"There are all sorts of fierce beasts, and the corresponding blood demonic runes are just as varied."
"I only master a single blood demonic rune right now, which is still far from enough."
Lin Fan put down the talisman brush and muttered to himself.
Right at that moment, Lin Fan was suddenly startled, seized by a hair-raising sensation.
The immortal cave was far too quiet; Zhou Wanqing and Wang Yuyao had been chattering away outside the bedroom just moments ago, but right now there was utter, dead silence.
His entire body tensed up as he prepared to dart out of the immortal cave.
"There's no need to go out."
A low, hoarse voice rang out abruptly.
Lin Fan's body stiffened, and he said in a low voice, "As you command, Senior."
He didn't even ask who it was. Anyone capable of silently slipping into his immortal cave, whether in terms of strength or status, was not an existence the current Lin Fan could contend with.
A gecko crawled out from the wall, heading straight before Lin Fan, and said in a deep voice, "You brat really know how to hide."
His voice was no longer low; it was Master Ruan's voice.
Lin Fan gave a start, reacting instantly, and said respectfully, "Master Ruan."
The gecko glared at him vividly. As its mouth wriggled, Master Ruan's voice came out: "Back in Roaming Cloud Valley, you deliberately concealed your clumsiness and deceived this old man. Do you know this is a grave offense?"
Master Ruan's tone carried a trace of ill intent.
Lin Fan knew that the gecko controlled by the other party had most likely seen him draw the blood demonic rune just moments before.
He lowered his head and explained, "Master Ruan, this junior was simply afraid..."
"Afraid that Yun Peng and Wang Zhaofeng would eat you up?"
Master Ruan's voice carried a hint of mockery as he continued to deride: "This old man has stayed in the sect for so long, yet I've never seen a disciple as spineless and desperate to cling to life as you."
"Enough, enough..."
"This old man still wants to ask you, what on earth was the divine form of that Golden Feather White Deer?"
With those words, the gecko stared fixedly at Lin Fan, making him feel immense pressure.
"Master Ruan, this junior truly doesn't know."
Lin Fan still wanted to play dumb and feign ignorance.
"This old man will give you one more chance."
"If you don't speak the truth this time, don't blame this old man for being impolite with you."
Master Ruan's tone turned cold as he issued an unsparing threat.
Could a prodigy who could draw blood demonic runes through self-study fail to see through the divine form of the Golden Feather White Deer? Was he playing games with him?
Lin Fan let out a secret sigh, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to fool the other party now.
He wore a pondering expression. After weighing his words for a moment, he said earnestly, "Master Ruan, actually, I believe the divine form of the Golden Feather White Deer is neither vicious and bloodthirsty, nor sly and cunning, but rather concealing its edge and guarding its simplicity."
"Concealing its edge and guarding its simplicity?"
Master Ruan was taken aback; it was the first time he had ever heard such a theory.
Lin Fan continued, "Survival of the fittest. Being bloodthirsty is the Golden Feather White Deer's nature, and craftiness is its means, but when all is said and done, it is merely for the sake of survival."
Saying this, Lin Fan felt a surge of emotion.
He and the Golden Feather White Deer were somewhat alike. In order to survive in the Demonic Sect, he concealed his edge and guarded his simplicity; when all was said and done, it was simply to survive better.
"Survival of the fittest... survival..."
Master Ruan chewed over Lin Fan's words, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, making him comprehend something entirely different.
He sat in a daze for a long while before snapping out of it, and sighed lightly, "Lin Fan, is it? You really have your ways."
The moment those words fell, that gecko could no longer sustain itself, transforming into specks of flying ash that scattered away.
Was Master Ruan praising me just now?
Lin Fan scratched his head.
Yet he felt not the slightest bit of joy; instead, his heart grew heavier and heavier.
Master Ruan's cultivation wasn't overpowering, yet he had used the unique mastery of a blood talisman master to slip into his immortal cave. If it were swapped for other Demonic Sect powerhouses, wouldn't they be able to manipulate him in the span of a few breaths?
"I'm still not strong enough..."
Lin Fan sighed softly.
At the same time, upon a main peak of Blood Soul Peak, Master Ruan's face was flushed red, his body trembling slightly from excitement.
"Why didn't I think of that?"
"So the divine form of the Golden Feather White Deer could be understood this way!"
Master Ruan's eyes shone brightly as he said in a deep voice, "Good brat, you've given me tremendous inspiration."
