Advancing the Sword Control Technique to the Initiate stage had given Lin Fan a considerable boost in combat power.
He did not end the advance. To be cautious, he consumed another forty years of his lifespan and advanced the Blood Gathering Art from Minor Mastery to the Grand Mastery stage.
The Blood Gathering Art's effects became even more astonishing, several times stronger than before.
Lin Fan noticed that his aura seemed to have completely merged with the surrounding environment, without emitting much fluctuation.
This technique for concealing one's aura seems even more astonishing than I imagined.
Lin Fan's eyes lit up.
Earlier, in Demon Calling Valley, Lin Fan had used the Blood Gathering Art to conceal his fluctuations while observing the forms and movements of various demon beasts from nearby.
Now, he could clearly sense that with the current capabilities of the Blood Gathering Art, even if a demon beast with keen senses were right beside him, it would likely find it extremely difficult to detect his aura.
"Why is the Blood Mist from the bottom of the cliff drifting up?"
"It's daytime!"
Just then, a flurry of voices suddenly came from downstairs.
Following the sounds, Lin Fan arrived on the first floor of the Hidden Scripture Pavilion.
The Menial Disciples, who had originally been bent over their transcriptions, were now all staring anxiously out the windows. From the direction of the bottom of the cliff, a dense Blood Mist was drifting upward amid the howling cold wind.
"It's the Blood Mist."
Lin Fan froze.
Under normal circumstances, the Blood Mist gathered at the bottom of the cliff and only surged up Blackwood Cliff at night once every few days.
But today, it was strangely abnormal, rising in broad daylight.
Back when Lin Fan had been working as a Menial Disciple in the Hidden Scripture Pavilion, he had once investigated what was inside the Blood Mist and discovered the existence of Bloodthirsty Demonic Worms.
Could there be something even more terrifying inside the Blood Mist besides the Bloodthirsty Demonic Worms?
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
"What are you all standing around here for? Get back to your seats and continue transcribing the books!"
At that moment, a cold shout rang out.
Zhao Wang wore a grim expression as he berated the Menial Disciples.
At the sight of him, the Menial Disciples scattered like frightened birds. They immediately returned to their places and obediently resumed their transcription work.
Lin Fan looked at Zhao Wang. "Senior Brother."
"Don't worry. It's daytime, so the Blood Mist can't drift up."
"But tonight may be troublesome. I'm afraid quite a few more Menial Disciples will die. The beasts at the bottom of the cliff are becoming more and more brazen."
Zhao Wang looked at the Blood Mist drifting outside the window, his expression solemn.
"Senior Brother, what exactly is down there?" Lin Fan asked curiously.
Previously, he had tried asking Zhao Wang about it indirectly, but the other man had kept his lips tightly sealed. He had only said that Blackwood Cliff was extremely dangerous, but whenever asked exactly how dangerous it was, Zhao Wang had remained silent.
"You really want to know?"
Zhao Wang looked at Lin Fan.
Lin Fan nodded slightly. He was quite curious about what lay beneath Blackwood Cliff.
"Do you know what a Demon Cultivator is?"
"A Demon Cultivator? Is it a demon beast?"
Zhao Wang shook his head and said quietly, "A demon beast is a demon beast. A Demon Cultivator is even more terrifying than a demon beast."
"All things under Heaven and Earth can become demons. As long as certain plants and living creatures survive long enough, they can absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, develop a spirit, and transform into demons."
"Beneath Blackwood Cliff lies a Demon Vein Desolate Land. Some troublesome Demon Cultivators were born there. They can not only absorb human vital essence and blood, but also seize cultivators' bodies. They're extremely dangerous."
"Senior Brother, are you saying that the Blood Mist was created by the Demon Cultivators beneath the cliff?" Lin Fan asked, startled.
"More or less."
Zhao Wang nodded and continued, "The bottom of the cliff is extremely dangerous. I heard that the sect once sent people down to exterminate the beasts inside, but they failed every time without exception."
Lin Fan's expression shifted slightly. For even the Blood Demon Sect to be helpless against them, one could imagine just how troublesome the Demon Cultivators beneath the cliff were.
"But don't worry. The beasts down there can only move about at night, and there's a formation beneath Blackwood Cliff. The larger ones can hardly get out."
Zhao Wang gestured for Lin Fan not to worry.
The existence of the Demon Cultivators was actually somewhat beneficial to Blackwood Cliff, as it reduced the labor costs of guarding the Menial Disciples.
"I didn't tell you about this before because I was afraid it would frighten you."
"Senior Brother, you're worrying too much. Now that I understand the situation beneath the cliff, I finally feel a little more at ease."
