Aperture Condensing Pill, the Empress Assassinated

Name: Ren Xiaoyao

Lifespan: 17/200

Race: Mortals

Talent: Heaven-Defying Comprehension

Cultivation: Third Heaven of the Dao Realm

Techniques: Pure Yang Void-Shattering Astral Sword, Chaos God-Demon Body Refining Technique

Spells: None

Magic Items: None

The lines of text appeared before his eyes.

Although he had only arrived in this world half a year ago.

After the New Year.

Ren Xiaoyao had also grown a year older.

At the same time, Ren Xiaoyao's lifespan limit had reached two hundred years. This was what delighted him most, because it meant that as his cultivation grew, his lifespan would grow longer and longer.

After entering the Third Heaven of the Dao Realm, Ren Xiaoyao found that his Spiritual Sense had also grown far more powerful.

Previously, when he was at the Dao Realm Double Heaven, the range his Spiritual Sense could detect was roughly ten meters in every direction.

Now, Ren Xiaoyao's Spiritual Sense could already blanket a radius of one hundred meters.

During this time, Li Chunfeng had also grown curious about Ren Xiaoyao's strength. He sparred with Ren Xiaoyao, intending to pass on some combat experience along the way.

Yet although Li Chunfeng had mastered all manner of exquisite top-tier martial arts—supreme footwork and terrifying swordsmanship alike—he had never gained the slightest upper hand in any exchange with Ren Xiaoyao.

Too slow!

Within Ren Xiaoyao's Spiritual Sense.

Li Chunfeng's speed had been slowed tenfold, even a hundredfold.

Thus, no matter how exceptional Li Chunfeng's martial arts were.

He could not so much as touch the hem of Ren Xiaoyao's clothing.

On the contrary.

With a casual move.

Ren Xiaoyao could precisely pinpoint Li Chunfeng's weaknesses.

After several exchanges.

Li Chunfeng's face turned green.

There was simply nothing he could teach Ren Xiaoyao.

He had once considered himself a genius.

But now.

He only felt that genius was merely the threshold for meeting Ren Xiaoyao.

Li Chunfeng's confidence suffered an unprecedentedly crushing blow.

Seeing Li Chunfeng's dispirited appearance.

Ren Xiaoyao felt somewhat guilty as well.

But it truly was not that he had deliberately wanted to strike at Li Chunfeng.

Ren Xiaoyao had already suppressed his strength as much as possible, even using power comparable to Li Chunfeng's.

Yet even so.

Bolstered by his Spiritual Sense.

He still suppressed Li Chunfeng until he could barely breathe.

Li Chunfeng looked at Ren Xiaoyao and asked curiously, "With your current strength, you are already among the best in the martial world. Have you not considered leaving the Imperial Observatory and venturing through the martial world?"

Venture through the martial world?

Ren Xiaoyao had no such inclination.

He truly had no interest in competing in courage and ruthlessness.

Ren Xiaoyao Shook His Head and said bluntly, "The martial world is too vast, and too dangerous. Though I have some cultivation now, I do not wish to be swept into its whirlpool."

"True enough. The martial world is vast, far beyond our imagination."

Upon hearing Ren Xiaoyao's words.

Li Chunfeng was taken aback.

Then he Shook His Head.

Master and disciple chatted idly.

From Li Chunfeng.

Ren Xiaoyao gained a deeper understanding of Great Gan.

Since Great Gan's founding.

Martial Dao had flourished.

The founding emperor of Great Gan had once been the Sect Master of a great sect.

Thus, after Great Gan was founded.

Sects stood everywhere throughout the martial world.

Ten thousand sects contended in song.

But there were too many sects.

And that was not a good thing for the Imperial Court.

After all, the Imperial Court ruled the world through force, using it to uphold the imperial family's dignity. Martial Artists were the hardest people to restrain and manage, and also the ones most likely to violate prohibitions through force.

Especially the sects that controlled great numbers of Martial Artists.

Once they rebelled.

The Imperial Court would suffer grievous losses as well.

Thus, although Great Gan did not prohibit martial arts.

It had always openly and covertly weakened the sects' power.

By the time the Empress took power.

Nine out of every ten sects under heaven had been cut away.

Most of the remaining sects.

Also obeyed the Imperial Court's deployments and commands.

