Zhang Wei's eyes widened in shock. The two of them, one a fourth-layer and the other a third-layer Golden Core cultivator had unleashed their full magical power, only to have it shattered by the physical might of their opponent.
Shangguan Feng's head had been pulverized with a single punch! What kind of monster was this person?
A term long forgotten in the annals of history flashed through Zhang Wei's mind—Body Cultivator! Only a Body Refiner could possess such terrifying physical prowess.
Zhang Wei immediately retreated, throwing out two magic talismans which transformed into tiger spirits to temporarily hold off the attack. He then quickly cast two defensive spells.
A layer of earthy-yellow light armor enveloped his body, and a shield of Spiritual Qi formed in front of him. He also summoned two defensive magic treasures for extra protection.
The first was called the Ghost Silkworm Rope, a control-type magic treasure that also provided bodily protection.
The second, his life-bound magic treasure, was called the Thousand-Layer Ruler—a jade ruler engraved with patterns of birds and beasts.
As it appeared, it emitted a luminous jade light, positioning itself protectively in front of Zhang Wei.
Having arranged these defenses in one breath, Zhang Wei finally relaxed and faced his opponent. His Thousand-Layer Ruler, capable of both attack and defense, was his most relied upon magic treasure. He could hardly believe that, with all these layers of defense, they could still be breached by the opponent.
Chu Xuan looked at Zhang Wei, who had encased himself like a turtle in its shell and couldn't help but chuckle. "You certainly have a lot of defensive tricks," he said with a smile.
Zhang Wei, on alert, responded, "Fellow Daoist, let's talk this over. If you want to be the sect leader of the True Martial Sect, just take the position. There's no need for such violence."
Chu Xuan laughed louder. The position of a minor sect leader held no appeal to him. He smiled and said, "Compared to this so-called sect leadership, I'm more interested in your storage bag."
Zhang Wei's pupils shrank suddenly. The next moment, Chu Xuan launched a punch.
Bang!
In an instant, three punches were thrown.
The first punch shattered the Spiritual Qi armor and shield.
The second punch caused the Ghost Silkworm Rope to cry out as it fell to the ground.
The third punch left the Thousand-Layer Ruler dim and cracked into three pieces.
His life-bound magic treasure destroyed, Zhang Wei immediately suffered a backlash, spurting blood and being flung backward. His pupils reflected the rapidly enlarging fourth punch.
The only thought in his mind: Such mighty strength, such fierce fists.
Bang!
The head shattered.
Chu Xuan's Spiritual Qi vibrated, flinging the blood and brain matter from his fists. He looked at the two headless corpses inside the council hall and smiled faintly.
The thirty layers of body refinement truly made him formidable—resisting Golden Core spells with his physical body and bursting lower-grade magic treasures with his punches.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"I wanted to become a sword immortal when I first crossed over," Chu Xuan mused as he looked at his oversized fists and smacked his lips.
What sword immortal? They all would tremble under the might of his thirty-layered body refinement.
Casually, Chu Xuan collected the two bodies into his Corpse Nurturing Tower and took their storage bags as well, then strode out of the hall.
The commotion had already drawn the attention of many disciples of the True Martial Sect.
But as Chu Xuan walked out, the disciples quickly dispersed, muttering about how beautiful the moon was tonight, though it was a dark and windy night hardly suitable for such remarks.
...
"Fat indeed! Truly fat!" Chu Xuan exclaimed as he emptied the contents of the two Golden Core cultivators' storage bags.
The storage bags of Golden Core cultivators were indeed richer than those of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
It was clear that after taking over the True Martial Sect, the two had not intended to lay down roots but had treated it merely as a means to amass wealth. Many of the treasures in their bags were extorted from other minor sects.
Of course, most items collected from the minor sects were Foundation Establishment stage treasures like magic tools, pills, and talismans. These were of little use to Chu Xuan now, except for the spiritual stones. Regardless of one's realm, spiritual stones were always useful.
"The magic treasure of that fellow I shattered, but that old man's treasures are still intact."
Chu Xuan examined the dark seal in his hand, named the Black Tortoise Seal, a lower-grade magic treasure. Its method of killing was simple: smash it towards the enemy. It epitomized simplicity and brute force.
Although it was only a lower-grade magic treasure, it far surpassed even the finest magic tools. Chu Xuan estimated that it could easily crush most top-grade defensive magic tools.
With a sweep of his spiritual sense, Chu Xuan erased Shangguan Feng's residual spiritual imprint on it and replaced it with his own soul blood imprint. His own spirit was strong enough to simultaneously wield about four magic treasures.
Since he had acquired a magic treasure, he ought to make use of it. An additional magic treasure meant additional strength.
"And there's this spiritual sense secret technique. Though it's just a lower-grade Golden Core phase technique, it will suffice for now."
Chu Xuan pulled out a book titled "Soul Piercing Needle" from Shangguan Feng's storage bag and nodded slightly.
The "Soul Piercing Needle" had only two layers: the first layer discussed methods to temper spiritual sense and the second detailed how to condense spiritual sense into soul-piercing needles.
Chu Xuan wasn't concerned about its strength. Having it was enough.
Secret techniques for spiritual sense were rarer than methods for cultivation and spells. Having such a technique already put him ahead of most Golden Core cultivators.
There would naturally be opportunities to acquire better techniques for spiritual sense in the future. Even if he couldn't find them himself, there were always benevolent individuals who might bring them right to his doorstep.
...
In the council hall of Black Dragon Mountain, Song Junjie and Qian Tang paced nervously like ants on a hot pan, unable to stand still for fear that cultivators from the True Martial Sect would come knocking to demand justice.
However, as night gave way to the early morning sunrise, there was still no sign of anyone from the True Martial Sect. The incident seemed to have dissipated like a drop of water into the ocean, leaving no trace.
"What on earth happened?" Qian Tang was anxious.
"I've already sent someone to gather information; we should have news soon," Song Junjie said gravely.
Moments later, a disciple rushed into the hall like an arrow. "Sect Leader, Deputy Sect Leader, I've got the news. The True Martial Sect's Golden Core..."
He was so excited that his words came out jumbled.
"Speak, hurry up! What happened to the True Martial Sect?" Qian Tang couldn't contain his impatience.
Song Junjie stepped forward and placed a palm on the shoulder of the Qi cultivation disciple, channeling a cool stream of Spiritual Qi into him. This helped the disciple calm down.
"Speak," Song Junjie commanded solemnly.
The disciple respectfully reported, "The two Golden Core cultivators from the True Martial Sect vanished last night. According to what the disciples of True Martial Sect said, there were sounds of fighting from their council hall last night, and at the end, they saw a black-robed cultivator flying away. Since then, the two Golden Core cultivators have been missing."
Song Junjie and Qian Tang exchanged a look, seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
"You may leave," Song Junjie waved his hand.
"Yes."
Once the council hall was empty again, Qian Tang voiced his shock, "It must have been the master..."
Song Junjie nodded firmly, "It was definitely the master. He's not just a ninth layer Foundation Establishment as we had guessed—he's a Golden Core cultivator..."
Their faces showed a mix of excitement and bitterness. It was good news that their master was a Golden Core cultivator, but the fact that he was also a demonic cultivator was less cause for celebration.