In Dugu Yun's eyes,

For someone at the peak of Qi Refining Ninth Layer to dare sneak into the Dugu Family and spy—he had to be captured and beaten to death!

"Old bastard, let's see if you dare not take the bait!"

Lin Chang'sheng sneered inwardly. His displayed cultivation was only at the peak of Qi Refining Ninth Layer; with Wind and Thunder Movement, he took off toward a forest several miles outside the Dugu estate.

Not long after,

Lin Chang'sheng drew near the woods and slipped inside.

Within this forest, he'd already set up a Foundation Establishment Copper Corpse and the Tiger Killing Death Array.

"You're not getting away!"

Dugu Yun roared and chased into the grove.

The next instant, he sensed his surroundings shift and found himself in a wild mountain forest!

"Awoo!"

"Awoo!"

On all sides, savage tigers lunged at him; every tiger's forehead bore the 'King' character!

"Formation array?"

Dugu Yun instantly understood, flicked his spirit sword out, and slashed all around!

For a formation set by a mere Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator, he didn't bother taking it seriously.

Yet to his surprise, although these tigers were all unranked and posed no threat to him as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the shifting array trapped him deeply within—he couldn't break free at that moment!

"Ha~~"

Suddenly, a shrill scream erupted nearby, as an iron fist thundered toward him. Dugu Yun's heart lurched; he wielded his spirit sword and struck!

Boom!

With a loud crash, Dugu Yun felt his sword rebound violently as if hitting hardened hide!

"Foundation Establishment Corpse Puppet!"

Staring at the puppet before him, Dugu Yun's heart sank—a bad feeling hit him. The other party had a Foundation Establishment Corpse Puppet and array waiting. Clearly, this was a long-crafted plot against the Dugu Family!

At that moment,

The corpse puppet wrapped around him relentlessly. Dugu Yun blasted it again and again with his spirit sword; the shockwaves sent dirt flying, and trees were shredded into dust!

While Dugu Yun was busy battling the corpse puppet,

He was suddenly struck by a monstrous sense of danger, instantly retreating several yards, only to be sliced by an invisible attack!

Pain lanced through his abdomen. Looking down, he saw a thin red line on his belly—

Blood burst out!

A wild force slammed into him; he was hurled backward five yards, smashing through several trees!

"Foundation Establishment!"

Shock overwhelmed Dugu Yun!

He hadn't expected that the person he was chasing wasn't just peak Qi Refining Ninth Layer, but a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

There was the formation, the Foundation Establishment corpse puppet, and a sneak attack from the shadows!

"I've got no grudge with you—why target my Dugu Family?!"

Furious, Dugu Yun shouted, pressing his fingers to his belly to staunch the blood, retreating fast—but still trapped in the formation! The Foundation Establishment Corpse Puppet's iron fist crashed in, and he had to watch out for that invisible blade. For a moment, ice gripped his heart.

"No grudge?"

"If your Dugu Family hadn't provoked me, would I bother with you? Die!"

A cold, vicious voice rang out.

Dugu Yun instinctively dodged left, but the Foundation Establishment Corpse Puppet blocked his way. He hurled his spirit sword to strike, but felt a sharp pain in his left rib. Another wild force slammed into him, sending him flying five yards, hitting the ground hard.

His spirit sword clattered away!

"Puh!"

Dugu Yun spat blood, feeling his magical power draining, collapsing onto the ground!

Proud Foundation Establishment First Layer cultivator, defeated in a trap—what a humiliating end!

A figure slowly appeared five yards away—the same silhouette he'd chased earlier.

But now, his aura wasn't that of Qi Refining Ninth Layer peak—instead, the power of Foundation Establishment radiated from him!

"You!......Foundation Establishment........!"

Dugu Yun stared at Lin Chang'sheng, resentment burning in his eyes. He collapsed, head lolling, dying with eyes wide open.

"Hmph!"

Lin Chang'sheng worked his corpse puppet, snatched Dugu Yun's storage bag, and drew out the Myriad Souls Banner, capturing Dugu Yun's soul. A Foundation Establishment soul—perfect to use as the main soul for the Myriad Souls Banner!

