Resonance of Muscles and Bones, Moulting and Bone Exchange!

Human affairs were just too troublesome.

Really, there was no need for so many twists and turns.

In the Toad Demon's eyes, the strong preyed on the weak, survival of the fittest ruled, and only the adaptable survived. That was the right path.

Kill whoever he wanted, sleep with whoever he wanted, roam unchecked and wild—that was true freedom!

"I hope he just dies quietly like this. Let's not have any more complications."

The Masked Man spoke with a deep sigh.

"My virgin boys and girls—don't you dare forget them. Otherwise, I can't guarantee I won't let something slip."

"What do you humans call this again?"

"Oh, right. It's called hush money!"

"Hehehe."

The Toad Demon gazed cheerfully at the Masked Man, its tone thick with menace.

"You botched things this time, leaving them unfinished. At most, I'll give you one girl."

"If you're not satisfied, say whatever you like. I'd like to see whether they'll believe you, a Demonic Creature, or me!"

The Masked Man spoke in a low voice.

"Deal."

"Tomorrow night, same place. I'll see you there."

The Toad Demon waved at the Masked Man, then swaggered away.

Splurt!

But it had barely taken a few steps when a sharp blade thrust out through its back, piercing straight through its heart!

"You... You dare kill me?"

"Aren't you afraid Mountain Lord will punish you?"

The Toad Demon struggled to turn its head and stared at the Masked Man, asking in disbelief.

The two of them had worked together many times. It had never imagined that the Masked Man would suddenly try to kill it.

"If you don't tell, and I don't tell, who will know that I killed you?"

"You know far too much. Even Mountain Lord doesn't know as many of my secrets as you do, so I can't let you live!"

"Besides, that foul mouth of yours is truly loathsome. I've wanted to kill you for a long time!"

Splurt!

The Masked Man pulled the long blade from the Toad Demon's body, then swung it again. A terrifying blade radiance tore through the air and cleanly severed the Toad Demon's head.

After the Toad Demon died, the Masked Man poured some white powder over its wounds. Before long, it melted into a pool of blood.

Erasing all traces, swift and decisive!

Ping'an County.

The Jinyiwei Baihu Office.

Chen Fan's quarters.

Ping'an County was merely a remote border county of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Many Jinyiwei stationed there would never leave for their entire lives, so quite a few had bought houses locally, married, and raised children. As a result, the dormitories at the Jinyiwei Baihu Office were fairly spacious.

Otherwise, for an ordinary Jinyiwei member like Chen Fan to have a private room would have been an extravagant luxury.

[Name: Chen Fan]

[Realm: Spirit Concealment Realm (Fourth Stage: Blood Martial Saint)]

[Cultivation Methods: Body Tempering Fist (Perfection) Draw Sword Slash (Minor Mastery)]

[Current Remaining Lifespan: Fifty years]

[Current Demonic Creature Lifespan: None]

Chen Fan looked at his attribute panel. His own lifespan had become fifty years.

Although he had completely expelled the Demon Poison and Yin Sha Qi from his body, and his strength had greatly improved, he had still lost a huge portion of his lifespan.

A Martial Artist at the Spirit Concealment Realm Peak had a lifespan of roughly one hundred and twenty years, but few could actually live that long.

By rights, after breaking through to the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage, his lifespan should have risen to at least a hundred and eighty years. Yet he had only fifty.

This showed just how terrifying the Yin Sha Poison was. All that suffering had needlessly cost him thirty to fifty years of life!

Although fifty years of lifespan was not especially little, watching his life slowly drain away was an awful feeling.

For now, the only solution was to constantly increase his strength. Only then could his lifespan continue to grow.

If he could break through the Spirit Concealment Realm and enter the next realm, his lifespan would continue to increase!

"My Demonic Creature Lifespan has run dry. I can't really spend my own life cultivating."

"So from now on, I still have to slay Demonic Creatures and eliminate demons, spending their lives to forge my path of martial cultivation!"

Chen Fan thought this silently to himself.

All the Demonic Creatures: Listen to me, thank you...

"Brother Chen Fan?"

Wang Chao's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Wang Tou, I'm coming!"

Chen Fan crossed the room in three quick steps. Although his strength had now surpassed Wang Chao's, he remained deeply grateful to and respectful of this lifesaving benefactor.

