Chapter 138

Zhang Heng and Guimianren's strength should not be underestimated, especially Guimianren, who clearly gave him an indescribable sense of threat, yet in their two encounters, both seemed to hold back some power.

If he were to turn against the two of them now, even he would find it hard to gain an advantage and might even get injured, which would truly be unwise.

"Forget it. Since you two are so interested in this True Dragon Seal, I, Lu, will yield it!"

He shook his head, deciding to temporarily give up the True Dragon Seal. Anyway, that severed hand had already entered the cauldron, which was also a decent gain. He even faintly felt that this severed hand was more precious than the True Dragon Seal.

With that thought, he casually formed a hand seal, activating the Technique Refining Crystal Furnace, intending to summon it back.

However, contrary to his expectations, the Technique Refining Crystal Furnace did not obey his control at all; his spiritual sense probing it elicited no response.

"Not good! This has become a big trouble!"

His face instantly darkened, his eyes filled with shock, as he stared fixedly at the Technique Refining Crystal Furnace.

"What's going on? What other mishap has occurred?"

Guimianren froze for a moment, the only surprise not being that he had already been subdued and captured by Lu Fan? How could he wear such an expression again!

The others also failed to understand, wearing bewildered expressions. Today, strange events came one after another; their minds had already gone numb, so even the most obvious abnormalities were overlooked.

Lu Fan narrowed his eyes, coldly staring at the cauldron furnace, and said sternly: "The crystal furnace has lost control; that severed hand has been possessed by a lingering thought. If you two withdraw the formation now, the three of us joining forces might still have a thirty percent chance to suppress it; otherwise..."

"Heh heh heh!"

A shrill laugh echoed from within the crystal furnace, flames filling the sky, yet it gave an eerie, chilling feeling.

"I have finally broken free, you little brat surnamed Lu; you have no chance at all!"

In an instant, the heavenly fire swirling atop the Technique Refining Crystal Furnace suddenly transformed into a spherical shield, instantly enveloping both the furnace and the seal.

Light flickered across the spherical shield, and seal sigils instantly condensed. These sigils were hazy and indistinct, a blur, yet their power was astonishing; even from thousands of zhang away, they gave Xiulan a formidable pressure, hard to behold directly.

"What is this talisman? It looks simple in structure, yet its power is immense. Each sigil forms its own array, linked together like an ancient grand formation, profound and unfathomable!"

She gaped, her face full of disbelief. In her understanding, talisman divine abilities use sigils and a core to draw upon heavenly laws, mysterious power, to unleash might. But the scene before her far exceeded her comprehension, utterly out of place.

"Xiulan, what's going on? Could it be that you also don't understand?" Guimianren was stunned; he didn't care much about his junior sister's strength, but he greatly admired her in talisman cultivation. Though young, she had already entered the Muscle Transformation Realm and even self-comprehended the Ghost Dao Divine Ability. Even if one looked across the Dragon Elephant Dynasty, she would be a rare phoenix feather and unicorn horn.

"Never mind what mysteries it holds; the main target is right before our eyes. As long as we capture Lu Fan, why bother with a mere seal sigil?"

Zhang Heng let out a cold snort, ignoring the strangeness before him, and once again fixed his gaze on Lu Fan, tigerish and watchful.

Yang Sheng and the others all changed expression; the situation that had just eased suddenly intensified again. Although they had confidence in Lu Fan's methods, they could see the opponent's changes clearly, and it was obvious that Lu Fan had encountered a problem.

"Young Master Fan! Circumstances change; why don't we temporarily retreat and later plan to seize the treasures here?"

Yang Sheng spoke tentatively, his face tense. These words seemed to consider Lu Fan, but they were overly cowardly. Even he found it hard to believe saying them, yet judging the situation, he forced himself to speak thus.

Li Yongwang and the others widened their eyes, their faces drastically changing, nervous for Yang Sheng. They had defected to Lu Fan but had been of no help, merely burdens. Now Yang Sheng surrendering without a fight was utterly unworthy of a martial artist, truly cowardly.

At this moment, Lu Fan's brows slightly furrowed as he tightly stared at the crystal furnace within the spherical shield, his mood uncertain.

He drew a slight breath, gathered his spirit, indifferently glanced at Xiulan and her two companions, and said coldly: "Didn't you hear that strange sound? At a time like this, to be studying a seal sigil shows some promise; truly worthy of a clan disciple, unlike us from the Bright Moon Small State, whose conduct is completely different!"

Such mocking and sarcastic words, spoken sharply, were a demeanor he had rarely shown since his rebirth.

Zhang Heng immediately flushed, he naturally had heard that shrill strange sound. But in this tomb, all sorts of bizarre occurrences had been seen; who would still pay attention to such a noise?

Moreover, after that abnormal sound, the first to change were the spherical shield and the strange seal symbols. Wan Li's senior and junior brothers' remarks focused on that; he felt there was no problem, even secretly taking it as Lu Fan employing a technique. Even if not, it still concerned Lu Fan.

"Hmph! Lu Fan, stop playing mystical tricks!" Xiulan shouted coldly, fiercely saying: "No matter what strangeness, it's all aimed at you; we few are happy to sit and watch it unfold!"

