The three Dou Zong powerhouses landed one after another. The Heavenly Demon Puppet, under Chen Xiao's mental control, also flew back and was put into his Storage Ring with a raise of his hand.
Looking at the corpse of the Old Eagle Mountain Man, who was utterly dead and had completely perished, the Medusa Queen showed disdain.
Grand Elder Su Qian and Elder Cao Xi nodded slightly. The former sighed, "This Old Eagle Mountain Man's method of deceiving the heavens and crossing the sea is quite strange. If one isn't careful, they might really be fooled by him. I'm afraid he was preparing for this from the very beginning."
From the Old Eagle Mountain Man's perspective, facing four opponents in a head-on battle meant certain death.
Only by relying on this strange Soul Avatar might he have a slim chance of survival.
It was just a pity...
Leaving aside whether the Medusa Queen and the other two would be fooled, Chen Xiao, who had seen the script, was someone the Old Eagle Mountain Man would never have expected.
Under the gaze of the three, Chen Xiao reached out and absorbed the Storage Ring into his hand.
His consciousness seeped into it, and after a search, he quickly took out a dark gray scroll. On its side, there was a line of straightforward small text.
"Mid-Grade Earth Rank: Soul Shadow Avatar!"
Chen Xiao opened it and read it. The description on it was basically consistent with what he knew.
This was a secret technique. It condensed a false body with soul power. The more soul power injected, the more real the false body would be, and the stronger the power it could exert. At the same time, the main body would become weaker and weaker until the false body was retrieved, at which point it could quickly recover to its peak.
Of course, if the false body 'perished', the main body would also suffer a severe backlash and would need a lot of time to recover.
"It's a bit strange, but it doesn't seem that useful. It can barely be called a life-saving method. You guys can take a look too."
Chen Xiao shook his head and chuckled, handing it to the Medusa Queen beside him to examine.
In Chen Xiao's opinion, this kind of Soul Avatar was a bit like a chicken rib (something of little value).
Unless one was in a situation like the Old Eagle Mountain Man in the original trajectory, being targeted by a group of people, using the false body to distract the enemy while the real body secretly escaped. In that case, the effect of this Soul Avatar could be maximized.
However, there was a very subtle soul link between the real body and the false body. If there was a powerful soul perception expert among the enemies, they could follow the vine to find the main body by carefully sensing it.
In the original trajectory, Xiao Yan found the Old Eagle Mountain Man by relying on his soul perception.
The Medusa Queen and the other two took turns reading the scroll, while Chen Xiao continued to check the spoils of war.
Although the Old Eagle Mountain Man was a genuine Dou Zong powerhouse, his wealth was not comparable to Han Feng's.
Apart from the Life Returning Pill he had obtained in advance and this Soul Shadow Avatar, the most valuable items in the Storage Ring were two Earth Rank Dou Skills.
Low-Grade Earth Rank: "Dark Night Netherlight Curse".
Mid-Grade Earth Rank: "Dark Shadow Skill".
Both Dou Skills were relatively rare dark attribute ones.
Among them, the former was the Dou Skill cultivated by the Old Eagle Mountain Man, and the latter was obtained by the other party at yesterday's auction. Chen Xiao remembered very clearly that this "Dark Shadow Skill" was auctioned at a sky-high price of nearly ten million Gold Coins.
However, since Chen Xiao, Zi Yan, and the Little Fairy Doctor were not interested in it, they didn't pay much attention to it.
"Everyone can cultivate this Soul Shadow Avatar. Having more methods is not a bad thing. It's best if you don't need it, but if you do, it might have unexpected effects."
After the last Elder Cao Xi finished reading, he spoke.
Chen Xiao nodded slightly: "Fourth Elder, keep it for now. Cultivate it successfully first. When we return to Central State in the future, you can also teach it to the clan members. It's harmless. You can also look at the Old Eagle Mountain Man's Storage Ring again. If there's anything useful, keep it."
They were all his own people, so Chen Xiao was not stingy and handed the Storage Ring to them to choose from.
It was also beneficial to him if the strength of the people around him increased.
It was a pity that after the three of them looked at the Storage Ring, they couldn't help but shake their heads.
People with dark attributes were inherently rare. They couldn't use either of the two Dou Skills, and most of the other Dou Skills were also like this. The few that could be used were not enough to make them tempted.
Seeing the Storage Ring being handed back intact, Chen Xiao couldn't help but laugh.
This Old Eagle Mountain Man really had no face.
"Grand Elder, keep this "Netherlight Curse". Put it in the Academy's Library Pavilion. Perhaps there will be dark attribute students in the future."
After a moment of thought, Chen Xiao took out a Dou Skill and handed it to Grand Elder Su Qian.
Su Qian didn't pretend and nodded, taking it.
The predecessors planted the trees, and the descendants enjoyed the shade. The reason why Jia Nan Academy's foundation was rich was partly due to the elusive Dean and partly due to the gains of the Inner and Outer Academy Elders during their travels.
Over the years, this foundation was built.
This was the first dark attribute Dou Skill above Earth Rank, which also filled a small gap.
After dividing the spoils, Chen Xiao had no intention of staying here any longer. A burst of Dou Qi shot out, freezing the Old Eagle Mountain Man's corpse and putting it into a separate Storage Ring.
This was the body of a Dou Zong powerhouse, which might be useful later.
"It's time to go back. Zi Yan and... they should be finished too."
