Chapter Seventy-Three: Their Purgatory, My Paradise

After a brief wait, all the nearby spirit creatures swarmed over, encircling the Venom-Spiked Beetle. Surrounded by this dense crowd, the beetle was so furious it seemed to turn green with anger, and in a fit of rage, it flung the Green Venomous Pearl far into the distance.

By sheer coincidence, the pearl landed right beside Sword and Bug. With a delighted cry, Sleepy Bug leapt forward, devouring it in one gulp.

“Big Bro, I’ll go refine this now. You go ahead and collect your experience,” Sleepy Bug announced, then burrowed straight into the ground.

“Alright,” Qin Chuan replied, the corners of his mouth curving into a slight smile. His blade quivered gently, releasing an aura of razor-sharp menace.

The moment the Venom-Spiked Beetle tossed away the pearl, it lunged at the Venom Toad. “You rotten toad, it’s all your fault I didn’t escape in time! I’ll kill you for this!”

“Ha! You miserable bug, if you’d handed it over earlier, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” the Venom Toad retorted, not backing down. The two instantly became entangled in a fierce struggle.

Meanwhile, the other spirit creatures desperately rushed toward where the Green Venomous Pearl had fallen. They never expected that what awaited them was a three-foot-long pitch-black sword, indomitable and unyielding.

“Hey, where did this broken sword come from? Did you hide the Green Venomous Pearl?”

“How dare you meddle here when you’re only level 20?”

“Speak! Where’s the Green Venomous Pearl? If you don’t, you’ll die a miserable death!”

One after another, the spirit creatures arriving first began shouting in anger, unable to find the pearl but spotting the black sword.

Qin Chuan eyed them with a dangerous gaze and replied softly, “Indeed, the Green Venomous Pearl is right here with me. If you have the skill, come and take it!”

“Damn it, this damned sword is defying the heavens!”

“Kill him!”

All at once, the spirit creatures surged forward, intent on tearing Qin Chuan to shreds.

But then, a flash of cold light—

“Aaah!”

“Ding! Kill...”

Qin Chuan had veiled the radiance of his blade to prevent any of the spirit creatures from escaping. Now, the pitch-black sword became a spectral reaper in the mist, launching into a frenzy of slaughter.

Screams echoed through the fog until, finally, all was silent.

Amidst a field strewn with corpses, Qin Chuan gave his blade a slight tremor and activated Devour.

“Ding! Devour successful, gained 8,000 origin points.”

...

This round, Qin Chuan claimed 238 heads—a haul that left him flush with profit.

For others, this deadly and perilous Enchanted Forest might truly be a living hell. But in Qin Chuan’s eyes, it had become a paradise. Both his experience and origin points soared at rocket speed.

Evolution Points: 4.3203 million / 6.552 million
Experience: 40.4336 million / 52.4144 million
Rage: 100 / 100
Slaughter: 1,666 / 5,000

“Haha, what delight! A hell for others is my paradise!”

The Enchanted Forest was vast, and Qin Chuan had only just entered its fringes. He looked forward eagerly to what he might encounter next. The mineral deposits marked on his map were still far away, so there was no need to hurry.

Just then, Sleepy Bug emerged from the ground, his cute eyes brimming with excitement. “Big Bro, I’ve finished refining! That Green Venomous Pearl is amazing. I bet I can poison a whole crowd at once now—at least any spirit creature below level 20. Heh, above level 20 I’m still a bit short.”

Seeing Sleepy Bug so pleased with himself, Qin Chuan couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s already very impressive. The Enchanted Forest is teeming with venomous creatures—if you get lucky, you might get your hands on some real treasures.”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Little bro, it seems all the local elites around here are dead. Time to move on.”

“Sure, I’ll follow your lead, Big Bro.”

Having picked up the Green Venomous Pearl, Sleepy Bug was thoroughly satisfied. Both Sword and Bug had come away with what they wanted, and both were delighted.

Once they departed, countless tiny insects and ants crawled from all directions, feasting greedily on the corpses until only bleached bones remained. Those that had eaten grew tougher and stronger, and soon began to fight and devour each other. For some fortunate insects, this would mark the start of an evolution into formidable elites.

“The King sent me to patrol the mountains, now I’m taking a stroll through the Spirit Realm...”

Elated, Qin Chuan broke into a cheerful song. Sleepy Bug squinted his eyes happily, swaying in time with the tune. This melody had become Qin Chuan’s summoning song—whenever it played, spirit creatures would appear to die.

Sure enough, soon a new spirit creature took notice of the commotion—a green carapace spider, a native of the Enchanted Forest, with a body glistening emerald and eight venom-tipped legs. The earlier venom miasma had caught his attention, and he’d been hurrying over, but halfway he was captivated by an “astonishing” song.

“Oh? A level-20, two-star elite? Isn’t that a free title for the taking?”

“And there’s a little bug that looks harmless, too.”

“Ha! I’m in luck today! I’ll devour two delicious spirit cores and earn a two-star elite title that’ll make the others green with envy. Though this song sounds deadly, it’s starting to grow on me—ha!”

This green carapace spider was somewhat unusual, sporting a mouth of sharp fangs and specializing in direct attacks. He swaggered into view.

“Stop right there! Hand over your spirit cores and I’ll leave your bodies intact!” The spider clicked his fangs menacingly, tapping his sharp legs together with a metallic clatter.

Instead of being intimidated, Sleepy Bug volunteered eagerly, “Big Bro, someone’s trying to mug us—how about I handle this one?”

Qin Chuan was surprised at Sleepy Bug’s bravado, but it was a good sign. “Alright, go ahead—just be careful.”

“Mm-hmm!” Sleepy Bug replied, wriggling his soft body forward and calling out in an adorably cutesy voice, “Green Shell, it’s your bad luck to run into us. Come on, let me entertain you.”

The spider burst out laughing at Sleepy Bug’s antics. “Ha! You fat bug, you dare challenge me? You don’t even have teeth—what’ll you fight me with?”

“Green Shell, fighting is about real skill, not just talk. Skip the chatter and get started.”

With Qin Chuan at his back, Sleepy Bug’s words grew bold.

The spider’s eyes flashed with disbelief and then rage. “What?! You fat bug, you dare look down on me? I’ll kill you and skewer you for a snack! I bet your squishy body tastes delicious!”

Enraged, the green carapace spider lunged, swinging a venomous leg straight at Sleepy Bug.

In the spider’s mind, he already saw himself triumphantly impaling the fat bug, laughing over his victory with the golden-white insect dangling from his leg.

Yet—

Whoosh! Sleepy Bug’s “mini motor” kicked in, and before the spider’s leg struck, he’d vanished.

Thud! The venomous leg plunged deep into the ground, nearly making the spider lose balance.

“What the—? Missed? How did that fat bug move so fast?”

Just then, a soft, cutesy voice rang out: “Harden!”

A golden-white club appeared in midair, coming down with a resounding thwack on the spider’s head.

Clang! Crack!

Having devoured countless iron ingots, Sleepy Bug’s hardened body was now tougher than steel, and with a single blow shattered the spider’s once-impenetrable carapace.

“Ow! That hurts! Who ambushed me?” the spider howled, clutching his head with two legs.

“Heh, how’s that, Green Shell? Like my hardness?” Sleepy Bug twirled his golden-white club proudly.

“Oh, so it was you, you fat bug! I was careless, but now I’ll deal with you!” Stung into seriousness, the green carapace spider unleashed his skill in a fury.

“Eight Spider Stabs!”

Instantly, all eight venomous legs shot toward Sleepy Bug.