Chapter 617: Chapter 415: Seen Through (Part 2)

She didn’t say much during this small meeting, mostly just listening.

For Lin Caixuan, the biggest takeaway from the meeting was a greater understanding of Fang Yun’s strength.

She truly never imagined that Fang Yun, who had participated in the same four-sect trial as her, could have grown so terrifyingly strong afterward.

Thinking about this on the way back to the Wind Ling Sect, it all still felt a bit unreal.

「Over half a month later.」

It was now the time agreed upon by the Celestial Cloud Sect and the Wind Ling Sect to take action.

A hundred miles from the Dragon Demon Palace’s sect grounds.

Fang Yun, completely concealing his presence, steadily closed the distance to the Dragon Demon Palace.

His concealment techniques hadn’t improved much since the time he infiltrated the Demon Spirit Sect.

The Half-Hidden Spirit Boots had only undergone Sacrificial Refinement once. To upgrade them again, he still needed to collect two key types of Spiritual Materials.

Fang Yun hoped to complete the second Sacrificial Refinement of his Lifebound Magical Treasure, the Half-Hidden Spirit Boots, within the next thirty years.

The Dragon Demon Palace’s Sect Array was not much different from the Demon Spirit Sect’s Grand Array.

Just as he had successfully infiltrated the Demon Spirit Sect back then, Fang Yun now slipped into the Dragon Demon Palace with ease.

The first step after infiltration was to scout the various locations within the Dragon Demon Palace.

He had to pinpoint the residences of the Core Formation cultivators and the storage location of the Demon Jars to facilitate his next move.

’There’s a peak Core Formation Demon here... The Black Dragon Hall really did send reinforcements to the Dragon Demon Palace.’

The intelligence reports stated that the current Dragon Demon Palace Master had not yet broken through to the late-stage of Core Formation.

Therefore, any Demon at late-stage Core Formation or above who appeared in the Dragon Demon Palace had to be an Elder from the Black Dragon Hall.

He had never killed a peak Core Formation Demon before, nor had he ever received the Combat Talent Points that came from killing one.

Fang Yun was very confident in his abilities. His Attacking Methods were currently his strongest asset. This cold, peak Core Formation Demon would soon become warm Talent Points.

The moment after he discovered the peak Core Formation Demon, Fang Yun’s expression changed beneath his mask.

’I’ve been discovered!’

He hadn’t initiated combat, but now he was passively forced into it.

The Dragon Demon Palace’s Grand Array hadn’t detected him, yet this peak Core Formation Demon had. It meant this particular Demon was no ordinary character.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Fang Yun chose to strike!

「A moment earlier.」

Jin Daolei, the Elder from the Black Dragon Hall, was in the middle of his cultivation when his eyes snapped open, a glint of light flashing within them.

On the surface, Jin Daolei appeared calm, but inside, his mind reeled.

A fluctuation of Spiritual Power, though extremely well-hidden, had still been detected by him.

Jin Daolei’s first thought was of the mysterious Spirit Refiner. He couldn’t imagine any other circumstance where he would detect a fluctuation of Spiritual Power here.

The moment he opened his eyes, he confirmed the source of the Spiritual Power fluctuation: the Compass in the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s hand.

As a light flashed in his eyes, he easily saw through the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s black robes and the black mask on his face. The only thing he couldn’t see through was the spirit boots on the man’s feet.

But that didn’t matter.

What mattered was the face beneath the black mask.

He knew the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s identity!

It was actually the current Sect Leader of the Celestial Cloud Sect, Fang Yun!!!

Shockwaves crashed through Jin Daolei’s mind. He had never, ever imagined that the mysterious Spirit Refiner was the Sect Leader of the Celestial Cloud Sect.

They had investigated a great deal of information about the current Sect Leader of the Celestial Cloud Sect.

The Celestial Cloud Sect Leader possessed immense talent in both Alchemy and Artifact Refining, making him one of the key factors in the sect’s recent rise.

A Spirit Refiner like that should have been spending his years within his sect performing Alchemy and Artifact Refining. There was no way he could be connected to the mysterious Spirit Refiner.

And yet, these two seemingly unrelated individuals were actually one and the same.

This meant the mysterious Spirit Refiner wasn’t a Cultivator from the Purple Mist Sect. No! It should be said that the mysterious Spirit Refiner had not yet *become* a Cultivator of the Purple Mist Sect.

As the Sect Leader of the Celestial Cloud Sect, it was impossible for him to have a second identity in another sect.

This completely unexpected situation made Jin Daolei freeze for a moment.

He only snapped out of it when a pale gold Long Sword flew through the palace gates.

