Cultivation through Skin Making

Puppet Sect...

Evil Land.

The rolling blood-colored evil Qi crawled at the center like red jade, but it had lost its former terror.

Just because a giant fox demon shadow blocked the sky and covered the evil land's red jade, the falling shadow suppressed the churning of the evil Qi.

Figures of demon foxes darted from the darkness; even though ghosts flew chaotically and shadow puppets ran rampant, facing so many intermediate and advanced demon creatures, they were still inferior.

In the red jade of the evil land, a pair of eerie eyes stared straight at the sky-covering giant shadow, and there was fear in those eyes.

Thus, the owner of those eyes only lay in wait, not daring to charge up and engage in a life-or-death battle with the multi-tailed Dragon Bo Fox.

The two had already fought with magic.

Zhang Han lost, heavily injured.

Perhaps the Great Lady Fox was also hurt, but it was not apparent, Zhang Han dared not go up again.

After all, he had realized that the Great Lady Fox's target was neither the evil land nor him.

Since that was the case... why risk his life?

At this moment...

An old man emitting black smoke all over was being firmly pinned by five sharp claws onto the bloody soil of the evil land.

The old man was none other than Stone Seat Elder.

Yesterday at this time, he was still worried that his unique secret art had been leaked by Song Yan, pondering how to use others to kill, or deceive him into coming to the evil land.

But today, he was contemplating breaking through to the Crimson Palace Realm, when suddenly... disaster struck from the sky.

Fox soldiers and generals appeared all over the mountains and plains, and the terrifying Great Lady Fox also appeared.

The Great Lady Fox tore up the former Peak Master of Shadow Puppet Peak and then confronted the formidable figure deep within the ghost cultivator's territory—Zhang Han the old ghost.

Zhang Han was actually defeated.

He was just about to hide deeper in the evil land, but only because of a cry of "Stone Master" from some ghost cultivator, he was surrounded tightly by the demon foxes and then sent to...

Stone Seat Elder looked at the Great Lady Fox in front of him with fear.

Even though she was close at hand, he couldn't clearly see the Great Lady Fox's appearance at all.

She was just a distorted ghost shadow, the kind that only appears in the deepest nightmares.

Just seeing those ghostly eyes made him feel cold to the limbs, his breathing difficult.

"Speak, is it you!?"

The strange, sharp voice fell, and Stone Seat Elder felt a tremor in his divine soul, then his whole body shook, saying: "Great... Great Lady, to be honest, I... I'm very confused..."

"I'm also very confused."

The ghost shadow sternly said, "How dare you steal my things?!"

Stone Seat Elder was terrified to the point of his soul almost dissipating, he hurriedly said: "Even if... even if you give me a hundred guts, I wouldn't dare... steal your... things."

"Ghost cultivator, the one-tailed fox demon shadow puppet, needs to break through the Crimson Palace Realm, and... was it your secret technique controlling the bodiless phantom crow?" The ghost shadow spat out each word with gritted teeth, as if pronouncing Stone Seat Elder's crimes.

"If it's not you, then who else?!!"

The angry Great Lady Fox suddenly pressed with her five fingers.

Stone Seat Elder panicked, quickly saying: "Yes! Yes!"

"Song Yan?"

The Great Lady Fox's voice sounded mocking.

Stone Seat Elder quickly said: "Yes! Yes!"

The Great Lady Fox teased, "I will count to three, then use the Soul-Searching Skill."

"One..."

Stone Seat Elder was dumbfounded, he struggled to maintain his composure, recalling the words the Great Lady Fox had just spoken.

Clearly, what the Great Lady Fox just said matched the characteristics of the "thief."

But every sentence she spoke fit him perfectly.

"It's not me, someone... someone is framing me."

"Two..."

The Great Lady Fox completely ignored him.

For so long now, it had been secretly searching and waiting for the right moment, in the end, after all this investigation, the one whose characteristics matched the "thief" was precisely this ghost cultivator called Stone Seat Elder.

It even had prematurely come to be lurking around, probing for a while, and found that wandering "bodiless phantom crow."

Clearly, Stone Seat Elder had the power to "externally control shadow puppets."

So, taking advantage of the Cold Pool Valley Market opening, it led the fox children and grandchildren in a fierce attack on the evil land.

How could it possibly give up because of a single sentence from Stone Seat Elder at this point?

People can lie, memories cannot.

But to be safe, it was still determined to interrogate a bit first.

Stone Seat Elder was also thinking rapidly.

Suddenly, a thought burst in his mind.

If... if that renegade disciple was not just at the Seventh Layer of Refining Profound, but held greater power, then... then wouldn't it also match the characteristics given by Great Lady Fox?

But still, it was not right.

That renegade disciple was a spy for the Nanwu Sword Sect, how could they be a ghost cultivator?

Why did it have to be a ghost cultivator?

"Three..."

The Great Lady Fox ran out of patience.

Stone Seat Elder knew there would be no escape, but as he faced death not knowing who was ultimately plotting against him, he shouted madly: "Help... me... take... revenge!!"

The voice rolled on, spreading far.

No one knew whom he was speaking to.

Perhaps it was the ghost cultivator.

Or perhaps it was another who inherited his teachings.

In the distance...

Wang Susu dashed away quickly, hearing the faint whispers of her teacher's dying wishes in the wind. She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Old thing, dying just like that, who has the time for revenge for you? I wonder if there's anything you didn't teach me. I earned your legacy through my own skills, hmph!"

...

...

"Whew..."