"Back when I worked here as a Menial Disciple, I was practically on tenterhooks every day."
Lin Fan smiled as he spoke.
He looked at the Blood Mist drifting at the bottom of the cliff, but secretly thought, With the help of the Blood Gathering Art, if I infiltrated the bottom of the cliff, I might be able to evade those Demon Cultivators' senses.
Of course, Lin Fan was merely thinking about it. The bottom of the cliff was still far too dangerous. Even if he could conceal his aura, there would still be tremendous risks.
Why go down there for no reason? Do I have nothing better to do?
But if he encountered danger he could not withstand, he could conceal his aura and hide at the bottom of the cliff.
This was a decent way to evade danger.
In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed.
That night, heavy snow fell like goose feathers.
Inside the cave abode, Lin Fan held Zhou Wanqing around the waist with his left arm and Wang Yuyao with his right. The three of them shared a single quilt, their six legs tangled together, all sleeping soundly.
Suddenly, the entire cave abode shook violently.
Lin Fan felt his whole body rocking. The two women beside him were also startled awake, their beautiful eyes opening wide.
Boom!
Another violent tremor struck.
The entire cave abode kept swaying. Fortunately, the walls were sturdy; otherwise, it would have collapsed into ruins long ago.
"Brother Lin, what happened?"
"Lin Lang, I'm scared..."
Both women gripped Lin Fan's arms tightly, as though clutching at lifelines.
Lin Fan was equally bewildered. He hurriedly put on his clothes and then ran outside.
When the stone door opened, Lin Fan looked toward the direction from which the shaking had come.
The next second, Lin Fan stood frozen in place.
In the distance, the black firmament had been torn apart. Terrifying Sword Qi crisscrossed the sky, as if it were about to split Heaven and Earth open. Frightening sounds rang out one after another like crashing thunder.
Lin Fan's eyesight was extraordinary. Even through the night, he could make out much of what was happening. This was not some terrifying celestial phenomenon; numerous cultivators were battling with spells and weapons.
Several main peaks were filled with terrifying experts fighting one another. The energy fluctuations they unleashed spread in all directions like vast ocean waves.
"What... happened?"
Lin Fan was somewhat at a loss. Could someone have attacked the Blood Demon Sect?
This was the Blood Demon Sect! A famous major demonic sect!
"Sword Qi, and flying swords too. The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect has fought its way in!"
Lin Fan quickly realized what was happening.
He turned and rushed back into the cave abode.
The two women were wrapped in the quilt, looking anxiously toward the outside. Lin Fan rushed back at once, grabbed the hanging clothes, and tossed them to them. "Hurry and put these on."
"Brother Lin..."
"Put them on first."
The two women exchanged a glance, then hurriedly dressed.
At that moment, Lin Fan's thoughts raced. "There's a battle raging outside. Stay in the cave abode for now."
"If someone knocks on the door and it's someone from the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, cry and tell them that you're cauldrons, and ask them to take you away from the demonic sect."
"If it's someone from the demonic sect, tell them that I went out to fight and had you hide in the cave abode."
Lin Fan spoke rapidly.
Neither woman was foolish, and they quickly understood what was happening.
After giving them their instructions, Lin Fan took the Azure Gavel Sword and hurried out of the cave abode.
"Brother Lin..."
"Lin Lang..."
The two women called out to him at the same time.
Lin Fan's footsteps halted.
Zhou Wanqing called out, "You have to come back alive."
Wang Yuyao's pretty face was complicated as she also said softly, "Don't die."
Lin Fan said nothing. He merely nodded, then swept into the night with an elegant motion.
He activated the Blood Gathering Art and concealed his fluctuations.
Lin Fan did not run about blindly. Instead, he rushed toward the Hidden Scripture Pavilion at once. Now that the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect had invaded the Blood Demon Sect, every place was fraught with danger. However, there was one relatively safe place: the Demon Vein Desolate Land beneath the cliff by the Hidden Scripture Pavilion.
His speed was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, he had swept a great distance away.
Yet even so, he was still intercepted.
Two flying swords descended from the sky, cutting off Lin Fan's path on the spot.
A man dressed in white was the first to emerge from the darkness. With a smile, he said, "Interesting. His fluctuations are completely restrained. If we hadn't been waiting here in advance, we really wouldn't have noticed this little demon-sect brat."
Another woman crawled out of the snowfield and gave a cold snort. "Senior Brother, this person is rather strange. Let's kill him together."
Lin Fan's scalp went numb as he felt killing intent rushing toward his face.
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