An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 253 A Brand New Legacy
"What exactly is this."

The scene before her eyes stunned Jiang Miaoyin, and then a deep shock appeared in her eyes.

The darkness within the Soul Palace was a power accumulated and condensed over thousands of years, but this power was utterly powerless against the black energy released by Chu Xiu! It was like a newborn infant in swaddling clothes!
The extreme evil contained within that black aura was something Jiang Miaoyin had never seen before. Even the demon god's attendants he encountered during the King-level trial could not compare to it. It was as if that energy was the complete opposite of life, capable of annihilating all vitality in an instant!
"Who exactly is this senior?"

Jiang Miaoyin developed a great curiosity about Chu Xiu.

At this moment, she had no doubts about Chu Xiu anymore. He instantly killed twenty-seven King-level cultivators. It was impossible for a King-level awakened cultivator to possess such power!
Even she herself, as the top-tier king-level cultivator nurtured by a powerful family with countless resources, could only barely possess this level of combat power during the short period of unleashing her strongest cursed spirit.

However, Jiang Miaoyin wasn't shocked for too long. After all, as a genius that the Jiang family had been cultivating, she had seen quite a few heroic spirits. Although Chu Xiu was strong, he was still within her comprehension.

Jiang Miaoyin was confident that once she advanced to the [Heroic Spirit] level, she would only be stronger than Chu Xiu!

This is the confidence of a top genius.

But what if Jiang Miaoyin knew that Chu Xiu was merely a general?
Her worldview would probably collapse.

Of course, Chu Xiu's strength wasn't as exaggerated as Jiang Miaoyin thought.

He was able to instantly kill twenty-seven holy spirits because of the immense restraint that demonic energy had on ghosts.

The demonic energy, capable of annihilating all life, will have an even greater corrosive effect on intangible things like the soul and body.

Both Demonic Energy Transformation and Blood-Burning Golden Eyes are powerful abilities that greatly restrain ghosts, which is why Chu Xiu is confident enough to enter the world of the Hundred Ghosts Furnace, which is at level six.

If it were twenty-seven physical kings, Chu Xiu could still handle them, but it would require some effort.

In reality, even if Chu Xiu were to fight Jiang Miaoyin to the death, he wouldn't be confident of victory relying solely on his physical body. After all, as the top genius of the younger generation of the Jiang family, she must possess terrifying trump cards, having had countless cursed spirits captured and fused with by her family.

Unfortunately, although Chu Xiu's physical strength had made a leap after advancing to the General rank, the gap between the King rank and the Heroic Spirit was too great. He still did not have the strength to directly confront the Heroic Spirit, and he had many shortcomings in terms of movement speed, reconnaissance and perception abilities.

Specifically, his current combat strength should be slightly stronger than that of the Blood Demon Incarnation, but not as strong as that of a Heroic Spirit.

"However, these shortcomings seem to be able to be addressed soon."

Chu Xiu looked at the panel that appeared in front of him and a smile appeared on his lips.

[Slaughtering living beings, Professional Experience +46]

[Slaughtering living beings, Professional Experience +38]

[Slaughtering living beings, professional experience increased]

[Level Up! Current Level: General Rank 6!]

After killing twenty-seven King-level beings, Chu Xiu's level increased by three levels!

The later the game goes, the more monsters of the same rank you need to kill to level up. For example, at the Mortal rank, you might only need to kill a few Abyss creatures of the same rank to level up from level 8 to level 9, but at the King rank, you might not be able to level up even if you kill hundreds of them!

Awakened beings at the Mortal and Warrior ranks can easily reach level 9. The obstacles they face are mainly the trials for advancing to higher ranks. However, at the King and General ranks, the experience required for leveling up increases significantly, and the number of high-ranking monsters is scarce, making leveling up a major hurdle.

The vast majority of awakened beings level up steadily over a long period of time by killing a large number of low-level abyssal creatures.

After all, no matter what cultivation system it is, cultivation becomes more difficult as you progress.

However, awakened beings of the same rank are generally far stronger than abyssal creatures of the same rank. Many awakened beings at King Rank 1, as long as they have good equipment and talents, can kill ordinary monsters at King Rank 9! So as long as you are willing to take risks, your leveling speed can be much faster.

Those scions of powerful families have it even easier; with the help of their elders or special items, leveling up is no problem at all.

The gap between ordinary awakened individuals and those from powerful families will widen rapidly at the general and king levels.

Of course, this was not a problem for Chu Xiu.

If these guardian spirits hadn't only had their souls destroyed and their physical bodies intact, resulting in a significant reduction in experience, twenty-seven King-level experts could have directly maxed out Chu Xiu's level and given him a considerable amount more experience.

But now that he's reached level 6, that's enough for him. Chu Xiu couldn't wait to check out the new inheritance.

The Demon Lord Duobao's secret is that the refining method that combines the [Four Symbols Yin-Yang Furnace] and the [Eight Desolate Netherfire Array] can greatly increase the level of equipment that can be strengthened and obtain higher refining bonuses.

This is also the foundation for refining magical artifacts.

