The Black Behemoth rolled to a stop at the border of what used to be Jinghai Botanical Gardens.
Before the apocalypse, families came here to picnic and admire roses.
Now?
The entire forest looked like someone had poured liquid jade over a mountain range and let it mutate.
Colossal trees — easily three hundred meters tall — pierced the sky like spears. Their canopies overlapped to form a roof of shimmering emerald. Wisps of rainbow-colored qi drifted through the air, thick enough to see with the naked eye.
Nature had gone full cultivation mode.
[Location: Spirit Energy Nexus — Grade 3]
[Effect: Passive EXP for Cultivators | Lethal Pressure for Normal Humans]
Inside the Behemoth, Lin Xiya sat in the command chair, nerves tight, silver eyes glowing as the psychic feedback loop connected her to the sensor array. Saya had wired the neural helmet using scavenged cables, duct tape, and what was probably a microwave part.
"Master," Lin Xiya's voice brushed against Su Chen's thoughts, cool and tremulous. "Multiple life signatures detected inside the Nexus. Not mutants. Not animals."
"Survivors?" Su Chen asked, tightening the straps of his gear.
Lin Xiya winced. "No. Their spiritual signatures are… sharp. Focused. They're cutting through the ambient qi like knives."
She paused. "And they're airborne."
Su Chen snorted. "Flying humans. Cultivators. Great. One of the off-world sects got here first."
He stood and cracked his neck.
"Saeko, with me. Sword cultivators rely on footwork and intent — you'll learn something."
"Xiao Yi Xian, prep your poison clouds. If I call, I want the whole forest coughing blood."
"Ye Qingyu, guard the truck. Kill anything weird."
Su Chen opened the airlock.
---
Into the Green Fog
The air outside was dense — thick with spiritual pressure that wrapped around the skin like weighted blankets. Every breath tasted like dew and electricity.
Saeko stepped lightly beside him, hand resting on her blade, eyes gleaming with that "I hope something attacks us" energy she radiated so well.
They only made it thirty meters before a streak of blue light tore out of the fog.
Whoooosh—!
A flying sword, wreathed in crackling lightning, aimed straight at Su Chen's throat.
He didn't dodge.
He didn't draw his own weapon.
He didn't even blink.
He simply looked at it.
[Telekinesis (S-Rank) + Soul Hand Activated]
SCREEEEEECH—
The sword halted three inches from the bridge of his nose, vibrating violently like a furious metal mosquito trapped in amber.
Su Chen tapped it with a finger. "Low-grade magic tool. Craftsman had sloppy wrists."
"Hah! Who dares catch my Lightning Edge with bare hands?!"
Three figures descended through the canopy in a swirl of azure cloth.
They looked exactly like every cliché immortal painting ever — long hair, long robes, long noses — except for the punchable arrogance plastered across their expressions.
[Target: Disciple Li — Spirit Sword Sect]
[Level: 16 | Foundation Establishment (Early)]
"Mortals?" Disciple Li squinted. "I thought it was a demonic beast. I'm honestly impressed you third-rate natives learned to cultivate."
He pointed at Su Chen as if issuing a verdict.
"You. Hand over the sword and the woman. Then kneel. Kowtow three times. Maybe I'll let your corpse remain whole."
Saeko's fingers tightened around her Bone Blade.
"Master," she murmured, voice tinged with hungry excitement, "he's really irritating. May I remove his legs?"
Su Chen kept his tone calm. "He's Foundation Establishment. His sword moves by thought. His arrogance comes with bite. Be cautious."
Saeko smiled, showing a hint of fang. "I like bite."
"Go."
---
Saeko vs. Sword Cultivators
Saeko exploded forward.
Blood Asura ignited around her like a red comet trail. She sprinted up a tree trunk and launched herself at the hovering cultivators.
"Ridiculous!" Disciple Li sneered. "Sword, go!"
Two more flying swords shot toward her.
Saeko didn't dodge — she met them.
CLANG!
CLANG!
Each strike rang like a bell. The impacts threw her back, but she used the recoil to spin and slice for Disciple Li's ankle—
"Spirit Shield!"
A golden barrier shimmered around him.
Saeko's blade hit it and ricocheted off.
Disciple Li laughed. "Your mortal toys cannot break my Qi! You—"
Su Chen cut him off with a sigh.
"Okay. Enough."
He lifted his right hand.
[Telekinesis: Mass Grip]
The air cracked.
All three cultivators froze mid-flight, limbs pinned by invisible fists. Their protective Qi barriers shattered like cheap glass under psionic pressure.
Disciple Li's eyes bulged. "What—?! What demonic art is this?! Release me!"
Su Chen rose into the air, floating via pure telekinesis until he was eye-level with the frozen trio.
"It's not demonic," he said. "It's called having more brain cells than you."
He tapped Li's forehead.
[Copyable Attributes Identified:]
• Imperial Sword Technique (Xuan-Class)
• Spirit Gathering Art
• Storage Bag (…contains Spirit Stones and socks)
"Copy all."
A wave of data surged into his mind — sword control, qi circulation, spiritual flight.
He turned to the other two.
"Copy. Copy."
Then eyed their bags.
"I'll be taking these."
The storage bags ripped free and flew into his hand.
