The night passed quickly, and after a simple cleanup, Chen Xuan walked out of the cave. "I feel like I'm about to break through to the Spiritual Martial Realm, but my Elemental Spirit Pills are still not enough. If I break through with insufficient aura, it might result in dropping a level, and further progress would be difficult. Worse, it could lead to demonic possession."

"I need to find a way to get more Elemental Spirit Pills. Unless I can find a spiritual vein, which I learned from the 'Miscellaneous Records,' the Danxuan Sect has several spiritual veins. However, those are places for core disciples to cultivate. Even inner disciples can only cultivate on the outskirts of the spiritual veins."

"For now, let's set that aside. Today, I'll go kill some Heaven Demons, earn more mission points, and then I can practice in the Xuanhuang Tower. At least the time inside is longer than outside. I wonder what it's like to cultivate inside the Xuanhuang Tower. I'm really looking forward to it."

Chen Xuan headed eastward, dealing with lone demon hunters with a single punch, absorbing all their blood essence. He continued like this, killing over a hundred demon hunters. The number of demon heads in his ring increased, and the sensation of expansion in his dantian grew more severe, as if he were about to advance to the Spiritual Martial Realm at any moment.

"No, I can't absorb anymore. If I do, my dantian might explode," Chen Xuan warned himself. "Why do I feel like someone is always following me?"

Chen Xuan became vigilant. "It seems I've been targeted again. I wonder who's foolish enough to seek death this time."

Jumping onto a large tree, he concealed his presence.

After a while, three men sneaked out from behind Chen Xuan.

"Big brother, we clearly saw this kid come here. Why isn't he here now?" one of the men spoke.

"This kid is too slippery. His lightness skill is too fast. We could only chase him from behind," the oldest man said.

Chen Xuan had been using the Nine Phantom Variations to travel, which was why they couldn't catch up. The Nine Phantom Variations was a Heavenly-ranked martial art. How could they possibly catch up?

It turned out to be the three wolves who had been causing trouble at the teleportation array. I didn't go looking for them, but they came looking for me first. It seems these three have been following me since I entered the Demon Battlefield. Today, I'll deal with them here, Chen Xuan thought as he perched in the tree.

"Big brother, we've lost track of him. What should we do? How do we explain this to Young Master Ling when we go back?" the man said.

Just as the man finished speaking, Chen Xuan leaped down from the tree.

"You three have been following me all these days!" Chen Xuan said coldly.

"I didn't expect you brat wouldn't choose to run. Good. Today, I'll let you know the consequences of offending the wrong person. Kid, in your next life, don't be so arrogant. Some people are not to be provoked," the oldest man said.

"Oh really? You think you're sure to kill me? If you can't kill me, you're afraid I'll go back and report the massacre to our sect," Chen Xuan taunted.

The youngest man said, "Kid, even if you're about to die, you're still sharp-tongued. You won't have a chance to go back to the sect. Today is your funeral. In the Demon Battlefield, disciples die every day. Even if you die, the sect won't investigate. Do you choose to die on your own, or do we do it for you? If you choose to die on your own, you'll at least get a proper burial. If we do it, we'll tear you apart."

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"Didn't expect you fools to come here to die on your own. I wasn't planning to find you, but since you've come to me, I'll send you off. In your next life, find a better master. Those who offend me never end well," Chen Xuan said, completely reversing what the man had just said.

"You arrogant brat! We three are Ninth Grade after all, and we can't deal with a single one like you? Enough talk, let's finish him together," one of them said.

"Swoosh!"

Chen Xuan appeared in front of the youngest man, gripping his neck with one hand, sending his robust true energy into the man's body, instantly immobilizing him.

"Do you think I can kill all of you?" Chen Xuan smirked strangely at him.

"Crack!"

The neck snapped.

Since absorbing the blood essence of the demons, Chen Xuan's strength had changed significantly. Now, his strength was four or five times stronger than two days ago, and the speed of the Nine Phantom Variations was getting faster. Before they could react, Chen Xuan had already seized one of them by the neck.

He tossed the body aside and looked at the remaining two.

"Just now, you wanted me to kill myself, right? Now I want you to do it yourselves. It's best if I don't have to do it personally," Chen Xuan said.

The remaining two men exchanged glances, fear written all over their faces. They were no longer as arrogant as before. They hadn't expected to attack together, only to have one of them killed before they could even land a blow.

!

"Kid, your strength isn't even Ninth Grade. Spare us, and we'll serve you like oxen and horses. We underestimated you. Please forgive us," the oldest man pleaded with fear.

