Ever since he returned from that small town, a sense of urgency had gripped Xiao Meng's heart. He wanted to increase his strength as quickly as possible, because intuition told him that it would not be long before a disaster affected him and the Xiao Clan.
Therefore, for the next few days, he stopped asking about the affairs of the Xiao Clan and concentrated wholeheartedly on his cultivation.
Inside the basement, Xiao Meng circulated the Eternal Undying Art day and night to consolidate his foundation, mobilizing the Origin Force within the Heavenly Abode to nourish his physical body, hoping to condense the third Origin Core as soon as possible.
More than ten days later, Xiao Meng finally ended his seclusion.
I've refined so many precious medicinal herbs, yet I still can't condense the third Origin Core. It seems this matter cannot be rushed, Xiao Meng sighed, then got up, left his side hall, and went out for a walk.
A few days ago, Xiao Yan had already become a second-grade alchemist. With him constantly providing first-grade and second-grade pills, the popularity of the Xiao Clan's market immediately rebounded sharply.
At the same time, Xiao Zhan and the others had all finished their retreats, and their cultivations had broken through. The pills personally refined by Yao Lao were simply not something Chang Shan could compare to.
Now, the elders in the clan intended to temper the younger generation of the Xiao Clan, so they handed the entire Xiao Clan market over to the disciples to manage, with Xiao Yan taking the lead.
As elders, they did not interfere in any matters of the market, only being responsible for protecting the safety of the clan's disciples.
However, they discovered that Xiao Yan's economic mind was simply unbelievable. Many of the decisions Xiao Yan made exceeded their imaginations.
Sometimes, whenever Xiao Yan made a decision, they felt it was sheer fantasy, bizarre and eccentric, and deemed it unfeasible, thinking it would cause huge losses to the Xiao Clan.
Yet the final result left them dumbfounded and shocked.
To this, Xiao Meng only wanted to say that an Earthling was ultimately an Earthling. People from any world could only live under the halo of Earthlings.
Even if Xiao Yan was just a supporting character, his halo could still overshadow everyone's brilliance.
The Xiao Clan's situation improved rapidly, but the Gale Clan's situation was not so good. It was true that Liu Xi's master was a third-grade alchemist, but with the medicinal herbs failing to keep up, he was helpless as well.
Recently, however, the Gale Clan had not made any major moves, and seemed to have become much more well-behaved.
Yet Xiao Meng knew that this was the moment when a storm was brewing.
According to the news Xiao Yan scouted out from the Mittel Auction House, the Gale Clan was frantically purchasing a batch of medicinal herbs used to refine the Red Phosphorus Pill. I'm afraid it wouldn't be many days before they gathered the herbs.
Xiao Meng was very clear that the day Liu Xi's master refined the Red Phosphorus Pill would be the day the Gale Clan encircled and suppressed the Xiao Clan.
However, he did not care about this at all.
A mere Gale Clan could be swept away by him with a few thrusts of his spear.
Moreover, his father Xiao Zhan's cultivation had already broken through to the six-star Da Dou Shi. As long as Xiao Zhan practiced the first finger of the Great Desolate Heaven-Imprisoning Finger as soon as possible, even if Jia Lie Bi took the Red Phosphorus Pill, he would still be unable to do anything to the Xiao Clan.
Recently, another event had shaken Wutan City: a few days ago, Xiao Yan had a brawl with Jia Lie Ao, and as a result, Xiao Yan crippled him.
Now, everyone in Wutan City knew that those two good-for-nothings of the Xiao Clan were actually geniuses only seen once in a century, and they had been hiding their clumsiness all along.
This left many people dumbfounded, while also causing quite a few to blurt out a foul curse: "What the fuck... two little swindlers..."
After strolling around for a day, Xiao Meng prepared to go back and continue his secluded cultivation, but the moment he closed the door, the sound of knocking rang out.
Xiao Meng frowned. The force of this knock was heavy, crude, and barbarous, clearly showing dissatisfaction with him and an intent to cause trouble.
Could it be that dead girl Xiao Xun'er? But I didn't provoke her today, Xiao Meng instinctively fetched his almighty spatula and then went to open the door. He wanted to see which blind bastard dared to come and ruin his mood.
"Number Four...?" Xiao Meng pushed the door open, only to see Xiao Yan glaring at him with a fury that burned to the heavens.
Has this bastard been fucked by a dog? Facing the raging Xiao Yan, Xiao Meng only felt a bit baffled.
"Third Brother, you actually instigated Xiao Ning and the others to ambush me at night, hit me with sashes, and put me in sacks! You must give me an explanation for this!" Xiao Yan roared.
Some time ago, he had been beaten up three or four times while being trapped in sacks, and his luck was so bad that every time he was beaten, Yao Lao was either not by his side or was using the Soul-Nourishing Wood to restore his soul force.
