Battle Tower, the City Lord's Young Miss!?

"You, you!"

Only now did Liu Yunxi understand.

After all this, she was the one Lin Churan wanted to drive out?

"Lin Churan, have you gone mad? Are you really refusing to cooperate with my Azure Mist Sect because of some mortal trash?"

Xiao Chengfeng rose in shame and fury, pointing at Lin Churan as he roared.

"Mortal trash?"

"If Holy Son Ye is a mortal, then you are no different from ants."

"Get out!"

Lin Churan also rose to her feet, her expression colder and sterner than ever, utterly unlike her usual gentle and virtuous self.

"Good, very good!"

"Lin Churan, three days from now, we shall see whether you can still be so arrogant!"

"Brother Chengfeng, let's go!"

After throwing down those harsh words, Liu Yunxi dragged Xiao Chengfeng out of the private room in a rage.

"I've caused trouble for Shopkeeper Lin."

Ye Xuan set down his teacup and smiled faintly.

"How could this be trouble? I've long found them unpleasant to look at."

Lin Churan waved her hand. She had not defended Ye Xuan because of Chu Wan'er, but because of Ye Xuan's true strength.

Then she handed a Storage Ring to Ye Xuan. "These are all the medicinal herbs currently owned by my Hundred Herbs Pill House!"

"Or rather, everything I own."

Ye Xuan nodded slightly and accepted the ring. His Divine Sense entered it, and he found more than ten thousand sets of ingredients for Qi Gathering Pills, along with two thousand sets of materials for Essence Nurturing Pills.

For the current Hundred Herbs Pill House, these herbs truly represented everything they had.

"What is this Alchemy Duel in three days?" Ye Xuan withdrew his Divine Sense and suddenly looked up.

"It is a wager I made with Ling Tian of the Ling Family. In three days, we will compare the sales of our two pill houses. Whoever loses must pay the winner all of that day's revenue."

Lin Churan smiled bitterly. If she lost, she could only sell the pill house. Thus, the result of the Alchemy Duel truly concerned the life and death of Hundred Herbs Pill House.

"Of course, I also know that refining normal pills cannot compare with re-refining ruined pills. I wonder how many days Young Master Ye needs?"

Lin Churan had no doubts about Ye Xuan's skill in alchemy, but she feared there was not enough time.

"Normal pill refinement does indeed require more time..." Ye Xuan nodded.

"If it truly cannot be done, I can go find Ling Tian and request that the Alchemy Duel be postponed for several days." Lin Churan bit her lip.

Though she was destined to be humiliated by Ling Tian, there was no other way.

"That won't be necessary."

"Before the day of the Alchemy Duel, I will deliver sixty percent of the pills to the pill house."

Yet Ye Xuan shook his head and put away the Storage Ring.

"Oh, ah?"

Lin Churan froze.

Th-three days!?

In other words, even for normal pill refinement, Ye Xuan only needed three days!?

One had to know that this time, they needed to refine more than ten thousand pills!

Even the entire Azure Mist Sect would have to work day and night to possibly refine them all!

"Actually, there is no need to refine them all. As long as we have enough to sell on the day of the Alchemy Duel." Lin Churan came back to herself and hurriedly waved her hand.

She did not want to put too much pressure on Ye Xuan.

"Heh, I'm afraid your pills won't be enough to sell that day!"

Yet Ye Xuan gave a mysterious smile and rose to his feet.

"Wait for me in three days."

With that, Ye Xuan pushed open the door and left.

"Three days, twelve thousand pills..."

Watching Ye Xuan's departing figure, Lin Churan only sat back down after a long while.

This time, she had staked her entire fortune and life on Ye Xuan. Even she felt that she was being far too crazy.

Could one person truly rival an entire sect!?

"Ye Xuan, you must not let me down..."

"What!? Lin Churan rejected you!?"

Inside Soaring Cloud Trading House, Ling Tian, the Ling Family's eldest young master, stared in astonishment at Xiao Chengfeng and Liu Yunxi standing before him.

"Yes, that is indeed the case. Who knows what bewitching soup Lin Churan drank, to actually believe that mortal trash from the Violet Firmament Sect!" Xiao Chengfeng nodded.

