Assassination Attempt

Zhao Ping'an sold five Hundred Herbs Pills for nine hundred and twenty-five silver ingots.

After receiving the silver, Zhao Ping'an purchased medicinal ingredients again, buying one set for Hundred Herbs Pills and one set for Qi and Blood Pills.

The ingredients for Qi and Blood Pills were somewhat cheaper, costing only two hundred and eighty silver ingots. Their main ingredients were Ironhide Barbarian Bull Meat, from a first-tier low-level demon beast, and Low-Grade Tiger Demon Meat, from a first-tier mid-level demon beast.

However, Qi and Blood Pills were also cheaper than Hundred Herbs Pills.

After opening the furnace to refine pills, he obtained eight Hundred Herbs Pills of Superior Quality and ten Qi and Blood Pills of Superior Quality.

Zhao Ping'an gifted all the Hundred Herbs Pills to his maternal grandfather, eldest maternal uncle, Eldest Maternal Aunt, second maternal uncle, Second Maternal Aunt, and other relatives.

Jiang Wen, his aunts by marriage, and the others were all delighted to receive Zhao Ping'an's Hundred Herbs Pills.

He sold all the Qi and Blood Pills, earning one thousand five hundred silver ingots, then used the money to purchase more alchemy ingredients.

For his third purchase of Hundred Herbs Pill ingredients, Zhao Ping'an bought superior ingredients this time, spending five hundred taels on each set and purchasing three sets in total.

On his third attempt at refining Hundred Herbs Pills, Zhao Ping'an finally refined Flawless Hundred Herbs Pills.

From the three furnaces of Hundred Herbs Pills, he obtained seven Flawless Hundred Herbs Pills and twenty-three Superior Quality Hundred Herbs Pills.

To obtain flawless spirit pills, the pill yield first had to reach a perfect ten out of ten.

Zhao Ping'an kept the seven Flawless Hundred Herbs Pills for his own use. He sold all the Superior Quality Hundred Herbs Pills for silver, then used it to purchase ingredients of even better quality.

That morning, Zhao Ping'an shut himself inside his bedroom, sat cross-legged on his bed, and took out a Flawless Hundred Herbs Pill to swallow.

Once the Flawless Hundred Herbs Pill entered his stomach, Zhao Ping'an circulated the Dao Scripture technique to refine it.

In less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the pill's medicinal power was completely refined, yielding nearly a hundred strands of True Essence—equivalent to the True Essence he would obtain from cultivating and absorbing Heavenly Essence for half a month. Limited by the fact that his body's Meridians had not yet fully developed, Zhao Ping'an could absorb Heavenly Essence only at a limited rate, and his available time was limited as well.

Yet once those nearly hundred strands of True Essence entered his primordial sea, they were practically nothing.

His primordial sea was simply too vast, nearly boundless, exceeding one hundred thousand feet.

Hundred Herbs Pills were, after all, low-grade spirit pills and contained little essence, while the True Essence refined by the Dao Scripture technique was incomparably pure. Thus, the amount of True Essence he gained was even smaller.

Cultivators in the Primordial Sea Realm ought to take mid-grade spirit pills.

In less than half an hour, Zhao Ping'an swallowed and refined all five Flawless Hundred Herbs Pills, equivalent to cultivating for two and a half months.

Day after day passed. Besides refining pills and consuming spirit pills to raise his cultivation, Zhao Ping'an also used the panel to effortlessly become a Talisman Master and an Artifact Refiner.

As the saying went, too many skills never weighed one down. Having learned them, he might find use for them someday—and in any case, they did not consume many Proficiency Points.

Once word spread that Zhao Ping'an had become a Talisman Master and an Artifact Refiner, the entire city was shocked once again.

What kind of monstrous prodigy could so easily become the Alchemist, Talisman Master, and Artifact Refiner that everyone dreamed of becoming, all before the age of two?

