Approaching the group with his sister, Su Chen asked a nearby disciple what was happening.
"Why are you—"
Before the disciple could complain, he saw some spirit stones in Su Chen's hand, and his attitude changed as if Su Chen were his brother.
"Hey, brother, Senior Brother Xu Cheng, one of the most powerful outer disciples, is heading to the spirit food pavilion."
"Anything else?"
"Well, I've also heard that his cousin is a core disciple in Silver Axe Mountain."
After receiving the spirit stones, he added.
After hearing this, Su Chen was surprised because, according to his knowledge, a disciple can only become a core disciple if they have an elder as a teacher. Until then, they are considered inner disciples. Core disciples are properly cultivated by the sect and are usually above the Spiritual Training Realm, i.e, the Skin Shedding Realm.
Xu Cheng being at the top in the outer sect indicates that he is only a step away from entering the Spiritual Training Realm. He just needs to break through before the next inner sect disciple selection to enter inner doors.
While about to leave, the crowd hushed, and looking toward the center, Su Chen saw a pale, sickly-looking man in purple robes surrounded by many beautiful female disciples coming toward the spirit food pavilion.
He seemed disdainful when glancing at other outer sect disciples. However, when his gaze landed on Su Chen, it paused as if interested, and after a moment, he started walking toward the spirit food pavilion.
Su Chen suddenly felt a bit confused about the Xu Cheng's momentary interest in him, thinking it might have been a mistake. Just as he was about to leave, a message from Xiaohei (who could express himself mentally but remained silent most of the time) embarrassed Su Chen.
According to Xiaohei, while looking towards Su Chen, Xu Cheng exhibited a sudden burst of lustful thoughts. The realization that Xu Cheng might be interested in him sent shivers down Su Chen's spine. As he was about to inquire about more information, another message from Xiaohei bought chill on his face.
Because, according to Xiaohei, although Xu Cheng was looking towards Su Chen, his lustful thoughts were about Su Ling'er, who was behind Su Chen. The reminder of criminals from Su Chen's previous life made him acutely aware of the extent to which some individuals could fall.
His sister was an inverse scale for him, and Xu Cheng had touched it.
"Brother, what happened?" Su Ling'er asked, looking at her brother's gloomy face with concern.
"Nothing, sis, don't learn to worry too much," replied Su Chen, showing a sunny smile.
Afterward, he called for a spirit crane using his disciple token.
While about to set off, he spiritually told Xiaohei to secretly follow Xu Cheng. If Xu Cheng had any bad thoughts about him and his sister, dispose of him without causing too much noise.
Listening to his order, Xiaohei's featureless face cracked into a creepy smile that would send chills down anybody's body.
Suddenly, Su Chen's shadow wiggled for a second and then returned to calm.
Seeing that Xiaohei went to Xu Cheng, Su Chen went towards his home. He was not worried about Xiaohei. Apart from being Immortal, Xiaohei is also at the 8th layer of spiritual training, and he doesn't think Xu Cheng would have a protector at the level of the Skin Shedding realm, even though he was the cousin of a core disciple.
So he simply put these matters in the back of his mind and chatted happily with his sister on the way back.
In the private room of the spirit food pavilion, Xu Cheng was surrounded by many beautiful female disciples, feeding him various delicacies while his hands were touching them in inappropriate places.
Suddenly, he called a woman on his left.
"What's your order, my lord?" asked the woman while on her knees.
"Well, I want to you to find information about a disciple and his family."
Knowing about the different hobbies of her lord, the woman felt a moment of sympathy for the unlucky disciple and his family, but it was quickly replaced with a look of indifference, as this was not the first time it had happened and would surely not be the last.
Thinking for a moment, she asked,
"Sir, can you please provide some descriptions of them?"
He simply took out a recording stone and gave it to her.
"Here, it has my memories about them spiritually recorded."
"What should I do after finding them?"
"Well, you can secretly dispose of the male disciple and bring his sister to me."
"As you wish, my lord."
But what they didn't notice was that their shadow at their feet suddenly started to ripple.
Feeling a sudden sense of danger, the female guards suddenly came in front of Xu Cheng.
Suddenly, an arm made of darkness popped out of the shadow beneath one of the female disciples present, skewering her.
When the female guard was about to tell everyone to be alert, multiple arms shot out from other disciples' shadows, skewering them as well.
After a moment of struggle, the disciples' eyes became dull.
Looking at this scene sent a chill down Xu Cheng's spine, while it made the face of the female guard solemn.
"Who are you? Come out!" shouted Xu Cheng, feeling angry that he was fearful a moment before.
Before he could utter another word, the shadows twisted rapidly until a bizarre, twisted humanoid shadow wearing a masquerade mask emerged from the darkness.
As the twisted monster appeared, the female guard's expression turned solemn, recognizing the formidable cultivation at the 8th layer of spiritual training.
"Your excellency, my master is the cousin of Core Disciple Xu Chengqing, and attacking him will—"
Before she could say more, Xiaohei transformed his arms into huge claws and launched an attack.
Facing the oncoming assault, the female guard assumed a defensive stance. Despite being a realm below the shadow, she could be considered a top figure in the inner doors. Blocking Xiaohei until reinforcements arrived was not impossible, even though it would result in serious injuries lasting for weeks. However, she deemed it a small price compared to the wrath of a core disciple.