Chu Xuan returned to the cave that had been his previous abode. He moved a large rock back in place to seal the entrance and set up various arrays before opening Ouyang Hao's storage bag. A cursory glance nearly blinded him with its brilliance—indeed befitting a prodigy cherished by the Grand Elder of the Divine Star Sect!
The contents of the bag were dazzling. The first thing that caught his eye was a small mountain of small spiritual stones. A rough count revealed there were at least a thousand. Beside these were numerous medium spiritual stones, adding up to over twenty.
Apart from these spiritual stones, there were several tomes kept in jade boxes, all scriptures and magical techniques of the Divine Star Sect, albeit solely for sword cultivation. Chu Xuan flipped through them briefly without much interest.
Also in the bag were two magical tools. The first was the flying sword that Ouyang Hao had wielded. Named the "Heavenly Star Flying Sword," it was a high-grade flying magical tool capable of covering a thousand li in an hour, consuming only one small spiritual stone for three thousand li, and capable of increasing speed for short bursts by consuming more stones.
(In the Cultivation World perspective, I would use ancient Chinese units. 1 li = 0.5 kilometer. 1 zhang = 3 meters.)
In contrast, Chu Xuan's own flying tool could only cover three hundred li in an hour, consuming a small spiritual stone for every thousand li without any acceleration feature. The comparison left his own tool utterly outclassed.
The second item was a golden wooden shield. Despite being made of wood, it felt exceptionally hard to the touch. This tool, named the "Golden Wood Shield," was crafted from vajra wood and was also a superior-grade magical tool. Its defensive capabilities ranked among the top of all superior defensive magical tools. These two items perfectly filled the gaps in Chu Xuan's current arsenal.
"Is that a Foundation Establishment Pill?" Chu Xuan continued to search and was astonished to find a Foundation Establishment Pill in a corner of the storage bag. He was surprised—given Ouyang Hao's financial capabilities, he should not have been able to afford such a pill. The origin of the pill was thus clear; it must have been bestowed by the Grand Elder of the Divine Star Sect for Ouyang Hao's future breakthrough.
"It seems the Grand Elder indeed highly valued Ouyang Hao," Chu Xuan mused with a smile. Nobody knew that he was the one who had slain Ouyang Hao. Even if the Grand Elder was enraged and wished to tear the murderer apart, he would find no trail leading to Chu Xuan.
"However, a single Foundation Establishment Pill is probably not enough to liquefy my Spiritual Qi and help me step into the Foundation Establishment stage," Chu Xuan reflected. "A Foundation Establishment Blood Pill is still necessary." He did not consider himself to possess the exceptional aptitude required to step into the Foundation Establishment stage with just one pill.
"Let's refine these immediately, converting them into my own combat strength," he decided. He secured the Foundation Establishment Pill and extracted the Heavenly Star Flying Sword and Golden Wood Shield from the bag. Both items bore Ouyang Hao's essence blood imprint, a mark made by sacrificing one's essence blood to embed a personal trace into a magic tool, ensuring it could not be easily taken by others during battle.
Better than an essence blood imprint was a soul blood imprint, which involved both the soul and essence blood, but that was a technique only accessible at the Foundation Establishment stage. At his current level, Chu Xuan could only use the essence blood imprint.
He pressed his fingers against the surface of the Heavenly Star Flying Sword, injecting a wisp of Spiritual Qi to locate the essence blood imprint within. His Spiritual Qi eradicated it. Within about a quarter of an hour, he had completely erased Ouyang Hao's remaining essence blood imprint. Now truly ownerless, the Heavenly Star Flying Sword was ready for his use.
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Chu Xuan tapped his chest, drawing out a drop of his own essence blood, and let it fall on the sword's surface, beginning the refinement process. The process took three hours in the utter darkness of the cave, Chu Xuan's eyes gleaming with sharp vitality.
Success!