Song Yan finally managed to send off that Elder Sun. At this moment, he took out the Hundred Fruits Drink and started eating it with satisfaction.

Meanwhile, his Deformed Soul Fox Demon Shadow Puppet also had some good gains.

Firstly, he spent 9 Profound Crystals to acquire a set of Array Flags.

The flags were four in number, and the array was named "Traceless Array".

The method to use it was very simple; insert with Profound Qi into the landscape to naturally form an array.

However, the covering range of the array was not large, at most the size of a house including its courtyard.

The function of the array was concealment.

Should outsiders pass by this place, they would not see you, nor hear you speak, as if you were invisible.

The energy consumption of the array was related to the "size of the array area". If it was only to hide one person, then even one small Profound Jade could maintain it for a year, making it very "energy efficient".

...

Secondly, he spent as much as 10 Profound Crystals, equivalent to 100 small Profound Jades, to purchase a variety of Talismans, each stored with dozens of sheets. Although most were low-level Talismans, the effects truly astonished Song Yan.

Among these Talismans were ones that could calm one's mind, allowing you to sit down and enjoy life with a cup of tea no matter how bad the situation, like the "Heart Cleansing Talisman".

There were Talismans that could evoke a strong Killing Intent, filling you with rage, eager to slaughter everything you see, like the "Slaughter Talisman".

There were Talismans that could speed up your movement, like the "Wind Charm".

Some could manipulate local ranges of Five Elements Profound Qi to produce various effects, and so on...

Although Five Elements Profound Qi was the exclusive domain of the Five Elements Profound Root, ordinary cultivators could also utilize those powers through Talismans.

...

Besides these, he also purchased some miscellaneous items, such as Human Skin Masks made by cultivators and replenished some "Fanatic Fans", which were very useful in the Mortal World...

...

At this time, while eating and drinking with the returned Yuzhuang maiden, Song Yan watched as the Fox Demon Shadow Puppet searched everywhere for places like "swap meets" or "auctions".

He intended to find Magic, Cultivation Techniques related to the "Crimson Palace Realm".

However, while there were "auctions", upon inquiring, he learned that items related to the "Crimson Palace Realm" only included "Advanced Demon Beast Blood".

It was said that to break through realms, "Advanced Demon Beast Blood" was required as a catalyst.

Song Yan had long known about these things.

However, he still had the blood of that mysterious variegated black shadow stored in his Storage Space, rendering these Advanced Demon Beast Blood unappealing to him.

...

...

Just then, a figure in white robes appeared in the distance, with a cold aura and slightly eerie eyes.

Song Yan looked up to see it was Senior Brother Yin Wutai.

He bowed from afar, initially thinking Yin Wutai was merely passing by, but the latter did not leave. Instead, he walked straight over and sat next to Song Yan, laughing, "Has Junior Brother Song seen any fellow sect members from the Sword Sect?"

"I have seen them."

Song Yan replied, then added, "I know all the rules."

"It's good that you understand." Yin Wutai seemed uninterested in entangling in this matter and said, "In a while, you still have to return to the sect, right? I'll go with you, Junior Brother."

A hint of concealed doubt appeared in Song Yan's eyes, but he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go along with Senior Brother. So... when is Senior Brother planning to depart?"

Yin Wutai leaned back and chuckled, "What's the rush? There's no hurry."

...

...

Sizzle...

Granny Fox raised her hand, coldly gazed at Stone Seat Elder, and killed him effortlessly. She squinted her long fox eyes.

Her eyes were filled with a deep sense of disappointment and a trace of unexplainable fear.

It seemed that the lost Essence Blood was not just a cultivation resource, but something of more special significance, something that could push her to a desperate situation, to a life-threatening dead end.

She had to desperately fight for it.

At this time, Granny Fox had completed the soul search, but was quite dissatisfied with the results.

She coughed lightly twice, taking several deep breaths...

Evidently, the previous battle with the two-faced creature and Zhang Han was not without harm, causing considerable expenditure, far surpassing the light injuries previously sustained from the fierce fight with the Fox Stabbing Alliance.

But now was not the time to stop.

Granny Fox's fox eyes rolled briskly, thoughts racing.

Suddenly, a name popped into her mind: Song Yan!

Except for not being a Ghost Cultivator, and not matching the realm, Song Yan fitted most of the conditions.

Moreover, Song Yan had a rather intimate relationship with the killed Fu Empress.

She learned some things from the memories of Stone Seat Elder.

On the day Shadow Puppet Peak fully joined the Ghost Cultivator camp, nearly all furnaces on South Bamboo Peak died, except for the two women of the Fu Family.

In the recent days, Song Yan suffered a backlash while making the "One-Tailed Fox Demon", then publicly stated, "The teacher's knowledge is vast and profound; I fall short in many aspects."

All these leads interconnect somewhat indirectly but are... too coincidental!

If Song Yan was hiding something; if Song Yan intentionally diverted her attention to focus on Stone Seat Elder.

Then, it was still possible.

This was exactly the kind of thing that cunning, damned little thief would do.

Feign death, pretend to be a treasure, get sent into someone else's treasury, then, when they go out, rob the treasury.

Is this something a person could do?!

Granny Fox's thoughts moved lightning fast, suddenly clenching her fangs, she howled, swooping towards the Cold Pool Valley Market.

If Song Yan really was that cunning little thief, then today's death of Stone Seat Elder would be enough to alert him. She had to find him before that, kill him, then see what kind of secrets were hidden in his mind!!