As for the handful of enormous sects that refused to obey the Imperial Court's deployment.

They were known as Demonic Cults.

There were four top-tier Demonic Cults in the martial world.

Mystic Moon Demonic Cult.

Illusory Sun Demonic Cult.

Wolf-Devouring Demonic Cult.

Seven Nights Demonic Cult.

But when Li Chunfeng reached this point, he paused. Then he looked at Ren Xiaoyao and said.

"These are merely the claims on the surface, and the martial world as I, a former True Person, saw it. But I have always felt that the martial world is not so simple. If one day you can attain the Heavenly Human Realm, perhaps you will see the true martial world."

Ren Xiaoyao nodded.

He did not continue Li Chunfeng's words.

Ren Xiaoyao had no intention of revealing his true strength to anyone.

Keeping one's talents hidden at all times.

Was the foundation of preserving one's life.

The Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival in this world.

During the day, Ren Xiaoyao continued absorbing spiritual energy in cultivation.

At dusk.

Liu Ruyan quietly came to the Imperial Observatory again.

Liu Ruyan moved stealthily and hid herself carefully, but Ren Xiaoyao's Spiritual Sense constantly covered a radius of one hundred meters around him, so he had naturally discovered her long ago.

"Young Master!"

Liu Ruyan quietly pushed open Ren Xiaoyao's door and whispered, "Was it you who saved me last time? The moment I recovered from my injuries, I came to find you!"

Liu Ruyan's gaze was still scorching.

Making Ren Xiaoyao feel deeply uncomfortable.

"How could I have the ability to save you? My Master was the one who acted last time. You knew that too, didn't you? I merely persuaded my Master to spare you."

Ren Xiaoyao explained.

Liu Ruyan smiled sweetly. "In any case, that proves I am in your heart. If you had not spoken kindly for me, given Li Chunfeng's temperament, an Undercover Agent of the Demonic Sect like me would have faced Certain Death."

Then.

Liu Ruyan took a Jade Bottle from her robes and said.

"Inside is an Aperture Condensing Pill, a supreme-grade pill refined by Medicine King Valley many years ago. It can help me cross from the Subordinate First Rank Realm to the Super-Rank Realm, but it can also restore the Acupoints that were crippled in your body and help you regain your talent!"

"This pill is far too precious, isn't it?"

Ren Xiaoyao was stunned.

He had heard Li Chunfeng mention Medicine King Valley.

It had once been a sect in the martial world specializing in pill refinement, and the most top-tier Pills in the martial world had all come from Medicine King Valley. The Empress had once taken Medicine King Valley's Youthful Countenance Pill, allowing her to remain forever young.

But Medicine King Valley had later been destroyed by the Empress.

As a result, every pill produced by Medicine King Valley had become a one-of-a-kind relic.

Each one consumed meant one fewer remained.

Yet Liu Ruyan was giving such a precious pill to him?

"You must have heard as well that my father is the Devil Master. Though Aperture Condensing Pills are scarce, my father will have more. If I give you this one, he will surely grant me another."

Liu Ruyan gave a foolish grin and forcibly stuffed the pill into Ren Xiaoyao's hand, saying.

"Young Master, I am not giving you this pill to repay your life-saving grace. I truly like you and hope that you will be well. Once your aptitude recovers, I will steal the most top-tier Martial Arts Techniques from my father for you to cultivate."

"What are you after?"

Ren Xiaoyao only felt that his conscience could not bear it. "I do not like you. You do not need to treat me this well."

"Sooner or later, you will fall for me."

After hearing Ren Xiaoyao's words, Liu Ruyan smiled sweetly and said, "Wait for me to come find you next time, all right? I will bring you even more surprises then!"

After saying that.

Liu Ruyan hurriedly left the Imperial Observatory.

Leaving Ren Xiaoyao alone in a daze.

Within the Capital City.

Inside an inn called Dragon Gate.

Within a private room marked Heaven.

Liu Ruyan wiped the fine sweat from her brow.

And sat beside a middle-aged noblewoman.

This Woman carried herself with poise and elegance, her skin delicate and fair. Though time had left its marks upon her face, it could not conceal her lingering charm.

This Woman's identity was even more extraordinary.

She was Liu Ruyan's Master.

And the current cult leader of the Mystic Moon Demonic Cult, Tantai Wanwan.

