Chapter 153

Wang Dance, however, had a strange expression, as if she recognized the origin of the purple shadow demon beasts, and cried out in alarm: "Resentful Dragon Spirits! How can there be so many?"

"Many? According to the Dragon Tower's rules, entering this tower requires following the order on the Ascending Dragon List of the Earth Spirit Stele. The amount of purple dragon qi determines the strength and number of the Resentful Dragon Spirits. I entered together with Kun Python—these are just appetizers; the real show is still to come!"

Lu Fan gave a clear shout, slowly explained two sentences, then flipped his sleeve, and the Yin Killing Dark Hammer hovered forth.

"Boom!"

A thunderbolt blasted out, instantly exploding on a tiger-shaped purple shadow demon beast; the opponent didn't even have time to howl before being wrapped and refined by electric fire and thunder light, turning into a mass of pure purple dragon qi.

"Not bad!" Lu Fan lightly gestured, sucking that mass of purple dragon qi into his mouth, smacked his lips twice, and clicked his tongue in praise.

"Aoo—"

"Roar—"

Beast roars rose one after another, echoing nonstop in this space; resentful killing spread out, and the Resentful Dragon Spirits all erupted.

Lu Fan immediately became the main target, with seven or eight purple-light beast shadows already at his side, yet he paid no heed, casually swinging his thunder hammer, thunderbolts blasting all around. The Resentful Dragon Spirits were mighty, yet none could withstand the thunder's might.

In a moment, they were blasted apart, turning into pure dragon-essence purple qi, which Ye Fei sucked into his belly.

Wang Dance and Xiulan also became targets of the Resentful Dragon Spirits. Though their skills were extraordinary, they gained no advantage against such ferocious beasts. Under siege by three or four of them, they immediately floundered. Had Lu Fan not instantly drawn most of the purple-light beast shadows' attention, the two would now be in dire straits.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the last Resentful Dragon Spirit was torn apart by the skull controlled by Xiulan.

"Whoosh—"

The two maidens panted heavily; even Wang Dance was so tired she put her hands on her hips, drenched in sweat, utterly exhausted.

"This is just the beginning; it's not time to rest yet—quickly unleash any means you have! Otherwise, if the situation turns dire later, I won't be able to help in time!"

Lu Fan glanced at the empty space above, gave a loud shout as a reminder, then walked over to Kun Python's side and patted its head, seemingly trying to wake it.

However, Kun Python merely swayed slightly, not even opening its eyes—evidently still recovering from the earlier cold killing invasion.

Wang Dance stared at Lu Fan with a cold face, her eyes flickering, unknown what she was thinking.

Meanwhile, Xiulan frowned tightly, looking regretful: "Lu Fan, are these dragon spirits supposed to be dealt with by Kun Python? We're just innocent fish caught in the pond."

"'Well, you could say that!' Lu Fan slowly rose, chuckling: 'You two were being clever, secretly linking your breath to Kun Python. Sneaking in was bad enough, but you had to scheme against me. Now you've walked right into the net—hope you learn your lesson!'"

"Hmph! You're getting a bit too pleased with yourself too soon!"

Wang Dance gave a cold snort, extending her jade hand from her sleeve to pull out a wrinkled snakeskin, then coldly said: "This is the snakeskin shed by Kun Python when it advanced. Using it, I cast a secret art to link my breath with Kun Python, deceiving the Dragon Tower's formation rules to bring me into this void. Now that link is severed; as long as I hide somewhere, most Resentful Dragon Spirits will no longer come after me."

Before her voice faded, she flipped her hand, pinched the air, and flung the snakeskin away, where it exploded into powder.

Xiulan likewise seemed to have realized, taking out a piece of snakeskin, but she had the skull swallow it.

Afterward, the two slowly retreated, heading into the surrounding caves. With no breath tether, even if a few Resentful Dragon Spirits gave chase, they could use the caves' narrow spaces for guerrilla tactics and never fall into a siege.

