Chapter Fifty: Refining as Previously Said!

Brother Ai is truly formidable. You help me attain the position of sect master, and I help you fulfill the Venerable's wish. It really leaves me unable to refuse! Yang Nan pondered for a moment, his heart finally stirred, and he said, Brother Ai, this younger brother has one more presumptuous request, and I hope Brother Ai will grant it.

Seeing that Yang Nan was indeed tempted, Ai Muyun laughed heartily and said, Since you and I are already brothers, why bother with such excessive courtesy? Brother Yang, speak your mind freely. If it is within my power, I will certainly not refuse.

Yang Nan gave a warm smile and beckoned. One of the six-headed Nether Yin spirits on the Profound Nether Yin Fiend Banner flew out. Brother Ai, if you can inform me of the location of a netherworld abyss cave, I will go and refine this Profound Nether Yin Fiend Banner first. By then, my strength will greatly increase, and I can better lend Brother Ai a helping hand!

Seeing that this six-headed Yin spirit was rolling with blood Qi and its cultivation was by no means inferior to his own Bone Demonic Ring, Ai Muyun felt even more wary of Yang Nan in his heart, but on the surface, he smiled and said, What is so difficult about that? Hailing from the demonic path, he knew the netherworld abyss caves of the world like the back of his hand, and immediately listed the entrances to the nine great netherworlds of the world one by one.

Since the Divine Continent was protected by the Nine Heavens Barrier, most of these nine nether abyss caves were located in gloomy and remote places, such as the Ten Thousand Tombs Mound and the Nether Blood Pool, which were both in the wilderness regions. If Yang Nan were to go, he feared he would not be able to return for quite some time. After listening to the locations pointed out by Ai Muyun, Yang Nan pondered for a long time and finally gave up the thought of taking a trip to the netherworld.

Finding Master Qingya's divine soul was certainly important, but healing Qingyan was even more crucial!

If Qingyan were to die from her severe injuries, Yang Nan knew that his state of mind would be damaged, and it would be difficult ever to reach completion again!

Qingyan... Even if I have to walk to the ends of the earth, I will find the immortal medicine to cure you... Gazing at the boundless horizon, Yang Nan felt a wave of firm resolve flash through his heart!

The reason he cooperated with Ai Muyun was not because he coveted the demonic path's influence in the Central Plains, but because of the news regarding Qingyan's cure!

Brother Yang, after you refine the soul-control secret art, if the demonic Qi on your body is difficult to disperse, this younger brother will report to my master and have him pass on to you the wondrous phase true demonic technique. Then you and I will truly be martial brothers. In the future, whatever Brother Yang asks for, I, Ai Muyun, will never say half a word of refusal. Heaven and earth shall bear witness to this pledge! Ai Muyun wore a sincere expression, his gaze toward Yang Nan burning with eagerness.

Yang Nan sneered inwardly, though his face maintained a calm expression. He sighed and said, Brother Ai, let us discuss this matter later. I only wonder when your esteemed sect's rotation grand ceremony will commence?

Seeing Yang Nan agree, Ai Muyun was overjoyed and said, At the winter solstice this year, the twelve sects of our demonic path will battle for supremacy on the Luo Sea among the All-Demons Islands. If Brother Yang goes, I will inform you of the location of the All-Demons Islands, and you can come there yourself by then!

Very well. Before the winter solstice, I will definitely come to the Luo Sea to rendezvous with Brother Ai! Yang Nan nodded, considering the matter settled. Ai Muyun then revealed the location of the All-Demons Islands and the three possible places where the Profound Ice Thread Fruit might be produced one by one, finally saying, Brother Yang, if none of these three places yield the Profound Ice Thread Fruit, then after I secure the position of sect master, this younger brother will personally go search for it. Although the Soul-Devouring Orchid is poisonous, if suppressed by the Ten-Thousand-Year Purple Ice Coffin, the poison should not flare up again. The Ten-Thousand-Year Purple Ice Coffin is a supreme treasure of the world, produced in the glacier region of the extreme west. Your esteemed wife's condition cannot be delayed, so I ask Brother Yang to seek it out early.

