To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

"You're the one who deserves to die!" Gu Fan's face was contorted with rage as he leaped toward the giant snake's skull.

Chang Yuan's expression changed drastically, and several streaks of blood-red light burst forth from his body, flying towards Gu Fan.

Gu Fan had exhausted his magical artifacts and talismans. He gritted his teeth and channeled his magic power. In an instant, his bright red robe shone brightly, and nine flame birds flapped their wings.

The blood-red light crashed down on Gu Fan's chest, instantly annihilating the four Flame Birds, followed by the fifth and sixth.

As the ninth Flamebird cried out and shattered into fireflies, the aura of the robe that had accompanied Gu Fan for so long instantly dimmed, and the remaining blood-red light sent Gu Fan flying, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Not dead?" Chang Yuan asked in surprise.

The crimson robe was torn apart by the blood-red light, revealing the purple scales beneath.

Using the force of the blood-red light, Gu Fan successfully stood on the giant snake skull, just inches away from the golden spear.

"So it's inner armor." Chang Yuan narrowed his eyes, watching Gu Fan reach for the golden spear, and mocked, "You junior, you don't actually think you can easily control the Qian Yuan Soul-Slaying Array, do you?"

"This Qian Yuan Soul-Slaying Formation is..."

Chang Yuan was about to speak again, but he stopped, his eyes wide with shock.

Gu Fan wrapped his arms around the golden spear, channeling his divine sense into it. Veins bulged on his forehead as he roared, "Rise!"

The golden spear trembled violently, the golden chains binding it rattled, and then slowly contracted to a length of ten feet, which Gu Fan grasped in his palm.

Golden lightning crackled around Gu Fan, and the chains danced wildly like golden snakes.

With a flick of the spear tip, a golden trail was traced.

Gu Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered, "Now it's your turn to cry."

"How is this possible!" Chang Yuan exclaimed in surprise, his appearance, combined with Lin Qian'er's, made him look like a virtuous young girl who had been sexually assaulted.

"The Qian Yuan Soul-Slaying Formation was personally set up by Jue Yunzi. Could it be that you're a once-in-a-millennium genius in the art of formations?!"

Gu Fan stared at Chang Yuan's incredulous expression, offering no explanation. He descended from the sky with a golden spear in hand, golden chains trailing behind him and dancing wildly in the wind, thrusting the spear at Chang Yuan.

As Chang Yuan said, he indeed could not fully control the Qian Yuan Soul-Slaying Formation.

However, because the seal was broken, the originally stable structure of the grand formation loosened, causing the gathered power to have nowhere to go.

Just as someone who doesn't understand formations can mechanically manipulate them using formation tools, Gu Fan merely used his divine sense to point out a direction for the power of the formation.

Chang Yuan had been suppressed here for thousands of years and knew the power of this formation all too well. He immediately unleashed a series of blood-stained blades while retreating.

Gu Fan naturally wouldn't let him have his way.

The spear tip flashed with lightning, seemingly extremely effective against the blood blades. Gu Fan wielded the spear horizontally and shattered the blood blades one by one in just a few strikes. Then, a flash of fire appeared beneath his feet, and he thrust the spear straight at Chang Yuan's chest.

Chang Yuan's body was enveloped in a surge of crimson light, like a raging river of blood, and he found himself locked in a stalemate with the thunder spear.

The two locked eyes, and Gu Fan grinned.

The power of the formation comes from drawing upon the underground spiritual veins, so he is absolutely not afraid of a contest of attrition.

Chang Yuan was well aware of this, and he shouted fiercely, "Boy, do you not value this girl's life? I merely sealed her soul; if you continue, she will die anyway!"

Gu Fan remained silent.

Just as Chang Yuan thought Gu Fan was moved, lightning suddenly flashed, unexpectedly suppressing the blood light, which was only three feet away from Chang Yuan's chest.

Time ticked by, the lightning remained intense, but the blood-red aura around Chang Yuan began to wane, and the blood mist in the Demon Refining Pot seemed to have run out.

Seeing the critical situation, Chang Yuan also became anxious.

"Boy, if you let me go, I swear on my Dao heart that I will never retaliate against you afterward."

"If you're not satisfied, I can also impart to you profound and wondrous techniques. How about it?"

Gu Fan remained unmoved.

This desperate, all-or-nothing attitude immediately alarmed Chang Yuan.

"You brat, don't think you can kill me like this!"

"I am a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage. Although the Qian Yuan Soul-Slaying Array can weaken my primordial spirit, my very essence of soul remains. Even if you destroy this physical body, I will still not die!"

"I don't believe it!" Gu Fan said coldly.

As soon as she finished speaking, the lightning spear thrust forward fiercely, and lightning began to dance across Lin Qian'er's body. The Qian Yuan Soul-Slaying Formation is named for slaying the soul, but it does not harm the physical body.

