Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

"Is that so? Then go ahead and try. If you dare destroy the Beast Hide, I’ll kill you on the spot. You must have plenty of good things on you anyway, and I’m confident I can kill you before anyone else arrives!"

"So, I suggest you obediently hand over the Beast Hide. Do that, and I might spare your life!"

Senior Brother Wen sneered.

But even as he said this, it was clear he didn’t want Zhang Chi to destroy the Beast Hide, so he didn’t attack directly.

"Fine. But I don’t trust you, Senior Brother. So, you must form a Spirit Contract with me, and you’ll have to trade three Core Formation Spiritual Objects for it!" Zhang Chi said in a tone of reluctant compromise.

He still had the Wood Carving hidden in one of his sleeves, but he didn’t use it.

This was because he had performed a divination before coming over and found that even if he used the Wood Carving, he might not be able to kill his opponent.

The reason for this was likely that his opponent also possessed a Golden Core Level technique.

Otherwise, he would have used the Wood Carving to ambush him just now instead of putting on this act.

"Fine. But as for the Core Formation Spiritual Objects, I can only give you one. You can choose it yourself!"

Senior Brother Wen’s brows furrowed slightly, but he quickly agreed. He then took out a Spirit Contract, swiftly imprinting some content onto it with his Divine Thought. With another wave of his hand, he produced five Core Formation Spiritual Objects for Zhang Chi to choose from.

This wasn’t because Senior Brother Wen was easygoing, or foolish and kind-hearted. He knew time was short, and the temptation of the Cave Mansion was too great. He just wanted to complete the transaction as quickly as possible.

When Zhang Chi took the Spirit Contract and looked it over, he immediately found its contents to be extremely strict—one might even say flawless.

For example, Senior Brother Wen made him guarantee that he hadn’t explored the Cave Mansion, that he wouldn’t leak the details of this transaction, and that he wouldn’t let anyone know he possessed a powerful Puppet.

After the trade, Zhang Chi had to leave immediately and was not allowed to linger near the Cave Mansion.

If he violated the Spirit Contract, his Divine Soul would shatter on the spot, and he would die.

Under normal circumstances, there was no way Senior Brother Wen could lose out, which made his quick agreement understandable.

But unfortunately for Senior Brother Wen, he had no idea that Zhang Chi could simply ignore the Spirit Contract.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come out to swindle him.

"The Spirit Contract is fine, but I still want three Spiritual Objects!"

Zhang Chi then immediately made a slight alteration to the Spirit Contract, dripped his blood to sign it first, and then, without waiting for Senior Brother Wen’s consent, reached out and snatched three of the five Spiritual Objects.

These five Spiritual Objects were Profound Light Grass, Demon Companion Flower, and Element Condensing Fruit. The other two were Blue Crystal Grass and a vial of Profound Pure Qi.

Among them, the first three were relatively common Core Formation Spiritual Objects, the fourth Zhang Chi already had, but the fifth was precisely what he was missing.

Of course, Zhang Chi suspected his opponent was still holding back, but he knew time was limited and didn’t get too greedy.

The three he took were the Profound Pure Qi, the Blue Crystal Grass, and the Element Condensing Fruit.

These were also the most valuable of the five.

"You... Fine!"

Seeing this, Senior Brother Wen couldn’t help but clench his fists, but in the end, he took a deep breath and held back.

After that, he also signed the Spirit Contract and put away the two remaining Spiritual Objects.

"Good luck, Senior Brother!"

Without any delay, Zhang Chi tossed the Beast Hide to him and flew away from the scene.

’Damn you! Sooner or later, I’ll find out your real identity and kill you! When that time comes, all these Spiritual Objects will return to my hands!’ Senior Brother Wen thought coldly as he watched the receding Escape Light.

At the same time, he also breathed a sigh of relief, as the transaction was finally complete.

