"A devil?"

"Wow, thanks for the compliment, I guess."

Chu Kuangren chuckled.

He then tugged the Soul Retriever's chain lightly, which released dark, chilly energy that targeted a person's soul. In an instant, Jian Yunyang's soul was destroyed.

"Please, I beg you. Please spare us."

"That's right. If you let us go, we're willing to submit to your will and serve you as our master, just like Jian Changfeng."

The Sword Tribe's sky-prides pleaded incessantly.

However, Chu Kuangren merely replied with an apathetic look. "My apologies. There's a limit to how many people the Soul-Vanquis.h.i.+ng Slave Seal can control. You guys have no chance."

He then raised his arm and let out several streaks of sword qi as he spoke.

The sword qi immediately killed the remaining Sword Tribe sky-prides.

In reality, there was no limit as to how many times the Soul-Vanquis.h.i.+ng Slave Seal could be used.

However, the burden on Chu Kuangren would increase the more he used the seal. Hence, he generally would not use this technique that frequently.

Quality iron should be used for the sharpest swords, after all.

Both Jian Changfeng and Swordsman Mei were top-notch sky-prides in their own right. One was sent to infiltrate the Sword Tribe, while the other possessed a Supreme Daoist Physique.

Only people like them were of value or use to Chu Kuangren.

"Master, should I return to the Sword Tribe now?"

"I'll leave it to you. You can continue adventuring in the Forbidden Barren Wasteland or return to the Sword Tribe. Either way, you should not be seen with me from this moment onwards."

If anyone else were to see Jian Changfeng with Chu Kuangren, his ident.i.ty would be exposed.

"Very well."

Jian Changfeng nodded and then disappeared from the spot.

Behind him, Swordsman Mei walked towards Chu Kuangren and said, "Master, I have something to report."

"Speak."

"I've been approached by the people from the Dark Shadow Religion."

"Oh? Tell me more about it." Chu Kuangren's interest was piqued.

"It seems like they have their eyes on my Dark Descent Physique. They're hoping that I can leave with them to join the Dark Shadow Religion."

"Interesting."

Chu Kuangren was still figuring out how to deal with the Holy Light Religion.

Then came Dark Shadow Religion, who had their eyes set on one of his subordinates.

"What's your opinion on this?"

"Your wish is my command, Master."

"Stop relying on me to give you orders all the time. You guys are not puppets, are you? Now, tell me your thoughts on this."

The Soul-Vanquis.h.i.+ng Slave Seal merely implanted a seal in Swordsman Mei's mind that made her loyal to Chu Kuangren rather than a seal that controlled her thoughts.

What Chu Kuangren desired was a capable subordinate.

He did not want a soulless puppet who only knew how to obey his orders.

"The Dark Shadow Religion possesses a deep background. If I can manage to gain control over it, I believe this would be of some use to you eventually, Master."

"So, you intend to join them?"

"Yes, but the final decision lies with you, Master."

Swordsman Mei understood that Chu Kuangren did not require an ordinary servant or guard. As such, she would bring no benefit to him if she continued to stay by his side.

Besides, she was also unwilling to be just a normal servant or bodyguard. She wanted Chu Kuangren to recognize the value that she could offer.

She possessed the Dark Descent Physique, a type of physique that was most suited for darkness. Perhaps she could only fully utilize her worth as his subordinate by joining the Dark Shadow Religion.

"Joining the Dark Shadow Religion, huh? This might be a great opportunity for you as well. However, they'll go through your background and soon realize that you're serving me as your Master."

"Heh. I believe it won't be long before they come to me, so don't worry about this for now. We'll wait until they seek me out."

Chu Kuangren replied.

"Alright, Master."

Following that, Chu Kuangren continued exploring the Forbidden Barren Wasteland with Lan Yu and the others, nabbing every Opportunity of Fortune they could find along the way.

"This is mean, very mean. Chu Kuangren took all the great treasures on Eight Wind Dragon Mountain for himself. The remaining hundreds of sky-prides could only stand and watch as he did that."

"Sigh. Eight Wind Dragon Mountain wasn't the only one. Every time a great treasure appeared, Chu Kuangren would s.n.a.t.c.h them all away."

