Boom!
In the dark of night, beneath the firelight, Liu Fusheng's hulking corpse, as big as a small hill, crashed to the ground.
Seeing this, Lin Yi sheathed his long saber, took a quiet breath, and then a faint smile appeared on his face.
He had broken through to the Seventh Grade Mid Stage after only a few exchanges with Liu Fusheng.
After all, he had already reached the limit of the Seventh Rank Early Stage. He was only one step away from the Seventh Grade Mid Stage.
With the heaven-defying aptitude of his Martial Saint Body, the bottleneck before that step was practically nonexistent. He had been on the verge of a breakthrough at any moment.
So under the pressure Liu Fusheng had put on him earlier, Lin Yi had naturally broken through.
With the strength of the Seventh Grade Mid Stage, combined with the formidable defensive power of the Bright Moon Saber Art, Liu Fusheng might have been powerful, but he could no longer kill Lin Yi.
Of course, it was nearly impossible for Lin Yi to kill Liu Fusheng, either.
That was why Lin Yi had continued to feign weakness in front of Liu Fusheng while secretly looking for a chance to kill him, all the while probing for the reasons behind Liu Fusheng's earlier actions.
Sure enough, carried away by his own success, Liu Fusheng had spilled everything. He had not only told Lin Yi the whole story, but in his carelessness, he had also died by Lin Yi's saber at the final moment. All his scheming had come to naught.
"But now that Liu Fusheng is dead, the trail to that Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass has gone cold."
Looking at Liu Fusheng's headless corpse on the ground, a light flickered in Lin Yi's eyes.
"I wonder if Liu Fusheng has already moved the Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass from the Medicine Manor west of the city, or if he left it there."
"If he left it there, and I can get my hands on such a treasure—even if it's only a seedling—I'll be rich. But if he moved it, then I'll have gotten my hopes up for nothing."
"Too bad there wasn't enough time just now. Otherwise, I could've asked Liu Fusheng where he hid the Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass. Though there's a good chance he wouldn't have told me."
At that thought, Lin Yi gave a slight shake of his head.
There had been no choice. Given the strength Lin Yi had shown up to that point, holding off Liu Fusheng for as long as he had was already his limit.
If he had held out any longer, he would probably have given himself away and let Liu Fusheng figure out he had broken through.
Then not only would Lin Yi have failed to kill Liu Fusheng, he might even have been caught off guard by a dirty trick and put in danger.
So at that moment, Liu Fusheng could only die. He had to die.
As for the Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass, Lin Yi could only do what he could and leave the rest to fate.
"First, I'll search the body. Maybe I can find a clue about the Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass on Liu Fusheng."
With that thought, Lin Yi bent down and began searching Liu Fusheng's corpse.
Before long, he felt something hard against the thick flesh of Liu Fusheng's chest.
"This is..."
Lin Yi's heart jumped. He quickly pulled the hard object from Liu Fusheng's chest and found that it was a Jade Box.
The Jade Box was about the size of a palm and three fingers wide. It was exquisitely crafted from fine-quality jade, and the firelight shone across its surface with a warm glow.
"Could it be..."
Lin Yi had a suspicion. He opened the Jade Box and looked inside.
The next moment, in the firelight, he saw a plant about three inches long, clearly treated in some way. It looked much like an ordinary Blood Origin Grass, but its roots, stems, and leaves were covered in mysterious, noble golden patterns.
"This is the Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass!"
The herb in the box radiated a mysterious, noble aura. Lin Yi had never seen the Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass before—not even heard of it—but he was certain now. One hundred percent certain!
Found on Liu Fusheng, it looked like Blood Origin Grass, yet its roots, stems, and leaves were covered in golden patterns and brimmed with an incomparably noble aura. What other miraculous plant could it be?
"I've struck it rich! This time, I've really struck it rich!"
Looking at the Three Inch Spirit Herb in his hand, Lin Yi couldn't help but feel elated.
"Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass! A peerless treasure worth more than two hundred thousand taels of silver!"
"Poor Liu Fusheng. He schemed and plotted, never imagining he'd end up making me a wedding garment. Ha! Hahaha!"
Lin Yi burst into laughter.
A peerless treasure of the Third Rank, even as a mere seedling, was worth at least ten or twenty thousand taels of silver.
