Chapter 711: Refining the Infant

"Is Marquis Nanlong connected to the Heavenpeak Sect? Fellow Daoist Yun, you never mentioned this before!" the old woman asked, her expression slightly changing. The dark-faced man also showed surprise and anger.

"Didn't I? Perhaps I was careless and overlooked it. However, this old friend of mine didn't truly join the Heavenpeak Sect. If you two are still concerned, you are welcome to join our sect. Once you become elders of the Ghost Spirit Sect, the Heavenpeak Sect won't be able to do anything to you!" the old man surnamed Yun said with a faint smile, unhurriedly.

"Hmph! I'm already this old; I have no interest in being constrained anymore," the old woman scoffed, flatly refusing.

"I'm used to being idle, and likewise, I have no interest in joining your sect," the dark-faced man said indifferently, his brow furrowed.

"That's truly a pity! If you two were willing to join our Ghost Spirit Sect, it would greatly enhance our prestige. However, I won't force you. As long as Marquis Nanlong is eliminated here, the Heavenpeak Sect won't truly stick its neck out for a dead person. It's just a shame that despite my acquaintance with Marquis Nanlong for over a hundred years, he kept his lips sealed about the Demonfall Valley, not revealing a single detail. I only know that in a hidden cave dwelling here, there's a map left by Elder Cangkun showing the route into and out of the Demonfall Valley. If we follow this map to enter the valley, our safety would be greatly assured. So, when we pursue him later, don't destroy his Nascent Soul immediately. I want to use soul-searching techniques to see if I can obtain any more useful information," the old man said, not angered by their refusal, but instead changing the subject.

"But what if the map happened to be in the jade box that young Han took? That would be troublesome, wouldn't it?" Wang Tiangu said, a worried expression on his face.

"That's easy to handle. At worst, we'll openly disclose this matter and let all sects in Tiannan know about it. At that point, not just the righteous and demonic paths, even the Heavenly Dao Alliance will press him for the map. Then we can fish in troubled waters. Does a mere Fallen Cloud Sect really think it can monopolize the treasures of Demonfall Valley? Let's see if they have such a huge appetite! Compared to that route map, I'm more interested in the information about Demonfall Valley in Marquis Nanlong's mind. If we know these things, even if everyone knows the way to enter Demonfall Valley, we'll still have a significant head start," the old man surnamed Yun slowly explained.

"If it really turns out to be that unfortunate, then we'll have to proceed as you suggested. However, before that, we could also try to exchange the map from him for some other price. After all, there's nothing in this world that cannot be traded. Even if he has formed an enmity with us, it's the same principle," Wang Tiangu proposed after a moment of thought.

"Hehe! Junior Brother Wang's suggestion is more prudent than mine. But on another note, that young man's divine abilities are truly strange. Is he really around the same age as Nephew Wang? Yet, his combat experience seems far more cunning than ours, us old-timers; even Fellow Daoist You fell into his trap. In a one-on-one fight, I'm not sure I could handle him," the old man surnamed Yun sighed and muttered. "I asked Chan'er, and he said this person was originally just an ordinary disciple of Yellow Maple Valley. His cultivation was indeed only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Why he has made such rapid progress and possesses such great divine abilities now is unclear. However, if this young man hadn't been far more formidable than we expected and caused trouble, how could Marquis Nanlong have escaped so easily with us working together?" Wang Tiangu's eyes flickered, revealing a hint of vexation.

He was clearly recalling Han Li's attack with the black mountain and his final use of the Grand Marvelous Divine Restriction to block them!

Hearing this, the old woman and the others could only offer a bitter smile.

"Speaking of which, let's go back and unseal Fellow Daoist You first. Given his Nascent Soul cultivation, he should still be salvageable. Also, I'm a bit worried about my nephew. The dark-red light shard that young Han released just before leaving... it somehow resembles the Demonic Blood Slice I cultivate! I wonder if it caused any serious harm!" Wang Tiangu then suggested.

"Very well. We can't sense him now anyway, so let's go back and check on that first. Once my friend Nanlong's secret technique expires, we'll still have time to pursue him," the old man surnamed Yun agreed.

Immediately, the group activated their escape lights again and flew into the passage.

In a flash, they returned to the ruins of Jade Pivot Pavilion. Yan Ruyan was seen half-crouching, looking helpless, while Wang Chan lay prostrate on the nearby ground, completely still.

"What happened? Was Chan'er hit in a vital spot?" Wang Tiangu asked, his voice chilling as he saw the scene. Even at this moment, his voice remained unusually calm.

"No, but my husband's legs..." Yan Ruyan said hesitantly, a hint of anxiety on her face.

Wang Tiangu took a few steps forward and glanced, his brows furrowing immediately.

He saw that Wang Chan's two thighs were severed at the knee, with the two severed lower legs lying nearby. Strangely, not a single drop of blood was shed.

"My husband and I had already jointly activated the protective blood mist of the Blood Spirit Grand Incantation, but I don't know what secret art the opponent used. It was incredibly fast, appearing before us in an instant, and the blood mist couldn't block it even slightly. My husband only managed to jump up halfway, avoiding a cut across his waist, but his legs..." Yan Ruyan explained helplessly.

