Basic Demonic Art Attains Perfection

Inside the hut, Lin Fan lit an Everlasting Lamp, dispelling the chill that crept in from the darkness.

Zhou Wanqing shed her outer robe, revealing her graceful curves—skin fair and delicate, waist slender and supple, legs long and straight.

Before Lin Fan could react, Zhou Wanqing eagerly threw herself into his arms.

Her boneless little hands roamed across Lin Fan's body, pinching and grasping with practiced skill.

"Brother Lin, do you think those people can still come back?"

She suddenly stopped her movements and asked cautiously.

Lin Fan paused, then shook his head. "Who knows."

He guessed that those people probably wouldn't be coming back.

Blackwood Cliff strictly forbade Menial Disciples from harming each other, but the lives of Menial Disciples were as cheap as weeds. Almost every day or two, someone died mysteriously, and Lin Fan had never seen a Formal Disciple investigate the real cause.

Zhou Wanqing's delicate body trembled slightly, as if frightened, curling up in Lin Fan's embrace.

"Brother Lin, you have to become a Formal Disciple."

"Hurry up and absorb me, take a little more..."

She came to her senses, her gaze toward Lin Fan turning fervent.

Zhou Wanqing's hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her once-rigid body began to twist like a water snake.

The clearer her mind grew, the more she realized that the only way out of this situation was to "hope her man would rise to success."

"You..."

Lin Fan started to speak but was silenced by something soft, and his clothes were stripped away one by one under Zhou Wanqing's skillful hands.

For a time, soft moans rose and fell.

Lin Fan once again experienced a bliss like that of immortals.

Zhou Wanqing fell into a deep sleep. Under the lamplight, her originally delicate face now showed a faint, visible pallor.

"Every time we share a bed, the technique activates on its own, drawing her Yin essence."

"If I keep absorbing like this, before long, her body won't be able to sustain it."

Lin Fan thought to himself.

He and Zhou Wanqing were all about the body, not the heart, but she had still chosen to be with him. Lin Fan wasn't like those old Menial Disciples who had no humanity—sucking someone dry and then tossing them aside to fend for themselves once they had no value.

Even in a demon sect, a man had to have some conscience.

"I heard the Market Below the Mountain sells Foundation Replenishing Pills, which can replenish lost Yin and Yang essence."

"Also, the Qi Concealment Method I need can only be obtained at the market. I can't wait any longer—I have to go in the next few days."

"But to be safe, I need to boost my strength a bit."

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes and immediately called up his panel.

[Consume fifty years of lifespan to Pre-emptive the Basic Demonic Art to Great Completion?]

The next second, a line of glowing text appeared before Lin Fan's eyes.

"Agree to Pre-emptive."

Soon, the latest insights on the "Basic Demonic Art" flooded into Lin Fan's mind.

At the same time, another image automatically surfaced in his thoughts: a youth who looked much like Lin Fan was practicing the fist techniques within the art amidst a raging storm.

Unlike last time, the fist forms and movements were not fast.

But Lin Fan quickly noticed something unusual—the seemingly ordinary moves seemed to resonate with the celestial phenomena. Despite the wild wind and rain, not a single drop of water landed on the youth.

"Fist Momentum!"

Lin Fan's heart shook.

No matter how fierce or powerful a fist technique was, its power was ultimately limited. But "Fist Momentum" was different—in a sense, it could already influence the surrounding environment.

"I get it. Use Fist Momentum to affect the environment, speeding up the refinement and absorption of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy."

Lin Fan's eyes lit up.

Following the image in his mind, he unconsciously began to practice the fist technique.

His movements were slow, but an invisible force spread subtly, soon enveloping the entire hut.

The surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, as if drawn by a powerful attraction, surged from all directions toward Lin Fan's hut.

Inside Lin Fan's dantian, the Internal Force that had been coiled there began to grow wildly again, like ropes thickening from two or three strands to four or five.

His eyes gleamed with vigor, his entire being brimming with energy—several times more lively and robust than before.

Lin Fan immediately called up the panel to check his latest changes.

[Name: Lin Fan]

[Lifespan: 400]

[Talent: Pre-emptive Dao Fruit]

[Realm: Spirit Gathering Realm, Fourth Grade]

[Technique: Basic Demonic Art (Grandmaster)]

"Just one minor realm away, and I'll have a chance to become a Formal Disciple of the Blood Demon Sect."

"Most Menial Disciples spend a year or even two or three struggling to reach where I am now, yet I've done it in just half a month."

The higher his cultivation rose, the more Lin Fan realized just how heaven-defying his panel and the Pre-emptive Dao Fruit talent truly were.

"The more critical this moment, the more cautious I need to be."

"But speaking of which, last time the Spirit Testing Stone checked our cultivation, could there have been others besides me who also concealed their strength?"

