Lord of the Demon Sect

After verifying Jiang Chen’s waist token, the attendant disciple at the Cultivation Hall confirmed that he had only joined the sect yesterday and had just reached the first layer of qi refinement. The disciple then took out a jade slip containing the Jiangshi control technique from the storage room. After allowing Jiang Chen to imprint it with his essence blood, the disciple handed it over to him.

Jiang Chen understood that this was a measure taken by the sect to ensure confidentiality and prevent disciples from exchanging techniques for study. Once he imprinted the jade slip with his essence blood, only he could access its contents. If anyone else tried to probe it with their spiritual sense, the slip would be immediately destroyed. Otherwise, Zhang Pang could have simply given his jade slip of the Jiangshi control technique to Jiang Chen, saving everyone the trouble.

For the past few days, Jiang Chen had been immersing himself in studying the Jiangshi control technique. However, the deeper he delved, the more he realized the power of this spell. It not only included how to control Jiangshi to fight on his behalf but also methods for assisting Jiangshi in foundation establishment and core formation. Unfortunately, he might not be able to utilize these methods himself.

To effectively use the Jiangshi control technique, he first needed a Jiangshi raising bag to contain the Jiangshi so he could summon it to fight when necessary. The storage bag couldn’t hold living creatures like spirit beasts or Jiangshi.

This wasn’t a problem for Jiang Chen, as Zhang Pang’s older brother, Zhang Fei, had practiced the Jiangshi control technique before but later switched to focusing on the spirit control technique. Although Zhang Fei was ruthless and fierce, he was very accommodating to his younger brother. He managed to borrow a Jiangshi raising bag that Zhang Fei had previously used.

Next on the agenda was capturing Jiangshi. It went without saying that he was not interested in capturing those Jiangshi that lacked spiritual awareness – they were the most numerous but held no appeal for him.

Most Jiangshi with spiritual awareness had very low intelligence, only capable of basic actions like grabbing, charging, pouncing, and biting. What cultivators aimed to capture were those Jiangshi with high intelligence, capable of effectively exterminating enemies and even casting spells in battle.

However, such Jiangshi were extremely difficult to find. To put it colloquially, the odds were akin to hitting a five-million-yuan¹ lottery. Fortunately, the task of capturing Jiangshi was usually undertaken only by disciples in the early and middle stages of qi refinement, as high-level cultivators had little interest, thus providing lower-level cultivators like Jiang Chen with a better chance of encountering a highly intelligent Jiangshi.

The place Zhang Pang recommended for catching Jiangshi was the infamous Shadow Soul Mountain, located about a thousand miles nearby to the west of the Ghostly Slaughter Sect. It was well-known for its danger and treachery. Many low-level disciples of the Ghostly Slaughter Sect, along with some nearby rogue cultivators practicing the ghost path in the qi refinement stage, would often go there to capture Jiangshi.

Jiang Chen was a cautious person, so before setting off, he thoroughly asked Zhang Pang about the necessary tools needed for capturing jiangshi. He prepared jiangshi binding ropes, a jiangshi catching net, jiangshi nails, and a large amount of raw meat, making sure everything was ready.

Shadow Soul Mountain was just over fifty miles from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect. Since reaching the first layer of qi refinement, Jiang Chen’s physique had strengthened considerably, and he could run much faster now. In just over an hour, he arrived at the eerie and windswept Shadow Soul Mountain.

By now, it was dusk, and the sky was gradually dimming. As the sun sank below the horizon, Jiang Chen felt a chill wind seeping in, causing him to sneeze involuntarily.

He rubbed his nose to steady himself. By now, it was completely dark, and he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. The only illumination came from clusters of green ghost fire, some of which were even moving, creating a terrifying scene.

Jiang Chen released his spiritual sense, finding that it could cover a range of about five yards around him. He could perceive every movement within this radius clearly.

Surveying his surroundings, he gripped the black longsword in his hand and slowly advanced.

Along the path, he encountered mounds of loose soil, withered branches, decaying leaves, overgrown weeds, partially exposed coffins, and decomposing corpses. The cold wind grew more penetrating, accompanied by the eerie sounds of ghostly wails and wolf howls, intensifying the sinister atmosphere.

Initially, Jiang Chen felt a bit apprehensive, but after seeing these sights for a while, he became somewhat desensitized.

It wasn’t long before he spotted a jiangshi with half of its face rotten, extending its arms and moving slowly.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and the jiangshi seemed to catch the scent of a living human. It turned around and hastened toward Jiang Chen, eager at the prospect of a feast.

After observing it briefly, Jiang Chen felt slightly disappointed. This jiangshi seemed to be one without any spiritual awareness, only slightly stronger than an average person. It dared to approach him, a cultivator, with the intent to devour him. Surely it was courting death.

By this time, the jiangshi had already charged forward, raising its right claw to grab Jiang Chen’s shoulder, intending to enjoy a hearty meal.

Jiang Chen let out a cold snort and swung the black longsword in his hand, channeling his internal spiritual power. The black longsword immediately emitted a faint white glow.

“Slash!” The sword sliced through the air, severing the jiangshi’s head, which fell to the ground.

The headless jiangshi continued to stagger forward a few steps before collapsing.

Jiang Chen shook his head and continued deeper into the area. He longed to encounter a jiangshi with spiritual awareness.

Three days passed as Jiang Chen roamed the Shadow Soul Mountain. During this time, he only encountered one spiritually aware jiangshi. This jiangshi had a slender figure, and judging by the torn pink clothing remnants, it was undoubtedly a young woman before death.

It was noticeably more intelligent. Instead of rushing at him like other jiangshi to feast, it backed away, evidently sensing that he was much stronger.

After swiftly taking care of the ordinary jiangshi that came to harass him, Jiang Chen pursued the intelligent one. However, it moved swiftly, and he couldn’t catch up.

After circling the mountain path a few times, the jiangshi darted into a cave.

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