The Feihong Mountain Range totaled over a thousand li in length, and the sect had set a time limit of seven days.
In the first five days, Xiao Chen covered a total of over seven hundred li, spending most of his time hunting and pursuing targets.
On the sixth day, he first encountered Su Wanqing and later ran into a Ghost-faced Spider, causing him to cover only a little over a hundred li.
He didn't reach the exit at the northern end of the mountain range until noon on the seventh day.
The exit was located in a rather narrow small valley. Twenty li after walking out and turning right was the sect's designated meeting point.
But at this moment, the entrance to the valley had already been occupied by several familiar faces from the Second Division.
Since Xiao Chen was wearing the Stealth Cloak, he wasn't recognized at first. As he passed, the foremost disciple, Junior Brother Li, reached out and stopped him.
"What's the matter? Need something?"
Hearing the question, Junior Brother Li was about to snap at him but was pulled back by Wang. "Hold on. This senior brother has had a long journey. Please, come have some yellow wine to quench your thirst."
As he spoke, he actually took out a Wine Gourd and offered it with a smile.
Junior Brother Li was confused but still obediently took a step back.
Xiao Chen shook his head, refusing. He pulled out a handful of Jade Tokens. "I'll pass on the wine, but I do have a business proposition. Are you junior brothers interested?"
"That's a lot of Jade Tokens!"
Junior Brother Li cried out from behind him, then quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.
Wang was also taken aback and quickly waved his hands dismissively. "You must be joking, Senior Brother. We're just waiting for someone here. We don't know anything about business."
"One point for three Spirit Stones. If you want them, all these points are yours. How about it? Not a bad deal, is it?"
Xiao Chen shook the Jade Tokens in his hand, coaxing them persuasively. "It can't be easy waiting out here in the heat. Give it some thought."
'Since these guys are waiting here with ill intentions, they must be desperate for points and have a need for them.'
'I have more points than I can spend anyway. Since I've run into them, I might as well sell some.'
Subsequently, the five martial brothers present each took out three Spirit Stones, pooled their funds, and bought a single five-point Jade Token from Xiao Chen.
Though it was a transaction, it looked more like they were paying Xiao Chen a toll to pass.
Especially Wang. After handing the Spirit Stones to Xiao Chen, he just stood there foolishly, not even taking the initiative to grab the Jade Token.
Xiao Chen placed a Jade Token marked with five points in his hand. "Take it. I told you, it's a transaction. What are you so afraid of?"
After Xiao Chen departed, Wang let out a huge sigh of relief. "Whew, we finally got through that. He scared me half to death."
Junior Brother Li asked from behind, "Wang, that guy had so many Jade Tokens. If we had taken them, wouldn't we all have had enough points?"
Wang was exasperated. "Are you an idiot? Use that blockhead of yours for a second. The guy can casually pull out a huge handful of Jade Tokens. Do you really think you could beat him?"
"Besides, all the Spirit Beasts in the mountain range have been slaughtered this time. Who knows what's really going on? That guy was wearing a Cloak; it's hard to say if he's even an Outer Disciple."
Hearing this, Junior Brother Li shivered. "It's a good thing you stopped me, Senior Brother. Otherwise, I would have really messed up."
After leaving the valley, Xiao Chen took off his Cloak around a bend and headed directly to the area of makeshift stalls outside the camp, just as planned.
Senior brothers from the Inner Sect and even some Loose Cultivators from the Marketplace were already waiting there.
They were there specifically to buy the Spirit Beast materials and Spirit Grass that disciples had collected during the trial.
The items the disciples collected were often a hodgepodge, difficult to inventory for the sect's stores. The sect also looked down on such meager profits—the live Spirit Beasts were far more valuable than the materials they dropped.
But there were always those who didn't mind, willing to come and earn a bit of pocket money.
And some had ulterior motives, like Chen Guangyu, who was manning a stall in the southeast corner.
Although he appeared to be selling goods, his stall only displayed a few exorbitantly priced Talismans. He had also put up a sign to buy materials, but it was clearly just for show.
Xiao Chen thought for a moment, then took out a spare seventy-two points' worth of materials, wrapped them in a bundle, and walked over.
"Chen, I'm here. See if you want these materials."
"Ah, Junior Brother Xiao. Let me see." Chen Guangyu took the bundle. It felt heavy in his hand, and his brow furrowed slightly.
'This Junior Brother Xiao is a bit clueless,' he thought. 'I'm just pretending to buy materials; I don't actually want this junk.'
But he said nothing, instead opening the bundle to tally up the points.
"Holy shit! You! You... you?"
Seeing his outburst draw the attention of others, Chen Guangyu thought fast. "This fox pelt is nice, haha, very nice."
"So, Chen, are you still buying these materials?"
"Uh, about that... Junior Brother, wait a moment. Let me inspect them. Just a moment."
Chen Guangyu mentally tallied the contents. The bundle contained a full seventy-two points' worth, valued at two hundred and sixteen Spirit Stones.
He was stunned all over again. This time, however, he managed to stifle his cry, though his eyes widened.
He'd had some rotten luck, to be honest.
During the past few days in the mountains, apart from running into a Two-tailed Scorpion at the very beginning, he hadn't encountered any other Spirit Beasts until two days ago, within the final two hundred li.
For some reason, all the even remotely easy-to-find Spirit Beasts in the middle zones had been completely wiped out.
He was the great young master of the Chen Family; he couldn't possibly be expected to go bushwhacking into the deep mountains and ancient forests, mainly because he might encounter real danger there.
As a result, he himself had only managed to collect a pitiful fourteen points. After setting up his stall this morning, he had only managed to buy forty more, leaving him with a significant point deficit.
According to his prior calculations, he would need around seventy points to make the top ten, and at least a hundred to place in the top three.
Chen Guangyu had already felt that he had no hope of vying for a top rank this time. He had just been too unlucky.
Who would have thought he'd run into such a lucky charm!
This seemingly unremarkable Junior Brother Xiao had actually brought him seventy-two points, enough to instantly fill his entire point deficit.
But then Chen Guangyu had another thought: this was actually a bit too much. That was over two hundred Spirit Stones, which was no small sum.
'Besides, there were unusual circumstances this time,' he mused. 'According to what I've heard, my main competitors are also short on points.'
He already had fifty-four points. He only needed another fifty to secure a spot in the top three.
So, with a glint in his eye, Chen Guangyu said, "Junior Brother Xiao, your luck is really something else, running into so many Spirit Beasts."
"But I didn't bring that many Spirit Stones with me. How about this... I'll take fifty points' worth off your hands?"
Xiao Chen had been worried Chen wouldn't be able to afford everything. He hadn't expected that even after he'd deliberately brought less, the man was still trying to weasel out of it. "Chen," he said, "didn't you say you'd buy as many as I had?"
"Hey, of course I'm a man of my word. I'm just genuinely short on cash right now. If you're willing, Junior Brother, I can write you an IOU for the rest of the Spirit Stones. What do you say?"