He laughed heartily, his laughter shaking the entire immortal cave.
Outside the immortal cave, the beautiful mistress was sitting face to face with Yun Peng. Listening to the man's refined and elegant articulation, the beautiful mistress was amused into a happy laugh, giggling so gaily that her curvaceous figure grew even more...
Noticing the laughter drifting out from the immortal cave, the beautiful mistress stopped, looked toward Yun Peng, and said, "Yun Peng, I'll go inside and take a look."
Yun Peng's gaze was burning hot as he looked at the comely mistress and said, "Sorry for the trouble, Mistress."
The beautiful mistress glanced at him, ripples stirring in her heart, and said softly, "Rest assured."
Before long, she walked into the immortal cave. Her pretty face suddenly shifted slightly as she saw Master Ruan with his hair disheveled, wielding a brush to draw talismans. A blood demon talisman emitting astonishing killing intent was slowly taking shape.
"Master Ruan, this is..."
"So the divine form of the Golden Feather White Deer can be understood like this. Come and take a look at the blood demon talisman I most recently crafted..."
Master Ruan pulled her straight into his embrace, signaling her to inspect the talisman he had just finished making closely.
Talismanic light flowed, and a demonic, killing aura assaulted the senses. Faintly and indistinctly, the phantom of a white deer manifested from within the talisman; on the surface it looked meek, yet it exuded an utterly terrifying aura.
Compared to the blood demon talismans Master Ruan had crafted previously, the fluctuations were at least several notches stronger.
"Master Ruan, your talisman mastery has improved once again!"
The beautiful mistress was startled, and spoke.
As the gecko vanished, the previously unconscious Zhou Wanqing and Wang Yuyao slowly stirred awake.
"Are you two alright?"
Lin Fan stepped forward, helping the two young women up.
Without even needing to think, he knew it was the handiwork of Master Ruan just now.
"Brother Lin, what happened to us?"
Zhou Wanqing rubbed her aching head, asking with bewilderment.
"That is... it was so strange just now, we suddenly passed out like that."
Wang Yuyao also wore a dazed look.
"You two were just too tired earlier."
Lin Fan offered this explanation.
As for Lin Fan's words, the two young women harbored no suspicions whatsoever.
Half a month later.
Master Ruan arrived at a main peak, casually flipping through the rune patterns copied by various disciples.
These rune patterns had all been supplied from Blackwood Cliff.
He looked through them seemingly at random, yet focused his attention on the name "Lin Fan."
Before long, a set of rune patterns appeared in his hands.
Master Ruan's old eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed closely at this set of rune patterns, saying thoughtfully, "He really is a brat who conceals his clumsiness; copying rune patterns is getting more and more effortless for him."
Utterly gratified, he burst into loud laughter once again.
Ever since he tested Lin Fan last time, he had paid extra attention to the latter, coming here to check on the rune patterns submitted by Lin Fan at regular intervals.
It was hard for others to discern any clues, but Master Ruan was seasoned and shrewd; with a single glance, he noticed that in just half a month, the rune patterns copied by Lin Fan had not only become much more refined, but also contained a trace of a unique divine form.
Hidden Scripture Pavilion Second Floor.
Lin Fan was bent over his desk copying, his expression focused to the extreme.
You have copied five rune patterns of the "Record of Leading Talismans", rewarding you with 10 years of lifeforce.
You have copied six rune patterns of the "Record of Sinful Demons", rewarding you with 12 years of lifeforce.
In just a single morning, Lin Fan copied a dozen-odd rune patterns, obtaining the reward of twenty-eight years of lifeforce.
As his talisman mastery slowly increased, his efficiency in copying rune patterns also grew to a certain extent.
After finishing the rune patterns, Lin Fan did not continue lingering on the Hidden Scripture Pavilion Second Floor. Instead, after greeting Zhao Wang, he headed toward Demon Calling Valley alone.
Fierce beasts haunted Demon Calling Valley. In order to better master blood demonic runes, Lin Fan had been carving out time to come here and observe fierce beasts lately.
Blinding snow filled the sky, and Demon Calling Valley was dead silent.
Lin Fan lurked upon a cliff, his entire body blanketed in snowflakes, sitting as quiet as a statue as he overlooked several ferocious snow demon wolves down below.
Snow demon wolves were not of a high grade, and since they frequently haunted Demon Calling Valley, they were the easiest fierce beasts to come into contact with.
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