"There must have been. Why else would Formal Disciples personally test Menial Disciples every month or two?"

Lin Fan mused to himself.

Not far from Lin Fan's dwelling, in another hut, a delicate young girl suddenly sat up.

"What an astonishing fluctuation!"

"Senior Sister Qiao'er, what's happening?"

Beside her, Feng Ling was roused by the girl's movement and rubbed her sleepy eyes as she asked.

"Junior Sister, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy all converged here, as if someone was cultivating some terrifying evil art."

The girl named Qiao'er spoke with a grave expression.

Feng Ling froze, then quickly snapped awake.

"That can't be, right?"

"Everyone living nearby is a Menial Disciple of Blackwood Cliff. Who could possibly be cultivating a terrifying evil art?"

She didn't doubt the girl's words—this senior sister had a special constitution and keen senses, a transcendent figure even in their original sect.

If not for the need to infiltrate the demon sect, someone like her would never risk her life like this.

"Could we have been discovered?"

Feng Ling's heart tightened as she asked.

"Probably not. Unless we expose ourselves on purpose, these demon sect brats can't detect anything off about us."

"Strange, that massive fluctuation has vanished again."

Qiao'er furrowed her delicate brows and murmured.

The next morning.

Wu Hai stumbled back, his clothes tattered and his spirit broken.

He looked as if he'd been terrified out of his wits, and as soon as he returned, he said, "Yesterday, right after we left the market, we were ambushed on the way back. Everyone else is dead. I barely escaped with my life."

His voice trembled, and his lingering fear looked genuine, not an act.

The other Menial Disciples, upon hearing this, grew restless and whispered among themselves.

Only a few old-timers who guessed the inside story shot Wu Hai a hostile glance, but no one refuted his words. They just silently bowed their heads and copied their texts, asking no questions and meddling in nothing.

The dozen or so missing Menial Disciples might as well have never existed.

Many new Menial Disciples suddenly realized—here, life was as cheap as grass.

Zhou Wanqing clenched her small hands, a wave of fear washing over her. If she had accepted Qi Hui's invitation yesterday, she might have vanished too.

Lin Fan remained silent, watching Wu Hai, who was playing the fool, with a cold glint in his eyes.

He had guessed something would happen to those people, but he hadn't expected only Wu Hai to return.

A demon sect was a demon sect—one misstep and you became someone else's stepping stone.

After this incident, many newcomers dared not go down the mountain. They stayed in the Hidden Scripture Pavilion, where they could at least buy some time. If they went down, who knew if they'd "disappear"?

Lin Fan wanted to go down the mountain, but he didn't act rashly. Instead, he quietly waited for the old-timers to make their move.

The old Menial Disciples who could stay long in the Hidden Scripture Pavilion were almost all shrewd operators. Only when they went down the mountain would the risk be at its lowest.

Two days later, Wang Biao and the other old-timers finally moved.

Just as dawn broke that day, the old-timers headed down the mountain in small groups.

They went quickly and returned just as fast, as if racing against death itself.

When they came back, the pouches at their waists were bulging—either with Pills they'd bought or weapons they'd acquired.

Lin Fan didn't wait any longer. Taking advantage of the early morning, he swiftly left his hut and headed straight for the Market Below the Mountain.

The journey wasn't short, but he managed to reach the market.

According to some old-timers who'd mentioned it in passing, this market was only a low-grade one.

Even so, it looked decent enough—crowds of people flowing through, bustling with activity.

Many people casually laid out weapons, pills, and manuals on their stalls.

All kinds of goods were available, and to Lin Fan, it was a dazzling sight.

Moreover, almost every item had a clear price tag, marked with the required Contribution Points.

Of course, the method of transferring Contribution Points was also very simple—as long as both parties agreed, they only needed to connect their respective Tokens and complete the transaction with a few easy steps.

Clearly, most of the people here were Formal Disciples of the Demon Sect, exchanging surplus pills, weapons, and even manuals for Contribution Points.

Lin Fan didn't waste time and walked to the nearest stall, which was covered with all kinds of pills.

"Infatuation Pill—makes the one who takes it willingly become a slave to be commanded at will. Price: 2 Contribution Points."

Lin Fan glanced at it and clicked his tongue in wonder.

No wonder it was the Demon Sect—even pills like this existed.

Lin Fan had no intention of buying such pills and instead directly purchased a bottle of Foundation Replenishing Pills, spending 3 Contribution Points.

Then Lin Fan quickly walked away and turned toward another stall that mainly sold manuals.

He only had 7 Contribution Points left, and his goal was clear: to find a technique for concealing his cultivation and suppressing his aura.

Lin Fan had already prepared himself to check several stalls, as he believed that even many Formal Disciples of the Demon Sect might not have mastered such aura-concealing methods.

But unexpectedly, things went far more smoothly than he had anticipated.