Chapter 43: Soul-Swallowing Technique, Swallow the Soul

Just as Jiang Fan committed the Seven-Day Heart-Devouring Powder poison to memory and prepared to attempt refining the antidote, a sudden thought struck him.

"That's right! Hasn't Old Devil Xu been subdued by me? Why am I bothering to refine the antidote myself? Why not just have him refine it for me?" At this thought, Jiang Fan immediately broke into a smile.

Swish!

Old Devil Xu, who was previously still recovering his soul body inside the Soul-Controlling Bell, suddenly appeared right inside the alchemy room.

"Xu Renyi pays respects to Master! I wonder what business the Master has in summoning me?" Old Devil Xu hurriedly and respectfully bowed to Jiang Fan.

"Old Xu, do you remember the Seven-Day Heart-Devouring Powder poison you made me drink?" Jiang Fan looked at Old Devil Xu's soul body with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"Ma... Master, it is all this lowly one's fault. This lowly one should never have done such a thing, this lowly one deserves to slap his own face..." As he spoke, Old Devil Xu directly raised his illusory hand and struck his equally illusory face.

He struck his own face with ruthless severity. Now that he was Jiang Fan's soul slave, he had to obey Jiang Fan's every command.

Panicking and full of dread, he naturally had to punish himself severely, as that was the only way to possibly win Jiang Fan's forgiveness.

Jiang Fan simply watched quietly without a word. Although Old Devil Xu's hand and face were both illusory, his soul body was not weak, and he could indeed deal real blows to his own face. Immediately, the sounds of slap, slap, slap... echoed through the alchemy room, a sound that Jiang Fan found remarkably pleasant and gratifying.

When Jiang Fan noticed that Old Devil Xu's soul body had grown somewhat more translucent from the beatings, he finally spoke up, "Alright! Brew the antidote for the Seven-Day Heart-Devouring Powder, and I will forgive you!"

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!" Old Devil Xu hurriedly stopped slapping himself. Although he no longer possessed a physical body, his soul body could still feel pain. He hastily looked at Jiang Fan and said, "Master, at present, your subordinate is only in the form of a soul body, no different from what mortals call a ghost. Therefore, there is no spiritual energy within my body. Although your subordinate can still use the soul body to refine the antidote, without the assistance of spiritual energy, the antidote cannot truly be successfully brewed."

"Oh? Is there a solution?" Jiang Fan frowned slightly.

"Yes! Of course there is. When your subordinate refines the antidote, Master only needs to drop two or three drops of your fresh blood to serve as the medicinal guide. As a cultivator, Master's blood contains a gentle aura of spiritual energy, which can naturally be used as a base to imbue the antidote with spiritual essence," Old Devil Xu hastily replied.

"Very well, then begin refining the antidote for me right now," Jiang Fan ordered.

"Understood, Master! However, I must ask Master to first drop two or three drops of fresh blood so that your subordinate can add them directly during the refinement process," Old Devil Xu said quickly.

Rip!

Without a moment of hesitation, Jiang Fan took out the precious saber he had obtained from the chief bandit and sliced his finger. Instantly, several drops of fresh blood welled up. Jiang Fan collected them in a small jade vial and handed it to Old Devil Xu.

"Your subordinate will safely keep Master's blood for now. However, my soul power is still very weak and needs some recovery before I can refine the antidote for Master. After all, given my current soul body state—" Old Devil Xu quickly accepted the vial and spoke with a solemn expression.

"Recover soul power? How long will that take?" Jiang Fan frowned. The time limit for the periodic dose of the antidote he had taken last time was fast approaching. Although Old Devil Xu had left behind a few temporary relief pills in his storage bag, if it took too long and his periodic antidotes ran out completely, death would be his only outcome.

"Reporting to Master, my soul body is currently too weak. It will likely take two to three months to recover to the point where I can pick up physical objects. Only then will your subordinate be able to refine the antidote for Master," Old Devil Xu said respectfully.

"Two or three months? No! Find a way, it must be brewed ahead of time," Jiang Fan said coldly, a chilling murderous intent radiating from his body.

Feeling the murderous intent emanating from Jiang Fan, Old Devil Xu's soul body could not help but tremble. After a moment, he mustered his courage and said, "There... there is a way to speed it up, only..."

Old Devil Xu hesitated, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"Only what? Speak!" Jiang Fan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"If Master could allow me to devour the chief bandit's soul body, this old man could instantly recover my state and reach the peak level directly. That way, I would be able to refine the antidote for Master right away." As he spoke, Old Devil Xu could not help but swallow hard, revealing an expression of intense yearning.

"Devour a soul body? You wouldn't be trying to use this as an excuse to break free from my control, would you?" Jiang Fan's gaze turned icy as he looked at Old Devil Xu with meaningful intent.

"This subordinate wouldn't dare! Your subordinate is utterly loyal to the Master and would never dare commit an act of defiance. Furthermore, since I am now the Master's soul slave, a single thought from you would cause my soul to scatter into nothingness! This subordinate would never dare to harbor rebellious intentions, please examine my heart, Master!" Old Devil Xu dropped directly to his knees before Jiang Fan, speaking with a look of absolute panic and dread.

"I trust you wouldn't dare! Very well, since you can consume other soul bodies, go ahead and devour him! Then brew the antidote for me as quickly as possible. If you dare play any little tricks, I will show no mercy," Jiang Fan said coldly. Now that he had turned the tables and gone from being controlled to becoming the controller, he naturally had no fear of Old Devil Xu betraying him.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master! Your subordinate will begin right now! I only ask that Master suppress the chief bandit's soul body so that he cannot offer any resistance," Old Devil Xu said eagerly.

"You may devour him." With a thought, Jiang Fan directly exerted his will to suppress the chief bandit, preventing him from daring to resist.

Old Devil Xu immediately flew back into the Soul-Controlling Bell and opened his mouth. At once, a terrifying suction force emanated from within.

"No..." The chief bandit's soul body screamed in terror. Overwhelmed by instinctive fear, he fought back frantically even under the suppression of Jiang Fan's will.

Unfortunately, his resistance was futile. Old Devil Xu seemed to wield a terrifying technique, forcibly and vividly swallowing him down whole as the chief bandit's form rapidly shrank.

Old Devil Xu immediately crossed his legs right where he was, but his soul body was rapidly solidifying. Within just a few breaths, his soul body became as dense as Xiao An's had been, looking almost tangible.

Moreover, the aura emitted by Old Devil Xu's soul body was far more formidable than Xiao An's.

"Hahaha, excellent, excellent. The 'Soul Devouring Art' I accidentally acquired in my early years is truly defying of the heavens. Not only can it allow ordinary mortal souls like Xiao An's to grow immensely powerful through devouring other souls, but it can also make a cultivator's soul body incomparably strong... You little brat Jiang Fan, once I devour more souls and grow strong enough, I will reverse this master-servant dynamic and make you pay an unimaginably heavy price..." Old Devil Xu muttered inwardly to himself, a flash of cruelty crossing his eyes.