“Watch out!”

A strand of sword qi suddenly appeared, piercing through the void and heading toward Lil Fox.

That was a very powerful sword qi attack, equivalent to the level of a Heavenly Immortal.

Although Lil Fox was quite strong, she still could not fend off such an attack. Adding to the fact that she was caught off guard by the sneak attack, she would likely be critically injured.

“Hmph.”

A light grunt sounded.

A white figure suddenly appeared in front of Lil Fox.

It was Chu Kuangren.

He casually raised his hand and shattered the incoming sword qi attack as he looked coldly toward the depths of the swamp.

“Show yourself!” Chu Kuangren bellowed and waved his sleeves.

The burst of sword qi he released was akin to a violent storm. It instantly dispersed the fog surrounding the area and revealed a few figures standing in the swamp.

They were all dressed in black, with a dark-red mark that looked like an Equinox Flower¹ on their foreheads.

“We, of the Equinox Tribe, are taking the Seven-Beaded White Lotus, so I suggest you hand it over peacefully,” the one leading them said out loud.

Upon hearing that, Chu Kuangren pondered a while.

‘The Equinox Tribe, huh?’

He had heard of the tribe before. The Equinox Tribe was one of the tribes from the ancient Immortal times. Their strength and background were on par with even the Three Clarity Daoist Sect.

Some of the elites from that tribe had even become Embodiers in the past.

The most interesting was that the people of the tribe were said to be somehow related to the Underworld because their tribe founder was once one of the great ones from the Underworld.

All that information appeared in Chu Kuangren’s mind, but he ignored it. At that point, he only wished to kill them.

“I don’t care which tribe you’re from since you’re going to die anyway!”

Without another word, a green light seemed to flash across his eyes. Then, he made a sword hand sign and activated his Sword-like Heavenly Intent, unleashing a burst of sword qi across the air.

“What?!” The members of the Equinox Tribe could not help but tremble in horror at that sword qi attack.

There was no way they could defend against that sword qi!

They had provoked someone that they should not have provoked!

Boom, boom, boom!

Several bundles of blood mist exploded in the air.

All the Equinox Tribe members were killed on the spot, with no survivors remaining!

However, the moment their blood splashed onto the ground, several dark-red colored Equinox Flowers started sprouting from it.

Chu Kuangren glanced at the scene and then looked away. Rumor had it that the Equinox Tribe members would turn into Equinox Flowers upon their death, and it was true.

‘What a peculiar tribe of people…’ Chu Kuangren thought.

However, he did not think too much about it.

“Let’s go,” he said to Lil Fox and the others.

By then, Lil Fox had already obtained the Seven-Beaded White Lotus.

After they left, many cultivators arrived and looked at them in amazement as they left.

“Who the hell is that guy? He’s so powerful. I can’t believe a single sword attack from him killed all those Equinox Tribe members.”

“That’s right. His sword qi is incredibly lethal.”

“Dressed in white, with an ancient sword and scroll at his waist, followed by a silver-haired woman and a Godly Phoenix… I know who he is now. He’s the Hundred Academy’s Chief, who’s been quite famous recently. Apparently, he even defeated Lil Zhurong…”

Someone soon figured out Chu Kuangren’s identity.

In the Battle of Heavenly Champions, many sky-prides had made a name for themselves.

Having obtained Fengdu City’s inheritance and having become its Ghost Emperor, Chu Kuangren had quite some reputation. Hence, it was no surprise that many people could recognize him.

“I never thought the Ghost Emperor would also be attracted by the Great Dreamfog Marsh.”

“I heard that the disciple of Yincao City’s Chakra Tribe has also shown up here. I wonder whether that’s true.”

“Tsk tsk. None of them should be taken lightly.”

At that moment, another group of people arrived.

The one leading them was a young man in red robes, and all of them had the mark of the Equinox Flower on their foreheads.

They, too, were members of the Equinox Tribe.

When they saw the Equinox Flowers on the ground, the young man in red immediately became enraged. “Who was it? Who killed the members of my tribe?”

His gaze swept across the surroundings, filling the atmosphere with a cold and deadly aura.

