Though the Siphon Technique might be next to useless for Xiao Yan, with Yao Lao around, it was a great way for Xiao Li to save time and obtain a large amount of resources.
The only thing he had to watch out for was getting ahead of himself. He needed to minimize the effects of the Blood Pills, discarding the dross. Otherwise, if he absorbed too many impurities, forget about fighting opponents above his level—even breaking through could become a problem.
Nurture the Blood Furnace with my own body... Forget it. I should go bring Xiao Yi Xian back first.
Xiao Li decided to stay in this valley for the time being and focus on cultivating.
Feeling the energies of heaven and earth gathering, Xiao Li calmed his mind and turned the energy he had drawn in into a gentle stream. It flowed slowly along his meridians, nourishing the Dou Qi Vortex inside his body.
Time flowed on. His cultivation gradually rose as he refined the Blood Furnace, killed Magical Beasts, and absorbed Blood Pills...
A year later...
Xiao Zhan gazed at Qingshan Town in the distance, hesitating as he wondered how he could pretend to run into Xiao Li without making it seem too deliberate.
"That brat hasn't come home to visit in a whole year. Next year is your coming-of-age ceremony, and the recruitment drive for Jia Nan Academy is coming up soon. If Yan'er saw you now, perhaps he wouldn't feel so sad..."
Thinking of his youngest son, who had lost his talent, filled Xiao Zhan with heartache. How had Wutan City's second-greatest genius fallen from Dou Zhe to the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi in just one year—and become unable to cultivate any further?
Thinking of his second son, Xiao Zhan pushed the thought from his mind for the moment, and his mood improved a little.
Walking along a path in Qingshan Town, Xiao Zhan stopped a passerby.
"Excuse me, have you heard of someone named Xiao Li?"
Xiao Zhan was certain that with his son's talent, after spending a year in Qingshan Town, he would be known to everyone as a monstrous genius.
The passerby he had stopped looked at Xiao Zhan strangely. "Xiao Li? Let me think. That young man... I think the Wolf Head Mercenary Group drove him into the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range a year ago. I was there at the time. Those Wolf Head guys really—hey, hey!"
Before the passerby could finish, Xiao Zhan's hands had already clamped onto his shoulders. His voice trembled.
"W-what did you say?!"
Feeling the force of Xiao Zhan's grip, the passerby's face turned deathly pale with pain. "S-senior, it was the Wolf Head Mercenary Group who drove Xiao Li into the Magical Beast Mountain Range! Spare me, spare me!"
Xiao Zhan released him without a word. With nothing to support him, the passerby's legs gave way and he fell to his knees.
"Where is the Wolf Head Mercenary Group?"
"Just head that way, senior."
The passerby knelt on the ground, gasping for breath, still shaken as he pointed in a direction and hurriedly begged for his life.
Xiao Zhan paid him no heed. His face dark, he headed for the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's territory.
He, Xiao Zhan, had only three sons. Within a year, his youngest son's Dou Qi cultivation had regressed until he was an ordinary person—or even... a cripple.
His second son had exceptional talent, yet was trapped deep in the Magical Beast Mountain Range—and, worse, had been forced in by someone else.
"Wolf Head Mercenary Group, you're dead!"
Xiao Zhan charged all the way to the entrance of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's headquarters. The aura he unleashed along the way drew people's stares. The pressure of a four-star Da Dou Shi nearly choked the weaker Dou Zhe.
"Who is that? His aura is incredible!"
"He looks like he's heading for the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. With that grim face, could he be there to settle a score?"
"Come on, let's go see!"
A crowd followed Xiao Zhan as he walked. He had no time to care. All he wanted was to make this so-called Wolf Head Mercenary Group pay.
"W-who are you?!"
The two mercenaries guarding the entrance stared at him in terror. The pressure pouring off Xiao Zhan made it hard for them even to stand.
Xiao Zhan pressed his lips tightly together and struck with both hands, crushing their throats.
Seeing how viciously Xiao Zhan had attacked, the independent mercenaries following behind him jumped in fright and quickly backed away, lest they be caught in the crossfire.
Xiao Zhan strode into the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's headquarters, killing everyone he saw. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a demon.