Besides, while dealing with Zhang Chi, he had felt a constant sense of crisis, as if his opponent possessed something that could threaten his life. This was actually one of the main reasons he had agreed to the deal so readily.

After that, he stopped overthinking it. He looked at the Beast Hide with an excited expression.

He tested it with a Puppet and found that he could indeed enter and exit the Cave Mansion with the Beast Hide. So, he immediately went inside himself and began to explore quickly.

"AHHH! DAMN IT! You brat from the Cyan Cloud Sect, just you wait! Whether you tricked me on purpose or not, I will never let you go!"

But soon, he was roaring in fury, because he had found absolutely nothing inside the Cave Mansion.

’No, I have to do what he did and trick someone else. I might be able to recoup some of my losses that way. The worst that can happen is I’ll make a few enemies. But I need to think about how to pull it off...’

With this new idea in mind, Senior Brother Wen was about to leave the Cave Mansion.

But unfortunately, at that very moment, several streaks of Escape Light appeared in the sky.

Within the Escape Lights were the other Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators, and they happened to see Senior Brother Wen coming out of the Cave Mansion.

Senior Brother Wen’s face turned ashen. He was so enraged that he spat out a large mouthful of blood on the spot.

Since they had all seen him, it was now impossible to trick them.

Worse, they would definitely assume he had gotten there first and taken all the treasures from the Cave Mansion. Even if he wanted to explain, it would be impossible to make them believe him.

And indeed, the few Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators suspected he had obtained the treasures of the Cave Mansion. The gazes they fixed on him were immediately filled with jealousy and even killing intent.

***

"That’s what you get for trying to ambush me with a Puppet!"

Seeing that the Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators were about to start fighting amongst themselves, Zhang Chi finally recalled his Phantom Beetle with satisfaction.

Immediately after, he used his powerful Physique and the Blood Escape Technique to make a quick loop around the Oasis. He gathered numerous Tier Two Peak Spirit Medicines and even discovered two Tier Three Low Grade Spirit Medicines.

He was able to do this because he had seen a detailed map of the Secret Realm on the Cave Mansion Stele.

Furthermore, the locations in the Oasis with High Tier Spirit Medicine generally had richer Spiritual Qi, making them easy to find.

However, because of this, many of the Spirit Medicines had already been discovered and harvested by those Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators. Otherwise, his haul would have been much greater.

WHOOSH...

After that, Zhang Chi immediately flew out of the desert.

Zhang Chi knew that sooner or later, Senior Brother Wen and the other Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators would figure things out. When they did, he would undoubtedly become their primary target of suspicion.

Moreover, they were all well-known Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators who operated out in the open. In contrast, his Cultivation was the lowest, and he constantly wore a mask. It was entirely possible that those Cultivators would "frame" him as a Demonic Cultivator, giving them a justifiable reason to hunt him down and kill him.

Therefore, he had to get away from this land of trouble, which no longer held any opportunities for him.

And indeed, his prediction was correct. It wasn’t long before Senior Brother Wen started searching for him everywhere, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, he had already reached the vicinity of the ten passages. Although he encountered many Demon Beasts along the way, they posed no obstacle to him.

He casually killed the weaker ones and bypassed the stronger ones. With his Blood Escape Technique and powerful Divine Thought, it was an easy task.

’If those traitors from the Celestial Repair Sect could pass through here back then, I definitely can too. In other words, the Beast Hide might not have let me get in directly, but it can surely get me out.’

’And outside, aside from that one Foundation Establishment Peak from the Cyan Cloud Sect, the rest are at most Foundation Establishment Late Stage. I definitely won’t be in any mortal danger out there. Plus, with the Secret Realm map from the Stele, I can seize the opportunity to get more Spirit Medicine.’

With this in mind, Zhang Chi immediately tried using the Beast Hide. Sure enough, he successfully opened an exit to one of the passages.

Then, with a flicker of movement, he entered the passage and flew quickly toward the outside.