'Does being connected to a Forbidden Artifact mean it truly carries the Forbidden Artifact's Power of Rules?'

'Otherwise, if the arrow didn't have the Power of Rules, wouldn't it have been activated and controlled when that guy used his own Power of Rules?'

But the Unidentified Arrow showed no reaction after being fired, and that guy died so quickly.

Yang An couldn't help but have some reasonable doubts.

Unfortunately, the information box's description of the Unidentified Arrow only said that it was connected to the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect's Forbidden Artifact, stained by Kui Blood, and had become one with the Kui.

He still knew too little about Forbidden Artifacts to analyze anything meaningful.

Of course, firing that arrow had also nearly drained all the Mana and Celestial Gnomon Light from Yang An's body.

That's right, even the Celestial Gnomon Light was completely depleted.

He had only tried to infuse other powers into the arrow, but they were all sucked dry in a mere instant.

Once he touched the arrow, there was no room for maneuver; he could only passively let it drain his power completely.

So he had no choice but to catch his breath. After checking with the Bow Lady, he waited for a bit of Mana to recover in his Mora Buddha's Acupoint before quickly flying toward the place where the man had disappeared.

"Bow Lady! Is his soul still here?"

The distance of ten li was covered quickly. Upon arriving, Yang An immediately questioned the Bow Lady.

He was a Zombie God, after all. If the Bow Lady could devour his soul, the memories it contained would surely be very helpful.

The Bow Lady seemed to have recovered a little by now, but her voice was still weak and listless, suggesting she wasn't in good shape.

"Gone. Everything about him has been sealed and disintegrated."

Yang An sighed inwardly at the pity of it. He looked over, and the first thing he saw was the Unidentified Arrow lying quietly on the ground.

Besides that, there was also an irregularly shaped fragment.

When he saw the latter, Yang An suddenly grew excited.

'Is this... that guy's Forbidden Artifact Fragment?'

Walking closer, Yang An first picked up the Unidentified Arrow.

After killing the Zombie God, the silver sheen that had originally coated the arrow had dimmed. It now looked like an ordinary arrow, with nothing remarkable about it.

However, when Yang An touched it, the information box still appeared before him, its contents unchanged.

Yang An understood instantly. The arrow was probably like something that needed to be recharged; he likely wouldn't be able to use it again for a short while. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He had no choice but to store the Unidentified Arrow in his Meat Burial Talisman, then turned his gaze to the Forbidden Artifact Fragment on the ground.

The fragment was palm-sized. One half had an irregular edge, while the other half looked like a very sharp blade.

It was covered in intricate patterns, as if it were part of some sharp weapon.

He carefully picked up the fragment, and an information box immediately appeared before his eyes.

"[Living Barrier Fragment]: A Middle Grade Forbidden Artifact Fragment, originating from the Forbidden Artifact [Living Barrier]. It contains a portion of the Power of Rules that can activate and control the dead. As this item is incomplete, the duration and range when driven by its Power of Rules are limited. Anyone below the Zombie God realm who forcibly fuses with this item will suffer a fatal backlash from the Power of Rules. If used without fusion, only a maximum of one-tenth of its power can be wielded.

Cost of Use: Each use of this item's Power of Rules will drain a portion of the user's lifespan, depending on the duration and range. Fusing with this item will spontaneously activate the fuser's Heart Demon and flesh. The Heart Demon will gain partial control over the fuser's body. If the Heart Demon cannot be suppressed, the user will be devoured by it.

Status: Currently cannot be Purified. It must devour a corresponding reverse Power of Rules to be Purified!"

It was a good while before Yang An finally finished reading the contents of the information box.

This was the first time he had seen an information box with so much text.

It was also the first time he had seen the status column show the result "Currently cannot be Purified."

He never expected a single Forbidden Artifact Fragment to contain so much information, or that it would need to devour another Power of Rules to purify its cost.

'A reverse Power of Rules?'

Yang An fell into deep thought.

'What is the reverse Rule of activation?'

'Death? Annihilation? Erasure?'

'Or something else?'

'From the looks of it, I'll probably have to find another Forbidden Artifact Fragment that also contains a Power of Rules before I can use Purification.'

'Could it be because the cost of using a Forbidden Artifact Fragment is also a type of Power of Rules?'

'Unlike Cultivation and Techniques, it requires another Power of Rules to counteract it.'

At this thought, Yang An's earlier excitement instantly cooled.

Just a moment ago, he was thinking that if he could wield the Power of Rules of activation, he might be able to try it on Fugui's corpse and reanimate it.

The Corpse Manipulation Technique of Jiang Hechuan's that he had gotten from Fu Ming required things that were too cruel for him to attempt.

But it seemed using this Forbidden Artifact Fragment came with great risks and costs, so it was impossible for him to use it for now.

He could only wait until he could Purify it and remove the cost before he could use it with peace of mind.

He also stored the Forbidden Artifact Fragment in the Meat Burial Talisman. To be safe, Yang An even isolated it from all his other items.