"If that's the case, why didn't you immediately use a spell to reattach Chan'er's limbs? You should know such a spell," Wang Tiangu asked, still grim.

"I've tried several limb reattachment spells, but for some reason, none had any effect; I couldn't connect them at all. Although no blood flowed from the severed ends, there's a black mist that has gathered at the wounds and won't dissipate, no matter how I try to clear it! Perhaps that's why the spells failed, and why my husband remains unconscious," Yan Ruyan said uncertainly, her delicate brows furrowed. "How could a regular attack injure you? Let me see!" Wang Tiangu's expression softened, and he focused his gaze on Wang Chan's injuries.

Indeed, at the wound of Wang Chan's severed leg, a faint, flickering black mist was visible.

Wang Tiangu raised a hand, his five fingers glowing with black light, and gently grasped at the evil energy. A bean-sized black energy mass appeared out of thin air at his fingertips.

He had originally intended to simply incinerate this evil energy with true fire, but then a thought struck him. He patted his waist with his other hand, and a small bottle appeared in his palm.

Wang Tiangu wrapped the faint black energy mass with spiritual power and sent it towards the bottle's opening.

With a "whoosh," the evil energy was sucked into the bottle, which was then carefully put away.

It seemed Wang Tiangu intended to study this object later to gain some understanding of Han Li's cultivation technique.

What Wang Tiangu didn't notice was that Yan Ruyan's face showed a fleeting complex expression upon seeing this, which immediately returned to normal.

Once Wang Tiangu had also conjured away the evil energy from the other leg, Yan Ruyan silently reattached the severed limbs to the wounds and began casting the reattachment spell.

Only then did Wang Tiangu nod in satisfaction before turning and walking to one side.

There, the old man surnamed Yun and the others were gathered around the ice statue of the cultivator surnamed You, staring blankly.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you fellow Daoists unsealing it yet?" Wang Tiangu asked, approaching with a hint of surprise.

"Unseal it? How? I didn't expect this thing to be much more sinister than we imagined!" the old woman murmured, a trace of fear flashing in her eyes.

The old man surnamed Yun stood grim-faced, silent.

"What do you mean by that?" Wang Tiangu said aloud, but after his gaze swept over the ice sculpture, he showed a thoughtful expression, dimly guessing something.

"Brother Wang, watch closely." The dark-faced man suddenly waved a hand casually towards the ground, then flicked his hand towards the ice statue.

A fist-sized piece of broken jade shot directly towards it.

With a crisp "bang," a flash of blue light, the moment the broken jade touched the ice statue's surface, it instantly transformed into an identical blue ice shard, then shattered into countless shimmering fragments, vanishing without a trace.

The dark-faced man's actions weren't finished. From about a zhang away, he extended a finger and lightly pointed.

A wisp of scorching white true fire jetted from his fingertip, sweeping towards the blue ice.

The moment the true fire touched the blue ice, a similar flash of light occurred, and it instantly vanished without a trace, as if it had been absorbed.

Wang Tiangu gasped sharply!

"This blue ice is so malevolent. It seems Fellow Daoist You's physical body has long since necroticized and can no longer be saved. Now, we can only have his Nascent Soul emerge and find a suitable body for possession later when we return. Fellow Daoist You hasn't used the opportunity for possession before, has he?" the old man surnamed Yun sighed, suddenly asking.

"No, this was his original body," the dark-faced man said in a deep voice, seemingly more familiar with the cultivator surnamed You.

"That's good then. Now, let Fellow Daoist You's Nascent Soul emerge on its own," the old man surnamed Yun nodded.

However, the cultivator surnamed You within the blue ice seemed to have heard these words, as his entire body suddenly glowed brightly with white light. Then, with a muffled "bang," his body turned to dust and vanished without a trace.

Within the crystalline blue ice, only the cultivator You's inch-tall Nascent Soul remained, clutching a thumb-sized jade pendant in its hands. Its small face was filled with vexation and malice.

Its tiny mouth opened, spraying a ball of fiery-red, scorching Primordial Yang Infant Fire onto the jade pendant in its hands, then it raised the pendant high above its head.

Immediately, foot-high, red and white light flames erupted around its body. Without thinking, it directly charged forward, intending to break out of the ice.

"Wait!" the old man surnamed Yun seemed to realize something and quickly cried out to stop it.

But his words came too late. The Nascent Soul of the cultivator surnamed You solidly crashed into the blue ice.

The outcome was a scene that sent chills down the spines of the cultivators present.

The seemingly powerful red and white light flames, upon touching the ice wall, ignited as if they were fuel.

All the ice walls immediately burst into fierce blue flames, instantly transforming into a mass of blue fire that swallowed both the red and white flames and the Nascent Soul.

The red and white light flames were eerily converted into blue flames in an instant. The Nascent Soul let out an extremely shrill scream, frantically shooting into the air engulfed in blue flames. However, after flying only a dozen zhang, it thrashed and wailed desperately within the blue flames.

Moments later, the screams abruptly ceased. The Nascent Soul was refined into a ball of white light within the flames. Once the white light dispersed, the cultivator surnamed You vanished from the world, body and soul utterly destroyed, leaving no trace.