Chapter 385 - 380: When You Strike, Leave No Loose Ends

Master Luo Fan sneered, "Master Zong Li, it seems you’ve refused to do this the easy way, so now you’ll have to do it the hard way!"

Du Youqian sighed. "It’s not that I’m trying to make things difficult for you, Master Luo Fan. It’s just... if you really were responsible for my sister’s death, my request isn’t that demanding. Could you just properly offer her your respects and apologize?"

Master Luo Fan burst out laughing, but his smile held no warmth. "Master Zong Li... how have you been practicing your Cultivation? Did you cultivate your brain into mush? You want me to apologize to a Mortal? Just some whore. If she’s dead, she’s dead. Don’t tell me you’re stupid enough to throw your own life away for a dead person. Cultivation isn’t easy. Seeing as you’re so young and already at the Golden Core Middle Stage, you must be a genius with a great future ahead. Don’t bring ruin upon yourself!"

Du Youqian felt a pain in his chest as if a sharp blade had pierced through it.

He had never imagined before coming here that the lingering fragment of Zong Li’s will would have such a profound effect on him.

’I should avoid Possession in the future if I can...’

He clutched his chest and said in a low voice, "I really don’t want to become your enemy... She was your concubine, she must have at least served you in bed. Even a brief relationship creates a bond. Even if you look down on her, at least speak respectfully. Use kinder words and don’t provoke me further. Also, you have to at least tell me how she died and where her body is buried. The dead are gone. I can let other things go, but no matter what, I must collect her remains."

Du Youqian was truly unwilling to fight someone to the death over Zong Li’s lingering obsession.

After all, if he hadn’t performed the Possession, Zong Li likely would have never even reached Foundation Establishment in his entire life, let alone been able to avenge Zong Hui, or even get the chance to come to the Eastern Domain and retrieve her bones.

Therefore, the fact that he had traveled thousands of miles to the Eastern Domain of the Endless Desert Sea, braved the territories of the Red-eyed Stone Dragon and the Sand Storks, then spent several years lying low and gathering information, to ultimately retrieve Zong Hui’s remains and bury them in her hometown—that was him doing more than enough.

Master Luo Fan said with contempt, "Enough with the nonsense. A Mortal woman like her was always responsible for accompanying my guests. She was never qualified to serve me in bed. Once she got older, her soul naturally went into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and her body was used for compost. If you want to find her bones, you’ll have to wait until you’ve achieved Enlightenment and can reverse time to look for them."

Du Youqian was personally indifferent to hearing this. Although he felt some sympathy and a bit of anger, in his thousand years of life, he had seen and heard of countless such things. It wasn’t enough to stir any strong Emotions in him.

But Zong Li’s residual will could not pretend it hadn’t heard!

In an instant, it was as if an invisible storm washed over Du Youqian’s body, making him tremble.

In that storm, every grain of dust was screaming:

Kill him!

Kill him!

Du Youqian looked down, thought for a moment, then raised his head and asked, "Master Luo Fan, are you really unable to grant me this one small thing?"

Master Luo Fan flicked his sleeve. "Master Zong Li, please see yourself out!"

The word "out" had barely left his lips when a cold gleam of light rapidly expanded before him.

Master Luo Fan’s reputation was not unearned. He reacted in an instant, placing a Flying Sword horizontally across his chest.

But unfortunately for him, this was the wrong response.

Du Youqian held nothing back, not even a probing attack. In that split second, he began Burning his Essence Blood, pushed his Sword Intent to its absolute limit, and unleashed his Broken Water Sword Intent.

Because there was likely a Nascent Soul Evil Cultivator hiding in the shadows, he had to settle things with Master Luo Fan in the shortest possible time. He absolutely could not let Master Luo Fan team up with that Nascent Soul Evil Cultivator, or Du Youqian would certainly not live to see another sunrise.

Master Luo Fan naturally knew that Du Youqian’s attack, fueled by hatred, would be shockingly powerful, but he still underestimated Du Youqian’s true strength.

He should have used a purely Defensive Treasure to try and block Du Youqian’s attack, rather than trying to parry it and immediately counter-attack.

And so, he was split apart.

From the crown of his head to the base of his spine, he was cleanly cleaved in two.

His Protective Gang Qi seemed to have no effect at all, like butter meeting a hot knife, sliced through with ease.

A look of shock froze in his eyes. Even in death, he couldn’t believe that against an opponent of the same level, he couldn’t even survive a single move. He didn’t even have a chance to activate the Array.

His concubine screamed and fled as the two halves of his corpse fell to either side.

