Chapter 40: Foundation Establishment Cave Abode

"What a pity—this man's intuition is truly sharp."

Chen Zhao retracted the Qingming Naling Sword, slightly regretful.

His lies were clumsy, but he ran indeed fast; unfortunately, Chen Zhao could not sense the direction and dared not pursue deeply.

Fortunately, he had acquired a Storage Bag.

Chen Zhao gave it a cursory glance; the item's design was oddly familiar.

The bag's body bore the characters "Murong."

He had Duan Bo guard him, broke the seals, and found inside only a fragment of a map.

No markings, but more precise coordinates—when combined with his own, they revealed the exact location of the Cave Abode.

Chen Zhao suddenly understood.

Murong De must have deduced a rough range and come here to seek treasure.

Judging from his belongings, he must have gained much.

But this drew Evil Qi into his body; after returning to the sect, he was wrongly suspected of practicing an Evil Technique and became Fang Zijing's pawn.

Chen Zhao carefully examined the map and compared it with the surrounding scenery, frowning.

The map's marked point lay in the direction the Evil Cultivator had fled.

Could he also know the location?

This man was Qi Refining Fifth Layer, yet his methods were strange—truly not to be underestimated.

But Chen Zhao had the Qingming Naling Sword at his side, capable of perfectly suppressing this man's Evil Technique.

And with Duan Bo's aid.

Only then did he dare to ride his sword in pursuit.

Ahead, the Evil Qi grew thicker, and the sounds of battle grew sparser.

Yet the murmurs, giggles, and wails of cultivators echoed everywhere.

Now near, now distant, faint and elusive.

Along the way, corpses became increasingly fresh and intact—still all died of natural lifespan exhaustion.

Chen Zhao turned to look at Duan Bo, yet found his spirit unchanged—whether due to the Nourishing Spirit Pill or some other method, he could not tell.

Not long after.

A small house came into view.

Red walls, blue tiles, wisps of cooking smoke rising—as if newly built.

Not an illusion array; rather, it felt like passing through a seal.

Chen Zhao felt puzzled, turned to ask Duan Bo—and found he had vanished.

Only a faint spirit qi remained.

"Young friend, step forward and receive my legacy."

The figure was ethereal and noble, with white hair and a youthful face, pointing to a dry well:

"I am Wu Xuzi of the Zhenwu Sect, famed in Yue Prefecture for my withering-radiance technique; I suppressed Evil Cultivators here, and after a mutual ruin, perished with my Dao extinguished."

"Practicing this withering-radiance technique can reach Golden Core—it was created by my sect, absorbing heaven and earth's essence to transform into lifespan; at Foundation Establishment, it grants five hundred extra years."

"Thanks to the seals preserving my lingering soul, today I shall transmit the Dao to you."

Chen Zhao was secretly startled.

He had cast a divination—the man spoke nothing but truth!

Though he had never heard of Yue Prefecture or the Zhenwu Sect, this withering-radiance technique was truly outrageous.

He recalled the corpses outside.

In plain terms, this technique stole lifespan and absorbed it for oneself—two hundred and fifty years of Foundation Establishment lifespan could be doubled again!

Even as an Evil Technique, Chen Zhao felt a flicker of desire.

But only a flicker.

Chen Zhao saw clearly: this figure was merely a lingering soul, possessing no lifespan whatsoever, his spiritual sense reduced to Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

Even if he activated the withering-radiance technique, it would do no good.

Then.

Who was activating it?

Chen Zhao gazed at the dry well and smiled calmly.

"Your words are true, Master—but the corpse in this well is surely not only the Evil Cultivator's, but yours as well."

"My physical body underwent bodily liberation; young friend, your words are mistaken."

Wu Xuzi was not in haste, his tone gentle.

Chen Zhao instead clapped his hands and laughed:

"Exactly—if the withering-radiance technique is your own, why does it still operate after your bodily liberation?"

"Could it be you seized the Evil Cultivator's body and re-practiced the withering-radiance technique?"

Wu Xuzi froze.

The Evil Cultivator had been sealed by his Secret Technique and still retained some lifespan.

But this man was saturated with Evil Qi; even if he disbanded his cultivation and re-started, it clashed with the withering-radiance technique—he had absorbed so many, yet still lacked sufficient lifespan.

He had intended to pacify this boy before attempting possession—but one careless slip, and the boy had seized his flaw.

Still, it mattered little.

A mere Qi Refining Fifth Layer brat—could he possibly resist possession?

A gray shadow flashed—and Wu Xuzi was already before Chen Zhao's forehead.

