I Can Merge Techniques

He walked to the center of the space and sat down cross-legged, his expression grave.

With a single thought, a black light flared, and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner appeared, hovering before him.

In an instant, a sinister wind howled through the entire space as black mist billowed. Inside the banner, hundreds of Resentful Souls and Fierce Spirits shrieked and roared, creating a savage and terrifying sight.

The souls of the Blood Shadow Sect members, devoured during the battle at Cold Crow Valley in the Burial Demon Marsh, were now trapped inside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Bound by layers of pitch-black chains, they struggled relentlessly.

Meanwhile, the souls Chu Fan had already refined were like starving wolves that had caught the scent of blood, frantically devouring this new "food."

Suddenly, the black mist in the air condensed, forming a phantasmal image of Chu Fan’s face.

He was like the supreme Soul-Devouring Dominator, coldly gazing down upon the swarm of souls below.

In an instant, all the souls fell deathly silent. They trembled and ceased their feasting, and even their faintest whimpers vanished.

Chu Fan’s gaze pierced through the layers of black mist, landing on the center of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

There, the main soul of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was coiled over the soul of the Blood Shadow Sect’s Sect Leader, greedily absorbing its remaining power.

It was all thanks to Leng Qingqiu, who had erased Zhang Lie’s consciousness beforehand. Now, the soul of this peak Acupoint Realm expert was bound tightly by chains, completely powerless as the main soul devoured it.

"Stand down." Chu Fan’s command resounded in the Sea of Soul.

The main soul of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, connected to his mind, immediately retreated in deference, revealing the ravaged remnant of Zhang Lie’s soul.

Chu Fan’s eyes closed slightly, and his Divine Sense surged into the remnant soul like a tide, carefully sorting through the memory fragments of the Blood Shadow Sect’s Sect Leader.

Among the hundreds of souls devoured by the Ten Thousand Souls Banner on this trip to the Burial Demon Marsh, Zhang Lie’s remnant soul was undoubtedly the most valuable.

There were two things Chu Fan was most eager to learn...

First, the internal secrets of the Zhang Family of Qing Province;

Second, the secrets of the Evil God Altar in Cold Crow Valley;

Time slipped by in the dead silence, the black mist the only thing churning endlessly within the space...

Half an incense stick later, Chu Fan, sitting beside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, snapped his eyes open. A sharp glint flashed through them before vanishing as he quickly regained his composure. Only his tightly furrowed brow betrayed his inner turmoil.

"Just as I thought..."

Chu Fan muttered to himself, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

Zhang Lie’s memories about the collusion between the Zhang Family and the Moon Worship Sect contained little more information than what he’d learned from the black-robed woman he had captured earlier.

As for the core secrets of Burial Immortal Valley, it seemed only a handful of people, like Patriarch Zhang Yanzong and the Grand Elder, were privy to them.

However, amidst these seemingly mundane memory fragments, a piece of information exploded in Chu Fan’s mind like a clap of thunder, stirring up monstrous waves!

The "key" lost in Cyan Yang Ancient City was the very thing needed to open the Secret Realm deep within Burial Immortal Valley!

Chu Fan had never expected that the Demon Suppression Stele within his body was actually the key to Burial Immortal Valley!

All this time, Chu Fan had never understood why the Moon Worship Sect was so insistent on calling the Demon Suppression Stele a "key".

Now that the truth was revealed, he felt no joy. Instead, a chill shot up his spine to the crown of his head.

The man is innocent; his treasure is his crime.

He knew full well that with his current strength, he had no right to covet the treasures of a legendary place like Burial Immortal Valley.

Even though he could withstand a blow from Princess Zhaohua, he was still hopelessly outmatched before a truly top-tier expert.

’The safest course of action is to stay far away from the conflicts surrounding Burial Immortal Valley...’

Chu Fan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

’I held back from acting on the Evil God Altar in Cold Crow Valley out of caution. How could I possibly get involved with the mysterious and unfathomable Burial Immortal Valley?’

But the problem was—the Demon Suppression Stele was currently branded into his body!

’This "key" is fused with my very being. Can I really stay out of it?’

’The threads of fate in this world are often so profound. Can one really escape them just by wanting to?’

According to Zhang Lie’s memory fragments, the Moon Worship Sect and the Zhang Family had originally planned to secretly open Burial Immortal Valley after finding the key in Cyan Yang Ancient City.

It was only because the "key" was unexpectedly lost that they were forced to spread some information, attempting to lure the "key" holder into their trap.

