n

n

n

n“Brother Xiao, isn’t this place too deserted?” Little Zhou asked.

n

n“Let’s go in and take a look,” Xiao Ran said.

n

nThey entered the Anfeng Inn.

n

nIt was deathly quiet. The table was covered in dust and there were cobwebs hanging across the rafters.

n

nIt looked like no one had been here for a long time.

n

nLittle Zhou reached for the ledger on the counter, but Xiao Ran stopped him. “It’s poisonous.”

n

nUnder his confused gaze, Xiao Ran struck out with his palm.

n

nRays of golden light rushed out and rippled through the surrounding area.

n

nThe whole hall was filled with dark green poisonous gas. The poison was even more potent on tables, chairs, counter tops, and other items.

n

n“F*ck! Isn’t this too ruthless?” Little Zhou cursed out loud in fright.

n

nHe hurriedly circulated his skills to use his spirit energy to protect himself.

n

n“Brother Xiao, aren’t you afraid?”

n

nXiao Ran ignored him and walked to the counter. With a tap of his finger, a stream of purifying spiritual force hit the ledger and it automatically opened.

n

nHe read it through.

n

nIt was just ordinary book keeping. Nothing special.

n

nHe turned and walked towards the backyard.

n

nUsing the Spiritual Clarity Eye, he observed that the dark green poisonous gas in the air was converging in one direction.

n

nThe gas was very thick there, 10 times thicker than here.

n

nThey entered the backyard and stopped at a small tree.

n

nAll the poisonous gas spread out from here. The source of the gas was down here.

n

n“What’s so special about this place?” Little Zhou asked.

n

n“Move aside,” Xiao Ran said.

n

nAfter he backed off, Xiao Ran activated his power and stomped on the ground with his right foot.

n

nBang!

n

nThe ground exploded, revealing a thirty-foot crater, but the sapling remained intact.

n

nWithout the cover of the soil, the scene below appeared in front of them.

n

nThere was a white skeleton with a small tree stuck in its chest. The thick poisonous gas was churning and rolling, thick enough to become solid. The terrifying spread of the poison plague was something that even a Grand Master could not withstand.

n

nFaced with such a lethal poison, one would instantly get poisoned and turn into a green person like the people outside.

n

nLittle Zhou eyes became blurry, and he was about to get poisoned.

n

nXiao Ran patted his shoulder and injected a stream of purifying spiritual force into his body to expel all the poisonous gas that had invaded his body.

n

nAfter he withdrew his palm,

n

nLittle Zhou shivered and looked scared. “It’s too dangerous here. Let’s get out quickly!”

n

n“Wait for me outside,” Xiao Ran instructed.

n

n“Brother Xiao, be careful. If you really can’t, don’t push yourself.”

n

nAfter he left,

n

nXiao Ran walked to the pit and looked at the white skeleton and the small tree.

n

n“What a vicious method. Using a whole county’s living beings to refine an evil corpse.”

n

nBolts of lightning surged out from his palm, and the Apotropaic Divine Lightning transformed into a huge lightning net that fanned out and landed on the skeleton.

n

nWhoosh…

n

nBlack poisonous smoke rose, and an obnoxious stench spread out. The skeleton quickly fled at a visible speed.

n

nEven the small tree began to wither in the face of the lightning imbued with strong Yang energy.

n

n“Stop!” a voice hissed.

n

nLiu Yang dashed in from outside and with a few flashes of movement, stopped in front of Xiao Ran.

n

nHe waved his hand and struck out a palm. The black palm landed on the Apotropaic Divine Lightning netting, but he was disappointed with the result, or rather the lack thereof.

n

nAs the Apotropaic Divine Lightning churned and rolled, it broke the force of his black palm.

n

nHe looked at Xiao Ran with an icy cold stare. “Stop at once!”

n

n“Is this all your doing? Is your goal to nurture evil corpses?” Xiao Ran asked.

n

n“You actually saw through it. I can’t let you live today no matter what,” Liu Yang said mercilessly.

n

nHe took out a flare and released it.

n

nBefore it could lift off, a shot of finger force destroyed it with lightning speed.

n

n“Did I allow you to move?” Xiao Ran asked in a mocking tone.

n

n“I’ll deal with you first before dealing with that person outside,” Liu Yang said.

n

nHis body transformed and split into five, charging towards Xiao Ran from five different directions.

n

nDemonic energy surged outwards, covering the entire backyard.

