I Can Merge Techniques

The Qing Province Demon Suppression Bureau.

Sunlight passed through the carved wooden windows, spilling onto the bluestone courtyard.

A line of figures was cast starkly upon the ground.

Xiao Ziye’s figure was graceful as she landed lightly on her feet.

Following behind her were several Demon Suppression Captains, including Li Mubai and Nangong Yue, as well as a young man with a tall, straight posture—none other than Chu Fan.

Their return instantly drew the attention of the entire Demon Suppression Bureau.

In the courtyard, the Demon Suppression Guards and Captains, each attending to their duties, all stopped what they were doing.

Curious gazes turned toward them in unison.

They didn’t know the details of the mission, but seeing the mix of exhaustion and relief on the faces of Xiao Ziye and the others, they understood. The mission must have been a success.

"Look, Captain Li is back!"

"From the looks of it, they returned in triumph!"

"Captain Nangong doesn’t look well. Could she be seriously injured?"

Amidst the whispers, everyone’s eyes fixed on the pale faces of Nangong Yue and the others, and they could also sense the weakened auras within them.

But when their gazes fell upon Chu Fan, even more questions arose.

"Isn’t that Chu Fan? Why would he be back with Commander Xiao?"

"A mere Demon Suppression Guard participating in a Captain-level mission?"

"A while ago, he easily defeated Wang Meng of the Acupoint Realm. That was stunning enough..."

"This is just too illogical!"

Under the crowd’s complicated stares, Chu Fan remained perfectly composed, following Xiao Ziye and the others across the courtyard. They walked straight into the Demon Suppression Bureau’s main hall and finally arrived at the residence of Demon Suppression Envoy Leng Qingqiu.

CREAK—

The door opened softly.

Inside, a woman in a plain white dress stood by the window. Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her aura was as cool and distant as the moon.

Seeing them enter, she slowly turned around.

"You’ve all worked hard."

Leng Qingqiu’s voice was as cool and clear as jade. Her gaze swept over the expressions of Li Mubai and the others, and she already understood everything.

Li Mubai did not dare to be slow. He stepped forward, bowed, and gave a detailed report of the entire expedition to the Burial Demon Marsh, leaving out no detail.

As he recounted the events, a ripple of emotion flickered in Leng Qingqiu’s calm eyes.

When she heard that Chu Fan had taken a direct palm strike from a fourth-realm expert and emerged completely unscathed, her gaze shifted to him, filled with a mix of curiosity and surprise.

This young man always managed to bring her unexpected surprises.

Leng Qingqiu couldn’t help but recall not long ago when Chu Fan had posed as a Demon from the Moon Worship Sect to intercept Ye Chang’an of Medicine King Valley. He had taken a direct sword strike from Princess Zhaohua yet returned unharmed.

Even back then, she had been suspicious. With Chu Fan’s cultivation, it should have been impossible for him to block that sword strike, even if he had activated a High-Grade Profound Weapon.

Now, according to Li Mubai’s account, Chu Fan hadn’t even had time to activate any Defensive Techniques or Magical Treasures. He had simply taken a palm strike from a fourth-realm expert head-on and was still completely unharmed!

Such a miraculous event was hard to believe, simply inconceivable, even for someone as experienced and knowledgeable as her, the Demon Suppression Envoy!

’This kid...’ Leng Qingqiu thought to herself. ’He’s truly a prodigy who hides his true abilities!’

’What a pity...’

At this thought, a trace of regret flashed through her mind.

Such a fine piece of jade, a rare talent, had been snatched up by that old fox Yue Mankong first.

Composing herself, Leng Qingqiu offered a few words of warm encouragement to the group.

Although it was somewhat regrettable that the big fish from the Moon Worship Sect had escaped in the end, she did not reprimand Xiao Ziye.

Under the circumstances, for Xiao Ziye to arrive in time and still be in that condition was a blessing in disguise.

The Demon Suppression Bureau had been short-staffed recently; otherwise, they would never have let someone like Xiao Ziye, who could fall ill at any moment, lead such a dangerous mission.

"Lord Leng..." Nangong Yue began, enduring her discomfort. "Since we’ve already lured out a big fish and confirmed there’s a traitor in the Demon Suppression Bureau, why not expose them immediately?"

This operation was intended to annihilate the Blood Shadow Sect and eliminate one of the Zhang Family’s key allies.

It was also meant to confirm the identity of the traitor within the Demon Suppression Bureau and bait a big fish from the Moon Worship Sect.

Now the big fish had escaped, but the traitor was still in the Demon Suppression Bureau.

"There’s no rush." Hearing this, Leng Qingqiu gently shook her head.

She walked slowly to the window, gazing at the green bamboo swaying in the courtyard breeze. "Many years ago," she said slowly, "we suspected that a spy from the Moon Worship Sect had infiltrated the Demon Suppression Bureau."

"But whether it was the people from the Zhang Family or these traitors, they all hid themselves extremely well. For so many years, they never revealed a single trace."

"Furthermore, the Moon Worship Sect has never made any major moves in Qing Province City, so we’ve left them be until now."

"This time, we used the Blood Shadow Sect affair to lure the snake from its hole. We both eliminated the Blood Shadow Sect and exposed the traitor, killing several birds with one stone."

Leng Qingqiu turned around, her gaze as sharp as a sword. "Now that we know this rat’s identity, there’s no need to act rashly. Sometimes, a known rat can make the best bait."

Chu Fan stood to the side, listening quietly without interjecting.

He already knew about these plans. Now that the mission was successfully completed, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and rest properly for a while.

But he feared this rest wouldn’t last long.

Chu Fan knew that next, he had to fully prepare for the upcoming Profound Origin Secret Realm tournament.

Initially, he had little interest in such competitions and hadn’t planned on participating.

But Leng Qingqiu had specially informed him that this tournament was connected to the secrets of Burial Immortal Valley. Moreover, there were two supreme treasures within the Profound Origin Secret Realm—the "Purifying Nightmare Spirit Crystal" and the "Clear and Muddy Spirit Source"—two items the Demon Suppression Bureau was determined to acquire.

Therefore, no matter how he looked at it, he had to participate.

Chu Fan’s thoughts couldn’t help but drift to those two treasures...

The "Purifying Nightmare Spirit Crystal" was the key material for the Demon Suppression Guard and Captain Tokens.

The Tokens were able to suppress corruption to a certain extent precisely because they contained a large amount of "Purifying Nightmare Spirit Crystal."

As for the "Clear and Muddy Spirit Source," it was even more miraculous.

According to legend, its ability to suppress corruption was more than ten times greater than that of the "Purifying Nightmare Spirit Crystal"!

However, its rarity far surpassed that of the "Purifying Nightmare Spirit Crystal." Even the Demon Suppression Bureau headquarters had very little in stock.