The Dust Settles

"You..."

Hearing these words, the Princess hurriedly pushed the teacup back across the table, looking at Lin Changheng with a hint of shy indignation.

This time, her embarrassment was genuine; there was not a shred of pretense in it.

Raised in the lap of luxury, a pampered daughter of the imperial house, she had never dared to let a man draw near. Even now, having entered the path of immortality and severed ties with the mortal world, she had never had such intimate contact with a man.

Lin Changheng was the only exception, yet he had always maintained a respectful distance.

To think that she had now inadvertently shared a cup of tea with this male cultivator—was that not equivalent to an indirect...

No, absolutely not!

Dantai Feiyue, usually sharp-witted and composed, lost her footing when faced with such an unprecedented breach of propriety between a man and a woman.

Driven by a sudden surge of boldness, she abruptly stood up, pressed her hands against the stone table, and leaned toward Lin Changheng. She forced a fierce expression, her fingertips digging into the stone: "You... if you dare to speak a word of what happened today—"

Suddenly realizing their noses were less than three inches apart, she saw Lin Changheng's warm smile clearly under the sunlight, and the second half of her feeble threat choked in her throat.

"I promise you, I will never speak of today's events to anyone."

Lin Changheng put away his smile and nodded earnestly.

Only then did the Princess set her heart at ease. She nodded haughtily, clearly satisfied with his response, though her earlobes still felt slightly hot. After sitting for a moment longer, she took her leave.

Lin Changheng merely smiled and let the matter pass.

Lin Changheng checked the pills, spirit stones, and other assets in his possession; they were truly substantial.

His storage bag, which had been flattened after purchasing a mid-grade magical tool and a low-grade magical tool, had once again swelled from the sale of his standard-grade pills.

He had over four hundred pieces.

The number of premium-grade pills he possessed had grown from over three hundred to more than six hundred and seventy!

This was even after accounting for the portion Lin Changheng used for his own cultivation and the amount he had traded to Dantai Feiyue.

Still, one had to acknowledge the sheer quantity.

He had also been forced to acquire thirty or forty [Spirit Locking Talismans] through various channels, sticking them onto wooden boxes to ensure the medicinal potency of the pills did not dissipate.

"Now that I have the Earth Escape art, I can attempt to go out and sell some of these premium pills."

"Hoarding too many is not necessarily a good thing..."

This was the first time Lin Changheng had considered venturing out.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that after Lin Changheng broke through to the middle stage of Qi Refining, his speed in refining medicinal power had more than doubled, and the efficacy of the premium [Crimson Flame Pill] had decreased in tandem.

After all, the middle stage of Qi Refining corresponded to first-grade mid-grade pills; standard low-grade pills had almost no effect, and even the premium ones, while still useful, had seen their efficacy cut in half.

Thus, for his monthly cultivation, Lin Changheng had to increase his intake to five premium pills just to barely maintain his previous rate of progress.

The gap in grade levels was, after all, an objective reality.

Fortunately, premium pills contained very few impurities or pill toxins. Moreover, Lin Changheng had discovered that the "Clear-Mind" realm of his [Poison Neutralization Art] could suppress pill toxins, and the "Ascension to Truth" realm could even refine away the impurities themselves.

Only then did he feel safe consuming them.

But this could not go on forever; refining premium-grade mid-grade pills was the only true path forward.

However, the Dao of mid-grade alchemy was truly complex.

It involved a series of steps: igniting the fire, heating the cauldron, adding ingredients, refining wash, liquefying, blending, subduing the mixture, condensing the pill, and retrieving it.

The required pill techniques were even more intricate; the three core steps alone required over one hundred and twenty distinct hand seals.

In total, refining a first-grade mid-grade pill required over eight hundred seals!

That was nearly three times as many as a low-grade pill!

Moreover, the critical techniques were more complex and obscure, leaving Lin Changheng scratching his head in frustration at times.

Consequently, his attempt to refine mid-grade pills remained stuck at the final hurdle.

He had previously consulted Master Mo and received some enlightenment and guidance, but he dared not ask for help with these final, crucial steps.