Liu Yunxi frowned. "Young Master Ling, what do we do now?"

They had originally planned to take all the medicinal herbs from Hundred Herbs Pill House, then follow the Ling Family's orders and refine them all into inferior pills, ensuring that the Alchemy Duel would be foolproof.

But because of Ye Xuan, the plan had fallen through.

"Heh, no matter. Her cooperating with the Violet Firmament Sect will lead to the same result!"

A sinister smile flashed across the handsome Ling Tian's face. "In that case, we will give thirty percent of our herbs to your Azure Mist Sect for refinement. In three days, I only want two thousand Qi Gathering Pills and two hundred Essence Nurturing Pills, but their quality must be at least middle-grade!"

"As long as we win the Alchemy Duel, I will have someone buy a Yuan Gang Pill in the Central Region and give it to Miss Liu. How about it?"

"It's a deal!" Liu Yunxi was immediately overjoyed.

A Yuan Gang Pill had a thirty-percent chance of allowing one to immediately break through to the Heavenly Gang Realm. It was a top-grade Heaven Tier pill, sold only in the Central Region, and was exceedingly important to Liu Yunxi.

Now that she had awakened an Exotic Fire, coupled with her attainments in alchemy, refining middle-grade Earth Tier Essence Nurturing Pills would not be difficult.

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan had already left Hundred Herbs Pill House with Xiao Tao. After confirming that no one was following them, he prepared to return to the sect.

"Senior Brother, I have something to do. You should return to the sect first."

But before they could leave the city, Xiao Tao suddenly spoke.

"Something to do?"

Seeing Xiao Tao's evasive gaze, Ye Xuan was somewhat puzzled.

"Mm-hmm, it's just a small matter. Senior Brother, you don't need to worry about me!" Xiao Tao glanced at Ye Xuan and quickly nodded.

"Fine!"

Ye Xuan's eyes shifted, but he did not ask further. He turned and left.

Only after Ye Xuan disappeared around the alley corner did Xiao Tao hurriedly head toward the western part of the city.

Yet the next moment, Ye Xuan emerged from beyond the alley corner and followed her.

Xiao Tao was simple by nature. Naturally, she could not fool Ye Xuan.

Not long after, Ye Xuan followed Xiao Tao to a three-story pavilion at the northwestern corner of Tianyun City.

Battle Tower!?

Looking at the plaque, Ye Xuan was puzzled. Though the place was remote, people flowed in and out in an endless stream. It was exceptionally lively.

From the crowd's discussions, Ye Xuan learned that this building was a place where cultivators fought and killed one another to earn rewards!

Xiao Tao had come here...

Ye Xuan's expression suddenly hardened as he instantly understood.

This girl was actually planning to fight on the arena for resources!?

Seeing that Xiao Tao had already entered, Ye Xuan hurriedly followed. After receiving a mask at the entrance, he also entered the building.

The Battle Tower had three floors and was circular in shape. A massive arena stood in the center, while cultivators filled the seats around it.

Not far away was a light screen formed by an array, displaying the cultivators defending the arena today.

There were currently nine people left who had not been challenged. Their names were divided into gold, silver, and bronze colors, likely representing different ranks.

There was only one gold name, three silver names, and the remaining five were all bronze.

Behind their names were the rewards one would receive for winning a challenge.

Hmm!?

At that moment, Ye Xuan discovered that behind the name of the highest-ranked cultivator, Blood Butcher, were the words: one bottle of Spirit Marrow Fluid!

Spirit Marrow Fluid was a natural treasure liquid and a cultivation resource that Spirit Sea Realm cultivators dreamed of.

One bottle was enough to rival more than a hundred Essence Nurturing Pills!

Not only that, Ye Xuan knew of a pill formula that used Spirit Marrow Fluid as its main ingredient, allowing Essence Nurturing Pills to advance into Spirit Nurturing Pills. Those were pills comparable to quasi-Heaven Tier pills.

Xiao Tao stood amid the crowd in her mask, standing on tiptoe. She looked tempted as well.

"Move!"

Before Ye Xuan could go over,

he saw a burly man stride over aggressively. The cultivators along the way quickly moved aside, afraid to avoid him too slowly.

