A few hours after the Young Master’s death, Bai Wuji and Master Guo’s disciples finally clean up the mess in the courtyard, and everything was back to normal.
Chen Fan sat in a chair and was playing with a jade-colored flute made out of bone.
Chen Fan’s Li Fire Golden Eyes had burned through the Young Master’s core until even his soul had vanished. Somehow, the Ghost Flute survived the ordeal. However, it wasn’t without losses as the malevolent ghosts had disappeared. The fire had returned the Dharma Artifact back to its original state.
Nonetheless, Chen Fan was still taken aback by the quality of the flute.
The Li Fire Golden Eyes were a superior-grade Immortal Enlightenment Art. Therefore, it should have melted even the superior-grade Dharma Artifact. However, the bone flute had stood against the test of fire.
By then, Chen Fan had already gotten a number about the true nature of the material.
“This is a piece of Connate Bone.”
With that thought in mind, Chen Fan furrowed his brows and fell deep into thought. Could it be that there were living Connate beings that used to walk the earth? Bai Wuji said that this bone flute was first discovered in an ancient tomb of bygone ages, hence its name: the Primordial Ghost Flute.
“If the earth had abundant Spirit Qi during the ancient time, it was not impossible to see an ancient civilization centered around cultivation. This could also explain the origins of various spells I have seen so far, including the usage of Internal Force.” Chen Fan murmured to himself.
After pondering on it for a while, he was elated by the conclusion.
If a cultivation culture did exist at some point during earth history, those ancient cultivators must have left some treasure behind, such as Dharma Artifacts and Spirit Pills. If he could locate those artifacts, his cultivation progress would take a few leaps and bounds.
Chen Fan was certain that there was little to no chance that the ancient cultivators would have survived the test of time and were still living among ordinary humans.
Regardless of how ancient the civilization was, the lack of Spirit Qi on earth as of now would have diminished the ancient cultivator’s chance of survival. Even if one or two cultivators had stood the test of time, they would have been hiding in their Grotto-heaven and avoid the real world at all cost.
The world to the cultivators was as a fish pond to fish.
If the pond dried out, even the most ferocious predator fish such as shark would have perished due to lack of oxygen.
However, Chen Fan was an exception. He had learned numerous useful secret arts that could help him to not only survive but also thrive in even the ninth level of Hell. The lack of Spirit Qi was not a problem for him whatsoever.
“Humph! What a waste of good material.”
He studied the Connate Bone bone as a smile surfaced on his face.
He had refined the giant spin of the Yin Snake into a Bone Whip of Malicious Yin, making use of this much workable material shouldn’t be a challenge.
A cultivator of the Connate Spirit level would have transformed his vitality into a much higher existence. Every drop of blood and every fragment of bone would be fused with Spirit Qi. Therefore, the bone flute was as good a medium for artifact crafting as the numinous treasures.
“I can finally make a Spirit Artifact with this Connate Bone.”
Chen Fan exclaimed.
The Spirit Artifact was one step above the Dharma Artifact, and only a cultivator of Connate Spirit level would be able to wield such an artifact. Its power was much greater than that of Dharma Artifacts.
Yu Wenjin walked over to Chen Fan, and her appearance interrupted Chen Fan’s reverie. Chen Fan looked up at the girl. Shyness was written all over her face as if it was the first time she met Chen Fan. Chen Fan jested: “What’s up with that look on your face. Don’t you recognize your old friend?”
Chen Fan’s lighthearted joke relieved Yu Wenjin. She stuck the tip of her tongue out and said kittenishly: “You looked scary. Plus, you have burned a person alive. I don’t know if I know you anymore.”
“You are wrong Wenjin.” Chen Fan said somberly: “Have you ever thought what would happen to you if I let the Young Master take you away with him?”
“Kind of? “Yu Wenjin paused a second and said: “Lord Bai said he was going to draw out my Dharmic powers and sow… seeds in me? Whatever that means.”
“Hehe.” Chen Fan shook his head and then said: “It’s not that easy. Primitive arts used by the young master are well known for their brutality. The art will steal not only your Dharmic powers but also your vitality. Such as blood, bones, and what have you. Eventually, it will turn you into an empty husk.”
“Ah!” Yu Wenjin gasped, fears lit up in her eyes.
“For such a vile man, even burning him alive was too light of a punishment.” Chen Fan sneered and then asked: “Have you made up your mind yet?”
“Yes.” Yu Wenjin nodded resolutely. “I am ready to go home and visit my homeland. I have been away for many years.”
“Lord Bai told me that only one family of the six major families could take me in. He had agreed to introduce me to them.”
“Very well. You are lucky.” Chen Fan nodded. “Your unique power is a double-edged sword. If you learn to use it to aid your cultivation, you should be more powerful than even the Young Master in less than ten years.”
Bai Wuji came over to Chen Fan and asked for instructions.
Chen Fan became much more serious when he talked to Bai Wuji. “I am going to trust you with Wenjin’s safety. If one hair falls off her head… you know what will happen to you.”
Bai Wuji’s body trembled and hurried to reply: “Yes. Yes!”
The sight of the young master being burnt alive was permanently tattooed in his brain that he would never forget.
