"The two of you, go clean up the battlefield, don’t even think about hiding the spoils of war. Once I’ve looked through them, you won’t be shortchanged."

Shen Chongxu spoke in a deep voice.

The two brothers, upon hearing this, excitedly cupped their hands and hurriedly went to gather the loot.

Once they had left, Shen Chongxu slowly crouched down and snatched the strange magical artifact held in the arms of the Golden Pavilion Sect Leader.

With his legs forcibly broken and one shoulder crushed into a bloody pulp, the Golden Pavilion Sect Leader, upon seeing the artifact taken, still reached out with his left hand, struggling to reclaim it.

Seeing this, Shen Chongxu scrutinized the artifact in his hand with curiosity.

This thing looked like a wooden incense burner, with an intricately carved lid depicting a somewhat sinister monster head. It was dark purple, three-legged, with two ears, and its surface was covered in strange inscriptions.

Aside from the faint magical artifact vibe, the incense burner also exuded a strong bloody aura.

"What is this thing called?"

Stepping on the chest of the Golden Pavilion Sect Leader, Shen Chongxu asked in a low voice.

The Golden Pavilion Sect Leader, face filled with pain, was fervently gazing at the strange incense burner in his hands.

It seemed that this object was more important to him than his life.

Seeing him remain silent, Shen Chongxu frowned deeply.

"Tell me what this thing is, and I will give you a quick end."

As he spoke, he flicked his finger, and a stream of earthen yellow Spiritual Power instantly merged into the ground beneath his feet.

Subsequently, the earth under the Golden Pavilion Sect Leader surged, with sharp earth spikes emerging from the soil, piercing through his body, leaving bloody holes.

To say this elder of the Golden Pavilion Sect was tough would be an understatement; despite being tormented to the point of grimacing, he refused to make a sound.

Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Shen Chongxu’s eyes as he thrust the Black Iron Long Staff in his hand towards the man’s head!

Plop!

The elder’s head was instantly pierced, and after a few spasms, his body slowly became motionless.

Having slain him, Shen Chongxu’s gaze shifted to the brocade bag at the man’s waist, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.

"As expected of the Southern Border, with its unbroken inheritance."

"Even the leader of a second-rate small power has a Storage Bag."

With a swift motion, Shen Chongxu pulled the Storage Bag from the Golden Pavilion Sect Leader’s waist and tucked it into his bosom without a closer look.

Moments later, among the hundred cultivators enlisted, more than a dozen survivors gathered behind him.

"Elder Bai, we’ve finished gathering everything!"

The two cultivator brothers, each carrying a bundle, approached with beaming faces.

Clearly, the haul from this venture had left them quite satisfied.

Hearing this, Shen Chongxu randomly pointed to two Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer cultivators and said indifferently, "You two handle these bodies thoroughly."

"The rest of you, go inform the families and factions in the city that from today onwards, Qingting City belongs to the Bai Xuan Sect."

The name "Bai Xuan" was derived from the two people he cherished the most.

His son Shen Xiubai and his mother Zhao Xuan.

Before this group of cultivators he had recruited, he also identified himself as Bai Xuan.

After dismissing the crowd, Shen Chongxu made his way to the City Lord’s Mansion of Qingting City.

The secular officials there were already prepared to welcome the new master of Qingting City.

Upon Shen Chongxu’s arrival, he merely stated that all regulations would remain unchanged, then went alone to the backyard of the City Lord’s Mansion to study the strange magical artifact left by the Golden Pavilion Sect Leader and his Storage Bag.

"So this thing is called the Netherworld Dog Filth Furnace!"

"It seems to be a broken ancient magical artifact..."

From the storage bag of the Golden Pavilion Sect Leader, Shen Chongxu found a torn piece of beast hide paper.

The torn beast hide paper depicted an incense burner identical to the strange artifact and included a detailed description of it.

Upon careful research, Shen Chongxu discovered that the Netherworld Dog Filth Furnace he held was likely a replica and that some unknown mishap had left the surface of the furnace exuding a very weak magical artifact aura.

Continuing to inspect the other side of the beast hide paper, a glimmer of brilliance flashed in Shen Chongxu’s eyes!

Upon seeing the control techniques and specific functionalities of the Netherworld Dog Filth Furnace on the back of the beast hide paper, he finally understood why the Golden Pavilion Sect Leader kept gazing at the furnace even at death’s door!

Snap!

Shen Chongxu abruptly closed the beast hide paper in his hands, his heart pounding erratically, then slowly stood up.

"This method... is far too sinister..."

Murmuring to himself, Shen Chongxu’s mind couldn’t help but be filled with the words described on the beast hide paper.

"Using a Soul Seed as the foundation, nurturing a Blood Puppet Avatar with the Blood and Flesh of Ten Thousand Spirits..."

"Once the Blood Puppet is initially formed, it could hunt creatures autonomously, enhance its strength, and in turn, nourish the main body."

"When perfected, the blood puppet can connect the Nine Heavens, reach the Nine Netherworld, fly through the skies and burrow through the earth. The Blood Puppet merges with the main body, turning it into a boundless blood pool. As long as the blood pool isn’t dry, the main body remains immortal and indestructible..."

This piece of text seemed almost branded into Shen Chongxu’s Sea of Consciousness, unable to be forgotten no matter how hard he tried.

His eyes struggled for a long time before he turned to look at the dark-purple incense burner on the desk, inexplicably walking over and slowly opening the lid.

Inside the relatively small incense burner was already half-filled with viscous essence blood, emanating a potent bloody smell.

Snap!

Shen Chongxu hastily covered it with the lid in his hand.

"Knock knock!"

Just as his breathing turned heavy and his mind was in turmoil, there was a sudden knock at the door outside.

With a wave of his hand, Shen Chongxu returned the Netherworld Dog Filth Furnace, along with the other items he had just taken out from the Storage Bag, back into it.

"Come in."

After completing all of this, Shen Chongxu suppressed the thoughts swirling in his mind and spoke in a deep voice.