Chapter 398

Chapter 398: Mistakenly Striking

The next morning, Wang Chen departed from Huai County.

Zhao Hongyi accompanied him for a hundred miles.

With his mission accomplished, Wang Chen was eager to return home, speeding back to the West Sea Sect Like the Wind and Lightning.

He then proceeded to the task hall within the Inner Sect Main Hall’s Merit department to submit his task credentials.

These included an Evil Soul Pearl, the storage bag of an evil cultivator, and a letter of confirmation penned by besieger Zhao Hongyi!

As the sect required time to review the tasks, the rewards would not be issued immediately. Therefore, after submitting his task, Wang Chen returned home to continue his cultivation.

During his time spent eradicating Evil Spirits near the border of Zhongzhou, he had been unable to focus on his training.

Although his combat experience had significantly increased, his cultivation level had not seen much progress.

In fact, Wang Chen was on the verge of a breakthrough!

Three days later, he received a message from the Merit department and hurried back to the task hall.

His task had been approved, and he was now eligible to collect his reward!

This reward was crucial for Wang Chen at this time, as he had exhausted all his contribution points and was unable to exchange for the Purple Essence Pill necessary for cultivating Purple Qi.

Additionally, the deadline for his next "rent" payment was approaching.

This reward was indeed a lifesaver.

Upon arriving at the task hall, Wang Chen smoothly received his reward.

The generosity of the reward took him by surprise.

First and foremost were the contribution points; Wang Chen had received an astonishing one thousand three hundred seventy-six points!

He was unsure how the sect had calculated this, as he had only expected to receive five or six hundred points at most.

He never anticipated receiving over a thousand points.

Now, not only could he pay his rent, but he could also exchange for hundreds of Purple Essence Pills.

In addition to the contribution points, Wang Chen also retrieved his previously submitted storage bag!

This was truly unexpected.

Wang Chen was not a greedy person, but the sect’s decision to return his storage bag genuinely surprised him.

After all, it had belonged to a Purple Palace-level evil cultivator.

The sect must have processed it before returning it, ensuring there were no restrictions or curses.

The capacity of this storage bag was many times greater than the best one Wang Chen currently owned!

Given the material of the storage bag, it was undoubtedly a second-tier spirit tool.

Upon receiving it, Wang Chen immediately refined it and discovered that not only was the capacity vast, but the speed of storing and retrieving items was much quicker than his previous storage bag.

In critical moments, this could potentially save his life or turn the tide of battle!

Wang Chen promptly transferred all the items from his three storage bags into the new one.

Previously, he had been forced to make do with limited capacity, but now with the larger storage bag, he no longer had to live like a beggar.

In a moment of distraction, there was a possibility of mistakenly reaching into the wrong pocket.

Now, this problem has been completely resolved.

Not only that, but within this storage bag, Wang Chen also discovered three thousand spirit stones.

Intermediate Spirits!

According to the current market exchange rate, three thousand Intermediate Spirits are equivalent to three hundred sixty thousand spirit fragments.

It is a substantial fortune.

For cultivators, spirit stones are always welcome, no matter the amount.

Wang Chen is no exception.

However, with such an even amount, without even a few extra, he suspects that there are more items in the storage bag than just these.

He infers that the sect has directly exchanged some items for cash, leaving him with this portion.

Nonetheless, Wang Chen is very satisfied.

Even without mentioning anything else, the value of this storage bag alone far exceeds three thousand Intermediate Spirits.

The sect didn’t have to give it back, and he wouldn’t have had any complaints.

The West Sea Sect, renowned as the number one immortal sect in the Mountain-Sea Realm, truly has a grandeur beyond small sects.

This time, Wang Chen quietly gained great wealth, enjoying it to himself!

He first spent five hundred contribution points to exchange for one hundred Purple Essence Pills for his own cultivation.

Then he paid six months of rent.

Just like that, half of his newly acquired contribution points were gone.

As for the other half, Wang Chen plans to save it; he couldn’t spend it all extravagantly.

What is most important for him now is to advance to the second layer of the Purple Palace.

Participating in the exorcism task made Wang Chen deeply realize that the West Sea Spiritual Realm is not a paradise, and the sect’s territory isn’t completely safe.

As the saying goes, "relying on mountains may lead to their collapse, relying on others may lead to their departure"; it is unrealistic to depend on the sect or others.

Only one’s own strength is truly trustworthy.

In the days that followed, Wang Chen practiced more diligently and tirelessly.

Different from most Entry Disciples, in addition to occasionally meeting with Zuo Xiaomo, he never participated in social gatherings or interactions with others.

Every morning he absorbed Purple Qi, attended lectures in the morning, practiced in the afternoon, and improved his skill proficiency in the evening.

His schedule was packed.

One month after returning to the sect, Wang Chen advanced to the second layer of the Purple Palace.

He advanced at his residence, and the entire process was calm and steady, truly a case of "water reaching its course"!

After completing his advancement, Wang Chen finally eased up a bit.

A balance of relaxation and focus is the way of cultivation; he had been too tense during the previous period, so this time he gave himself a three-day break.

He soared through the sky on his sword, taking in the breathtaking scenery of the West Sea.

After returning home, Wang Chen retrieved a rusty ancient cauldron from his storage bag.

[Life Creation Cauldron (Sealed): 495241/1000000]

This Little Cauldron was won through a bet involving sealing jade, and upon checking the Cultivation Panel, Wang Chen realized he had stumbled upon a significant treasure.

Regrettably, the seal points for this item were excessively high, prompting Wang Chen to tuck it away at the bottom of his bag.

Today, for some inexplicable reason, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he remembered this treasure, prompting him to take it out for admiration.

He observed that the unsealing points for the Life Creation Cauldron had slightly increased since he first acquired it.

Just a minimal increment.

After some calculations, he realized it would take millennia for it to unseal on its own!

Wang Chen wasn’t even sure if he would still be around by then.

After a moment’s thought, he tentatively invested 1 Virtue point into the treasure.

[Life Creation Cauldron (Sealed): 495242/1000000]

The unsealing points, as expected, increased by 1.

Encouraged, he decided to continue!

Wang Chen steeled himself and boosted the unsealing points of the Life Creation Cauldron directly to 500000!

Previously, Wang Chen had completed an exorcism task, earning a substantial amount of contribution points and a wealth of loot.

His Virtue points had surged dramatically due to the numerous Evil Spirits he had vanquished.

Currently, his total specific number exceeded 50,000!

Thus, spending over four thousand points was hardly an issue.

But the instant the Cultivation Panel displayed [Life Creation Cauldron (Sealed): 500000/1000000], the ancient cauldron in Wang Chen’s hands suddenly emitted a brilliant spectrum of colors.

In the next moment, the thick rust on the cauldron spontaneously peeled away and disintegrated.

An ancient yet pristine copper cauldron appeared before him!

This truly was…

Wang Chen was momentarily stunned, feeling as though he had struck gold.

His heartbeat quickened!

Sometimes, efforts to cultivate flowers yield no blooms, while willows planted without intent flourish—was this a serendipitous success?

It seemed he had inadvertently unlocked the secret of this treasure!