Burial Furnace

"Old man, we brothers are a bit short on cash lately, how about lending us some spirit stones?" The man who spoke earlier chuckled, his sword tip hovering three inches from Zhang Yuan's throat, his tone full of mockery.

Zhang Yuan felt a chill run down his spine, but managed a bitter smile: "Fellow Daoists, you jest. What spirit stones could my little crematorium possibly earn? It's barely enough to make ends meet."

At the same time, with a thought, the Immortal Transformation Furnace transformed into a stream of light that was indistinguishable to the naked eye, flew out of the furnace, and silently entered his dantian.

The speed was astonishing. Not to mention the two early Foundation Establishment cultivators in front of them, even a Golden Core cultivator might not be able to detect it.

"Enough nonsense!" the other man sneered, pushing his sword forward half an inch. "How many cultivators have died recently because of the treasure hunt in the secret realm? Those corpses should all be sent here for cremation. You dare say you haven't made any spirit stones? Hand them over honestly, and I'll spare your life! Otherwise—"

"Fellow Daoists, you've misunderstood," Zhang Yuan said with a smile, but secretly he had already activated the Xuanlin Armor. "Although there were many corpses, the cremation array consumed a great deal of energy, and all the spirit stones we earned were used to maintain the array's operation. There were really no extras—"

"court death!"

Enraged, the two men said no more and drew their swords, which transformed into two sharp, cold beams of light, aiming straight for Zhang Yuan's throat and heart.

Swift as lightning, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air.

However, just as the sword was about to touch Zhang Yuan, a layer of jet-black scales suddenly appeared on his body, covering him completely from head to toe, leaving only his eyes, mouth and nose exposed.

Ding!Ding!

Two crisp metallic clangs rang out as the two longswords struck the Xuanlin armor, only sending up a few sparks and leaving not even a white mark.

The two men felt a jolt in their hands and their arms went numb, causing them to change color simultaneously.

"A spirit weapon?!" one of them exclaimed in surprise, his eyes instantly gleaming with greed. "Hahaha, we've struck it rich! This old man's armor is actually a spirit weapon! It's worth at least two top-grade spirit stones!"

"I knew it! That old man was rolling in money!" Another man's eyes lit up, his voice trembling with excitement. "Robbing him was definitely the right decision!"

The two exchanged a smile and charged forward again, swords drawn.

This time, they held back, their swordplay even more ferocious than before, the sword energy cutting through the air in the cremation hall with a whooshing sound.

At that moment, Zhang Yuan raised his right hand.

"Fire Serpent Technique"

He uttered three words softly.

Immediately, a fire serpent about two meters long and as thick as an adult's wrist appeared out of thin air. Its entire body was as red as fire, with distinct scales and armor, and two golden flames burning in its eyes.

The fire snake slithered through the air, scorching and distorting the air in its wake, emitting a pungent, acrid smell.

"You dare to show off your mere Fire Serpent Technique?" The two sneered, their faces full of disdain.

They were all early Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they were wearing high-grade magic artifact armor. How could they possibly take a Qi Refining stage old man's low-level spell seriously?

The two men casually swung their swords, and with a flash of light, they cut the fire serpent into three pieces.

However, their smiles froze on their faces the next moment.

Although the fire serpent was severed, it was not extinguished.

The three severed pieces of the body twisted in the air like three independent fire serpents, coiling around the two people at an even faster speed, instantly binding them together.

"What...what the hell is this thing?"

The two were terrified and tried to use their true energy to shake off the flames on their bodies.

But the flames seemed to possess a spirit, flowing upstream along their true essence, penetrating their meridians, and igniting their dantian.

what--

Two piercing screams rang out almost simultaneously, only to be abruptly cut off in an instant.

The flames suddenly shot up and engulfed the two of them.

Their bodies twisted, shrank, and charred rapidly in the firelight, along with their superior magical armor and longswords, turning to ashes that fell to the ground and piled into two small heaps of black powder.

The whole process took no more than three breaths.

The primordial power surged from the two piles of ashes and flowed into Zhang Yuan's body.

His lifespan increased by three years, and at the same time, the methods for forging those two high-grade magical armors and two precious swords were imprinted into his mind like a brand.

Unfortunately, neither of them had any particular skills, so they didn't bring him any extra benefits.

However, the two storage bags remained intact in the ashes.

This was the result of Zhang Yuan's deliberate control.

He bent down and picked up two storage bags, scanned them with his divine sense, and couldn't help but shake his head.

There were only a few dozen low-grade spirit stones and some daily necessities inside, nothing else.

They must be desperate for money to take such a risk as to rob an old man who runs a crematorium.

"Oh my god..."

Duan Tian had already pushed the door open and entered, just in time to witness what had just happened.

He was dumbfounded and utterly shocked.

This old man, who was in the Qi Refining stage, was not only unharmed when he was attacked by two cultivators in the early Foundation Establishment stage. Instead, he used a low-level Fire Serpent Technique to burn them, along with their armor and swords, to ashes.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't possibly melt a high-grade magic weapon with a single Fire Serpent Technique, could they?

There is only one explanation—

This old man is a hidden master.

Duan Tian felt his heart pounding wildly, as if it were about to jump out of his throat.

He suddenly remembered many things he hadn't noticed before: Wang Hu and his four thugs had mysteriously disappeared; Mr. Li, the owner of the talisman shop, had also mysteriously vanished; because they all wanted to bully the old man...

That's it!

This senior expert, disguised as a lowly cultivator in the Qi Refining stage, opened a crematorium in Qingmu Town, living a carefree life.

Those who are blind to reason will naturally run into a brick wall and die without leaving a trace.

"Are you one of their accomplices too?" Zhang Yuan looked in the direction of the voice, his voice icy cold, carrying a hint of murderous intent.

Duan Tian snapped out of his daze and quickly waved his hands, "Senior, you've misunderstood! I'm not with them! I'm here to cremate the body!"

As he spoke, he swiftly retrieved a bulging body bag from his storage pouch, respectfully placed it on the ground, and then removed his mask to reveal his face: "Senior, please look. I am Duan Tian. I once had a body cremated here. I have always lived in Qingmu Town and am a rogue cultivator. If you don't believe me, you can ask Old Man Xia; he recognizes me."

Zhang Yuan stared at him for a moment, then slowly nodded.

He did indeed remember Duan Tian.

Although he had come wearing a mask before, he had seen Duan Tian a few times at Old Man Xia's shop and knew that this person was indeed a rogue cultivator from Qingmu Town, and was usually quite well-behaved.

"Then bring it over for cremation."

With a thought, Zhang Yuan sent the Immortal Transformation Furnace flying out of his dantian and into the furnace.

Duan Tian quickly responded, picked up the body bag, walked over, and threw it into the furnace.

Dark golden flames suddenly erupted, engulfing the body bag and burning it to ashes in moments.

A wisp of primordial power surged into Zhang Yuan's body, increasing his lifespan by approximately five months.

Duan Tian immediately took out two mid-grade spirit stones from his pocket and presented them with both hands.

Zhang Yuan took it and nodded.

Duan Tian, ​​however, did not leave. He stood there rubbing his hands together, his face plastered with a fawning smile, and said a lot of flattering things, such as "Senior's magic is boundless," "Senior is so carefree in the world," and "Junior admires you to the point of prostration." Zhang Yuan felt his scalp tingle as he listened.