While in Battle Through the Heavens, one can pre-appoint oneself as an emperor.

Chapter 142 Soul Shadow Incarnation, Carrying the Corpse Back to the City

The three Dou Zong experts landed one after another, and the Heavenly Demon Puppet, under Chen Xiao's mental control, flew back and was easily stored in his storage ring.

Looking at the body of the old man from Eagle Mountain, who was beyond dead and had completely perished, Queen Medusa showed disdain.

Su Qian and Elder Cao Xi nodded slightly. The former sighed, "The old man of Eagle Mountain's methods of deceiving the heavens are quite strange. If one is not careful, one may really be fooled by him. I'm afraid he has been preparing for this from the very beginning."

From the perspective of the old man of Eagle Mountain, facing four opponents head-on would mean certain death.

Only by relying on this strange soul clone might they have a glimmer of hope.

It's just a pity...

Regardless of whether Queen Medusa and her two companions would be deceived, even Old Man Eagle Mountain would never have imagined that Chen Xiao, who had read the script, would be so foolish.

Under the watchful eyes 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 retrieved a dark gray scroll. On its side...

It has a line of simple, small characters.

"Mid-level Earth Rank: Soul Shadow Avatar!"

Chen Xiao opened it and looked at it; the description on it was basically consistent with what he knew.

This is a secret technique that uses the soul to condense a false body. The more soul power is injected, the more realistic the false body becomes, and the stronger it can exert. At the same time, the original body will become weaker and weaker until the false body is withdrawn, at which point the original body can quickly recover to its peak.

Of course, if the fake body "falls", the real body will also suffer a severe backlash and will 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 way to save your life. You should take a look."

Chen Xiao shook his head and chuckled, then handed it to Queen Medusa beside him for a look.

To Chen Xiao, this kind of soul clone seemed somewhat useless.

Unless one is in a situation like the old man of Eagle Mountain in the original trajectory, where a group of people are watching, one can use the fake body to distract the enemy while the real body secretly escapes. In this way, the function of the soul clone can be brought to its limit.

However, there is a very subtle soul connection between the real body and the fake body. If there is an enemy with strong soul perception, they can find the real body by carefully sensing it.

In the original timeline, Xiao Yan found the Eagle Mountain Elder by relying on his soul perception.

Queen Medusa and the other two took turns viewing the scroll, while Chen Xiao continued to examine the spoils of war.

Although Elder Yingshan was a genuine Dou Zong expert, his wealth was not as great as Han Feng's.

Aside from the Life-Returning Pill that I obtained ahead of time, and this Soul Shadow Avatar technique, the most precious items in my storage ring are two Earth-rank cultivation techniques.

Low-level Earth Rank: "Dark Night Radiance Spell".

Intermediate Earth Rank: Shadow Technique.

Both techniques are of the relatively rare dark attribute.

The former was the cultivation technique practiced by Elder Yingshan, while the latter was acquired by the other party at yesterday's auction. Chen Xiao remembered very clearly that the "Shadow Technique" fetched a sky-high price of nearly ten million gold coins.

However, since Chen Xiao, Zi Yan, and Xiao Yi Xian were not interested in this, they did not pay much attention to it.

"Everyone can cultivate this Soul Shadow Avatar. Having multiple methods is never a bad thing. It's best if you don't need to use them, but if you do, they might have unexpected effects."

After Elder Cao Xi finished reading, he spoke up.

Chen Xiao nodded slightly: "Let's keep the Fourth Elder for now. Once he has successfully completed his cultivation, he can pass it on to the clansmen when he returns to Zhongzhou. It won't cause any harm. Also, take a look at Elder Yingshan's storage ring. Keep it if you find it useful."

Since they were all on his side, Chen Xiao was generous and handed them the storage rings to choose from.

It is also beneficial for him if the people around him become more powerful.

Unfortunately, all three of them shook their heads after seeing the storage ring.

People with dark attributes are rare to begin with, and they can't use either of the two cultivation techniques. The same goes for most combat skills; the few that are usable are not enough to tempt them.

Seeing the storage ring returned untouched, Chen Xiao chuckled to himself.

This old man from Eagle Mountain really has no presence.

"Elder, please keep this 'Ghost Light Spell' and put it in the academy's library. Perhaps there will be students with dark attributes in the future."

After a moment's thought, Chen Xiao took out a cultivation manual and handed it to Elder Su Qian.

Su Qian didn't stand on ceremony and nodded to accept it.

As the saying goes, "One generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade." The rich heritage of Canaan College is partly due to the legacy left by the elusive Dean, and partly due to the gains from the travels of the inner and outer deans.

It took years of accumulation to build the foundation we have today.

This is the first dark attribute cultivation technique of Earth Rank or above, which fills a small gap.

After dividing the spoils, Chen Xiao had no intention of lingering any longer. He shot out a burst of battle qi, freezing the Eagle Mountain Elder's body and storing it in a separate storage ring.

This is the body of a Dou Zong powerhouse; keeping it might be useful.

"It's time to go back. Ziyan and—they should be done by now."

