What the hell is that?!

Before Luo Tianming could finish his sentence, his head was blown apart by Chen Xiang.

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for killing a second-tier Nascent Soul cultivator. Twenty thousand experience points acquired!"

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for leveling up. Current realm: sixth-tier Nascent Soul!"

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for achieving his first kill against a Spirit Severing stage cultivator. A 'Mysterious Gift Bag' has been awarded!"

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for killing a Spirit Severing elder of the Heavenly Yin Sect. Two fragments of the 'Shadow Scripture' acquired."

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for gathering ten fragments of the 'Shadow Scripture'. Would you like to synthesize the complete version?"

...

A continuous stream of system notifications echoed in Chen Xiang's mind.

"Tsk tsk, I never expected such generous rewards just for killing you. It seems your death wasn't in vain," Chen Xiang muttered as he glanced at the headless corpse on the ground.

Then, his gaze shifted toward the unconscious female cultivator.

With a flick of his wrist, he instantly formed a simple illusion array. Channeling his spiritual sense—which was dozens of times stronger than that of the female cultivator—he implanted the illusion directly into her mind.

When this female cultivator woke up, she would believe that a mysterious, masked figure with a delicate and slender physique had killed Luo Tianming, mistaking them entirely for a woman.

After finishing this, Chen Xiang sensed two powerful auras appearing downstairs, about to rush up at any moment.

He knew these must be Luo Tianming's grandfather and father.

Without wasting a moment, he produced a mid-grade spatial-breaking escape talisman, crushed it, and his figure vanished instantly from the pavilion.

The very second he disappeared, the door was blasted into fine powder by a tremendous force.

Two middle-aged men charged inside.

Scanning the room with fierce gazes, they immediately spotted the disheveled female cultivator on the bed and the headless corpse on the floor.

"Tianming!" Luo Zhong cried out in grief, instantly appearing before the headless corpse.

Luo Yuefeng swept his spiritual sense outward, desperately searching for the killer's tracks.

Yet, a moment later, not a single trace could be found.

At that moment, several people burst through the door—they were the guards stationed outside.

Without even sparing them a glance, Luo Yuefeng said in a deep, chilling voice, "Search! Even if you have to turn Liuxin City upside down, you must find the killer. Otherwise, don't bother coming back!"

The Core Formation stage guards, who would normally remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before them, exchanged wry, bitter smiles.

With two late-stage Spirit Severing elders residing so nearby and failing to find the culprit, the murderer's cultivation level was undoubtedly far superior to theirs. How could mere Core Formation cultivators ever hope to track them down?

Yet, they dared not defy Luo Yuefeng's command. Acknowledging the order in unison, they immediately rushed out to mobilize manpower, truly intending to tear Liuxin City apart in search of the murderer.

A hundred miles away, Chen Xiang's figure quietly materialized.

This was a secluded mountain forest. Determining his bearings, he set off.

After just a moment, he returned to the Xiao Residence.

The gates of the Xiao Residence were guarded day and night, but a gatekeeper recognized Chen Xiang, so he gained entry with ease.

A pageboy went to inform Madam Xiao of his return, while Chen Xiang headed straight back to his quarters.

Right now, he could barely contain his excitement.

"Ha! I never thought killing a Spirit Severing cultivator would yield two fragments of the 'Shadow Scripture'. Now I finally have all of them," Chen Xiang thought happily.

"System, synthesize the 'Shadow Scripture'!" Chen Xiang commanded with his mind.

"Ding! Congratulations to host for successfully using ten fragments of the 'Shadow Scripture'. Synthesized Heaven-grade intermediate movement technique: 'Shadow Scripture'!"

"Ding! Heaven-grade intermediate movement technique 'Shadow Scripture' detected. Would you like to recycle it?"

The system prompt rang out.

"Yes..." Chen Xiang was just about to shout "yes" when he instantly caught himself. "Yes my foot!"

He widened his eyes, staring at the system message, reading it back and forth dozens of times before realizing this absurdity was actually real.

"System, get your ass out here! It took me this much effort to get a Heaven-grade intermediate movement technique, why on earth are you trying to recycle it? Are you trying to scam me?" Chen Xiang roared in anger.

"Ding! Detecting that the host's current cultivation is insufficient, the system advises the host not to rush into cultivating a Heaven-grade intermediate movement technique!" the system replied.

Chen Xiang was dumbfounded. Insufficient cultivation again?! What kind of broken system was this? Look at protagonists in other stories—they could cultivate whatever they wanted; practicing Heaven-grade advanced techniques at the Qi Condensation stage was totally fine! Here he was, already at the sixth-tier Nascent Soul realm, yet he couldn't even practice a Heaven-grade intermediate movement technique!

"System, didn't you say that if cultivation is lacking, physical constitution can make up for it? You better give me a proper explanation this time!" Chen Xiang said, gritting his teeth.

"Ding! The 'Shadow Scripture' is divided into three realms: Flash Shadow, Concealed Shadow, and Clone Shadow. Flash Shadow trains speed, Concealed Shadow trains stealth, and Clone Shadow trains illusions and clones. The physical requirements are extremely demanding. The host's current physique can only support Flash Shadow, and can barely manage Concealed Shadow, but the backlash would be severe!" the system replied.

"Fine, fine, everything you say is right. I didn't understand a single word of that anyway—just tell me how much cultivation I need to actually practice it," Chen Xiang said impatiently.

"Seventh-tier Nascent Soul, combined with the host's current physical constitution, will suffice for cultivation," the system replied.

"What the heck..." Chen Xiang was utterly speechless. He had just broken through to the sixth-tier Nascent Soul, and now it demanded the seventh tier?!

"System, are you sure you're not messing with me?" Chen Xiang asked with a dark expression.

"Everything is for the host!" A line of text materialized.

I'll be damned if I believe you!

"Fine, fine, I'll wait until the seventh-tier Nascent Soul to practice it. If you pull any more tricks then, don't blame me for turning hostile!" Chen Xiang threatened fiercely.

Having a Heaven-grade intermediate technique placed right before his eyes yet being unable to cultivate it was like a starving ghost sitting atop a mountain of gold—who could endure such torment?

"Open the Mysterious Gift Bag for me!" Chen Xiang demanded.

Immediately, a gift box appeared before him. With a flash of light, several beams shot out rapidly.

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for obtaining ten mid-grade spatial-breaking escape talismans!"

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for obtaining a permanent Earth-grade Spirit Array Master identity card!"

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for obtaining a fragmentary manual of the ancient martial arts fist technique, 'Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms'!"

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for obtaining a bottle of serpent bloodline activation spiritual liquid!"

...

When Chen Xiang saw the first item, he skipped it entirely, as it was just a routine drop.

However, the moment he saw the second item, he leaped straight out of his chair.

"Holy cow! An Earth-grade Spirit Array Master identity card? And it's permanent?! I've hit the jackpot!" Chen Xiang yelled in excitement.

One had to know that acquiring the identity of an Earth-grade Spirit Array Master normally required spending ten to twenty thousand prestige points. This had just saved him twenty thousand points!

"Quick, quickly use the Earth-grade Spirit Array Master identity card!" Chen Xiang urged hurriedly.

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for successfully using the 'Earth-grade Spirit Array Master identity card'!"

"Ding! Congratulations to host 'Chen Xiang' for becoming an Earth-grade Spirit Array Master!"

Following that, Chen Xiang felt a warm current flood his entire body. Much of the theoretical array knowledge he had previously memorized suddenly became intuitively clear, allowing him to understand it effortlessly on his own.

His hands were itching—he desperately wanted to set up an advanced Earth-grade array just to play around with it.