt that the blood rain seemed to be merging into something.

"There are no mountains within three hundred miles; we'll have to dig," Zong Changshou judged immediately.

"Alright."

Xu Chen struck the ground with all his might. Piece by piece, stone blocks ten feet long, wide, and high were extracted and stacked over the hole to form a grand hall. Before long, a three-room, one-hall dwelling had been carved ten feet underground. The three of them and the horse entered the den, observing the changes outside.

The blood rain from the sky soon flooded the ancient battlefield to a depth of one foot. Eventually, the rain stopped, but the sky remained a dark, bruised red. They stood at the entrance, silently observing the forming sea of blood.

"I suspect something will crawl out of that soon," Xu Chen said, carving a lounge chair out of stone and sitting down.

"Junior Brother, you keep watch up here; I'll go down and whip up a few dishes," Li Chengfu said, heading into the deeper chambers.

Before long, he returned to the entrance hall with a food box. During their time here, they had wiped out many alien camps and scavenged many interesting items. For instance, there were "Fire-Oil Stones" that would ignite with a flame when stimulated by force, or "Light-Mist Stones" that emitted a constant, intense glow. There were also stones for collecting water, providing air, or blowing wind—all sorts of strange, useful little gadgets. This made their lives incredibly convenient and saved them from wasting unnecessary supplies.

The entrance was as bright as day. Under the light, the three of them used a giant boulder as a table and began to eat.

In the distance, the sea of blood churned. One after another, ten-foot-tall, clawed behemoths rose from the blood, their eyes glowing with demonic light as they began to hunt for targets. When they spotted Xu Chen and his companions in the hall, the creatures lunged.

With Xu Chen as the center, a three-hundred-foot radius was covered in spider-web force. Any creature that approached was instantly sliced into countless pieces.

"These blood beasts have the strength of three dragons. Is this world consciously trying to eliminate us and the aliens from the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court?"

"Those ancient Saint-level battles left behind not just chaotic Dao laws, but also contingency plans. It really might be intentional," Zong Changshou remarked, looking at the slaughtered beasts with a sense of relief. If he hadn't chosen the right "golden thigh," he might still be alive, but he certainly wouldn't be living as comfortably as this.

While the three were eating and chatting, a golden figure stepped through the air toward their hall.

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Jin, long time no see." Xu Chen welcomed him as the figure neared the hundred-foot mark.

The golden figure entered the hall, and upon seeing the three of them, a smile appeared on his face.

"It truly is fate. I intended to hide in the distant mountains, but I never expected to run into Fellow Daoist Xu on the way." Jin Lihua looked at their relaxed state, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes.

"I'll go get a few more dishes," Li Chengfu said, heading back down.

The trio became a quartet, and the conversation shifted to the interesting anecdotes of their respective continents. After the meal, Jin Lihua stepped out of the hall.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, you rest. I'm going to walk off the meal." A scorching aura erupted from Jin Lihua's body. Xu Chen paused his spider-web slaughter, yielding the battlefield to him.

"It seems this Fellow Daoist Jin's teammates are not around. Being alone on this ancient battlefield must be very difficult," Zong Changshou sighed as he watched Jin Lihua fighting outside.

"Back then, those upper-tier races of the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court captured tens of thousands of humans; not even half survived," Xu Chen said, grinding his teeth at the memory.

"This blood debt will be repaid sooner or later. An alliance of alien powers like the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court is the easiest to deal with."

"The Holy Spirit Heavenly Court won't last many more years."

"Think back to the reign of the Third Human Emperor. The alliance of Heaven and Earth Spirits back then was just like the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court, and our human race was much weaker than we are now."

"But an alliance without unity cannot last long. Our Third Human Emperor didn't even need to use his contingency plans; the entire alliance collapsed on its own and was later picked off one by one by our human race."

Zong Changshou watched Jin Lihua fighting outside and suddenly felt he was quite weak.

"Interesting. I only read a rough summary of that history. I recall it didn't take many years," Xu Chen said, looking at the dark blood-red sky outside and the endless sea of blood, thinking that since they were idle anyway...

"Since we have nothing to do, I'll tell you about it."

"In the year 3614 of the Third Human Emperor's reign, the Sages within the alliance of Heaven and Earth Spirits were..."

Zong Changshou lectured, and the two listened.

Outside, Jin Lihua seemed to have a suppressed frustration he needed to vent, and he fought incessantly. Zong Changshou spoke for two days and two nights, and Jin Lihua fought for two days and two nights, showing no signs of stopping.

As the sky over the ancient battlefield cleared, the clawed behemoths dissolved into blood and merged back into the sea. The sea of blood then seeped into the cracks of the earth, as if it had never appeared. Jin Lihua, standing outside, let out a long breath and turned to look at Xu Chen and his companions.

"Many thanks to the three fellow Daoists for the company. If you have time in the future, come to the Tianwei Continent, to the Holy Sun Sect, and look me up."

With that, Jin Lihua bid them farewell and departed through the air.

"The Jin family of Tianwei Continent—Junior Brother, you really should go look him up," Zong Changshou said with a smile.

"Are they very powerful?"

"Two ancestors. One is preparing to attain the Great Luo stage, and the other is in the vanguard army."

"A second-generation immortal..."

Xu Chen looked at the clear sky, his mood suddenly improving. The three of them and the horse continued their journey. As time passed, there were fewer and fewer humans or Holy Spirit Heavenly Court aliens left on the battlefield. Aliens weren't easily encountered, and those they did meet were all from upper-tier races with not-insignificant strength.

By the eighth month of entering the ancient battlefield, the three of them and the horse had not encountered anyone else for half a month.

"If we can't run into aliens, we can't snatch their things."

"The harvest is so small." Li Chengfu looked at the treasures on the carriage behind the Illusion-Colored Dragon Horse, feeling as if their business were running at a loss.

"It's alright. At least the aliens we do meet are getting stronger, and we can still encounter those on the bounty list."

On the carriage lay the heads of two upper-tier aliens, each taken by Xu Chen after a fierce battle. They were on the bounty list, and bringing their heads back would earn them contribution points.

"A month ago, I exchanged intelligence with that group we met; a human camp has now formed near the edge of the Abyss."

"Since our harvest has been dwindling lately, why don't we go take a look?" Zong Changshou proposed.