He opened the door and saw Wang Chao standing outside with some food in his hands.

"Brother Chen Fan, you..."

Wang Chao looked at Chen Fan, hesitating to speak.

He felt that Chen Fan had become much more robust. His face was no longer deathly pale but had instead become ruddy, and his breathing was long and steady. There was no sign that he was a man nearing death.

He wanted to ask whether Chen Fan had recovered, but immediately dismissed the thought. He felt this was probably just Chen Fan's final rally before death.

After tonight, yet another brother who had been with him day and night would be leaving him!

At that thought, he couldn't help feeling sorrowful again.

"Wang Tou, I'm cured!"

"The Demon Poison and Yin Sha Qi have been expelled from my body!"

"After killing the Wild Boar Demon, I felt I could die without regret."

"After you left, I practiced the Body Tempering Fist over and over in my room. As I practiced, my Body Tempering Fist broke through to the Great Mastery stage. Then I felt my whole body itch, and all my bones crackled."

"Afterward, the qi and blood throughout my body were stirred up as well. Streams of filthy blood and black-red aura flowed from my wounds, and I immediately felt completely refreshed."

The attribute panel was truly too astonishing to reveal, but for a man who had been certain to die to suddenly recover, he needed a reasonable explanation. Chen Fan had prepared his story long ago.

"Resonance of Muscles and Bones, Moulting and Bone Exchange!"

"It was said that exceptionally gifted people could encounter this phenomenon upon entering the Spirit Concealment Realm Second Pass, washing away all impurities and returning to their original purity."

"Brother Chen Fan, who would have thought you were a once-in-ten-thousand martial arts prodigy?"

"You cultivated both the Body Tempering Fist and Draw Sword Slash to Minor Mastery in just one year. I should have realized long ago that you were a martial arts prodigy."

"Now, by relying on the transformation of Moulting and Bone Exchange, you completely purged the Demon Poison and Yin Sha Qi from your body in one stroke. You truly turned misfortune into a blessing!"

"Wonderful!"

"This is truly wonderful!"

Wang Chao reached out and placed his hand on Chen Fan's wrist. As he felt Chen Fan's pulse, it seemed as though a little dragon was leaping joyfully through his muscles, bones, flesh, and blood. The pulse that had previously been faint and intermittent had completely returned to normal.

He knew Chen Fan had not lied to him. Chen Fan had truly entered the Spirit Concealment Realm Second Pass and saved himself!

"Turned misfortune into a blessing, my ass!"

"This damn Demon Poison and Yin Sha Qi cost me at least thirty to fifty years of lifespan!"

"But fortunately, I still have fifty years left to live. Compared to before, when I could survive only three days or twelve hours, this is already much better."

Chen Fan muttered inwardly when he heard this.

Although his heart ached over the thirty to fifty years of lifespan he had lost for nothing, this was still far better than before he had crossed over.

So, as a person, one had to know contentment!

"All of this is thanks to Wang Tou running himself ragged for me. If Wang Tou hadn't persuaded Head Zhang to bring the Wild Boar Demon to the Baihu Office's Training Ground so that I could kill it with my own hands and fulfill the regret in my heart, I could never have been reborn from the brink of death!"

Chen Fan clasped his fists and bowed deeply, speaking with sincerity.

"This is all the result of your own efforts. What does killing the Wild Boar Demon have to do with it?"

"Come, come, you must be starving. I brought soy-braised beef, roast chicken, braised pork, baked flatbread..."

"Since I knew you were injured, I didn't bring any wine. Besides, you've just recovered from a serious illness, so you really shouldn't drink. Eat more meat and nourish your body."

Wang Chao helped Chen Fan up, then placed the food he had brought on the table in Chen Fan's room.

"Thank you, Wang Tou!"

"Sit down and eat with me, Wang Tou!"

Chen Fan spoke up.

The two ate and chatted. Seeing Chen Fan devour his food with gusto, showing none of the appearance of someone gravely wounded and on the verge of death, Wang Chao finally determined that this was not a final rally before death. Chen Fan had truly suppressed the Yin Sha Poison in his body—or expelled it—through his breakthrough in martial cultivation.

To have a brother returned from the dead was truly one of life's greatest joys!

Compared to that, being reprimanded by Zhao Zongqi and having three months' pay deducted was utterly insignificant.