Chapter 167: A New Mission

Since the day the Zhang family launched their first successful counterattack and completely turned the tide of battle, the opposing Dongfang family had been quiet for a period. This fortunately bought some breathing room and a chance to regroup for the Zhang family of Qingshan Town, who were utterly exhausted from a series of grueling battles.

While recovering his vitality, Xu Xuan also took the time to sort through his spoils of war.

The two Spirit Refining cultivators he had slain last time were at the third and fourth levels of the realm respectively, yielding a rich harvest.

Aside from over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, there were also several spirit weapons. Ordinary spirit weapons, jade slips, and cultivation manuals were of little use to Xu Xuan, who was a body refiner.

Fan Jiugu was a female immortal cultivator, and Xu Xuan decided to keep her spirit weapons, considering them as potential gifts for Huilan and Yu Qin.

The only items universally useful were spiritual elixirs and materials, which Xu Xuan stored away without the slightest hesitation.

However, inside the storage pouch of the scrawny demonic cultivator, he discovered a black silk net blanket, which was actually a flying magical artifact at the spirit weapon level.

Xu Xuan used his natal flame to incinerate and erase the spiritual imprint within it, then drove it with his primordial force. Soon, a layer of red patterns surfaced on the surface of the flying blanket, and a dark, chilly wind stirred around it. Sitting on it was quite comfortable, and more importantly, it was four to five parts faster than Xu Xuan's original flying artifact. After all, as a flying spirit weapon, its value was more than ten times higher than an ordinary flying artifact.

After refining this black silk blanket, Xu Xuan was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only could it be used for flight, but it could also transform into a net to bind enemies.

*Whoosh!*

With a thought of his divine sense, the black silk blanket fluttered loudly in mid-air, expanding rapidly as it met the wind, suddenly stretching and widening. It flashed with a layer of dark red silk net, descending from the sky like a spider's web. The web also contained a sticky property, making it extremely difficult for any trapped object to escape.

Xu Xuan even experimented by applying a small amount of flame to it, and a trace of eerie, dark red flame tips instantly seeped out from the black silk blanket. The aura was astonishing, making it an excellent method for trapping and destroying enemies.

"The marvelous uses of magic treasures are indeed extraordinary. However, I am a body refiner, and my physical body is my foundation. I cannot rely too much on magic treasures. Moreover, truly suitable magic treasures are mostly of the auxiliary divine ability type, or those legendary heavy-duty magic treasures."

Xu Xuan had a very clear direction for himself. Up until now, he had never used offensive or defensive magic treasures.

At a certain moment, inside the scrawny demonic cultivator's storage pouch, Xu Xuan found two black beads wreathed in gloomy Qi.

When he first picked up these black beads, Xu Xuan instantly felt a chilling, bone-piercing coldness that made his entire body feel deeply uncomfortable.

Upon recognizing the origin of these beads, cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

It turned out that these beads were a vicious and sinister kind of "Yin Thunder Bead" from the demonic path. Their power was unimaginably immense, but the conditions for refining them were extremely harsh. The forging of such beads required the collection of Yin demonic Qi and rare Yin lightning. Yin demonic Qi was relatively fine, as it could be gathered in certain special locations, but Yin lightning was even rarer, typically seen perhaps once a century.

Yin Thunder Beads were divided into various grades depending on the materials and the refinement techniques used. According legends, advanced Yin Thunder Beads, if used properly, could even annihilate powerhouses in the "Three Realms of Pill Dao."

Of course, the Yin Thunder Beads belonging to the scrawny demonic cultivator were of the more common variety, with lower material grades.

Even so, when Xu Xuan had the remnant soul from his past life evaluate them, he arrived at a startling conclusion: Yin Thunder Beads of this grade were fully capable of annihilating cultivators below the seventh level of Spirit Refining. In other words, if used properly, obliterating cultivators at the fifth or sixth level of Spirit Refining could be done with a mere wave of one's hand.

Learning of their formidable might, Xu Xuan felt a lingering fear in his heart. This item must have been the scrawny demonic cultivator's ultimate trump card for saving his life, but he was instantly killed by Xu Xuan before he even had a chance to use it. These Yin Thunder Beads definitely possessed the power to inflict heavy injuries on Xu Xuan, and if both were used simultaneously, the danger would be even greater.

"This is truly a treasure."

