Purple Fire Star Pill (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Favorites)

The next day, Xiao Meng did not get up until nearly noon. He had gone to bed too late the night before, so he woke up later than usual.

"Fourth Brother, you little bastard, and that damned old man Yao Lao! You actually dared to run away! Just you wait. Don't let me catch you, or I'll chop you into eight pieces!"

Xiao Meng yawned, immediately recalling what had happened the previous night. He had turned the back mountain upside down but still could not find Xiao Yan or Yao Lao. The two of them had vanished without a trace.

It angered him greatly.

"Damn it, I forcibly changed the plot of Battle Through the Heavens."

After a long while, Xiao Meng finally squeezed out those words. By all rights, Xiao Yan should have left the Xiao Clan to gain experience a year later. Yet now, they had already departed.

After stretching lazily, he got out of bed and washed up. Soon afterward, someone came to call him for a meal.

At the dining table, he casually asked Xiao Xun'er whether she knew where Xiao Yan had gone. However, Xiao Xun'er immediately denied it, saying she did not know.

Yet Xiao Meng noticed that Xiao Xun'er's gaze was somewhat evasive. He knew that this girl definitely knew where Xiao Yan had gone; she simply did not want to tell him.

Xiao Meng could not be bothered to force the issue. Besides, she would certainly guard Xiao Yan's whereabouts closely. Even if her father questioned her, this girl probably would not reveal anything.

At the same time, he also asked his own father. However, Xiao Zhan merely shook his head and said that Xiao Yan had indeed informed him before leaving, but had not told him exactly where he was going.

After eating, Xiao Meng spoke with Xiao Zhan for a while before leaving. If his guess was correct, Xiao Yan might have gone to the Beast Mountain Range. Yet his intuition told him that the possibility of Xiao Yan going there was rather low.

Thus, he was conflicted. Should he chase after Xiao Yan to the Beast Mountain Range and give him a good beating?

In the end, he gave up on that idea.

Over the next few days, Xiao Meng did not go out. He spent most of his time searching through the memories in his mind concerning the Alchemy Emperor, wanting to see whether there were any pills for body tempering.

After searching for two or three days, he found a body-tempering pill called the Fire Thunder Pill. It used the pill as bait to draw down divine lightning from the nine heavens and earth-core fire to temper the body...

Upon reading the description, Xiao Meng nearly broke down. He was utterly powerless to complain.

Why would he need to refine pills to use heavenly lightning for body tempering? Couldn't he just provoke the system directly? Only someone with a problem in their head would waste time and gold coins like that.

Besides, the shadow left in his heart from being struck by lightning was already large enough, alright? If he got struck again, he would end up with a mental illness.

He was not afraid of axes, blades, fire, or boiling water. What he feared was getting struck by lightning.

Finally, he found the recipe for a third-grade pill called the Purple Fire Star Pill, which used the fire of the stars to temper the body.

After considering it for a long time, Xiao Meng chose the Purple Fire Star Pill. First, the other body-tempering pills were either too high-grade, and leaving aside how precious and difficult to find their ingredients were, he could not make them anytime soon. Second, the descriptions of some body-tempering pills were so horrifying that they made his skin crawl.

After memorizing the required medicinal ingredients, Xiao Meng dawdled for a while before leaving the Xiao Clan for the market district under the Xiao Clan's control.

At the entrance of the market district stood two Xiao Clan guards. They clearly recognized Xiao Meng. Upon seeing him approach, they immediately bowed respectfully. "Third Young Master."

Xiao Meng nodded in acknowledgment and strode into the market district.

"My god, why is that ruthless bastard in the mood to visit the market district today?"

"Yeah, he hasn't come here in all these years. Damn it, my legs go weak just seeing him. I want to leave."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. If he hears you, you'll suffer for it."

After Xiao Meng had gone far away, the two guards whispered among themselves, their faces full of alarm.

Xiao Meng walked straight into the market district. There were many people inside, flowing endlessly through the streets.

His eyes roamed everywhere as he carefully searched for the medicinal ingredients he needed.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past him. At the same time, Xiao Meng felt someone tug at his waist. Although the force was weak, it did not escape his senses. Looking down, he saw that the jade pendant hanging from his waist was gone.

"Damn it, that jade pendant cost me a whole three gold coins!" Xiao Meng's expression darkened. That bastard actually dared to steal from him? How many extra guts had the King of Hell lent him?

