Dao of The Demonic Cultivator

After drinking two cups of tea, a figure ascended the staircase and entered the private room on the third floor where Chu Xuan was seated. Chu Xuan looked up to see a young cultivator dressed in white.

This cultivator's disguise technique was not particularly sophisticated. While it might suffice for other Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, Chu Xuan had spent years mastering the art of disguise to evade the relentless pursuits of orthodox cultivators. He had reached a level of mastery where unless a Golden Core master appeared, his true identity remained undetectable. But this young cultivator in front of him…

Chu Xuan saw right through him.

The young man's true face appeared quite youthful. To have reached the Foundation Establishment stage at such an age suggested notable talent. Yet, he was sent to Wu Province as part of the first wave of cultivators to assault the native sects—a victim of factional struggles within his sect.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist. My name is Song Feng. May I ask how to address you?" The young cultivator asked with a smile.

Chu Xuan casually responded, "He Liang." After all, they were both using pseudonyms. Any name would do.

Song Feng smiled and asked, "What do you have for sale, fellow Daoist? What do you need?"

Chu Xuan casually flicked a large blood bead towards him. Song Feng caught it and examined it closely, his expression turning to surprise. The blood bead was of exceptional quality, perfectly round and smooth. A faint, sweet scent of blood emanated from it—a rare find indeed.

"This kind of large blood bead, I'll take as many as you have," Song Feng said with a smile.

Chu Xuan nonchalantly replied, "Don't rush. What I need might not be something you can provide."

Song Feng laughed, "You underestimate me, fellow Daoist. Please, go ahead."

Chu Xuan named three specific arrays, "The Yin Evil Soul Refining Array, the Polluted Blood Nurturing Evil Array, and the Returning Soul Blood Evil Array. Do you have any of these?"

These three arrays were superior to the Yin Evil Soul-Snatching Array that Chu Xuan currently used. The latter two were even considered top-tier arrays for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, extending their coverage at least ten times compared to the Yin Evil Soul-Snatching Array.

Hearing the names of these arrays, Song Feng's expression shifted subtly. He indeed did not have access to them.

The arrays Chu Xuan mentioned are all top-grade demonic arrays, everything within the range of these arrays would be killed to nurture the Yin Evil Qi. Given that the orthodox sects were vigorously clamping down on actions harming mortals, such demonic arrays were also being confiscated.

The Heavenly Seal Sect didn't gain much from the recent conflicts and thus had few demonic arrays confiscated.

Song Feng admitted with an embarrassed smile. "Fellow Daoist, I don't have such grand arrays, but I do have a high-quality corpse puppet I've cultivated for many years, now at the ninth level..."

Chu Xuan interrupted with a wave of his hand, "No? Then let's not discuss further." His interest was solely in the arrays.

Song Feng persisted, "Fellow Daoist, I have three superior-grade magic tools I can sell at a discount. I just want large blood beads!"

Chu Xuan shook his head again, "I only want the arrays."

As Song Feng was about to speak further, footsteps approached the stairs. A burly cultivator appeared, overhearing the conversation, and interjected with a grin, "Arrays? I have them!"

Chu Xuan nodded to him, signaling him to sit, "May I see them?"

"Of course!" The burly cultivator glanced at Song Feng, "Fellow Daoist Song, the gentleman isn't interested in anything else. You can leave; this deal is mine now."

Song Feng sighed softly, gave Chu Xuan a few more looks, and then turned to leave.

Chu Xuan chuckled, "How shall I address you?"

The burly cultivator sat down in front of Chu Xuan, grabbing some pastries and stuffing them into his mouth, "Names are all made-up anyway, call me whatever you want. Hmm, just call me Old Han."

Chu Xuan smiled. This man was straightforward and interesting.

Old Han pulled out a set of array discs from his storage bag, "Here, the Nurturing Evil Array, take a look."

Chu Xuan glanced at it and frowned, "This Nurturing Evil Array is only mid-tier for the Foundation Establishment stage; I don't need it."

With a resigned smile, the Han-named cultivator said, "Fellow Daoist, the grand formations you specifically requested have long since vanished. I suspect that even the remnants of the Infinite Sect may not possess such grand formations. This Nurturing Evil Array is quite sufficient, and I will include a tome of array secrets as a bonus. If you have some talent for formations, you might be able to combine this Nurturing Array with other grand formations, perhaps meeting your requirements."

Saying this, the cultivator pushed forward a thin booklet. The cover bore five words: "Illustrated Guide to Demonic Arrays."

Chu Xuan briefly perused it. He found it contained numerous arrays for the Foundation Establishment stage and Qi Refining stage—all categorized as demonic methods. Clearly, it was the work of some master of arrays who favored studying unconventional paths.

"It will suffice. Name your price."

Chu Xuan nodded, flicking a large blood pearl toward him.

The Han-named cultivator turned it over in his hands repeatedly, marveling, "Well, well, such a quality blood pearl... How many cities did you slaughter? Strange, I've heard no recent news of any mortal cities being ravaged."

Chu Xuan did not respond, merely sipping his tea. The robust cultivator clearly sought to probe him, but naturally, he would reveal nothing.

Seeing his probing yielded no fruit, the robust cultivator was not angered. He chuckled lightly. "If they are all of this quality, I can offer a higher price—fifty small spiritual stones for each large blood pearl. My Nurturing Evil Array, along with the Illustrated Guide to Demonic Arrays, roughly amounts to five hundred small spiritual stones. Just give me ten large blood pearls."

Chu Xuan nodded. The usual rate for a large blood pearl was forty small spiritual stones each.

However, with the dissolution of the Infinite Sect, the difficulty of crafting large blood pearls had sharply increased, naturally driving up their price. To his surprise, they had now reached fifty small spiritual stones each.

"Here you go."

Chu Xuan flicked ten large blood pearls towards him.

The burly cultivator, with a mischievous laugh, caught them and said, "Good, remember to look me up if you have more such deals. I have plenty more items here—corpse puppets, Gu insects, blood techniques, sinister pills, demonic talismans..."

Chu Xuan's interest was piqued. "Do you have any second-transformation Gu?"

The burly cultivator blinked, "Second transformation Gu? Those are rare. But I know someone who has bred many Gu insects, including some second-transformation ones. I could connect you."

Chu Xuan nodded. "Okay."

After speaking, he tossed a few more blood pearls, "There will be a generous reward once the matter is settled."

The cultivator laughed. "Straightforward! I like your style! However, that person hasn't arrived in Wu Province yet. When he does, I'll contact you."

Chu Xuan nodded, leaving behind a mother-child stone. "When the time comes, crush this jade, and I will be informed."

The mother-child stone is comprised of a mother and child stone. Should the child stone be shattered, the mother stone will also show cracks, no matter the distance.

He should have left a sound-transmitting jade. But he couldn't stay in the cave waiting indefinitely. If he were to cultivate on the zombie planet, the sound-transmitting jade would not serve its purpose.

Thus, he left the mother-child stone.

"Alright," the cultivator named Old Han nodded, watching Chu Xuan depart.

Standing on the third floor, he looked through the window at Chu Xuan's retreating figure, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Such stable Spiritual Qi and his disguise technique shows no flaws, unlike that Song Feng, who was seen through at a glance... this man could produce ten large blood pearls in one go; clearly, he has more hidden away. Wonder where he got these large blood pearls from... forget it, better not to act rashly given his unknown strength. Who knows what else he has up his sleeve?"

The cultivator shook his head, cautiously withdrawing his gaze.