Chapter 550: Chapter 548: Not the Act of a Righteous Path Cultivator_1

In the dark forest, towering ancient trees were everywhere, and various strange sounds echoed all around.

Lu Xuan stood quietly next to a massive spirit wood with a diameter of more than half a meter, while a hollow bone ball hovered in front of him.

Suddenly, the bone ball morphed into a bone shield in an instant, blocking a thick black snake that tried to launch a surprise attack from behind the spirit wood with a loud bang.

Just as the third-grade demon snake tried to escape, the bone shield transformed again into a bone network, wrapping the demon snake tighter and tighter until it gasped for its last breath.

“The freshest self-service, eat more.”

Lu Xuan smiled at the pale red meatball at his feet, while he produced an eerie lantern in his hand as the Spirit of Flesh absorbed the blood fog formed from the flesh and blood of the demon snake.

In the lantern, a piece of pale wax seemed to sense something, causing the numerous tentacle-like tassels below to sway slightly.

Lu Xuan infused a trace of spiritual power, and the pale flame on the candle burned brighter. The soul of the recently dead demon snake gradually took shape in the air, seeming like it could dissipate at any moment.

“I’ll find a place for you, a dwelling for your Yin soul. In return, it’s not too much to ask that you serve as nourishment for my underworld spiritual plant when I need you, right?”

Lu Xuan said calmly, as he watched the fourth-grade Soul Lantern Artifact capture the demon snake’s Yin soul and incorporate it into the countless resentful spirits beneath the lamp.

“The advantage of acting alone is that I can absorb the souls of dead demon beasts and refrain from wasting them.”

“Although the process isn’t really in line with the image of a righteous path cultivator, as a Spirit Plant Master, fully utilizing every bit of resources to cultivate spiritual plants couldn’t be wrong, could it?”

“At least I’m not using them to craft evil poison spirit tools, cultivate techniques, or harm other cultivators.”

Lu Xuan thought shamelessly.

He had been in this area for half a month already. During this period, he had hunted many metamorphosis demon beasts and demon envoys, causing the Spirit of Flesh to become completely round.

With the help of the Void Nightmare Eye to observe his surroundings whenever a cultivator approached him, he would conceal his activities and intentionally steer clear, hence he hadn’t encountered any other cultivators so far.

With no fear of people discovering the existence of the Spirit of Flesh, the Soul Lantern, the White Bone Demon Puppet, and other strange beings, he hadn’t made a special effort to hide his aura or change his appearance.

Once the pale red meatball had its fill, Lu Xuan continued to patrol this area.

“Huh? That person looks like a fellow disciple.”

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, looking at the protruding grey pupil in his hand.

Through the view shared by the Void Nightmare Eye gliding high in the sky, he saw two cultivators, one of whom was quite familiar, someone he had met before.

Some time ago, many spirit beasts in the Ten Thousand Beast Cave Blessed Land were contaminated by an attack of a strange insect called the Mind-Confusing Viper Bug. True Man Cang Wu invited Lu Xuan to investigate. During that time, he met a senior brother Chen Luo who was at the Perfect Foundation Establishment stage and was skilled at taming beasts.

He hadn’t seen the other person accompanying Chen Luo before.

The two of them looked around as if they were searching for something.

“Should I go and say hello?”

Lu Xuan hesitated.

It’s rare to meet a fellow disciple, moreover a senior brother. If he deliberately avoided him, it would be impolite.

However, he had a minor disagreement with Senior Brother Chen Luo before. After solving the problem of the Mind-Confusing Viper Bug invasion, Chen Luo had asked him for a fictitious ancient book about unusual insects, which Lu Xuan politely declined.

“Junior brother Lu, what a coincidence, to meet you here.”

As he was hesitating, Chen Luo’s voice rang out in his ear.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Lu Xuan, his face marked by a touch of joy.

“Senior Brother Chen, this certainly is a surprise, meeting you in such a remote place.”

Lu Xuan looked at the senior brother with a cold demeanor in front of him, a smile curling up at the corner of his mouth.

He quietly clenched his fist, covering the grey pupil, but kept his guard up internally.

The cultivator who was with Chen Luo was nowhere to be seen!

“I had some business in Black Star City and was heading back to Black Demon Abyss. I didn’t expect to run into you here, Junior Brother Lu.”

Chen Luo explained with a smile.

“My cultivation level is mediocre. I dare not enter the Black Demon Abyss, so I can only hunt ordinary demon beasts and demon envoys here.”

“Senior Brother, did you go to the Black Demon Abyss alone? I wish I had your strength.”

Lu Xuan asked casually probing him further.

“Yes, I did go there alone.”

Chen Luo responded simply.

He looked at Lu Xuan, the smile on his gloomy face deepening, and changed the subject abruptly.

“Junior Brother Lu, you mentioned last time that you have an ancient book that records information about all kinds of strange worms and beasts. Could you let me have a look?”

He slowly approached Lu Xuan.

“I remember telling you before, Senior Brother, I borrowed that ancient book from a friend. I returned it to him many years ago.”

“Please don’t press me, Senior Brother.”

Lu Xuan replied calmly.

“With the strength of your Divine Soul, Junior Brother, it shouldn’t be a problem to recite the book word for word even after all these years, right?”

“Otherwise, Soul Searching is not a mere plaything.”

Chen Luo’s expression was dark and sinister as he slowly drew a deep black long sword.

“Senior Brother, what are you implying? Don’t you know how grave a crime it is to kill someone from the same Sect?”

Lu Xuan responded solemnly.

“As long as no one from the Sect sees us, who could suspect me?”

“It seems as if you were well prepared, Senior Brother.”

A thought flashed through Lu Xuan’s mind. At a recent gathering of fellow Sect members, a Junior Brother told him that someone was inquiring about him. He figured that it must be the one before him.

“Don’t think about buying time, Junior Brother. I have informants everywhere here. You, with your Foundation Establishment Mid-term cultivation base, are no match for me.”

“Be honest and tell me about the content of the ancient book. I can offer you a dignified end. Otherwise, you will have to suffer the torment of Soul Searching, and that is not a pleasant feeling.”

Chen Luo was full of confidence.

Last time, when they had a problem with a spirit beast, Lu Xuan easily discovered the Mind-Confusing Viper Bug and proposed a solution. This sparked a strong desire in Chen Luo, who was fascinated by strange beasts and bugs, to obtain that ancient book from Lu Xuan.

After being tactfully refused by Lu Xuan, he harbored the intention to kill for treasure. Upon investigating Lu Xuan’s cultivation base and strength, this intention grew even stronger.

As far as he knew, Lu Xuan was only at the Foundation Establishment Mid-term level and stayed most of the time in the Sect, rarely exploring Secret Lands for opportunities. His cultivation base relied mainly on elixir supplementation. The only noteworthy thing about him was his perfectly proficient skill in cultivating spiritual plants.

But how extraordinary can a Spirit Plant Master be?

With this in mind, when Lu Xuan left the Sect, he intentionally inquired about his whereabouts. Learning that Lu Xuan was heading to Black Star City, he decided to follow him.

In his mind, obtaining the ancient book was practically guaranteed. The question was merely how.

“Ah…”

Lu Xuan sighed.

“To hurt your fellow Sect member for a treasure, to the extent of using such an evil technique as Soul Searching… Senior Brother Chen, that’s not what a Righteous Path Cultivator should do.”

He shook his head, his eyes filled with disdain as he looked at the gloomy cultivator.