SPMT : Chapter 155

“That bastard set up an ambush to kill our people?” The red-haired man’s face was twisted with fury.  

Jin Jue frowned, his voice laced with anger. “This guy has some nerve, daring to interfere with our Yin Gui Sect’s affairs.”  

“We have to drag him out, or our sect’s reputation will be ruined!” the red-haired man spat.  

After the ambush was exposed, Xiao Jingting’s tactics became less effective. Once, he was nearly surrounded by Yin Gui Sect members, sustaining injuries before barely escaping by burning several talismans.  

“What the hell does this guy even want?” The Yin Gui Sect had lost seven cultivators, their strength significantly weakened.  

With their numbers dwindling, the enslaved herb gatherers began to grow restless.  

“That damn bastard!” The red-haired man cursed furiously.  

Jin Jue’s brows furrowed, his mind turbulent. He had always known Xiao Jingting wasn’t simple, but he never expected him to be this reckless—actively seeking trouble with them.  

“We can’t go on like this,” a female cultivator said. Their numbers were dwindling. If they went out to capture more cultivators, they risked ambush. If they stayed to guard the herb garden, progress slowed. More and more herb gatherers were dying to the garden’s restrictions, and some would rather die than take risks, slacking off in protest.  

Xiao Jingting often lurked outside the herb garden, observing from a distance.  

On his sixth visit, the enslaved cultivators inside suddenly revolted. With the Yin Gui Sect’s numbers reduced, the herb gatherers had gained the upper hand. Among them was an alchemist who had discovered an herb in the garden that could temporarily suppress the poison in their bodies. With this, they began plotting their uprising.  

Before being thrown into the garden, the slaves had their artifacts and spatial rings confiscated, but their cultivation remained. The alchemist had also secretly concocted poisons and paralyzing agents using the garden’s herbs. When they struck, the two guards were caught off guard and quickly overwhelmed.  

Xiao Jingting watched from afar as the two sides clashed fiercely.  

The herb gatherers had numbers, while the Yin Gui Sect cultivators had higher cultivation levels and superior artifacts. The battle reached a stalemate.  

Once both sides were exhausted, Xiao Jingting made his move, intercepting the red-haired cultivator.  

“You—you dare show your face!” The red-haired man’s rage flared at the sight of Xiao Jingting.  

Ignoring the man’s threats, Xiao Jingting summoned his flying sword and lunged.  

The red-haired cultivator roared, summoning a massive fire serpent.  

The serpent dodged the sword’s strike, its tail whipping toward Xiao Jingting. The impact sent him stumbling back, forcing him to recall his sword for defense.  

“Your body refinement isn’t bad,” the red-haired man said warily.  

Xiao Jingting frowned. Back in the mining zone, he hadn’t just obtained a large number of spirit stones—he’d also acquired Blood Pearls, used for body tempering.  

He had soaked in the pearls regularly, refining his physique far beyond that of an ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.  

The process had been excruciating, but Xiao Jingting endured it through sheer willpower.  

Hard work pays off, he thought. Without the body refinement, that serpent’s tail strike might have shattered his organs.  

Xiao Jingting recalled his five spirit swords, driving them into the fire serpent.  

The swords glowed with verdant light, piercing five bloody holes into the serpent’s body.  

“Thousand-year spirit wood! You actually have swords made from thousand-year spirit wood!” the red-haired man exclaimed in shock.  

Jin Jue had mentioned Xiao Jingting’s five spirit swords, but the red-haired man hadn’t fully believed it—until now, seeing them effortlessly pierce the serpent’s defenses.  

His face darkened as he flung out several talismans. Xiao Jingting retaliated with his own.  

The talismans collided, erupting into a storm of dust and smoke.  

The red-haired man fought fiercely, growing increasingly astonished.  

Xiao Jingting was only at mid-stage Foundation Establishment, yet wielding spirit swords and activating talismans required immense soul power. The red-haired man had hoped to exhaust Xiao Jingting’s reserves, but the latter showed no signs of fatigue. His relentless assault left the red-haired man anxious.  

Xiao Jingting soon realized his opponent’s plan. He smirked inwardly—while his talent might be mediocre, he lacked no resources. The soul-nourishing and spirit-refining pills he’d consumed had elevated his soul power and spiritual energy far beyond his peers.  

Xiao Jingting hurled an array disk at the red-haired man, who panicked and dodged. Seizing the opening, Xiao Jingting sent his flying sword shooting forward.  

