The sun and moon turned in their cycle.
A full day passed before Old Xiang finally stabilized his realm.
He thoroughly settled the originally fluctuating mana within his dantian.
He was now a genuine third-layer Qi Refiner.
Old Xiang boiled two large pots of water, poured them into a wooden tub, and gave himself a proper bath.
He washed away the impurities on the surface of his skin.
Because becoming a Qi Refiner cleansed his meridians and marrow, internal impurities seeped from his pores like rotting mud, clinging to his skin and clothes. They stank as foul as sludge from a gutter.
The moon hung over the treetops, and the old crows dozed.
Old Xiang changed into fresh robes. Even the oil lamp he had once dared not burn too brightly to save money had its wick trimmed, making it shine brighter.
He ground ink and took a brush from the rack on his desk.
Spreading out a sheet of rice paper, he bent over the desk and wrote a letter.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Old Xiang finished writing, blew on the ink, folded the letter, and put it away.
Then Old Xiang cleaned the house inside and out, and repaired the graves of his wife and child in the back courtyard.
After thinking it over, he decided to exhume his wife and child.
If he died and someone else bought this residence, his wife and child would be disturbed where they rested in the courtyard.
Thus, at dawn, Old Xiang went to find Stone Pillar.
Stone Pillar picked up his saber at his waist and immediately intended to follow Old Xiang out.
But Old Xiang talked him out of it, shaking his head. "I have already stepped into the Innate Realm. If I succeed, so be it. If not, I will still fight to the death and kill the mastermind."
"But now, I have an important matter to entrust to you."
"Chief Xiang, tell me." Stone Pillar looked at Old Xiang with a grave expression.
Breaking into the Innate Realm should have been a joyous occasion, yet things had come to this.
Old Xiang spoke frankly. "If I go to seek revenge and die outside, you must help me bury my wife and child."
"This is everything I own. I leave it all to you."
Stone Pillar hurriedly declined, pressing down Old Xiang's outstretched hand and shaking his head. "Chief Xiang, you cannot. I, Stone Pillar, do not covet your possessions or silver."
"I know. But this is important."
"Truly, exceedingly important."
Without allowing refusal, Old Xiang stuffed the items into Stone Pillar's hands, his expression earnest.
"Inside are a brocade pouch and a secret letter. If I die, open the pouch and take away something I have hidden. Deliver it, together with the secret letter, to the heir of the Marquis of Jing'an."
Old Xiang spoke with utmost seriousness.
Such sincerity moved Stone Pillar deeply.
With tears in his eyes, he agreed. "All right!"
"Then I have no lingering worries."
Old Xiang turned and left.
Stone Pillar watched Old Xiang depart, clenched the cloth bag in his hand, and locked the door.
Old Xiang headed for the Marquis of Jing'an's estate.
It was the hour of the dragon, when the skies were clear and bright and the morning sun rose.
At the hour of the dragon, the dragon leapt from the abyss.
Xue Yi, holding a long saber, blocked Old Xiang as he entered the marquis's estate. "You came."
Old Xiang's expression remained calm. He faced it openly, not even touching the saber at his waist. "I should have come long ago."
"I sympathize with you, but the honored people of the marquis's estate cannot die."
Xue Yi drew his long saber, his expression somewhat dim.
He had already learned from Wen Yue of the upheaval in Old Xiang's household. When they traced it to the end, they discovered that the second branch of the marquis's estate had instructed the steward.
No wonder that the first time he met Old Xiang, he had sensed that the man came with ill intent.
The second time, Old Xiang had even carried killing intent, brimming with the desire to kill.
He should have had the chance to kill Old Xiang, but because the heir was short of men, Xue Yi had endured it.
He had even brought Old Xiang to where the heir was.
Yet Old Xiang had come to the marquis's estate again.
"I know I cannot persuade you, but if you do this, you will put the heir in a difficult position."
Xue Yi let out a long breath. His breathing moved in rhythm with his body as his long saber pointed straight at Old Xiang. "Have you forgotten who once saved the lives of your entire family?"
Madness surfaced on Old Xiang's face.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "A life for a life, that is all!"
"I will repay what I owe the heir."
He had endured for a full month.
Whoever blocked him would die.
The meaning beneath his words was plain for all to see.
He would repay the favor he owed, but he would not use the deaths of his wife and child to wipe it away.
Someone had to pay the price for this.
For the heir's sake, and because Xue Yi had inadvertently spared him last time, he had not erupted into violence and killed anyone.
That was already giving him more than enough face.
