I Can Merge Techniques

The Seven Stars Gang.

The bluestone pavers of the Martial Arts Arena bathed in the morning light, glowing with a warm, golden sheen.

On the eastern side stood an ancient cypress, so thick it would take three people to encircle it. Its branches were lush, and its gnarled roots dug deep into the earth.

The flow of qi from the earth’s ley lines was like warm, soft silk, slowly trickling along its roots.

Chu Fan stood in the shade of the tree, his eyes gently closed.

[Spiritual Essence: 4645]

[Pollution Level: 11/100]

[Cultivation: Third Heaven of Divine Power Realm]

[Skill: Netherworld Array (Small Success) Progress: (223/500) (Trait: None)]

On the very day he returned from the Burial Demon Marsh, he had gone to the Celestial Craft Workshop Marketplace to purchase a host of Array Materials.

Seven days flew by, and he finally brought this Secret Technique to the level of Small Success.

Chu Fan lowered his gaze to the several materials in his palm, his fingertips gently stroking them.

’Profound Iron Ores, Flowing Silver Vine Marrow, Ghost Pattern Mother Stone, Nether Spring Crystal Dew, Soul-Stabilizing Stone Powder...’

These were the very materials needed to inscribe the Netherworld Array and craft Netherworld Talismans.

Each and every one was incredibly valuable.

Chu Fan’s gaze fell to the ground before him.

He stood with his feet shoulder-width apart and pressed his palms against the bluestone.

His Divine Sense sank three feet into the ground like invisible threads.

As his Divine Sense touched the smooth flow of qi from the ley lines, the corners of Chu Fan’s mouth lifted slightly. He then took out the Profound Iron Ores.

With a flick of his fingertip, the dark, glossy grains of sand scattered as if alive, forming a three-foot-square, nine-sectioned grid on the ground.

The center of each square glowed with a dark purple luster, faintly exuding the cold, sinister air of the Netherworld.

A three-inch length of Flowing Silver Vine Marrow liquefied into a silvery paste at Chu Fan’s fingertips.

Emitting a faint, cold light, it hovered above the nine-sectioned grid without touching the bluestone.

Igniting Primordial Qi True Flame at his fingertips, Chu Fan pressed the Flowing Silver Vine Marrow against the spot between his eyebrows to warm it.

As his Divine Sense Power flooded into it, the silvery paste began to emit a faint, nether-green glow.

He guided the silvery paste with his fingertips, rapidly drawing runes within the nine-sectioned grid.

In the central square, he drew the Ghost Anchor Talisman—three intertwining arcs that carried the wrinkles of the Netherworld’s void.

Wherever the silvery paste flowed, fine black lines rippled through the surrounding air like fleeting cracks in the void, vanishing in an instant.

In the four corners, he drew the Nether Transformation Talisman; at the center of each vortex, a pinprick of ethereal blue light appeared.

It was a mark from the Netherworld’s void, already suppressed by the Soul-Stabilizing Stone Powder, preventing even a trace of hostile energy from leaking out.

Along the edges, he drew the Nether Firmament Talisman—nine intersecting lines that encircled the nine squares.

As the silvery paste touched down, the Profound Iron Ores gathered on their own, merging with the lines and solidifying into a dark purple protective ring.

Next, Chu Fan took out the thumb-sized Ghost Pattern Mother Stone.

The natural patterns on the Ghost Pattern Mother Stone’s surface resembled a winding ancient path in the Netherworld. It fit directly into the center of the Ghost Anchor Talisman, and the stone’s patterns instantly lit up with an ethereal blue light, resonating with the flow of qi from the ley lines.

Then, three drops of Nether Spring Crystal Dew fell, transforming into a light purple mist that snaked along the runes.

Wherever it passed, the glow of the runes shifted from faint to cold.

Chu Fan sprinkled Soul-Stabilizing Stone Powder into the crevices of the runes. The grayish-black powder merged with the mist, and the runes instantly solidified as the fluctuations in the void stabilized.

He pricked his fingertip, and a drop of dark red blood fell onto the Ghost Pattern Mother Stone.

The drop of blood did not disperse; instead, it was slowly absorbed by the mother stone.

In that instant, the ghostly patterns on the mother stone became stained with blood, creating a strong Divine Soul resonance with the spot between Chu Fan’s eyebrows.

He clearly sensed the Array leaving an invisible mark in the void—the Nether Mark!

This mark was like a tether, allowing him to sense its cold, stable connection no matter the distance.

"Ghost be the anchor, Nether the guide, Blood the pact, Void the path—Netherworld Returning Flow, answer my call!"

Chu Fan’s hands formed a seal, and the Spell was cast.

The nine-sectioned Array suddenly lit up with an interwoven glow of ethereal blue and blood red. The light was contained within a three-foot radius, so restrained that it seemed to merge with the shade of the tree.

It was impossible to notice without close inspection.

Just then, Chu Fan suddenly raised his hand, and Primordial Qi erupted from his palm.

BANG!

The Array he had painstakingly inscribed shattered in an instant!

Only a scattered mess of powder remained on the bluestone.

But Chu Fan paid it no mind. Instead, he closed his eyes.

’In my perception, the Array wasn’t destroyed...’

In truth, the moment the Array had formed, it had already branded a Nether Mark into the void at this location.

This mark would last for one hour before dissipating.

Within that one-hour window, Chu Fan could use the Netherworld Array’s teleportation function to instantly return to this spot.

The Netherworld Array was founded in the void of the Netherworld, not in the runes and Spiritual Threads on the ground.

Physical destruction could not erase its anchor point.

Chu Fan’s figure blurred as he retreated several dozen yards. Forming a sword sign with his left hand, he silently chanted two words: "Returning Flow."

An ethereal blue light immediately flared around him. His entire body seemed to be devoured by the Netherworld’s void, and in the next instant, he reappeared in the central square of the array beneath the ancient cypress!

It was exactly the same as the black-robed woman he had seen in the All-Seeing Mirror.

For the next hour, Chu Fan repeatedly activated the Netherworld Array’s teleportation, attempting to get farther and farther away from the ancient cypress with each try.

Thirty-five yards, one hundred and eighty yards, three hundred and sixty yards...

Each time, he was able to teleport back instantly.

Upon retreating to a distance of more than five hundred and forty yards, Chu Fan felt the connection between his Divine Soul and the Nether Mark growing faint.

The teleportation felt sluggish, and he staggered half a step upon landing.

’It seems that with my current cultivation at the Third Heaven of the Divine Power Realm, and my Small Success mastery of this Secret Technique, five hundred and fifty yards is the limit.’

Chu Fan nodded slightly, quite satisfied with this result.

The teleportation distance was directly related to his Cultivation Realm and his progress with the Secret Technique.

This Netherworld Array, which he had obtained from the black-robed woman, was only at the Small Success level. It still had a long way to go before reaching the Realm of Perfection.

But as it was, it was already an ace up his sleeve, capable of turning the tide in a perilous situation.

He sat cross-legged among the gnarled roots of the ancient tree and sank his consciousness into his Sumeru Ring.

The Sumeru Ring flashed, and a piece of plain white talisman paper appeared, resting quietly in Chu Fan’s palm.

This would be his first attempt at Talisman Making.

Chu Fan didn’t rush to begin. He closed his eyes and focused, reviewing every step of the Netherworld Array’s instructions in his mind.

A wisp of pure Primordial Qi swirled at his fingertip, drawing a trace of material from each of two jade vials.

One was Nether Spring Crystal Dew, as crystal clear as morning dew, exuding a coolness that seeped into the Divine Soul;