His soul had just escaped his body when Du Youqian’s sword shredded it to pieces.

’Rebirth?’

’Reincarnation?’

’You must be dreaming.’

’If I’m going to strike, I have to be thorough.’

Du Youqian retracted the Jinhuan Sword and immediately seized the time to regulate his breathing.

Slaying Master Luo Fan with a single strike had seemed easy, but in that brief instant, he had actually burned ten years of his lifespan.

The Magical Power mobilized and the Divine Sense consumed by that one sword strike were an enormous burden on him.

Even at his peak, he could only manage a few such strikes in a single battle.

Thankfully, the Nascent Soul Evil Cultivator hiding in the shadows didn’t strike immediately, giving Du Youqian a chance to catch his breath.

After a few breaths, Du Youqian discovered that the bottleneck that had plagued him for years was actually loosening.

The pair of strange yet familiar eyes that appeared before him were still filled with sorrow, but also with tears of relief.

Zong Li’s obsession had finally been placated. The last trace of his will dissipated into the wind.

Du Youqian’s Cultivation immediately broke through the Golden Core Middle Stage bottleneck, entering the Late Stage.

And it was still rising.

He could feel that if he were to find a place rich in Spiritual Qi to meditate now, his Cultivation would quickly recover to Golden Core Perfection!

Moreover, the barrier between his soul and this physical body was also disappearing.

This body felt as if it had been his from birth.

Even a Nascent Soul Master would never be able to see through the facade now.

"Sigh..." A low sigh echoed through the room.

Du Youqian’s gaze hardened as he looked at the corpse he had split in two.

He watched as the blood that had pooled all over the floor began to flow back toward the corpse, as if drawn by a siphon.

This bizarre scene put Du Youqian on high alert. ’Should I try striking the corpse with my sword?’ he wondered.

Because it was obvious now: the legendary Nascent Soul Evil Cultivator was hidden inside Master Luo Fan’s corpse.

He just didn’t know in what state the being was inhabiting the body.

’If I strike it now, will I heavily injure the Nascent Soul Evil Cultivator, or will I trigger some incomprehensible, bizarre phenomenon?’

Soon, Du Youqian no longer had to agonize over the decision.

All the blood accelerated its flow back into the bisected corpse. Then, the two halves stood up on their own and pieced themselves together.

With a bit of squeezing and shifting, they fit together seamlessly, reforming into a single person. The only sign was a thin line of blood running down the man’s center. His appearance had also changed, bearing no resemblance to Master Luo Fan whatsoever.

The man touched his face and body, and the bloodline vanished as if nothing had ever happened. He looked at Du Youqian with a face that was clearly tinged with a sinister aura and gave him a roguish grin. "Young Friend Zong Li, you’re a ruthless one. Slaying a man and shattering his soul at the slightest disagreement... you’re very much to this old man’s liking. However, you’ve also caused me a great deal of trouble."

Du Youqian sensed the man’s aura. It far surpassed that of a normal Golden Core Perfection Cultivator, yet it seemed slightly weaker than a Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator.

Compared to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage Master Su Quan, or the Tier Four Red-eyed Stone Dragon that Du Youqian had encountered the other day, this man’s presence was significantly weaker.

Nevertheless, Du Youqian didn’t dare to underestimate him.

’He was even pondering how he could save his own life. And if he couldn’t, if he had to burn the rest of his lifespan to reincarnate, how could he ensure his soul would escape?’

’After all, the man was a Nascent Soul Evil Cultivator, while he was just a Cultivator who had just recovered to Golden Core Late Stage Cultivation.’

The gap in their strength was immense.

"Senior, would you be willing to tell me what trouble I’ve caused you? Perhaps there is some way for this junior to make amends."

"The trouble you’ve caused me, of course, is derailing a grand affair I’ve been planning for a long time. This old man could have taken over his body long ago, but I never did. Why do you think that is?"

Before Du Youqian could answer, he answered his own question. "It’s because this old man wanted to use this little Luo Fan’s body to nurture a Divine Ability. I was waiting until the Divine Ability was complete before performing the Possession. A pity. That one sword strike of yours severed little Luo Fan’s body and shattered his soul, causing his Golden Core to dissipate. Even I was unable to save his Golden Core. The Divine Ability being nurtured within it was naturally destroyed as well. A waste of this old man’s twenty years of waiting! If I’d known this would happen, I’d have just taken his body long ago."

"I see. Then this junior was indeed in the wrong," Du Youqian said. "I wonder, how can I compensate you, Senior?"