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In the courtyard by the riverbank inside the ancient ruin, a hunched middle-aged man lay half-reclined among the grass and trees. His face and skin were oozing purplish-green pus and blood.
"Cough cough... Lan Chang'an, show some mercy!"
Tan Immortal feigned calmness, but blood continued to spurt from his mouth, and his voice sounded exceptionally weak.
"You've already gained the opportunity from the ruin. Why must you push things to the point of life and death between us?"
His eyes were tightly shut, and purplish-red toxic blood seeped from the cracks in his eyelids. It made one suspect that the poison had already rendered him blind.
It was hard to imagine that the once-dominant and overbearing Immortal had fallen to such a pitiful state.
"Fight? Fight what? In your dying condition, defeat my puppets first, then we’ll talk."
Lan Chang'an stood dozens of zhang outside the courtyard, controlling three or four puppets, steadily pushing them forward into the courtyard.
The four puppets, without exception, were all at least superior-grade second-rank, with the highest reaching the top of second-rank.
Among them, there was a heavy-armored puppet, a flying puppet, and two ranged puppets equipped with bows and arrows.
Such a lineup could go toe-to-toe with a Fake Dan Immortal in peak condition.
"You... You can control so many puppets at once?"
Tan Immortal was utterly horrified, his heart filled with unprecedented despair.
Only a puppet master at the quasi-third rank could simultaneously control this many superior-grade second-rank puppets, allowing them to operate in an organized and flexible manner.
Lan Chang'an's puppet mastery had not quite reached the level of a true third-rank puppet master—he was still a bit short of the mark, mainly because he hadn't had enough opportunities to practice.
However, his spiritual sense was powerful, at least at the Fake Dan level, and he had reached the quasi-third rank level in puppet control technique.
Under the coordinated assault of the four puppets, Tan Immortal was struggling. He summoned a supreme-grade magical weapon and activated some talismans, barely holding on.
"He's so weakened that he can't even control a magical treasure properly."
Lan Chang'an noted inwardly.
Tan Immortal's strength had fallen far below that of a Fake Dan Immortal, and using his mana would only accelerate the eruption of the poison in his body.
If not for a few quasi-third-rank talismans, including a talismanic treasure, he would've already been overrun by the puppets.
Lan Chang'an remained cautious, keeping his distance and letting the puppets handle the frontline battle.
"Lan! Chang! An!"
At the final moment, Tan Immortal spat out a mouthful of toxic blood, his face suddenly showing a hint of healthy redness.
He opened his bloodshot, purple-black eyes, exuding a terrifying Fake Dan-level spiritual pressure, almost returning to his peak state.
"A life-forcing secret technique?" Lan Chang'an's expression shifted as he quickly summoned a turtle-shell puppet with defensive capabilities comparable to a quasi-third-rank, placing it in front of him.
Boom! Crash!
Tan Immortal once again controlled his magical treasure, the ancient ruler, and unleashed all of his remaining talismans and talismanic treasure in one go, instantly destroying the three puppets at the forefront.
Seeing this, Lan Chang'an decisively commanded the last flying puppet to rush forward and self-destruct. The fierce explosion of fragments and firelight engulfed Tan Immortal.
Blarg!
Tan Immortal spat out another mouthful of blood, the poison in his body erupting further, causing his momentum to falter. With bloodshot eyes, he charged at Lan Chang'an, determined to do as much damage as possible—even if it meant mutual destruction.
"The end of a strong crossbow."
Lan Chang'an remained expressionless, flipping his hand to reveal a treasure talisman engraved with cold frost patterns, which he activated with his mana.
Hiss!
Tan Immortal, who was rushing forward in madness, felt a bone-chilling cold.
Whoosh! Boom—
In an instant, a massive blue frost wave, like a swirling waterfall, swallowed everything in his field of vision.
Tan Immortal roared in fury, but his movements froze as his entire body became encased in frost.
His dimly lit magical treasure, the ruler, was also covered in a layer of blue ice. It shook in mid-air, only a few zhang away from Lan Chang'an, before tumbling to the ground with a crisp crack.
"Lan Chang'an... you cowardly turtle..."
Tan Immortal, frozen solid, used his spiritual sense to send out his final words, filled with extreme resentment and unwillingness.
Even in death, he hadn't come close to touching the hem of Lan Chang'an's robe.
Crack!
The frozen body of the Immortal fell to the ground, shattering like a porcelain figure.
...
In front of the six-sided pavilion.
Shi Manrong shivered involuntarily, glancing toward the riverbank and bridge.
"Lan Chang'an..."
At that moment, she sensed a True Dan-level surge of spiritual power, terrifying beyond words, it made her heart race.
Due to the limitations of her spiritual sense, she couldn't clearly see the distant battle.
After a short while.
A familiar young figure leisurely flew back.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, was everything resolved smoothly?"
Shi Manrong let out a sigh of relief, seeing that Lan Chang'an was unharmed.
