Chapter 627 - 174: Forging a Golden Body with Geng Metal Evil Qi, Old Fiend Ghost Bone’s Murderous Arrival

Chapter 627: Chapter 174: Forging a Golden Body with Geng Metal Evil Qi, Old Fiend Ghost Bone’s Murderous Arrival

Other than his initial, furious shriek and a single, hastily launched sword attack, the Ghost Bone Elder made no further moves.

He hid within the roiling black mist like a cold, lurking viper, "watching" Chu Fan’s every move from a distance. Forget about advancing to fight; he showed no intention of even taking a single step closer!

"Old monster, you’re still the same life-clinging, death-fearing coward you’ve always been."

Chu Fan slowly raised his eyes, his gaze piercing the black mist like a cold blade. His tone was flat, yet filled with undisguised ridicule. "Your true self, in the end, didn’t dare to come in person."

"The aura of this avatar isn’t much different from the one Princess Zhaohua casually crushed last time."

"Truly... a great disappointment."

The Ghost Bone Elder remained silent within the black mist, but a tempest was already raging in his heart!

Even if this was just an avatar, its strength was comparable to a mid-stage Bright Heart Realm cultivator. According to his original calculations, capturing Chu Fan should have been child’s play, more than enough to grind the boy’s bones to dust!

But the Chu Fan before him, whose Spiritual Cultivation was clearly still at the Third Heaven of Divine Power Realm, had undergone no fundamental leap. Yet, his body now naturally exuded a heart-stoppingly oppressive aura!

It was a domineering pressure originating from the very core of his physical body, like that of a primeval Fierce Beast—heavy, dense, and imbued with the power to annihilate everything!

Even the rampaging, peerless Geng Metal Evil Qi in the area seemed to pose no threat to him. Instead, it faintly formed a subtle, complementary balance with the pale golden luster circulating around his body!

’How is this possible?!’

’It’s been less than two months!’

’The brat who could only scurry away in terror the last time we met now dared to take the initiative? And with a few simple, unadorned punches, he had smashed the Bright Heart Realm-level Demon Puppet I’d painstakingly refined into fragments?’

’This brat must have had a heaven-defying fortuitous encounter! Or the complete inheritance of an ancient Body Cultivator, or even... an Ancient Secret Treasure that can vastly amplify his physical power!’

The Ghost Bone Elder’s thoughts raced, and his initial shock and anger were swiftly replaced by an irrepressible greed and wild joy!

He had initially sent Mo Yunzi to kill Chu Fan mostly to vent his frustration.

But when he later intervened in the pursuit himself, it was because he had keenly sensed that Chu Fan might be hiding a colossal secret!

A secret that could grant an ordinary cultivator a complete Rebirth in a short amount of time!

Now, it seemed this secret was a hundred times more astonishing than he had imagined!

He recalled that when Chu Fan was chased into the Chaotic Stone Forest by Baili Bing and stumbled upon the Demon Puppet locked within, he was nothing more than an ant who had just entered the Spirit Awakening Realm.

In just a few short months, the boy had already grown strong enough to destroy his Bright Heart Realm-level Demon Puppet with a single punch!

Although Chu Fan’s ability to so precisely find the weak points in the Demon Puppet’s joints and seize its Fierce Soul was surely because the traitor Mo Yunzi had leaked his secrets... the absolute power and physical strength he now displayed had skyrocketed severalfold compared to their last encounter!

"Heh heh heh heh..."

A low, eerie cackle drifted out from the roiling black mist, shattering the brief silence. It was filled with an unspeakable, sinister evil.

Immediately, the ground around Chu Fan began to tremble violently as black qi erupted from the earth like geysers!

One after another, skeletal Demon Puppets of various ferocious and terrifying shapes crawled out from the roiling black mist!

There were wolf-shaped Demon Puppets on all fours, their sharp claws glinting coldly.

There were giant Demon Puppets wielding Bone Blades, radiating a chilling Evil Qi.

There were even winged Demon Puppets that spread their bony wings and circled overhead.

Bloodthirsty Soul Fire danced in their eye sockets. They emitted the KRAK KRAK of grinding bones as they surrounded Chu Fan from all sides.

