"Merit Divine Techniques!!!"
The strange young man with a weakened Divine Soul exclaimed in shock.
"You are merely a Loose Cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation, how could you possibly grasp such precious Divine Power Technique?"
Divine Techniques are methods that can only be mastered by Golden Core Masters. Even though many sects have methods to cultivate the rudiments of Divine Techniques at lower levels, they often require rare materials and extremely harsh conditions.
Not only did Lu Yan demonstrate the rudiments of Divine Techniques, but it was also the extremely rare Merit Divine Techniques.
Merit Divine Techniques are generally not known for aggression, but their life-preserving abilities are unparalleled, making it difficult for even the most adept spell-casters to break through the protective Merit Divine Techniques.
Especially when it comes to countering Demon Soul Secret Techniques, Curse Killing Techniques, and Karma Methods, the Merit Divine Techniques are almost inherently the nemesis of these methods.
Let alone someone like him, an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, not even a Golden Core Master casting a Curse Technique could necessarily break the Profound Yellow Merit Fire.
It was precisely because of the deep understanding of the mysteries of Merit Divine Techniques that made it hard for the strange young man to believe that Lu Yan, at merely the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation, had grasped such powerful rudiments of Merit Divine Techniques.
"You are definitely not a Loose Cultivator! Which sect do you belong to?"
"Zhengxuan Sect? Xuankong Temple? Or are you a remnant of the Dao De Sect?"
Upon hearing the words remnant of the Dao De Sect, a gleam flashed in Lu Yan’s eyes.
But on the surface, Lu Yan showed no reaction, merely waving his hand to summon the Light of Merit upon the many fierce ghosts being burned by the Red Lotus Karma Fire.
These fierce ghosts had previously merged into a massive ghost with the Blood Mustache’s main soul, being burned by the Red Lotus Karma Fire, and the Karmic Force persisted as long as the Karma Fire continued.
Yet in the face of the Light of Merit, the Karmic Fire birthed from that supreme Spell seemed to encounter its nemesis, quickly extinguishing under the suppression of the Light of Merit, allowing the many fierce ghosts to break free from the burning Karma Fire.
After accomplishing this, Lu Yan, holding the Hundred Soul Banner, slowly approached the strange young man.
Walking at the forefront, Lu Yan’s protective Merit Divine Techniques made him appear like a Human God descending to the world, and with the Ghostly Realm stirring behind him, many ghosts accompanying him, this inherently discordant scene somehow achieved unity in Lu Yan.
The strange young man stared blankly at the sight before him. What he could never understand was that cultivating Merit Divine Techniques required a massive amount of merit, yet Lu Yan, holding the Hundred Soul Banner, appeared more like a member of the demonic path than he, a disciple of the Red Lotus Demon Sect.
How could such a cultivator accumulate such a vast amount of merit?
"Could it be that slaughtering those Spirit Blood Beasts can increase merit?"
The strange young man fell into deep suspicion, but there was not much time left for him to think, as Lu Yan had already arrived in front of him.
Glancing down at the remnant spirit before him, Lu Yan spoke:
"Tell me your identity, the purpose the Red Lotus Demon Sect has in sending you here, and the troubles involved with that storage bag."
As he spoke, ghostly mist transformed into a black chain, entwining the strange young man’s Divine Soul. The chain, emitting ghostly energy, was cold to the bone, as if it could directly shatter a person’s soul.
The strange young man, having sacrificed most of his Divine Soul to perform Curse Techniques, was already weak, and now, under the ghostly energy, his face turned deathly pale.
Somewhat unexpectedly for Lu Yan, even before he could utter any threatening words, under the Ghost Qi Chain, the strange young man began to confess all the information like beans spilling from a jar.
"My name is Cheng Yu, an inner sect disciple of the Red Lotus Demon Sect.
Over a decade ago, a branch lineage of the Red Lotus Demon Sect secretly avoided the Cyan Simurgh Sect’s investigation and entered the Southern Border Territory, aiming to secretly decipher an ancient ruin in the Southern Border Territory.
