Chapter 371: Chapter 140: Night-Prowling Cloud Dragon, Soul Banner Devours the Fiend, The True Purpose of Yue Mankong’s Mission

The Array Map then dissipated, transforming into pure Primordial Qi that returned to his Qi Sea.

Then, he would reconstruct it from scratch.

Disperse and re-form. Disperse and re-form again...

The cycle repeated, endlessly and without rest.

It was tedious and dull.

But Chu Fan could clearly sense that as his Experience Points slowly increased, his control over Primordial Qi grew increasingly refined. His speed in constructing the Array Map became faster and smoother.

The illusory Array Map also seemed to grow a little more substantial with each attempt.

He had a strong premonition: with a few more days of this arduous training, he would surely be able to extend the duration of this "Combat Stance" by a few precious breaths.

This training speed was more than ten times slower than when he had practiced the Twelve Forms Fist or the Ninefold Thunder Shock Saber.

Yet the gains and power boost from each increase in Experience Points far surpassed what those ordinary Martial Arts could offer.

Amid the tedious repetition and clear progress, anticipation quietly took root and grew ever stronger.

He longed for the day the Spirit Array Map would be completely stabilized, for the moment he would open his Dragon Acupoints, and even more for the future when the Demon Dragon Celestial Spirit Scripture would finally reveal its true, formidable power.

At the base of the cliff, Chu Fan’s figure was as still as a boulder. Only the Primordial Qi within him surged without pause, carving a path toward greater strength.

An unknown amount of time passed...

Just as he completed another reconstruction and the Spirit Array Map within him began to glow brilliantly—

A cold, slick sensation touched his back, completely without warning.

A pair of arms, as soft as if boneless and silent as dark seaweed, wrapped around his waist.

Then, an icy-cold yet strangely soft body pressed tightly against his back.

"..."

Chu Fan went rigid, his heart nearly stopping!

’I’m circulating the Spirit Array Map right now. My Perception Power should cover the entire canyon, and it’s more than ten times stronger than usual!’

’How could something sneak up behind me and touch me without me noticing at all?!’

He tried to erupt in a counterattack, but an invisible, powerful restraint suddenly descended upon him.

It was as if countless icy chains had materialized from thin air, binding his joints, muscles, and even his meridians!

His movements became incredibly difficult, as if he were mired in a swamp. Even turning his neck took immense effort!

"Darling..."

A voice, impossibly alluring and sweet enough to drip honey, whispered in his ear.

Warm breath tickled his ear, carrying a strange fragrance that wormed its way into his mind.

"Why train so hard... Let go of everything. Come with me and find true bliss. Wouldn’t that be better?"

The voice was dripping with temptation, each syllable a hook that tugged at the most primal of desires.

The body behind him pressed even tighter. Amidst the icy touch, a strange trace of searing heat emanated.

Chu Fan gritted his teeth, the veins on his temples throbbing. The Primordial Qi in his body surged wildly, and the light from the Spirit Array Map flared.

"Break!"

A low, guttural roar escaped his throat as he gathered all his strength and violently bucked upward.

CRACK!

It was as if an invisible chain had snapped. The powerful restraint suddenly loosened.

Without a moment to think, Chu Fan lunged forward, drawing his saber as he moved.

SHIIING!

The Long Saber left its sheath, carving a brilliant, cold arc through the dim night as he slashed back without mercy.

But the blade met only empty air.

’No, it wasn’t empty air...’

The blade had clearly passed through the woman’s body, yet it felt like slicing through a phantom. There was no resistance at all, leaving his blow with no purchase.

Chu Fan’s heart went cold. Saber in hand, he stood his ground and warily scanned his surroundings.

What he saw sent a chill to the bone.

Moments before, it had been an ordinary night in the mountain forest. Now, the surrounding darkness seemed to have deepened and grown heavier, like viscous crude oil stirred into black ink.

The canyon exit he could previously see clearly, as well as the silhouettes of the distant peaks, had all become blurry, as if seen through a layer of wavering, distorted haze.

Even the jagged, grotesque rocks nearby in the canyon seemed to have come to life, swaying faintly in the darkness, their shifting forms indistinct.

As for the woman, she was now floating in mid-air.

She was wreathed in a churning black mist, her lower half seeming to dissolve into it, leaving only the blurry shape of her torso visible.

Even more horrifying, ghastly, malevolent skulls with eerie green Ghost Fire dancing in their eye sockets were slowly orbiting her, emitting a faint "KAKA" sound that set one’s teeth on edge.

"Darling, why so angry..."

The woman let out a flirtatious laugh, her voice seeming to come from both far and near, carrying a soul-piercing vibration. "Put down your saber. Don’t resist. Become one with me and enjoy this eternal bliss. Wouldn’t you like that?"

She drifted erratically around Chu Fan, her voice boring into his ears.

Murderous intent roiled in Chu Fan’s heart, yet somehow, as he listened to her voice, he felt the absurd urge to ’put down my saber and go with her!’

The Long Saber in his hand suddenly felt as heavy as lead, while the strange woman before him seemed to represent the blissful Other Shore...

’Something’s wrong!’

Chu Fan shook his head violently, trying to dispel the eerie enchantment.

But the moment his focus wavered, the surrounding scene grew even more blurry and distorted. The darkness surged in like a tide, threatening to swallow him whole.

Chu Fan’s eyes hardened. Without hesitation, he raised his saber and slashed it viciously across his own left arm.

A searing pain shot through him! Blood immediately welled up, dyeing his sleeve red.

But then Chu Fan realized something was wrong...

He possessed the Vajra Undying Body; his physical resilience far surpassed that of someone in the Late Stage of the Divine Power Realm.

’Even a full-powered slash from my own blade might not cut a wound this deep. How could a casual strike...?’

Before he could think it through, the woman, wreathed in black mist and orbited by skulls, lunged at him with another flirtatious laugh. Her face, barely visible in the mist, was a mask of soul-stealing seduction.

"Die!"

Suppressing his doubts, Chu Fan let out a furious roar and unleashed the Nine Blood Soul Blades.

The Blood Evil Qi surged forth, coalescing into a sharp, Blood-colored Blade Gang that cleaved down ferociously.