"Who are you?"
Lin Fan sized up the two men and asked.
"Demon Sect brat, it does you no harm to tell you. We're cultivators from Prince Guangling's Estate."
"Today, we'll take your life to repay Prince Guangling's kindness."
The other man glared viciously at Lin Fan with a murderous look in his eyes.
Lin Fan suddenly understood. They were cultivators under the Feudal Prince, here to seek revenge.
The Great Jin New Emperor had sent several Feudal Princes' heirs and family members into the Blood Demon Sect. Whoever it was would never be able to swallow that!
"Little brat, surrender obediently, and we'll leave your corpse intact."
The man wearing the Red-patterned Mask grinned as he advanced while speaking.
The two men moved in from either side. Not only could they attack Lin Fan from both directions, but they could also cut off his retreat.
From their formation, it was clear that they were determined to take his life.
Lin Fan's heart sank slightly, then he suddenly sneered. "If the two of you are after money, I can scrape together a little. But if you want my life, then I'm truly sorry—I'll have to butcher you..."
Before he had finished speaking, Lin Fan's figure abruptly vanished.
When he reappeared, he was like a ghost, standing before the man with the Red-patterned Mask.
Such speed caught the two men completely off guard.
"Not good."
The man with the Red-patterned Mask's heart jolted, and he instinctively raised his hand to block.
His entire palm was like a red-hot iron brand, containing terrifying force.
But in the next second, there was a sharp crack. The man's arm exploded into a mangled mess of flesh and blood, while a heavy punch thundered toward him.
Bang!
The man with the Red-patterned Mask let out a scream. His entire body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, sailing more than ten meters away.
At that moment, a bloody shadow appeared behind Lin Fan. It was a centipede with blood-colored wings, and under the Skinny Man's control, it lunged straight for Lin Fan's heart.
Lin Fan remained unhurried. With a sideways flash, he avoided the centipede's fangs, then swiftly raised his leg and swept it out like a steel whip.
His leg force was as sharp as a blade, instantly smashing the centipede apart. Its remaining momentum did not abate, instead surging head-on toward the Skinny Man.
At the critical moment, a blue light suddenly flared over the Skinny Man's body, blocking most of the attack for him.
Before Lin Fan could continue his pursuit, a sharp sword thrust toward him, its edge shrouded in astonishing cold light.
"Go to hell!"
The man with the Red-patterned Mask held the sword in one hand. Cold radiance flowed across its edge as he thrust straight at Lin Fan's chest.
Lin Fan's figure drifted gracefully away from the fatal strike. Internal Breath gathered in his palm, and he caught the blade with one hand before suddenly exerting force and jolting it.
The man with the Red-patterned Mask's palm went numb. The long sword flew straight from his grasp, only to be seized by Lin Fan, who viciously swept it across.
"Pfft!"
The moment blood appeared, the throat was sealed. The man with the Red-patterned Mask was utterly terrified. Clutching his throat, he helplessly collapsed.
Seeing his companion die horribly, the Skinny Man panicked. He had never expected a little Demon Sect brat to be so terrifying. Without even looking back, he turned and fled.
Lin Fan cast him a glance and threw the long sword in his hand. In an instant, it pinned the fleeing Skinny Man to the ground and killed him.
The exchange had seemed fierce, but in reality, the battle had been settled within five or six breaths.
His expectation had been to resolve the fight within five breaths. It seemed he still needed more practice.
At that moment, Lin Fan noticed that both corpses had a storage pouch hanging from their waists.
After confirming that there were no other enemies nearby, he immediately stopped hesitating and removed the two storage pouches, putting them away.
Next, he blasted open a pit with a punch, threw the two corpses inside, and filled it with earth until the ground was smooth and even.
Only after finishing all this did Lin Fan leave at an unhurried pace.
An hour later, the sound of something tearing through the air suddenly rang out.
Three figures appeared. The leader was a Formal Disciple wearing the Black-and-White Mask.
He sniffed through his nose, then struck out with one palm. Dust billowed, revealing a pit in the earth.
The two Formal Disciples following behind him quickly stepped forward to examine the corpses.
"They're remnants of Prince Guangling's Estate. They died an hour ago."
"Judging from the wounds, they were both killed by extremely exquisite swordsmanship."
One of the Formal Disciples studied the scene for a moment before reporting truthfully.
"We've searched for these remnants for a long time but never found a trace of them. Yet someone killed them today."
"Who do you think did this?"
The Black-and-White Masked Man asked in a low voice.
The two Formal Disciples exchanged glances, then shook their heads almost simultaneously, indicating that they did not know.
Lin Fan returned to the cave dwelling and gestured for Zhou Wanqing and the other person not to disturb him, then slipped into a bedroom.
He took out the two cloth pouches and murmured, "Since they were cultivators from Prince Guangling's Estate, their possessions should be quite substantial."
As he spoke, he opened one of the cloth pouches first. The pouch possessed a certain storage function.
This pouch had belonged to the man with the Red-patterned Mask. Lin Fan quickly took out an item—a Treasure Sword sharp enough to slice through iron as if it were mud.
There were traces of blood on the sword's edge. It was precisely the weapon Lin Fan had taken from the man with the Red-patterned Mask during their earlier battle.
"Azure Gavel Sword."
Seeing the small characters engraved on the sword, Lin Fan's eyes lit up.
The sword had excellent heft and texture. Lin Fan casually raised it and brought it down, instantly leaving a clearly visible sword mark on the hard cave wall.
"Not bad. It has the power to cut through iron like mud. It's a handy weapon."
Lin Fan nodded, then put the weapon away.
Afterward, he searched the cloth pouch again and found two medicine bottles: Spirit Absorption Pills, which accelerated the refinement of spiritual energy; and Blood Burst Pills, which, after being taken, could stimulate one's potential for an hour and unleash several times one's combat strength.
"These Spirit Absorption Pills should be able to assist cultivation. As for the Blood Burst Pills, they're suitable for taking when trapped in a desperate battle."
Lin Fan muttered to himself.
He then searched the second cloth pouch.
Compared with the cloth pouch belonging to the man with the Red-patterned Mask, the second pouch contained far more items, and they were much more miscellaneous.
Lin Fan first took out a booklet titled Spirit Worm Cultivation Record.
"Judging from the name on the cover, it should be a secret manual for raising spirit worms."
Lin Fan recalled the scene of the Skinny Man controlling the centipede to attack him. If he had guessed correctly, that man had cultivated the contents of this booklet.
Lin Fan was not particularly interested in methods for controlling spirit worms, so he casually set it aside.
He continued examining the cloth pouch and took out several bottles and jars: a medicinal jar containing insect eggs, pills for raising spirit beasts...
It was not until a map appeared that Lin Fan's eyes suddenly lit up.
The map was somewhat blurry, but it marked some important location.
"This seems to be a map of some city."
Lin Fan examined it for a moment and murmured.
The map's material was extremely soft, made from some kind of precious beast hide. This made Lin Fan realize that the map was no ordinary object.
Although he could not understand it, he still carefully put it away.
After finishing counting his spoils, Lin Fan took out the Talisman Materials he had bought from the marketplace.
"I can finally try making talismans."
Lin Fan drew a deep breath.
What one gained from books always seemed shallow; one had to know that true understanding came from practice.
Making talismans was not as simple as he had imagined. It required not only a certain talent, but also a great deal of practical experience.
The more experience one had, the more helpful it would be for cultivating talismans.
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