I Can Merge Techniques

「West City, Qing Province.」

Chu Fan rushed to the Vajra Sect’s sub-branch headquarters, only to find the two large, red-lacquered doors shut tight.

The nearby residents saw him stop and scattered as if fleeing a plague, as though a man-eating Fierce Beast was hiding behind the doors.

After a few moments of inquiry, Chu Fan’s brow furrowed. Something had happened to the Vajra Sect.

The location in the city was merely a sub-branch. The Vajra Sect’s foundation was on Azure Dragon Mountain, fifty li due west.

Rumor had it that strange things had been happening in the mountains recently. Vajra Sect disciples, while cultivating in the Body Tempering Pool, would have their meridians inexplicably shatter, leading to a violent death.

There were even sounds of demonic howls echoing through the valley late at night.

Now, all the disciples from Qing Province’s city branch had been recalled to the main sect, as if facing a great enemy.

There were also rumors that the North City Demon Suppression Bureau had already sent people to investigate.

With a flicker, Chu Fan was already out of the West City Gate.

He tread on the flowing wind, activating his "Running Technique." His figure became a residual image, darting through the mountain forest beside the main road, faster than a galloping horse.

Azure Dragon Mountain was shaped like a reclining dragon, majestic and treacherous.

When Chu Fan reached the foot of the mountain, he found the main gate sealed shut. A grim, murderous aura permeated the air, a clear sign that visitors were not welcome.

The few Vajra Sect disciples guarding the gate had sharp eyes, their gazes sweeping around as if they regarded every newcomer as an enemy.

’If the front gate is blocked, I’ll use a side entrance.’

Chu Fan found a steep, treacherous cliff and scaled it silently, like an agile ape.

Just as he vaulted over a high wall and landed in a secluded courtyard, his ears twitched. ’Someone else is here!’

At that very moment, a black shadow dropped into the courtyard.

The figure was slender and graceful, their face covered by a veil. Clearly, they had the same idea.

"Who’s there?"

Their eyes met, and they attacked in the same instant.

The woman’s palm strike was fierce, carrying a righteous Force meant to vanquish evil and suppress demons as it shot straight for Chu Fan’s face.

Chu Fan neither dodged nor evaded, raising a palm to meet the blow.

"BANG!"

When their Forces collided, there wasn’t the expected deafening roar.

The woman only felt an irresistible, colossal power surge toward her as if she’d been struck by lightning. She stumbled back seven or eight steps before steadying herself, her eyes filled with terror.

He hadn’t even used his full strength in that palm strike, yet it had already sent her blood and qi into turmoil!

Before she could react, a series of residual images flashed across the courtyard.

Chu Fan closed the distance like a phantom, his hand breaking through her guard to seize her by the neck and lift her off the ground!

"How... How is this possible!"

The veiled woman was aghast.

When they had exchanged blows just now, she had sensed that his Primordial Qi fluctuations were not strong—far weaker than her own.

’How can he possess such terrifying speed and power?’

"The... The Demon Suppression Bureau!"

At this moment of crisis, the woman brought the fingers of her left hand together like a sword and gave a slight flick.

A token flew out from her robes, hovering before Chu Fan’s eyes.

On it, the character "Ling" shimmered with a faint light.

"A Demon Suppression Guard?"

Chu Fan’s expression shifted, and he released his grip.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The woman clutched her neck, coughing repeatedly.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw Chu Fan also pull a token from his waist and flash it. "So we’re colleagues. I’m a Demon Suppression Guard as well."

"Huh?"

The woman’s eyes went wide.

’I was almost choked to death by a colleague?’

She recognized all the Demon Suppression Guards from the North and South City Demon Suppression Bureau branches, but she had never seen this young man before.

Ling Xiaoxiao pulled off her black veil and shot Chu Fan a glare. "Ling Xiaoxiao, North City Demon Suppression Bureau."

Chu Fan gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

"Hey!"

Ling Xiaoxiao was taken aback for a moment, then hurried after him. "The Vajra Sect’s Sect Leader is in seclusion. The Great Elder, Withered Wood Zhenren, is telling outsiders it’s just a cultivation technique backlash and is refusing to let the Demon Suppression Bureau intervene."

"But that Demonic Qi doesn’t seem right to me. It doesn’t look like Qigong Deviation, more like an external invasion."

"If it was just a backlash, why would they need to recall all the disciples from the city? This is clearly a preparation for battle. Withered Wood Zhenren is lying!"

Chu Fan remained silent the entire time.

His trip was not to investigate the Vajra Sect’s affairs, but solely to retrieve the sect’s secret manual.

The rise and fall of the Vajra Sect, its grudges and feuds, had nothing to do with him.

Ling Xiaoxiao, unaware of his thoughts, simply assumed he was a colleague from the South Town Demon Suppression Bureau and chattered on.

As she was speaking, a patrolling Vajra Sect disciple came down the mountain. He caught sight of the two of them and exclaimed in alarm, "Who are you? How dare you sneak in—"

Before he could finish, Chu Fan moved like lightning, subduing him in an instant without letting him make so much as a muffled grunt.

Ling Xiaoxiao immediately stepped forward and, after some "gentle" persuasion, the disciple tremblingly revealed the truth.

It turned out that the foundation of the Vajra Sect was a "Vajra Mother Ore" vein. The Body Tempering Pool, derived from this ore vein, was the key to cultivating the "Vajra Subduing Demon Skill."

But a few days ago, every disciple who entered the pool for Body Tempering ended up with ulcerated skin and shattered meridians.

Even those who sensed something was wrong and climbed out quickly were still severely injured.

"Is that all?" Ling Xiaoxiao stared intently into his eyes.

"I... I really don’t know the specifics. The Sect Leader has sealed off the forbidden area in the back mountains..."

Just as Chu Fan was about to knock the disciple unconscious, a powerful wave of force suddenly struck from the side.

"Demon Dao scoundrels, how dare you harm my sect’s members!"

A stout, middle-aged man charged out with a roar, his Primordial Qi surging like a dragon. His fists glowed with a faint golden luster.

It was a deacon from the Vajra Sect, who had mistaken the two of them for the instigators of the recent troubles.

Chu Fan paid him no mind. He closed the distance and used a Bear Form Mountain Collision, sending the middle-aged man flying!

"Stop! We’re from the Demon Suppression Bureau!"

Ling Xiaoxiao shouted and flashed her token.

The middle-aged man, who was charging forward again, abruptly halted his Fist Momentum. After seeing the token clearly, his vigilance lessened slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, a world-shaking explosion boomed from the direction of the back mountains.

"BOOM—!"

A dense, black-and-red Demonic Qi shot into the sky, dyeing half of it red.

"Oh no! Something’s happened at the Body Tempering Pool!"

The middle-aged man’s expression changed drastically. He pleaded, "My lords, since you are experts from the Demon Suppression Bureau, I beg you to help the Vajra Sect!"

"The people from the Blood Bone Sect have forced their way in! They want to steal the ’Vajra Subduing Demon Skill’!"

"The Blood Bone Sect?" Ling Xiaoxiao was startled. "The Blood Bone Sect is far stronger than the Vajra Sect. Why would they go to such great lengths to steal your secret manual?"

The group sprinted toward the source of the Demonic Qi eruption, and as they ran, the middle-aged man began to explain...

It turned out the founding masters of the two sects had once been martial brothers. They had a falling out and became enemies, splitting the "Vajra Subduing Demon Skill" into two halves.