n

nFor a moment,

n

nunder the veil of this demonic aura, it was impossible to see anything.

n

nThe terrifying freezing demonic might was bone-chilling. Under his control, five manifestations of Heaven Shrouding Palm prints appeared and clapped down on Xiao Ran’s head viciously.

n

n“Heavenly Yin Sect?” Xiao Ran sensed a familiar aura from him that was very similar to the Massacre Matchmaker.

n

nAs bolts of lightning appeared, the Apotropaic Divine Lightning rushed out of his body, sweeping out a huge area around him.

n

nFlooded over by a sea of lightning, the demonic aura dissipated, and the huge palm prints were destroyed.

n

nFour of the five figures dissipated, and the remaining one was his main body. He was severely injured and collapsed to the ground.

n

nXiao Ran took a step towards him.

n

n“Spirit Shifting Soul Control!”

n

nTwo beams of golden light shot out from Xiao Ran’s eyes and entered his eyes, instantly controlling his mind.

n

nA spell had been cast on his mind using the Forbidden Spirit Technique.

n

nXiao Ran withdrew the Spirit Shifting Soul Control technique and instead, deployed the Heavenly Slave Divine Finger. Ten shots of finger forces pierced his body in a row.

n

nIt hurt so much that he rolled around on the ground, grabbing at his flesh with his palm and screaming miserably.

n

nA few moments later,

n

nXiao Ran temporarily relieved his pain and interrogated him. “Tell me everything you know.”

n

n“This will not end well for you guys.” Liu Yang smiled sinisterly.

n

nHe raised his palm and slapped the top of his head, preparing to commit suicide.

n

n“Death is also too extravagant for you,” Xiao Ran responded scornfully.

n

nWith a chop of his palm, he crippled his palm and deployed the Heavenly Slave Divine Finger to torture him again.

n

nIn the face of this inhumane torture, he could still hold on at the beginning. Towards the end, he was completely desperate.

n

nHe opened his mouth to beg, “Give me a quick death!”

n

n“Tell me everything you know.” Xiao Ran was unmoved.

n

nLiu Yang hesitated. What awaited him was another five shots of Heavenly Slave Divine Fingers.

n

nThe pain doubled. It wasn’t just his physical body. Now even his soul was being put through inhumane torture.

n

nThis time he didn’t even last ten breaths. “I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”

n

n“Speak!” Xiao Ran berated.

n

nA stream of purifying spiritual force entered his body and temporarily stabilized his injuries. Xiao Ran did not want him to die halfway while talking because he ran out of breath.

n

n“I’m an Elder of the Heavenly Yin Sect, in charge of caring for the Demon Lord Mystic Wither of Chen County.”

n

n“Give me more details,” Xiao Ran said.

n

n“There are a total of 4 skeletons underground. The Sect Master obtained them from an ancient altar. The small tree is called the Multitudinous Poison Tree. It is the supreme secret treasure of our Heavenly Yin Sect. It contains lethal poison that is capable of spreading plagues. The Sect Master paid a huge price to nurture 4 Demon Lords Mystic Wither of the Profound Realm level.” Liu Yang told him everything he knew.

n

nThen he pleaded with Xiao Ran.

n

n“Give me a quick death!”

n

nAs the Apotropaic Divine Lightning struck down, he was completely devoured.

n

nThe Golden Tome of Creation flipped open to a random page and displayed three items: 700,000 Mastery points, 70 years of Martial Arts Evolution, and a special antidote pill.

n

nHe added the 700,000 Mastery points to the Spirit Shifting Soul Control Technique.

n

nAfter the attributes were refreshed,

n

nSpirit Shifting Soul Control Technique: Beginner’s Level.

n

nHe was still 420 years away from advancing another step in the Martial Arts Evolution.

n

nThe special antidote pill could cure all poisons.

n

nWhen he came to the small tree, more than half of the bones and the tree had been destroyed by the Apotropaic Divine Lightning.

n

nHe struck another bolt of lightning. It flashed out and destroyed all the remaining objects.

n

nHe then left the backyard.

n

nWhen he found Little Zhou outside, he was surrounded by a black mass of people. These people were all the commoners who had been infected by the plague. They lost their rationality as a result and behaved like zombies, reaching out and grabbing at him lifelessly.

n

nAs nimble as a loach, he activated and circulated his Fleeing Cataglyphis Technique to the limit and dodged here and there rapidly.

n