"Ruyan, you truly gave that Aperture Condensing Pill to Ren Xiaoyao? This is no good bargain. You must know, there are very, very many people who cannot tolerate his existence."

Tantai Wanwan advised.

Liu Ruyan Shook Her Head and said, "A life-saving grace must naturally be repaid with my body. Even I will belong to him, so what does one little Aperture Condensing Pill amount to?"

"I think you are after his handsome face."

Tantai Wanwan rolled her eyes at Liu Ruyan. "Otherwise, you would surely vow to repay him in your next life by working like an ox and horse."

"Master!"

Liu Ruyan reproached her coyly. "I simply feel that there is a charm about him. It seems that he is different from everyone else."

"You little girl, you have fallen into the net of love!"

Tantai Wanwan poked Liu Ruyan's forehead with a finger and said.

"But whether this Kid will do or not ultimately depends on whether your father approves of him."

"Before he returns to the Demonic Sect, he will visit the Imperial Observatory again to see the Director. He should also meet Ren Xiaoyao, but if he does not think highly of Ren Xiaoyao, it will be useless even if your Master speaks well of him. You should give up on that thought as well."

After Ren Xiaoyao returned to his room.

He hesitated for a while.

But in the end, he chose to open the Jade Bottle.

At once, a rich Medicinal Fragrance wafted out from within.

Ren Xiaoyao had originally held little interest in this Aperture Condensing Pill.

But Ren Xiaoyao discovered.

That dense spiritual energy was actually coiling around the Aperture Condensing Pill.

Ren Xiaoyao was puzzled.

Could Medicine King Valley gather spiritual energy to refine pills?

Then wasn't that a method of cultivation?

"No, the spiritual energy within this pill wasn't condensed through acquired means. It came from the medicinal ingredients carried within the pill itself."

Ren Xiaoyao had seen through its essence.

Rare medicinal herbs, after growing for a hundred years, could absorb the spiritual energy Between Heaven and Earth.

Medicine King Valley must have used medicinal ingredients that were several hundred, perhaps even a thousand years old, to refine this Aperture Condensing Pill, causing it to be steeped in abundant spiritual energy.

Ren Xiaoyao did not hesitate.

He directly swallowed the Aperture Condensing Pill.

Originally.

The Aperture Condensing Pill was meant to repair Ren Xiaoyao's acupoints.

But Ren Xiaoyao did not do that.

He absorbed all the spiritual power within the Aperture Condensing Pill.

A single pill in such a short span.

Saved Ren Xiaoyao over a month of cultivation time.

The power within Ren Xiaoyao's body increased once more. Ren Xiaoyao was now roughly equivalent to twenty-two Directors, and he naturally remembered Liu Ruyan's kindness.

At the same time.

This also gave Ren Xiaoyao a new line of thought for his cultivation.

Besides absorbing the spiritual energy Between Heaven and Earth.

Ren Xiaoyao could also absorb the spiritual energy within Spiritual Medicine.

And this path.

Was faster.

And saved more time.

In truth.

Cultivation had always been like this.

For ordinary Cultivators.

Simply stepping through the first threshold of cultivation required decades. Every step afterward became harder than the last; under normal circumstances, once one had only just become a Cultivator, old age and death were already not far away.

Lifespan, to Cultivators.

Was incomparably precious as well.

Only by entering more powerful realms.

Could they gain longer lifespans.

Otherwise.

They would remain trapped within a certain realm.

Until their lifespan ran out and they died.

Thus, relying solely on absorbing the spiritual energy Between Heaven and Earth was naturally unrealistic.

Yet Ren Xiaoyao was different.

He possessed the talent of Heaven-Defying Comprehension. In barely half a year, he had entered the Third Heaven of the Dao Realm without encountering any threshold at all. This was, in truth, incomparably terrifying.

But Ren Xiaoyao also understood in his heart.

Even with Heaven-Defying Comprehension.

The later one progressed in cultivation.

The harder it became to advance.

Ren Xiaoyao had to make plans in advance.

Over the following period.

Ren Xiaoyao continued cultivating as usual.

In the blink of an eye, it was February.

That day.

Startling news came from the Capital City.

The Devil Master of the Demonic Sect had assassinated the Empress.

Though the attempt had fallen short and the assassination failed.

He had still retreated unscathed.