On one hand, he needed to keep his progress secret; on the other, he feared putting Master Mo in a difficult position.

After all, he was merely an apprentice under his tutelage, and there was no guarantee the master would be willing to impart everything he knew.

But fortunately, the [Origin Treasure Seed] was nearing completion!

[Spirit Snatch: 94/100]

With the boost to his comprehension, everything would surely be resolved.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Two major events occurred in the outside world.

Outside the Wilderness Valley, the Xu Family and the Chen Family were locked in a fierce battle. The Xu Family had gained a significant advantage, yet the Chen Family, despite showing clear signs of defeat, remained strangely unperturbed.

Instead, they charged forward, entangling the Xu Family cultivators.

This was highly abnormal.

Just then, a squad of cultivators suddenly came flying in from the distance.

The momentum was immense.

They were also wearing robes embroidered with the Chen Family emblem.

However, an elder of the Xu Family recognized that the man leading them was none other than a cultivator from the Qiu Family of Flying Cloud Valley. He was full-bearded, named Qiu Changhe, a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator. He unleashed his magical artifact, his gaze cold and indifferent.

A newly ascended Foundation Establishment family! The Qiu Family!

They had indeed answered the Chen Family's plea, using camouflage to pose as Chen Family cultivators, intending to intervene!

"Hahaha! You shall all die today, and the Xu Family shall suffer a heavy blow!"

A late-stage Qi Refining elder of the Chen Family, as if injected with adrenaline, laughed wildly and shouted, having finally waited for this moment.

He wanted to disrupt the Xu Family's morale, force them to reveal a flaw, and then charge in for the kill.

But the Xu Family cultivators heard him and witnessed the scene without falling into panic. Instead, it startled the late-stage Qi Refining elder, and a sense of foreboding began to sprout in his heart.

"Swish! Swish, swish!..."

The next instant, a series of intense, wind-tearing sounds erupted densely from behind the Xu Family's flank.

Then, from behind the hilltop, a group of cultivators bearing the Xu Family emblem surged out. Ignoring the main battlefield, they had a clear objective, heading straight to intercept the Qiu Family squad from Flying Cloud Valley.

"Liu Yunlang!"

Qiu Changhe raised his hand to halt his squad's advance, confronting the newcomers from a distance, his expression turning ugly as he spat out a name.

"Qiu Changhe? No, since you're wearing Chen Family robes, you should be called Chen Changhe instead."

Liu Yunlang also signaled his group to stop. Unlike his scholarly appearance, his words were sharp and mocking.

On the other side.

The Chen Family elder's expression was grim. "The Spirit Fox Mountain Liu Family? The Liu Family with two Foundation Establishment cultivators! Damn it, when did the Xu Family quietly hook up with the Liu Family?"

He had no time to ponder, and no one was there to answer him, as a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator from the Xu Family had already stepped forward to engage him in battle.

After a bout of spell-casting, the Chen Family elder's spiritual power was nearly exhausted. Unable to hold on, he turned his head to look, hoping for the Qiu Family to intervene, but he witnessed a scene that made his eyes split with rage.

Qiu Changhe turned and fled without even looking back, refusing to exert any effort and abandoning them entirely.

The entire squad of Qiu Family cultivators followed suit, breaking their promise and leaving the blood-soaked Chen Family cultivators behind in a state of bewilderment.

"Hahaha!"

The response was the booming laughter of Liu Yunlang. Following this, the Liu Family cultivators joined the fray, and the Chen Family's forces collapsed like a mountain.

Except for a few who slipped through the net, they were nearly wiped out, leaving behind pairs of eyes filled with unresigned, lingering resentment.

With this, the Xu Family occupied the valley, naming it "Dustless Valley," and the war that had lasted for years finally came to an end.

They announced to the outside world that they would share half of the spoils with the Foundation Establishment Liu Family.

This was one of the major events.

The other major event was:

The Purple Maple Bay Chen Family, having lost their vital strength on the battlefield, suddenly suffered an attack by a group of rogue cultivators at their base one night.

The grand formation was breached, and the entire clan was wiped out.