Chen Fan nodded lightly. He wagered that since Bai Wuji knew of his power, he would not betray him without thinking about the consequences.
He turned to Yu Wenjin and gazed at her for a few moments as he contemplated for the last time whether he should ask her to stay with him. In the end, Chen Fan decided to keep his silence.
If Yu Wenjin had his guidance, she would have improved much faster than if she stayed with other masters. However, he didn’t want to get involved in too many worldly matters in this life. He was on the agenda and had no time to waste.
Plus, Chen Fan was a firm believer that the best way to help someone was to enable them to help themselves.
If Yu Wenjin could prove herself worthy and achieve Dharma Cultivation level or beyond, he wouldn’t mind offering her some help to make a proper cultivator out of her. However, if she gives up improving herself, Chen Fan could only wish her good luck.
Everyone bit farewell to Chen Fan before they left. Granny Snake didn’t dare look Chen Fan in the eyes when she walked out of the courtyard with Yu Wenjin.
After everyone was gone, Chen Fan was left with the Bronze Armored Cadaver who was still struggling to get up.
“Hehe.” Chen Fan cracked a half smile. “These puny sects on the earth knew nothing about the art of Cadaver Refining. Very well, I will teach them the proper way.
“I can’t wait to see their faces then Tong Shan smash open their gate.”
Five days later, somewhere in a secluded village…
This village looked normal from the outside; however, all the other villagers regarded this place as sacred ground. This was the headquarters of the Young Master.
At the highest ground of the village stood a stone temple. Within it was a three-meter tall statue of a Demon God. The Demon God wore a savage mask revealing only a pair of hideous eyes that shone red. From the mask down, its entire body was covered with black tar.
Beneath the altar, a group of elders in black robs gathered around the Demon God statue.
The youngest of the elders looked in his forties. The oldest had waxen skin with dimples and bumps covering the entire face. He looked ancient, probably over a hundred years old. Each elder was surrounded by chilling energy that continuously spiraled around them. It was obvious that these elders possessed powerful Dharmic Powers.
“Sect Master, the death of the Young Master, is a blatant insult to our sect.” An elder said sinisterly.
“Indeed. Ever since the Heavenly Master Sect broke our headquarters, we have never experienced such humiliation.” Another elder said hotly.
“He is just a puny human who calls himself Master Chen; how dare he kill one of us! I bet people have forgotten our methods.” A cold voice said.
After a while, the elder who sat cross-legged before the Demon God said slowly: “Bring Zhang Ben here. Let’s ask him what exactly had happened.”
The old man could be mistaken as a lifeless statue if people didn’t know his heart still made a beating once in a while. He was the Sect Master. He was over a hundred years old and looked like he could die at any moment.
However, no one dared to disrespect him; he was a Perfected Master that had reached the Dharma Cultivation.
After Zhang Ben entered the temple, he bowed to the elders and the sect master and then started to retell what he had seen.
“You said he is only sixteen or seventeen years old and he can already shoot fire out form his eyes? And he had not only destroyed the Young Master’s spell but also burned him alive?” An elder asked incredulously.
“If he really is that powerful, how did you survive?”
“He spared my life to give you a message. He said he would soon come here to kill all of us.” Zhang Ben said begrudgingly.
“Preposterous!”
The message had riled up the elders; a swell of angry curses rose from the temple.
“A fledgling from Jiang Bei dared to claim that he will kill me?”
“Hehe, we have been here over a hundred years, and the only setback was at the hands of the Heavenly Master Sect when they were in their hay day. When they finally die out, we will be the dominant power once again.”
“Sect Master, let us teach him a lesson. However powerful he is, he is no match against the ten of us.”
Some people cursed, some snorted disdainfully, and some were outright mad.
The Sect Master kept his silence for a while and then asked: “What else did he say?”
“He said he wants me to bring a gift to you.” Zhang Ben shook his head and cracked a smile: “I thought he was just joking, but here it is…”
“AHRR!”
Suddenly, Zhang Ben let out a painful howl.
Many angry elders lose their words at the sudden turn of event as if an invisible hand had strangled their throat. They looked at Zhang Ben, eyes brimming with fear.
They watched as a red lotus marks appeared on the forehead of Zhang Ben. Then golden flames poured out from every pore on his body, burning his skin, and then the flesh off of his bones. Zhang Ben rolled around on the ground in painful agony, trying to put out the fire, but to no avail.
After a few agonizing moments, Zhang Ben was reduced to ashes and the flames were gone.
Zhang Ben disappeared from the temple; it was as if he had never made it back.
The room suddenly became pin-drop quiet.
All the elders were rendered speechless.
Even the Sect Master was stunned by the scene, as fear crept into his mind.
This was an amazingly terrifying art that could embed the flame inside of one’s body and trigger it at a later time. Even the greatest fire bender from the Bai Family was not able to pull off such a feat.
This opponent would be a challenge for even the Sect Master, much less the elders.
“Are we… still going to Jiang Bei?” After a while, someone broke the silence.
No one answered the question, not even the Sect Master.
Everyone looked at each other fearfully and decided never to mention this even ever again.