Chapter 131: Return

"108 divine ability crystals, 57 artifacts of heritage, 87 damaged artifacts from the ancient battlefield, and a tree emitting spiritual light."

"Four cards of unknown purpose, six black beads of unknown purpose."

"The foundational methods of the Great Heritage—including the 50 from Brother Xu's Thunder Spirit Clan, that makes 72 foundational methods in total, along with five cultivation techniques and four divine abilities."

"A beast's arm, that should be worth a few contribution points as well."

"And two severed heads of alien races listed on the bounty board."

Li Chengfu took out a small notebook to tally the treasures they had brought back, his expression growing more joyous with every calculation.

"Even if each of these is only worth a few contribution points, we’ve struck it rich."

"When the time comes, the three of us will head to the Human Sovereign Avenue Continent, drink the most mellow wine, eat the most expensive food, find the most beautiful women, and spend the most spirit coins!"

"By then, none of those uncles, grand-uncles, fathers, or brothers of mine will dare to look down on me," Li Chengfu said, his face flushing slightly.

"You look so cheap when you say that," Zong Changshou remarked, sounding as if he were lamenting his friend's lack of ambition.

"You're no different from me."

While the two talked, Xu Chen sat in the distance, watching the band of rainbow light above the ice field, pondering his plans for after they returned.

The first priority was to exchange for a top-tier foundation-building method based on blood and qi.

Xu Chen felt that since the opportunity was there, he had to aim for the power of nine dragons, nine tigers, and nine oxen; if there was a "cheat" configuration available, he had to maximize it.

The second priority was medicinal pills to improve his aptitude.

As for the rest, he would exchange for whatever his parents needed.

"It's been almost a year. I wonder if Mom and Dad suspected anything from the letters I wrote in advance."

Before leaving, Xu Chen had written 24 letters, timed to be sent at a frequency of two per month. As for the replies, they were all being stored at the Leizhou headquarters of the Immortal Crane Delivery Service.

As he mused, Xu Chen suddenly noticed a black shadow in the sky, soaring with its wings spread wide.

Having nothing better to do, Xu Chen stepped into the air and chased after the shadow.

It was a bird-like creature with a wingspan of three zhang.

"I didn't expect to run into something this good just as we're about to leave."

In recent times, as the disasters in the ancient battlefield had intensified, the number of exotic beasts available to hunt had dwindled. For a while now, the three of them had been surviving on spirit grain pills.

Their palates had been dulled for a long time.

Pointing a finger, he unleashed a force like sword qi that pierced the head of the avian beast.

Xu Chen carried the creature back to his companions.

"I didn't expect there to be exotic beasts here. Not bad, not bad. We’ll have a treat for our final few days."

Li Chengfu naturally took the beast from Xu Chen and began to prepare it meticulously: bleeding, plucking, skinning, and butchering.

Using his inner strength to ignite a few fire-oil stones, Li Chengfu began to roast the meat.

Before long, an exotic aroma drifted across the ice field.

Just as the three were salivating, a strange voice suddenly sounded.

"I have wine here, and you have meat. How about we drink together?"

The previously lively atmosphere dropped to freezing point. The three looked toward the source of the voice simultaneously.

A long-haired man in a blue ice-colored robe appeared to be stepping out from an unknown void.

The man was handsome and slender. Though his aura was frigid, the expression on his face was exceptionally gentle.

The three hurriedly stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Senior!"

"No need for such formalities. Just treat me as a normal friend."

Thus, the group by the campfire grew from three to four.

"Senior, have you always been on this ice field?" Zong Changshou asked cautiously.

According to his life experience, in such a situation, life and death were already determined.

"Yes, I created this ice world as a place to rest," the man nodded slightly.

"Senior, are you of the Styx Clan?" Xu Chen asked tentatively.

"Good eye. One of the foundational methods you practice has some connection to my clan."

"And now you have obtained the foundational methods, cultivation techniques, and divine abilities of my clan here."

"Although your aptitude is low, there is a glimmer of possibility for you to defy your destiny."

"It is a pity you are not a child of my Styx Clan; otherwise, I would not mind taking on a disciple with your level of perseverance," the man said, looking at Xu Chen.

"You flatter me, Senior," Xu Chen said modestly.

"You have cultivated various foundational methods, from low to high, to the realm of Great Perfection. Even if your comprehension is heaven-defying, you must have put in unimaginable sweat and effort."

As the four chatted, Li Chengfu handed a piece of roasted meat to the man.

The man raised his hand, and an ice cup appeared in front of each of the three.

A strange fragrance of wine wafted out as the man took out a wine gourd and opened it. The wine inside turned into a thin stream, pouring into the ice cups.

"I won't eat your meat for nothing. Let me treat you to a cup of wine."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior." The three bowed again, then carefully took the cups and drank.

As soon as they finished, the three lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

The man sat there, slowly and meticulously savoring the roast meat, occasionally taking a sip of wine.