Even if Chu Xiu possessed the [Perfect Refinement] technique, without the combination of these two methods, it would be difficult to refine a high-grade magic weapon.

What Chu Xiu was concerned about were the remaining two items!

[Soul-Slaying Demon Finger (Supreme Demon Lord): A finger that gathers magical power, capable of inflicting a dual blow to the target's body and spirit, directly annihilating the target's life force, and using the annihilated life force to nourish the Soul Banner, drawing power from the ghosts within the Soul Banner to greatly enhance its power.]

[Golden Embryo Forging the Spirit (Innate God and Demon): The fourth chapter of the Golden Embryo Netherworld Technique, using the condensed Golden Embryo essence to refine the soul, greatly enhancing spiritual attributes, while also strengthening divine sense traits, reaction speed, and all spiritual attacks.]

"finally come."

Looking at the two inheritances before him, Chu Xiu revealed a long-lost smile.

After waiting for so long, he finally found a technique to enhance his mental attributes!

The four chapters of the Golden Embryo Netherworld Method successively strengthen vitality, energy, and physique; now it is finally the turn of the spirit!
Chu Xiu's mental attributes have always been his weakness, but this weakness is relative to his current combat level, which is close to that of a [Heroic Spirit].

With a large amount of equipment, I managed to barely make up for the [Mental Defense] stat, but I'm still extremely lacking in reaction speed and mental attack!
He can usually cover himself with various long-range supernatural abilities, but once the enemy discovers him, it will become his fatal weakness!
Back when he fought Li Zhan, it was because their reaction speeds were too far apart that Li Zhan severed his arm as soon as they met.

If it weren't for the Iron-Clad Corpse protecting him, Chu Xiu might have been unable to mount an effective defense and would have been killed by a combo!

The same thing happened just now. It was because of this huge flaw of slow reaction speed that he was able to withstand the mental attack of twenty-seven Holy Spirits.

If it weren't for his large collection of legendary equipment, and the protection of his two mythical-level powerhouses, the Emperor-level Five Dragon Crown and the Celestial Divine Sense, Chu Xiu would have been instantly killed!

The other skill is also a rare offensive skill.

If Chu Xiu remembered correctly, this should be the first physical attack skill to appear in the lineage of the Supreme Demon Lord.

The Supreme Demon Lord's lineage relies mainly on ghosts in battle, but the elders of the Demonic Sect who established the inheritance added a skill that is used by the main body, which must have its unique features. The effect of directly annihilating life force sounds incredibly powerful.

Chu Xiu had high expectations for him.

"After dealing with the Soul Palace matter, I will find a secluded place to consume karma points and fully master both inheritances."

Chu Xiu made a decision quickly without much thought.

He raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Miaoyin behind him, who had been waiting for a long time with a fawning expression.

Seeing Chu Xiu looking at her, Jiang Miaoyin's smile became even more obsequious: "That senior, this Holy Spirit..."

"You didn't tell me that there were actually twenty-seven King-level beings here."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Xiu interrupted him.

He looked at Jiang Miaoyin with a half-smile in his eyes: "So many King-level items, even if you can only refine one-tenth of them, it will still be a considerable fortune."

"And in my opinion, these Holy Spirits don't seem as useless as you say. At least a third of their full souls are usable, right?" Jiang Miaoyin shrank back somewhat guiltily and chuckled awkwardly, "Senior, I didn't expect there to be so many in our city. Other cities only have a few. Looks like I'm lucky, haha."

Under Chu Xiu's quiet gaze, Jiang Miaoyin became more and more guilty as she spoke. Although she did not lie, she did indeed conceal the value of the Holy Spirit.

Chu Xiu said nothing more, simply gazing at her calmly.

After a while, Jiang Miaoyin finally couldn't hold back any longer and chuckled, "Senior, I really didn't mean to hide it from you. How about this? During the process of fusing with the cursed spirit, a lot of soul power will be released. How about I extract this soul power for you?"

"Don't complain about the small amount. This is a technical job, and it will take a lot of my energy. Moreover, the soul power extracted will definitely be much more than if you directly absorb it!"

After she finished speaking, her bright eyes darted around as she secretly sized up Chu Xiu.

This made the latter chuckle, but he didn't press the matter further, simply saying, "That's fine then."

He noticed that the woman had intended to save him, not to collect his equipment after he died.

Few can resist the wealth of a Heroic Spirit, which makes it quite rare.

After receiving Chu Xiu's consent, Jiang Miaoyin breathed a sigh of relief and began excitedly collecting the shattered soul fragments in front of her.

Chu Xiu continued walking deeper into the main hall.

He had long noticed that the blurry figures near the altar were the masterminds behind the attacks by those holy spirits, and the dense, almost tangible darkness in the hall was emanating from those figures.

"boom!"

A surge of demonic energy erupted from Chu Xiu's body, transforming behind him into a majestic phantom of a three-headed, six-armed martial god. Instantly, the surrounding darkness receded like a tidal wave, as if encountering a natural enemy.

The blurry figures slowly stood up.

"Invaders. Kill."