Xu Xuan secretly rejoiced, carefully storing away the two Yin Thunder Beads to serve as life-saving trumps.

It took Xu Xuan half a day to organize the generous spoils of war into categories. He glanced briefly through some of the demonic cultivation manuals, but found himself entirely uninterested.

The most useful items were still the commonly used spiritual elixirs, such as those for healing wounds and restoring primordial force, or for accelerating cultivation speed.

The comprehensive application of such various resources could all enhance a cultivator's cultivation base.

Xu Xuan could not help but sigh with emotion. No wonder powerhouses could temper their cultivation and boost their strength amidst the wars of the cultivation world. Presumably, people like Nie Han and Zhang Feng had experienced the exact same thing, and their cultivation levels were bound to advance by leaps and bounds.

Roughly seven or eight days later, the peaceful Qingshan Town once again plunged into the chaos of war.

It turned out that the Dongfang family had brought in a new batch of reinforcements, making up for the vacancies left by their previous losses. They launched relentless, harassing attacks on Qingshan Town that were even more troublesome than before.

Xu Xuan, however, was overjoyed and eagerly volunteered for battle.

Zhang Tianlun, the head of the family, also assigned Xu Xuan a task. This time, alongside Zhang Feng and the others, he was to hold the rear of Zhangtieling Ridge and launch counterattacks depending on the situation, but he was strictly forbidden from venturing more than five miles away from Zhangtieling Ridge.

"Guest Elder Xu, I believe in your strength, but you must not be overly driven by the desire to win. The Dongfang family has an immortal strategist who commands troops like a divine being. Relying solely on evenly matched forces, they have managed to firmly suppress our side for so long," Zhang Tianlun said earnestly.

"Family Head, rest assured. My goal is to slay the enemy; I am not obsessed with winning," Xu Xuan said with a calm and steady expression.

Slaying enemies and looting their spoils of war was his greatest motivation for going to the battlefield. This was thousands of times better than acquiring spirit stones and resources through conventional means.

He was filled with anticipation for this expedition, once again fighting side by side with Zhang Feng.

However, facts proved that no one could always have smooth sailing all the way.

Arriving at the back mountain of Zhangtieling Ridge and guarding it for a brief moment, Xu Xuan, Zhang Feng, and the others set out to attack once more.

This time, both the enemy and their own side had three Spirit Refining cultivators, each side featuring a cultivator at the fourth level of Spirit Refining.

Judging by their cultivation levels, they should have been evenly matched.

Then, a bizarre situation occurred!

"All forces, retreat!"

The dark-faced martial cultivator of the Dongfang family changed expression the moment he laid eyes on Xu Xuan, and immediately led his cultivators in flight.

Such a turn of events left everyone dumbfounded.

"Leader, why aren't we fighting?" one of the Dongfang family youths could not help asking.

"Fight what fight? That Xu Xuan possesses the strength to slay fourth-level Spirit Refining cultivators. If we fight to the death, we'll only be marching to our doom!" The dark-faced martial cultivator snorted coldly and retreated without the slightest hesitation.

The Zhang family cultivators dared not pursue too far either, as the Dongfang family possessed an immortal strategist who operated like a ghost, coming and going without a trace. Previously, those who were eager for victory and pursued too far had been ambushed and killed.

Xu Xuan initially thought this was a coincidence, but over the next few days, the exact same scenario repeated itself again and again.

The Dongfang family no longer treated Xu Xuan as a first-level Spirit Refining cultivator; instead, they vastly overestimated his strength and generally refused to engage unless they held an overwhelming advantage.

On the contrary, the other directions of Qingshan Town were subjected to wave after wave of harassing attacks by the Dongfang family, leaving the defenders in utter misery.

It was not that Xu Xuan had no opportunities to strike at all. On the single occasion he did attack, he found himself facing two Dongfang family cultivators above the fourth level of Spirit Refining simultaneously, and neither side gained the slightest advantage.

Although Xu Xuan's flame was terrifyingly powerful and capable of instantly executing a fourth-level Spirit Refining cultivator at close range, the Dongfang family cultivators fighting him were extremely cautious, immediately widening the distance at the slightest sign of danger.

Speed was indeed not Xu Xuan's forte. If immortal cultivators whose cultivation vastly exceeded his were determined to escape, there was little he could do to stop them.