Of course, Lin Yi had no suitable channels to sell it through. More importantly, he couldn't let anyone know he had the seedling, so he could only find some way to sell it through channels like the black market. In practice, he would probably have to accept a lower price.
But no matter how much the price was cut, he could still get several thousand taels of silver for it without a doubt!
"My next talent is in the bag!"
Lin Yi's eyes burned with excitement. He carefully put the Jade Box away, then kicked Liu Fusheng's head and corpse into the warehouse's sea of fire. Only then did he hurry out of the pharmacy.
After Lin Yi and Liu Fusheng's fight, the shouts of battle all around suggested that the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold had gained the upper hand.
If Lin Yi didn't leave now, he would be in trouble if Black Wind Stronghold's bandits surrounded him later.
Thinking it over, Lin Yi sped away and quickly left the county seat, taking shelter in a dense forest outside the city.
Time flew by, and soon the night had passed.
As the sun rose in the sky, it heralded the arrival of a new day.
But Lin Yi didn't hurry back to the county seat at dawn. He stayed in the woods until after noon, then carefully made his way back into the city.
The scene in the county seat was not as tragic as Lin Yi had imagined.
Although the great families and major powers in the county had been wiped out, and many houses had been burned to charcoal, most of the ordinary townspeople had survived. Only a few who lived beside the great families had been caught in the destruction.
This wasn't because the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold were particularly kindhearted. For one thing, the ordinary townspeople had little worth robbing. Even after a whole night of looting, they might yield less than smashing and looting two or three major powers.
For another, it was because Tianshan Sect held them in check. Tianshan Sect was quite powerful. It might not be among the very strongest forces in the entire Jiuzhou World, but it was still one of the top powers.
For a major stronghold like Black Wind Stronghold, if its bandits only wiped out a few family forces and the like, Tianshan Sect could turn a blind eye. After all, there were powerful figures among the bandits, and the sect had to consider their reaction.
But if Black Wind Stronghold's bandits dared to massacre the whole city, then not even the Jade Emperor could save them!
So even if Black Wind Stronghold wanted to make an example of the county and take revenge, its bandits still had to exercise some restraint.
After a few moments of thought, Lin Yi returned to the branch of Wang's Pharmacy.
He then searched the pharmacy for anyone who had survived.
Suddenly—
"Master Lin Yi!"
A delighted voice rang in Lin Yi's ear. He turned and saw the little maid, Xiao Zhi, approaching with a beaming smile.
"Master Lin Yi, I'm so glad you're safe. The bandits from Black Wind Stronghold suddenly attacked the city last night, so I hid in your courtyard all night. I didn't dare make a sound."
"Several groups of bandits came to search the courtyard, but luckily none of them found me. Otherwise, I'd have been done for."
"By the way, Master Lin Yi, where did you go last night? Why have you only come back today?"
"Xiao Zhi, I spent last night fighting a bandit. I chased him dozens of miles outside the city before I finally managed to kill him, which is why I only just got back."
Lin Yi gave a casual explanation, then asked:
"Don't worry about me yet. Tell me, how many people were lost at the pharmacy? And what happened to the members of the Medicine Escort Team who came with me?"
"The losses at the pharmacy were heavy."
At that, Xiao Zhi's mood visibly sank. Her eyes reddened as she explained:
"Sun Hu, A Shan, Master Wang, Aunt Zhang, and many of the doctors, Instructor Masters, and guards are dead. The manager is missing, too. There aren't many people left at the pharmacy."
"The losses among the adults in the Medicine Escort Team were heavy as well. Eight of the twenty-five died, and twelve were injured. Even Leader Wang Chuan was seriously wounded. He's at the pharmacy now, being treated by an expert the Main Family urgently sent over."
"Oh, someone from the Wang Family's Main Family is here? That's good."
Hearing this, Lin Yi breathed a small sigh of relief.
Now that the Wang Family's Main Family had sent people over, there was no need to worry about Black Wind Stronghold's bandits coming back for another attack.
As for the grudges between the Wang Family and the other powers and Black Wind Stronghold, those great figures could deal with them. They had nothing to do with him.
As long as he returned to the Commandery City with the great figures from the Wang Family's Main Family, everything in Beicang County would be settled.
At the thought, Lin Yi felt a weight lift from his heart. He was already beginning to look forward to returning to the Commandery City with people from the Wang Family's Main Family, selling the Thousand Spirit Blood Origin Grass seedling, and awakening his Evolve Talent.
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