Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Fudan Technique

Mental energy scanned up and down Yang Jiangshui, and suddenly, Liu Pan’s attention settled on the fine steel longsword beneath Yang Jiangshui’s feet. Without hesitation, he spoke, “Tell me how to use the Pill-Support Technique!”

The moment Liu Pan said this, Liu Kuang’s body jolted; he turned his head to look at Liu Pan.

Who is this man, really? Liu Kuang’s eyes flickered with an enigmatic light. Yet, despite his doubts, Liu Kuang didn’t delay; he hesitated only briefly before reaching out to touch Liu Pan’s brow with his fingertip.

For Liu Pan, the mere mention of the Pill-Support Technique once again shattered Yan’s understanding of him. Compared to Yan’s earlier belief that Liu Pan was omniscient, Liu Pan now seemed utterly terrifying!

The Pill-Support Technique had been created ten thousand years ago by Liu Luohan, the original owner of the Wild Desolation Blade, to enhance the quality of medicinal pills. Only Liu Luohan knew its method of operation. Had Liu Luohan not left his memories within the Wild Desolation Blade upon his death, Yan would never have known how to use it—but now Liu Pan had casually asked for it.

If the Dragon Tyrant Body Technique and the Nine Suns Blazing Blade Technique could be found in books, Yan was certain the Pill-Support Technique could not. So now, Yan was left with only one sensation: dread, profound dread.

Yet, despite his fear, Yan did not hesitate too long; he revealed the method for using the Pill-Support Technique to Liu Pan. He chose to trust Liu Pan—not for any other reason, but because Liu Pan had selflessly handed him over to Liu Kuang without seeking reward.

The instant Liu Kuang touched his brow, a surge of obscure information flooded Liu Pan’s mind. He paid little mind to the strange light in Liu Kuang’s eyes and immediately closed his eyes, beginning to study the Pill-Support Technique’s method of operation.

Asking Yan for the Pill-Support Technique, Liu Pan had not thought much about it; at this moment, it was the only method he could conceive to escape Yang Jiangshui.

To use a pill technique, one must possess mental energy—this was one of the chief reasons only practitioners with mental energy could reach the pinnacle of the pill path.

With eyes closed in concentration, Liu Pan quickly clarified the Pill-Support Technique’s method, thanks to his formidable mental energy.

Though the Pill-Support Technique was designed to enhance the quality of pills, it did not guarantee improvement merely by its use. Pills and techniques were, after all, inert; if anything went awry when they intersected, not only would the pill’s quality fail to improve, but the outcome could be disastrous—a pill explosion.

With a single thought, Liu Pan began to sketch the Pill-Support Technique within his sea of consciousness. In essence, a pill technique was also a kind of cultivation method, one focusing on mental energy.

However, though it might be called a cultivation method, its effects differed vastly from those of ordinary elemental force techniques. In fact, its result resembled more the effect produced by formations.

The Pill-Support Technique enhanced pill quality because it could guide external elemental force into the pill, nourishing its medicinal properties and thereby increasing its efficacy.

Guiding elemental force into a specific position was much like the effect achieved by gathering formations in the path of arrays. Yet the similarity was only superficial.

Within a pill, space was limited; when the technique guided elemental force inside, it forcibly compressed it. If too much elemental force entered, the pill would explode.

Liu Pan had requested the Pill-Support Technique because it forcibly guided and compressed elemental force, making pill explosions highly likely.

Crafting pills with the technique could be simple or complex, but Liu Pan wasn’t making pills now. He only needed to sketch the technique—everything else could be improvised.

Though his mental energy was at the True Lake realm, it still took him over half an hour to complete the sketch in his sea of consciousness.

When the technique was successfully drawn, Liu Pan immediately focused on Yang Jiangshui, who was pursuing them, and was startled.

After more than half an hour of pursuit, Yang Jiangshui was now less than a hundred meters away—perhaps only a few minutes before Yang Jiangshui could use elemental force to launch an attack.

Not daring to linger, Liu Pan activated his intention, and the completed pill technique shot from his brow, aiming directly at Yang Jiangshui behind him.

As soon as the technique left Liu Pan’s brow, Yang Jiangshui frowned. Now less than a hundred meters from Liu Pan and Liu Kuang, his spiritual sense could easily sweep over them.

Just moments before, his spiritual sense had seen Liu Pan open his eyes.

At first, Yang Jiangshui had been curious about both Liu Pan and Liu Kuang, but upon discovering that Liu Kuang possessed a spiritual tool and could fly with it, most of his attention had remained on Liu Kuang.

Now, however, at the instant Liu Pan opened his eyes, Liu Kuang’s expression softened slightly, which immediately shifted Yang Jiangshui’s focus to Liu Pan—the man he had long neglected.

In Yang Jiangshui’s mind, the two had been fleeing for quite some time; if they had a way to shake him off or counter him, they would have used it by now, not waited until this moment.

But why did Liu Kuang’s expression ease when Liu Pan opened his eyes?

Frowning, Yang Jiangshui was at a loss.

Suddenly, Yang Jiangshui’s expression froze, his gaze falling to the fine steel longsword beneath his feet, sensing something amiss.

Moments later, his face changed dramatically, and without hesitation, he descended toward the ground. At the same time, his spiritual sense swept over Liu Pan, who had turned to look at him and was now smiling.

Seeing Yang Jiangshui descend, Liu Pan breathed a sigh of relief, and Liu Kuang too relaxed somewhat, though that enigmatic light still flickered in his eyes, his thoughts unreadable.

As for Yang Jiangshui, unless it came to a final crisis, Yan would never risk Liu Kuang’s safety to strike him down. It was precisely because Yan would not act lightly that all hope of escaping Yang Jiangshui had been placed on Liu Pan.

In the end, Liu Pan did not disappoint, though his request for the Pill-Support Technique had been terrifying.

The Pill-Support Technique, designed to enhance pill quality, did so by forcibly guiding and compressing elemental force into the pill. But if the compression exceeded what the pill could withstand, it would explode.

Earlier, as Liu Pan’s mental energy scanned Yang Jiangshui, he naturally considered how to escape—and the key lay in flight by controlling the tool. Thus, his attention first landed on the fine steel longsword beneath Yang Jiangshui’s feet, and then on the spiritual mark planted upon it.

To destroy the spiritual mark, he had to do so without Yang Jiangshui noticing.

And the only way to avoid detection was to use mental energy—thus, Liu Pan thought of the pill technique.

The Pill-Support Technique compressed elemental force; if applied to a spiritual mark, and the absorbed force exceeded the mark’s capacity, it would burst apart unnoticed—a perfect, silent sabotage.