'Just as I thought!'

He glanced at the Unidentified Arrow in his hand, which still wasn't fully charged. 'I wonder if the Earth Spirit Stele can block this arrow?'

Just then, the ball of flesh in the depression began to change.

A small hole slowly appeared on its surface, and a thick cloud of black smoke erupted from it.

Layers of wrinkles appeared around the edge of the hole, which slowly began to bulge as if something was about to emerge.

The fleshy wrinkles folded and unfurled like an inflating bladder. Layers of skin rolled back, and soon, a head was revealed.

It was Elder Life Crane's head!

His expression was ghastly. He Tou clung tightly to his neck. As the flesh continued to unroll, his chest, abdomen, arms, and legs also slowly reformed.

Soon, Elder Life Crane reappeared in Yang An's line of sight.

As Elder Life Crane gradually reformed, the faint, layered barriers around them also began to disappear.

But when Yang An saw the old man's current state, he was surprised.

He had originally thought the old man had used the Earth Spirit Stele to block his attack without taking any damage, but that didn't seem to be entirely true.

Right now, Elder Life Crane's flesh was shriveled, as if he were just a surface layer of skin with all the flesh and blood inside gone, leaving only an empty sack.

'He doesn't look... to be in good shape at all.'

Yang An finally breathed a sigh of relief. His greatest fear had been that his last attack had been completely ineffective.

If it had no effect at all, then what was the point of fighting?

The fact that it had an effect meant his attack was working.

Even if he couldn't kill the old man for now.

But once his own state reached Perfection, he cultivated a Body Refining Method, and the Unidentified Arrow was fully charged...

'The old man might block it the first time, but can he block it a second time?'

Of course, the prerequisite was not getting killed by the old man first, and not letting him find out about the Unidentified Arrow.

Otherwise, how could he catch him by surprise later!

At this thought, Yang An immediately put the Unidentified Arrow away.

Just then, a voice slowly drifted from the center of the area.

"Excellent! Truly excellent! Your master underestimated you, my disciple!"

Elder Life Crane stood there, his body—nothing more than a sack of skin—rapidly regenerating. His tone was surprisingly filled with admiration and joy.

Even he hadn't expected Yang An to possess a Forbidden Artifact Fragment.

Although its Power of Rules was weak, it had still managed to deal him a heavy blow by catching him off guard.

But that was all it was.

As long as he wasn't killed in a single blow, even a fatal wound was insignificant; he could recover from it quickly.

However, Elder Life Crane's opinion of Yang An had completely changed.

If before he had merely been curious—curious how Yang An had broken through Corpse Transformation with an Innate Flesh Mushroom, curious about what he had seen inside the Earth Spirit Stele...

...then now, his admiration and fondness had surpassed his curiosity.

This disciple was so much like his younger self!

But while he thought this inwardly, Elder Life Crane would never show it on the surface.

"Although your master underestimated you, that's as far as it goes. The gap between us is as wide as a chasm. You are not yet worthy of killing me!"

"However, considering you were merely bewitched by that traitor, Wild Forbidden, I will spare you this time. If there is a next time, I will not be so lenient!"

Elder Life Crane let out a cold snort, his voice turning incredibly frigid.

'Hehehe...'

Yang An sneered inwardly. 'Anyone who didn't know better would think I've been granted some great mercy. In reality, the old man is probably pretty weak right now, isn't he?'

'Fine!'

'I'll let this old bastard keep up his act for a while longer.'

'The day the Unidentified Arrow is fully charged will be the day he dies!'

Yang An already had a plan. Judging by the color suffusing the Unidentified Arrow, it would be fully charged in a month at most.

'Next time!'

'I'll kill you!'

Yang An's expression remained unchanged, but a plan had already formed in his mind.

The biggest gain from this battle was learning the extent of the old man's power on the Outer Continent.

Before this, the old man had been an absolutely invincible existence in his mind.

Now, it seemed he wasn't all that much.

'It really pays to be brave and proactive. If you don't test the waters, you'll never know these things.'

On this point, Wild Forbidden actually hadn't been wrong; he just couldn't compare to Yang An.

