Nine Shadow Killing Sword

Regret.

At this moment, Zhou Kang was filled with nothing but regret.

Had he known it would come to this, he never would have easily listened to Liu Feng's words, let alone rashly come to cause trouble for Chen Xuan.

He had originally thought this was an opportunity to curry favor with an inner sect disciple, but he never expected to end up in such a state. With both arms crippled, it would take at least several months of recovery to heal, and he might not even be able to save his own life.

Zhou Kang slumped against the base of the wall, his arms bent at unnatural angles. The excruciating pain covered his forehead in beads of sweat the size of beans, but he couldn't spare the attention for that, because Chen Xuan was walking toward him.

One step.

Two steps.

Every step felt like it was landing on his heart.

"Wai... wait!" Zhou Kang's voice trembled, his lips quivering. "You can't kill me. I am a seed disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect. If you kill me, the sect won't let you off."

Chen Xuan did not stop his pace.

"I... I'm still useful!" Zhou Kang said urgently. "I know intelligence on Liu Feng! His cultivation level, the martial arts he practices... I know it all. If you spare my life, I'll tell you everything."

"Oh? What is Liu Feng's cultivation level?"

Chen Xuan stopped in his tracks, his tone indifferent.

"You... you must not kill me, and I will tell you the intelligence about Liu Feng." Seeing Chen Xuan stop, Zhou Kang acted as if he had grabbed the final straw of hope and hurriedly said, "Not only that, I can be your mole. If you need intelligence on the Blood Fiend Devil Sect, I can help you find out."

"Whether you tell me about Liu Feng or not doesn't really matter." Chen Xuan continued to step forward, saying calmly, "You were the one used as a pawn anyway. Even at death's door, you're still thinking for others. If Liu Feng truly cared about you as a seed disciple, would he have given you false information and sent you here to die?"

Hearing this, Zhou Kang's face turned even paler.

"Liu Feng!"

Immediately after, hatred appeared in Zhou Kang's eyes.

Chen Xuan was right; the person he should hate most was Liu Feng.

If it weren't for Liu Feng telling him to bring Chen Xuan back to the sect and providing him with false information, how could he have fallen into this desperate situation and lost his life?

Even if he were to die, he wouldn't let Liu Feng have it easy.

"Liu Feng practices the superior Blood Origin Technique. This technique can absorb the blood essence from others to nourish oneself. His cultivation has reached the second level of the Zhuqi Realm, though he has recently been in seclusion to break through to the third level of the Zhuqi Realm."

Zhou Kang spilled everything he knew.

"The superior Blood Origin Technique, in seclusion to break through to the third level of the Zhuqi Realm. Thank you for telling me this." Chen Xuan nodded and said, "To show my gratitude, I will let you die quickly."

As the words fell.

Chen Xuan lunged in front of Zhou Kang and struck his forehead with a palm.

"Bang."

Zhou Kang's head slammed heavily against the wall behind him. Blood gushed from his seven orifices, and his eyes instantly lost focus.

His body slid limply to the ground, motionless.

The courtyard fell silent.

Chen Xuan looked down at the corpse on the ground, his expression calm.

How could one easily believe the words of a devil sect brat?

All that talk about being a mole or gathering intelligence was fake; only a fool would believe it... but the final information about Liu Feng was likely true.

After all, Zhou Kang had been set up by Liu Feng.

If one were to ask who Zhou Kang hated most before he died, aside from Chen Xuan who killed him, it would be the Liu Feng who had betrayed him.

"Third level of the Zhuqi Realm!"

A sense of urgency rose in Chen Xuan's heart.

Since Zhou Kang failed to bring him back to the Blood Fiend Devil Sect this time, the next person to appear would likely be Liu Feng, who had reached the third level of the Zhuqi Realm.

Therefore, he had to break through to the Zhuqi Realm as soon as possible.

Chen Xuan squatted down and began to loot the body.

Soon, he found several hundred taels of silver banknotes on Zhou Kang.

In addition, there were two martial arts manuals.

These two manuals were the Blood Garment Technique and the Nine Shadow Killing Sword.

Chen Xuan flipped through them briefly.

The Blood Garment Technique was an ordinary Zhuqi Realm cultivation method. One only needed to open the twelve qi meridians to step into the Zhuqi Realm; it was likely the martial art Zhou Kang was currently practicing.

The other, the Nine Shadow Killing Sword, was a Zhuqi Realm martial skill.

Or rather, it was a martial skill that spanned both the Body Tempering and Zhuqi realms.

At the Body Tempering stage, if the Nine Shadow Killing Sword was cultivated to the extreme, one could create nine shadows with a single sword strike, making it difficult for enemies to distinguish reality from illusion. Once reaching the Zhuqi Realm level, its power became even more terrifying.

The Blood Garment Technique was of little help to Chen Xuan.

After all, he had already cultivated the top-tier Vajra Technique. Even if he practiced another Zhuqi Realm technique, it wouldn't significantly increase his combat power.

However, martial arts techniques are different; they can significantly increase one's lethality.

Mountain Crushing Fist is only a Body Tempering realm martial art, and once one reaches the Zhuqi Realm, it inevitably falls short. This Nine Shadow Killing Sword happens to fill that gap.

However, Chen Xuan's primary task for now is still to break through to the Zhuqi Realm, and only then should he consider practicing martial arts to improve his combat power.

Over these past five days, the five points of Zhaoxi Value that Chen Xuan accumulated have not been used yet. He plans to wait until he has improved his root bone aptitude to the medium level before using the Zhaoxi Value to accelerate his cultivation, which will maximize the benefits.

In any case, even if he added points now to open up five more qi meridians, he still wouldn't be able to break through to the Zhuqi Realm.

"Helmsman, the two brothers on night watch at the gate are dead."

At this moment, the gang members who heard the commotion arrived at the courtyard.

"I know." Chen Xuan's voice was calm as he pointed to the corpse of Zhou Kang in front of him and said, "I have already killed the murderer and avenged our brothers. Dispose of this corpse and throw it to the wolves in the back mountain. Bring the two fallen brothers back and have them buried properly. The compensation silver will come from the branch's treasury; send fifty taels to each family."

"Yes, Helmsman!"

Immediately, two gang members hurried forward and dragged Zhou Kang's corpse away.

"Who is this person? To be able to sneak into the branch silently and even kill two brothers on night watch, his strength must not be underestimated."

"Judging by the clothes he's wearing, he should be an outer sect disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect."

"An outer sect disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect—this is clearly retaliation from the Blood Wolf Gang. Fortunately, the Helmsman has already killed him, which can be considered seeking justice for our brothers."

"Everyone, stay vigilant at night for the next few days. The Blood Wolf Gang might send more people, and we cannot afford to be lax regarding the security of the branch."

"..."

Although Zhou Kang's night raid on the branch and the killing of the two night watchmen sparked some discussion among the gang members, it did not cause much of a stir; they simply assumed it was retaliation from the Blood Wolf Gang.

If they knew that the Zhou Kang who died at Chen Xuan's hands had a cultivation of the ninth level of Body Tempering, the entire branch would likely be in an uproar.

But Chen Xuan did not say anything.

He only had people dispose of Zhou Kang's body; the fewer people who know his true strength, the better.

Soon, the date arrived at April 15th.

At night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Chen Xuan changed into a black martial outfit, covered most of his face, and left Qingshi Town without a sound.

He did not ride a horse, instead traveling on foot toward Baishui Town.

Baishui Town is eighty miles southeast of Lianshan City, and with his current speed, he could reach it in less than an hour.