Anyone who met his gaze immediately shuddered uncontrollably, and they all looked at the young man in red robes with fear.

Whoosh…

The red-robed young man disappeared in a flash and arrived before one of the cultivators, whom he glared at. “Speak. Who killed the members of my tribe?”

“I-I don’t know.”

That cultivator did not wish to meddle in the matter.

However, the moment he said that, a blood-colored light radiated from the red-robed young man’s body and engulfed that cultivator.

Following a bang, a mist of blood exploded in the air!

After killing one person, the young man in red robes went and grabbed another cultivator, asking him the same thing coldly, “Who? Who killed my tribe’s people?”

“I-It’s the Hundred Academy’s Chief,” that cultivator answered with his voice trembling.

“Hundred Academy’s Chief… The Hundred Academy’s Chief, huh? I’ll remember that name. You shall pay dearly for killing the people of my tribe!” the young man in red robes said coldly.

Following that, he ventured forth into the depths of the swamp with his men.

The remaining cultivators breathed a sigh of relief.

“What a terrifying aura of death. That guy must be the Equinox Tribe’s Heavenly Champion. I’m assuming he’s already a top-notched Earthen Immortal.”

“I wonder if he’ll be a match for the Hundred Academy’s Chief.”

In the depths of the great swamp, Chu Kuangren continued searching for the Emperor Seal by following the faint reaction inside him.

Suddenly, a cold aura appeared before him.

That was when he saw dozens of dead souls coming toward him in groups from a distance.

“Oh, these are dead souls.”

“It looks like we’re getting close to my destination,” Chu Kuangren mumbled.

With a wave of his sleeves, a grey vortex suddenly appeared in the void, and a chilling surge of death qi emerged from it.

That was Hell’s Gate!

As the Fengdu City’s Ghost Emperor who possessed the Heavenly Samsara Physique and the Emperor Seal, Chu Kuangren could open the Gates of Hell whenever he wished. By doing so, he could travel back and forth from the Underworld, as well as guide the dead souls into Fengdu Underworld City.

In the void, the Gate of Hell that was the grey vortex soon emitted a surge of suction force to drag all of the dead souls into it.

After that, Chu Kuangren and the others continued their journey.

Meanwhile, sounds of a fierce battle rang out from afar.

He mobilized his Immortal Consciousness, only to see a group of cultivators fighting over an Immortal Herb in the distance. Chu Kuangren was no stranger to that Immortal Herb.

After all, that was the Nine-leaf Soul Herb he used previously!

“I can’t believe such a great herb has sprouted in this great swamp. How surprising,” Chu Kuangren mumbled.

He had consumed the Nine-leaf Soul Herb once before. Its effects were so powerful that his soul’s power was immediately raised to a peak True Consciousness level.

It even allowed his soul to attain a trace of the Gilded Trait.

If he could consume one more of that herb, on top of the recently upgraded Eighteen-Cycle Trinity Soul Refinement, the Gilded Soul Traits would surely improve a lot.

He got a little excited thinking about it.

“Roar…”

At that time, a long roar sounded from the battle in the distance.

Before Chu Kuangren could join the battle, a giant beast had already rushed into the scene. It was a giant snake with nine heads.

“Oh, it’s the Nine-Headed Snakelet Tribe’s Heavenly Champion,” Chu Kuangren murmured.

On the battlefield, Jiu Yuan, the Nine-Headed Snakelet Tribe’s Heavenly Champion had joined the battle. As Daoist patterns and Immortal Sparks swirled all over his body, Jiu Yuan unleashed a terrifying burst of water and fire energy everywhere.

Many cultivators were sent flying by his water and fire energy.

“This Nine-leaf Soul Herb is mine. Do you lowly humans dare fight against me? Hmph. Now get out of my sight!”

Jiu Yuan’s gigantic body immediately charged toward the Nine-leaf Soul Herb. There was a greedy look in his eyes.

Although he did not specialize in cultivating Soul Dao, if the herb could increase the strength of his soul, he could still benefit from it.

Just as he was about to get the Nine-leaf Soul Herb, a white figure suddenly appeared beside it.

However, he did not care.

That figure was too tiny compared to him.

“Out of my way, annoying human! Now die!”