Chapter 699 - 185: Ghost Bone Elder: You’ve Gone Too Far! You’ve Gone Too Far

Chapter 699: Chapter 185: Ghost Bone Elder: You’ve Gone Too Far! You’ve Gone Too Far

With this arrangement, all twenty participants remained in peak condition, having suffered no losses. It was a happy outcome for all.

Any contests of strength, any need to determine who was superior, could be settled once they entered the Profound Origin Secret Realm.

The greatest winner would be the one who made it out of the Secret Realm alive!

And if someone could return safely with a legendary Ancient Exotic Treasure, they would be the winner of winners—an achievement that would shake the entire Qing Province!

Scenes from the brief yet brilliant battles he had just witnessed flashed through Chu Fan’s mind.

Sword Traceless of Celestial Sword Mountain truly lived up to his reputation.

The man had stepped onto the stage three times, facing three opponents of different Realms.

Each time, regardless of whether his opponent had astonishing defenses and a body of Copper Skin and Iron Bones, or an eerie and unpredictable Body Technique, he decided the match with a single move.

He never drew his sword, nor did he use any Divine Secret Skills. He merely brought his fingertips together and swiped casually through the air.

It was a Sword Intent so pure it was tangible, an unstoppable force.

In an instant, a brilliant beam of Sword Qi, like a rainbow piercing the sun, tore through the air, penetrated his opponent’s Protective Gang Qi, and sent them flying off the stage, severely wounded and unable to fight.

While Zhang Tianhao possessed the strength to contend with a Fifth Heaven Bright Heart Realm cultivator and was considered one of the most outstanding members of the younger generation, he was more than a few steps below Sword Traceless. They weren’t even in the same league.

Ah Linglong of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect was equally impressive.

The young woman stood with her arms crossed the entire time, her expression placid. She never even moved a single step.

She simply stood there while her contracted Demon Beast—an Iron Armor Crocodile as burly and imposing as a small mountain—was enough to plunge any opponent into despair, defeating them before the fight even began.

The giant crocodile, radiating the aura of a primordial Fierce Beast, was already enormous, but it swelled to several times its size in battle. By simply opening its cavernous maw and baring its sharp fangs, it nearly swallowed its opponent whole, weapon included, winning without a real fight...

Hong Mei’Er of the Emotional Silk Sect had methods so strange and unpredictable that they were impossible to guard against.

Chu Fan had specifically activated his Spirit Array Map, intending to use his powerful Divine Sense to study how her famous signature technique, "Emotional Silk," manipulated people’s minds and left them dazed.

But Hong Mei’Er didn’t use her "Emotional Silk" Secret Technique. She employed a ghostly, swift Body Technique, leaving a trail of blurry residual images across the stage before casually landing two or three palm strikes. Her opponent collapsed as if in a trance, completely incapacitated.

Clearly, everyone was holding back, not revealing their true strength or their bottom cards.

Among these top prodigies, Chu Fan considered himself the most "knowledgeable" about Zhang Tianyu’s true nature.

After all, he had performed Refinement on a sliver of the Zhang Family Ancestor’s Soul Division, obtaining a wealth of otherwise unknown memories from it.

Combining the fragmented memories from the Zhang Family Ancestor with top-secret intelligence from the Demon Suppression Bureau...

Zhang Tianyu’s cunning was as deep as an abyss, simply unfathomable.

His true strength remained a mystery; no one had ever been able to gauge its depths.

From the Zhang Family Ancestor’s memory fragments, Chu Fan even had a vague feeling that Zhang Tianyu might have long been aware of the ancestor’s treacherous ambitions. Thus, he always held back in his cultivation and daily affairs, camouflaging his true power and never revealing his full strength.

To be so wary of his own ancestor, perhaps even secretly plotting against him, was a clear testament to how terrifying the man was.

However, Chu Fan wasn’t overly concerned.

’The third layer of the Vajra Undying Body can shatter all techniques with brute force. I don’t care what bottom cards he has, I’ll just smash them to pieces!’

’No matter how many bottom cards someone has, once they enter the Profound Origin Secret Realm, their Realm is locked at the Bright Heart Realm.’

Chu Fan wasn’t too confident about facing experts of the higher fifth Realm, the Ruyi Realm. He had never fought anyone at that level and didn’t know what to expect.

But as for the Fifth Heaven of the Bright Heart Realm...

He had already beaten a peak Bright Heart Realm expert to death in Wind-Rising Valley just a few days ago!

"There are still seven days until the Secret Realm opens."

Chu Fan calculated silently, his gaze growing increasingly resolute.

’If I can improve the Nine Heavens Wind Mastery Scripture in the next few days, I can completely overcome my weakness in speed. Then I’ll be able to attack or retreat at will, giving me a better chance of survival in the Secret Realm.’

Beyond that... Chu Fan subconsciously touched his neck, a faint, sinister chill emanating from the spot.

The Blood Curse the Ghost Bone Elder had placed on him was still there.

Chu Fan sneered inwardly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

His supremely sinister Ten Thousand Souls Banner needed more Fierce Souls and Spirits as nourishment to grow even more powerful.

’And I’ll start by getting that nourishment from the Ghost Bone Elder!’

Last time, in the Geng Metal Evil Qi Forbidden Land, he had successfully devoured a sliver of the Ghost Bone Elder’s Soul Division and read many of the old monster’s memories.

The Ghost Bone Elder’s multiple hideouts, secret treasure caches, and even several extremely well-hidden corpse-raising grounds and puppet-refining workshops were now laid out in Chu Fan’s mind as clearly as a map.

He had been training diligently this whole time to stabilize his cultivation foundation and grow accustomed to his new power, so he hadn’t rushed to settle the score with the Ghost Bone Elder.

But he was entering the Profound Origin Secret Realm in seven days. If he wanted to raise his combat power another level in such a short time, the simplest and most direct method was to use the Ten Thousand Souls Banner...

...to devour and perform Refinement on all the Fierce Souls and Spirits within the Demon Puppets that the old monster had created!

That would make the Ten Thousand Souls Banner even stronger!

According to the memories from the Soul Division, the old monster controlled multiple powerful Demon Puppets at the Bright Heart Realm level.

A monstrously ferocious and bloodthirsty Fierce Soul and Spirit was sealed inside each Demon Puppet.

The Ghost Bone Elder had spent decades carefully nurturing these Fierce Souls using a lost and evil Secret Technique, making them exceptionally savage and powerful.

The one that Chu Fan coveted most was the very same Demon Puppet he had encountered in the Chaotic Stone Forest while being pursued by Baili Bing!