"This person is too arrogant and tyrannical."

"What can we do? He's too powerful for the likes of us to fight against. Otherwise, how do you think he could get his hands on all of those Opportunities of Fortune?"

"Is there really no one who can stop him?"

Chu Kuangren had singlehandedly nabbed more than half of the great Opportunities of Fortune in the Forbidden Barren Wasteland.

Every sky-prides complained wherever he went.

For a time, all of the sky-prides in the Forbidden Barren Wasteland were so angry that they wanted to tear Chu Kuangren apart because of what he did.

However, Chu Kuangren could not care less about what they felt.

The strong would survive, and the weak would peris.h.!.+

That was an undisputed truth in this world.

Since he had the strength to obtain those Opportunities of Fortune, those items should belong to him. Why should other people's complaints matter to him?

While the other sky-prides grumbled about this, Nangong Huang, Murong Xuan, and the others were incredibly delighted for the past few days.

Under Chu Kuangren's lead, each of them had obtained countless treasures.

They had obtained even more treasures in the Forbidden Barren Wasteland than what they had seen in their entire lives.

…

At night.

Beneath the bright moonlight, a campfire, with the Black Heaven Sect members gathered around it, was burning in a mountain range somewhere in the Forbidden Barren Wasteland.

Besides the Black Heaven Sect cultivators, there were three outsiders — Chi Yue, Leng Ningyu, and Swordsman Mei. As for the ones from the Holy Light Religion, Lan Yu had made an excuse and sent them off somewhere else under Chu Kuangren's instructions.

They, too, felt bad picking up sc.r.a.ps and items left behind by Chu Kuangren's party anyway.

Moreover, Chu Kuangren's blatant and tyrannical actions had made him a target by multiple forces. Even the Holy Light Religion could not afford to be involved in this conflict.

"Congratulations, host! You have obtained a Legendary-grade item – Technique Perfection Card."

Chu Kuangren casually rolled his Fantasy Roulette while chatting with the others.

He took a look at the item's description.

Technique Perfection Card (Legendary-grade).

The user could choose any Legendary-grade technique and use that card to perfect said technique, further enhancing its level and effectiveness.

Chu Kuangren's eyes lit up upon seeing the Technique Perfection Card.

"Now that's what I'm talking about."

"Just in time. This Technique Perfection Card came just in time indeed."

Chu Kuangren smiled.

At that moment, Leng Ningyu beside him seemed to have received a message, and the look on her face had turned grim.

"What's wrong, Sister Leng?"

Chu Kuangren asked curiously.

"I just got word from a Daoist sister of mine, asking both Chi Yue and me to leave your side as soon as possible," Leng Ningyu replied.

Chu Kuangren's eyes glinted as he pondered

"It looks like someone is going to bring me trouble."

Chu Kuangren chuckled.

"It's not just somebody."

Leng Ningyu shook her head and said, "It's a lot of people!"

"Oh, how many are there?"

"The w.a.n.g clan, Bai clan, Demon Tribe, Sword Tribe, Runic Lands, Qin clan, Nine-Headed Snakelet Tribe, Divine Yinyang Sect, Thousand Formation Sect, and many more. Almost every sky-pride who is here in the Forbidden Barren Wasteland has decided to come for you."

Leng Ningyu said solemnly.

Subconsciously, a trace of worry appeared in her eyes.

Chu Kuangren chuckled. "Sheesh. All these orthodoxies are coming for me right now, huh? I didn't even know some of them, which is interesting, very interesting indeed."

"This is not the time to fool around, Brother Chu. Can you handle that amount of people?" Chi Yue uttered frustratingly.

She had never seen fear on that man's face before.

It was as if there was nothing in this that could frighten him.

"How can I possibly not? It's just a rag-tag bunch of people, after all."

Chu Kuangren laughed and then replied, "But with so many forces involved, I do think the Seven Emotions Sect should stay out of this. Your Daoist sister was right in sending you that message. I think you both should leave now."

It was not a verbal attack on those two women, but rather, the truth that there was nothing they could contribute to even if they stayed behind.