The black figure didn’t dare to fight and chose to escape. Azure Billow City was more terrifying than he thought, and he needed to deliver this information back to the Xue Clan.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Liu Wuxie couldn’t let the black figure escape and risk having his information exposed. He was like an eagle as he spread his arms apart, and his punch targeted the black figure’s back in the form of a dragon-shaped true essence.

Everything happened so fast that the black figure had no time to dodge before he was struck by Liu Wuxie’s attack and sent flying away, smashing into the ground at the edge of the cliff. He was already at his last breath because Liu Wuxie had executed his punch angrily.

Liu Wuxie blocked the way out, and the black figure sat up with great difficulty with the cliff behind him. He would die if he fell down the cliff. He coughed up mouthfuls of blood as Liu Wuxie’s attack had shattered his heart pulse, and his cultivation was gone even if he could leave this place alive.

The black figure was despondent as a gust of wind blew up from the cliff, causing his hair to flutter. He revealed a tragic smile, his white teeth looking ghastly in the moonlight. Clutching his chest to stop coughing, fear flickered in his eyes.

“Did the Xue Clan send you?” asked Liu Wuxie, not bothering to inquire about the black figure’s identity. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the black figure’s eyes, knowing that they were the windows to the soul and that even the slightest hint of emotion in his eyes would not escape his notice.

The black figure’s gaze flickered when Liu Wuxie mentioned the Xue Clan.

“So it’s really the Xue Clan!” Liu Wuxie made his judgment from the emotional fluctuation in the black figure’s eyes. But he didn’t expect the Xue Clan to make a move so quickly when the Investigation Team had just left that night.

“Brat, I’m not afraid to tell you about it since you’ve guessed my identity. It won’t take long for everyone from your Xu Clan to die!” The black figure let out a sinister burst of laughter and spat out a mouthful of blood, his life force weakening.

“How many people did the Xue Clan send to target the Xu Clan besides you?” Liu Wuxie was worried that other experts might lurk in Azure Billow City, which would be unfavorable to the Xu Clan if they were hiding. The Xu Clan had just gotten on the right track, and what happened that night was troublesome.

A cold breeze blew on the ground, stirring up the dead leaves. It was late autumn now, and the temperature was low.

“You’ll never know!” hissed the black figure through gritted teeth before leaping off the cliff. With his heart pulse shattered by Liu Wuxie, he knew he wouldn’t make it out alive, so he chose to end his own life rather than reveal anything.

Liu Wuxie stood on the cliff’s edge, looking down at the abyss in deep thought. He didn’t consider the Wan and Tian Clans to be threats, but the Xue Clan was different; they had experts at the Marrow Cleansing Realm. He would only be able to face such experts if he reached the Spirit Cleansing Realm and could wield more of an Immortal Emperor’s powers.

The sound of hurried footsteps approached from behind as Xu Yilin arrived with his guards. The other oil mill was unharmed, and Xu Yilin had been worried that Liu Wuxie might be in danger when he returned, so he had rushed over.

“Wuxie, what happened?” Xu Yilin asked with concern, noticing the bloodstains on the ground.

The guards fanned out to guard against any potential ambushes while Xu Yilin stepped forward to stand beside Liu Wuxie at the edge of the cliff, feeling the cold wind on his face.

“Father-in-law, did you manage to find any other clues?” inquired Liu Wuxie. The Xue Clan must have sent more than one person, and there were likely still others lurking in the shadows.

“No clues for now. What happened here?” Xu Yilin asked with a concerned expression. His daughter wasn’t there, and Liu Wuxie was now holding up the Xu Clan. Without Liu Wuxie, the Xu Clan would’ve ceased to exist with so many things happening recently. These events were unknown to the outside world, and only Xu Yilin knew them best.

“That was an expert sent by the Xue Clan. I suspect there might be more lurking in the dark, so we need to strengthen our guard to avoid something like this happening again.” The Xu Clan couldn’t afford any more losses. They had spent a huge sum of gold coins purchasing materials for spiritual arrays, and it would take a long time for them to recover.