Since he was asking a favor of Yang Nan, he sincerely and earnestly made plans for him. Without showing sincerity, how could he possibly make Yang Nan risk his life for him?

Yang Nan cupped his fists and said, Thank you for the reminder, Brother Ai. This younger brother will go search for the Ten-Thousand-Year Purple Ice Coffin right now. Next year's appointment is set!

The word of a cultivator is worth nine tripods!

Even if Ai Muyun were to renege on his promise in the future, Yang Nan was not afraid. Their cooperation brought only benefits and no harm!

Seeing that Yang Nan did not even demand his assistance in searching for the Purple Ice Coffin, Ai Muyun was slightly surprised in his heart. However, since his objective had been achieved, there was no need to linger here any longer. He cupped his fists and said, In that case, this younger brother will respectfully await your grand arrival at the All-Demons Islands on the winter solstice! Farewell.

After Ai Muyun's escaping light soared away, Yang Nan finally revealed a trace of a sneer. Ai Muyun had previously hidden in the dark and only came forth to trade with him after witnessing the unstoppable might of the Undying Thunder Boat. Thunder-stiffening electric nets had always been formidable weapons for breaking demonic arts; having such a treasure in his possession was the only reason Ai Muyun was willing to pay a heavy price to beg for his help!

Whether it was the entrance to the netherworld, the whereabouts of the Profound Ice Thread Fruit, or the Ten-Thousand-Year Purple Ice Coffin, it seemed he had paid a heavy price, but in reality, he had not given up a single thing of practical value!

Furthermore, teaching him the soul-probing secret art and the soul-condensing and soul-transferring technique harbored vicious intentions. If Yang Nan were to learn the wondrous phase true demonic technique, how could the Kunlun Xuangxu sect master remain unaware? He feared that in the future, driven by helplessness, he might end up defecting to the demonic sect and becoming Ai Muyun's pawn!

Therefore, the relationship between Yang Nan and Ai Muyun could only be a transaction, each taking what they needed. Just as Ai Muyun had said: united, both profit; separated, both suffer!

If he did not possess a peerless divine power like the Undying Yin-Yang Wheel, Yang Nan would truly not dare to learn any soul-control secret arts—no matter how powerful, he simply wouldn't learn them!

The Undying Yin-Yang Wheel encompassed all the laws of the world, and divine soul mana could be converted into any kind of mana. Only with such supreme divine power could Yang Nan dare to learn various secret techniques without reservation.

If he truly learned the wondrous phase true demonic technique, the future troubles would indeed be endless!

This Ai Muyun could almost be considered the most outstanding disciple in the demonic path; his scheming, methods, and character were all of the absolute highest caliber!

In his dealings with Ai Muyun, if Yang Nan were the slightest bit careless, he would suffer a massive loss! How could Yang Nan not be clear about this in his heart?

Yet, for the sake of Qingyan's injuries, Yang Nan had no choice but to accept the assistance of others!

A-Nan, the Tianfang Prefecture has been settled, and the Heavenly Demon Sect is nowhere in sight. What are your plans now? Chiyang had been silently watching Yang Nan and Ai Muyun's transaction from the side. Now that Yang Nan had matured and no longer needed his interference in everything, he simply assumed the duties of a loyal household general.

Yang Nan nodded and said, Big Brother, I am supping with a tiger. The demonic path is bizarre, tyrannical, cruel, and extreme; they are truly not easy people to deal with. But for Qingyan's sake, I cannot afford not to try. The affairs of the Southern Continent will depend entirely on Big Brother. The Western Continent still harbors the influence of the Buddhist sect, so it is inconvenient for us to make any major moves for now. Big Brother, wait until the experts of our sect arrive before making your move. I will head to the Western Sea right now to ask Princess Longyao about the whereabouts of the Ten-Thousand-Year Purple Ice Coffin.