"I won't go to Purple Cloud City with you. I'll go back to the Inner Academy first. Next time you deal with the Demon Flame Valley, just call me, kid. Over the years, many students and mentors have been intercepted and killed by the Demon Flame Valley. This debt of gratitude must be settled!"
Mentioning this, a hint of killing intent flashed in Su Qian's eyes.
Unlike the Old Eagle Mountain Man and the Black Emperor Sect, he truly hated the Demon Flame Valley to the bone.
If it weren't for the Thousand-Hundred Elders not interfering, he would have wanted to uproot the Demon Flame Valley long ago.
Now that Chen Xiao was confronting the Demon Flame Valley, it was an opportunity to eradicate it.
"Alright, I will definitely notify the Grand Elder when the time comes."
"Farewell, fellow Daoist."
Chen Xiao and Cao Xi cupped their fists in farewell. Medusa Queen gave a slight nod as a greeting, but it seemed she had no immediate plans to return to the Inner Academy with them.
Feeling Chen Xiao's gaze, Medusa Queen's eyelashes trembled slightly. She turned her face away and said stiffly, "That girl Zi Yan has always been reckless. This Queen must personally confirm her safety before I can rest assured."
A smile curved Chen Xiao's lips, and his eyes twinkled with amusement. He nodded and said, "That makes sense!"
Without further words, seeing Grand Elder Su Qian disappear from sight first, the three of them also soared into the sky and headed towards Purple Cloud City.
It was still the three of them traveling together, but compared to when they came, it was just Grand Elder Su Qian being replaced by Fourth Elder Cao Xi. In other aspects, it was almost exactly the same.
Even the casual chat along the way was like this. Medusa Queen rarely interrupted, and most of the time it was Chen Xiao and Cao Xi talking.
When they met privately after coming out of seclusion, they talked about serious matters, unlike now, where they talked about whatever came to mind.
It was also during this journey that Chen Xiao learned why the Dan Family didn't come to the Northwest Continent last time.
"After Cao Ying and I went back, we specifically inquired about it. When Miss Qing Lin's notification was received, that precious treasure of the Dan Family was being taken out by the elders of the clan to seek an opportunity. Whether they succeeded or not is unclear, but anyway, after we went back this time, those old guys from the Dan Family looked at us with red eyes."
Cao Xi said with a gloating smile.
It was truly rare to see such an expression on his usually serious face.
Chen Xiao was speechless, but he didn't pay too much attention to it.
He had Xun Er and Qing Lin notify the Cao Family and the Dan Family at the same time precisely to make these two families compete, thereby gaining greater benefits.
Now, the conditions offered by the Cao Family were already very satisfactory to him, and there was no need to ask for too much.
"Oh, there's one more thing I need to tell you. After returning to Central State, we immediately investigated according to the information you gave Cao Ying. We did indeed find traces of the Profound Yellow Flame. By the time I go back this time, Cao Ying is probably already successful."
Hearing this, Chen Xiao nodded slightly.
When they parted last time, he had given Cao Ying a piece of paper with information about the Profound Yellow Flame, which was at the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Ranking.
This Heavenly Flame needed to be collected from the Sunset Abyss in the southeastern part of Central State. Chen Xiao had never even heard of this place name.
Furthermore, the Profound Yellow Flame's ranking was too low, and its value was not high. Chen Xiao had no desire for it, so he gave it to Cao Ying as a favor, also to help her gather three types of Heavenly Flames as soon as possible.
Looking at it now, the Cao Family's speed was indeed very fast.
As long as Cao Ying refined and devoured the Profound Yellow Flame as well, the materials for Little Fairy Doctor to condense the Poison Pill would only be a seventh-tier Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast Magic Core left. This was good news.
"Has she encountered any problems after cultivating that Dou Skill for so long?"
"It's not obvious yet, but Cao Ying has mentioned a few times that she occasionally feels chest tightness and poor blood circulation."
Chen Xiao nodded and silently kept this matter in mind.
Cao Ying's current strength was not very strong, and the impact seemed minimal, but as her strength increased, this problem would also need to be resolved.
Before, it was purely to help Little Fairy Doctor condense the Poison Pill. Now, it was because Cao Ying was also considered one of his own, and these hidden dangers had to be eliminated.
"After I finish dealing with the Black-Corner Region, I will help her get the complete Dou Skill."
The unevolved Burning Art was only Low-Grade Earth Rank. As long as the Earth Demon Old Ghost was dealt with, Chen Xiao could pre-borrow it at any time.
"There's no need to be too anxious. Although the Clan Leader and the others haven't met you in person, they have absolute trust in you, even that..."
"After arriving in Central State, I will definitely visit in person."
Before Cao Xi could finish speaking, Chen Xiao quickly interrupted, causing Medusa Queen, who was openly eavesdropping with her ears perked up, to look over with a suspicious expression.
She was even more certain that there were some secrets between Chen Xiao and this Cao Family that she didn't know!
A misty confusion lingered in her heart, and Medusa Queen subconsciously furrowed her brows, but with her personality, she wouldn't necessarily dig to the bottom of it for now.
Compared to breaking the pot and asking to the end, she preferred to find out the truth herself.
Amidst the laughter and conversation along the way, the night gradually faded, and the sky gradually turned a fish-belly white. When the morning glow filled the sky and the fiery red sun slowly rose, the familiar outline of Purple Cloud City finally came into their view.
From a distance, the three of them could sense several familiar energy fluctuations surging within the city.
As expected, Little Fairy Doctor, Zi Yan, and Hai Bo Dong were incredibly efficient. They had completed their tasks early and had already returned first.
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