I Can Merge Techniques

Chapter 595: Chapter 170: Introducing Evil into the Body, Refining Evil into Gang; Inner Marrow Tempering, External Defense of Ten Thousand Techniques

But now, entering the pool once every three days, the effects were greatly diminished.

There was simply too little Vajra Mother Ore and Bone-Eroding Demon Crystal in the pool.

Furthermore, the Vajra Mother Ore released its energy far too slowly.

The energy released by the Bone-Eroding Demon Crystal and Vajra Mother Ore couldn’t possibly keep up with the voracious absorption rate of his Vajra Undying Body.

He often found that after less than an hour of cultivation, the energy in the surrounding water would be completely drained.

It would take several days for new energy to slowly seep out from the ore settled at the bottom of the pool.

On the other hand, the residual medicinal power from the quarter of a Red Flame Stone Marrow Pill he had taken nine days ago still lingered deep within his bone marrow and meridians, occasionally releasing a scorching heat that nourished his physique.

By this calculation, one Red Flame Stone Marrow Pill could likely temper his body for forty days.

Chu Fan leaned against the wall of the pool and ceased circulating his Vajra Subduing Demon Skill.

He closed his eyes, letting the black water, which carried a faint stinging sensation, wash over his chest.

The feeling was akin to a starving man watching a faucet drip, one drop at a time.

It was barely enough to wet his throat.

During this brief rest, Chu Fan’s thoughts drifted with the rippling water toward the perilous city of Qing Province.

’Nine days have passed...’

It had been a full nine days since he destroyed the Ghost Bone Elder’s doppelgänger outside the city.

In these nine days, Chu Fan had only gone out twice.

He had spent most of his days in secluded, arduous cultivation, but he was far from ignorant of the world outside.

However, as a Demon Suppression Guard who was held in high regard by Demon Suppression Envoy Leng Qingqiu, the Document Library’s intelligence network was almost completely transparent to him.

The situation in Qing Province, far from calming down due to the Ghost Bone Elder’s setback, had instead intensified.

Inside and outside the city, Demon Fiends wreaked havoc every night, civilians vanished under mysterious circumstances, and merchant caravans were ambushed...

These chaotic events seemed random and disorganized, but behind them, there was clearly an invisible hand manipulating and driving everything.

All clues ultimately pointed obscurely in one direction—the Zhang Family.

Only then did Chu Fan realize that he had, after all, underestimated this behemoth that had been entrenched in Qing Province for several hundred years.

The top-secret information that Demon Suppression Captain Nangong Yue had privately shared with him a while back surfaced in his mind...

The Demon Suppression Bureau already knew about the connection between the Zhang Family and the Moon Worship Sect. They even knew the family was responsible for numerous atrocities. So why hadn’t they acted?

Why not just exterminate the entire Zhang Family and eliminate the threat once and for all?

This wasn’t a matter of the Demon Suppression Bureau being weak. They were simply wary of the collateral damage; it was a situation where a single move could affect everything...

First, the Zhang Family had a powerful backer in the imperial court.

Rumor had it that the Zhang Family had a high-ranking and powerful figure as a backer in the Imperial Capital.

While this figure’s influence couldn’t directly command the Demon Suppression Bureau, which held a transcendent status, it was enough to create immense procedural and political obstacles.

Without ironclad, irrefutable proof, the Demon Suppression Bureau had to consider the pressure from the central government before making a move on such a powerful clan.

Second, and the most difficult factor, was their strength.

Deep within the Zhang Family’s forbidden grounds, rumor had it that an ancestor who had lived for several hundred years was in seclusion.

That individual was most likely the undisputed strongest expert in all of Qing Province.

Even if the several Demon Suppression Envoys from Qing Province’s northern and southern bureaus joined forces, they probably wouldn’t have a guaranteed victory.

If the Zhang Family was on a Spirit Mountain in the middle of nowhere, it would be a different story.

The Demon Suppression Bureau could simply mobilize a large army to besiege and attack the mountain.

But the Zhang Family was unfortunately located within the densely populated city of Qing Province.

If a battle were to break out and they failed to instantly kill that ancestor, he would be driven to desperate measures, lashing out with his dying breath.

The entirety of Qing Province would likely be turned into a living hell, with catastrophic loss of life!

This was a price no one could afford to pay.

That’s why the Demon Suppression Bureau had waited until now, without making any major moves.

They were waiting, waiting for the experts from the Imperial Capital Demon Suppression Bureau to arrive.

They were playing the long game...

Chu Fan slowly opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing through them.

The third reason, and the one that weighed on Chu Fan the most, was the Burial Immortal Valley.

The Zhang Family and the Moon Worship Sect colluded, but what they were after was not secular power.

It was that legendary forbidden land.

Intelligence showed that it was related to the secrets of ancient gods and demons.

A crisis of this level was already beyond the handling capacity of the Demon Suppression Bureau’s Qing Province branch.

Only by waiting for the peak experts from the Imperial Capital Demon Suppression Bureau headquarters to arrive could they ensure victory.

’Not burying immortals, but burying demons, perhaps...?’

Chu Fan’s eyelashes twitched slightly.

’If that valley really did have the remnant power of ancient gods and fiends...’

But in the next moment, the solemn look on his face melted away, replaced by a cold, knowing smirk.

’Scheme all you want. Raise hell and sow chaos all you like...’

’As long as I don’t make a move, none of you will ever set foot inside.’

He lightly clenched his left palm.

Within his palm rested an ancient, cold stone tablet—the Demon Suppression Stele.

The Demon Suppression Stele was precisely the key to opening the Burial Immortal Valley!

Whatever the Zhang Family and the Moon Worship Sect were plotting, without this key, it was all for naught!

Of course, Chu Fan had no intention of casually opening the Burial Immortal Valley.

Right now, he still couldn’t completely control the Demon Suppression Stele.

His strength was barely a match for an early-stage Bright Heart Realm cultivator.

Opening the door at this time would be no different from seeking his own death.

What’s more, there was nothing in that Burial Immortal Valley that could attract him.

He couldn’t care less about the so-called power of ancient gods and fiends.

With the Map of Mountains and Rivers in his possession, given enough time, he would become a god. He would become a fiend!

Why would he care about some ancient gods or fiends?

Chu Fan knew his role in this perfectly.

On this turbulent chessboard, he seemed to be a chess piece swept up by various forces.

But in reality, he was the one who had locked the board.

As long as he refused to open the door, their grand scheme could never be completed.

’The Zhang Family... the Moon Worship Sect...’

Chu Fan rose from the water. With a SPLASH, dark droplets trickled down his muscles, which looked as if they were forged from steel.

’The situation may be stifling right now, but these troubled waters are perfect for fishing.’

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