Reunion with Old Man Duan; Old Man Duan Would Rather Kill Himself Than Implicate Him

"What's this, kid? What brings you here all of a sudden?"

Old Man Duan's eyes suddenly lit up, brimming with anticipation as he eagerly asked, "Don't tell me you're here to rescue me?"

"I told you a long time ago not to get involved in this matter. Why wouldn't you listen?" Shen Fan frowned, his tone laced with reprimand.

"I didn't expect things to turn out this way. There were so many people involved; I never suspected it was a trap!"

Old Man Duan slapped his thigh in regret, his face filled with helplessness and self-blame. "What's going to happen now?"

"Have they interrogated you yet?" Shen Fan asked with concern, his eyes fixed on Old Man Duan.

"They haven't had time to interrogate me yet. That elder was urgently called away!"

Hearing this, Shen Fan's tense nerves immediately relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Now you're as good as trapped. With my current strength, there's no way I can rescue you!" Shen Fan shook his head helplessly.

"Ah?" Old Man Duan felt his legs go weak, and he slumped to the ground.

Then, he suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of anxiety. "Then you should leave quickly! If they use the Soul Searching Technique on me, you definitely won't be able to escape either!"

Shen Fan's face turned grim, and he said coldly, "That's what I'm here for!"

Hearing this, Old Man Duan seemed to realize something, and his eyes widened in horror as he looked at Shen Fan in disbelief. "You… you want to kill me?"

"It's better for one to die than for both to die. You can understand me, right?"

As Shen Fan said this, a surge of killing intent welled up in his eyes.

The blood essence Qi within him circulated wildly, like a volcano about to erupt, ready to burst forth and kill Old Man Duan.

In this chaotic world of cultivation, if you're not ruthless, you can't stand firm. Some things have to be sacrificed!

"Heh!"

Old Man Duan suddenly burst out laughing. "I didn't expect you to be so heartless, kid. But seeing your temperament now, I feel relieved. At least no one will bully you easily in the future."

"But I'm telling you, you should leave here as soon as possible!"

"Why?" Shen Fan frowned, his face full of confusion.

"Those two Corpse Puppets you gave me were seen by people from the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect. They asked me who refined them, and I said it was me. They didn't believe me at all, and in the end, I had no choice but to confess that you refined them. Guess what they said?"

Old Man Duan became excited as he said this.

"What did they say?" A bad feeling gradually rose in Shen Fan's heart.

"They said the Corpse Puppets were refined too well, they were practically works of art! Currently, no one in the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect, except for the Holy Maiden, can refine such good, such perfect Corpse Puppets. So I helped introduce you; they want to recruit you to join the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect!"

Shen Fan's heart sank, and he cursed inwardly, "You old geezer, you're so wicked! You've put me in a terrible situation!"

Now he was afraid that he would be targeted by the people of the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect.

If they said anything, wouldn't he be exposed!

Old Man Duan, immersed in his own excitement, continued, "Do you know how they praised you? They said you were a demonic genius, a natural Corpse King! I told them that you were my grandson; do you know how proud I was at the time?"

"You, you!" Shen Fan pointed at Old Man Duan, frustrated but helpless.

At this point, a look of relief appeared on Old Man Duan's face. "Child, don't worry, I won't betray you, even if they use the Soul Searching Technique!"

"What are you going to do?" Shen Fan immediately realized something was wrong, and a sense of unease welled up in his heart.

"You go, don't let them find you. In the future, burn some paper money for me every year on this day, and bring some good wine!"

As Old Man Duan spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, seemingly wanting to take his own life.

But Shen Fan's words of persuasion were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say them no matter what.

Because if Old Man Duan didn't die, he would also suffer.

Shen Fan looked at Old Man Duan, who was preparing to end his life in the darkness, and a tear involuntarily streamed down his cheek.

To say he had no feelings would be a lie!

In the three years at the Spirit Field, Old Man Duan had indeed taken good care of him.

Moreover, he had 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 to calm himself down.

"Actually, it was my fault for introducing you to the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect, but you really have the talent for it!"

Old Man Duan said regretfully, "I'm sorry to you in this life. In the next life, I'll be your grandson."

"On the road where we parted ways on the night of killing Zhao Erhu, your saying 'Grandpa' already made me content. Child, do you know why I wanted you to call me Grandpa? Because I also had a grandson as old as you, but he was killed by the Heavenly Xuan Sect's bastards. I joined the Heavenly Xuan Sect not to seek the path of immortality, but to find someone to take revenge on!"

"Did you find that person?" Shen Fan asked.

"No!"

Old Man Duan sighed regretfully. "I'm afraid there's no hope in this life. That person is an Inner Sect direct disciple named Bai Qianyu. More than ten years ago, he went to the mortal world and slaughtered an entire city. There's no way I can take revenge in this life!"

"It's Bai Qianyu again?"

Shen Fan's eyes flashed with intense killing intent, and he said through gritted teeth, "Don't worry, I'll avenge you!"

"Hehe, child, with those words from you, this old man can die in peace!"

As he spoke, Old Man Duan raised his right hand and slammed it down fiercely upon his own Spirit Abode.

But in this moment before death, he murmured with reluctance, "What a pity, if someone could refine me into a Corpse Puppet, I could evade the Soul Searching Technique!"

"What?" Shen Fan was suddenly startled and quickly reached out to stop him. "What did you say?"

Old Man Duan explained, "The people from the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect said that the latter half of the Nine Nether Corpse Refinement Art contains a method to refine the person controlling the Corpse Puppet back into a Corpse Puppet. This way, they can command billions of Corpse Puppets, and the Corpse Puppet can retain its memories, but it loses its emotions, so no information can be extracted by the Soul Searching Technique. This is also why the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect wasn't wiped out even after being suppressed."

"What a pity, if I had known it was a trap, I would have had the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect refine me into a Corpse Puppet!"

Shen Fan was slightly stunned; this was indeed one of the things he had perfected in the latter half of the Nine Nether Corpse Refinement Art.

But this required some auxiliary materials, and the person being refined had to completely open themselves up and have no resistance.

Otherwise, all efforts would be in vain.

This was also why the people of the Nine Nether Corpse Puppet Sect didn't forcibly refine all their subordinates into Corpse Puppets, to avoid being captured by other sects and having important information extracted.

Thinking of this, Shen Fan suddenly turned around, his gaze firm: "Without auxiliary materials, can you be refined directly?"

Old Man Duan was stunned, 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 urged, his eyes full of urgency.

"It... it is possible, but I'm afraid I can't withstand such intense pain!"

Old Man Duan said blankly, "Being caught here, I probably won't have a chance to get out alive anyway. What's the point of evading the Soul Searching Technique? I still can't escape."

Hearing this, Shen Fan couldn't help but reveal a look of disappointment.

To be honest, if he could save him, Shen Fan would never give up.

But as Old Man Duan said, what would happen after being refined into a Corpse Puppet?

Would the Law Enforcement Hall let these people go?

That was impossible!