"I won't go to Zixiao City with you. I'll return to the inner courtyard first. You can call me again next time we deal with Demon Flame Valley. Over the years, many students and instructors have been ambushed and killed by Demon Flame Valley. This grudge must be settled!"

When this matter was mentioned, a murderous glint flashed in Su Qian's eyes.

Unlike the old man of Eagle Mountain and the Black Emperor Sect, he truly hated Demon Flame Valley with a passion that made him grit his teeth.

If it weren't for the fact that the two elders of Qianbai were incompetent, he would have uprooted Demon Flame Valley long ago.

Now that Chen Xiao has clashed with Demon Flame Valley, it presents an opportunity to eliminate them.

"Alright, I will definitely inform the Grand Elder when the time comes."

"Fellow Daoist, please take care."

Chen Xiao and Cao Xi clasped their hands in farewell, and Queen Medusa nodded slightly as a greeting, but it seemed that they had no intention of returning to the inner courtyard together for the time being.

Feeling Chen Xiao's gaze, Queen Medusa's eyelashes trembled slightly. She turned her face away and said in a stiff tone, "That girl Ziyan has always been reckless. I need to confirm her safety with my own eyes before I can feel at ease."

Chen Xiao's lips curled into a smile, his eyes sparkling with laughter, and he nodded, saying, "That makes sense!"

Without saying another word, the three of them watched as Elder Su Qian disappeared from sight, and then they took to the sky and headed towards Zixiao City.

The three of them were traveling together again, except that Elder Su Qian had been replaced by Elder Cao Xi, the fourth elder. Everything else was almost identical.

Even during casual conversations along the way, Queen Medusa rarely interrupted. Most of the time, it was Chen Xiao and Cao Xi who talked about serious matters when they met privately after leaving seclusion, unlike now, when they chatted about whatever came to mind.

It was during this journey that Chen Xiao learned why the Dan family hadn't come to the Northwest Continent last time.

"After Cao Ying and I went back, we made a special inquiry about what happened when we received Miss Qinglin's notification. That precious girl from the Dan family..."

"I was being taken out by the clan elders to seek an opportunity. Whether it succeeded or not is unclear, but when we returned, those old guys from the Dan family were all green with envy."

Cao Xi laughed gleefully.

It's truly rare to see such an expression on his serious face.

Chen Xiao was speechless, but didn't seem to care too much.

He had Xun'er and Qinglin notify both the Cao and Dan families simultaneously, simply to incite competition between the two families and thus gain greater benefits.

The conditions offered by the Cao family are already very satisfactory to him, and he doesn't need to ask for too much.

"Oh, right, there's something else I need to tell you. After returning to Zhongzhou, we immediately went to investigate based on the information you gave Cao Ying. We did indeed find traces of the Xuanhuang Flame. By the time I get back this time, Cao Ying will probably have already succeeded."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao nodded slightly.

When they parted last time, he gave Cao Ying a piece of paper containing information about the Xuanhuang Flame, which was listed at the bottom of the Strange Flame Ranking.

This strange flame needs to be retrieved from Sunset Abyss in the southeastern part of Central Continent, a place Chen Xiao had never even heard of.

Furthermore, given the low ranking and low value of the Xuanhuang Flame, Chen Xiao had no interest in it and simply gave it to Cao Ying as a favor.

This was also to help her collect the three different types of flames as soon as possible.

Looking at it now, the Cao family's speed is indeed very fast.

If Cao Ying also refines and devours the Xuanhuang Flame, Little Fairy Doctor will only have one seventh-tier Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast Demon Core left to condense the Poison Pill, which is good news.

"Has she encountered any problems while practicing that technique 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, silently keeping the matter in his heart.

Cao Ying's current strength is not very strong, so the impact seems to be negligible, but as her strength increases, this problem will have to be solved.

Previously, it was simply to help Little Fairy Doctor condense the poison pill, but now it's because Cao Ying is considered one of their own, and these hidden dangers must be eliminated.

"After I finish dealing with matters in the Black Corner Region, I will help her obtain the complete cultivation technique."

The Burning Technique, without evolution, is only at the low-level Yellow Rank. As long as the Earth Demon Old Ghost is dealt with, Chen Xiao can release it at any time.

"There's no need to rush. Although the clan leader and the others haven't met you in person, they have absolute trust in you. Even that—"

"After arriving in Zhongzhou, I will definitely pay a visit in person."

Before Cao Xi could finish speaking, Chen Xiao quickly interrupted, causing Queen Medusa, who was openly eavesdropping, to look over with suspicion.

She became even more convinced that there were some secrets between Chen Xiao and the Cao family that she was unaware of!

A fog of confusion lingered in her mind, and Queen Medusa subconsciously furrowed her brows, but given her nature, she wouldn't delve into the details for the time being.

Rather than pressing for an answer, she preferred to find out the truth herself.

As they chatted and laughed along the way, the night gradually faded, and the sky slowly turned a pale white. When the rosy dawn filled the sky and the fiery red sun rose slowly, the familiar outline of Zixiao City finally came into view.

Even 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 Bodong were incredibly efficient, completing their mission early and returning first.