Chapter 271: Choked on Water

Chapter 271: Choked on Water

When Chen Huaian walked out of the Sword Tomb,

he spotted a sneaky figure cautiously peeking around and tiptoeing towards it.

With a flash, he landed a kick right on that figure.

The figure let out a miserable yelp and almost fell off the flying sword.

“Ah! It’s you, Patriarch! I thought someone was ambushing me…”

Su Qinian scratched his head, the anger of being sneak-attacked disappearing instantly as his eyes turned innocent.

“Pavilion Master Su sure was mighty just now,” Chen Huaian mocked with a sarcastic smile.

He imitated Su Qinian’s earlier words word for word:

‘Without my permission, none of you are allowed to leave the Sword Tomb! Without my permission, none of you are allowed to visit—’

“Tsk tsk, then what are you doing here at the Sword Tomb now? Farming vegetables?”

Su Qinian’s face flushed bright red, his graying beard making it even more noticeable.

But he didn’t dare lose his temper at the Patriarch and could only mutter awkwardly, “Ah, Patriarch, I was just talking out of anger earlier. They’re my Sword Pavilion disciples after all. Of course, I treasure them dearly. I just came to check on how they’re doing.”

As they spoke, the sound of more flying swords came from above.

Four even sneakier figures were creeping past the clouds at turtle speed.

When they saw Chen Huaian and Su Qinian, they froze on the spot and immediately tried to flee,

but Su Qinian’s face darkened as he shouted, “You've already been spotted! Elders, why are you running? You think the Patriarch and I are going to eat you?”

The elders from the various peaks awkwardly descended and stood obediently before Chen Huaian and Su Qinian.

“Uh, Pavilion Master, we just thought the scenery in this Small World was beautiful, so we were wandering around out of boredom, absolutely nothing else,” one elder said stiffly.

“Hahaha! Exactly, Elder Wang is right! The scenery here is stunning!” another elder chimed in.

“Yeah, it’s been a while since we went out to stretch our legs. What a treat, what a treat!”

The four elders desperately tried to cover for each other.

Su Qinian lifted his head to glance at the surroundings.

Outside the mountain range where Sword Pavilion was located, it was all barren wasteland, scorched earth without a single tree.

This was what they called "beautiful scenery"?

Who were they trying to fool?

“You’re all full of crap! This place doesn’t even have—”

Su Qinian suddenly cut himself off.

Chen Huaian gave him a sidelong glance. “Go on, finish the sentence.”

“Ahaha, Patriarch, you know I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant was… Birds don’t dare to, uh, relieve themselves here because they all respect you!”

Su Qinian’s face was so red it was about to bleed, but he somehow managed to patch up the sentence.

Everyone present could tell...

That patch-up was as good as nothing.

“Alright, this Venerable knows it’s barren here, but—”

Chen Huaian raised his finger to the sky.

BOOM—!

Heaven and earth trembled, clouds scattered.

An enormous stream of spiritual energy poured down like a waterfall from a crack in the sky.

The barren wasteland was instantly cleansed by the surge of energy, and vegetation began to sprout crazily on the impoverished land.

In the blink of an eye, the wasteland transformed into a lush green field.

Intermediate Spiritual Qi Module — 1.5 billion.

Purchased directly.

Expensive, yes,

but a one-time investment raised the entire Small World’s spiritual energy concentration to the level of Sword Pavilion’s former Luoxia Peak,

or rather, even denser than what Luoxia Peak ever had.

If only his main body could enter.

Wouldn’t cultivating here be heaven?

“Spiritual energy! Such rich spiritual energy!” Su Qinian was dumbfounded.

It was true that a Void Fusion cultivator could gather spiritual energy into their Small World,

but nothing like this.

That was usually a slow process of gradually accumulating spirit herbs and treasures,

painstakingly nurturing spiritual energy over time.

Yet here the Patriarch just casually pointed at the sky—

And the spiritual energy poured down like rain?