Only after doing all this did he ask about the Bow Lady's current condition.

After all, this ancestor was currently his number one killing weapon. She was versatile, and even the Unidentified Arrow required her to unleash its mighty power.

After spending so much time together, she had long since become indispensable.

If she became limp after just one shot, it would be a huge loss for him.

"Bow Lady, are you feeling better?"

"What kind of talk is that, you little brat? You think I can't handle just that little bit of action? Are you looking down on me?"

"..."

'I wonder who it was just now who was moaning and groaning like they were about to die.'

Yang An couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"But speaking of which, you little brat, I'm really starting to like you more and more!

If your arrow can still be used, don't hold back in the future. Shoot to your heart's content! Pluck my string as much as you want!"

"Okay, okay."

Yang An nodded, giving a perfunctory reply.

It seemed the Bow Lady was fine, so he felt relieved. Time was short, and it was time to leave this place and find Wen Yin and Zhou Quan.

'I wonder where those two have run off to now?'

In the blink of an eye, Yang An used the bit of Mana he had recovered in his Mora Buddha's Acupoint to fly quickly toward the western Treasure Temple Domain.

Both Wen Yin and Zhou Quan had a Qi Seal he had left on them, so he would be able to sense their location as long as he got within a certain range.

'I hope nothing has happened to those two.'

His fight with the Zombie God hadn't been long. Plus, with the suppression from the Rules, Wen Yin's flying speed wouldn't be very fast, especially while carrying Zhou Quan. Logically, they shouldn't have gotten too far.

Sure enough, after flying for another hundred-plus li, Yang An soon sensed the Qi Seals on them.

As Yang An got closer, he found Wen Yin fighting several ugly Demon Fiends, while Zhou Quan was already on the ground, unconscious and constantly spitting up blood.

They were several Visceral Stone Realm Demon Fiends. Outside the continent, they would be considered Great Demon Fiends, but here in the Outer Continent, they were a common sight.

Wen Yin was going all out, fighting one against three. She wasn't at a disadvantage and had all three Demon Fiends suppressed.

But Zhou Quan's fate was not so good.

Yang An's worries were not unfounded. If he weren't here, it was questionable whether the two of them could have made it to the Treasure Temple Domain alive.

At this moment, Wen Yin's entire body was covered in a layer of black shadow, the red blood vessels in her eyes bulging. Although she was able to suppress the Demon Fiends, they were also Visceral Stone Realm beings and possessed an Undying Body, making them difficult to kill in a short time.

A flash of light streaked past, and a washbasin-sized ring exuding a solemn and holy light suddenly appeared in her field of vision.

In just an instant, the three Demon Fiends were ground into a pulp.

The light from the Light Wheel flared, rapidly melting the Demon Fiends into flying ash.

Wen Yin retreated rapidly to avoid being hit by the light, and only then did she sense something.

When she sensed Yang An, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The black shadow around her dissipated, revealing a weary but smiling face.

"Senior Brother!"

The Buddha's Radiant Wheel returned behind Yang An and quickly faded away.

Yang An descended from mid-air, landing in front of Wen Yin. He glanced at Zhou Quan on the ground, then reached into his Meat Burial Talisman, took out a few Elixirs, and casually used his Purification Ability.

He had obtained these Elixirs back on Sansong Mountain, but they had become useless to him after his Cultivation Level increased.

Zhou Quan's current Cultivation Realm was perfect for them. This was also a good chance for him to see if Zhou Quan would suffer a cost after taking these Purified Elixirs.

He tossed the Elixirs into Zhou Quan's mouth. Zhou Quan's pale face quickly turned rosy, and he slowly opened his eyes after a short while.

His internal injuries were healing rapidly. A large amount of black qi rose from his seven orifices and was expelled from his body; clearly, this was the latent corruption left inside him by the Demon Fiends.

When Zhou Quan regained consciousness and saw Yang An, he also seemed very excited.

But just as he was about to stand up, he collapsed powerlessly back to the ground. Not only did his whole body convulse, but he also began scratching frantically at himself.

Seeing this, Yang An understood. It seemed Purified items could indeed only be used by him. When others used them, there was no difference from the original.

"I've escaped the Zombie God's pursuit. We can't delay any longer, let's go."

Yang An said to Wen Yin, not mentioning that he had killed the Zombie God.

Revealing such a thing would bring him nothing but harm. It was better to hide his true strength and be cautious.

Wen Yin also knew the situation was still urgent and nodded immediately. But at that moment, her body suddenly went limp, and she fell toward Yang An.

Yang An subconsciously sidestepped slightly. Wen Yin fell to the ground with a THUD. The black shadow began to spread over her body, gnawing at her flesh, and a look of pain appeared on her face.

This was the cost of her powers kicking in again after her big fight with those Demon Fiends.

Looking at the two people on the ground, both suffering from different costs yet equally in pain, it was clear they wouldn't be able to move on their own for a while. Yang An sighed softly.

'It seems not having to bear the costs can be exhausting too.'

'So mentally drained...'