Xiao Meng's ears twitched slightly, and he heard a set of rapid footsteps beating at the same frequency. He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the sound, only to see a fleeting figure in the distance.

It was a skinny man in plain clothes with an extremely wretched-looking face.

After running several hundred meters away, the skinny man stopped and carefully examined the jade pendant in his hand. However, after inspecting it for a while, his face gradually darkened.

"Fuck, it's actually a fake bought from a street stall! You damned little bastard, if you're broke, why the hell are you pretending? You even dared to wear a jade pendant like everyone else!"

The wretched man's face turned green. He had been stalking prey for half the day, thinking he had caught a fat sheep, only to end up with cheap street-stall junk.

"You damned little bastard, don't let me see..." The wretched man was furious and wanted to turn back and teach Xiao Meng a lesson. Yet the moment he turned around, it was as if someone had clamped his throat shut, and he could not utter another word.

Smack!

Xiao Meng was about to explode with rage. That ugly bastard had not only stolen his belongings, but had even complained that they were not good enough and wanted to beat him up.

Since when had thieves become so brazen? And no one even did anything about it, as though it were perfectly normal.

Damn it, if this had happened on Earth, he would have been beaten by a crowd.

With a single slap, Xiao Meng sent the wretched man flying. The scene immediately drew a crowd of onlookers.

"You little bastard, you actually dared to hit me?" The wretched man was stunned at first, then flew into a rage.

"Fuck your mother, I'm not just going to hit you!" Xiao Meng rushed over, pinned him down, and gave him a savage beating.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

"Damn it, you think being a thief makes you impressive?"

Xiao Meng's fists and slaps landed exclusively on the man's face.

"Who dares cause trouble in the Xiao Clan's market district?" A booming voice rang out. Apparently knowing who was coming, the crowd quickly made way.

Hearing the voice, Xiao Meng turned around. Seven or eight burly men dressed in the Xiao Clan's uniform were hurrying over, led by a middle-aged man around thirty years old.

This group was responsible for maintaining order in the market district. They had the authority to punish anyone who caused trouble.

They looked up, murderously fierce, ready to shout a reprimand. But then they saw the youth in blue robes.

Their souls trembled, and their entire bodies went cold, as if they had fallen into the depths of hell.

"Th-Third Young Master..." The seven or eight burly men trembled all over, their lips quivering and faces filled with terror.

At that moment, they all shared the same doubt. Why was this ruthless bastard interested in coming to the market district today?

"Oh? And this uncle would be?" Xiao Meng got up from atop the wretched man, wearing a charming smile that made him look like a harmless boy next door.

But the eight trembling men would never think that. When this guy turned vicious, it did not matter whether one was male, female, young, or old—their end would be miserable.

Nalan Yanran, the First Elder, and this brother with a bloodied, mangled face before them were not the best proof of that?

"Third Young Master, my name is Pain. I was personally appointed by the Clan Leader as captain of the guards, responsible for protecting the market district," the middle-aged man said tremblingly.

Xiao Meng had actually already guessed his identity; he simply had not been certain.

"So it's Uncle Pain."

Xiao Meng grinned. "Not only did this guy steal my jade pendant, he even complained that it was no good and wanted to beat me up. So I couldn't hold back and fought back. Look..."

The guards were speechless.

Damn, this guy is a real talent! He even dared to steal the Third Young Master's things, and after stealing them, he wanted to beat the Third Young Master up? How many lives does he have to dare court death like this?

Pain's heart twitched violently. His admiration for the brother lying on the ground was like the surging Yangtze River, endless and unceasing; like the overflowing Yellow River, utterly unstoppable.

"Third Young Master, this blind fool dared to offend you. He deserves to die."

Pain then turned his head and ordered the people behind him, "Xiao San, Xiao Si, go chop off that fellow's hands. Cripple his cultivation, then throw him out. Don't let him dirty the young master's eyes."

Pain's words immediately made the crowd suck in cold breaths, their eyes filled with horror.

"Tsk, tsk. As expected of the Xiao Clan. Truly domineering—talking about chopping off people's hands and crippling their cultivation at the drop of a hat."

At that moment, a strange, mocking voice rang out.

Xiao Meng frowned and turned around. But when he saw who had arrived, he burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, where did this ugly freak come from?"