The sword struck true. When the array disk failed to explode, the red-haired man realized he’d been tricked.  

Xiao Jingting grinned.  

He knew the Yin Gui Sect had been warned about his array disks. The red-haired man’s fear of them had created the perfect distraction.  

Explosive array disks were powerful, but Xiao Jingting only had two or three left. With less than a month in this damned place, he wasn’t about to waste them.  

Enraged, the red-haired man’s serpent lunged at Xiao Jingting.  

Xiao Jingting tossed several black orbs at it. Upon contact with the serpent’s wounds, the orbs dissolved into a corrosive, toxic liquid.  

The poison was brewed from highly toxic spirit herbs—a product of Xiao Jingting’s meticulous preparation for this expedition.  

The serpent writhed in agony before finally going still.  

The red-haired man’s face twisted in anguish. That serpent had cost him countless spirit stones and effort. In battle, it had always turned the tide.  

Seeing his treasured spirit beast dying, the red-haired man detonated an artifact in desperation.  

Xiao Jingting hastily raised a shield. The shield—a gift from Chen Lifeng—was no ordinary treasure. As the work of a Nascent Soul cultivator, it effortlessly blocked the explosion.  

The red-haired man’s eyes burned with envy and dread at Xiao Jingting’s endless stream of artifacts.  

With no further hesitation, Xiao Jingting unleashed his spirit swords and talismans, finally killing the red-haired man.  

Breathing a sigh of relief, Xiao Jingting retrieved the man’s spatial ring. As expected, it was packed with spirit stones and herbs—most of the garden’s harvest.  

The herb gatherers and remaining Yin Gui Sect cultivators had fought to mutual annihilation. Only three gatherers survived, while the sect’s forces were wiped out.  

The three gatherers thanked Xiao Jingting warily, handing over their spatial rings before fleeing, as if fearing he’d kill them next.  

Standing before the herb garden, Xiao Jingting’s jade pendant automatically displayed a list of herbs and their uses. His eyes scanned the list rapidly, but his heart sank—no Spirit Xiling grass (Cleansing Grass).  

After two weeks of harvesting, most of the garden’s herbs were in the red-haired man’s ring, with the rest still inside. The risks of further harvesting outweighed the rewards, so Xiao Jingting left.  

—  

A month of wandering the secret realm yielded no response from the Spirit Resonance Pearl. Disappointed, Xiao Jingting lingered a few more days until he overheard cultivators discussing the Time Cultivation Chamber.  

His eyes lit up.  

The Time Cultivation Chamber was a mystical place where one month inside equaled three years outside—without affecting the cultivator’s lifespan.  

For those stuck at a bottleneck, it was useless. But for Xiao Jingting, who lacked time, it was a godsend.  

His victories so far had relied heavily on artifacts and talismans. In this realm, cultivators stronger than him were everywhere.  

Rumors suggested the Yin Gui Sect had sent multiple groups into the realm. The one he’d wiped out was just a fraction. Before their deaths, they’d spread word of him—now, the entire sect wanted him dead.  

Improving my strength is urgent.  

After three days of searching, Xiao Jingting found the Time Cultivation Chamber’s hall. A crowd of cultivators loitered outside, eyeing each other warily but not daring to fight—the chamber’s restrictions would obliterate anyone who attacked.  

A stone lion puppet guarded the entrance, its eyes glowing eerily as it spoke:  

“One month: 100 mid-grade spirit stones.”  

“Two months: 400 mid-grade spirit stones.”  

“Three months: 2,000 mid-grade spirit stones.”  

“…”

The lion repeated these three lines endlessly. Unlike typical cultivation sites, which offered discounts for longer stays, the Time Cultivation Chamber’s prices increased with duration.  

Each cultivator could only rent the chamber once. Choosing one month meant forfeiting future opportunities. The chamber’s location shifted every few days, making it hard to find again.  

Xiao Jingting watched as a cultivator tossed a bag of spirit stones into the lion’s mouth.  

“One month. Teleportation begins.”  

A teleportation array lit up beneath the cultivator’s feet, whisking him away.  

Marveling at the stone lion, Xiao Jingting stepped forward and deposited 2,000 mid-grade spirit stones.  

“Three months. Teleportation begins.”  

The announcement drew every eye in the hall. Under their stunned gazes, Xiao Jingting vanished.

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