Intermittent thoughts reached Chu Xiu.

"Ah, so they are just the lingering thoughts of wandering souls that haven't yet dissipated."

Chu Xiu's eyes showed disdain. He reached out and grabbed forward. Instantly, the illusory figure of the Martial God behind him grew larger and larger. A giant axe over a hundred meters long appeared in the Martial God's hand. Like a god looking down on the world, he swung the giant axe and smashed it towards the few blurry figures!

The figures cried out, stirring up the surrounding darkness to condense into a tidal wave that surged towards the sky, attempting to resist the giant axe that was falling from the heavens. But in the face of that unparalleled power, all resistance was futile. The darkness was instantly vaporized as soon as it came into contact with the axe, just like water touching a red-hot iron block.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The phantoms exploded one after another, their cores dodging in all directions, but golden light shone in Chu Xiu's eyes, and golden flames suddenly ignited on the fleeing phantoms, turning them into ashes in an instant.

Chu Xiu waved the Soul Banner, and immediately all the darkness in the hall surged into the Soul Banner. Before long, the entire hall returned to normal.

The flames of the burning Setsuna passed through the stone pillars without hindrance, illuminating the entire hall.

Chu Xiu looked at the soul banner in his hand and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He discovered that the thick, viscous darkness was actually the transformation of countless wronged souls who died in this hall; it was extremely pure spiritual energy, and a great tonic for ghosts.

Those blurry figures were merely the lingering thoughts of powerful figures from the [Exorcist Civilization].

After it was burned to ashes, all the wronged souls belonged to Chu Xiu.

He could sense that, nourished by the immense power of his divine soul, the ghost that had previously self-destructed within his soul banner was being reborn at an astonishing speed!

"Once all of them are refined, my ghost army will probably be able to recover to two-thirds of its peak strength."

Of course, Chu Xiu's goals didn't stop there.

Deep within the Soul Palace, there must be even more powerful souls.

If one can find the location of the inheritance site, the ghosts and monsters there are hundreds or thousands of times more numerous than those in this place!
What Chu Xiu needs to do is to use these almost endless ghosts to forge a Ghost King!
However, just as Chu Xiu was about to continue exploring deeper into the Soul Palace, he suddenly heard a barely audible sound behind him.

"Click."

Chu Xiu paused, turned around, and his pupils suddenly contracted!
Behind him, Jiang Miaoyin, who had been focused on collecting the shattered souls, froze in place for some reason. She remained motionless, her face still showing the joy she had shown before.

A red line suddenly appeared on her waist, becoming more and more obvious until it reached a certain critical point. Jiang Miaoyin's body seemed to lose some kind of balance and suddenly split in two!
"boom!"

Jiang Miaoyin's body crashed heavily to the ground, blood mixed with shredded internal organs and intestines flowing out from the cut, instantly covering the ground.

Chu Xiu's expression suddenly darkened. Without saying a word, he rapidly expanded his divine sense in all directions!

But strangely enough, even though he had spread out for a full kilometer, he still couldn't capture anything!
"Did you run away?"

However, the moment this thought crossed his mind, a playful voice rang in Chu Xiu's ear: "So you really can't see me."

The next instant, an extremely dangerous premonition suddenly exploded in Chu Xiu's heart, a feeling he had never had since entering the abyss!

His hair stood on end, as if an unseen figure had a dagger pressed against his throat!

Without any hesitation, Chu Xiu suddenly flapped the Garuda Wings and rushed to the side at high speed. At the same time, the Great Sun Guardian Shield appeared in his hand, protecting his entire body!
Almost the instant he made that move, the shield of the Imperial Five Dragon Crown automatically activated around him!
"clang!!!"

But a deafening, piercing sound exploded in his ears, and the shield of the Imperial Five Dragon Crown was ripped open. Then, Chu Xiu felt a tremendous force in his hand, and the Great Sun Guardian Shield split in two! At the same time, a sharp pain shot through his chest!

Chu Xiu looked down and was horrified to find that the Xuan Sha Glazed Armor had also been slashed open, and the slash still had momentum and tore through Chu Xiu's skin, leaving a bloody wound before it was completely exhausted.

This made Chu Xiu's expression instantly become extremely solemn!
"What a terrifying attack!"

It actually penetrated the defenses of two [Legendary] and one [Mythical] items!

Although these three pieces of equipment are only of the general rank, they are still amazing enough!

What's even more terrifying is that Chu Xiu never saw the slash from beginning to end, let alone the enemy!

"It's troublesome."

Chu Xiu realized that he had encountered the type of enemy that best countered him: an enemy with super strong single-target attacks and the ability to stealth!

And then, under Chu Xiu's solemn gaze, a figure appeared before him.

He was a tall, thin man with an unusually pale face and a sickly smile. On his back was a sword case that unfolded like a peacock's tail, containing six long swords.

One of them was dripping blood.

At this moment, he was tilting his head, looking Chu Xiu up and down.

After a long pause, a voice, tinged with doubt and a hint of mockery, rang out:
"You don't seem to be a Heroic Spirit?"

(End of this chapter)