At dawn, the rising sun slowly climbed into the sky, its gentle rays driving away the darkness.
Within the Thousand-Mountain Forest, towering mountains rose from the earth like swords that could split open the heavens. Grand and majestic, they stood between heaven and earth with an ancient wilderness aura, perilous and impossible to scale.
Fine trees filled the mountains, clouds and rosy mists drifted about, and spiritual energy permeated the air, making it seem like an earthly paradise.
"Great Desolate Heaven-Imprisoning Finger, First Finger: Heaven and Earth Imprisonment!"
In a valley, Xiao Meng's tightly shut eyes abruptly flew open. He let out a low roar in his heart, stepped forward, and then pointed down through the air.
Origin Force gathered as a pitch-black giant finger, roughly a dozen meters long, tore through the sky. Like a towering pillar crashing down from above, it carried a strange aura of desolation.
"Bang!"
The giant finger descended, shaking the earth. Everything in its path was wiped away.
When the dust settled, a massive pit dozens of meters long remained on the ground.
"This first finger, Heaven and Earth Imprisonment, is comparable to a mid-tier Profound-rank Dou Skill. With my current strength, it's still difficult to unleash its full power. But if I use it with all my strength, it should be enough to kill an ordinary Dou Master." Xiao Meng swept his gaze across the ravaged valley, greatly satisfied with the destruction he had caused.
Then, he looked up at the blazing sun in the distance and murmured, "In a little over half a month, I've mastered the first finger of the Great Desolate Heaven-Imprisoning Finger. The Origin Force in my body has increased severalfold as well. It's time to prepare to condense my second Origin Core."
"The Purple Fire Star Pill is a Third-Grade Pill. To use it to condense a second Origin Core, I'll need at least two pills. I only prepared two or three sets of ingredients, so if I want to refine at least two Purple Fire Star Pills, I'll have to improve my alchemy first."
"But I don't have ingredients for any other Third-Grade Pills, so I can only refine some Second-Grade Pills to improve my proficiency in alchemy."
Having made up his mind, Xiao Meng sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes to recover his strength first.
At last, he expertly made his way to a cave and began his great alchemy undertaking.
Xiao Clan.
"Damn it, Jia Lie Bi, you old bastard! I, Xiao Zhan, am not done with you!" In the main hall, Xiao Zhan roared furiously with a livid face, smashing his fist onto the table so hard that even the red ironwood table cracked.
Today, the Xiao Clan and the Gale Clan had clashed fiercely, and the Gale Clan's target had actually been Xiao Yan.
Recently, with Xiao Yan's help, the Xiao Clan's marketplaces had gradually returned to normal. This led the Gale Clan to investigate the Xiao Clan from every angle, trying to discover who was helping them.
Xiao Yan's identity as an alchemist had been tightly guarded by the Xiao Clan. Aside from a few elders, no one else knew. Yet Xiao Yan had ultimately caught the attention of Liu Xi's master. After all, alchemists often possessed certain similar traits.
The Gale Clan had only half-believed it at first. Xiao Yan was, after all, a famously useless good-for-nothing. But Liu Xi's master was a third-grade alchemist, and his words carried considerable authority. Furthermore, with Xiao Meng as a precedent, they suspected that Xiao Yan might also have been concealing his abilities.
Thus, with the mindset of killing a thousand by mistake rather than letting one escape, the Gale Clan had decided to kill Xiao Yan at all costs. Even if it meant going to war with the Xiao Clan, they would not hesitate.
What was more, they now had a third-grade alchemist on their side. One had to know that having the support of Third-Grade Pills and lacking such support were worlds apart.
Therefore, the Gale Clan no longer feared going to war with the Xiao Clan.
"Now that Little Yan has been seriously injured, our Xiao Clan's marketplaces will lack the support of medicinal pills for some time. The little vitality we finally managed to recover will likely drain away again. And those major clients have probably been unable to sit still for a while now. They must have been contacting the Gale Clan behind our backs. If this continues, our marketplaces will never recover." The Great Elder's face burned with rage.
"Since they shamelessly attacked Little Yan, why don't we repay them in kind? I'll lead some men and slaughter that Gale Clan alchemist," the Fourth Elder said, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Leaving aside the fact that Jia Lie Bi will guard him closely, that old fellow is a Da Dou Shi himself. How could killing him be so easy?" the Second Elder sighed.
"Unless Meng'er takes action. Then that old bastard will definitely die." The Ninth Elder's eyes lit up as he abruptly turned to Xiao Zhan. The others immediately looked over as well.
Their meaning was obvious. They all wanted Xiao Meng to kill Liu Xi's master.
Xiao Zhan said helplessly, "Third Brother has disappeared somewhere these past days. I can't find him at all. Besides, he already said he wouldn't interfere in this matter. You all know that."
"Clan Head, Meng'er said back then that he would not interfere if the Gale Clan and Little Yan were fighting openly and fairly. But today, the Gale Clan used such despicable methods against Little Yan. Meng'er surely won't stand by and do nothing, will he?" the Eighth Elder said.
Xiao Zhan sighed. "That may be true, but the one who injured Fourth Brother was Jia Lie Ao. So even if Third Brother wants to intervene, given Yan'er's personality, he won't allow Third Brother to get involved. You should all understand that."
The elders fell silent. They naturally knew what kind of temperament Xiao Yan had. He looked gentle and harmless on the surface, but the ruthlessness in his bones was stronger than anyone's, and he held grudges even more fiercely—perhaps even more fiercely than Xiao Meng.