"You dare to sneak in here alone at only the mid-stage of Core Formation? Today is the day you die!"

The fluctuations of Spiritual Power didn’t lie. Jin Daolei could clearly sense that Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect was at the mid-stage of Core Formation.

Even so, Jin Daolei did not let his guard down against Fang Yun, though Fang Yun’s mid-stage Core Formation cultivation gave him immense confidence.

He had to kill Fang Yun of the Celestial Cloud Sect with his full strength, holding nothing back.

After all, this was the mysterious Spirit Refiner—the one who could swiftly kill the strongest Cave Master of the Black Ghost Cave.

That information was confirmed.

A mid-stage Core Formation cultivation was different from what they had imagined the mysterious Spirit Refiner’s cultivation to be. Therefore, he must have used some kind of Secret Technique when he killed the late-stage Core Formation Cave Master of the Black Ghost Cave.

’It would be best to finish him off before the Celestial Cloud Sect Leader can use his Secret Technique.’

Right now, the Spiritual Power fluctuations from Fang Yun and his overall state didn’t look like he was using a Secret Technique. This was the perfect time to strike with all his might.

Half-Demonization!

A pair of nearly ten-foot wings unfurled from Jin Daolei’s back. The feathers were layered like blades forged from Profound Iron, deep black at the base with tips that shimmered with a cold, metallic light.

Jin Daolei’s eyes and hands also transformed.

Before, his eyes merely resembled a hawk’s. Now, they had become true Hawkeyes. His hands curled as glistening black claws sprouted from his fingertips.

Jin Daolei crossed his wings in front of him. The pale gold Long Sword was incredibly fast, now just a few feet away. He had to block it first.

Most hawk-type Demon Beasts excelled in perception, speed, and attack, but the hawk-type Demon Beast bloodline that Jin Daolei had transplanted was special.

It sacrificed much of the speed its wings would normally provide, converting it into powerful defensive capabilities.

It was this unique quality that ranked his overall strength among the top three peak Core Formation Elders in the Black Dragon Hall.

From the moment the pale gold Long Sword made contact with Jin Daolei’s wings...

An expression of utter disbelief spread across Jin Daolei’s face.

Impossible!

A sharp light burst from his eyes as he inspected the pale gold Long Sword more closely.

This pale gold Long Sword was a Magical Treasure with Three Prohibitions. The patterns of the Prohibitions were complex, lacking any large-scale sense of uniformity.

This confused Jin Daolei even more.

Jin Daolei knew a fair bit about Artifact Refining. He knew that if a Magical Treasure was powerful in a single aspect, the patterns of its Prohibitions would have a high degree of uniformity.

At first, Jin Daolei thought this pale gold Long Sword only possessed astonishing piercing power and was weak in all other aspects. Then he discovered he was wrong.

This pale gold Long Sword was an offensive Magical Treasure with exceptionally high all-around capabilities.

But a Magical Treasure like this shouldn’t be this powerful.

This situation, which defied all understanding, caused the defending Jin Daolei’s brain to overload.

He couldn’t understand it. He really couldn’t understand it!

What was even more terrifying was that this pale gold Long Sword was about to swiftly end his life.

"No!"

The pale gold Long Sword pierced through his wings and passed through a spot three inches below his left breast—the location of his Golden Core.

"How could you know..."

As a peak Core Formation cultivator, Jin Daolei’s life force was tenacious. Even after being run through by Fang Yun’s sword, he still managed to utter four words.

One must remember that Fang Yun’s Lifebound Magical Treasure, the Profound Jade Sword, could rapidly drain an opponent’s life force.

’This peak Core Formation Elder from the Black Dragon Hall is really something.’

With a thought from Fang Yun, the Profound Jade Sword flew back into his body and resumed its constant rotation around his Golden Core.

He wasn’t just referring to the tenacity of Elder Jin Daolei’s life force, but also to his impressive defensive ability.

If his Lifebound Magical Treasure, the Profound Jade Sword, were compared to an ordinary sharp knife, then the Demons he had killed before were like thin paper. Jin Daolei, however, was at least as tough as cardstock.

He had felt it most clearly the moment the Profound Jade Sword pierced Jin Daolei’s wings.

Although the process of Fang Yun killing Elder Jin Daolei was brief, it caused a huge commotion, especially in terms of Demon Power fluctuations.

At this moment, the Dragon Demon Palace’s Grand Array had already activated.

An unexpected situation had occurred, but it was still something Fang Yun could handle.

However, he now had to notify Miao Qinghong to take action. This was something he had promised her earlier.

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