I Can Merge Techniques

’This Moon Worship Sect demon’s power is unfathomable. He opens Acupoints as easily as chasing chickens and dogs, yet his knowledge is so shallow he doesn’t even know of the Jade Pill of Marrow Passage?’

He hastily explained, "This is a top-tier elixir for Acupoint Realm cultivators to open the Twenty-Eight Constellations Star Acupoints!"

"To reach Perfection in the Acupoint Realm, one must open all Twenty-Eight Constellations Star Acupoints. However, the further one progresses, the harder it is to open each star acupoint—it’s like ascending to the heavens. A single one of these elixirs can help a cultivator open an acupoint with ease. It’s a divine elixir countless Acupoint Realm cultivators dream of obtaining!"

"Oh?"

The black-robed man pressed down lightly with his foot. "Hand it over."

Ye Chang’an grit his teeth against the excruciating pain, his hand trembling as he fumbled for a small white jade bottle. Under the crushing weight of the black-robed man’s foot, he struggled to offer it up.

Every inch of movement pulled at his broken bones, and his vision went black from the pain.

The black-robed man took the jade bottle, uncorked it, and glanced inside. "Only three?" he asked coldly.

"These are seven-striped elixirs!" Ye Chang’an hurriedly explained, terrified of displeasing him. "Elixirs are graded from one to nine stripes. Seven stripes is already the highest quality!"

"Even in Medicine King Valley, a Seven-Stripe Jade Pill of Marrow Passage is a rare treasure, something you might not see in a hundred years! Back then, when the Heir of Prince Zhennan hit a bottleneck in his cultivation, he came begging with ten thousand gold coins, and our Valley Master was only willing to part with three!"

"The most difficult part of the Acupoint Realm is opening the final three star acupoints!"

"With these three Seven-Stripe Jade Pills of Marrow Passage, opening the last three star acupoints will be a piece of cake!"

"Is that so?"

The black-robed man’s tone betrayed no emotion. He suddenly bent down and grabbed Ye Chang’an’s left hand.

"What are you doing?"

Ye Chang’an shuddered, a terrible premonition coiling around his heart like a venomous snake.

On the ring finger of his left hand was a simple, ancient-looking bronze ring. It appeared ordinary, but it was, in fact, a Sumeru Ring that held a world within it!

The next moment, he felt a lightness on his finger—the Sumeru Ring he had worn for many years had been forcefully stripped from him!

"No! How could you do this! I already gave you the three Jade Pills of Marrow Passage!"

Ye Chang’an’s eyes looked ready to pop from their sockets. He struggled to get up but was casually slapped back down by the black-robed man, his face plunging into the mud and filling his mouth with the taste of foul earth.

Just then, the two guards who had been forced back by the Cold Qi finally managed to suppress their injuries and came stumbling toward the sound.

When the two saw the scene before them, their souls nearly left their bodies, and they froze in place.

Their faces were pale, their lips tinged with blue.

The Cold Qi had not yet dissipated, leaving them with less than half of their full strength.

Seeing Master Ye being trampled underfoot, how could they dare take even half a step forward?

The black-robed man’s Divine Sense swept over Ye Chang’an, confirming he had no other storage items.

He kicked him aside like a worn-out shoe.

He turned to the two guards, slowly extending his right hand. His voice was as cold as frost. "If you don’t want to die, hand over your Sumeru Rings!"

The two guards looked at each other in dismay.

The saber-wielding guard stammered, "We... we don’t... don’t have any Sumeru Rings..."

"...You paupers!" the black-robed man spat, a rare flicker of anger showing as he cursed.

In that brief moment of hesitation—

The black-robed man snapped his head up, his eyes beneath the mask shooting out a terrifying glint!

An unprecedented sense of crisis washed over him like ice water, making the hairs on his neck stand on end!

Without a second thought, he stomped on Ye Chang’an’s back to launch himself,

his body shooting up the cliff face like an arrow loosed from a bow!

The instant he left his spot—

SHHIIING!

A brilliant ray of Sword Qi tore through the dusk, descending like the Milky Way from the ninth heaven and striking precisely where he had been standing!

The Sword Qi was overwhelming, its power peerless!

RUMBLE!

The earth shook and the mountains trembled as shattered rock flew everywhere!

That unparalleled Sword Qi had actually carved a massive, bottomless chasm into the hard rock of the cliff face!

Countless boulders crashed down with the force of a thunderbolt, kicking up a sky-full of dust and debris!

The two guards—one with a saber, one with a sword—were terrified out of their wits. Ignoring the Cold Qi gnawing at their bones, they scrambled over to Ye Chang’an. Each grabbed an arm and dragged him away, barely saving Master Ye from being buried alive!

BANG!

Meanwhile, the black-robed man ran along the cliff face as if it were flat ground, evading the mountain-splitting strike. With a spin in mid-air, he landed as lightly as a goshawk swooping down on a rabbit in the center of the valley.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze like lightning as it shot toward the source of the Sword Qi.

There, on the opposite cliff, a woman in white stood against the wind. Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her robes fluttered, making her look like a Nine Heavens Profound Lady descended to the mortal realm.

A strange light flowed around her, outlining a breathtakingly beautiful silhouette, yet she exuded a sacred aura that was stern and inviolable.

The black-robed man’s pupils contracted.

’That last strike was as fast as a shooting star and as fierce as a clap of thunder. From such a great distance, it left a gash over a hundred feet long in the cliff face...’

’Such power is truly terrifying!’

’Who in the world is this person?’

Just then, Ye Chang’an, supported by his two guards, suddenly grew agitated. His voice trembled with the relief of someone who had just survived a disaster. "Ye Chang’an of Medicine King Valley greets Princess Zhaohua! Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life!"

’Princess Zhaohua?!’

The black-robed man’s expression shifted as information flashed through his mind.

’There is only one Prince’s Mansion in Qing Province—Prince Zhennan’s Mansion. Could this elegant, otherworldly woman in white actually be Prince Zhennan’s daughter?’

’Before coming to Lingyou Valley, he’d heard his colleagues at the Demon Suppression Bureau gossiping about Demon Suppression Captain Xiao Ziye beating up the Heir of Prince Zhennan during a fit of madness.’

’He never thought he’d meet another major figure from the Prince’s Mansion so soon!’

This black-robed man was none other than Chu Fan, disguised as a demon from the Moon Worship Sect.

He cursed inwardly, ’Trouble.’ He silently activated the Spirit Array Map of the Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture.

In an instant, his Perception Power surged by more than tenfold!

He scanned his surroundings, sensing every rustle of grass in the wind as he secretly searched for the best escape route.

’This princess may be as beautiful as a descended immortal, but the sense of crisis she gives me is no different from the one I felt from the Resentful Spirit!’

’But that Resentful Spirit was sealed at the time.’

’This Princess Zhaohua before me, however, is at her full power!’

’The Demon Suppression Bureau has always been on good terms with Prince Zhennan. There’s no need to come to blows over a misunderstanding like this.’

’I’ve already achieved my goal of dealing with Ye Chang’an while disguised as a member of the Moon Worship Sect, and I even got his Sumeru Ring out of it. If I don’t leave now, what am I waiting for?’