Lu Fan blinked slightly, seeming to suddenly realize. After so long, only Wang Dance and the other had appeared. Clearly the Dragon Tower had another space; the others were not here.

"Strange! They used Kun Python's shed skin as a link—how did you get in?"

Lu Fan frowned, staring at an inconspicuous corner. Though it was clearly empty, to his eyes it seemed as if someone stood there, forcing him to focus his gaze.

Wang Dance, about to leave, heard this and paused, somewhat incredulous. Following Lu Fan's gaze, she looked over—and indeed saw something odd.

Earlier the whole void had been sealed by cold killing, then further churned by the Resentful Dragon Spirits, leaving ice shards and crystals scattered in disarray. Yet this spot, within a radius of three or four zhang, was unusually dry, even giving a faint sense of warm moisture and brightness.

"Cough—cough—"

Light and shadow flickered, and Zhang Heng in a scholar's robe appeared, looking embarrassed. He lightly shook his bamboo fan, clasped his fists, and gave Lu Fan a wry smile.

"Brother Lu, your methods are astonishing—I admire them. I originally thought the high‑priced Holy Light Concealment Talisman I bought would be somewhat useful, but now it seems downright laughable!"

As he spoke, he slightly raised his left hand, holding a silver talisman in his palm, its aura extraordinary. Though not activated, it still gave off an air of mysterious profundity.

"'Holy Light Concealment Talisman? Isn't that a mid‑grade talisman refined by the secret arts of the Holy Martial Hall? I heard it's only used inside the Holy Martial Hall and never sold to outsiders—how did you get it?'"

Wang Dance blinked, clearly surprised and puzzled that Zhang Heng possessed such a talisman.

Zhang Heng gave Wang Dance a meaningful glance, then said nothing, merely nodded, and turned his steady gaze to Lu Fan, as if not intending to argue about this.

"'Ah, so that's it! Although it's just a counterfeit, it does have a touch of mystery.' Lu Fan nodded, as if to say 'I see.'"

This greatly surprised Zhang Heng; Lu Fan seemed to know something about his Holy Light Concealment Talisman. Yet the word 'counterfeit' in his speech made Zhang Heng frown.

"'Brother Lu, what do you mean? The Holy Light Concealment Talisman is a unique mid‑grade mystery talisman of the Holy Martial Hall, said to be able to block a full‑force strike from a peak Qi Refining expert. Even inside the Holy Martial Hall, it's not something ordinary people can own—how could it be a counterfeit?'"

Lu Fan gave a light smile, curling his lip: 'From your tone, it sounds like owning such a talisman makes you quite proud! You're a disciple of the Gentlemen's Hall, yet this Holy Martial Hall‑secret mystery talisman has ended up in your hands. If Song Renjie found out and you couldn't explain it clearly, you'd likely never leave the Bright Moon Empire!'

"'What do you mean by that? Are you threatening me?'"

Zhang Heng's face darkened, instantly turning gloomy; the moment before he had been slightly boastful and joking, but now his demeanor changed.

"'What good would threatening you do?'"

Lu Fan lightly shook his head and threw the question back. This left Zhang Heng speechless, his reasoning exhausted, unable to reply.

"'Just answer my question honestly! Wang Dance and the others used the snakeskin as a medium to get here. How did you get in?'"

As soon as Lu Fan's words fell, Zhang Heng's expression changed at once, becoming very solemn, as if this question were extremely important and he had to brace himself.

Wang Dance and the others also looked on with curiosity, their gazes fixed on Zhang Heng as if trying to see through him.

"'Is it this thing?'"

Without waiting for Zhang Heng to speak, Lu Fan sighed, pointed at Kun Python, and swept his hand, sending a blast of light and shadow toward the serpent's head.

Azure light flashed, gathered and condensed, actually forming a shape in the void—a cauldron, namely the Technique‑Refining Crystal Cauldron.