Old Crab said with lingering reluctance, Young Master, you are leaving on this trip for who knows how many years; when will you return?

Yang Nan shook his head and said, The three of you monsters should treat Big Brother Chiyang as if you were seeing me. Cultivate here in peace; I will surely return within a few years. If the Emperor falls critically ill, you can send a heart-transmitting talisman to me. This heart-transmitting talisman contains a strand of my divine thought, and even a thousand or ten thousand miles away, my heart will feel it. By then, I will definitely return on schedule! If the ten continents of this world can be entirely cleared of cultivating forces to return to the mortal realm, then clear them. If not, wait until I return to make further plans!

Yang Nan took out a talisman paper, flicked his finger, and drew a heart-transmitting talisman with his own fresh blood. If this heart-transmitting talisman were burned by someone, Yang Nan would sense the anomaly no matter where he was, allowing him to return in time. Old Crab nodded and reached out to take the strange heart-transmitting talisman. He had always stayed by Yang Nan's side, but ever since Yang Nan's divine powers matured and he used his supreme demonic body technique less and less, the personal guards were given other uses, leaving only General Shrimp and a hundred or so minor soldiers following him within the Rivers and Mountains Ring.

Yang Nan waved his hand to dismiss Old Crab and the others, then suddenly channeled his divine power. A massive snake tail descended from midair and smashed the princess mansion in Tianfang Prefecture of the Western Continent into fine powder!

That snake tail crashed down like a pillar supporting the heavens amidst a thunderous roar. Inside the princess mansion, ghosts wailed and spirits howled, the sound of lamentation endless. Yang Nan retracted his divine power, gazed at the ant-like crowd below, and sneered coldly, I am busy with affairs today, so this is just a slight punishment. Yuxin! Listen closely: if Qingyan dies of her severe injuries, you too shall be buried with her in the future!

Yang Nan's voice sounded like rolling thunder, echoing far across the Tianfang Prefecture. Countless commoners below fell silent out of fear, while the Eldest Princess Yuxin remained stubbornly silent, as if courting death.

Yang Nan stood silently for a long time, and seeing that Eldest Princess Yuxin still did not come out to contend with him, he had no choice but to release the Undying Thunder Boat. Nicai piloted the boat carrying Yang Nan as they sped toward the Western Sea. Aboard the Undying Thunder Boat, Nicai looked with a devastated expression at the Yang Thunder Pool, where more than half of the thunder water was missing. Heartbroken, he said, A-Nan, this great battle almost wiped out two-thirds of the thunder water in the Yang Thunder Pool. If we encounter another powerhouse like this in the future, we might as well just run away.

Yang Nan laughed amusedly and said, Brother Ni, with the Undying Thunder Pool and the Nameless Divine Stele, why do you care about this tiny bit of thunder water? Just find a time when heavenly lightning is raging to replenish it. Since we have the Yang Thunder Pool, are we afraid the thunder power won't recover?

Nicai shook his head and said, You make it sound so easy. Heavenly lightning is heavenly lightning, and thunder water is thunder water. Converting heavenly lightning into thunder water takes who knows how much effort. We suffered untold hardships last time to obtain such an immortal spiritual treasure, and replenishing it during a single lightning season will probably be no easy task.

Although the material of the Undying Thunder Boat was peculiar, it still could not withstand Yang Nan's uninhibited squandering like this!

Seeing his heartbroken expression, Yang Nan smiled inwardly, shook his head, and ignored him, seating himself directly beside the Yang Thunder Pool. Only a third of the thunder water remained in the Yang Thunder Pool, but every single drop contained the thunderous might of divine power. A pool of thunder water meant infinite thunder and lightning, which, when unleashed through the Eighty-Nine Return-to-One Heavenly Lightning Array forged from the external Dry-Metal Azure Jade Thunder Bamboo, produced the terrifying might of the thunder-stiffening electric net.