Disciple Li's jaw dropped. "You—you dare steal from the Spirit Sword Sect?! Our Elder is inside! A Golden Core Master—he'll reduce you to dust!"
"Golden Core," Su Chen repeated thoughtfully. "What, Level 40? Sounds annoying."
He dropped them.
"Saeko. They're de-buffed. Sparring targets."
Saeko landed in a whisper of red, eyes glowing.
"Thank you, Master."
What followed wasn't a fight.
It was a massacre.
Su Chen didn't bother watching.
His attention had already shifted deeper into the forest.
"The Golden Core Elder should be at the energy source," he murmured. "Time to be careful."
---
The Spirit Mine — and the Golden Core Thief
Moving through the jungle became easier once Su Chen combined Shadow Step with the newly copied Imperial Sword Technique. He manipulated stray air currents to erase his presence, sliding through the forest like a ghost.
Eventually, the trees fell away.
A massive crater lay ahead — a wound in the earth.
Inside it, a glowing azure rift spilled liquid qi that crystallized into Spirit Stones the moment it touched the soil.
And in front of the rift…
An old man hovered in lotus position.
His gray robes fluttered in the qi storm. A rotating golden orb pulsed in his dantian — visible through Spirit Sight.
[Boss: Elder Wu — Spirit Sword Sect]
[Level: 38 | Golden Core (Early)]
[Status: Absorbing World Origin]
"He's siphoning Earth's expansion energy," Su Chen realized. "Parasite."
He checked his inventory. He had tanks, missiles, explosives — but against a Golden Core?
A missile alone wasn't enough. He needed something that hit the soul.
Something unfair.
Perfect.
He crouched on a tree branch fifty meters away.
Lich Bloodline (Terror).
Siren's Song (Compulsion).
Telepathy (Injection).
He braided the three into a single brutal psychic bullet.
Then fired.
"Psychic Scream."
---
Elder Wu Loses His Entire Sense of Security
The mental blast slammed into Elder Wu's consciousness like a hammer.
"ARGHHH!"
The old man jerked awake, blood pouring from his ears. His meditative cycle ruptured — qi spiraled out of control, shredding him internally.
"W–WHO?! Who attacks the SOUL?!"
Su Chen didn't answer.
He Shadow Stepped straight to the Spirit Stone mound.
Hundreds. Thousands. Piled like a mountain.
"Infinite Storage: Area Loot."
WHOOSH.
The entire mine vanished.
Elder Wu turned, face twisted with psychic agony.
"You—YOU LITTLE THIEF!"
He spat out a golden sword that expanded into a ten-meter blade — a Golden Core strike.
Su Chen didn't dodge.
He pulled a missile from his storage.
An actual missile.
"Try modern weaponry."
He jammed it into the path of the golden sword.
BOOOOOOM—
The explosion lit up half the forest. Su Chen was blasted backward through ten trees — protected only by Diamond Body + Telekinetic Shield.
Elder Wu took the detonation right in the face while his qi was still spiraling out of control.
When the smoke cleared, the old man was coughing blood, robes shredded.
"What—what kind of thunder bead was THAT?!"
Su Chen stood from the rubble, dusting off his shirt.
"DF-12 tactical missile. Want the full set?"
He pulled out two more.
Elder Wu paled instantly.
"This world is INSANE! I—I will report this to the Sect Master!"
He transformed into a streak of golden light and fled into the rift like a terrified pigeon.
Su Chen didn't chase.
He couldn't cross that world yet — the danger rating was too high.
Instead, he walked calmly back to the crater.
The rift continued dripping qi.
Su Chen placed his hand on the exposed Spirit Stone Vein.
[Copying: Spirit Stone Vein (Small)]
[Outcome: Replicable Resource — Self-Replenishing]
A miniature version appeared in his Inventory.
"Spirit stone factory acquired."
He scooped up a handful of high-grade stone fragments.
Crushed one.
Energy roared through him.
"Time to upgrade."
---
Breakthrough — Silver Body
Su Chen sat down cross-legged, greedily drawing in the qi leaking from the rift.
Two hours later, the Black Behemoth arrived.
Saeko and Xiao Yi Xian stepped out, froze mid-step, and stared.
Su Chen stood at the center of the crater like a man carved from polished silver.
[Update: Indestructible Diamond Body → Silver Body (Early)]
[Defense +200 | Resistance to Small Explosions, Tier-2 Magic, Common Poisons]
Xiao Yi Xian blinked. "Did… did you kill the Immortal?"
Su Chen stretched his neck.
"No. I bullied him. Then stole everything he owned."
He tossed a bag of stones to her.
"For your alchemy flames. I expect pills."
Another bag to Lin Xiya.
"For your psychic recovery."
Saya jogged up, tablet in hand. "The rift is destabilizing. We should get clear."
"Agreed," Su Chen said. "We have what we came for."
"Where to next?" She asked.
Su Chen flicked open the satellite map.
A golden beacon pulsed far out in the ocean.
"The signal offshore," he said. "But we can't drive there."
She frowned. "The truck doesn't fly."
"Then we make it fly."
Su Chen pulled out the Magitek Engine blueprints along with the Purple Cloud Wing scroll.
"Combine these. Fuel it with Spirit Stones."
He smiled.
"Let's turn the Black Behemoth into an airship."