High Martial: I Can Copy All Root Bones!

"I can’t explain the specific reasons to you."

"Right now, I need to ask a favor of you. Infiltrate the Lan Family’s residence and gather intelligence about the Dark Buddha Demon Sect. With your skills as the Thief Saint, that shouldn’t be too difficult, right?" Lu Changfeng said.

The newspaper only said Xuansha was caught but not yet dead. Lu Changfeng couldn’t possibly believe this publicly released information; he needed Teng Xiaofan to go and confirm it himself.

Teng Xiaofan cracked his neck. "Heh heh, this is just the kind of exciting stuff I love to do. I’m off!"

Teng Xiaofan activated his Lightweight Skill, and with a few flickers of his body, he leaped over the courtyard wall.

Lu Changfeng was more or less used to Teng Xiaofan’s personality. Though the young man’s words were flighty, he was reliable when it came to getting things done.

’Hopefully, with his Lightweight Skill and Transformation Ability, he can uncover Xuansha’s current situation.’

’Is the Lan Family releasing this news now to set a trap for the Saint Demon Sect?’

’Or is it simply to let certain people know that Xuansha isn’t dead?’

Lu Changfeng felt the second possibility was more likely.

After all, the Saint Demon Sect’s power was immense. For the mere Lan Family to provoke them, let alone set a trap, was simply an overestimation of their own abilities.

Not even if they included the Four Great Escort Agencies.

’Tsk tsk, Xuansha’s strength is truly terrifying. The Lan Family Patriarch was killed on the spot, and three of the Chiefs of the Escort Agency from the Four Great Escort Agencies died instantly.’

’In the end, it took the Lan Family’s Rebirth Realm Ancestor to finally subdue Xuansha.’

This information was all reported in a special column in the [Hundred Knows Thousand]. To be so detailed, it must have come from the mouths of the Lan Family themselves.

’On one hand, it reports the Lan Family’s heavy losses.’

’On the other hand, it reveals that the Lan Family actually has a Rebirth Realm Ancestor.’

Lu Changfeng couldn’t quite grasp the Lan Family’s intentions.

Since the Lan Family Ancestor had already come out of seclusion, he was naturally the one calling the shots for the Lan Family now.

What was making the Lan Family Ancestor so wary?

While Lu Changfeng was thinking.

「The Lan Family Residence.」

「Inside a subterranean prison.」

An old man with graying hair but skin as smooth as a baby’s stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

Before him, Xuansha hung suspended in mid-air, his limbs bound by iron chains as thick as a man’s thigh.

Iron spikes had been driven into the vital acupoints on his body to prevent him from circulating his energy and breaking free.

"I have already had yesterday’s events published in the newspaper. Since you claim the Saint Demon Sect’s Saint Master has appeared in the world, let’s just see if your Saint Master will come to save you," the Lan Family Ancestor said in a flat tone.

Xuansha struggled to lift his eyelids and look at the old man before him, softly chanting, "Amitabha Buddha."

No matter what methods the Lan Family Ancestor used, he could not trick Xuansha into revealing any more information about the Saint Master.

"Hmph. A wolfhound of the Demon Dao, your heart is truly as hard as iron." The Lan Family Ancestor said no more, tossing the newspaper down and turning to leave.

The thing the Lan Family Ancestor was wary of was precisely this "Saint Master" that Xuansha had mentioned.

If the Saint Demon Sect’s Saint Master had truly appeared, then the rise of the Saint Demon Sect was a high probability.

That was why the Lan Family Ancestor didn’t dare kill Xuansha outright. Instead, he let him live, lest the Lan Family be left with no room to maneuver later.

Unfortunately, this old fox Xuansha had only mentioned that the Saint Master had appeared at the very beginning. After using that piece of information to save his own life, he resolutely refused to say another word.

The Lan Family Ancestor was very frustrated. If there had been a few more allied powers on par with the Lan Family when they made their move that day...

...he wouldn’t be in such a passive position now. A mere member of the Dark Buddha Demon Sect—he could have just killed him and been done with it.

But now, besides his Lan Family, not a single other top-tier power was involved in this matter.

Up-and-coming powers like the Four Great Escort Agencies were useless in the Lan Family Ancestor’s eyes.

If he tried to find allies after the fact, no one would be willing to take the blame for him.

News traveled extremely fast in the Martial Arts Realm. Once the report about the Saint Demon Sect’s Saint Master appearing was out, it quickly spread throughout the entire Martial Arts Realm.

’That foolish boy Lan Sheng... so dull-witted. If he’s dead, he’s dead.’

’I need to choose another reliable Patriarch so I can go back into seclusion.’

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy was sparse these days. A Rebirth Realm expert normally had to rely on seclusion and feigned slumber to maintain and slowly strengthen their Spirit Body.

By coming out of seclusion, the Lan Family Ancestor had certainly made a show of his power, but unfortunately, the toll on his Spirit Body was too great.

The weak Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy couldn’t quickly satisfy his Spirit Body’s absorption needs, costing the Lan Family Ancestor at least several months of bitter cultivation.

If the matter with Xuansha hadn’t been resolved yet, the Lan Family Ancestor would have already been eager to return to seclusion.

「In the subterranean prison.」

After the Lan Family Ancestor had completely walked away.

Xuansha slowly opened his eyes. There wasn’t the slightest trace of fear, pain, or regret in his gaze.

The Buddha Heart Pill was a Divine Medicine considered taboo even within the Demon Dao.

From the day Xuansha refined the Buddha Heart Pill for Lu Changfeng, he had prepared himself to suffer the backlash.

He focused his Eye Power and carefully read through the contents of the newspaper one more time.

’That old bastard from the Lan Family really chose to directly leak the news about the Saint Master’s appearance.’

’In the end, it was because I was too afraid of dying. I used the Saint Master as a shield to make that Old Monster Lan hesitate.’

’The Saint Master hasn’t fully matured yet. Fortunately, his public identity is quite good, so it should serve as a cover for now.’

’Besides, when they see this news in the paper, those other guys will probably come flocking. That might not be a bad thing... Saint Master, I hope you can hold on. Some of those guys... they aren’t as loyal as I am...’

With these thoughts, Xuansha slowly closed his eyes.

Life or death, he would leave it all to fate.

...