However, the hundred-year-old Dry-Metal Azure Jade Thunder Bamboo had limited capacity for thunder power after all, so its power was not yet considered extremely strong. If, after several hundred years, all the thunder bamboo grew into ten-thousand-year thunder bamboo, a single streak of thunder-stiffening electric net could reduce the avatar of True Person Miaofu to flying ash. Where would there be any need for such trouble?

Knowing that he could not rush things, Yang Nan sat by the Yang Thunder Pool and activated the Undying Yin-Yang Wheel divine power to convert the demonic Qi, drawing out the divine soul of Grandmaster Zeng Yan. The Profound Nether Yin Fiend Banner had already had many talisman soldier souls refined into it using the soul-condensing and soul-transferring technique, and with the addition of a grandmaster's soul, Yang Nan turned right around and began refining the third Profound Nether Yin Fiend Banner.

Although refining one hundred and eight Profound Nether Yin Fiend banners was still a distant prospect, Zeng Yan's divine soul was extremely powerful, and the Profound Nether Yin Fiend Banner refined with the souls of several thousand talisman soldiers far surpassed the first two in power!

After refining Zeng Yan through the soul-control secret art and the soul-condensing and soul-transferring technique, this talisman grandmaster became somewhat foolish and blank-minded, knowing only on the banner that Yang Nan was his master while completely forgetting his past affairs. Yet he still retained all the divine powers and peculiar curse techniques from his lifetime, which had simply been converted into demonic Qi, their efficacy remaining undiminished.

Seeing that Zeng Yan possessed such wondrous abilities, Yang Nan was also overjoyed. Having Zeng Yan was equivalent to having a talisman grandmaster by his side! His strength was far beyond what two Profound Nether Yin spirits could compare to.

Although the strength of a grandmaster monster soul inside a magical treasure could not match a real grandmaster, it excelled in its vast quantity and fearless attitude. With such assistance, Yang Nan's strength increased by another thirty percent!

Nearby, Nicai watched in utter astonishment as this once imposing grandmaster was refined by Yang Nan into such a terrifying state. Yang Nan had long since told him the mysteries of the Profound Nether Yin Fiend Array, but since he possessed no demonic techniques, he could only drive it via the Undying Thunder Boat rather than refine it himself, leaving him with no choice but to stare in envy.

A-Nan, since you can refine grandmasters, why don't you refine that lion as well? It will save it from causing trouble tucked away inside the Rivers and Mountains Ring. Seeing that there were now three Profound Nether Yin Fiend Banners on the Undying Thunder Boat, Nicai once again set his sights on Kuihan.

Ever since that lion had been captured by Yang Nan, its divine powers had been sealed, and it was trapped within the Rivers and Mountains Ring. The once arrogant and haughty Kuihan had long since fallen to the point of being bullied by shrimp soldiers and crab generals. Nicai had long coveted this lion with its peculiar bloodline, and now he promptly proposed that Yang Nan refine this unyielding monster into a magical treasure instead!

Yang Nan shook his head with a smile and said, Brother Ni, that lion cannot be refined. If his father, Lion Sage Kuixing, comes looking for us in the future, having Kuihan in our hands will give us some bargaining chips. Once he is refined, we will be irreconcilable enemies!

In fact, Yang Nan kept Kuihan for another wonderful purpose, one that could only be utilized when Kuixing came looking for him...

Nicai nodded. Lion Sage Kuixing was a top-tier figure in the world, and it was best not to offend him if possible, otherwise, the future troubles would surely be endless.

With his divine powers sealed, Kuihan was locked inside the Rivers and Mountains Ring, reverting to his true form as a three-headed golden lion. He spent his days idling away within the ring, watched over by General Shrimp and a hundred or so personal guards, which naturally gave Yang Nan peace of mind. Without his divine powers, Kuihan was merely an ordinary lion; any demon soldier could easily subdue him, let alone fear him flying away to the heavens!