As lightning flashed, wisps of black smoke emerged from Lin Qian'er's body, followed by Chang Yuan's screams.

A moment later, Chang Yuan's screams changed from high-pitched to low.

"What do you want in order for you to stop?!"

Gu Fan lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Unless... you acknowledge me as your master!"

Upon hearing this, Chang Yuan's screams gradually subsided, and he said fiercely, "Wishful thinking! I have cultivated for nearly ten thousand years, and you think you can enslave me? Then try and see if I will die."

"Even if you can control this formation to attack me, can you leave this place? At worst, we'll all be trapped here and die."

After saying that, Chang Yuan stopped struggling and stood there letting Gu Fan do as he pleased.

These thoughts, however, made Gu Fan hesitate. He pondered these questions, his eyes flashing.

"Then what do you think should be done?"

Chang Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although he was indeed not going to die, it was not what he wanted to be trapped here with only a little bit of his divine soul essence.

His eyes darted around, and he suggested, "I see that you, young man, have some potential. Why don't you become my disciple, and in the future..."

Before Chang Yuan could finish speaking, lightning flashed again.

"It's absolutely impossible for me to become your disciple!" Gu Fan said as he activated his lightning.

If he were to agree to this, it would be tantamount to putting his life in Chang Yuan's hands, and he could not agree under any circumstances.

As Lei Guang rushed forward, more black smoke billowed out. Chang Yuan cried out in anguish, "The Heart-to-Heart Mantra! I'm willing to form a Heart-to-Heart Mantra with you, how about it?"

Gu Fan frowned in thought.

He knew about the Heart-to-Heart Mantra, which was originally a spell used by human cultivators to subdue spirit beasts.

Unlike the enslavement-style beast-taming method, the spirit beast controlled by the Heart-to-Heart Mantra is equal to its master, and their lives are even linked together. If one of them dies, the other will also die with its soul destroyed.

To break the spell of love and harmony, both parties involved in casting the spell must agree.

Of course, this spell was later improved by human cultivators and used in other places, such as when forming a Daoist couple or making an important agreement.

After much deliberation, Gu Fan decided to agree.

Just as Chang Yuan said, they were all trapped here. Although he could guide the formation to attack, he could not find a way out unless he deciphered the formation.

Time is running out in the Luofu Secret Realm. If we can't get out, even killing Chang Yuan will be useless.

"Okay, let's use the Heart-to-Heart Mantra." Gu Fan nodded in reply.

"Then you should stop the formation first!" Chang Yuan scolded impatiently.

Gu Fan smirked and withdrew his golden spear, but the lightning remained condensed at the tip of the spear.

Chang Yuan sighed inwardly and emphasized, "It's a promise. Once we leave this place, you must help me rebuild my physical body."

"Okay!" Gu Fan nodded in agreement, but did not elaborate on when the agreement would be fulfilled.

Then, a dark shadow detached from Lin Qian'er's body, hovering in the air for about two feet, its previous arrogance greatly diminished.

Gu Fan bit his fingertip and slowly inscribed several runes in the void.

The next instant, the runes entered Chang Yuan's soul, and a blood-red chain emerged from the void, connecting the two of them.

Chang Yuan, now only a soul, immediately landed on Gu Fan's left arm, transforming into a snake-shaped mark.

The spell of unity has been cast!

After Chang Yuan left, Lin Qian'er's body slowly collapsed to the ground.

Gu Fan frowned and asked, "Will she know about our agreement?"

Chang Yuan's voice echoed in his mind: "I sealed her soul long ago. After the seal was sealed, she knew nothing about the outside world. The seal will be lifted in half an hour."

Gu Fan nodded slightly, then asked, "Didn't you say you could break the formation? How do we get out?"

"No rush. Since you can control the formation, go and look under the Thunder Spear. There should be a drop of my essence blood left there, which can be used to reshape my physical body in the future."

Gu Fan immediately leaped up and landed on Chang Yuan's skeleton.

There was a large hole about ten feet in diameter in the skull, and there were indeed some dark red remnants between the bones.

He then waved his hand to collect these wisps of residue, turning them into a drop of blood the size of an infant's fist, which he then sealed in a jade bottle.

"And then?" Gu Fan finally released the lightning spear and inserted it back into its original position.

The serpentine mark shone with a mysterious light, and a sigh came: "Take the Demon Refining Pot and go to where you came from."

Two quarters of an hour later, Gu Fan carried Lin Qian'er back to the spot where they had fallen.

Under Gu Fan's astonished gaze, the Demon Refining Pot flashed with bloody light once more, and then soared into the sky.

As the intensity increased, the flashes of blood-red light became more frequent. Upon contact with the golden array patterns, it exploded violently, tearing a hole in the array.

"Hurry up!" Chang Yuan shouted.

When the formation showed a gap, the anti-air effect disappeared. Gu Fan immediately realized what was happening, used his escape technique to take to the air, and managed to slip out just before the formation closed up again.