Chapter 604 - 171: Shadow Divine Techniques, the Path of Deceitful Killing; Heaven-Rending Resentment, a Single Thought to Demonhood

"Go." "Three hundred li north of Qing Province City, deep within Tuo Cang Mountain, there is a Desolate Land. Within it lies the’Earth Vein Flame Fiend Qi’." "Go and devour that’Earth Vein Flame Fiend Qi’ completely..." "When you have mastered the technique and returned, a mere country boy will be nothing more than dust beneath your feet." The voice gradually weakened, fading into silence. A suffocating silence descended once more upon the vast ancestral land. Darkness surged like a tide, threatening to swallow the small, kneeling figure. Zhang Ling’Er kept her head low, her long hair falling to hide her face. By the faint moonlight, she stared intently at the "Condensing Evil and Burning Heart Technique" in her hands. The six words on the book’s cover, seemingly written in dried blood, exuded a heart-pounding wickedness. A long moment passed. "Heh..." A low chuckle escaped her throat. She slowly raised her head. Her once-clear eyes were now shot with blood, and deep within her pupils, a wisp of black energy slithered like a snake. Her body, which had been trembling with fear only moments before, now grew miraculously still. She glanced at the shattered "Clear and Muddy Spirit Jade Bracelet" on her wrist and yanked it off with a sharp tug. SNAP! She snapped the precious jade bracelet and casually tossed the pieces into the nearby grass. "Great-grandfather was right..." She clutched the Evil Technique Manual, her nails digging deep into her palms as the corners of her mouth twisted into a cruel, crazed smile. "What is an immortal? What is a demon!" "There is only... power!" Zhang Ling’Er slowly rose to her feet, her entire demeanor having undergone a dramatic transformation. She was no longer the spoiled, ignorant young lady of a Noble Family, but a poisonous flower blooming in a dark swamp. ... The sky began to pale as the first faint light of morning broke through the darkness, sharply outlining the Martial Arts Arena. Chu Fan still held his bow at full draw, his breathing even and steady. "The last arrow." He muttered to himself and released his fingers. WHOOSH! The arrow shot forward like a meteor chasing the moon, instantly sinking into the distant Arrow Tower. [Technique: Moon Eclipse Arrow (Fourth Limit Break 2/7000) (Traits: Soul-splitting Godslayer; Breaking Gang; Annihilation)] Chu Fan’s pupils constricted, his gaze locking onto the new Trait. [Soul-splitting Godslayer: Soul-Shattering Intent, Godslaying Thought. This arrow has surpassed the Limit of Gold and Stone, transforming into a Formless Godslaying Thought Arrow. With Ghostly Appearance and Thought Movement, it strikes its target. The victim’s Divine Soul will suffer a Lunar Eclipse, their Divine Thought will be scattered, and their Soul Division will be annihilated. Even with thousands of incarnations, all will be implicated.] Chu Fan slowly sat on a stone bench, closing his eyes in thought. ’Soul-splitting Godslayer...’ ’The "Soul Split" Trait from the first Limit Break has disappeared, clearly upgraded and replaced by this new one.’ ’Just reading the description, I can feel a chilling killing intent washing over me.’ ’Surpassed the Limit of Gold and Stone... Does that mean I don’t need a physical arrow?’ Chu Fan’s eyes snapped open. He shot to his feet and grabbed the Sunset Bow once more. CREAK! He drew the bowstring into a full moon. This time, however, his fingers were empty. He hadn’t nocked an arrow. But the instant the bow was fully drawn, the air around him seemed to solidify. An invisible Mental Power gathered at his fingertips, coalescing into a translucent, ethereal blue arrow! Runes flowed across the arrow’s shaft, emitting a heart-stopping pressure on the soul. Chu Fan relaxed his fingers. WHOOSH! There was no physical sound of an arrow cleaving the air, only a sharp shriek deep within one’s soul. THUD! The Arrow Tower a hundred paces away trembled slightly, but its surface was undamaged. ’This is a Soul-Slaying Arrow. Its power can’t be tested on an inanimate object.’ Chu Fan lowered the bow, his mind already working. He recalled his fierce battle against the Blood Shadow Sect’s Beastification Sect Leader in the Burial Demon Marsh. Back then, the elementary "Soul-splitting Force" had made the beast clutch its head and howl in agony, unable to even remain standing. ’That arrow injured its core, but it recovered quickly and remained as ferocious as ever.’ A sharp glint flashed in Chu Fan’s eyes.’Now, with’Soul-splitting Godslayer,’ I bet even an expert of that caliber would have their Divine Soul shattered if hit, leaving them with less than half of their peak strength!’ ’And the part about "Soul Division annihilated... all will be implicated" makes it the perfect counter to any Evil Technique involving clones!’ Unfortunately, the technique was insidious, specializing in destroying the soul. Chu Fan couldn’t exactly test it on his friends, so he had no choice but to suppress his excitement. After putting away the Sunset Bow, washing up, and enjoying the exquisite breakfast Mo Yunzi had prepared, Chu Fan set off for the Demon Suppression Bureau. ’The Moon Eclipse Arrow is powerful, but the difficulty of reaching the Fourth Limit Break has increased exponentially.’ As he walked along the quiet, bluestone-paved streets in the early morning, he mused to himself,’This is a Martial Art from a Martial Arts Hall in Cyan Yang Ancient City. Its grade puts a cap on its potential.’ ’It’s like the Firewood Splitting Saber Technique. No matter how many limits it broke, it was ultimately a mundane Saber Technique. It was only by integrating it into the Nine Tribulations Blood Prison Saber that it found new life.’ ’The Moon Eclipse Arrow has also reached the point where I need to find a higher-level archery art to integrate it with.’ The collection of texts in the Demon Suppression Bureau’s Scripture Pavilion was as vast as an ocean. He might be able to find a suitable replacement there. Just as he was thinking about this, he passed by a pleasure house—the Yihong Courtyard. "Well now, handsome, you’re up bright and early! Why don’t you come on up and have some fun?" A woman with her robes half-untied leaned lazily against the second-floor railing, waving a handkerchief. Her voice was pure seduction. Chu Fan glanced over, his expression indifferent, and was about to turn away. But then, his steps faltered. Outside the vermilion gates of the Yihong Courtyard, a group of heavily made-up women emerged, fawning over a young man in their midst. The young man was thin and his clothes were in disarray. Slung across his back was a black, coiling-dragon long staff that glinted with a cold metallic sheen in the morning light. ’He looks a little familiar...’ Chu Fan blinked and called out tentatively, "Hao?" The staff-wielding young man froze at the sound of his name and snapped his head up. Their eyes met. A wide grin split the young man’s rugged face, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Ha!" It was Shi Hao, the very same Demon Suppression Guard he had fought alongside in Cyan Yang Ancient City! Demon Suppression Envoy Yue Mankong had sent him, Ding Jian, and Lin Yue to the Celestial Profound Sect in Canglan Province. A while ago, Leng Qingqiu had told Chu Fan that Shi Hao would be coming to Qing Province. But Chu Fan had waited and waited with no sign of the man. He never expected to run into him at the entrance of a brothel in the early morning! "HAHAHAHAHA!" Shi Hao let out a booming laugh, pushed aside the reluctant flock of women clinging to him, and strode toward Chu Fan with purpose. "Brother! I missed you like hell!" He enthusiastically tried to throw an arm around Chu Fan’s shoulder, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "They say a chance encounter is better than an invitation! It’s on me, Hao. Let me show you the splendors of the mortal world, let you experience a true paradise of pleasure..."