“No, this won’t do.” Chen Huaian shook his head repeatedly as he looked around.

Sword Pavilion was following him now.

If it remained the same as before, what would be the point?

He couldn’t afford the Advanced Module for now, but wasn’t there still spirit veins?

“Patriarch, I think it’s already amazing!” Su Qinian was thrilled.

In the past, they had to divert spiritual energy from other peaks just to enrich Luoxia Peak,

but now, the entire Sword Pavilion was enveloped in this rich spiritual energy.

How could this still be “not enough”?

The others saw Chen Huaian remain silent as he pointed to the sky again.

BOOM—!

The ground rumbled.

This time, spiritual energy didn’t come from above,

but from below.

Crack crack—!

Su Qinian and the elders stared in shock as crystalline spirit stones burst out of the ground beneath their feet!

They knew full well Sword Pavilion’s spirit stone mines had long been depleted.

How could new veins appear out of nowhere in such a short time?

This should’ve taken ages of accumulated spiritual irrigation.

Making a Small World grow spirit stone veins—

Was this really just the power of the Void Fusion stage?

Intermediate Spirit Stone Vein (Large) — 700 million each.

Chen Huaian bought ten and directly embedded them under the Sword Pavilion's mountain range.

A single large Intermediate Spirit Stone Vein could sustain Intermediate Spiritual Qi concentration for a thousand miles,

similar to the effect of the Spiritual Qi Module.

Quantity leads to qualitative change.

Even though he couldn't buy Advanced Modules or Advanced Spirit Stone Veins yet,

with enough Intermediate veins, he could still boost the local spiritual energy to nearly Advanced level.

But “nearly” was as far as it could go.

To truly rival a Holy Land’s spiritual energy concentration,

he’d still need Advanced Modules and Advanced Veins.

Chen Huaian glanced at the unlock conditions for those:

(1) Player’s own strength reaches Golden Core stage.

(2) Defeat Jade Pool Holy Land and Burning Purification Holy Land.

(

Both conditions must be met simultaneously.

)

“What do Advanced Spirit Stone Veins have to do with the Holy Lands?” Chen Huaian was speechless.

The Small World Shop’s prerequisites were absurd.

It’s not like spirit veins were stolen from the Holy Lands.

“Patriarch! I realize my mistake! Please withdraw your divine power!”

Su Qinian was scared pale as he knelt down, trembling in the overflowing spiritual energy.

The four elders also kowtowed, afraid to lift their heads.

Harvest and cost always balance out.

What terrifying price did the Patriarch pay to flood the Small World with such rich energy?

Could it be…

Sacrificing his own foundation, draining his lifespan?!

Chen Huaian raised a brow.

What were they doing?

Wasn’t abundant spiritual energy a good thing?

“Patriarch! Please take care of your health! Sword Pavilion can’t go on without you!”

Su Qinian was snotting and crying all over the place.

Chen Huaian: “……”

Wait.

Did this guy misunderstand something?

With a spin of his eyes, Chen Huaian suddenly clutched his chest and broke into a violent cough.

“Ah! Patriarch!” Su Qinian staggered forward in panic, tears in his eyes.

“You—you’re okay, right? Don’t scare this junior! This junior can't handle it!”

“I’m fine. Choked on water.”

Su Qinian: “(⊙ω⊙)?”

Void Fusion cultivators… choke on water?

Is that even possible?

“Alright, spiritual energy is a good thing. For me, the best reward is for you all to train well!”

Chen Huaian folded his hands behind his back, putting on a stern face, playing the role of the high and mighty.

In truth, he was grinning inside.

After all, he had a Sect Summoning Order~

The stronger Sword Pavilion became, the safer he’d be in the real world.

If one day every Sword Pavilion disciple reached the Grand Ascension Stage…

Wouldn’t he just walk sideways across reality?

...

After settling the Small World,

Chen Huaian instantly logged off to save expenses.

At the same time,

a freshly refined Top-Grade Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill appeared in his player inventory.

Still warm, freshly made~

...

...