It couldn't be wasted, after all.

The more powerful souls refined into it,

When the Myriad Souls Banner reaches Great Success, its might will be considerable!

Sweeping his divine sense through the loot, Lin Chang'sheng frowned. "What kind of Foundation Establishment is this? So damn broke?"

Lin Chang'sheng found only a little over 500 spirit stones in Dugu Yun's storage bag—but he did get a Foundation Establishment cultivation technique, the Cyan Wood Essence Locking Technique, a heap of materials, some Essence Pills, and a bottle of Yuan Condensing Technique.

Lin Chang'sheng felt that, for a cultivator at this level, he sure wasn't wealthy.

However.

Lin Chang'sheng found a weird, one-foot-tall black jar with no lid inside the storage bag—nothing inside, pitch dark. Oddly, his divine sense couldn't find a bottom, no matter how deep it probed!

This strange jar was carefully kept in a box by Dugu Yun.

"This is weird. I'll set it aside for now and finish off the Dugu Family first."

Lin Chang'sheng's gaze flashed as he mused.

When cutting grass, you must pull the roots.

He swept away the array and Dugu Yun's body—prime material for refining a Copper Corpse. Later, he could fuse them—how satisfying!

Wouldn't want to waste it.

Half a quarter hour later, Lin Chang'sheng returned, finding Dugu Ning standing outside the Great Hall of the clan, looking calm and collected, full of confidence in the family's ancestor's strength.

"You......"

"Ancestor......."

Spotting Lin Chang'sheng, Dugu Ning's eyes widened in panic as he stumbled backward.

He remembered—the ancestor had just chased this black-clad intruder. Now, the black-robed man had come back, but the ancestor wasn't here. Didn't that mean.....

"Your ancestor is dead. Take me to the Dugu Family's resources. I'll make it quick for you!"

Lin Chang'sheng gazed coolly at Dugu Ning.

"Ah.......no!"

Dugu Ning collapsed to the ground, eyes filling with disbelief and despair.

The Foundation Establishment ancestor slain—Celestial Lake City's number one cultivation clan...done for.

At that moment,

Three sword-lights tore across the sky toward the east, followed by several more chasing after.

"So many Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

Watching all those Foundation Establishment cultivators soar eastward, Lin Chang'sheng frowned in puzzlement.

.......

Celestial Lake City.

Fifty miles away.

In a hastily-dug cave, Lin Chang'sheng sat cross-legged.

The cave was five yards wide and split into two sections. Xiaobai was let out by Lin Chang'sheng, munching on a pear in the corner. Lately, it had spent so much time stuffed in the Spirit Beast Bag it was nearly stifled—its gaze at Lin Chang'sheng was full of grievance.

Lin Chang'sheng pulled out his own Foundation Establishment Copper Corpse.

The Copper Corpse of the Corpse King Sect's Foundation Establishment, the meat body of a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Corpse King Sect, Dugu Yun's corpse, plus a shattered skull-shaped spiritual artifact.

Lin Chang'sheng placed the Corpse King Sect's Copper Corpse in formation with Corpse Refining Technique, mending it. He punched in spell seals, repairing all the burn damage from Consort Ling's Fireball Technique—now it was a deep brown.

Its broken arm was also rebuilt with Corpse Refining Technique—now it looked uninjured!

Then, with Puppet Refining Technique, he gained control, making it identical to the previous Level 1 Copper Corpse!

[Detected: Two Foundation Establishment Level 1 Copper Corpses. Consume 400 spirit stones to fuse them into one Foundation Establishment Level 2 Copper Corpse?]

At that moment, a red prompt popped up on Lin Chang'sheng's panel.

"Huh? Fusion possible!"

Seeing the prompt, Lin Chang'sheng immediately clicked confirm.

At the same time,

The two Copper Corpses in front of Lin Chang'sheng shimmered—then flashed white and fused together in an instant!

[Two Foundation Establishment Level 1 Copper Corpses fusing... Fusion success, obtained one Foundation Establishment Level 2 Copper Corpse!]

Within less than a hundred breaths after Lin Chang'sheng hit confirm, a red prompt popped up on his panel.

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