"Brother Xu, the Dongfang family seems terrified of you. Every engagement ends in a hasty retreat," Zhang Feng said with a peculiar expression.

"You could say they're afraid of me, but it's more about them accurately evaluating my strength. The Dongfang family's immortal strategist is truly extraordinary to be able to come up with a tactic like this," Xu Xuan said, feeling somewhat depressed.

When he first arrived at Qingshan Town and repeatedly slaughtered immortal cultivators, it was built on the premise that the enemy was willing to fight and even underestimated his first-level Spirit Refining cultivation.

Now, ordinary Zhang family immortal cultivators would widen the distance the moment they saw Xu Xuan, or else two or more fourth-level Spirit Refining cultivators would join forces to encircle him with extreme caution.

Under such circumstances, how difficult was it to kill an enemy?

Six or seven consecutive days passed, and aside from slaying a few lackeys, Xu Xuan had accomplished nothing else.

Throughout the ongoing warfare, the Dongfang family's tactics were as elusive as ghosts, frequently launching attacks that struck straight at vital points with endless strategies. The Zhang family side could never fathom their true intentions.

Seeing that the Zhang family faction in Qingshan Town was gradually falling into a disadvantageous position, endlessly harassed without a moment of peace, exhausted, and deeply passive, Xu Xuan grew somewhat bored as he was repeatedly transferred to execute various tasks.

Seeing this, Xu Xuan simply reduced his frequency of sorties and carved out a portion of time for cultivation.

At this point, tempered by the fires of war, Xu Xuan was not far from reaching the second level of Spirit Refining.

His body-forging milestone, the "Silver Astral Body," was also nearing completion.

Xu Xuan estimated that once he successfully cultivated the Silver Astral Body, he would be able to completely ignore ordinary levels of immortal spell formations and wave attacks. He would be capable of charging into a thousand-man army single-handedly and taking an enemy leader's head with ease. By then, the Dongfang family's current strategy against him would be heavily discounted.

After all, back when he was at the Copper-Cast Body stage, Xu Xuan would never dare to charge into enemy ranks alone, as that would expose him to the spell attacks, magic treasure assaults, and various binding restrictions of numerous cultivators. Once trapped inside, escape would be difficult.

However, once the Silver Astral Body was achieved, aside from a massive enhancement in physical toughness, the flesh would also develop an astral layer that automatically vibrated to deflect external attacks. His immunity to magical power would also soar, allowing him to completely ignore the attacks of ordinary Spirit Refining immortal cultivators.

When that time came, if Xu Xuan wanted to kill a certain individual, even if multiple people attacked and intercepted him around the target, he could basically ignore them entirely. As long as his strength vastly exceeded his target's, he could kill whenever he pleased, and no one could stop him.

"At my current cultivation speed, I have a chance to cultivate the 'Silver Astral Body' within a month, or even break through to the second level of Spirit Refining."

Xu Xuan made up his mind to shift his focus primarily toward cultivation, only occasionally charging onto the battlefield to throw the Dongfang family's immortal cultivators into frantic disarray.

However, Xu Xuan could not guarantee whether Qingshan Town would be able to hold out for a full month.

The cultivators fighting on both sides were at least at the fourth level of Qi Refining, numbering four to five hundred in total!

During this period, the heads of the two families also occasionally entered the fray. Knowing that his individual strength could not reverse the overall situation, Xu Xuan could only hope to cultivate the Silver Astral Body as soon as possible.

On this day, Family Head Zhang Tianlun sought out Xu Xuan to entrust him with a secret mission.

"Not a single person must be told about this matter." Zhang Tianlun paused, his expression grave. "You can also see that in this clan war, our side lacks an immortal strategist, which leaves us constrained at every turn. My Zhang family has already made contact with the genius immortal strategist Chu Dong, but he is being watched extremely closely by the Dongfang family."

"You mean to send me to rendezvous with Immortal Strategist Chu Dong?"

In Xu Xuan's mind, the image of a profound and calm youth instantly surfaced.

"Yes, go to Huanglong City to rendezvous with Immortal Strategist Chu Dong. Most of the Dongfang family's immortal cultivators here in Qingshan Town are terrified of you and very familiar with you, but many people over in Huanglong City don't know you, and some even understand very little of the situation..."

When Zhang Tianlun reached this point, he could not help but reveal a trace of cunning and slyness.