The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's headquarters wasn't large; one road ran straight through it. Along the way lay the mercenaries' training ground, where all of Wolf Head's members had gathered.
Mu She slumped in his grand armchair, gazing at the dozens of mercenaries below as he dreamed of the glorious days when they would rule Qingshan Town.
"Captain, Captain, this is bad! Someone's broken in!" One of his underlings rushed over to Mu She, looking so shaken that Mu She raised his head.
"What are you panicking for? Who in Qingshan Town would dare oppose Wolf Head? Is it someone from the Blood Battle Mercenary Group?"
Mu She rose to his feet, his eyes icy.
"It's me! Tell me, what did you do to my son, Xiao Li?!"
Xiao Zhan strode into the training ground. The wind-attribute Dou Qi swirling around him whipped up dust across the entire area.
Mu She's icy expression turned to shock. "A Da Dou Shi!"
Gan Mu, standing beside Mu She, abruptly raised his head. "Xiao Li!"
Gan Mu remembered the monstrous young genius from a year ago. Looking at the middle-aged man standing at the training ground's entrance, he broke out in a cold sweat. The thing he had feared most all year had finally happened.
That monstrous genius had a powerful force behind him—and it was far stronger than their Wolf Head Mercenary Group!
Xiao Zhan caught Gan Mu's words. He looked at the middle-aged man with the sinister gaze, his own eyes cold. "You know something?"
"Tell me! Where is Xiao Li now?!"
Xiao Zhan's hair stood on end with rage, and a faint blue lion's head appeared on his face.
A middle-level Profound-tier technique, Mad Lion Rage Aura!
"I-I don't know."
Gan Mu stammered, barely able to get a complete sentence out.
Mu She remembered the young man Gan Mu had told him about and wished he could slap him to death. He'd done such a sloppy job, and now the boy's family had come looking for him.
Steeling himself, Mu She managed to speak. "S-senior, we don't know anyone named Xiao Li."
Looking at them, Xiao Zhan knew perfectly well what was going on. They were just guilty.
"If you don't know, then you can all die!"
Xiao Zhan clenched his fists. The powerful wind pressure lifted the hair from Mu She's forehead, revealing a pair of terrified black eyes.
"Lion Mountain Split!"
The low-level Profound-tier Dou Technique erupted at full force. A mad lion burst from the mountain, carrying an overwhelming aura that left Mu She unable even to think of resisting.
"Boom!"
The dust cleared, and a mist of blood drifted away. Gan Mu stared in terror at the huge pit beside him. Mu She had vanished, leaving only a heap of mangled flesh.
Trembling, he wiped the blood from his face and dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Spare me, senior! Spare me! Xiao Li went into the Magical Beast Mountain Range on his own. We didn't force him!"
Xiao Zhan looked at Gan Mu, who had confessed without being pressed. His gaze was distant, his voice devoid of emotion.
"You're all going to die."
He swept both hands out. Blue Dou Qi Armor appeared, and wind blades filled the air, slicing the Wolf Head Mercenaries around him until they were covered in wounds.
In a valley in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Li smiled helplessly.
"Xiao Yi Xian, these fish you made this time seem..."
"Hmm?"
A dangerous glint shone in the little girl's eyes, as if she would go on a killing spree if Xiao Li said one wrong word.
"It's nothing, nothing. Today's grilled fish is extra delicious. Wuwuwu QAQ." Xiao Li was on the verge of tears.
If only he hadn't given Xiao Yi Xian the Complete Guide to Heavenly Treasures back then, or suggested the idea that if she couldn't become an alchemist, she could make medicinal cuisine using food and herbs. Now even the grilled fish tasted bitter.
Looking at Xiao Yi Xian's somewhat tattered skirt, Xiao Li pressed his lips together.
"After we eat, let's leave the mountains."
Xiao Yi Xian froze, then broke into a smile. "Yay! We can finally leave the mountains!"
Looking at the girl's radiant smile, Xiao Li smiled warmly. So cute.
Xiao Li and Xiao Yi Xian were both at the age when they were growing fast. They had shot up five or six centimeters in a year. Never mind the wear and tear from a year of scrambling around the mountains—even the tightness of their clothes after growing taller was getting to Xiao Li.
"Mm. I'll buy you some new clothes, and we'll get revenge while we're at it!"