He felt a tight connection to the Heavenly Star Flying Sword. He proceeded to similarly refine the Golden Wood Shield. After consecutively erasing essence blood imprints and forcing out his own essence blood to refine two superior-grade magical tools, Chu Xuan felt somewhat exhausted. He immediately began meditating to rest.
After a whole night, he slowly awakened, and his spirits rejuvenated. "News of Ouyang Hao's death probably hasn't spread yet. While the Divine Star Sect hasn't noticed, I should quickly return to Peace Market and make the necessary purchases."
Chu Xuan hastened towards the Peace Market. This time, he disguised himself again, taking on the appearance of a gaunt man with deeply sunken eyes—a look that suggested excessive consumption of medicinal pills and a body laden with residual poison.
As he walked past various stalls set by itinerant cultivators, intending to buy spiritual herbs from the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, he noticed a stall that seemed amiss. Astonishingly, it displayed several Qi Refining stage scriptures from the Infinite Sect, including the "Blood Spirit Technique" he practiced. Additionally, most of the materials needed to concoct the Foundation Establishment Blood Pill were also somewhat available there.
Chu Xuan immediately sensed something was off. With the Infinite Sect fallen, who could possibly offer so many spiritual herbs at once?
It must be a trap, perhaps set by orthodox cultivators fishing for prey. Should he bite, his life might well be forfeit.
Without betraying his suspicions, Chu Xuan quietly walked away.
However, the white-haired stall owner suddenly spoke up, "Fellow Daoist, these are all top-quality goods; won't you buy something?"
Chu Xuan's internal alarm intensified, "No, thank you."
The stall owner chuckled strangely, "What about the 'Blood Evil Demon Refining Scripture'? Don't you want to buy that either?"
Chu Xuan started, turning sharply to look at the stall owner.
This voice didn't come through his ears—it had resonated directly in his mind! This was a telepathic message!
Telepathy was a technique that only Foundation Establishment stage cultivators could employ, allowing private communication that only the parties involved could hear. Unless someone far surpassed their cultivation levels, no one could intercept their conversation.
The mention of the "Blood Evil Demon Refining Scripture" was even more significant. It was a Foundation Establishment stage technique of the Infinite Sect. The "Blood Spirit Technique" and two other Qi Refining stage techniques were actually preliminary techniques to the "Blood Evil Demon Refining Scripture."
"Uncle Master Liu?" Chu Xuan instantly guessed the identity of the speaker. A Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, knowledgeable about the formula for the Foundation Establishment Pill, and in possession of Infinite Sect's Foundation Establishment stage techniques—it could only be Liu Zhengxiong.
The white-haired stall owner smiled, "Follow me." He gestured with his hand, storing the items in a storage ring, and then walked unhurriedly towards the exit of Peace Market. Chu Xuan hesitated but still followed.
Moments later, the two of them, like any other cultivators, walked out of Peace Market. Only when they reached a secluded area did Liu Zhengxiong stop.
"Are you Xiong Zhengxing or Liu Jinpeng?" he asked quietly.
Chu Xuan could not help but smile wryly. These two were respectively the twelfth and thirteenth ranked disciples within the inner gate of the Infinite Sect, formidable rivals during his struggle to secure the tenth position in the inner gate. However, by now, they had vanished without a trace, likely dead in some forgotten corner.
Chu Xuan bowed respectfully, "Chu Xuan, at your service, Uncle Master Liu."
Liu Zhengxiong, hearing this name, was quite astonished, "Chu Xuan? The tenth-ranked Chu Xuan of the inner gate? I would never have imagined that the person who saved Chen Ge and Wei Hua and defeated Ouyang Hao could be you."
Chu Xuan chuckled lightly without offering an explanation. During the destruction of the Infinite Sect, he was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. It was his extensive knowledge in gu insects and poison techniques that had secured his place as the tenth inner gate disciple. It was no wonder Liu Zhengxiong hadn't guessed it was him.