After finishing the meat, he roasted the rest of the marinated portions, collected the finished food into an unknown space, and departed.

It is unknown how much time passed before Xu Chen was the first to wake up.

Waking up, he felt his state was inexplicably good. Remembering something, he quickly woke Zong Changshou and Li Chengfu.

"Check how much time has passed! Did we miss the return window?" Xu Chen said urgently.

If they missed the return time, the three of them would have to be wiped out and start over.

Zong Changshou hurriedly reached into his robe and pulled out a Time Stone no larger than a grain of rice.

"It’s fine, we still have a day," Zong Changshou said, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

"How many years has that senior been here?" Li Chengfu asked, still dazed.

"Since the Ancient Era until now—it's impossible to count," Zong Changshou shook his head.

"Huh?"

"Do you feel like your talent has improved a bit?" Xu Chen suddenly realized this while circulating his blood and qi.

He had achieved a state of minute control over his blood and qi, so he naturally noticed this new change.

Circulating his energy felt easier than ever before—a sign of improved aptitude.

Hearing Xu Chen's words, the other two tested themselves.

"It's true! My aptitude has increased by a point!" Li Chengfu said excitedly.

"Mine too."

There were only a few ways to improve one's aptitude among humans, and some methods or elixirs might not even be compatible. This meant that improving one's aptitude was usually a slow, piece-by-piece process.

"Brother Xu, did your aptitude break past the mortal grade?" Li Chengfu asked suddenly.

"Almost. A few more times, and I might be able to reach the Spirit Grade."

Xu Chen hadn't expected that a single cup of wine with the Styx Clan expert would boost his aptitude.

"We hit the jackpot. Nothing that improves aptitude is cheap, and many things can't be bought at all."

"That cup of wine is worth at least 10 to 20 Human contribution points," Li Chengfu said.

"It's worth a hundred million spirit coins?!" Xu Chen did the conversion and was shocked.

"Too bad there's not enough time. Otherwise, I’d try to find another avian beast to see if I could lure that senior out again."

Of course, this was just a thought in Xu Chen's mind.

"Let's pack up. We have less than a day before we return."

At this moment, back at the ancient battlefield, many human powerhouses were watching the portal nervously.

So much manpower and resources had been invested this time; whether they would break even depended on tomorrow.

Jiang Beici was also waiting at the large plaza where the teleportation array was located.

"If Xu Chen doesn't come out, I’ll have to urge that family's Golden Immortal to make Xu Chen reincarnate and cultivate again as soon as possible."

"But it would be best if he didn't die," Jiang Beici said, staring at the teleportation gate.

The Great Dao laws in the ancient battlefield were chaotic; if someone died there, the outside world would receive no information. They could only wait for the portal to open and connect to the interior to confirm how many had died.

On the ice field, the three watched the return portal nervously.

"Ten seconds left," Zong Changshou said, watching the Time Stone in his hand, which was about to dissipate, his excitement growing.

Ten seconds later, a spiritual light flashed in the void, and a teleportation array ten zhang in diameter appeared.

The three, along with their horse, hurriedly stepped onto the array with all their belongings.

"Finally, we're going home." Happiness filled their faces.

A force of space enveloped them, and they were teleported away.

After they left, a pair of eyes appeared in the sky, silently watching the area they had occupied.

The three and their horse emerged from a massive portal with all their belongings. Many others who had returned were nearby.

They arrived at a vast plaza, and before they could collect their thoughts, a force of space swept them up and brought them before an old man with white hair.

"Come, come, let me appraise what you've obtained and exchange it for Human contribution points," the old man said, looking impatiently at the items on the Illusionary Dragon Horse.

Just then, all the heritage artifacts and the dozen damaged items from the ancient battlefield began to emit light and tremble, as if they wanted to flee.

"After all this time, they still have such spirit—good stuff!"

The old man merely raised his hand and pressed down gently; all the trembling artifacts went silent.

"You three have done well to bring back so many things," the old man praised, though his eyes never left the items on the horse.

At this moment, everyone coming out of the portal was being assigned to specific appraisers.

"Let's begin," the old man rubbed his hands and hooked a finger at one of the heritage items on the horse.

"A heritage item of the Tianluo Clan. It contains a complete foundational method, cultivation technique, and divine ability, enough to cultivate to the Profound Immortal realm. There are also instructions on how to forge the corresponding artifacts. However, this technique has requirements for bloodline, so its research value is slightly lower."

The old man looked up at the three. "I'll count it as 6 contribution points."

He then moved on to the second item.

"This is interesting. A heritage of the Holy Spirit Clan's slave army. Universal, suitable for all spirits to cultivate. It has reference value. I’ll count it as 12 contribution points."

The three stood silently, calculating in their minds as they watched the old man.

"According to the value of this item, it could have been worth over 30 contribution points."

"But because opening the ancient battlefield consumed too many Dao-level spiritual objects, we have to distribute the costs," the old man explained intentionally.