I Can Merge Techniques

Chapter 591: Chapter 169: Who Is Crazier? Receiving a Body Tempering Holy Medicine

He let out a long breath.

The instant he opened his eyes, the palm-sized paperman floating before him burst into flames with a sudden PHOOM!

The flames were not the usual orange-red, but a ghostly green phosphorescence that instantly illuminated the old man’s dark and somber face.

In the blink of an eye, the lifelike paperman was reduced to a pile of ash.

It drifted down, scattering onto the ground.

Just then, the seal at the cave’s entrance shimmered.

A figure flickered, and a skinny young man with triangular eyes rushed in.

He entered the cave just in time to see the last of the ghostly green flames consume the paperman. His pupils constricted, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

"Master, how could this be?!"

The young man’s voice trembled as he hurried forward. Staring at the ashes on the ground in horror, he stammered, "This... Is this a Substitute Paper Puppet?"

"Your Divine Sense Avatar... it’s been destroyed?"

In his mind, his master, the Ghost Bone Elder, was one of the top powerhouses of the Yin Demon Sect.

He was a renowned figure, even amongst those of the Demon Dao.

An avatar possessing thirty percent of its creator’s full strength, coupled with a meticulously refined Demon Puppet, should have been enough to sweep away any ordinary Bright Heart Realm cultivator. How could it have been so utterly defeated in just a few moments?

"Did you fall for one of the Demon Suppression Bureau’s treacherous plots?"

"Was a Captain-level expert lying in ambush?"

"A plot... Hmph!" the Ghost Bone Elder sneered.

He circulated his Primordial Qi to suppress the violent backlash churning within him. Though his face was still pale, his gaze turned colder still. "It was indeed a trap."

"But not one laid by those brutes from the Demon Suppression Bureau. The intelligence was wrong!"

He ground out the words through clenched teeth, "Those useless fools from the Zhang Family!"

"They swore up and down they were monitoring the Demon Suppression Bureau’s movements and that the Demon Suppression Envoy was staying put."

"They said the Demon Suppression Captains were all tied up..."

"But what they failed to anticipate was that the Demon Suppression Bureau had brought in Princess Zhaohua of Prince Zhennan’s Mansion."

"Not to mention Wang Yiyi of the Wang Family and that ’Sword Madman,’ Li Qingcang, of the Li Family!"

"What?!" The young man with triangular eyes gasped. "The three great prodigies of Qing Province?" he cried out, his voice cracking.

"Why would they get involved in this matter?"

Among the younger generation of Qing Province, those three names were legendary.

Each was backed by a colossal power, and each possessed the formidable strength to fight opponents in higher realms.

’No wonder even Master’s avatar was defeated.’

The Ghost Bone Elder snorted, his tone thick with indignation. "If my true self had been there, using my full arsenal of techniques, I wouldn’t have feared those three brats!"

"It’s just a shame that an avatar’s techniques are so limited and its power insufficient. That’s why it met its end."

"I lost a precious Substitute Paper Puppet for nothing, and even my Demon Puppet was torn to scrap!"

At the mention of the Demon Puppet, the Ghost Bone Elder’s heart bled.

He had spent countless rare materials to refine it, and its defense was unparalleled among those of the same realm.

And it had been torn apart by sheer force!

The young man with triangular eyes gazed at his master’s thunderous expression, hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Master... there is something I don’t understand."

"I’ve secretly investigated that Demon Suppression Guard, Chu Fan."

"He might have a bit of a reputation, but at the end of the day, he’s just a powerless ant."

"If you wanted him dead, you could have just left it to me. Why did you have to act personally?"

The young man paused, then, mustering his courage, continued, "Why did you agree to the Zhang Family’s request at such a critical time? Why risk being cornered by the Demon Suppression Bureau just to kill him outside Qing Province?"

"Killing a nobody like him brings us no real benefit."

"Instead, it drew the attention of those prodigies. The risk... it’s just too great!"

The Ghost Bone Elder tilted his head slightly, his chilling gaze sweeping over his disciple.

The look made the young man’s scalp tingle.

After a moment of silence, the Ghost Bone Elder finally spoke, his voice low. "Do I need you to point that out to me?"

"Do you take me for a senile old fool?"

He held up one withered finger. "First, the Zhang Family Ancestor once saved my life. That is a karmic debt that must be settled."