He only hoped Xue Yi would not fail to appreciate kindness.
"I have prepared everything."
"You cannot stop me."
Old Xiang pressed a hand to his saber. Bloodshot veins surged in his eyes, and a violent aura rapidly spilled forth.
Xue Yi laughed. Old Xiang was far too arrogant.
Even if Old Xiang had stabilized his Organ-Refining Realm, he was no match for Xue Yi.
Their last exchange had already proved everything.
How much could one month change?
He said this only because he did not want to personally kill Old Xiang. That would be no different from cutting off one of the heir's arms.
But since Old Xiang had already made up his mind, Xue Yi could only grant his wish.
Those carrying killing intent should be removed sooner rather than later.
Bang.
Old Xiang moved.
It was the exact same opening stance as last time.
Yet the instant Old Xiang attacked, Xue Yi's expression changed drastically.
Too fast.
So fast that even he, a first-class Organ-Refining expert tempered in the army, failed to react.
It was clearly the same move as before.
He saw it, but his body could not keep up with his thoughts.
Clang.
He barely raised his long saber to parry.
As sparks flew, Xue Yi was blasted away by the crushing force.
It was as though he had been struck by a ferocious beast.
He flew back several zhang.
He slammed viciously into a wall.
The impact made him spit out a mouthful of blood, while agonizing pain tore through his internal organs.
Blood poured from Xue Yi's mouth. Lying prone on the ground, he could not rise at all.
Both arms had been completely numbed by that strike. He could not summon any strength, much less grasp the long saber that had fallen beside him.
It reminded him of a nameless beast he had encountered after breaking into the Organ-Refining Realm: the head of an eagle, the body of a bear, swift as lightning and yet possessed of boundless strength.
Xue Yi was utterly horrified. He did not know what had gone wrong or why he had become so weak.
He suddenly looked up, and understood!
It was not that he was weak. Old Xiang had become stronger.
Far stronger than he was now.
"You are not in the Organ-Refining Realm."
"Innate?"
"You broke into the Innate Realm!"
Lying on the ground, Xue Yi stared fixedly at Old Xiang. It sounded like a question, but it was more like seeking an answer.
Old Xiang walked past Xue Yi, slowly sheathing his saber. "Yes, and no."
He had indeed broken into the Innate Realm, but because his inner qi was abundant, he had converted it into mana while breaking through, becoming a Qi Refiner.
In other words, one of the immortal masters often spoken of in the mortal world.
With the strength of his current body, let alone a first-class Organ-Refining expert like Xue Yi, even if Xue Yi broke into the Innate Realm, he would still be no match for him.
That was the difference between cultivators and mortals.
With mana protecting the body, mortal poisons were useless, and weapons of iron and steel could not pierce the defense.
So long as their mana was not exhausted, no matter how many martial arts experts surrounded them, they could not kill a Qi Refiner.
A thunderous muffled boom jolted the marquis's estate awake.
The estate guards all mobilized, drawing their weapons and confronting Old Xiang.
Old Xiang's expression did not change in the slightest. He strolled leisurely past the guards.
The battle formation formed by the guards was scattered apart, and the armed men tumbled to the ground in disarray.
Servants gathered, and maidservants panicked.
They shoved one another and shouted.
The previously quiet marquis's estate instantly erupted into chaos, chickens flying and dogs leaping.
"Who are you, to dare trespass into the marquis's estate!"
The old marquis finally appeared, armed and armored, drawing his sword to face him.
When he suddenly saw Old Xiang's face clearly, the old marquis could not help being astonished.
He roughly knew the heir's forces. Though the man before him had only one arm left, he was still someone the old marquis recognized.
The old steward stood trembling in front of the marquis.
"Centurion Xiang?" the marquis asked again.
Old Xiang walked past the marquis.
Boom.
With one slash, he shattered the courtyard gate.
As the gate broke open, the people of the second branch were revealed within.
The steward, servants, and maidservants.
As well as the pale-faced woman in fine embroidered garments, surrounded by others, and the fair-featured young master of the second branch, trembling in fright.
Old Xiang gripped his saber tightly, grinding his teeth. His face was savage. "Over a month ago, the second branch of the Marquis of Jing'an's estate ordered the steward to have the Wild Dog Gang beat my son into disability, leaving him paralyzed in bed."
"Today, I seek vengeance only from the true culprit. Whoever blocks me dies."
When enemies met, their eyes burned all the redder. Old Xiang strode forward.
Holding his long saber, he pointed it at the woman of the marquis's second branch. "I ask you only this: why?"