I Can Merge Techniques

However, though the morning sun had risen, a dense black fog still clung to the sky above Cold Crow Valley like an inverted cauldron. It sealed the entire valley, and no matter how the dawn light struggled, it couldn’t penetrate in the slightest, leaving the valley dim as if eternal night had descended.

Beneath this malevolent shadow, one could faintly make out a stretch of gray, barren, scorched earth where not a single blade of grass grew. There wasn’t a hint of life in the air.

Instead, a bone-chilling sense of decay and Death Qi permeated the air, enough to make one shudder.

In the very center of Cold Crow Valley stood a grotesque, pitch-black fortress. Its walls were covered in monstrous reliefs, and it radiated a thick, ominous aura.

Surrounding the fortress, towers soared into the clouds like loyal Demon Guards, standing grim sentinel. Atop these towers, one could faintly see cultists with blades in hand, standing watch.

Chu Fan slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping toward the southwest of Cold Crow Valley.

According to the detailed map Li Mubai had provided, the Blood Shadow Sect’s forbidden Evil God Altar was located over thirty li to the southwest. It was also the most heavily fortified location in the entire valley.

Ever since he had set foot in the Burial Demon Marsh, the closer he got to the heart of Cold Crow Valley, the more agitated the long-dormant Ten Thousand Souls Banner inside him became.

The greedy craving originating from the artifact itself was now palpably clear, locked firmly onto the direction of the Evil God Altar, as if a supreme treasure capable of granting it a complete Rebirth was hidden there.

However, now was clearly not the time to go exploring that mysterious altar.

The primary goal of today’s mission was to annihilate the Blood Shadow Sect and eradicate the cancer that was the Zhang Family!

Seeing this, Li Mubai slowly formed a complex hand seal.

Three Demon Suppression Captains, long poised for action, immediately acknowledged the command. With a flicker of movement, they slipped around the valley’s edge and crept toward several water sources within it.

The three split up, each arriving at one of the valley’s waterholes or wells.

After glancing around to confirm they were unseen, they took several ink-black Elixirs that gave off a faint, acrid smell from within their robes and flicked them into the air.

The Elixirs traced a barely perceptible arc before landing in the water with a soft PLOP, sinking silently to the bottom.

These were none other than the "Bone-Eroding Pills," a highly toxic Elixir that Chu Fan had looted from the Sumeru Ring of Medicine King Valley’s Ye Chang’an.

The moment the Elixirs hit the water, the previously placid surface began to roil as if boiling, with dense black bubbles rising with a "GLUG, GLUG, GLUG."

Immediately after, plumes of black smoke—darker and more sinister than the surrounding miasma—billowed from the water, coiling like spectral serpents as they rapidly spread in all directions.

It soon blended perfectly with the natural, poisonous miasma of the Burial Demon Marsh, becoming utterly indistinguishable.

In the pre-dawn gloom, thick with miasma, it was impossible for anyone to notice that an even more insidious poison had been mixed into the air of this already lethal domain.

The toxic mist from the Bone-Eroding Pill was utterly insidious and devastatingly potent.

Should anyone step into its range and inhale even a wisp of the mist, in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, they would be hit by a tidal wave of pain, as if a million ants were gnawing on their bones. The excruciating agony of their meridians shattering inch by inch would lance straight through their skull,

rendering them completely incapacitated—lambs for the slaughter.

A few moments later, they would bleed from all seven orifices, their organs would putrefy, and they would die on the spot.

Without a special antidote, even a Martial Dao expert at the peak of the Acupoint Realm would face certain death if they remained in the mist for the time it took to drink a cup of tea!

And this lethal mist would persist for a full hour—long enough to cover the entire battle.

When Li Mubai saw the three men return safely, he didn’t immediately issue the next order. Instead, he waited patiently for the toxic mist to spread, a cool light glinting in his eyes.

The Bone-Eroding Pills Chu Fan had given him were extraordinarily potent, but they likely wouldn’t be enough to wipe out all the death-defying Blood Shadow Sect cultists in one go.

But they would definitely weaken the cultists’ combat strength significantly, saving a great deal of energy for the main assault!

Time trickled by in the silent wait as the poisonous mist spread through the valley like a spiderweb.

Suddenly, a shrill scream echoed from within the fortress: "This is bad! There’s poison! We’re under attack!"

’Someone detected the Bone-Eroding Pill’s mist so quickly?’

’It seems the Blood Shadow Sect has its share of cautious members, after all.’

Watching Cold Crow Valley descend into chaos as terrified cultists fled in every direction, a cold glint flashed in Li Mubai’s eyes. He raised his right hand, splayed his fingers, then abruptly clenched them into a fist!

It was the signal for the all-out assault!

The long-prepared warriors responded instantly, fanning out once more in silence. They each took up an advantageous position and pushed their Primordial Qi to its absolute limit.

The next moment, they dropped all pretense of stealth. All seven warriors activated their Qinggong, their bodies like demonic birds of vengeance descending from the heavens. With the force of a thunderclap, they plunged fearlessly toward Cold Crow Valley below, intent on slaughter!

While still in mid-air, a flash of fire erupted in the palm of each warrior’s left hand at nearly the exact same instant.

A crimson Talisman, brimming with terrifying energy, instantly burst into flames. Its Runes flickered as Spiritual Power surged violently!

"Tier Five Meteor Talismans!"

A full seven of them!

Each of these high-tier Talismans was comparable to the fully charged, all-out strike of an expert at the Fifth Heaven of the Acupoint Realm. With seven unleashed simultaneously, their combined might was enough to shatter the heavens and shake the earth!

BOOOOOOM—!!!

A deafening roar tore through the sky. The heavens above Cold Crow Valley instantly roiled as dark clouds converged and fierce winds howled!

Massive meteorites, each over two meters in diameter and trailing tails of raging crimson fire, illuminated the dim valley like a vision of armageddon. With an overwhelming power bent on total annihilation, they rained down savagely upon the fortress and towers below!