Chapter 244: Identity Suspicion

After leaving Wan Peng’s cave residence, Gu Fan headed straight towards his own cave residence on Changxing Peak.

However, halfway there, he sensed someone following behind him. He immediately frowned and turned around, saying:

“Which senior is it?”

After a few seconds of silence, an old man’s laughter echoed:

“With such keen Divine Soul, it seems Changxing Peak has truly picked up a treasure this time?”

Gu Fan eyed the old man who suddenly appeared before him with some wariness. When his Divine Soul scanned the old man, he could only detect a faint, subtle fluctuation. If not for just having finished a battle and still being on edge…

He wouldn’t have noticed that he was being tailed.

“Senior, may I ask what brings you to seek out this junior?”

The old man chuckled and walked closer to Gu Fan, offering reassurance:

“Don’t be nervous. I’m an elder of the Immortal Ai Sect. Because I’m well-versed in the Dao of healing with medicinal herbs, I often handle post-duel treatments for disciples.”

Gu Fan breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought someone older had come to settle scores after he dealt with someone younger—perhaps Wan Peng’s teacher had come to find him.

“May I ask what business the elder has with this disciple? Could it be that I went too far during the duel with Wan Peng?”

The elder shook his head, indicating he didn’t mind that at all.

“Of course not. Or rather, your control was just right. A little more, and the sect might have reprimanded you. A little less, and it wouldn’t have had the desired effect.”

“You brat, you must be an old hand at this.”

Gu Fan gave an awkward smile upon hearing that and waited for the elder to continue.

“In fact, I sought you out not for anything else, but because I noticed something during your recent battle and had a question.”

Gu Fan nodded and said:

“Please ask, Elder. I will answer all that I know.”

The elder walked slowly ahead while asking:

“The technique you used in that battle—was it Qilin Step?”

Gu Fan paused for a moment, then nodded in confirmation.

“It was indeed Qilin Step. I selected it from the sect’s battle technique vault.”

After a brief pause, Gu Fan asked again:

“Is there something wrong with this technique?”

“It’s not exactly a problem…”

The elder contemplated for a moment and said:

“This technique is actually quite powerful. Especially when the Qilin summons the might of thunder—its full burst power is astonishing. You should have felt that.”

“But you should also know, this technique has been sitting in the vault for ages without anyone choosing it. Don’t you find that strange?”

Seeing the elder look at him with a somewhat eerie expression, Gu Fan suddenly felt a chill creep up in his heart.

“This disciple does not know. I only felt that the technique suited me well and didn’t find any issues during cultivation.”

“I don’t understand why no one in the sect wants to practice it. I ask the elder to clarify!”

“Hehehe…”

The elder let out a soft laugh, his tone somewhat peculiar.

“This matter goes back quite a long way.”

“Gu Fan, do you know that apart from our world, there exists another great world?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan’s heart trembled, though outwardly he remained composed:

“Of course I do. I heard about that world long before I entered the Sacred Domain. It’s said to be a land of degeneration.”

“Land of degeneration… that’s putting it too strongly. It’s nothing more than a conflict of interest between two worlds, and they were labeled evil and degenerate for convenience.”

Gu Fan was slightly surprised by the elder’s frankness, but inwardly, he remained on guard.

“Elder, are you saying this degenerate land is related to my battle technique?”

“Correct. Our Sacred Domain’s forces are actually far stronger than that foreign realm. However, for reasons unknown, certain rules restrict the number of forces allowed to participate in battles each time. For many years, only a few sects from our Sacred Domain have taken part in the inter-world conflicts. The opposing side remains unaware of this.”

“And many years ago, our Immortal Ai Sect was involved in one such battle. During that war, both sides suffered casualties, but naturally, there were gains as well.”

“And the technique you are currently cultivating—this Qilin Step—was acquired from a certain cultivator. It is said to be an extremely powerful battle technique from that world!”

Gu Fan’s heart pounded rapidly upon hearing this.

The elder’s words made him think of a possibility. Could it be one of the Four Ultimate Combat Techniques?

A technique on the same level as his Domain Suppression of Myriad Phenomena?

If that were truly the case, then it really was a treasure he had stumbled upon!

Just then, the elder suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around, and stared at Gu Fan with a gloomy expression as he said:

“However, ever since we obtained this battle technique, no one has been able to cultivate it. Only later did we understand that to cultivate this technique, one must temper their physical body and meridians using a special type of energy.”

“And that special type of energy is the cultivation energy from that world. They call it Spiritual Power. But in our world, it is impossible for anyone to cultivate Spiritual Power!”

Gu Fan’s Divine Soul trembled violently, and he was momentarily stunned by these words.

“So, can you explain why you’re able to cultivate this technique?”

“Or rather, why are you able to use the Spiritual Power from another world to temper your physical body and meridians?”

The elder fixed his gaze on Gu Fan, seemingly trying to discern something from his expression.

Unfortunately for him, although Gu Fan was internally shaken to the core, there was not the slightest change in his expression.

He simply raised his hand slowly and then smiled at the elder:

“Is Elder referring to Degenerate Energy?”

The elder’s eyes narrowed sharply.

He stepped forward two paces, staring at the ball of Degenerate Energy in Gu Fan’s palm:

“This is the Degenerate Energy of our world?”

“Indeed. Elder has likely never truly experienced Spiritual Power, has he? I haven’t either.”

“But if I were to point out one thing that makes me different from others—it would be my unique innate talent. I can control Degenerate Energy.”

Gu Fan calmly wove his lies. Right now, he could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive. If he failed to clear the suspicion immediately, he might find himself hunted by the entire Immortal Ai Sect.

When that happens, not even the vast Sacred Domain would have a place for him to hide!

“Wait! Are you saying that Degenerate Energy is the Spiritual Power of that foreign world?”

Gu Fan sneered:

“Elder, I have never met anyone from the foreign realm. But if there’s anything unusual about me, it lies right here.”

“Since childhood, I’ve had an extraordinary talent—that is, I can control what you all call Degenerate Energy.”

“In your eyes, Degenerate Energy is useless, even dangerous—entering the body by mistake can sever the path of cultivation. But to me, it’s the exact opposite.”

Gu Fan slowly absorbed the Degenerate Energy in his hand into his body and said:

“My primary cultivation is Mysterious Power, but I can allow small amounts of Degenerate Energy to flow through my body. And I’ve discovered that Degenerate Energy strengthens my physical body. That’s also why my physical strength is so formidable.”

“If Degenerate Energy is indeed the Spiritual Power Elder mentioned from that other realm, then perhaps this is the reason why I’m the only one who can cultivate Qilin Step.”

The elder frowned at those words.

Gu Fan’s frankness took him by surprise. The ability to manipulate Degenerate Energy was indeed astonishing, though it wasn’t entirely unheard of in history.

But using Degenerate Energy to temper the body was something he had never seen before.

More importantly, Gu Fan had actually absorbed Degenerate Energy into his body right before his eyes.

It was well known that Spiritual Power and Mysterious Power were mutually incompatible like water and fire. The massive amount of Mysterious Power Gu Fan had displayed in battle couldn’t possibly have been faked.

This proved he was indeed cultivating Mysterious Power. Which also meant it was impossible for him to cultivate Spiritual Power—otherwise, the two energies would conflict, resulting in instant death by internal explosion.

If it was merely using Degenerate Energy to temper the body without entering the Qi Sea, then it could indeed be explained…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep