"Gurgle!"
A low, muffled sound suddenly reached Fang Yan's ears.
But he didn't take it seriously. Instead, he focused all his energy on preparing his killing move, determined to bring down this prodigy of the Jade Spring Sect.
But what followed was a series of muffled sounds, each one deeper than the last!
"Gurgle!"
"Coo coo!!"
"Coo coo coo!!!"
He finally realized something was wrong. He radiated his Divine Sense in all directions and realized where the source was. He suddenly looked at Chen Shuangbai, or more precisely, at the dark, solidified jade disc between Chen Shuangbai's eyebrows.
In his field of vision, in the darkness, lay something that looked like a toad, crawling in the darkness, its mouth emitting a black, mysterious light that sent chills down his spine.
Fang Yan's heart sank to the bottom.
His soul trembled violently, and the piercing pain that had been suppressed surged up again.
He understood.
This is the soul issuing a warning.
"This is bad..."
[ Fallen Toad Light ]!
But the moment he had this thought, an extremely thin beam of dark light shot out, passing through his protective aura and protective robes, and over the protection of his ghost banner, creating a small hole about the thickness of a chopstick in the center of his forehead.
Fang Yan's head seemed to have been hit, and he fell backward. His pupils quickly dilated, and his life force was swiftly extinguished. Countless dark patterns spread and grew on the small hole, as he was stripped of his life force and turned into a lifeless thing.
At that moment, a gust of cold wind blew out from its body, and the ghost banner stood up out of thin air. Following the cold wind, it broke through the constraints of the surrounding wind, clouds, frost, and snow, and fled at high speed.
The dark, mirror-like crescent moon between Chen Shuangbai gradually disappeared, but he did not immediately give chase. Instead, he leisurely followed behind.
A short while later.
Chen Shuangbai saw the ghost banner amidst a pile of rocks on a hilltop. The ghost banner swayed slightly, and wisps of ghost fire condensed into Fang Yan Yan's somewhat illusory figure.
Fang Yan stared at Chen Shuangbai with a peculiar gaze, as if he wanted to thoroughly study the person in front of him, inside and out.
"Fellow Daoist Fang, why aren't you running away?"
Chen Shuangbai asked the question knowing the answer already.
This is Fang Yan's soul. His soul is covered with a layer of dark light, like green smoke or a thin mist. It is not caused by his Divine Ability Law Technique, but by the influence of Chen Shuangbai's previous [ Fallen Toad Light ], which has been deeply imprinted on his soul.
Logically speaking, only cultivators at the Golden Core stage or above have the ability to separate their soul from their physical body.
However, the demonic path has some peculiar methods that even Foundation Establishment cultivators can use, which is not a difficult thing.
"Innate Divine Ability?"
Fang Yan suddenly asked.
Chen Shuangbai didn't answer, she just looked at him quietly.
Fang Yan nodded and said, "That means you agree."
Chen Shuangbai remained silent, her face full of smiles.
Fang Yan suddenly laughed too, a self-deprecating laugh in his voice. As he laughed, he said, "My master sent me in here so I could kill you all and monopolize the fortuitous opportunity in this blessed land. But... sigh, it's retribution, I suppose."
This time, Chen Shuangbai was somewhat surprised.
He had expected this Foundation Establishment of the Demonic Path to be angry and to Curse, but the other party was surprisingly calm, even with a touch of self-deprecating composure.
Fang Yan seemed to see through Chen Shuangbai's thoughts.
Fellow Daoist Chen need not be surprised.
"Demonic cultivators, having witnessed countless deaths, understand even more the principle that life and death are predestined, and strength and weakness are determined by oneself."
"I am inferior in skill, and despite exhausting all my means, I still lost to you. This is fate."
Complaining and blaming others only makes one a laughingstock.
Chen Shuangbai remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, his voice calm. "Fellow Daoist Fang seems quite detached. However, I don't understand, since you knew this was a certain death situation, why did you flee to this place?"
This place is desolate; apart from the better scenery, it doesn't offer any other advantages.
Fang Yan chuckled softly, his laughter tinged with helplessness and desolation:
It's not that I'm running away.
"Your innate Divine Ability power is insidious and harmful to the body. Once one is tainted, neither the soul nor the body can withstand it. I foresaw the outcome a few breaths after I left, knowing it was a certain death."
"Therefore... it's better to choose a place with a better view; at least it'll be a more pleasant death."
Chen Shuangbai remained silent for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh slightly.
"You're quite open-minded."
Fang Yan chuckled, his spirit gradually dissipating, and said, "We're all going to die anyway, what's there to be upset about?"
"Fellow Daoist Chen, I'm satisfied with our duel."
Goodbye.
Under the influence of the [ Fallen Toad Light ], a look of pain appeared on his face, but his eyes were unusually clear, even carrying a hint of relief. He took one last deep look at Chen Shuangbai, his lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't utter a sound. The faint light dissipated and disappeared without a trace.
A mountain breeze blew by, swirling up a few withered leaves and adding to the sense of desolation.
Chen Shuangbai stood there, then suddenly laughed and said, "What a remarkable person!"
Since entering the path.
Chen Shuangbai had dealt with many Devil Cultivator, but he was the first to face death as calmly as Fang Yan!
Not long after.
A simple tombstone was erected. Chen Shuangbai took one last look, then picked up the ghost banner standing beside him, turned around, and was about to ride the light when his Divine Sense was suddenly triggered.
He looked up at the sky and saw, in the hazy distance, a veil that looked like a light gauze curtain slowly drifting down from the sky and landing in front of him.
"This is... a special protective technique that Fang Yan used earlier?"
"This is truly a unique Spirit Artifact!"
Chen Shuangbai grabbed it and infused it with his Law Power, but he couldn't refine it in a short time, so he put it away along with the ghost banner.
In front of the White Jade Hall.
When Chen Shuangbai returned, there was no one in front of the hall; they must have all gone inside.
After passing through a layer of pure white fluorescence, Chen Shuangbai found herself entering a huge alchemy chamber.
In the very center stood a three-legged, two-eared alchemical furnace, its surface engraved with intricate and mysterious cloud patterns, flame patterns, and numerous unrecognizable ancient seal script Pill Furnace.
The lid of the Pill Furnace was tightly closed, but wisps of refreshing alchemical fragrance still wafted out. Just one whiff of it made Chen Shuangbai feel that the Law Power he had depleted had been restored, and his spirits were lifted.
Liu Wenyan and the others had already stepped in and were exploring the entire alchemy room, occasionally whispering among themselves, until Chen Shuangbai walked in with a Sha Qi, staring intently at them.
The entire alchemy room fell silent.
[PS: This is the third update today! Please give me gifts! Please leave a 5-star review to improve the rating!]