"Thank you, Master, for forgiving my recklessness. I am endlessly grateful!

"That Wild Forbidden is truly unforgivable! It's a good thing I'm so weak. If I'd actually succeeded in leading you to him, Master, I'd have been a true sinner."

Yang An acted as if he were truly moved to tears, on the verge of weeping with remorse. But his words were laced with hidden meaning, no longer concealing his sharp mockery of the old man.

Elder Life Crane naturally understood, but he merely gave another cold humph.

"I'm leaving the task of rebuilding the Sect to you. I will give you ten days!" he ordered, before his figure vanished on the spot.

The Qi Seal left on Elder Life Crane quickly disappeared, leaving Yang An's range of perception.

Watching the direction Elder Life Crane had gone, a thought stirred in Yang An's mind.

"Bow Lady, do you think I could have killed him just now if I had used the Unidentified Arrow?"

"I think... you little brat, you would've died a horrible death."

"..."

'A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory,' he thought, though she was probably right.

Yang An didn't ask again. That might be the case now, but it wouldn't be once the Unidentified Arrow was fully charged!

'Soon! Very soon!'

Retracting his gaze, Yang An looked toward Wen Yin and Zhou Quan, who were hiding so far in the distance they were barely visible, and called them over.

As they approached Yang An, Wen Yin seemed normal, but Zhou Quan appeared terrified.

When Yang An's gaze fell upon him, he didn't dare to meet his eyes and hastily lowered his head.

"The old man has given his orders. Rebuild the Sect within ten days. I'm leaving this matter to you two, Junior Sister Wen Yin and Junior Brother Zhou Quan.

News that our Life Crane Sect wiped out and occupied the Jade Flesh Sect will probably spread quickly. If you two can't handle it, go to a nearby city and recruit laborers."

After relaying the old man's orders, Yang An also prepared to leave. He would return after the Sect was rebuilt.

He needed to wait for the Unidentified Arrow to charge while also improving his own strength again.

Although he couldn't make progress on his new Dao of Destiny Technique for the time being, the Nine Forces Shocking Dragon was a good alternative for improvement.

As long as he advanced this Body Refining Method, the boost to his combat power would be significant, possibly even exceeding his imagination.

After giving his instructions, Yang An quickly left as well, his figure soon disappearing from sight.

Watching their Master and Senior Brother leave one after another, Wen Yin and Zhou Quan were both left looking bewildered.

"Senior Sister Wen Yin... did I mishear? Senior Brother just said 'the old man,' right?" Zhou Quan asked doubtfully.

But the moment he finished speaking, a black shadow instantly knocked him to the ground.

"How Senior Brother addresses him is not for you to discuss!"

Leaving him with those cold words, Wen Yin also departed.

Zhou Quan lay on the ground, feeling the stinging pain on his cheek. He suddenly felt... so wronged...

'What's going on? Why do I feel like crying?'

...

「In a mountain cave hundreds of miles from the former site of the Jade Flesh Sect in Zichuan State.」

Two Demon Fiends were engaged in an indescribable act. The scene was utterly brutal.

What would be a normal act for humans looked more like a fight to the death in their case, both in behavior and form.

But just then, an invisible ripple spread out, and the two Demon Fiends' bodies were instantly frozen in place.

A figure appeared at the mouth of the cave. Its bird-like head opened its maw wide and swallowed both Demon Fiends in a single gulp.

But even so, He Tou was filled with dissatisfaction and madness. The blackish-gray down covering its body stood on end, and its eyes were shot with blood.

"Not enough! Not enough! Old man, hurry and find more! I want flesh and blood! A mountain of flesh and blood!"

"Let's go to the city! No... can't go there! AAAAAAH! FLESH AND BLOOD!"

"The Magic Stele is damaged! If it's not repaired soon and I die, you can forget about living well either, you old bastard!"

"I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill him! That bastard! Don't you dare try to stop me!"

"If you dare stop me, you can forget about ever advancing to the Insect Dao in this lifetime!"

"..."

"I will not stop you!"