Chapter 312: Chapter 131: Scheming, Cultivating the Demon-locking Technique, and Recruiting Lu Tao

His thoughts were a jumble, as if he had fallen into a fog, unable to find a single concrete answer.

Every possibility felt like a tentacle hiding in the shadows, silently wrapping around him.

Chu Fan snapped his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, he had forcibly suppressed the turmoil within.

’If I can’t find the answer, I’ll set it aside for now.’

’The matter of the pollution is fundamental and must be solved, but it’s not the most urgent task at hand.’

He had too many other things to do.

Turning around, his gaze fell on a pile of objects in the corner of the room, shimmering with a cold, dark light—they were the Black Gold Silk Gloves looted from the Moon Worship Cultists.

The material of these gloves was unique and extraordinarily tough.

"Tianxing," Chu Fan called out in a low voice.

Footsteps sounded, and Zhao Tianxing entered in response.

"The people from the Cao and Li Families are still packing their valuables. They haven’t all evacuated yet."

Chu Fan pointed at the pile of gloves. "Go find the elders of the two families. Tell them to immediately select a group of their most skilled weavers and embroiderers to unravel these gloves and weave them into Protective Armor as quickly as possible." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Understood!" Zhao Tianxing responded crisply. He then skillfully pulled a huge black cloth sack from the inconspicuous small bag he carried and deftly stuffed all several dozen pairs of Black Gold Silk Gloves inside.

"..." The Cyan Snake, who was sitting to the side, watched with her almond-shaped eyes wide and her red lips slightly parted, almost crying out in astonishment.

’Wait... this is his home, isn’t it?’

’Zhao Tianxing actually carries such a large sack around with him?’

’What kind of professional habit is this? Is he always ready for Corpse Handling, looting treasure, and packing it all away?’

She silently lowered her head, glanced at the delicate sachet tied to her slender waist, and secretly made up her mind. ’I have to get one too! No, two! Better safe than sorry!’

...

After sending away the Cyan Snake, who was giving him a strange look, Chu Fan shut the door firmly and sat back down at the desk.

He laid out his brush and ink. Focusing his mind and calming his breath, he began to write down the profound and complex Demon-locking Technique from memory, word for word.

This Divine Secret Skill was obtained after he killed two White-clothed Envoys from the Moon Worship Sect in the Mist Marsh and performed the Refinement of their Spirit Soldier, the Demon-locking Chain.

However, with the constant travel and fighting over the past few days, he never had a moment to study it.

It wasn’t until last night that he had finally cultivated the Demon-locking Technique to the Entry-Level in one go.

The tip of his brush scratched across the coarse paper as a series of crooked characters appeared.

It took a full half-incense stick’s worth of time to finish copying the entire Spell.

Once the ink was dry, Chu Fan carefully tucked the booklet into his robes, close to his chest.

Then, he bent down and pulled a long chain out from a hidden compartment under his bed.

RATTLE RATTLE—

The chain was pitch-black, made of a material that was neither gold nor iron. It was cold to the touch and covered in dense, complex Runes that faintly emanated an aura of imprisonment and suppression.

This was none other than the Spirit Soldier, the Demon-locking Chain!

After killing those two men in white in the Mist Marsh, he had obtained three Demon-locking Chains.

The Demon-locking Chain was a Spirit Soldier, a tier higher than a Magical Artifact. Its power was unfathomable, far surpassing that of ordinary weapons.

Back when he was testing his Vajra Undying Body, he had let Cyan Snake Xiaobai attack him with a Demon-locking Chain, and it had actually managed to injure him.

Unfortunately, without having cultivated the Demon-locking Technique, it was difficult to control the chain’s Spirituality.

Chu Fan had tried to wield it before, but the chain, full of Spirituality, acted like a stubborn snake. When swung, it would either whistle toward the back of his head or whip insidiously toward his groin.

It was a good thing he possessed the Vajra Undying Body and his physical form was immensely tough.

Anyone else would have likely been killed or maimed by their own Spirit Soldier long ago.

Carefully wrapping the Demon-locking Chain around his arm and concealing it with his sleeve, Chu Fan delayed no longer. He strode out the door, his figure like a wisp of smoke as he darted toward the North City Wall.

「Night had quietly fallen.」

The soldiers on guard duty atop the wall held torches, their shadows growing and shrinking in the flickering light.

Chu Fan found a dark corner, tapped his toes lightly, and his body soared into the air like a great bird. Using Wave Riding and Wind Chasing, he landed his feet on the wall and rushed to the top.

Then, like a falling leaf, he silently vaulted over the high wall and dropped into the thick darkness outside the city.

The moment he was outside the city, he pushed his speed to the limit, streaking like an arrow loosed from a bow toward the Fishermen’s Pier on the banks of the Black Water River.

The night wind howled in his ears, and the trees on either side blurred into dark shadows, rushing backward.

But his destination was not the Fishermen’s Pier.

Passing the pier area, he followed the turbulent Black Water River downstream, soon plunging into the dense, gloomy primeval forest on its bank.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky and moon. The air in the forest was thick with the smell of damp, decaying leaves and a faint, demonic mist.

Chu Fan’s figure weaved through the forest with ghostly agility, avoiding the gnarled, tangled branches and lurking venomous creatures.

About an incense stick’s time later, he stopped at the mouth of an inconspicuous cave.

The cave was deep and dark, its entrance exuding a chill and the scent of earth.

This was the very place he and Zhao Tianxing had used to hide the enormous sum of silver taels after they seized the Fishermen’s Pier from the Blood Saber Sect’s control!

Chu Fan stood silently at the cave entrance, his gaze sweeping the surroundings like a hawk. After confirming there were no trackers or ambushes, his lips moved slightly, producing several remarkably lifelike cuckoo calls.

The sound echoed through the silent mountain forest.

After a moment of silence, the same cuckoo call came from deep within the cave, carrying a subtle note of caution and acknowledgment.

Chu Fan hesitated no longer, ducking down and slipping into the cave.

The light inside the cave was dim; one could barely see by the faint moonlight filtering in from the entrance.

The air held the faint scent of having been recently cleaned.

Three figures emerged from the shadows in the depths of the cave, striding forward to meet him.

In the faint light of the cave, their faces were visible—

It was none other than Cao Feng, Cao Yan, and Li Qingxue, whom the outside world believed had fled to Qing Province to seek refuge!

It turned out they had not truly left. After a secret discussion with Chu Fan, they had chosen to stay behind and hide here.

The majority of their families had moved to Qing Province, a seemingly safe choice, but their lingering worry for Chu Fan had kept them from simply turning their backs and leaving.