When the news reached the Zhennan Marquis Estate, the Zhennan Marquis Dowager became somewhat unsettled. Yet she still stubbornly believed that the Jiang Family was fabricating the news to build Zhao Ping'an's reputation, seeking to return to the Zhennan Marquis Estate.

She could not be bothered to send anyone to verify it.

The servants of the Zhennan Marquis Estate whispered among themselves that, with Zhao Ping'an being such a genius, he might be brought back to the Zhennan Marquis Estate.

Qiushui, the dowry head maid, was deeply anxious. Ever since word spread that Zhao Ping'an had become an Alchemist, she had bribed informants within Jiang Manor to keep constant watch over Zhao Ping'an's movements.

From the reports of those informants, she learned that Zhao Ping'an was far, far, far too monstrous a genius—practically a Saint reborn.

She once again suggested to Su Yingluo that Zhao Ping'an be eliminated.

Her young lady, along with the Qingzhou Su Clan and Pudu Mountain behind her, had devoted all their efforts to supporting Zhao Yingpeng in his bid for the position of Young Lord of the Zhennan Marquis Estate, so that he could become the next Zhennan Marquis.

After investing so much, they could not possibly end up sewing a wedding dress for someone else.

This time, Su Yingluo said nothing. She merely lowered her eyes, her delicate fingers rolling a string of prayer beads as her rosy lips softly chanted Buddhist scriptures. She looked compassionate and sacred.

At two years and four months old, Zhao Ping'an was already as tall as a five-year-old boy.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Zhao Ping'an walked through the bustling Immersed Water Street like a tiny adult, followed closely by Chen Donglai and two guards.

Immersed Water Street was a street of open-air stalls selling medicinal ingredients and spirit herbs. After finding fine medicinal ingredients and spirit herbs in the wilderness, many cultivators were reluctant to sell them cheaply to medicinal purchasing shops, so they came here to set up stalls instead.

Zhao Ping'an enjoyed strolling through Immersed Water Street to collect fine spirit medicine, treating it as a pastime.

Suddenly, more than a dozen vicious Martial Warriors dressed as ordinary commoners charged at Zhao Ping'an and his attendants with sabers drawn, without wasting a single word.

Among them, the strongest few vicious Martial Warriors went straight for Zhao Ping'an.

In an instant, the two Guards were hacked to the ground, while Chen Donglai could barely block the first wave of attacks from several vicious Martial Warriors.

As for Zhao Ping'an, no one was protecting him at all.

Just as blades and swords were about to slash or pierce Zhao Ping'an's body, a protective barrier of flowing golden light suddenly appeared over his skin.

This was a spell carried by the Dao Scripture—the Primal Chaos Body Protection!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The blades struck as though they had slashed and stabbed the hardest diamond. Moreover, a force diverted the momentum of the weapons to one side, preventing them from unleashing their full strength or breaking through the Primal Chaos Body Protection.

To conceal the truth, Zhao Ping'an immediately activated a Golden Bell Shield at lightning speed, then activated a Swift Travel Talisman. Braving the continuing barrage of blades, he swiftly fled toward the packed crowd.

Being small, he could weave rapidly through the crowded masses, making it easier to shake off the vicious Martial Warriors trying to assassinate him.

With his actual strength, he could have killed them in return. But that would expose to the public that he possessed cultivation in the Primordial Sea Realm.

In the blink of an eye, he escaped Immersed Water Street.

When that group of vicious Martial Warriors chased out of Immersed Water Street, Zhao Ping'an had already vanished without a trace.

"Chief, that little brat has escaped without a trace. What do we do?" a one-eyed Martial Warrior asked anxiously.

The chief made a prompt decision. "Retreat!"

They put away their blades and swords and hurried toward a nearby city gate.

Zhao Ping'an fled all the way back to Jiang Manor in one breath and finally heaved a sigh of relief, his little face full of fury. "Who exactly sent people to assassinate me?"

"I'm so young, I've had no chance to make enemies or stir up grudges—unless it's hatred carried from the womb."

"It must be the Zhennan Marquis Estate!!!"

