"Merit Divine Ability!!!"
The frail Divine Soul of the monstrous young man cried out in shock.
"You're merely a Mid-Stage Qi Refinement Rogue Cultivator. How could you possibly have mastered such a precious divine ability?"
Divine abilities were methods that only Golden Core True Persons could normally master. Even the major sects possessed some methods for cultivating rudimentary divine abilities at lower realms, but most required precious materials and incomparably harsh conditions.
Lu Yan had not only displayed the rudimentary form of a divine ability, but one of the extremely rare Merit divine abilities at that.
Merit divine abilities were usually not skilled at killing, but their ability to preserve one's life was second to none. No matter how astonishing a spell was, it was difficult to break through a merit-protecting divine ability.
They were especially effective against demonic soul techniques, curse-killing arts, and Karma methods. Merit divine abilities were practically the natural nemeses of such methods.
Let alone a mere Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator like him—even if a Golden Core True Person cast a curse, they might not be able to break through the Profound Yellow Merit Fire.
It was precisely because he understood the profundity of merit divine abilities that the monstrous young man found it so difficult to believe Lu Yan had mastered such a powerful rudimentary merit divine ability despite being only at Mid-Stage Qi Refinement.
"You absolutely aren't a Rogue Cultivator! Which sect do you come from?"
"Zhengxuan Sect? Hanging Temple? Or are you a remnant of the Moral Sect?"
When he heard the words "remnant of the Moral Sect," a faint glimmer flashed through Lu Yan's eyes.
But on the surface, Lu Yan showed no reaction. He merely waved his hand, drawing down a beam of merit light onto the many fierce ghosts being scorched by the Red Lotus Karma Fire.
These fierce ghosts had previously transformed into a giant ghost together with the Blood Beard Main Soul. After being scorched by the monstrous young man's Red Lotus Karma Fire, the fire would not disperse until their Karma was exhausted.
Yet before the merit light, the Karma fire bred by that Supreme-Grade Spell seemed to have encountered its natural enemy. Under the suppression of the merit light, it quickly went out, and only then did the many fierce ghosts break free from the flames.
Having finished all this, Lu Yan held the Hundred Soul Banner and slowly walked toward the monstrous young man.
As Lu Yan walked ahead, his merit protection made him seem like a human god descended from the heavens. Behind him, the ghost realm roiled and a hundred ghosts followed. This scene should have been utterly incongruous, yet it became perfectly unified on Lu Yan.
The monstrous young man stared blankly at the sight before him. What he could never understand was that cultivating merit divine abilities required an ocean of merit, while Lu Yan, carrying the Hundred Soul Banner, looked more like a member of the Demonic Path than he did—a disciple of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect.
How could such a cultivator have accumulated such an immense amount of merit?
"Could it be that killing those spirit-blood beasts can increase one's merit?"
The monstrous young man sank into deep doubt. But there was not much time left for him to think. Lu Yan had already arrived before him.
Looking down at the remnant soul before him, Lu Yan spoke:
"Tell me your identity, the purpose behind the Red Lotus Demonic Sect sending you here, and the trouble connected to that Storage Bag."
As he spoke, the Ghost Mist transformed into a black chain that wrapped around the monstrous young man's Divine Soul. The chain, radiating frigid Yin energy, was ice-cold to the bone, as if it could freeze a person's soul to pieces.
The monstrous young man had sacrificed most of his Divine Soul to cast the curse. His Divine Soul was already weak, and under the Yin energy, his face appeared deathly pale.
Somewhat beyond Lu Yan's expectations, he had not even spoken a word of threat before the monstrous young man began spilling out every bit of information under the ghostly chain, like beans poured from a sack.
"My name is Cheng Yu. I'm an Inner Sect Disciple of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect.
"More than ten years ago, a branch of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect secretly evaded the Azure Parasol Sect's investigations and entered the Southern Border. Its purpose was to secretly decipher an ancient ruin in the Southern Border.
