Within his perception range, Chen Qing scanned around, finding that most of those individuals were his peers.
From their cultivation Realm, combined with their age and attire, they were undoubtedly Prodigies from various Sects, whose names were well-known.
Chen Qing carefully checked the Sect totems embroidered on their cultivation robes but found no familiar ones.
He figured they were mostly Sect forces from outside the Great Wu Dynasty.
Though they were Prodigies, they weren't strong enough for Chen Qing to consider them a threat; among the hundreds, the strongest was only at the Golden Core Realm.
Even if a few of their companions, old fellows who deliberately concealed their auras, had reached the Nascent Soul Realm and Soul Emergence Realm, the difference was still negligible; they were all targets that could be instantly killed with a mere flick of his finger.
The next moment.
A Shadow Puppet separated from Chen Qing's shadow, carrying the Seven Stars Saber, and set off to harvest blood Qi to accelerate the lighting of the Saber Stars.
The stronger the Cultivator, the more blood Qi they could contribute.
Although this number of people wasn't enough to light up the Saber Stars, Chen Qing knew the principle of accumulating small amounts into a large sum; there was no reason to refuse the blood Qi that came knocking.
After arranging everything, Chen Qing glanced at Xia Qingyue, who sat opposite him, concentrating on absorbing Spiritual Qi and diligently increasing her cultivation.
Soon, he too closed his eyes and entered a state, wildly devouring and refining the vast amount of Spiritual Qi contained within the Spirit Spring Pool…
On the other side, the Shadow Puppet stealthily moved through the shadows, quickly covering the distance, arriving outside the Kunlong Great Formation, and merging into the shadow of one of the Disciples.
That Disciple was completely unaware, currently panting heavily, "No, this won't do. So many of us attacked in turns, yet we couldn't even cause the slightest damage. It's too tough! How about we all return to our Sects first and ask the Elders to intervene!"
It was their first time facing a Formation Master, and only after experiencing it firsthand did they realize they had severely underestimated the power of a Formation Master.
Little did they know, this Formation had not yet been fully activated.
If it were fully activated, a casual attack could instantly cause their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, leaving no bones behind.
The reason Chen Qing didn't do that was because he was worried about being too heavy-handed and wasting the blood Qi that was about to be obtained, which is why he specifically sent out the Shadow Puppet.
Currently, the main purpose of the Kunlong Great Formation was to block outsiders from entering, preventing them from disturbing his and Xia Qingyue's Cultivation.
Of course, to put it more bluntly, with the current strength of these Disciples, they didn't even have the qualifications to enter the Formation and trigger its Kill mechanism!
Everyone was contemplating the young man's words, hesitating whether to return to their Sect for help.
Just then, a terrified voice suddenly came from the crowd, "You, who are you!"
The others heard this and turned their heads to look.
Then they saw the Shadow Puppet leap out from the young man's shadow, holding the Seven Stars Saber, and neatly slit his throat with a single strike. Blood splattered on the faces of those nearby, his eyes closed tightly, and his body trembled violently.
"..." They could clearly feel the thick layer of blood covering their faces, slowly flowing downwards.
Immediately after, they witnessed the blood, like drifting red gauze, flying one by one towards the Seven Stars Saber, being absorbed.
Until the young Disciple's corpse visibly shriveled at a rapid speed, completely turning into skin and bones.
"An evil Cultivator! It's an evil Cultivator's technique! An evil Cultivator has invaded the Tian Yuan Secret Realm! Quick, quickly go back and inform the Elders!"
These young Prodigies had never seen such a sight before, and they were convinced that the opponent was undoubtedly an evil Cultivator. For a moment, screams of terror erupted, and they scattered in all directions.
If they remembered correctly, the young Disciple who was killed had at least Golden Core Realm strength.
Since a Golden Core Realm Cultivator was so effortlessly killed by the Shadow Puppet with a single saber strike, how could they dare to be its enemy?
But in the face of absolute strength, all their struggles were, without exception, futile.
The Shadow Puppet's killing speed was extremely fast, using shadows to quickly teleport between Disciples. Each teleportation meant the demise of one person, and a System notification sounded.
[Successfully doted on your wife! Congratulations, Host, you have received a random reward: Grade 4 Crimson Sky Pill + 100!]
[Successfully doted on your wife! Congratulations, Host, you have received a random reward: longevity fruit + 100!]
[Successfully doted on your wife! Congratulations, Host, you have received a random reward: Dragon Blood + 10!]
...
Chen Qing found the System's constant refreshing in his ear distracting his Cultivation, so he chose to mute it, letting it refresh on its own, directly storing the rewards in the System backpack to study later.
Returning outside the Formation.
In just a moment, the many Prodigies from various forces who had confidently declared they would break the Formation and seize treasures had now turned into withered bones scattered everywhere.
Their blood Qi had been completely absorbed by the Seven Stars Saber, leaving no vitality. A slight touch would cause them to instantly turn into a pile of loose sand.
As for why those Elders who deliberately concealed their auras didn't intervene to stop the Shadow Puppet?
Firstly, everything happened too quickly for them to react.
Secondly, although the Shadow Puppet did not reveal its true cultivation, it did not prevent them from recognizing the disparity. They knew tacitly that if they rashly intervened, the result would only be a few more corpses on the ground.
Whether the Disciples were important or their own lives were important, it was undoubtedly the latter.
They turned to flee the area, each returning to their respective Sect's branch established within the Secret Realm, deciding to report this matter and let the other Elders decide.
However, the front foot they had stepped out had not yet landed when a cold gleam pierced through their chest and emerged.
The Shadow Puppet strictly carried out Chen Qing's orders: not a single person present was to be left alive!
'Not good! He found us!'
The remaining Elders knew they couldn't escape, so they revealed themselves one by one, no longer expending spiritual power on concealing their aura.
They said with shame, "We were reckless and disturbed Senior. Please, Senior, be magnanimous and spare us. I am the Inner Courtyard Elder of the Azure Dragon Pavilion..."
These words were naturally not for the Shadow Puppet, but for Chen Qing, who was behind the Shadow Puppet.
Chen Qing had no interest in listening to his nonsense, and the Shadow Puppet had no intention of wasting time. It instantly approached, quickly drawing its saber. A cold flash, and a head immediately flew into the sky, blood gushing like a fountain.
The other Elders, seeing this, knew that Chen Qing was bloodthirsty and unwilling to let them go.
"Damn demonic Cultivator! I'll fight you to the death!"
"If we join forces, we can surely carve out a path to survival!"
When someone raised their arm and shouted, others naturally responded.
One by one, their Qi surged like a tide, and spiritual might vibrated outwards.
The Shadow Puppet calmly raised its left hand, which wasn't holding the saber, and gently brought it down.
A more powerful pressure accurately descended upon everyone's heads.
Their bodies were forcibly pressed down onto the ground by an invisible, unseen large hand, unable to move, sinking into the mud.
Their eyes wide, pupils trembling, they spoke with difficulty, "Peak... Soul Emergence Realm!"
After that, the Shadow Puppet dealt with these Sect Elders one by one, executing them and letting the Seven Stars Saber drain their blood Qi.
After doing all this, it didn't forget to collect the scattered spatial rings and Storage Pouches on the ground to bring back to Chen Qing.
Being in a Secret Realm filled with Opportunities, the treasures in these Storage Magic Treasures would definitely not be few!
It was equivalent to a treasure-hunting rat, putting in great effort, only to benefit Chen Qing in the end.