’Going to Burial Immortal Valley with my current strength would be like a lamb to the slaughter...’

Chu Fan’s expression turned grim as iron.

He forced himself to temporarily put aside his thoughts about Burial Immortal Valley and turned to sorting through the memories about the Evil God Altar.

What he saw made him all the more thankful that he hadn’t acted rashly.

’That altar really is incredibly bizarre!’

According to Zhang Lie’s memories, this altar could actually communicate with the remnant soul of a sleeping ancient Evil God.

For years, the Zhang Family of Qing Province and the Blood Shadow Sect had been sacrificing living beings in exchange for Evil God Power.

Zhang Lie was originally a mediocre disciple from a branch of the Zhang Family. He was chosen to become the Sect Leader of the Blood Shadow Sect simply because his aura was exceptionally compatible with the Evil God’s.

In just a few short years, he used the Evil God Power to soar to the peak of the Acupoint Realm.

If the Demon Suppression Bureau hadn’t intervened in time, he probably would have broken through to the fourth realm, the Bright Heart Realm, before long!

"No wonder Xiao Ziye was so wary back then..." Chu Fan sucked in a sharp breath.

The Demon Suppression Bureau was clearly aware of the Evil God Altar, yet they had never moved to suppress it with force. The reason for their inaction was thought-provoking.

Based on the available information, the most likely explanation was—the Qing Province Demon Suppression Bureau currently lacked the strength to completely destroy that altar!

Chu Fan gazed at the churning Ten Thousand Souls Banner before him and thought, ’How powerful do the banner and I have to become before we can even think about devouring that Evil God’s remnant soul?’

It was as if a voice from the depths of his heart was constantly tempting him, urging him to go to Cold Crow Valley immediately and seize the altar’s secret treasures.

But in the end, reason triumphed over greed, and Chu Fan forcibly suppressed this dangerous thought.

’No good comes from courting disaster.’

’I haven’t even truly mastered the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and still don’t dare use it lightly. To think of meddling with the Evil God Altar... that’s just arrogant and suicidal.’

Just then, a fragment of memory suddenly caught Chu Fan’s attention...

Zhang Lie had secretly hidden the Blood Shadow Sect’s entire fortune beneath the Evil God Altar in Cold Crow Valley!

No wonder he had only found a few meager treasures in his Sumeru Ring before.

"Well, isn’t this just great..." Chu Fan felt a headache coming on.

’I absolutely cannot go near the Evil God Altar right now.’

’And Demon Suppression Envoy Leng Qingqiu read Zhang Lie’s memories too. Knowing her, will she send experts from the Demon Suppression Bureau to the altar?’

Chu Fan sighed, and with a thought,

The light and shadows in the All-Seeing Mirror’s space distorted, and his figure vanished.

When he reappeared in his room, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his hand had been put away, and his face had returned to its usual calm indifference.

But only Chu Fan knew what a storm the seemingly calm memory reading had just unleashed in his mind.

The key to Burial Immortal Valley, the secret treasures of the Evil God Altar, the Zhang Family’s conspiracy...

Countless clues intertwined in his mind like a tangled web, all pointing toward an unnerving future.

’Next, I need to raise my strength as quickly as possible and prepare for the Profound Origin Secret Realm.’

Although he didn’t know to what extent the "Purifying Nightmare Spirit Crystal" and "Clear and Muddy Spirit Source" from the Profound Origin Secret Realm could suppress the contamination, they at least gave him a glimmer of hope.

[Technique: Netherworld Array (Uninitiated) Progress: (9/50) (Trait: None)]

[Technique: Netherworld Sword Prison (Entry-Level) Progress: (155/500) (Trait: None)]

Chu Fan glanced at the panel.

’The Netherworld Array... it’s a lot like Instant Teleportation... No, it actually is Instant Teleportation, just with restrictions.’

’Cultivated to its peak, it allows you to set up three arrays within a certain range.’

’If this area becomes a battlefield, I can instantly move back to the location of one of the arrays...’

’How could anyone not be tempted by such a Divine Technique?’

Chu Fan immediately got up, left his room, and walked towards the Celestial Craft Workshop Marketplace.

’The Netherworld Array requires specific materials to set up.’

’Without those materials, I can’t even begin to practice it.’

’I’m not short on money now, and I have the Sumeru Ring, so I should buy the materials in bulk and cultivate this Divine Power Formation to Perfection as quickly as possible.’