Therefore, he had no idea who the mastermind was.
However, during these days, almost all the Xiao Clan disciples had received favors from him, and their cultivations had improved rapidly. Thus, during this period, his relationship with a group of disciples was extremely good, until just before when he gave a first-grade pill to Xiao Ning.
He didn't know whether Xiao Ning was grateful to him or if his conscience was pricked, but he ended up telling him about this matter, while repeatedly reminding him not to tell Xiao Meng that he was the one who spilled the beans for fear that Xiao Meng would come looking for trouble.
Upon hearing that Xiao Meng was the one who forced them to do this, Xiao Yan had almost vomited blood from anger right then and there. What the hell kind of logic was this?
So he was furious and couldn't figure it out, and came to ask Xiao Meng why he had done such a thing.
Xiao Meng's expression paused. He thought about it; there indeed was such a thing, but he had already forgotten about it.
Yet could he admit to this matter?
Absolutely not.
"Number Four, what are you talking about? How come I, your third brother, can't understand a single word? What hitting with sashes and putting in sacks?" Xiao Meng's expression turned rigid and he feigned utter cluelessness.
"Number Three, stop putting on an act for me. If you hadn't instigated them, would Xiao Ning and the others have had the guts to play dirty with me?" Seeing Xiao Meng play dumb, Xiao Yan felt his anger flare up.
"Is that what Xiao Ning told you?" Xiao Meng asked amiably without getting angry.
"Never mind who said it, you must give me an explanation today!" Xiao Yan roared.
"I'll give you an explanation..."
"Bang—"
Xiao Meng wore a cold sneer at the corner of his mouth and decisively struck. His right hand swept the spatula across, while his left hand thrust a straight punch forward, saying, "This is the explanation I'm giving you."
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Lacking manners and respect, you little rabbit. Is 'Number Three' something you can just yell?"
Xiao Meng pinned Xiao Yan to the ground and gave him a wild beating.
"Still daring to block, let's see how many blows you can block."
Xiao Meng said with disdain, Your older brother wants to beat you; does he still need to instigate others? Does he need to ambush you at night, put you in sacks, and hit you with sashes...?
Are you overestimating yourself, or are you looking down on me?
"I've told you before, your older brother will always be your older brother, and you need to learn respect. Why can't you ever remember that?"
Xiao Meng curled his lip and said, "I'll make you call me Number Three, I'll make you call me Number Three."
Xiao Yan: *"%￥@#..."*
That night, a series of miserable screams echoed through the Xiao Clan. Nine out of ten disciples howled like ghosts and wolves, all having been beaten very miserably by Xiao Meng.
Xiao Ning was even more wretched. After being knocked unconscious, he was thrown straight into the latrine.
This is the fate of daring to slander your Meng Ge, Xiao Meng left this line of text on the wall and then returned to his side hall as if nothing had happened.
Coming to the basement, Xiao Meng pondered for a bit and decided to go fishing once.
Presently, he still had five fishing chances unused, and he wanted to see if he could hook any treasures beneficial to his cultivation breakthrough.
After taking out the fishing rod, he began to fish.
Soon, he saw a boundless desert where those golden sand grains shimmered, somewhat dazzling to the eyes. Heatwaves rolled like a vast sea, making the earth look like a giant furnace.
There's a small pool over there, and there's some kind of liquid inside it.
Following the path extended by the hook, Xiao Meng saw a divine pool. It was only about a meter square, not very large, but exceptionally conspicuous amidst the golden desert.
Although the divine pool was small, it carried a vast undulation, akin to an ocean rising and falling, making one feel awe-inspired. The divine liquid inside was glittering, emitting a sacred brilliance that shone out in strands of rosy light. Moreover, a hazy mist billowed and auspicious multicolored light spewed, shrouding the place.
Even if Xiao Meng could not recognize the precious liquid inside the pool, he knew it was a rare treasure of inestimable value.
However, right at that moment, Xiao Meng discovered a group of people approaching the divine pool, every single one of them refined and transcendent, possessing formidable strength.
Xiao Meng heard their conversation, and his expression changed slightly.
"Great! My Rain Clan has hope of rising. If a pool of water like this is obtained by us, our clan is destined to be incomparably brilliant in the future, reviving the glory of our ancient family name." An old man was so excited that his hair and beard were trembling.
A group of people gazed into the distance, all looking with intense yearning at the divine pool hooked by his fishing line. Every single one of them was very excited, their bodies trembling.
A middle-aged man gave a reminder, saying, "Be careful. The Taiyi True Water has spirit; we cannot brutally destroy the runes. We must approach it bit by bit, using our Rain Clan's innate affinity with water to communicate with it and gain its trust."
"Rain Clan, Taiyi True Water?"
Xiao Meng's expression paused, and then he exclaimed inwardly: This is Perfect World?
Before you continue