Lady Wei bowed low in gratitude.
Shi Manrong was slightly surprised. This Lady Wei, as Liang Shaotian's disciple, had been cold and arrogant when they first met, but now she was completely devoid of pride, obediently calling Lan Chang'an "Senior" without a hint of rebellion.
"Fairy Shi and I have gained significant opportunities here. We don't want any outsiders to know the details. You will open your sea of consciousness and allow me to erase your recent memories."
Lan Chang'an's tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
If the target cooperated, it would not be difficult for him, with his Fake Dan-level spiritual sense, to precisely erase a Foundation Establishment cultivator's recent memories.
"Please proceed, Senior Lan."
Lady Wei didn't hesitate and closed her eyes.
Lan Chang'an extended his index finger and touched Lady Wei's forehead, activating a secret technique from his past life to manipulate the sea of consciousness.
Erasing memories was easier than restoring them, especially when the memories were recent and still shallow.
Older memories would be more deeply buried in the sea of consciousness, and attempting to erase them with precision would be ten times more difficult.
Unless it was a violent erasure that would heavily damage the sea of consciousness and turn the target into an idiot.
After a few moments, Lan Chang'an withdrew his finger, his spiritual sense somewhat depleted.
Lady Wei's forehead was drenched in sweat, her robes soaked through, and at one point, she had fainted from the process.
"On account of Liang Shaotian, I'll spare your life."
Lan Chang'an stood with his hands behind his back, his voice calm.
"Where... where am I?"
Lady Wei stood dazed for a moment, looking around.
At this point, all she could vaguely recall was encountering Lan Chang'an and Fairy Shi outside the ancient ruin a few months ago.
Beyond that, her mind was a complete blank regarding what had happened after they entered the ruin.
Lan Chang'an's technique for erasing memories could only go so far. More distant memories were often deeply rooted in the sea of consciousness.
In any case, the ruin's exposure was a matter of time. As long as Lady Wei didn’t return to the demonic sect too soon, the secret could be maintained for a while longer.
Lan Chang'an didn't bother explaining and gave Fairy Shi a knowing glance.
...
Seven days later.
Under Fairy Shi's lead, the three returned to the passage that led back to the surface from the ancient ruin.
Lan Chang'an stood at the entrance of the passage, while Fairy Shi and Lady Wei remained on the other side of the ruin.
Lady Wei's injuries were severe, and it would take at least a year or more for her to recover. Now, with Fairy Shi placing restrictions on her, Lady Wei was merely assisting with various tasks inside the ruin.
"Fairy Shi, although there are still some opportunities here, you must not stay for too long."
Lan Chang'an advised.
It turned out that Fairy Shi planned to stay in the ancient ruin for another two months to study its array formations and restrictions, hoping to speed up her advancement to the third-rank formation master level.
The jade slip she had obtained from the treasure vault contained formation inheritance that was directly related to many of the formations and restrictions within the ruin.
It was a third-rank top-grade, possibly even quasi-fourth-rank, formation inheritance.
When Fairy Shi obtained this formation inheritance, she was very satisfied with it and even made a copy of it for Lan Chang'an.
This level of formation inheritance was something Lan Chang'an, in his three lifetimes, had never come across. It was indeed a precious find.
A few days ago, Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong had searched the explored areas of the ruin, attempting to find other tokens but to no avail.
Hu Immortal's token had been swallowed by the ancient formation or perhaps reclaimed by the ruin itself, and it too could not be found.
To avoid unnecessary risks, Lan Chang'an decided to leave the ruin as soon as possible.
Back in the Liang Kingdom, there was still one final task related to his Core Formation preparations.
He needed to meet Zhang Tieshan to trade for the Core Dissolution Technique.
Before venturing into the ancient ruin, Lan Chang'an had mentally prepared for the possibility of failure.
The Core Dissolution Technique was his backup plan, as repeatedly "melting the core back to liquid" and refining it anew could theoretically greatly enhance the quality of his Core.
Once this matter was resolved, Lan Chang'an would begin preparations to leave the war-torn cultivation world of the Liang Kingdom.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, rest assured. Once I become a third-rank formation master and combine that with my understanding of this ruin, even if a True Dan Immortal comes, they won't be able to do anything to me."
Fairy Shi spoke confidently, her voice filled with self-assurance.
"Fairy Shi, take care. I will take my leave now."
Lan Chang'an smiled warmly, and with a final solemn bow he turned to enter the passage leading back to the surface.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, be careful on your journey."
Fairy Shi was puzzled, bowing in return.
Given their close relationship, such formal goodbyes were rare between them.
Moreover, Shi Manrong would be able to return to Wuqi Mountain within just a few months.
Watching Lan Chang'an's lone figure as he left, Shi Manrong furrowed her brows slightly, deep in thought, sensing something she couldn't quite put into words.
Though she faintly sensed something, she could not foresee:
This parting would bring changes as vast as the sea turning into mulberry fields.
(End of chapter)