Dao of The Demonic Cultivator

Chu Xuan sat cross-legged within the Array, methodically opening the storage bags of these Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Just as he had anticipated, these cultivators, though at the Foundation Establishment stage, did not possess many treasures.

It seemed they differed from Situ Xiong, having left their valuables with their clans rather than carrying them personally—a pity indeed.

Chu Xuan rubbed his hands together in anticipation, first opening the storage bags of Huang Wuyang and Cao Zijin.

Excluding the spirit stones, superior magic tools, and other common treasures from Huang Wuyang's bag, as well as the spoils from the Heavenly Seal Sect, there lay a small vial of Earth Mother Spirit Liquid and the demonic core of a Blazing Fire Bear.

"He aspired to pursue the orthodox path of the complete Golden Core," Chu Xuan mused with a smile.

The Earth Mother Spirit Liquid was indeed a heavenly material and earthly treasure necessary for the complete consolidation of the Golden Core, speeding the process significantly.

The Blazing Fire Bear's demonic core was quite commendable, albeit incompatible with his Thunder Spiritual Root. Nevertheless, this demonic core might yet be traded for a different type of beast core in the future—not an entirely fruitless find.

However, it was Cao Zijin's storage bag that brought Chu Xuan a tremendous surprise. This woman, lauded even by the Nascent Soul ancestors of the Heaven Burning Sect, possessed treasures surpassing even those of Duan Feipeng.

Setting aside the spirit stones, magic tools, pills, and talismans for a moment, Chu Xuan was most captivated by one particular item she possessed—a top-grade core condensation secret technique!

Chu Xuan cradled the thin ancient tome, his face breaking into a gratified smile.

"The Thunder Python Core Condensation Technique!" he exclaimed. "Using the demonic core of a Thunder Python to condense a beastly Golden Core."

He felt deeply thankful to Huang Wuyang. Without Huang's invitation to Cao Zijin for the small auction, it might have taken him years more to find such a superior core condensation technique.

Chu Xuan grew reflective as he continued perusing the treasures in Cao Zijin's storage bag.

Moments later, he stumbled upon something unexpected.

"What is this?" Chu Xuan picked up an ancient jade slip, deep in thought. The slip was engraved with a few characters: "The Netherworld Soul Core Technique!"

Chu Xuan was taken aback. What was this? It seemed to bear some connection to the Nether Dao Sect. Pressing the jade slip to his brow, a flood of information surged into his mind.

In the blink of an eye, he had comprehended the Netherworld Soul Core Technique."

"It's actually a method for condensing a second Golden Core?" he pondered in astonishment.

Chu Xuan was astounded. A second Golden Core! Such a thing was unheard of! The Misty Mountains, situated on the border between Tong Province and Wu Province, had long been occupied by the Heaven Burning Sect, along with the Ghost Palace under their control.

Chu Xuan surmised that this technique was likely obtained by the Heaven Burning Sect from some ancient ruins and had eventually been bestowed upon Cao Zijin by the sect master himself.

The original intention was likely for Cao Zijin to comprehend this technique and condense a second Golden Core. Unexpectedly, Cao Zijin met an untimely demise, and the technique had fallen into his hands!

"So, this second Golden Core is not situated within the Qi Sea but resides within the soul itself…" he realized. "At its core, this is a secret technique to enhance the soul! Once the Soul Core is refined, the soul would quintuple in strength, far surpassing the effects of the Soul Refining Technique by manifold!"

Chu Xuan was overjoyed.

Seeing the conditions required to condense the Netherworld Soul Core only widened his smile. "One must condense the Netherworld Dao Base on a battlefield where over a million have perished. Then, using the souls of a hundred thousand living beings to condense the Netherworld Soul Core."

Neither of these were challenging to achieve. Blue Star was overrun with zombies. Just activating the ultrasonic feeder would draw swarms of zombies from all directions, making a hundred thousand living souls easily obtainable.

However, finding a battlefield where over a million had perished was more challenging on Blue Star, where battlefields typically harbored intense shades of resentment and the aura of strife.

Such malevolent energies, fermenting over time, would become increasingly formidable, not something that could be artificially created by merely gathering and killing a large number of zombies.

Nevertheless, if Blue Star proved lacking, the Mystic Azure Realm would certainly have what was needed.

The mortal realms of Yu, Yue, and Yan, all controlled by immortal sects, were perpetually at war. Mortals were not spared from these conflicts. Their emperors and generals, unable to cultivate immortality but desiring to leave a legacy or receive the sects' rewards to prolong life, would invariably seek to conquer vast territories.

War was inevitable. Chu Xuan was not worried about the intensity being insufficient. Once the conflict erupted, there would always be those lurking in the shadows, fanning the flames, making the war escalate.

Plenty were those who posed as righteous on the surface but followed the demonic path in secrecy. The larger the scale of the mortal wars, the more they stood to gain.

Chu Xuan made a mental note of this. He would instruct Huang An to keep an eye on these developments in secret. The condensation of the Netherworld Soul Core would thus be expedited. He planned to first condense the Netherworld Soul Core.

In doing so, his soul would be on par with a Golden Core cultivator, making him a pseudo-Golden Core cultivator in strength. With such power, finding the Thunder Python's demonic core would be much simpler.

Then, using the "Thunder Python Core Condensation Technique" to condense the Beast Golden Core would follow. …

The Heaven Burning Mountain Range.

This was where the gates of the Heaven Burning Sect stood.

Within the grand hall of the sect, where matters of great importance were deliberated, Luo Feiyong and Shang Yue knelt uneasily below.

The sect master, Zhao Dingyan, sat cross-legged on a cushion, his expression fluctuating between stormy and calm. He felt as if his heart was bleeding.

Cao Zijin was dead.

Huang Wuyang was dead.

All the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had attended the small auction were dead.

"What have you found?" Zhao Dingyan inhaled deeply, his voice grave.

Luo Feiyong respectfully reported, "Honorable Sect Master, many mortals near the Jade Tower in White Water City witnessed it. They heard intense fighting sounds from underground. After they approached, they saw a strong Buddhist light and heard lingering Buddhist chants."

Shang Yue added, "We both believe that it must have been that demon monk from Golden Dragon Temple who infiltrated the auction and cruelly slaughtered senior brother Huang, junior sister Cao, and the other eighteen."

Zhao Dingyan, consumed by rage, chuckled bitterly. "Excellent! A mere monk from Golden Dragon Temple dares to kill the prodigies of our Heaven Burning Sect and slay eighteen of our Foundation Establishment cultivators!

This enmity is irreconcilable! Issue my order immediately, summon all Golden Core elders of the sect to the grand hall! The Heaven Burning Sect shall revenge!"

Luo Feiyong and Shang Yue nodded respectfully, "Yes!" They then quickly withdrew.

...

Three days later.

Using the massacre of Cao Zijin and the eighteen Foundation Establishment cultivators by the monk from the Golden Dragon Temple as a pretext, the Heaven Burning Sect launched a sudden assault on the Golden Dragon Temple.

The sect's cultivators, previously stationed at the boundaries of the Mysterious Sound Palace and the Imperial Spirit Mountain, were all redeployed towards Golden Dragon Temple.

Understanding the principle that "the lips perish, the teeth grow cold," both the Mysterious Sound Palace and Imperial Spirit Mountain immediately entered the fray to alleviate the pressure on the Golden Dragon Temple.

The Divine Star Sect, long-time rivals of the Heaven Burning Sect, also joined the war, though their contribution of cultivators was minimal, almost as if they were merely going through the motions, seemingly waiting for something.