Lu Fan curled the corner of his mouth, giving Xiulan a half-smile, a fleeting uncanny light flashing in his eyes, and said: "Yesterday you mimicked my Formless Seal Sigil; your talent is astonishing. How about this: you try this seal sigil and see if it works?"

As his words fell, he flipped his hand, a red light flashed, instantly condensing into a solid seal sigil hovering in the void. Though only one, its aura was not particularly strong, yet it gave the impression of encompassing heaven and earth, with force of ten thousand jun.

"This is..."

Xiulan blinked, involuntarily turning her head to gaze at the seal sigils drifting on the spherical shield. Still hazy, yet she could see clearly that they were exactly the same as the seal sigil Lu Fan had just produced.

She gaped, suddenly realizing, and stammered: "It's the talisman from that underground altar! Only this kind of seal sigil is something I cannot comprehend or imitate!"

"What? This is the seal sigil from that altar!" Guimianren's face also turned pale with shock, his spirit trembling, his face flushed as he said excitedly: "Hurry and make a rubbing of it; if given to the sect's elders, it would be a tremendous merit, comparable to the Ghost Seal treasure!"

Though he knew nothing of formations, he confidently declared that the "Waste Seal" was a treasure comparable to the Ghost Seal, and his vision and decisiveness were indeed extraordinary.

"A rubbing? You two aren't even worthy of that!"

Lu Fan gave a cold smile, an aura of looking down on the heavens and disdaining the mundane slowly emanating. It wasn't contempt so much as indifference, a detached amusement at the world's heroes and the tumult of mortal life.

"You..."

No one had ever dared to look down on Guimianren, and even famed seniors rarely dared to act arrogantly before him. Now being so indifferently regarded by Lu Fan was truly a great disgrace.

"Hey!" Zhang Heng flashed to his front, waved his hand, then pointed at Lu Fan and said to Guimianren:

"Elder Wan, don't be angry; the Lu fellow is indeed strange. The two of us joining forces will surely capture him. By then, this humiliation can be left to you to dispose of."

At such a moment, he remained so calm. From beginning to end, the focus of all conflict centered on Lu Fan, which was truly not simple.

Upon hearing this, Guimianren's resentful expression gradually faded, turning into a deep chill. Involuntarily, his ghostly energy surged, blending with the dim space, appearing exceptionally frightening.

"Hmph! Overestimating yourself!" Lu Fan's gaze swept over to Zhang Heng: "Aren't you curious how I can refine the dragon-element purple qi? Let me tell you, so you can truly experience it!"

As his words fell, he took a light step; though he seemed to have little strength, his figure instantly became ethereal, with the sound of tides and lightning, like a crow flying and a rabbit sprinting! In the span of a breath, he arrived before Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng's face turned pale with fright; he hadn't expected Lu Fan to say attack and then attack, with no prior sign, not even gathering half a bit of strength, yet it was utterly unstoppable.

"Swish——"

The bamboo fan opened and closed, blocking in front of him, then he fiercely slapped his palm onto it. This strange device, he used as a shield, pushing it toward Lu Fan.

Faintly, a whirlwind coiled out, appearing as if it would soon envelop Lu Fan.

"Hmph! Wind gathers fire; do you really think I have no way to deal with you?"

A light laugh echoed beside Zhang Heng's ear; before he could react, his bamboo fan suddenly turned red, and the wind shield on it instantly ignited. It then twisted, reversing direction, and came sweeping toward Zhang Heng.

The Fire Evil Flame Gang swept over, scorching evil force instantly corroding his whole body. He tried to mobilize his true qi to resist, but it was futile; his own true qi instantly became nourishment for the fire shield, backfiring upon him.

"Brother Zhang, don't panic! Wan Li will help you!"

Guimianren could not sit still; at that moment he stood just behind Zhang Heng, only about three zhang away. His gathered power surged forth, his hazy mist-like robe sleeves casually swaying, releasing puffs of ink-like mist.

"Hiss—"

Amidst the drifting ghostly shadows, the ink-like mist struck the fire shield, and the Fire Evil Flame Gang instantly erupted, refining the yin evil ghost energy in an instant.

It was just this brief delay, buying Zhang Heng some reaction time, and had no time to worry about the Bamboo Fan Mysterious Treasure in the fire shield; it rebounded straight back. Whether intentional or from panic, I don't know, yet it shoved the Ghost-faced Person behind him in an instant, as if trying to keep far away from the fire shield.

You say I can't borrow your strength, but now you'd better take a good look!

Lu Fan was not startled but delighted, showing no sign of missing the opportunity; with one hand he suddenly gripped, seized the bamboo fan in one grasp, and immediately began to wield it.

Swish swish swish!

Strands of whirlwinds coiled out, directly sinking into the fire shield; in the blink of an eye, the fire shield, several zhang wide, transformed into a wall of fire about ten zhang high, pressing toward the Ghost-faced Person.

A mere wisp of soul thought—how dare you act so brazenly before me! This time I'll send you to the Western Heaven!

Lu Fan's expression turned fierce; with a casual slap, the two sides of the fire wall suddenly swayed, and in an instant it enveloped the Ghost-faced Person.