Chapter 112: Encountering the Source of Gold

After a while, the three bandits reached the hillside. Below them, two groups—one black and one golden—were locked in fierce combat, numbering roughly a thousand in total. The black figures wielded massive dark clubs, swinging them with enough force to whistle through the air, yet every strike against the golden figures merely produced sparks. Conversely, the golden figures brandished gleaming gold blades with ferocious intensity, but when they struck the black figures, it resulted only in dull thuds, dealing no real damage. Despite the grand scale of the skirmish, the two sides were evenly matched, and for the moment, there were no casualties.

"Well, I'll be. I’ve run into old friends." Qin Chuan immediately recognized the black figures as the Mud Men he had encountered on the Zhulu Plains, though these ones were clearly much more savage.

The Sleepy Bug blinked its adorable eyes and asked thoughtfully, "Big Brother, I know the black ones are Mud Men, but what is the origin of those golden ones?"

Qin Chuan watched with delight. "I didn't expect to encounter the Source of Gold so soon. If I can take down this lot, won't I be able to upgrade my core talent immediately?"

With this in mind, he replied, "The golden figures and the Mud Men share the same origin, just with different attributes. You two stay here; I'm going down to collect them."

"Okay."

"Qin Chuan, be careful," Zizi habitually reminded him.

"Got it."

Qin Chuan responded and charged down the hillside. While still at a distance, he unleashed his ultimate move, bombarding the designated area. He chose not to trigger his second phase because he knew the Mud Men possessed two lives, and a concentrated area bombardment would suffice for a one-hit kill.

The Mud Men and golden figures, caught in the heat of battle, were suddenly stunned as golden light flashed above their heads, and hundreds of sword shadows rained down from the sky.

"What is happening?"

Before they could even process the situation, they were struck by a lethal blow. The golden figures were blasted away instantly, and while the Mud Men stood back up after falling, they were immediately pierced through by the sword shadows.

"Ding! Kill confirmed..."
"Ding! Slaughter triggered."

Stimulated by the slaughter, Qin Chuan became even more ruthless, felling several enemies with almost every swing of his blade. For a time, the hillside was filled with a chorus of screams and wails.

Zizi stood on the slope, watching the Dragon-Patterned Cold Jade Sword moving like a ghost. She sighed, "Tsk, tsk. The Black Demon Sword has appeared again. Its methods are extremely brutal; it leaves nothing behind."

Indeed, within minutes, Qin Chuan had claimed a thousand heads, leaving only a single, shivering golden figure behind.

"Lord Black Demon Sword, please, I beg you, do not kill me!" The golden figure had witnessed the entire slaughter and instinctively assumed Qin Chuan was a sentient Black Demon Sword.

"Speak. Why are you all fighting here?" Qin Chuan’s tone was indifferent, as if the massacre he had just committed meant nothing to him. Since his first day in the Spirit Realm, he had known that to survive, one could not afford to be soft-hearted.

"Lord Black Demon Sword, we and the Mud Men inhabit the same land and are born enemies. This kind of fighting is a very common occurrence."

"Oh? So two tigers cannot share one mountain. It seems you all wish to conquer one another."

"Yes, Lord Black Demon Sword."

"Is there any place of value around here?"

The golden figure hesitated before saying, "There is one place, it seems, but we cannot get inside."

Qin Chuan perked up. "Where is it?"

"I don’t know. Only our Lord knows the specific location."

...

Qin Chuan asked a few more questions, but realizing the fellow didn't know much else, he sent him to the afterlife, freeing him from the suffering of being a spirit entity.

A moment later, Qin Chuan devoured a pile of essences, gaining 500 points of the Source of Earth and the Source of Gold. Having now collected all five elemental essences, he heard the system's prompt without delay.

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully upgrading Primary Mimicry. It has evolved into Intermediate Mimicry."
"Ding! Excess essence will be converted into Five-Element Essence at a ratio of 50:1."

Qin Chuan checked his status panel: Intermediate Mimicry (Five-Element Essence: 12/2000).

"Finally, an upgrade. But to advance further, I still need to find more Five-Element Essence." Qin Chuan muttered to himself. He knew well that becoming the unprecedented number one in the Spirit Realm would not be easy.

At this moment, Zizi and the Sleepy Bug came down from the hillside. The Sleepy Bug twitched its sensitive nose and asked, "Big Brother, who are we going after first?"

"The golden ones."

"Right."

The Sleepy Bug’s words had initially left Zizi confused, but after hearing Qin Chuan, she realized what was happening.

"Let's go, let's go rob them!" Zizi actually shouted, taking the lead to clear the path. She was getting the hang of this.

"What has this girl been learning? Why is she learning to rob people?"

"Big Brother, isn't that because of you?"

"Clang!" Qin Chuan tapped the Sleepy Bug, feigning ferocity. "Did I teach you that?"

The Sleepy Bug shivered and quickly replied, "No, no, absolutely not!"

"Hmm, I’m satisfied with that answer. Lead the way."

"Yes, yes." The Sleepy Bug stuck out its tongue and zipped ahead, shouting, "Sister Zizi, you're going the wrong way, this way!"

"Haha! Zizi, you’re not a very successful robber if you can't even find the way."

Zizi stopped in her tracks, turned around, and glared fiercely. "Qin Chuan, how dare you laugh at me! You stay right there!"

...

Guided by the Sleepy Bug, the three bandits arrived at a dense forest guarded by golden figures on all sides. The trio strolled in brazenly.

The lead golden figure saw them and immediately shouted, "Halt! Where do you come from, and what do you want?"

Seeing the aggressive posture of the golden figures, the Sleepy Bug blinked its cute eyes and said, "Alright, I'll be honest with you: we’re actually here to rob you." Due to its recent physical changes, the Sleepy Bug had become much more formidable, losing much of its former cuteness.

"Rob us?" The golden figure widened his eyes, staring at the person, the sword, and the bug in disbelief, before flying into a rage. "I think you’re looking for death! Men, surround them!"

As the command fell, hundreds of golden figures surrounded the three bandits.

The Sleepy Bug quickly said, "Gentlemen, let's talk this out. No need for blades and guns, that's not very polite."

"Nonsense! Kill them! Attack!" The golden figures were irritable and launched their assault immediately. This was exactly what Qin Chuan wanted; there was no point in talking anyway.

*Whoosh!*

Qin Chuan led the charge, locking onto the leader.

"Ding! Kill confirmed..."
"Ding! Slaughter activated."

The leader’s eyes widened, and before he could understand the situation, he was dead.

Zizi drew her long sword and unleashed a flurry of sword light, dealing massive damage to the oncoming golden figures. The Sleepy Bug wiggled its body obscenely, darting into the crowd and releasing a cloud of toxic mist, causing the golden figures to howl in agony.

The screams and cries of the golden figures shook the entire forest. Hearing the sounds of battle, the others let out sharp, piercing calls.

"Enemy attack! Five hundred meters ahead!"

In an instant, all the golden figures in the forest, brandishing their gleaming blades, poured out from all directions. A dense, overwhelming swarm of thousands of golden figures surged toward the three bandits.

"How dare you trespass in our territory! No mercy!"
"Charge! Chop them into mincemeat!"
"The golden race is invincible; nothing is forbidden!"