Chapter 159: Impersonating a Title and Stealing Kills
Chu Xuan surveyed the highest peak on Azure Spirit Island and casually remarked, "Hmm, this peak resembles Black Dragon Mountain. In the future, it should be reshaped to look like Black Dragon Mountain."
Black Dragon Mountain?!
Tang Xiang, who had been extremely respectful until now, shuddered uncontrollably at the name, his voice tinged with disbelief, "Senior... you are the Golden Core ancestor from Black Dragon Mountain?"
The five Qi Refining cultivators behind him trembled as well. It was as if they had heard the name of something forbidden.
Chu Xuan chuckled, "Yes, have you heard of me?"
Tang Xiang swallowed hard, "We have heard, we have heard of your renown."
His eyes darted around as he quickly said, "Senior, I misspoke earlier. I... do not wish to stay here. I would like to go to the front lines to fight. Please forgive me."
The Qi Refining cultivators nodded vigorously in agreement, "Yes, yes! We feel the same!"
Chu Xuan scoffed coldly, "You are afraid of me, aren't you?"
His Golden Core aura burst forth.
Tang Xiang and the others nearly collapsed in fright. They shrank back, not daring to utter another word.
"Scram," Chu Xuan snorted coldly.
With a sweep of his sleeve, a fierce wind howled out.
Tang Xiang and the others were blown about, tumbling over each other.
"Thank you, senior! Thank you, senior!" they cried out as they scrambled to their feet and hurried away, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
The reputation of the "Black Heart Ancestor" of Black Dragon Mountain was well known throughout the Hundred Refinement Sect. How could they be unaware?
Initially, they had been curious about who would take possession of Azure Spirit Island. If it had been a powerful Golden Core elder, they might have been able to mix in and perhaps reap some benefits from the war.
But now, seeing that it was the "Black Heart Ancestor," they fled without a second thought.
They feared dying at the hands of the "Black Heart Ancestor" more than dying in battle.
"My title as the Black Heart Ancestor of Black Dragon Mountain indeed carries some deterrent power," Chu Xuan mused as he watched them flee in utter disarray, a smirk playing on his lips.
With a flash, he moved to the highest peak of Azure Spirit Island.
This peak was where the Azure Spirit Sect, a minor Foundation Establishment sect that had already been annihilated by the Hundred Refinement Sect, used to be.
Now, only ruins remained.
Tang Xiang and his group had previously been stationed among these ruins.
"Let these ruins remain," Chu Xuan decided as he followed the trail of spiritual Qi. Arriving at a spot where the Qi was particularly dense, he selected a cliffside and began to violently smash it with his Evil Soul Chain, quickly excavating a cave abode.
The cave didn't need to be luxurious. As long as it had the essentials, it would suffice. After all, he didn't plan to stay long.
Once the cave was carved out, Chu Xuan immediately began setting up an array. Due to the presence of a third-tier spirit vein, the array could function without the need for additional spirit stones. As long as the spirit vein existed, the array would continue to operate.
The array he installed was a mid-grade Golden Core array known as the Fierce Wind Golden Blade Array. This formation served both as a maze and a killing field.
Normally, it appeared as nothing more than a mist. However, if someone attempted to forcefully enter, it would unleash fierce winds and golden blades to attack the intruder.
After fully establishing the array, Chu Xuan sat down on a stone bed to contemplate his next moves.
Vanishing abruptly wasn't ideal. It would be better to disappear during a sect mission after some time, ostensibly after encountering a "powerful enemy" and suffering severe injuries, ultimately leading to his mysterious disappearance. This way, as long as he performed convincingly, it wouldn't arouse suspicion.
"For the next few days, I'll eliminate a few minor sects to demonstrate my loyalty," Chu Xuan planned in his mind.
Soon, the four Golden Core cultivators at the Treasure Ship Market witnessed a He Liang who was fiercely loyal to the sect, risking his life for its cause. He dared to attack sects others feared to confront and fought Golden Core cultivators others hesitated to challenge. In essence, he killed those others dared to kill and even those they dared not!