When he had been ambushed just now, he had already seen that the strongest of those vicious Martial Warriors had all come straight for him. This was clearly an assassination attempt specifically targeting him.

After catching his breath, Zhao Ping'an immediately went to find his grandfather, Jiang Wen.

When Jiang Wen learned that Zhao Ping'an had been assassinated, he flew into a rage. He immediately ordered the guards at Jiang Manor to be reinforced, then sent people rushing to Immersed Water Street.

By the time the people from Jiang Manor arrived at Immersed Water Street, that group of vicious Martial Warriors had long since fled.

However, they still managed to send the two badly injured guards to a medical hall for treatment.

Left with no other choice, Jiang Wen could only report the matter to the authorities.

Zhennan Marquis Estate, Great Peng Courtyard.

Qiushui, the senior maid who had accompanied Su Yingluo in marriage, walked before her and dropped to both knees, lowering her head as she said, "I failed to deliver the sinful wretch. I beg Young Lady to punish me."

"Was the aftermath handled?" Su Yingluo asked calmly.

Qiushui replied, "This servant had already dispatched a demon beast that had been converted, having it lead several Normal Quality demon beasts to lie in ambush in the wilderness outside the city. Word has just arrived that those people were all killed by the demon beasts, and more than half of the corpses were devoured."

"That group had originally been roving bandits who committed crimes wherever they went. They won't leave behind any unnecessary traces."

Su Yingluo gave a soft "Mm."

"Young Lady, I underestimated the enemy and caused this failure. Next time, I will send a Divine Treasury Realm expert and guarantee that nothing can go wrong!" Qiushui said.

Su Yingluo gently shook her head. "If one strike fails, we cannot strike again. Otherwise, not only will the enemy be on guard, possibly causing another failure, but we may also expose our tracks and arouse suspicion."

"My husband is narrow-minded and greatly concerned with his reputation. If he learns that someone intends to assassinate his offspring, I fear it may stir up trouble."

"But..." Qiushui said anxiously.

Su Yingluo said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Let this matter end here for now. We shall discuss it again when he turns three and has his innate bones tested."

"Yes, Young Lady." Qiushui had no choice but to comply.

Su Yingluo added indifferently, "Your punishment is to recite the Calamity Crossing Devil Sutra ten times."

Qiushui immediately began trembling all over, her face turning white as paper. Yet she still kowtowed in gratitude. "Thank you, Young Lady, for bestowing punishment."

The Calamity Crossing Devil Sutra was no ordinary Buddhist scripture. When reciting it, illusions arose one after another, as though one had fallen into the Avici Hell and endured myriad calamities firsthand. The pain was unbearable, and nightmares would plague one afterward.

Naturally, reciting it also brought considerable benefits, but very few people were willing to go through it a second time.

The authorities solved the case the very next day.

The official reply Jiang Wen received was that the culprits were a band of roving bandits called the Black Fiends Gang. They believed that Zhao Ping'an, as an Alchemist, possessed considerable wealth. Thinking he had no means of protecting himself, they had attempted to kill him unexpectedly and rob him of his wealth.

However, the Black Fiends Gang had received the evil retribution they deserved. They had already been killed by a group of demon beasts, which had devoured more than half their bodies.

Jiang Wen saw the Black Fiends Gang corpses bearing obvious signs of having been gnawed by demon beasts, and he also inspected the place where the Black Fiends Gang had been attacked by the demon beasts. In the end, he could only accept this conclusion.

After returning to Jiang Manor, Jiang Wen summoned Jiang Shuyue for a talk and told her what had happened.

At the end, Jiang Wen sighed. "Zhao Yingpeng's second wife is called Su Yingluo. Her background is frightening. Ping'an is too outstanding—perhaps that woman has come to see him as a threat."

Jiang Shuyue's expression changed slightly, revealing deep anxiety and worry.

"From now on, not only should Ping'an stay indoors, but he should also keep a lower profile," Jiang Wen instructed.

"I understand," Jiang Shuyue said.