“Imperial Capital’s Xue Clan?” Xu Yilin’s body shook. To the Xu Clan, the Xue Clan was a giant they couldn’t afford to offend.

“Yeah.”

Both men fell silent, with Xu Yilin furrowing his brow as he contemplated the future of the Xu Clan. They had only just managed to send away the Investigation Team with great difficulty, and now this had happened. They stood for about fifteen minutes before they turned around and walked down the mountain. Hopefully nothing else would happen tonight.

Upon returning to Xu Clan, there was no time to rest as they called all the deacons over to discuss a countermeasure. Orders were swiftly issued to strengthen the patrol of their weaponry workshops and other assets because they couldn’t afford any more losses.

Soon, only Xu Yilin and Liu Wuxie remained in the main hall, with Xu Yilin sighing and looking concerned. The Xu Clan had experienced many ups and downs over the past decade or so, but what happened in the past month was enough to destroy them.

“Wuxie, the Imperial Academy’s recruitment will take place in a month’s time, and I hope you’ll consider joining. You’ll be able to accelerate your cultivation, and you and Xue’er can look after each other. You don’t have to worry about the clan with me around,” Xu Yilin said. Azure Billow City was too small for someone like Liu Wuxie, judging from the talent he had demonstrated recently. It wasn’t an understatement to call Liu Wuxie a monstrous genius, and his potential would be wasted if he stayed behind in Azure Billow City.

“I already plan on doing that. But before leaving, I will help father-in-law to reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm. At that time, the Xue Clan will be of no concern even if they come again. After all, they probably won’t send Marrow Cleansing Realm experts over,” replied Liu Wuxie, nodding. He planned to go to Imperial City to acquire more resources for cultivation and to get revenge on Baili Qing by returning her humiliation tenfold.

“I’m already old, and I have exhausted my potential. My chances of reaching the Marrow Cleansing Realm aren’t high since I failed to do so before turning forty,” sighed Xu Yilin. Due to injuries he had sustained when he was young, his meridians showed signs of deterioration, meaning he had no hope of reaching the Marrow Cleansing Realm in his lifetime.

One would undergo a drastic transformation after reaching Marrow Cleansing Realm. Qi Enshi was older than Xu Yilin but looked much younger because he had reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm and could delay the aging process.

“I have a mantra here, and you can study it. You should be able to reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm in a month at most.” Liu Wuxie recited the mantra, and Xu Yilin remembered it by heart. The mantra consisted of about three hundred words, each filled with profundity. The mantra made Xu Yilin feel like he consumed ginseng, and the true essence in his body began to circulate even if he didn’t cultivate it.

“What a profound mantra!” exclaimed Xu Yilin, opening his eyes and looking at Liu Wuxie with newfound respect. If such a mantra were to be leaked to the outside world, it would cause a huge uproar, as many people were stuck at the Spirit Cleansing Realm.

“I’ll not disturb your rest any longer!” said Liu Wuxie, standing up. He knew that his father-in-law couldn’t wait to start cultivating. After Liu Wuxie left, Xu Yilin couldn’t hold back any longer and immediately sat down to begin circulating his true essence according to the mantra. His true essence surged within him like a wild beast.

......

Returning to his courtyard, Liu Wuxie felt a sense of urgency after encountering an expert from the Xue Clan at the fifth level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm. Would he still be able to face his enemies if they sent experts at the seventh, eighth, or ninth levels of the Spirit Cleansing Realm? The answer was uncertain.

Liu Wuxie had exhausted all the spirit stones, and his cultivation speed had slowed, relying on the Desolate Devouring Art alone without resources. After all, he couldn’t possibly just slaughter people for their essence as it was sinful and against the harmony of heaven.