Before long, the moniker "Black Heart Old Devil" of the Hundred Refinement Sect began to circulate around the Myriad Islands Lake. Just hearing his name made others flee in terror.
That day, Chu Xuan flattened another sect, slaying a Golden Core cultivator and looking upon the ruins with a shake of his head. It wasn't that he didn't want to find the right moment to escape; the cultivators of Myriad Islands Lake were simply too weak!
Even if he wanted to feign a struggle, it was impossible. He couldn't just charge at an early Golden Core cultivator, have his opponent cough up blood from the impact, remain completely unscathed himself, and then loudly proclaim he had been gravely injured. That would be far too implausible.
Chu Xuan sighed lightly as he surveyed the Myriad Islands Lake, "Myriad Islands Lake, is there no formidable character among you?"
A throng of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators rushed to take over the ruins he had flattened. The way these cultivators looked at Chu Xuan was filled with awe.
To date, six Golden Core cultivators from the Hundred Refinement Sect had come to the Treasure Ship Market.
One unfortunate soul, overzealous for achievements, had been ambushed by two Golden Core cultivators from Myriad Islands Lake and had suffered severe injuries, forcing him to retreat to the sect. The rest had faced defeats in various forms.
Yet, the one known as the Black Heart Ancestor stood undefeated, having battled and bested four Golden Core cultivators from Myriad Islands Lake, slaying three of them. He had single-handedly razed over a dozen large and small sects.
Such a distinguished record of victories commanded respect and admiration from all within the Hundred Refinement Sect.
However, if asked whether they wished to train under the Black Heart Ancestor, hundreds, if not thousands, would express their reluctance. Admiration was one thing, but leaping into the fire was quite another.
Watching the Hundred Refinement Sect's cultivators bustling about cleaning up the battlefield, Chu Xuan suddenly recalled a troubling matter.
"It seems someone has been using my name recently, wreaking havoc around Myriad Islands Lake. This person had better not cross paths with me."
Chu Xuan remembered instances where he had arrived only to find that the local sects had already been annihilated, the blood on the ground not yet cold. Impersonating him was one thing, but the fact that this impostor was intercepting his loot—a line Chu Xuan could not tolerate being crossed.
Such a person was indeed courting death.
...
"Feast well, the more you eat, the better for your advancement," Chu Xuan advised as he pulled the remains of various cultivators from the Tower, handing them over to Long, Hu, and Bao.
During this period, he had eliminated numerous Golden Core cultivators from Myriad Islands Lake. The number of Foundation Establishment cultivators he had slain was even greater, and their remains nearly formed a small mountain within the Tower.
Long and Bao having consumed the Grand Yin Mystic Evil Pills, had steadily ascended to the rank of Corpse Commanders.
Hu had already advanced to Corpse Commander and was now rapidly progressing, having reached the fourth level.
What surprised Chu Xuan even more was that, after observing him a few times, Hu had managed to learn a wood-based spell.
Normally, corpse puppets could only use their innate spells and struggled to acquire new ones.
Although the spell Hu learned was merely a minor Entanglement Technique, this marked a significant departure from the capabilities of most corpse puppets.
"A corpse puppet capable of learning spells, tsk, might well become a legend among corpse puppets," Chu Xuan mused. "The combination of a corpse puppet with a spiritual root hasn't shown any problems yet... but perhaps it's still too early to say. Continuous observation is necessary."
Chu Xuan remained vigilant and never too relaxed about this matter.
"I wonder how things are going with the Hundred Refinement Sect. Has the Feather Transformation Heaven Palace not yet discovered Shang Tianjue's appearance? Or are they too busy searching for Shang Xingchen the Ghost Dragon and haven't noticed the situation in the Southern Wilderness?"
"That might be the case... Central Continent is too far from the Southern Wilderness, and the Transformation Heaven Palace likely only has one or two ways to directly contact the Southern Wilderness. Such methods of contact must be costly, certainly not something to be used frequently..."
Chu Xuan pondered thoughtfully.