"Gasp, today's ninth arena defender is Iron Bear!"

"This fellow has been in the limelight recently. I heard he has already won seven battles in a row. As long as he wins two more, he can advance to a Silver Tier General!"

"I heard this man's physical body is extremely terrifying. In every battle, he blows his opponent apart with one move. They either die or are grievously injured!"

Amid the crowd's discussion, Iron Bear swept onto the arena like a violent gale.

"Those who want to die, come up!"

Iron Bear stood on the arena, his voice like a beast's roar. His gaze swept in every direction, yet no one dared meet his eyes.

Though Iron Bear was only a Bronze Tier Fighter, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the Early Spirit Sea Stage. His combat strength even approached that of an ordinary Mid Spirit Sea Stage cultivator. His fierce reputation had spread far and wide, and for a time, no one dared step onto the stage.

"By order of the Young Miss!"

At that moment, a woman's voice suddenly rang out from the third floor.

"For today's battles, Bronze Tier rewards will be doubled, Silver Tier rewards tripled, and whoever defeats Blood Butcher will receive tenfold rewards!"

Whoosh!

As the voice fell, the Battle Tower first fell silent, then erupted into a tremendous uproar.

"The City Lord's Mansion's Young Miss is actually here today?"

"Rewards doubled, and defeating Blood Butcher even earns ten times the reward!?"

"As expected of the City Lord's Mansion's Young Miss, her generosity is truly lavish!"

Ye Xuan raised his brows. From the crowd's words, he had learned that this Battle Tower had been established by Nangong Fei, the City Lord's Mansion's Young Miss. She was the city lord's only daughter and the apple of his eye.

Moreover, the rewards truly tempted Ye Xuan.

But at that moment, Xiao Tao took a deep breath. As if she had made up her mind, she was about to register.

"Xiao Tao..."

But just then, a warm Big Hand pressed down on her shoulder from behind.

Xiao Tao jumped in fright and suddenly turned around, only to see Ye Xuan wearing a face mask.

For Xiao Tao, that mask was actually useless.

Her little face instantly turned pale, like a child caught after making a mistake. "S-Senior Brother, you..."

"I told you that I would solve the matter of resources. You came here to throw away your life?" Ye Xuan looked stern.

The Battle Tower was filled with ruthless and vicious people. Deaths and injuries were common.

Though Xiao Tao had Early Spirit Sea Stage cultivation, how could she possibly be Iron Bear's match!?

"I-I only wanted to share the sect's burdens..."

Senior Sister Wan'er was in secluded cultivation, and Xiao Tao did not want to watch all the burden fall upon Ye Xuan's shoulders. She too was a Violet Firmament Sect disciple; it was her duty, and she could not shirk it.

"No need. I'll do it."

Ye Xuan shook his head and had her step back.

"I'm registering."

Ye Xuan registered with the steward in charge, casually making up an alias.

"Hahaha, since no one is coming up, White-Haired Rat, I challenge you directly!" On the arena, Iron Bear was even more fired up. He could choose to directly challenge a Silver Tier General to advance his rank.

On the second floor, a frail cultivator sitting upright opened his eyes. A lock of white hair fell across his forehead, and killing intent surged in his gaze as he was about to rise.

But at that moment, a figure suddenly leaped onto the arena, plunging the entire venue into silence.

Someone had actually challenged Iron Bear!?

"Hmm?"

Iron Bear froze, then sneered after seeing Ye Xuan's cultivation.

"You dare come up here to seek death?"

"Believe it or not, I can blow you apart with one punch?"

"So noisy!" A sharp gleam flashed through Ye Xuan's eyes. Before Iron Bear's voice had even fallen, he suddenly stepped forward and threw a punch!

The fist force arrived with the sound of thunder.

By the time Iron Bear came back to his senses, Ye Xuan's fist had already landed on his chest.

Pfft!

The next moment, Iron Bear's massive body flew off the arena like a kite with its string cut, blood spraying through the air.

Gasp!

Only after Iron Bear hit the ground and fainted outright did the entire venue erupt in gasps.

Iron Bear, who had crushed his way through seven consecutive victories, had actually been blown away with a single punch!?