“It looks like I have to refine a third-grade pill!” In addition to absorbing the spiritual energy from the surroundings, pills were also indispensable. The Heavenly Spirit Pill was only a second-grade pill, and it was adequate for those in the Houtian Realm, but they were no longer suitable for Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie rested for two hours before dawn arrived. What happened last night had become the main topic of discussion in Azure Billow City. Liu Wuxie spent the night refining two hundred Heavenly Spirit Pills and left the Xu Clan, heading for the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

He was welcomed with the highest standards when he arrived at the Treasure Pill Pavilion. Four people sat around a table as Bi Gongyu politely poured a cup of tea for Liu Wuxie.

“How long will it take for the Treasure Pill Pavilion to gather the required materials?” Liu Wuxie went straight to the point. The Treasure Pill Pavilion was the biggest herbs supplier in Azure Billow City, and Liu Wuxie could only entrust them to gather the herbs he needed. Furthermore, refining a third-grade pill also required special fire, so Liu Wuxie would have to borrow the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s alchemy chamber.

“These are materials for refining third-grade pills. Young Master Liu, are you planning to refine third-grade pills?” Bi Gongyu narrowed his eyes when he saw the materials on the list. It had taken him decades to barely become a three-star alchemist. But Liu Wuxie wanted to refine a third-grade pill at such a young age. So how could Bi Gongyu not be shocked about that?

Master Huo had lived most of his life and was still a one-star alchemist, which showed how tough it was for an alchemist to make a breakthrough.

“That’s right!” confirmed Liu Wuxie. After searching his memory for some time, he had settled on a pill and removed over ten precious herbs from the recipe. This meant that the effects would be significantly reduced, but it was still suitable for his current level of cultivation.

“Young Master Liu, can you tell me the name of this pill?” Bi Gongyu’s eyes shone brightly. Even Master Huo leaned over and looked at Liu Wuxie eagerly.

“The Origin Yang Pill!” Liu Wuxie didn’t hide it from them. The Origin Yang Pill was a pill of the lowest grade in the Celestial Realm, and it could barely be considered a third-grade pill after removing ten-odd precious herbs from the recipe.

Bi Gongyu exchanged a gaze with Master Huo, and they could see the doubt in each other’s eyes. They had never heard of the Origin Yang Pill before, but they naturally believed Liu Wuxie’s words after seeing the success of the Heavenly Spirit Pill.

“Young Master Liu, some of the herbs will need to be transported from our other branches, and it will take one or two days. I have a request—if you agree to it, I will provide the herbs for free,” said Bi Gongyu. The value of the herbs was high, and Liu Wuxie wasn’t planning on refining just one pill; the total cost would be as high as 100,000 gold coins, so it was surprising that Bi Gongyu was offering them for free.

“Pavilion Master, you can tell me your request.” Liu Wuxie owed Bi Gongyu a favor, and he would agree with Bi Gongyu’s request as long as it wasn’t too unreasonable.

“I’ll be honest with you... Our Treasure Pill Pavilion has encountered a problem, and I believe only you can help us. But I promise that when it’s done, you won’t be disappointed,” said Bi Gongyu, looking embarrassed. Master Huo sighed when Bi Gongyu mentioned it before sitting back down.

“Tell me, what trouble are you facing?” Liu Wuxie asked. He was surprised the Treasure Pill Pavilion would also run into trouble.

“Every year, our headquarters in the Imperial City hosts an alchemist competition to promote the exchange and development of alchemists. This year, the competition will be held in Zen City. We have three days left and have always ranked second to last. However, the situation is a little different this year: the branch that ranks last will have to close down. I hope that Young Master Liu can represent us and participate in the competition,” explained Bi Gongyu, looking ashamed. Master Huo was so embarrassed that he wanted to run away, as he had always been the one to participate in the competition in the past.

He had always ranked second to last, but this time it was different because the branch that ranked last would have to close down.

Since Liu Wuxie was capable of refining the Heavenly Spirit Pill, Bi Gongyu hoped that he would at least avoid coming in last place, even if he couldn’t achieve a high ranking.

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