The Storm Approaches

With that, Lin Xuan spent the following time concentrating his energy on refining several hundred low-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills and twenty mid-grade ones.

The refining of the low-grade pills went very smoothly, while the mid-grade ones were slower. His application of the blue light spots had also reached a bottleneck; to achieve a breakthrough, his cultivation level had to reach the next stage, as the size of the Star Sea energy was directly proportional to his mana.

The reason he refined so many pills in one go was that Lin Xuan intended to enter secluded meditation for a period of time. This time, he was determined to enter the late stage of Spirit Movement and reach the fifth level of his cultivation technique.

Having set his goal, Lin Xuan began to work toward it; now, everything was fully prepared.

During the time Lin Xuan spent refining pills, the cultivation world of Yanzhou in the Zhao State began to feel as if a storm were brewing. It was restless and uneasy, with constant friction between various cultivation families. Although the major sects had not yet taken action and maintained restraint, they had engaged in plenty of verbal sparring, leaving the rogue cultivators in a state of constant anxiety.

The fuse was the dissolution of the Lingyun Sect. Because the Lingyun Sect had offended a powerful expert in the Core Condensation realm, they were forced to disband. While the other sects didn't say it aloud, they were secretly gloating. The reason was simple: there were many benefits to be had. First, they could carve up the territory of the Lingyun Sect.

Secondly, they had obtained many treasures from the trade fair. Although the Lingyun Sect was small, its thousand-year accumulation was still quite mouth-watering.

It should have been a joyous occasion for all, but who could have known that after the trade fair, a series of accidents would occur? First, the famous cultivation family, the Wang Family, had their dispatched disciples ambushed and killed, and the techniques and treasures they had acquired were subsequently stolen.

Yan Tianheng considered himself an old fox, but his mind was not meticulous enough, and he was a bit careless, leaving behind a few traces. The Wang Family was furious; they were the premier cultivation family for thousands of miles around, and they had never suffered such a loss. Three elders in the Foundation Establishment realm came knocking, demanding that the Yan Family pay with their lives.

The matter seemed to have no suspense at this point: the Wang Family was strong, and the Yan Family was weak. Furthermore, Yan Tianheng had killed people and stolen treasures. Although the cultivation world respected power, families usually maintained a shred of decorum. Yan Tianheng had gone too far, leaving no room for negotiation.

The three elders of the Wang Family originally intended to make Yan Tianheng pay with his life, but upon arriving, they discovered that the head of the Yan Family and his son were nowhere to be found. Only some elderly, women, children, and low-level cultivators remained in the residence.

Lin Xuan did things with true perfection; no one knew that the father and son of the Yan Family were already sleeping forever in that nameless forest. The Wang Family elders assumed that the matter had been exposed and that they had abandoned their home and fled.

They were incredibly angry. One hot-tempered elder wanted to wipe out the entire Yan Family on the spot, but he was dissuaded by the other two. Of course, they weren't being kind or unable to bring themselves to do it; they simply didn't want to stir up a larger storm before the matter was clarified.

Although the Yan Family was only a mid-sized cultivation family, they had deep ties with the Fire Spirit Sect. In fact, it wasn't just the Yan Family; the Wang Family was also on good terms with the Floating Cloud Valley.

One must know that in the cultivation world, sects were the greatest powers. Unless a cultivation family truly possessed an incredible expert, they would choose to attach themselves to a sect.

As for whom they attached themselves to, each family made different choices. Some were in the same region and closer, allowing for better protection; some had ancestors who were originally disciples of that sect; others did so through marriage, and so on.

Yan Tianheng was in the wrong first; he had killed and robbed without mercy. If he were to pay with his life, the Fire Spirit Sect would have nothing to say. After all, if they were unreasonable, the Floating Cloud Valley behind the Wang Family would intervene. But now that Yan Tianheng and his son were missing, if the Wang Family wiped out the entire Yan Family to vent their anger, the Fire Spirit Sect would certainly not stand idly by. In terms of logic, that would make the Wang Family in the wrong.

Although the cultivation world spoke with their fists, that was only when the gap in strength between the two sides was vast. If both sides were evenly matched and neither wanted to suffer mutual destruction, then they had to "reason."

Thus, the Wang Family elders left behind harsh words and departed gracefully, but they did not go far. Instead, they split into two groups: one returned to report the news and mobilize disciples to search for Yan Tianheng, while the other two stayed behind to lie in wait, monitoring the area around the Yan Family.

Hearing that their family head had caused such a catastrophe, the people of the Yan Family were also stunned and terrified. At first, they thought there was some misunderstanding and wanted to wait for Yan Tianheng to return and explain, but as time passed, the father and son remained nowhere to be found. They went from hesitation to suspicion, believing that their family head had been murdered by the Wang Family elders, who were now framing him for killing their people to cover up the truth and coming to their door to demand justice.

The Yan Family, naturally, refused to accept this and sought help from the Fire Spirit Sect.

The Fire Spirit Sect, as the name suggests, specialized in fire-attribute techniques. In terms of strength, they ranked second among the sects in Yanzhou, only slightly behind the Floating Cloud Valley.

Although their sect leader was in the Foundation Establishment realm, they also had a senior elder in the Core Condensation realm. While that elder possessed high mana, he was also quite lecherous, and Yan Tianheng's second daughter was one of the concubines he favored.

With this connection, coupled with the fact that the Fire Spirit Sect and the Floating Cloud Valley had long been competing for the position of hegemon in the Yanzhou cultivation world, there was already friction between them; they had simply suppressed their dissatisfaction due to mutual caution.

Now, with the Yan Family and the Wang Family each sticking to their own story—one side claiming their disciples were ambushed and their treasures stolen, the other claiming their family head was murdered and they were being framed—the grievances between the two cultivation families dragged the two major sects, the Floating Cloud Valley and the Fire Spirit Sect, into the fray.

Once these two giants moved, the other sects in Yanzhou naturally could not stay out of it. Some were on good terms with the Fire Spirit Sect, while others had old ties with the Floating Cloud Valley, forming two opposing alliances.

Fortunately, while there was plenty of shouting and commotion, the leaders of the major sects were not stupid. Once a conflict ignited, it would certainly result in mutual destruction, so for now, it was limited to verbal sparring.

However, the atmosphere was already thick with the smell of gunpowder. Rogue cultivators were on edge, fearing that if they were not careful, they would be swept into the chaos and face disaster.

As for the other cultivation families, they naturally spoke in favor of the sects they were attached to, making a huge clamor. Unlike the sects, they didn't have as many concerns, and those who already had grudges took the opportunity to retaliate. In the past few days, there had already been successive clashes between cultivation families.

In short, the situation was only growing larger.