Chu Xuan replied with equanimity, "I go by the name Xu Ming and do not shy from it."

Ouyang Hao offered a faint smile, "Xu Ming? Good, you shall become the twenty-fifth soul to fall beneath my sword!"

Xu Ming?

Chen Ge and Wei Hua exchanged a look of confusion. Xu Ming was still cultivating in the Wu family estate. How could he possibly be here? The person before them must be an Infinite Sect disciple, concealing his real name and assuming the alias of Xu Ming.

"Are you still watching? Go," Chu Xuan chided them with a glance.

Chen Ge and Wei Hua exchanged a deep look, then quickly supported each other and left.

Ouyang Hao licked his lips, "You let my two prey escape. You'd better put up a good fight, or I'll make you wish you were dead."

With that, he suddenly swung his sword at Chu Xuan!

Chu Xuan smiled lightly, "You've got it backward."

He waved his hand, and Long and Bao suddenly appeared by his side, flanking Ouyang Hao from both sides. From the palm of his hand surged a fierce streak of crimson—the Blood Steel Wire!

Ouyang Hao's eyes flashed with disdain. Divine Star Sect sword cultivators specialized in sword qi. Qi Refining disciples cultivated Heavenly Star Sword Qi, which could cut through anything—nothing was invincible against it.

"To think you would use a mere gu insect to counter my sword qi, I have already slain three such fools," Ouyang Hao declared.

His sword qi accelerated, seemingly about to sever the Blood Steel Wire in an instant. He disregarded the two corpse puppets closing in from either side; eliminating this foolhardy demonic cultivator with a single strike would spare him any further effort, and the puppets would perish as a consequence.

However, the next moment, he felt his sword qi strike what seemed like steel.

Clang!

To his shock, his indomitable sword qi was effortlessly blocked by the Blood Steel Wire.

Chu Xuan smiled faintly. After its transformation, the Blood Steel Wire was harder than most metals. The Blood Steel Wire could even withstand bullets—faster and more formidable than Ouyang Hao's sword qi.

Blocking Ouyang Hao's sword qi was no daunting task. The Blood Steel Wire, far from being repelled, emitted a streak of bloody light and wrapped around Ouyang Hao's wrists and ankles—Blood Binding!

Clang!

Caught unawares, Ouyang Hao found his hands and feet momentarily bound. His anger was palpable. He had not anticipated that the gu insect would possess such innate magical prowess.

At that moment, Long and Bao launched their attack from either side. Long opened its maw wide and unleashed a terrifying Corpse Howl. The sound struck Ouyang Hao like a sledgehammer to his soul, muddling his senses and scattering his thoughts.

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Spurred by the Corpse Howl, Bao let out a ferocious roar and activated its Bloodthirst technique. Its claws relentlessly tore at Ouyang Hao, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of gory gashes were rended across his body. Blood spurted wildly, and flesh flew in disarray.

Long, with a firm grip on its bone spear, thrust it forward. The spear pierced straight through the heart.

Ouyang Hao's eyes bulged in utter shock. He had not foreseen such an abrupt end to the battle. His underestimation of the gu's resilience had swiftly led to his entrapment and a swift, merciless death. He had no chance to retaliate, no opportunity to utter any last words.

Life drained from him like water flowing from a broken vessel, and the cold embrace of death quickly consumed him.

Chu Xuan gestured, recalling Long and Bao back into the Corpse Nurturing Tower. He gazed down at Ouyang Hao's corpse, shaking his head. The man had been strong, yet his arrogance had been his downfall. Without any knowledge of his opponent's capabilities, he had left himself completely unguarded against the corpse puppets attacking from either side, foolishly believing his sword qi could achieve a swift kill.

"Is this what they call a genius?" Chu Xuan chuckled softly and casually scooped up Ouyang Hao's body into his storage bag. The body of a Qi Refining eighth level cultivator was a valuable resource—perfect for refining blood beads or feeding to his corpse puppets.

With that, he swiftly departed from the scene.

...

At the Wu family estate, Chen Ge and Wei Hua returned to their usual residence through a side gate, finally letting out sighs of relief. Liu Zhengxiong was in the courtyard, discussing cultivation challenges with Xu Ming, Bai Feng, and others. Seeing the grim expressions on Chen Ge and Wei Hua's faces, he guessed something was amiss and promptly inquired about their ordeal.

Chen Ge and Wei Hua did not conceal any details, recounting the events that had unfolded. Liu Zhengxiong's brow furrowed deeply.

Xu Ming, taken aback, exclaimed, "That person claimed to be me? Could it be one of our Infinite Sect disciples?"

Wei Hua nodded affirmatively, "It's very likely, and he seemed quite confident, showing no fear even against Ouyang Hao."

Xu Ming shook his head subconsciously, "Impossible. The top ten inner disciples are either dead or have defected; none could match Ouyang Hao."

"How odd that someone would dare to rescue you," Liu Zhengxiong remarked, his face showing a keen interest. "Regardless, this person is most likely a disciple of our Infinite Sect. It's surprising that such a disciple was overlooked. If he dared to confront Ouyang Hao, his strength must be considerable."

Liu Zhengxiong paced back and forth, clearly pleased.

Xu Ming, somewhat envious, commented, "Who knows? Maybe he just got carried away in the heat of the moment."

Wei Hua scoffed, "If it were you, would you get carried away and save us? I doubt it; you'd probably have run away at the first chance."

Xu Ming's face turned red with embarrassment, but he found himself unable to refute.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Zhengxiong said, "Where did Ouyang Hao catch up to you? Take me there immediately. We cannot let anything happen to such a disciple."

Chen Ge and Wei Hua immediately nodded in agreement. Moments later, the trio arrived at the clearing in the woods. The area was deserted, indicating that the battle had clearly concluded long ago.

"Could the fight have moved to another location?" Chen Ge scratched his head. Liu Zhengxiong shook his head, pointing at the bloodstains, fragments of flesh, and pieces of robes on the ground.

"The battle has ended; these robe fragments belong to a Divine Star Sect Qi Refining stage disciple. The blood and flesh were likely left by Ouyang Hao. There's a dense Yin Qi in the air, likely from summoning corpse puppets to fight."

Liu Zhengxiong thought for a long time, "Ouyang Hao likely escaped with severe injuries."

Chen Ge and Wei Hua exchanged looks of surprise that the cultivator could have inflicted such damage on Ouyang Hao—what kind of power must he possess!

"Ouyang Hao's injuries will certainly prompt the Divine Star Sect to conduct another round of searches in this area. Stay indoors these next few days and remain within the estate," Liu Zhengxiong instructed sternly.

"Yes, we will heed Uncle Master's teachings," Chen Ge and Wei Hua nodded.

"And what about you, Uncle Master?" Wei Hua inquired.

Liu Zhengxiong replied earnestly, "That disciple must still be near Peace Market, and being alone, he is undoubtedly in grave danger. I must find him."

Chen Ge and Wei Hua felt a surge of admiration; they had chosen to follow Liu Zhengxiong because of his humanity. They had not expected that even for a disciple whose name they did not know, Liu Zhengxiong would be willing to risk so much.