The next instant.

A blade of light pierced through his chest; he felt a searing pain, then was dragged to the bottom of the well.

"A soul-suppressing Dharma Treasure? So what?"

Wu Xuzi grunted, but he had already prepared a backup plan.

He formed a hand seal and pointed—one; the residual soul solidified without dispersing, its aura surging to Qi Refining Great Perfection!

But the next second, he sensed something was wrong.

This Wuqing Treasure Sword could only suppress—it inflicted no real damage, instead fusing him with the Evil Cultivator's corpse.

He was merely a residual soul, with limited opportunities for possession.

And now, with this possession, he had no chance of possession ever again!

Though this body was a Foundation Establishment Stage vessel, years had passed, and after dissipating his cultivation and restarting, it now stood only at Qi Refining Sixth Layer—his lifespan was nearly spent.

Now the Wuqing Treasure Sword struck again.

Wu Xuzi struggled to hold on, his body further corroded by Mu Chen's Spirit Breath, agony unbearable.

At the brink of life and death.

His aged face flushed red; he lost all sense of seniority and shouted:

"You Evil Cultivator inside the house—come out and aid me! I'll trade you the withering-and-blooming art!"

"I'll hold this sword off—strike quickly, don't hesitate!"

Chen Zhao turned to look inside the house.

Though he didn't know how Liang Chengfeng had gotten in.

But he knew this man had many tricks, was cautious by nature, and the withering-and-blooming art was too tempting—he might just lend a hand.

Chen Zhao didn't know this man's methods; fighting two at once was too risky.

"Brother, kill him—the withering-and-blooming art is yours!"

He also roared aloud, pressing slightly harder in his grip.

The stalemate lasted long.

Finally, a sound came from inside the house.

"Brother, will you swear a Heart Demon Oath?"

It was "brother," not "senior."

Chen Zhao knew it was settled.

"I, Fang Zijing, swear by the Heart Demon: after killing Wu Xuzi, the withering-and-blooming art belongs to this brother."

This wasn't just words—Chen Zhao truly didn't want the withering-and-blooming art anymore.

This technique was too strange; it would surely mark him as an Evil Cultivator.

Moreover,

Everything has a price—stealing lifespan is so contrary to Heaven, what would the cost be?

Chen Zhao dared not gamble.

But Liang Chengfeng couldn't think that far ahead.

As soon as he heard Chen Zhao swear, he hurled three silver nails straight into Wu Xuzi's forehead.

Instantly,

A hissing sound arose, accompanied by faint white smoke; Wu Xuzi's spiritual awareness flared in pain, unable to resist further.

He was immediately beheaded by the Qingming Naling Sword.

Life severed, soul scattered.

Immediately, Liang Chengfeng summoned black clouds and took a Jade Slip from Wu Xuzi's Storage Bag.

He dared not take more—he tossed the Storage Bag aside and fled beyond the prohibition.

The Qingming Naling Sword had barely been withdrawn when the man vanished without a trace.

So fast! And his severed arm had already regrown!

Chen Zhao narrowed his eyes, deciding not to pursue; since the man had no intention of seizing the treasure, there was no need to force him into a desperate fight.

Inventory the spoils.

Most were destroyed, little remained.

The Evil Cultivator's belongings were numerous: Blood Spirit Pills, Burning Blood Art... all useless to him.

Strange was this:

Most of it belonged to orthodox cultivation opportunities.

Twelve middle-grade Spirit Stones, a Flying Boat, a string of Spirit Wood beads, a Token, and a pair of small insects.

No wonder he was a Foundation Establishment elder.

The Flying Boat could perform long-distance relocation, but consumed massive Spirit Stones and was far too conspicuous.

Even Tiankui Sect owned only one.

The bead necklace was a Top-Grade Magical Tool, requiring Qi Refining Great Perfection to barely activate—its function unknown.

These two items, Chen Zhao couldn't use for now.

But the rest:

A Token from Zhenwu Sect—likely an orthodox sect.

Though he didn't know what Yue Prefecture was, if he ever went there, this Token might prove invaluable.

As for that pair of small insects...

Beside them lay a small booklet.

This insect is called the Heart-Eating Gu, coming in a pair of mother and child; the child Gu merges into the host's spiritual awareness to exert control, and if the mother Gu dies, the host of the child Gu dies as well.

What a tyrannical method.

After reading it, Chen Zhao raised an eyebrow.

The host of the mother Gu can control the child Gu, but requires the caster's spiritual awareness to far exceed that of the child Gu's host.

Should it backfire, the spiritual soul is utterly lost.