Chapter Forty-One: The System Can Be a Real Trap—Use With Caution!
Chen Xiang was so stunned he was at a loss for words. He never imagined that such a miraculous treasure existed in the world of cultivation!
He quickly snapped back to his senses and immediately clicked to collect it through the system.
“Yes!”
“Ding! ‘Crystal Flame’ successfully collected. Five hundred reputation points consumed.”
As the system notification sounded, Chen Xiang cursed on the spot.
“Damn it! System, can’t you warn me in advance when you need reputation points? Why do you always set me up like this! Don’t you realize this is the behavior of a swindler?” Chen Xiang roared, venting his frustration out loud.
“Ding! The host may reset system notifications for one thousand reputation points per reset. Would you like to proceed?”
Chen Xiang’s eyes widened, cursing again, “Are you kidding me? Now you’ll give me a warning if I pay? And what kind of lousy system are you? A thousand reputation points just to change settings?”
“Ding! Reminder: The system is not faulty. The host may use it with confidence.”
“…”
Chen Xiang’s outburst drew everyone’s attention, all of them staring at him, dumbfounded.
“Has this kid lost his mind? Who’s he yelling at?”
“What’s this system and reputation points he’s talking about?”
“Forget him, I can’t hold back anymore. So much Frostgrass here, just seeing it makes my hands itch!”
…
Li Qiner had witnessed Chen Xiang ranting at thin air several times before, so she wasn’t particularly surprised. But when she saw the group of cultivators gathering around, her brows furrowed.
Chen Xiang also sensed the shift and stopped arguing with the system. “Hmph, I’ll give you a proper scolding next time!”
The system was bound to him, yet he couldn’t see or touch it—shouting at it was the only way to vent his anger.
At that moment, the patterns within the ice crystal before him began to writhe. On closer inspection, they appeared like flames, but transparent and hard to discern. Yet the energy they emitted was ferocious beyond compare.
Instantly, the surrounding cultivators felt a chill shoot from the base of their spines to the tops of their heads, causing them all to shudder. Even Li Qiner was not immune.
At the same time, it seemed as though all the ice and snow between heaven and earth had been stirred, trembling in response.
The Crystal Flame detached from the ice, landing on Chen Xiang. The others froze in shock. What was that thing? It radiated an overwhelming power—surely a treasure!
All eyes fell on Chen Xiang, greed glinting in their gaze.
As the Crystal Flame touched him, Chen Xiang felt as if an unseen force had seized him, rendering him completely immobile, frozen in place.
A moment later, radiant light burst from his body. The falling snow and ice gathered into a swirl of white energy above his head, and beneath that vortex, a white flame ignited over him. But to call it fire was a misnomer—it was more like an icy blaze, for it radiated not heat, but cold!
The crowd stared wide-eyed. Such a flame—its presence was overwhelming.
They also noticed something was wrong with Chen Xiang.
“What’s happening to him?”
“Why isn’t he moving?”
“It looks like he’s merging with that strange flame.”
“What? Such a powerful flame, and he dares to fuse with it directly?”
“No, the spiritual energy in the Frostgrass is being drawn away by him!”
…
Someone sharp-eyed noticed that the Frostgrass in Chen Xiang’s hand was losing its aura at a rate visible to the naked eye, and was startled.
“Hurry, grab—save the Frostgrass!”
Unable to bear it any longer, someone shouted and leapt toward Chen Xiang.
His action triggered a chain reaction; the others surged forward as well.
Li Qiner, ever vigilant, saw the cultivators rush forward and immediately summoned the Frostmark Sword, swinging it in a wide arc.
Immediately, a terrifying sword aura carved a trench more than ten meters long and several meters deep in the snow.
“Cross the line, and you die!” Li Qiner’s presence surged to its peak in an instant.
Her gaze was cold as she glared at the surrounding cultivators. She had not displayed such force in a long time. Though she usually seemed gentle and refined, that did not mean she was without temper—on the contrary, toward foes, she was utterly frigid.
The charging cultivators, startled by her display, hurriedly retreated. Most were young and impulsive, and with a treasure at stake, who could remain calm?
Li Qiner’s show of strength thoroughly intimidated all the cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage.
Yet among the crowd, many were Nascent Soul cultivators. Even they felt deep wariness at her aura; though her cultivation was only at the eighth level of the Core Formation stage, her presence surpassed even some third- or fourth-level Nascent Soul cultivators.
Still, wariness was one thing—there were so many of them. Could they really fear just two Core Formation cultivators?
“Don’t be afraid, everyone! With so many of us, even if she were a peak Nascent Soul, she couldn’t stop us!”
“Hurry, or all the Frostgrass will be ruined. All our efforts will be wasted!”
“Everyone, attack together!”
…
On cue, the cultivators reached a consensus and charged forward again.
Chen Xiang watched anxiously.
“Damn it, system, you’ve set me up again. Why didn’t you tell me the fusion would take so much time?” he shouted inwardly.
“Ding! Fusion with Crystal Flame will take approximately one hour. To accelerate the process to thirty seconds, three hundred reputation points are required. Would you like to accelerate?”
Chen Xiang’s face turned dark. Damn, even now you’re trying to bleed me for reputation points! And if I don’t pay, it’ll take a whole hour? Who’ll clean up our bodies by then? This system is such a scam—use with caution!
“Fine, just three hundred reputation points? Hurry up and accelerate!” Chen Xiang ground out.
“Ding! Acceleration successful. Three hundred reputation points consumed.”
With the system prompt, the world of ice and snow seemed to speed up its flow. The vortex above Chen Xiang’s head surged downward at a rapid pace.
All present looked up in shock.
“What’s happening?”
“It feels like the energy of heaven and earth is trembling.”
“Look, that brat’s fusion is almost complete!”
“What? How can that be?”
…
Everyone stared at Chen Xiang; the transparent flame on him grew denser, gradually turning white.
“Hurry, stop him! We can’t let him succeed!”
Someone shouted, and all the cultivators attacked at once.
Li Qiner didn’t know what exactly was happening, but she knew her first priority was to block the crowd.
Despite the bitter cold, which was becoming almost unbearable, the environment actually suited her abilities, allowing her to unleash her full strength.
Without hesitation, she activated the Yin Meridian of Heavenly Heart, pushing her cultivation to its limit. Part of the energy above Chen Xiang’s head flowed toward her as well.
The cultivators were aghast. Was this aura really coming from someone at the eighth level of Core Formation? Was she actually a high-level Nascent Soul cultivator in disguise?
But whether she was Core Formation or Nascent Soul, with so many of them, they did not fear her.
They all unleashed their spells, joining battle with her.
Each of Li Qiner’s sword strikes carried sword aura; the Frostmark Sword swept out hundreds of arcs, slashing at the attackers. Most of the nearly hundred cultivators were at the Core Formation stage, and combined, their spells were not something she could withstand alone.
Yet her momentum was unstoppable. Those who thought they could challenge her fell quickly; after just a few exchanges, the casualties among them were severe.
Suddenly, a Nascent Soul cultivator appeared behind her.
“Little girl, you alone cannot stop us!”
Startled, Li Qiner spun around, striking out with her palm. The attacker responded in kind. But caught off guard, her own strike lacked force. Upon impact, she felt her blood surge; a trickle of blood slipped from the corner of her mouth.
Just then, a Core Formation cultivator silently approached Chen Xiang from behind. By the time Li Qiner sensed him, it was too late. She cried out in warning.
“Sir, beware!”
“To be continued…”