I Can Merge Techniques

CLICK!

A soft sound, like winter snow on a plum blossom’s tip—faint, yet chilling to the bone.

At some unknown moment, the black-robed man had appeared like a phantom, standing about ten feet from Ye Chang’an.

His dark robe fluttered in the mountain wind, like a shadow rending the night’s veil.

Ye Chang’an’s pupils contracted. He felt like a candle guttering in a gale, on the verge of being extinguished at any moment.

He clenched his fists. In his palms were two longan-sized Elixir Pills, emitting a faint green glow and trembling slightly.

"Master Ye..."

The black-robed man spoke, his voice deep and raspy. "Don’t waste the potent poison in your hands. It’s useless against me."

His tone was as flat as if stating a fact, devoid of any threat, yet it was all the more chilling for it.

Ye Chang’an’s face was grim, his lips pressed into a thin line.

’The Moon Worship Sect...’

’This sect, which even the Demon Sects dared not provoke lightly, had actually reappeared in the world—and now they had come for him!’

’He had heard that because of the Moon Worship Sect, Cyan Yang Ancient City had nearly been turned into a living hell...’

’But Cyan Yang Ancient City was just a tiny, insignificant place, no match for Qing Province City. The Demon Suppression Bureau itself was stationed in Qing Province City!’

’For the Moon Worship Sect to dare cause trouble here... their audacity is truly boundless!’

"Our paths diverge."

Ye Chang’an finally spoke. His voice trembled slightly with anger and fear, yet it carried an unyielding resolve.

"I, Ye Chang’an, may not have great abilities, but as a disciple of the Medicine King Valley, I will never stoop to consorting with wicked fiends like you!"

He continued, "I practice my alchemy, you perform your Moon Worship. We should mind our own business. Why must you force my hand?"

Beneath his mask, the corner of the black-robed man’s mouth twitched upward imperceptibly, as if he hadn’t expected this fellow to have such backbone.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Just as Ye Chang’an thought the man might have changed his mind...

The black-robed man’s figure suddenly blurred into a dark shadow. His right palm, carrying a myriad of afterimages like a thousand cold stars, shot straight toward Ye Chang’an’s heart!

"You dare, villain!"

Ye Chang’an roared in fury, a ruthless and determined glint in his eyes as he violently clenched his fists!

CRUSH!

The two Elixir Pills shattered instantly!

A dark green Bone Decay Miasma surged out like a tide, its foul stench instantly filling the air. It swept toward the black-robed man, yet it also enveloped Ye Chang’an himself!

This Bone Decay Miasma was a forbidden poison of the Medicine King Valley. A single touch would cause flesh to rot and decay. It was incomparably tyrannical!

He had already taken the antidote, so he had no fear of the poison.

But if the black-robed man were to touch even a speck of it, he would die without a proper burial!

The thought had barely formed in Ye Chang’an’s mind when the scene before him made his pupils contract again.

The black-robed man had abruptly halted his forward momentum. His body drifted back as lightly as a willow catkin, his palms moving unpredictably, as supple and boneless as gently lapping spring waves.

WHOOSH!

A fierce wind suddenly erupted, sweeping up the poisonous mist that filled the air. In an instant, it dissipated without a trace, not even a hint of the foul stench remaining!

’That wasn’t the wind from his palms... This person cultivates a powerful Wind Element Technique! No wonder he’s as fast as a phantom!’

Seeing his poison mist dispersed, Ye Chang’an showed no surprise. Instead, a cruel smile appeared on his face.

"Die!"

He formed a sword-finger with his left hand, the tip swirling with an almost imperceptible wisp of gray energy, and pointed it through the void at the black-robed man!

"Hm?"

The black-robed man was slightly surprised. He instinctively raised his hands, which were covered in Black Gold Silk Gloves, to shield his mask.

However, his gaze was fixed on Ye Chang’an’s fingertip. He could only sense a faint fluctuation of Primordial Qi and detected nothing else unusual.

Just as suspicion arose in his mind, a bone-chilling cold assaulted him from behind!

The next moment—

SHINK!

A sharp, piercing sound rang out from behind him without any warning!

A silver-white needle, about a foot long, seemed to materialize from the void. It struck silently and precisely at the vital acupoint on his back, right over his heart!

"What!"

The black-robed man was startled.

’He actually possesses such a bizarre Magical Treasure?’

’Even with my Divine Sense, I didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary at all!’

"This is my Invisible Needle. It is coated in Black Pigeon Poison."

Ye Chang’an’s voice was as cold as frost, laced with the pleasure of revenge. "Once poisoned, your hands and feet will go numb and your limbs will stiffen. Then, black blood will stream from your seven orifices as you die in agony... This is the price for provoking a disciple of the Medicine King Valley!"

As he spoke, he focused his Divine Sense, intending to drive the Invisible Needle through the man’s heart meridians and run him clean through.

"Huh?"

The moment Ye Chang’an’s Divine Sense moved, his expression changed drastically!

’The black-robed man’s body... it’s as hard as Ten Thousand Years Profound Iron!’

’The Invisible Needle can’t advance another inch, as if it struck a wall of Nine Heavens Profound Iron!’

’He’s wearing Inner Armor?’

Ye Chang’an’s mind reeled as he cursed his miscalculation.

’If I had known, I would have aimed for his head!’

He immediately tried to command the Invisible Needle to strike the man again...

But before the thought could fully form, the black-robed man had already spun around like lightning. His hand, sheathed in a Black Gold Silk Glove, clamped down on the Invisible Needle like an iron pincer!

Despite its power, the Invisible Needle hadn’t harmed him in the slightest!

’This is bad!’

Seeing things had gone wrong, Ye Chang’an didn’t dare to continue the fight. He turned and sprinted toward the edge of the valley, hoping to use the steep cliff face to escape the deathtrap.

"So you’d rather do this the hard way!"

The black-robed man behind him snorted coldly. His figure was like a shadow sticking to its owner as he silently caught up.

His fan-sized hand, carrying immeasurable force, slammed heavily into Ye Chang’an’s back!

BAM!

As if struck by lightning, Ye Chang’an let out a muffled grunt. Blood spewed from his mouth as his body pitched forward like a kite with a broken string, skidding across the ground and leaving a bloody trail several feet long.

The black-robed man advanced like a phantom and mercilessly followed up with another palm strike, stamping it heavily onto his back. The blow sent him coughing up more blood, which stained the blue flagstones before him.

"Don’t... don’t kill me!"

The shadow of death engulfed him like a tidal wave. The usually pampered Alchemy Master finally broke down, his voice trembling, all of his earlier bravado gone.

The black-robed man stomped a foot heavily on his back, grinding half his body into the dirt, and asked in an icy tone, "Are you now willing to join the Moon Worship Sect and serve us?"

Struggling in the mud, Ye Chang’an managed to turn his head, coughing up mouthfuls of bloody spittle. He said urgently, "I have a bottle of Jade Pills of Marrow Passage on me! It’s a sacred elixir for opening one’s acupoints! Can I trade it for my life?"

"Jade Pills of Marrow Passage?" The black-robed man glanced down at him condescendingly, his tone indifferent. "What’s it for?"

"..." Ye Chang’an froze, almost thinking he had misheard.