Thus, over the following period, Lin Xuan first focused his efforts on purifying several hundred Low-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pills and twenty Mid-Grade Pills.
The purification of the low-grade pills went very smoothly, while the mid-grade pills took longer. His use of the Blue Light Spot had also reached a bottleneck. If he wanted to make a breakthrough, his cultivation had to rise another level, because the amount of energy in the Star Sea was directly proportional to his spiritual power.
The reason Lin Xuan purified so many pills in one go was that he planned to enter seclusion and cultivate for a time. This time, no matter what, he had to enter the late stage of the Spirit Agility Realm and reach the fifth layer of his cultivation art.
Having set his goal, Lin Xuan began working toward it. Everything was now fully prepared.
Yet while Lin Xuan was purifying pills, the Cultivation World of Yanzhou in the Zhao State began to feel like a storm was about to break. Turmoil hung in the air. Conflicts between cultivation lineages erupted without end. Though the major sects had not yet come to blows and still maintained restraint, they had exchanged no small number of verbal barbs. Rogue cultivators were all in fear for their lives.
The fuse was the dissolution of the Lingyun Sect. Lingyun Sect had offended a great Core Condensation Realm expert and been forced to disband. Though the other sects said nothing aloud, they were secretly delighted. The reason was simple: there were benefits everywhere. First, they could carve up Lingyun Sect's territory.
Second, they had obtained quite a few treasures from the trade fair. Though Lingyun Sect was small, its thousand years of accumulated wealth were still exceedingly tempting.
It should have been an occasion of universal joy, but who could have expected that, after the trade fair, a string of accidents would occur? First, disciples dispatched by the renowned Wang Family were ambushed and killed, while the cultivation arts and treasures they had purchased were stolen as well.
Yan Tianheng had fancied himself an old fox, but his thoughts had not been meticulous enough. He had been somewhat careless and left behind a few faint traces. The Wang Family was enraged. They were the foremost cultivation lineage within thousands of miles; when had they ever suffered such a loss? Three Foundation Establishment Realm elders came to their door, demanding that the Yan Family pay for life with life.
At this point, there seemed to be no suspense. The Wang Family was strong, the Yan Family weak. Moreover, Yan Tianheng had killed and robbed for treasure. Though the Cultivation World respected strength above all else, lineages still had to leave one another some face. Yan Tianheng had gone too far in this matter, leaving no room for mediation.
The three Wang Family elders had originally intended to make Yan Tianheng pay with his life. Yet upon arriving, they discovered that the Yan Family's head and his son had vanished without a trace. Only elderly people, women, children, and low-level cultivators remained in the household.
When Lin Xuan did things, he truly left no drop unaccounted for. No one knew that the father and son of the Yan Family had already been laid to eternal rest in that nameless forest. The Wang Family elders merely assumed that the truth had come to light and the pair had abandoned their home and fled.
They were furious beyond measure. One hot-tempered elder wanted to wipe out the Yan Family on the spot, but the other two stopped him. Naturally, it was not because they were kindhearted or unable to bring themselves to act, but because they were unwilling to stir up an even greater storm before the matter had been clarified.
Although the Yan Family was merely a medium-sized cultivation lineage, it had deep ties with the Fire Spirit Sect. In truth, it was not only the Yan Family; the Wang Family likewise had close relations with Floating Cloud Valley.
One had to know that in the Cultivation World, sects were the greatest powers. Unless a cultivation lineage possessed an extraordinarily formidable expert, it would choose to attach itself to a sect.
As for whom they attached themselves to, each lineage made a different choice. Some chose a nearby sect in the same region, making it easier to look after one another. Some had ancestors who had originally been disciples of that sect. Others formed ties through marriage alliances. There were all manner of reasons...
Yan Tianheng had been in the wrong from the start. He had killed and robbed without leaving any face, so if they demanded his life, the Fire Spirit Sect would have nothing to say. After all, if they refused to be reasonable, Floating Cloud Valley behind the Wang Family would also intervene. But now that Yan Tianheng and his son had disappeared, if the Wang Family exterminated the Yan Family to vent its anger, the Fire Spirit Sect would certainly not stand idly by. In that case, by all reason, the Wang Family would be at fault.
Though the Cultivation World spoke with fists, that was only when the disparity in strength between two sides was vast. If both sides were evenly matched and neither wished to suffer mutual ruin, then they had to "reason things out."
Thus, the Wang Family elders left behind harsh words and drifted away. But they did not go far. They split into two groups: one returned to report the matter and gather disciples to search for Yan Tianheng, while the other two lay in wait near the Yan Family, watching them like hunters waiting for rabbits by a tree stump.
Upon hearing that their family head had caused a tremendous disaster, the Yan Family members stood dumbstruck, their faces drained of color. At first, they thought there had been some misunderstanding and wanted to wait for Yan Tianheng to return and explain it clearly. But as time passed, there was still no trace of the Yan father and son. Their bewilderment turned into suspicion. They believed their family head had fallen victim to the Wang Family elders, who were now concealing the truth by falsely accusing him of killing their people and then coming to their door to demand justice.
Naturally, the Yan Family refused to accept this and sought help from the Fire Spirit Sect.
As its name implied, the Fire Spirit Sect specialized in fire-attribute cultivation arts. In terms of strength, it ranked second among the sects of Yanzhou, only a hair weaker than Floating Cloud Valley.
Though its sect master was only in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it also had a senior elder in the Core Condensation Realm. That elder possessed great spiritual power, but was extremely lecherous in character. Yan Tianheng's second daughter happened to be one of the concubines favored by that elder.
With this connection, and with the Fire Spirit Sect and Floating Cloud Valley having long competed for supremacy over Yanzhou's Cultivation World, there had already been bad blood between them. They had merely restrained their dissatisfaction out of mutual wariness.
Now, the Yan Family and Wang Family each told a different story. One side said several disciples had been ambushed and killed, their treasures and cultivation arts stolen. The other claimed its family head had been murdered, only for the enemy to bite back and falsely accuse him. In short, the grudge between two cultivation lineages had dragged the two great sects, Floating Cloud Valley and the Fire Spirit Sect, into the affair.
Once these two giants moved, the other sects of Yanzhou naturally could not remain untouched. Some were friendly with the Fire Spirit Sect, while others had old ties with Floating Cloud Valley, forming two opposing alliances.
Fortunately, arguments were arguments and commotion was commotion; the leaders of the major sects were not fools. Once a conflict ignited, both sides would surely suffer ruin together. Thus, for now, it remained limited to verbal warfare.
Yet the scent of gunpowder was already thick in the air. Rogue cultivators were alarmed by every rustle of wind and cry of crane, terrified that one careless step would sweep them into the storm and bring catastrophe down upon their heads.
The other cultivation lineages, of course, spoke for the sects to which they were attached, and the arguments boiled furiously. Unlike the sects, they did not have so many scruples. Those with old grudges took the chance to retaliate, and in the past few days, cultivation lineages had begun clashing one after another.
In short, the matter was only growing bigger and bigger.
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