The dense, deathly Resentful Power wove into a net, potent enough to cause anyone with a weak will to suffer an instant mental collapse and descend into madness!

"Don’t waste your energy."

Chu Fan glanced around, his expression completely unfazed, his tone as level as ever. "Your Demon Puppets, relying on their undying Trait and the erosion of Resentful Power, might throw other Bright Heart Realm Martial Artists who are unaware of the details into a panic, making them somewhat wary."

"But in front of me..."

Before he could finish, his figure abruptly blurred, becoming a Residual Image!

The next moment, he appeared instantly before a wolf-shaped Demon Puppet that had only half-emerged from the ground. It was another simple, direct, unadorned punch!

BANG!

The wolf-shaped Demon Puppet’s skull, as tough as Profound Iron, instantly shattered like it was made of paper-mache!

The Soul Fire was annihilated. The half-emerged skeleton fell apart with a CLATTER, reverting to a pile of dry bones, no longer able to move!

"...are nothing but a pile of walking bones."

Chu Fan retracted his fist, coldly finishing his sentence as a dark gold luster flashed in his palm and disappeared.

As the Ghost Bone Elder watched this from within the black mist, that inexplicable sense of dread surged in his heart once more, almost becoming overwhelming!

’What in the world is with this kid’s fists?!’

’How can they be this terrifyingly hard?’

’The bones of my meticulously refined Demon Puppets are strong enough to withstand ordinary Profound Weapons, yet before him, they’re as fragile as rotted wood!’

The thought had barely formed when Chu Fan moved again!

WHOOSH—!

A sharp whistle tore through the air. Chu Fan left a clear trail of Residual Images in his place as he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, fearlessly breaking through the gap in the Demon Puppets’ half-formed encirclement!

His target was the Ghost Bone Elder’s avatar in the distant black mist. He was going straight for the kill, giving his opponent no time to recover!

And the Ghost Bone Elder... turned and fled!

Tang Yu and Mo Yunzi, hidden in the shadows of the rocks and ready to provide support, stared at this scene, dumbfounded and in utter disbelief!

The notoriously infamous Ghost Bone Elder of the Yin Demon Sect, whose name made countless cultivators tremble in fear... after a single exchange—his Demon Puppet destroyed, his probing attack rendered useless—he didn’t even have the courage for a direct confrontation and simply... chose to flee?!

The ball of black mist enveloping the Ghost Bone Elder’s avatar trembled violently like a startled rabbit the moment Chu Fan charged. It then unhesitatingly reversed direction, transforming into a black streak of light and fleeing into the distant sky!

He fled with such speed it was clear he was using all his strength, without a shred of hesitation!

’Even if it’s just an avatar, isn’t this retreat... a little too clean and decisive?!’

Tang Yu and Mo Yunzi exchanged glances, feeling that the scene unfolding before them was utterly absurd.

When they had heard Chu Fan’s certainty that the Ghost Bone Elder would appear, their hearts had pounded in their chests. They had been on high alert, discussing various countermeasures with Chu Fan and even preparing for a fight to the death.

They never expected things to develop like this.

Once Chu Fan realized it was only an avatar, he couldn’t be bothered with any schemes and chose the most domineering and direct method: a head-on clash!

What they found even more incredible was that the old Demon, who had dominated Qing Province for so many years, had forgone even a probing exchange and fled at the first sign of trouble!

As they watched in shock, Chu Fan’s speed proved to be beyond imagination!

Each step he took left a shallow footprint in the ground. His body tore through the air, creating a dull sonic boom. Though he had started his pursuit later, he was rapidly closing the distance with the fleeing black mist at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The pale golden Gang Qi flowing around him shattered all oncoming wind resistance. His Body Technique was as fast as a phantom!

"Do you think you can get away?"

Chu Fan’s cold, oppressive voice, like the whisper of the Nine Nether Death God, clearly reached the black mist fleeing for its life up ahead.

To the ears of the Ghost Bone Elder’s avatar, the voice seemed to emanate from the depths of Eternal Hell.

It carried a despair-inducing chill that completely froze the last shred of hope in his heart!