"Take whatever equipment you want," Chu Hongling generously laid out the spoils for Lin Jichen to choose from.
Lin Jichen didn't stand on ceremony. Pretending to be modest was too exhausting, and if there was something good, he wouldn't hold back.
The only piece of Earth Grade equipment was a bow, which Lin Jichen naturally didn't want.
Among the remaining Mysterious Grade equipment, he picked a skill book for fire-type spell cultivators. The attributes were decent.
"I'll just take this," he said.
Chu Hongling was surprised and smiled, "Just one? Take more."
Lin Jichen shook his head, "No need. You did most of the work here. You keep the rest."
"No way. If it weren't for you bringing me here, I wouldn't have even found this exotic beast. By rights, all this should be yours. Completing the mission is enough for me," Chu Hongling said, pushing all the equipment, including the Earth Grade bow, towards Lin Jichen.
Lin Jichen didn't expect her to be so generous, but he couldn't let a woman look down on him.
"How about this? I'll take the corpse of the exotic beast, and you keep the equipment. If you don't need it, sell it at the Honest Auction House. They offer fair prices, and you'll get a good deal," Lin Jichen refused again, not forgetting to advertise his family's auction house.
Seeing Lin Jichen's insistence, Chu Hongling had no choice but to relent.
In the end, Lin Jichen took the exotic beast's corpse and demon core, making a considerable profit.
The cultivation experience from this exotic beast pushed Lin Jichen's cultivation to the bottleneck of the mid-stage of Crystal Formation!
Without hesitation, Lin Jichen took out a supreme-grade body refining pill he had prepared and swallowed it.
[Ding! Breakthrough to Later Stage of Crystal Formation, all basic attributes +40 points, vitality +4000, mana +4000!]
[Ding! Consumed supreme-grade body refining pill, free attribute points +100!]
A warm current surged through his body, granting him a hundred free attribute points.
Lin Jichen allocated them to speed and strength.
After the allocation, his attributes underwent a qualitative change.
[Class: Sword Cultivator]
[Realm: Later Stage of Crystal Formation]
[Cultivation: 0/150,000]
[Vitality: 49,000/49,000]
[Mana: 35,000/35,000]
[Heart Protection: 27]
[Lightning Resistance: 30%]
[Five Elements Resistance: 10%]
[Skill Resistance: 10%]
[Evasion: 30%] [Tenacity: +21%]
[Swordsmanship Aptitude: +95%]
[Alchemy Aptitude: +50%]
(From now on, minor realm breakthroughs will be briefly noted. Major realm breakthroughs will be detailed. )
Breaking through six hundred points in strength, Lin Jichen's power was exceptional even among players at the Golden Elixir stage.
Of course, if it were someone like Chu Tianhan or Luo Muxian at the later stage of Golden Elixir, that would be a different story.
Lin Jichen didn't think he could defeat Chu Tianhan or Luo Muxian at this point.
Moreover, both had already surpassed the Golden Elixir stage and reached the Gathering Spirit Realm.
Lin Jichen estimated that he would need to reach at least the mid-Golden Core stage to have a chance against them.
However, as his realm increased, the attributes gained from his Heaven-defying Fate would accumulate more significantly.
This was a process of gradual accumulation. At higher realms like Gathering Spirit or Elemental Infant, Lin Jichen's attribute values would likely be unmatched.
"You broke through again? Congratulations," Chu Hongling offered her congratulations.
Lin Jichen smiled, "My realm is still low. You're already at Golden Elixir. What's there to congratulate?"
Chu Hongling felt a bit embarrassed, "You're already so powerful at the Crystal Realm. If you break through to Golden Elixir, I don't think I could last a few rounds against you."
"You're too modest. Your mission is complete. Are you heading back?" Lin Jichen asked.
"No way. We agreed to complete the missions together. You've helped me with mine, so I can't just leave. Don't worry, I'll help you finish your mission, and we'll leave together," Chu Hongling said.
Lin Jichen didn't refuse. Having company wasn't so bad.
"Let's go then," Lin Jichen called out, and the two were about to continue their journey.
Just as they turned around, Lin Jichen's expression changed dramatically. Unbeknownst to them, someone had appeared before them!
"Who's this? Wearing your Sword Sect uniform, quite handsome, but still not as good as you, Lin Jichen," Chu Hongling teased, seeing the person.
She assumed he was a friend of Lin Jichen since he was dressed as a Sword Sect disciple and didn't pay much attention.
Lin Jichen's face turned grim, his expression extremely serious.
"Chu Tianhan, you really are like a lingering ghost!" Lin Jichen gritted his teeth.
He couldn't believe that even after coming to the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Chu Tianhan had still found him.
This bastard must have some tracking secret technique.
Unfortunately, it was too late to realize this now.
Last time, Chu Tianhan had sold information to Luo Muxian, and Lin Jichen had narrowly escaped. This time, Chu Tianhan had come personally.
Lin Jichen felt utterly exasperated.
Chu Tianhan was ruthless, going to great lengths to kill him, even coming in person.
And the Gathering Spirit Realm aura emanating from Chu Tianhan left Lin Jichen with no chance of winning.
If Chu Tianhan were still at the later stage of Golden Elixir, Lin Jichen might have had a chance to fight him, even if the odds were low. At least he could protect himself.
But now that Chu Tianhan had broken through to the Gathering Spirit Realm, like Luo Muxian, his strength had skyrocketed.
Lin Jichen was still at the Crystal Realm, and defeating him was a pipe dream.
The key skill, Blood Burn Shadow Escape, was still on cooldown for a few hours, so he couldn't use it to escape.
Chu Tianhan sneered, "Junior Brother Lin, I've spent quite some effort finding you. Do you think you can escape this time?"
Chu Hongling was stunned and quickly asked Lin Jichen, "What's going on? Aren't you from the same sect?"
Lin Jichen explained in a low voice, "Yes, but he's here to kill me."
Chu Hongling's expression changed, "Why would an NPC want to kill you?"
"Because the woman he likes doesn't like him and likes me instead," Lin Jichen replied simply.
Chu Hongling burst into laughter and taunted Chu Tianhan, "Hey, you're really something. Can't win a girl over, so you resort to killing? No class at all."
Chu Tianhan's face darkened, his eyes filled with killing intent.
"Both of you will die today!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Tianhan raised his hand, and countless sword shadows flew towards them!
[Tianjian Sword Rain!]
Lin Jichen and Chu Hongling didn't expect him to attack so suddenly and were caught off guard, both getting hit by the swords.
Lin Jichen's health dropped even more than Chu Hongling's.
After all, his defense was much lower than hers.
This damage left Lin Jichen speechless. Was this the power of a Gathering Spirit Realm Chu Tianhan? Damn it!
"Who the hell is this guy? A sect elder?" Chu Hongling was astonished.
Lin Jichen's expression was serious, "He's our sect's Senior Brother."
"What do we do? Can we fight him?" Chu Hongling asked.
Lin Jichen shook his head honestly, "No chance."