He lightly flipped the cauldron onto his palm, rubbed it twice, then his expression turned slightly odd as he said to Zhang Heng:

"'You've got some skill, actually using dragon‑essence purple qi to shake my seal. Give you a bit more time, and the divine‑soul imprint inside might truly be erased by you, leaving you to command it at will!'"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Heng drew a slight breath, his brows knitting, his face shifting between light and dark. It wasn't because of Lu Fan's words, but because the cauldron he held felt utterly insubstantial.

"'Lu Fan, what trick are you playing? This crystal cauldron isn't the one I gave you!'"

He let out an urgent shout that shook the whole place, instantly drawing Wang Dance and Xiulan's attention; they reflexively turned back. Evidently, they too sensed something abnormal.

Lu Fan gave a light chuckle; the crystal cauldron in his hand trembled slightly, flew out, and landed atop Kun Python's head. Purple qi swirled, mist and rosy clouds rose, and strands of azure light shot from the serpent's head, drifting toward the cauldron.

"'Hmm! No wonder you could tamper with my crystal cauldron—you saw right through it!'"

He gave a slight nod, seeming pleased with Zhang Heng's performance: 'Now I can truly relax—I reckon you can withstand two or three waves of attack!'

As his words fell, he pressed his big hand in the air, swinging down to strike.

Only to see purple qi swirling around his body, misty and shifting, surging and rolling, condensing into a thick palm shadow that slammed into the Dragon Origin Gang Curtain at the Battle Void.

"Bang!"

The Dragon Origin Gang Curtain split open with a huge gap, and streams of purple killing qi surged out like liquid, pouring down.

"Oh no! It's the Killing Resentful Dragon Spirit again—get out of here!"

Xiulan's face changed; before she could figure out what Land Fan was doing, she had already flown back. But at this moment, trying to leave was too late.

With a loud "howl", the purple killing liquid twisted in midair, and ferocious beast shadows shot out. Though Land Fan and the Kun Python were right below, they ignored them and lunged first at Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng's face turned pale with fright; he instinctively wanted to rebuke Land Fan, but saw him give a dark chuckle and sit cross-legged.

As he flung his seal sign, a floating, rotating spell-refining crystal furnace hung in the void; in an instant, radiant light burst forth, directly emanating an elliptical ring of light that enveloped Land Fan and the Kun Python.

"Damn it! When did you start scheming against me?"

Zhang Heng let out a furious howl, but there was no chance to wait for Ye Fei's reply before a bloody wind killing force bore down on him.

"A gentleman is not a vessel; he transforms with the wind!"

The bamboo fan opened and closed, striking and beating. Sometimes it formed a drifting whirlwind formation; sometimes it delivered a heavy, pounding smash.

However, there were far too many resentful killing dragon spirits around; almost as soon as they took shape, they became the first to rush forward and surround them.

This time, nearly a hundred purple beast shadows emerged, with about half surrounding Zhang Heng, while the rest charged at Wang Wu and Xiulan.

Originally, the two were about to enter the stone caves in the surrounding cave walls, but out of curiosity and astonishment, they walked right into the net. It seemed to have severed their connection with the Kun Python's aura, but it had no effect.

"Damn it! This won't work if we go on like this, Miss Jiang—let's team up with that guy from the Junzi Hall!"

Wang Wu was furious and flustered; though she had originally been able to stay out of it, in an instant she was drawn in. Meanwhile, the true culprit sat calmly on the spot, eyes shut tight, forming hand seals and murmuring incantations.

"Good! I'll listen to you!"

The pressure was too great, the surrounding purple beast attacks too fierce; Xiulan couldn't block them, and without thinking she drove her skull head to tear open a resentful killing dragon spirit before her and flew toward Zhang Heng.

"Miss Wang, Miss Jiang, thank you both for your help!"

Upon seeing this scene, Zhang Heng was overjoyed. With Wang Wu's help, he could greatly reduce the pressure and keep himself safe.

In an instant, the three gathered together, each guarding a side, sparing no supernatural techniques or true qi essence, exerting their full strength to slaughter the surrounding purple beast shadows.

These things are formed from resentful killing qi; although they possess Dragon Origin purple qi, they are nothing more than fearless of death.