The location of the ruin is in the depths of Wushan, but a few months ago, a large number of Spirit Blood Beasts died in Wushan, causing many forces to focus their attention on Wushan.
Elder Mo, who oversees the deciphering of the ruin, believed that if this matter spread, people would search Wushan, potentially exposing our sect’s secret unraveling of the ruin, and thus ordered an investigation into the matter.
I volunteered to take on this task and came to this area on the border of Wushan to investigate the situation."
"As for that storage bag, it belonged to a direct descendant of the Mo Family. The Mo Family holds some status within the Red Lotus Demon Sect, with a Golden Core Elder and seven Foundation Establishment cultivators in their family, leading the secret deciphering of the ruin.
Because the Mo Family mobilizing their whole family to oversee the ruin, the Mo Family members within the sect secretly relocated to the Wushan area, including that Mo Family direct descendant.
Over half a year ago, rumors spread that a member of the Mo Family had gone missing. If the Mo Family member exposed the Red Lotus Demon Sect disciple’s identity, it could attract the attention of the righteous path, thereby affecting the ruin deciphering. This news even temporarily enraged the Main Sect Elder.
The Red Lotus Demon Sect cultivators secretly investigated and noticed the Mo Family direct descendant vanished in the Cyan Simurgh Sect’s territory. Fearing that a commotion would attract the Cyan Simurgh Sect’s attention, the sect could only investigate this matter secretly."
"I accidentally discovered those Spirit Talismans in the Cyan Valley Marketplace. After some inquiries, I confirmed the clues from He Luyuan and found your whereabouts.
Having He Luyuan lure you out of the marketplace was also to prevent the exposure of relevant information, but I didn’t expect this fool to lead a tiger to me instead."
While speaking, Cheng Yu cast a venomous glance towards an already ruinous courtyard, where a corpse lay long since stiffened.
Back when Lu Yan summoned the Hundred Soul Banner, He Luyuan’s soul was directly torn apart by the many fierce ghosts, and his corpse was frozen by ghostly energy.
If it weren’t so, Cheng Yu would have loved to use the remaining Divine Soul to use Curse Techniques to take He Luyuan along with him.
Through Cheng Yu’s account, Lu Yan finally understood the whole story.
"Red Lotus Demon Sect, Mo Family..."
Lu Yan’s gaze grew even more profound.
Seeing this, Cheng Yu sneered:
"Rest assured, the Red Lotus Demon Sect is one of the major demonic sects, and as long as you don’t expose your Merit Divine Techniques, such a colossal force has no time to bother with a small fry like you.
As for the Mo Family still in charge of the ruin matter, as long as you don’t actively parade yourself in front of them, they’re even less likely to make any rash moves."
Glancing at Cheng Yu, Lu Yan lightly shook his head and coldly stated:
"I’m afraid you misunderstood some things. I was merely thinking about how I could eliminate everyone from the Mo Family and the Red Lotus Demon Sect."
Cheng Yu’s expression froze, giving Lu Yan, who was speaking seriously, a hard look.
"Your talent for jokes might just surpass your cultivation talent."
Of course, Lu Yan wasn’t about to explain any version updates to Cheng Yu, he just asked:
"Where is the ruin that the Red Lotus Demon Sect is deciphering?"
"The outskirts of the ruin are surrounded by the Red Lotus Demon Sect’s array, and even Golden Core cultivators cannot locate the exact position; I cannot clearly explain where exactly it is."
Pausing slightly, Cheng Yu used the Power of the Divine Soul to form a drawing, depicting a fierce-looking bald man.
"He is the head of the branch lineage, a Golden Core late-stage grand master. If you can find him, you will be able to confirm the location of the ruin."
Lu Yan committed the appearance of the bald man to memory, then asked once more:
"One last question, are you aware of anything regarding what happened at the Bamboo Forest Marketplace a few months ago?"