"Why had you suddenly come, kid?"
Old Man Duan's eyes suddenly lit up, gleaming with sharp light as he asked eagerly, full of hope, "Could it be that you came to save me?"
"I told you long ago not to meddle in this. Why wouldn't you listen?" Shen Fan frowned tightly, a hint of reproach in his voice.
"I never expected things to turn out like this! There were so many people making a move—I never suspected it was a trap!"
Old Man Duan slapped his thigh in regret, his face full of helplessness and self-reproach. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"Have they interrogated you?" Shen Fan stared fixedly at Old Man Duan, his face filled with worry.
"They hadn't gotten around to interrogating me yet. That elder was urgently called away!"
Hearing that, Shen Fan's tightly wound nerves finally relaxed, and he let out a long breath.
"Now, even if you grew wings, you couldn't escape. With my current strength, there's no way I can save you!" Shen Fan shook his head helplessly.
"Huh?" Old Man Duan's legs went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Then he abruptly raised his head, his eyes full of panic. "Then hurry and leave! If they use the Soul Searching Technique on me, you won't be able to escape either!"
Shen Fan's expression darkened as he said coldly, "That's exactly why I came!"
Hearing this, Old Man Duan seemed to realize something. He widened his eyes in horror and stared at Shen Fan in disbelief. "Y-you... you want to kill me?"
"One death is better than two. You can understand that, right?"
As Shen Fan spoke, surging killing intent already rose in his eyes.
Blood Spirit Qi within his body began to circulate madly like a volcano on the verge of eruption, ready to burst forth at any moment and kill Old Man Duan.
In this chaotic age of cultivation, if one was not ruthless, one could not stand firm. Some things had to be cast aside!
"Ha ha!"
Old Man Duan suddenly burst into loud laughter. "I never expected you, kid, to be so hard-hearted. But seeing your temperament now, I can rest easy. At the very least, no one will be able to bully you so easily in the future."
"But let me tell you, you should leave this place as soon as possible!"
"Why?" Shen Fan frowned, his face full of confusion.
"The two corpse puppets you gave me were seen by people from the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect. They asked who had refined them. I said it was me, but they didn't believe me at all. In the end, I could only admit that you had refined them. Guess what they said?"
By this point, Old Man Duan was so excited that his whole body seemed to come alive.
"What did they say?" A sense of foreboding gradually rose in Shen Fan's heart.
"They said those corpse puppets were refined too well—they were practically works of art! At present, among the people of the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect, aside from the Holy Maiden, no one could refine corpse puppets this good, this perfect. So I recommended you to them. They want to recruit you into the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect!"
Shen Fan's heart immediately sank. This is bad! "You rotten old man, you're downright wicked! You've gotten me into deep trouble!"
Now the people of the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect would probably have their eyes on him.
If they casually said anything, wouldn't he be exposed?
Lost in his own excitement, Old Man Duan continued, "Do you know how they praised you? They said you were a demonic path genius, a born Corpse King! I told them you were my grandson. Do you know how proud I was then?"
"You, honestly!" Shen Fan pointed at Old Man Duan in frustration, hating that he had failed to live up to expectations yet unable to do anything about it.
As he spoke, a gratified look appeared on Old Man Duan's face. "Child, don't worry. I won't betray you. Even if they use the Soul Searching Technique, it will be useless!"
"What are you going to do?" Shen Fan immediately sensed that something was wrong, and unease welled up in his heart.
"Go. Don't let them find you. From now on, just burn me some paper money and bring me some good wine on this day every year!"
As Old Man Duan spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, seemingly intending to strike himself down without mercy.
But all the words Shen Fan wanted to use to persuade him stuck in his throat like a fishbone, and he could not say a single one.
Because if Old Man Duan did not die, Shen Fan would suffer disaster as well.
Watching Old Man Duan prepare to end his own life in the darkness, Shen Fan could not stop a tear from slipping down from the corner of his eye.
To say he felt nothing would be a lie!
During those three years at the Spirit Field, Old Man Duan had truly taken great care of him.
And Old Man Duan had even assassinated Zhao Erhu and taken the blame for him.
"Old man, I'll repay your kindness in the next life!"
Shen Fan slightly raised his chin, took a deep breath, and tried hard to calm himself.
"Actually, it was this old man's fault for introducing you to the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect, but you really are made for this!"
Old Man Duan said regretfully, "This old man has wronged you in this life. In the next life, I'll be your grandson."
"On the road where we parted ways after killing Zhao Erhu that night, that one 'Grandpa' from you was already enough to leave me content. Child, do you know why I wanted you to call me Grandpa? Because I once had a grandson your age too, but he was killed by those dog bastards from the Heavenly Xuan Sect. Why did I join the Heavenly Xuan Sect? It wasn't to seek the path to immortality, but to find someone and take revenge!"
"Did you find that person?" Shen Fan asked.
"No!"
Old Man Duan sighed regretfully. "There's probably no hope in this life. That person was a Core Disciple of the inner sect, named Bai Qianyu. More than ten years ago, he went to the mortal world and slaughtered an entire city. I'll never be able to avenge this in my lifetime!"
"Bai Qianyu again?"
Shen Fan's eyes flashed with intense killing intent as he said through gritted teeth, "Don't worry. I'll avenge you!"
"Ha ha, child, with those words from you, this old man can die without regrets!"
As he spoke, Old Man Duan raised his right hand and fiercely slapped it toward his own Spirit Abode.
Yet at this moment before death, he muttered with deep reluctance, "What a pity. If someone could refine me into a corpse puppet, I could avoid the Soul Searching Technique!"
"What?" Shen Fan was startled and hurriedly reached out to stop him. "What did you say?"
Old Man Duan explained, "The people of the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect said that the latter half of the Nine Nether Corpse Refinement Art contains a method to refine those who control corpse puppets into corpse puppets themselves. That way, one can command hundreds of millions of corpse puppets, and the corpse puppets can retain their memories. But they lose their emotions, so the Soul Searching Technique cannot obtain any information from them. That is also why, even after the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect was suppressed, it still was not wiped out."
"What a pity. Had I known it was a trap, I would have let the people of the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect refine me into a corpse puppet!"
Shen Fan paused slightly. This truly was one part of the content he had used to complete the latter half of the Nine Nether Corpse Refinement Art.
But it required the aid of certain materials, and the person being refined had to completely let go of themselves, harboring not the slightest intention of resistance.
Otherwise, all previous efforts would be wasted.
That was also why the people of the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect did not forcibly refine all their subordinates into corpse puppets, lest other sects capture them and obtain crucial information.
Thinking of this, Shen Fan suddenly turned around, his gaze firm. "Can I refine you directly without auxiliary materials?"
Old Man Duan stood frozen in place, unable to react for a moment.
"There's no time. I know the latter half of the Nine Nether Corpse Refinement Art. Can you be refined without auxiliary materials?" Shen Fan pressed urgently, his eyes full of anxiety.
"I-it can be done, but I'm afraid I won't be able to endure such intense pain!"
Old Man Duan said blankly, "Captured here, I probably have no chance of leaving alive anyway. Even if I avoid the Soul Searching Technique, so what? I still can't get out."
Hearing this, Shen Fan could not help revealing a disappointed expression.
To be honest, if he could save him, Shen Fan definitely would not give up.
But as Old Man Duan had said, what then if he was refined into a corpse puppet?
Would the Law Enforcement Hall let these people go?
That was impossible!
Before you continue