"Helping them deal with this problem, even though I failed, counts as repaying that favor. From now on, we owe each other nothing."

"But that is secondary..."

The Ghost Bone Elder paused, an inscrutable glint flashing in his murky eyes.

He lowered his voice. "And second... that brat, Chu Fan, is far from simple."

"Far from simple?" the young man repeated, stunned.

"Hmph. My true purpose in going was not merely to kill him."

"I intended to capture him alive."

The Ghost Bone Elder shook his head with regret. "Unfortunately, Princess Zhaohua and those other brats were hiding nearby and ruined my plans!"

"You... you wanted to capture him alive?" The young man with triangular eyes was growing more confused. "I’ve heard the rumors about that kid."

"They say he just borrowed the might of Demon Suppression Envoy Yue Mankong’s avatar back in Cyan Yang Ancient City."

"That’s the only reason he got lucky and foiled the Moon Worship Sect’s conspiracy."

"He’s quick-witted, I’ll give him that, but is that all there is to it?"

"Is he really worth you going to all this trouble, Master?"

"There are some things your current Realm doesn’t allow you to comprehend..." The Ghost Bone Elder seemed to lose his patience for explaining and waved his hand dismissively. "Enough. You may go."

"Guard the entrance. I need to tend to my injuries."

"Yes... yes!" The young man with triangular eyes didn’t dare say another word.

He bowed hastily and retreated with the utmost respect, carefully resetting the Vine Array that concealed the cave’s entrance.

With his disciple’s departure, a dead silence once again fell over the cave.

Only the Ghost Fire Lamp on the wall swayed in the eerie draft, its flame flickering unsteadily.

The Ghost Bone Elder slowly raised his head.

The weakness and fury on his ancient face gradually faded.

In their place, a bone-chilling greed emerged.

The sharp glint that burst from his eyes was especially piercing in the dim cave.

’Far from simple... Heheheh, truly far from simple...’

His voice was filled with an irrepressible excitement.

His gaze was that of a lone wolf, starved all winter, that had just caught the scent of a plump, stray lamb in the snow!

’Back in the Chaotic Stone Forest, Chu Fan clearly had the aura of someone in the Spirit Awakening Realm...’

’And yet?’

’An ant like that not only subdued Mo Yunzi, who was at the Fifth Heaven of the Divine Power Realm...’

’He even killed Mo Daozi, who was at the Second Heaven of the Acupoint Realm!’

’And this time...’

The Ghost Bone Elder recalled the moments before his avatar’s destruction.

His breathing quickened. ’This time, I saw it with my own eyes. He’s already at the Third Heaven of the Divine Power Realm!’

’His foundation is incredibly solid, and his Primordial Qi is frighteningly abundant!’

’Even more terrifying, he dismantled my Demon Puppet—a creation comparable to the Bright Heart Realm—in just a few moves.’

’Even the Fierce Soul inside the Demon Puppet was annihilated!’

’How long has it been since the incident at the Chaotic Stone Forest?’

’A few months at most!’

’In a matter of months, he went from a novice in the Spirit Awakening Realm straight to the Third Heaven of the Divine Power Realm.’

’And his methods are bizarre and terrifying...’

’This speed of cultivation, this power to fight across realms... ’

’The word ’talent’ alone can’t possibly explain it!’

’That kid must possess a peerless Exotic Treasure!’

’It might even be the legacy of an Ancient Great Power!’

’Hmph... Those fools in the Zhang Family.’

’Did they really think I took such a risk just to repay a favor?’

’We were just using each other, that’s all...’

The Ghost Bone Elder stuck out a scarlet tongue and licked his cracked lips, his smile growing ever more hideous.

’Clever boy. Even now, he hasn’t had any expert from the Demon Suppression Bureau remove the Blood Curse I left inside him...’

’He’s using himself as bait, treating me as both a whetstone to sharpen his skills and a target to be hunted! That confidence... it must come from the Exotic Treasure!’

’Interesting... How very interesting!’

WHOOSH—!

As the thought crossed his mind, an eerie wind suddenly swirled through the cave.

Billowing black smoke rose from the ground, instantly engulfing the Ghost Bone Elder’s figure.

When the black smoke dissipated, the black stone slab he sat on was empty.

All that remained was the swaying Ghost Fire, flickering uncertainly in the darkness of the cave.

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