It was only because his cultivation had declined over the past three years that he had seemed somewhat dejected.
More importantly, the boy was stubbornly prideful. If Jia Lie Bi had injured him today, he would definitely have asked Xiao Meng to kill Jia Lie Bi for him. But Jia Lie Ao was different.
Having been injured by someone nearly of his own generation, Xiao Yan would absolutely wash away that humiliation himself.
Sure enough, before falling unconscious, he had not forgotten to tell Xiao Zhan not to let them kill Jia Lie Ao.
"But you needn't worry too much. The sky won't fall. At worst, the Xiao Clan's business will be sluggish for a while. That's hardly a serious matter. As for those fence-sitters, this is a good opportunity to clean them out," Xiao Zhan said coldly.
The Great Elder nodded. "The Clan Head is right. Leaving aside Meng'er, with Little Yan's talent for alchemy alone, the Xiao Clan's rise is only a matter of time. We can grit our teeth and get through this little hardship."
"Right. Even if everyone in the marketplaces leaves, even if the marketplaces themselves are gone, we can simply open new ones," the other elders echoed.
After discussing the matter, Xiao Zhan stood and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll go check on Xiao Mei first."
"We'll go too!" the elders said as they rose.
"Jia Lie Ao, if Brother Xiao Yan didn't want to kill you himself, I would tear you into ten thousand pieces!"
Outside Xiao Yan's room, Xiao Xun'er was brimming with killing intent, like a little tyrannosaur that could go berserk at any moment.
"Cousin Xiao Ning, since you're here, come out. Why are you hiding there?" Xiao Xun'er's gaze suddenly turned toward the corner of the building not far away as she spoke coldly.
As soon as her words fell, a young man wrapped in white bandages and covered in wounds stepped out from behind the corner. His face was somewhat awkward, but even more so, he was still shaken with fear.
"How are Xiao Mei's injuries?" Seeing the white bandages all over Xiao Ning's body, Xiao Xun'er's expression immediately softened considerably.
Today, if Xiao Ning and the others had not fought with all their strength, Xiao Yan might have died at Jia Lie Ao's hands. In the end, Xiao Mei had even disregarded her own safety to block a fatal blow for Xiao Yan. Xiao Xun'er was deeply grateful for that.
"I came precisely to talk to you about Xiao Mei."
Xiao Ning sighed. Perhaps in this world, only Xiao Yan could make this peerless woman show such tenderness.
"When I went to see Xiao Mei earlier, I discovered that her injuries were recovering at an unbelievable speed. I also found a newly written prescription in her room. I don't know who left it behind, and I can't determine whether it's genuine. I don't know whether I should get the medicine according to the prescription. The Clan Head and the others are all in a clan meeting, and you've seen more of the world than we have, so I could only come to you for advice." As he spoke, Xiao Ning took a prescription from his robes and handed it to Xiao Xun'er.
Xiao Xun'er's expression tightened. She quickly accepted the prescription from Xiao Ning, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Since this person chose to help Xiao Mei in secret, he is most likely not from the Xiao Clan, yet he bears goodwill toward it. But for him to come and go freely within the Xiao Clan without being discovered, he must be an expert. His strength must also surpass Ling Ying's, or he could not possibly escape Ling Ying's notice."
"Not from the Xiao Clan, yet he bears goodwill toward it, and he is extremely powerful... It seems he must be the person behind Brother Xiao Yan."
Thinking of this, Xiao Xun'er abruptly raised her head and looked toward Xiao Yan's door, as though she wanted to see clearly what was inside. She was completely certain that the person behind Xiao Yan was currently in that room.
"Cousin Xiao Ning, just get the medicine for Xiao Mei according to this prescription. Nothing will happen," Xiao Xun'er said with a smile, suppressing the urge to rush in and take a look.
"No matter who you are, if you dare do anything to harm Brother Xiao Yan, I, Xiao Xun'er, will make you pay the price." After Xiao Ning left, Xiao Xun'er continued staring fixedly at the two doors.
Inside the room.
"Ah! I leave your side for just a little while, and you turn yourself into this state. You really know how to make trouble." Seeing Xiao Yan in the wooden tub, his injuries so severe they were almost unbelievable, Yao Lao could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
"Teacher, I'm only at the eighth stage of Dou Qi. Facing a six-star Dou Zhe, it's already pretty good that I survived," Xiao Yan said with a bitter smile, his gaze unfocused.
"You survived, and now you have to torment me, is that it? With injuries this severe, these old bones of mine are going to be worked to death," Yao Lao said irritably.
"By the way, wasn't Jia Lie Ao only a four-star Dou Zhe the last time we saw him? How did he suddenly become a six-star Dou Zhe? Even if he ate Third-Grade Pills as meals every day, he couldn't possibly improve that quickly." Yao Lao asked in a deep voice.
Xiao Yan said weakly, "His true cultivation was indeed at the four-star Dou Zhe level. But at the time, he took a red pill. I don't know what kind of pill it was. After he swallowed it, his cultivation shot up to six-star Dou Zhe."
"Red, capable of raising one's cultivation by two stars in a short time... Could it be the Red Phosphorus Pill?" Yao Lao frowned.
"Teacher, what kind of pill is this Red Phosphorus Pill?" Xiao Yan asked.
"This is a pill I accidentally created back then. Once your injuries heal, I'll explain it to you properly." Yao Lao's face darkened, filled with hatred.
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