The next moment, Zheng Changqing was shocked, "Eh, why am I falling toward the ground? And whose headless corpse is that? Junior brother, what's happening?"

But he could no longer hear Lu Yin's response. Darkness and cold had already enveloped him completely. With a thud, the headless body fell forward, blood gushing forth.

Lu Yin's eyes widened in horror as he instinctively activated his defensive magic tool to protect his back, while quickly casting a defensive spell. His body's Iron Shell Shell rapidly secreted saliva that flowed with his blood, swiftly enhancing his bodily defenses.

Clang!

A dark chain cleaved through the air toward him. Lu Yin spat out blood and was flung back several yards.

Crack!

His defensive magic tool shattered into pieces. The Iron Shell Shell also screamed pitifully as its shell burst apart, its fluids splattering—clearly, it too was no more.

Lu Yin was utterly terrified. In just one strike, he had been stripped of all his defenses. His assailant was certainly not a mere early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—this must be a mid-stage, or even a high-level cultivator, possibly at the fifth or sixth layer!

"Eh, you're not dead yet."

A voice floated softly from the woods.

Lu Yin, clutching his chest, scrambled to his feet and pleaded, "Fellow Daoist, we have no grievances. May I ask for mercy to spare my life?"

The figure in the woods slowly approached, his face becoming visible in the sunlight.

"Who says we have no grievances? You came here to kill me."

Chu Xuan smiled.

Lu Yin was dumbstruck. He could never have imagined that the person who had just killed Zheng Changqing and destroyed all his defenses with a single strike was Chu Xuan! Wasn't he just a second-level Foundation Establishment cultivator?!

Damn! The intelligence was wrong!

Lu Yin took a deep breath and roared, "Chu Xuan, I will fight you to the death!"

With that, he summoned the Ice Toad Bell, ready to attack. But in the next moment, he kicked off the ground. He bolted away with a speed far exceeding his previous effort, employing an escape technique as he fled.

Chu Xuan was speechless.

The slogans were louder than one another. But when it came to fleeing, they were faster than one another.

However, Chu Xuan did not give chase. As Lu Yin looked back after running several dozen yards, seeing Chu Xuan still standing in the same spot, he burst out laughing.

"Ha!" Lu Yin exclaimed, his voice dripping with astonishment. "He never expected I'd feign battle only to flee! I must quickly inform others of Chu Xuan's true strength..."

His words were abruptly cut short as a dagger, formed from gloomy nether flames, plunged into his heart. The nether fire erupted within him, extinguishing his life force in an instant.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Lu Yin's head turned stiffly only to see a grotesque, ugly face looming behind him. "A...corpse puppet..."

With a thud, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Bao, carrying Lu Yin's body, scurried back to Chu Xuan's side.

Chu Xuan nodded in approval and stored the body in the Corpse Nurturing Tower. After all, they were fellow sect brothers, and it seemed only proper to tend to the dead.

"You little rascal, hiding a piece of flesh, eh?" Chu Xuan noticed Bao surreptitiously chewing on a piece of flesh and couldn't help but laugh.

Bao, caught in the act, sheepishly smiled and quickly swallowed the piece of flesh he had torn from Lu Yin.

"Come, let's see how our two senior brothers are doing," Chu Xuan suggested. "If I'm not mistaken, Wu Teng, that traitor, is likely to strike against them."

Chu Xuan retracted Bao into the Corpse Nurturing Tower, his form ghosting through the woods. Yet, he abruptly stopped after darting forward a short distance. The ground ahead seemed uneven upon closer inspection.

Chu Xuan noticed that trees and rocks—the dark, unseen places—were studded with array flags. A concealed deadly array lay ahead, just waiting for him to step into it.

Chu Xuan surveyed his surroundings and calmly called out, "You might as well show yourself."

Moments later, no one appeared, but a poisoned needle pierced the air, aiming directly at Chu Xuan's vital point.

Anticipating this, the Evil Soul Chain instantly positioned itself in front of him, deflecting the green-glowing poison needle.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Several more poison needles shot toward him, each from a more cunning angle. Chu Xuan's eyes flickered as he sensed movement behind him. The Evil Soul Chain, like a massive black python, precisely blocked all incoming needles.

Suddenly, the Mystic Iron Shield materialized behind Chu Xuan, catching and splitting in two a thick poison needle aimed at his head.

"Found you!" Chu Xuan declared sharply.

His Yin Evil Demon Claw tore through the air, grasping fiercely and obliterating a large tree behind him.

As the tree crashed down, scattering wood chips and leaves, a muffled grunt was heard. A robust figure tumbled out.

Chu Xuan, relentless, pointed a finger, and two sinister shadows—Hu and Bao—charged forward. However, just as the two corpse puppets lunged, their opponent threw something, and two shadows—a tiger soul and a wolf soul sprang into action.

Hu and Bao immediately tangled with the tiger and wolf spirits, a chaotic fray unfolding.

Chu Xuan's gaze sharpened as he employed the Yin Evil Escape, swiftly closing the distance between himself and his opponent.

With a grand gesture, the Myriad Souls Banner unfurled, unleashing vengeful spirits and ferocious ghosts that tore through the air.

The adversary's face registered shock, his eyes widening as if he had no power to resist.

However, Chu Xuan, narrowing his eyes, sensed something amiss. Just as the spectral assailants were about to descend upon the robust cultivator, he uttered a low cry, his body bursting forth with golden light, forming a small, radiant protective halo around him—the Body Protecting Golden Wheel.

This golden wheel, though modest in size and brilliance, was unmistakably the Body Protecting Golden Wheel Decree from the Golden Dragon Temple, a natural bane of ghosts and malevolent spirits.

The ghosts shrieked in agony, like moths to a flame, instantly incinerated upon contact. Only a few stronger spirits managed to escape the conflagration, retreating back into the Myriad Souls Banner.

Chu Xuan frowned deeply. As the spirits returned, providing a momentary distraction by obscuring his opponent's line of sight, he pointed decisively. The Evil Soul Chain suddenly materialized, its speed erupting to its peak. It slithered like a terrifying black python, nearly binding the robust cultivator.

Buzz!

A sudden burst of flame sounded as another talisman on the cultivator's body burned to ash. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly widened the gap between them while shouting, "Tu!"

As Chu Xuan advanced, the ground beneath him vibrated unexpectedly. A demonic earth-colored beast burst forth, striking Chu Xuan from an unforeseen angle.

Clang!

The Blood Evil Shadow automatically appeared, thwarting this cunning and venomous attack. Struck by the Blood Evil Shadow, the beast howled pitifully, spewing a mouthful of blood before burrowing back into the earth and vanishing from sight.

The two stood apart, a hundred zhang between them, neither making a move. Chu Xuan regarded the robust cultivator with a mix of awe and suspicion. The other, breathing heavily, returned the gaze with equal parts astonishment and doubt.

In just a few exchanges, Chu Xuan realized that this robust cultivator was no ordinary foe like Lu Yin or Zheng Changqing. He must be a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, like himself! Was this person also sent to kill him?