“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust; Nine Underworld wraiths return to me.”
Zhuo Fan’s hands moved as he stole the array from under Luo Yunchang’s control while also making the clear figures of Steward Sun and the rest disappear from her mind
Luo Yunchang felt it odd and redo the signs to no avail.
“Ah…”
The Misty Forest was drowned with shrieks and wails. Steward Sun and the rest became pitch-black but still had a sliver of awareness left as black shadows left their body.
Each time one flew out, it evoked cries of torment as if pieces were ripped from its body. When the last shadow left, the cries stopped and so did their life. Their body dried up like a mummy and they turned to dust.
In the darkness, the shadows returned like bees to Zhuo Fan and entered his body.
He accepted them with a calm face and soon his body turned black just like Steward Sun did. When the last shadow burrowed, he began doing hand signs to practice the Demon Transformation Art.
The still black Yuan Qi inside him boiled as it charged through his meridians and settled in his Dantian. And his power grew with it.
In an instant, he entered the 6th layer of Foundation Establishment.
In the next instant, he was in the 7th.
And then, he was at peak 7th layer.
He kept going like this through the 8th layer, then the 9th, until the peak of Foundation Establishment.
He opened his eyes and took a deep breath as he clenched his hands, feeling the power course through him.
This time, it wasn’t as easy. The wraiths were almost spent when he demonified the Yuan Qi for himself. But with his experience as a veteran demonic cultivator, he understood that breaking through in a state of exhausted Yuan Qi, holds much more value with his future progress.
He clenched his teeth and operated the cultivation method. He sucked the wraiths dry and used the remaining Yuan Qi he had to make one final push.
Bang!
Zhuo Fan heard something explode. He felt as if a dam broke and his body coursed with powerful Yuan Qi then settled in his Dantian to replenish his spent reserves.
This act of scraping for the last traces of energy enlarged his meridians by more than double.
Qi Condensation!
Zhuo Fan’s eyes opened with glee.
Even when he did this in his previous life, his meridians were nowhere near as wide as they were now. And the Yuan Qi in his Dantian allowed him to face an expert at Qi Condensation. He was three times as powerful as before.
He released a long breath and made some hand signs to release the wraiths. They turned back to gray and he went back to normal.
When all wraiths were gone, Zhuo Fan stood up and a single wave from his hands pushed away the black fog. Allowing the sun’s rays to land on the forest.
He could now control the array himself, no longer needing Luo Yunchang’s assistance.
He showed a small smile as he looked at the sky, “Now that I’m in the Qi Condensation, I can practice some martial arts!”
Despite the end of Steward Sun and his retinue of bandits, Zhuo Fan had managed to free the Luo clan siblings. It could be said Zhuo Fan benefited the most out of this. Without devouring Steward Sun, he would have never reached Qi Condensation.
It was at this stage that he could practice martial arts. Later, not only could he defend himself, but also easier to devour others, becoming stronger himself.
“Zhuo Fan.”
A clear shout came from Luo Yunchang as she came over, embracing her brother. Meanwhile, the guard captain followed behind. “Where did you run off to? Why did I lose control of the array?”
“Uh, perhaps there were too few spirit stones and the array collapsed. I just saw Steward Sun die. This is worthy of celebration. No one escaped,” dodged Zhuo Fan.
He wasn’t about to reveal his secret, because in this world, demonic cultivators were strong, uncanny and cultivated with shocking speed.
And his Demon Transformation Art was even more monstrous. If others knew, he’d be a public enemy. This was why he died last time. So, for his second life, he made sure to avoid any mistakes.
Luo Yunchang nodded, believing him.
After some hesitation, Captain Pang toughened his resolve and kneeled.
“Brother Zhuo Fan, I was too reckless before, unaware of your plan and still cursed you. If you must punish me, I will accept any that you might have for me. Even if you ask for my head, I will gladly offer it. “
Zhuo Fan nodded inside.Captain Pang was a loyal retainer. If Zhao Chen had this level of devotion, Zhuo Fan wouldn’t have fallen so low.
Sighing inside, he helped Captain Pang up, “Captain Pang is a captain of the guards while I am just a mere servant. How could I receive such courtesy? Moreover, we have young miss to thank for setting up an array to eliminate Steward Sun’s group.”
Luo Yunchang watched him, confused. Only nodding when he threw Luo Yunchang a look.
Although Luo Yunchang didn’t know why Zhao Chen avoided admitting he was the one who set the array, he did save her and still deferred for her opinion.
Captain Pang turned to Luo Yunchang in shock, “Young miss knows arrays?”
Luo Yunchang laughed, embarrassed, forced to admit it.
“Heaven protected the Luo clan! Young miss knows arrays, our rise is imminent!” Captain Pang threw his head back and laughed, exhilarated by the prospect.
Zhuo Fan rubbed his nose.
Luo Yunchang stole a glance at Zhuo Fan, [If Luo clan is to rise, it’s only thanks to this man.]