"Now you're afraid, but it's too late. As you said, many disciples die in the Demon Battlefield every day, and the sect won't investigate. Since I've already killed one of you, I have to kill you all. Otherwise, if you return to the sect and reveal that I killed fellow disciples, I'll be punished," Chen Xuan said coldly.

"Master Chen, we won't reveal your secret. We swear by the heavens," the big man insisted, still unwilling.

"Dead men tell no tales. Off you go!" Chen Xuan said, lunging towards the big man, pinching his neck with one hand. "It's just you and me now. The other one coming at me with a knife? Foolish."

"Underestimate me at your peril. Shadow Split!" Two Chen Xuans appeared, their fists striking the remaining big man. "Crimson Flame Thousand Miles!" Three identical Chen Xuans attacked, leaving the big man, whose neck was gripped, in disbelief. What kind of martial skill was this? It could create attacking shadows! Their expressions turned to despair. They had severely underestimated their opponent. The big man who was being held felt hopeless; his spiritual energy was sealed, rendering him powerless.

He could only watch as his second brother was struck in the chest by two Chen Xuans. Chen Xuan's strength had increased significantly, even the strength of his shadows, now reaching Ninth Grade.

With a loud bang, the charging big man was knocked back more than twenty meters by Chen Xuan's shadows, lying on the ground coughing blood. The colors of the two shadows dimmed but didn't dissipate completely. It seemed Chen Xuan's strength had increased, and so had the strength of his shadows.

Controlling the two shadows, Chen Xuan approached the fallen big man. The shadows acted just like Chen Xuan's hands and feet. One of them picked up the steel knife dropped by the big man and stood before him.

"Be a good person in your next life!" With those words, the head fell to the ground. Only then did Chen Xuan retract the two shadows.

The big man, now with bulging eyes, roared, "You killed my second and third brothers. I'll never forgive you!"

"Don't worry, I'll send you off soon enough. Tell me who ordered you to kill me, and I'll make your death quick. Otherwise, I'll show you what real suffering is like!" Chen Xuan, though he suspected it was Ling Feng who sent them, needed confirmation.

"We, the Three Wolves, met our end in your hands today. Kill us or torture us as you please, but you won't get a word out of me. If you have the guts, just kill me. We've killed plenty over the years. Who knew we'd meet our end at the hands of a brat like you!" The big man's heart was full of unwillingness.

"If you won't experience the pain, you won't talk, huh?" Chen Xuan sent his true energy into the big man's body again. The chaotic true energy traversed the big man's meridians, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably. His face showed more fear than a demon's.

"You brat, if you have the guts, just kill me!" The big man managed to squeeze out a few words through clenched teeth.

"If you want to die, it won't be that easy. Tell me who ordered you to kill me! Tell me, and I'll make it quick."

"Brat, we three just didn't like you and wanted to kill you. No one ordered us. We've been hunting hawks every day, but today, we were the prey. Just kill me!"

"Your mouth is quite stubborn. I wonder what this person who ordered you gains by protecting them so fiercely," Chen Xuan said, increasing the true energy rushing into the big man's body.

"Quick, tell me who ordered you to kill me!" Chen Xuan demanded angrily.

"It's... it's... Ling Feng, Young Master of the Fighting Spirit Peak," the big man finally confessed, unable to endure any longer. Blood flowed continuously from his seven orifices, and he struggled to speak.

"If you had said it earlier, it would've been over. Now, you've suffered needlessly." Chen Xuan, showing no mercy, snapped the big man's neck, his head collapsing. Chen Xuan threw the body aside, realizing Ling Feng truly wanted to kill him. Refusing to join the Fighting Spirit Peak had brought such hatred upon him. It seemed human life meant nothing to them. One day, he would make Ling Feng kneel before him, begging for mercy.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Chen Xuan left the area. Using the Shadow Split once more, he returned to the cave he had stayed in the previous night. Taking out the rings of the three men, he opened the seals they had placed, revealing the contents inside. Their rings were filled to the brim with treasures, surpassing the total of all the disciples combined.

It seemed these men had been targeting other disciples for years. Now, it was all his. Killing and plundering truly was the best path to wealth. This ancient saying held true: "Without external wealth, one can't prosper; without wild grass, a horse can't become fat."

Quickly sorting through the items, Chen Xuan couldn't stop laughing. Now he had a place to get the Spirit Dan for his breakthrough to the Spirit Martial Realm. He was grateful to these men; without them, how could he have obtained ten thousand Spirit Dans in one go?

Ha ha ha... Laughter echoed in the cave.