"The ruin was located deep within Wushan, but several months ago, large numbers of spirit-blood beasts died in Wushan, causing many forces to turn their eyes toward the mountain.
"Elder Mo, who was overseeing the deciphering of the ruin, believed that once word spread, people would search Wushan. That could expose our sect's secret efforts to decipher the ruin, so he ordered an investigation.
"I took the task upon myself and came to this border region of Wushan to investigate the situation."
"As for that Storage Bag, it came from a direct descendant of the Mo Family. The Mo Family held a certain position within the Red Lotus Demonic Sect. The family had one Golden Core elder and seven Foundation Establishment cultivators. They were the ones leading the secret deciphering of the ruin.
"Precisely because the Mo Family was devoting the strength of its entire lineage to overseeing this great undertaking, the members of the Mo branch within the sect secretly relocated to the Wushan region. That direct descendant of the Mo Family was one of them.
"More than half a year ago, news suddenly came from the Mo Family that one of their clansmen had gone missing. If the Mo Family's clansman exposed their identity as a disciple of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect, it could very likely draw the attention of the righteous path and affect the deciphering of the ruin. Once the news spread, it enraged the elders of the main sect.
"Cultivators of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect secretly investigated. They only discovered that the direct descendant of the Mo Family had vanished within the Azure Parasol Sect's territory. Because they feared making too much commotion and attracting the Azure Parasol Sect's attention, the sect could only investigate the matter in secret."
"I accidentally discovered those spirit talismans in the Azure Valley Market. After making inquiries, I confirmed the lead through He Luyuan and found your whereabouts.
"Having He Luyuan lure you out of the market was also to prevent the related information from being exposed. But I never expected that this fool would lead a fierce tiger to me."
As he spoke, Cheng Yu cast a sinister glance toward the courtyard, which had long since been reduced to ruins. A corpse lay there, already stiff.
The moment Lu Yan summoned the Hundred Soul Banner, He Luyuan's soul had been torn apart by the many fierce ghosts, while his corpse had been frozen by Yin energy.
If not for that, Cheng Yu would have loved to use his remaining Divine Soul to cast a curse and take He Luyuan with him.
From Cheng Yu's account, Lu Yan finally understood the entire sequence of events.
"The Red Lotus Demonic Sect. The Mo Family."
Lu Yan's gaze grew increasingly deep.
Seeing this, Cheng Yu let out a cold laugh:
"Rest assured. The Red Lotus Demonic Sect is one of the Demonic Path Upper Sects. As long as you don't expose your merit divine ability yourself, such a colossal force won't have time to bother with an ant like you.
"As for the Mo Family still being responsible for the ruin, as long as you don't go flaunting yourself before them, they're even less likely to act rashly."
After casting Cheng Yu a glance, Lu Yan gently shook his head and said in an indifferent tone:
"I'm afraid you've misunderstood something. I'm only thinking about how to kill everyone from the Mo Family and the Red Lotus Demonic Sect."
Cheng Yu's expression froze. He seriously looked at the utterly earnest Lu Yan.
"Your talent for telling jokes is far greater than your talent for cultivation."
Lu Yan naturally had no intention of explaining anything about a Version Update to Cheng Yu. He merely asked:
"Where is the ruin the Red Lotus Demonic Sect is deciphering?"
"There's a formation from the Red Lotus Demonic Sect around the outskirts of the ruin. Even a Golden Core cultivator can't find its exact location. I can't say precisely where it is either."
After a brief pause, Cheng Yu condensed a drawing with the power of his Divine Soul. It depicted a bald man with a ferocious appearance.
"He's the person in charge of the branch, a late-stage Golden Core Great True Person. If you can find him, you'll be able to confirm the ruin's location."
Lu Yan memorized the bald man's appearance, then asked again:
"One last question. Do you know anything about what happened at the Bamboo Forest Market several months ago?"
Before you continue