Chu Xuan sheathed his flying sword and strolled forward. Upon arriving at the Misty Mountains and just as he was about to enter, two figures swiftly flew in from either side.

Two were dressed in the robes of the Divine Star Sect disciples. Two wore the robes of the Golden Dragon Temple disciples. However, they were all at the Qi Refining stage.

The four looked at Chu Xuan with unfriendly expressions.

Chu Xuan furrowed his brows. It was his first time at the Misty Mountains. How had he offended both the Divine Star Sect and the Golden Dragon Temple simultaneously?

Feigning fear, Chu Xuan cupped his hands and said, "Honorable fellow daoists, I am but a loose cultivator. Why do you block my path?"

The two monks from the Golden Dragon Temple chuckled softly, "Where have you come from, and where are you headed?"

Chu Xuan replied, "I come from White River Prefecture, intending to enter the Misty Mountains to slay demonic beasts and earn some spirit stones."

White River Prefecture lay at the foot of the Misty Mountains. He did not mention coming from Green River Prefecture.

After all, Green River Prefecture was located in central Tong Province, far from the Misty Mountains. If he were only at the Qi Refining stage, it would be impossible to travel such a distance to kill demonic beasts for spirit stones.

A disciple of the Divine Star Sect scrutinized Chu Xuan, "You claim to be a loose cultivator. Do you have proof?"

Chu Xuan scratched his head anxiously, "Proof? I have been a loose cultivator for over fifty years!"

The disciple of the Divine Star Sect sneered, "I think you are pretending to be a loose cultivator to enter the Misty Mountains and rescue someone! You are clearly a demonic cultivator! Everyone, attack and kill this fiend!"

With those words, the four surrounded him.

The two disciples of the Divine Star Sect wielded their swords, while the two disciples of the Golden Dragon Temple brandished their Vajra rods. They moved as if they had practiced many times before.

In the blink of an eye, the four magical tools cast an impenetrable net. No matter how Chu Xuan tried to escape, he could not elude their attack range.

The four exchanged knowing smiles. In recent days, they had used this method to jointly kill eight loose cultivators. No Qi Refining stage cultivator could withstand such an encirclement.

Yet, before their eyes could register, Chu Xuan vanished, leaving only a faint Yin Evil aura.

The four were momentarily stunned. Then, a bloodline streaked across the air. In an instant, four heads flew, blood gushing like a fountain.

Chu Xuan swiftly gathered the four corpses into his storage bag. He meticulously examined the storage bags of the four and discovered that they had indeed killed numerous loose cultivators, collecting several storage bags.

From one of the storage bags, he even found an order from a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

"So, this is it. Liu Zhenxiong and his men were discovered, fleeing southward until they finally hid in the vast Misty Mountains. Several Foundation Establishment stage cultivators led a large number of Qi Refining stage cultivators into the mountains to search for them, while these Qi Refining stage disciples guarded the foot of the mountains. As long as they could kill a demonic cultivator, they would receive considerable sect contributions. The Qi Refining stage disciples stationed outside then conceived the idea of killing innocents for merit."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Chu Xuan scoffed. Wasting no time, he immediately plunged into the thick fog of the Misty Mountains.

He had initially thought he would have to settle for the soul of a Foundation Establishment stage demonic beast as his weapon spirit. Now, it seemed there were better options.

The Foundation Establishment stage cultivators searching the depths of the Misty Mountains for Liu Zhenxiong and his men were, after all, walking souls.

In the process, he could also enrich his Myriad Souls Banner!

...

In a cave within the Misty Mountains.

Xu Ming, Chen Ge, Wei Hua, and Bai Feng trembled, not daring to make a sound. Before them, Wu Teng lay on the ground, pale and unconscious.

A long, narrow wound marred his chest, golden light swirling within, preventing it from healing.

Liu Zhenxiong expended his Spiritual Qi into Wu Teng's body but could not dispel the golden light.

"The unique spell of the Golden Dragon Temple is indeed difficult to break."

After a long time, Liu Zhenxiong had no choice but to retract his Spiritual Qi.

Xu Ming whispered, "Uncle Master, what should we do?"

Liu Zhenxiong smiled bitterly, "We can only take it one step at a time. Who could have predicted that Wu Teng's own grandson would betray us?"

At that moment, the sound of magic tools whooshing outside caught their attention.

Everyone tensed.

"Don't make a sound, I'll go take a look," Liu Zhenxiong said seriously.

Xu Ming and the others nodded solemnly.

Liu Zhenxiong cast a spell to conceal his aura completely before leaving the cave. Like a wisp of wind, he drifted into the forest.

Not long after departing the cave, he saw signs of battle ahead.

Upon closer inspection, he found only a pool of blood.

"These battle marks... they must have been left by Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. The battle ended quickly; one side must have had overwhelming power. Strange, could it be a loose cultivator?"

Liu Zhenxiong cautiously investigated, puzzled.

The Misty Mountains were vast, a place where many loose cultivators gathered herbs and hunted demons for spirit stones. These days, he had seen many scenes of loose cultivators being slain. It was not hard to understand. Any demonic cultivator's head was a significant achievement.

But there were only so many demonic cultivators, and the merits were not enough to go around. Some righteous cultivators had devised the idea of killing innocents for merit. They used loose cultivators as substitutes for demonic cultivators to gain sect contributions.

The Divine Star Sect and Golden Dragon Temple turned a blind eye to these actions. After all, in their eyes, loose cultivators had no background or foundation, killing them was inconsequential.

Liu Zhenxiong did not linger and immediately left.

Moments later, several figures arrived at the scene.

Leading them was a middle-aged cultivator named Sun Shi, the very same Sun Shi who had previously sent He Liang to capture Chu Xuan.

The young cultivator beside him was named Zhang Ze.

Both were Foundation Establishment stage cultivators from the Divine Star Sect, long renowned in their field. Accompanying them were five Qi Refining stage disciples, all looking competent and resolute. These disciples were entirely different from those guarding the mountain's foot.

"Junior Brother Zhao's distress signal was sent from this location," Zhang Ze said, looking at the bloodstain on the ground with a grim expression. "We are still too late."

Sun Shi's face was also dark, "Liu Zhenxiong truly is a formidable individual. Despite being injured, he managed to kill Junior Brother Zhao in such a short time."

He took a deep breath, "Continue the search! Even if we have to scour every inch of these mountains, we must find these remnants of the Infinite Sect!"

"Yes!" Zhang Ze and the others responded solemnly.

Liu Zhenxiong had just returned to the cave when he inexplicably sneezed.

"Strange... Foundation Establishment stage cultivators do not sneeze. Could someone be talking about me?"

He was utterly baffled.

...

In another cave within the Misty Mountains.

The original inhabitant of the cave was a lone black bear, a Qi Refining stage demonic beast. Chu Xuan had courteously invited it into his Five Viscera Temple.

"Not bad, I've obtained the soul of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator and a storage bag as well. No wonder they say that murder and arson yield golden belts; robbing and killing certainly brings quick rewards."

Chu Xuan inspected the looted storage bag, clicking his tongue in wonder. Shortly after entering the Misty Mountains, he encountered a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator from the Divine Star Sect.

Without a word, the other party had pointed at him, calling him a demonic cultivator, and attacked him with a magic tool. Helpless, Chu Xuan had no choice but to send the man to an early grave.

Moreover, adhering to the principle of resource recycling, he diligently extracted the man's soul and even threw the corpse into the Corpse Nurturing Tower as nourishment for the corpse puppets.

It was, he thought, a fitting end for the man's generous contribution.