Ye Xuan didn’t say a word. He hadn’t expected his grandfather to make such an arrangement. But his grandfather likely never imagined that Ye Xuan was an Alchemy Master himself. Having obtained the Pill Book, he didn’t need anyone to teach him. He could be entirely self-taught.
"Master, do you mean he’s my junior brother?" Sun Hang’s surprised voice rang out.
Jing Zhiyuan shook his head. "Not necessarily. Having Fire Attribute Spiritual Qi doesn’t guarantee you can become a Pill Master. Alchemy requires talent. Waiter, whichever pill furnace he wants to buy, put it on my tab."
"Master Jing, he wants this one."
"Give it to him."
"Understood."
The waiter picked up the pill furnace and brought it to Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan took the pill furnace. With a mere thought, thirty thousand Demon Soul Crystals materialized on the floor. He didn’t know the exact price of this pill furnace, but the waiter had mentioned that the most expensive one cost no more than thirty thousand. So, he simply paid the highest price.
As the proverb went, a principled man refused to drink from a tainted spring, and a man of integrity scorned condescending charity. Ye Xuan had backbone. How could he allow the other party to just give him the pill furnace?
"Ye Xuan, do you think this is over?" Sun Hang gritted his teeth, letting out a low growl. He was still harboring lingering fear. If his master hadn’t intervened just now, he would be dead. He never expected Ye Xuan to have a bodyguard with such high cultivation. It was likely an arrangement by the Gongsun family.
Ye Xuan replied coldly, "I don’t think this is over, either. Your head will stay on your shoulders for now. But rest assured, it won’t be there for long."
With that, Ye Xuan left the courtyard and boarded his beast vehicle. Inside the beast vehicle, a burst of evil energy suddenly surged. Blood Princess flashed into existence.
"Master, it hurts..." she whimpered, looking extremely aggrieved. There was a bloody gash across her lower abdomen.
Jing Zhiyuan’s punch had pierced right through Blood Princess’s body. The erupting Spiritual Qi had acted like a storm of blades, leaving her internal organs riddled with wounds. Had it been an ordinary person, their organs would have been shredded, rendering them completely immobile. But Blood Princess was not human.
"You’ve suffered. I didn’t expect Jing Zhiyuan’s cultivation to be so high. Later, I’ll let you drink as much blood as you want," Ye Xuan said.
"Really?" Blood Princess’s eyes lit up. She flashed her little fangs in a delighted smile.
"Really. But right now, I need you to do something for me."
"Master, just tell me what it is."
Ye Xuan’s eyes turned icy. "Kill Sun Hang."
That Sun Hang was far too arrogant. Not only had he insulted Ye Xuan’s mother, but he had made absolutely no effort to conceal his killing intent earlier. He had no intention of letting a man like that live to see another day.
"Take this sword," Ye Xuan continued, drawing an Earth-grade weapon.
"Master, I don’t need a sword to kill him."
"I know. I’m giving you this sword to kill Jing Zhiyuan."
Jing Zhiyuan had shown absolutely no mercy with his strike! He had fully intended to kill Blood Princess in a single blow. Fortunately, she wasn’t human. Otherwise, even if she had managed to escape, it would have been a dead end.
In truth, Ye Xuan should be the one to exact this revenge, but his strength was still far too lacking. Jing Zhiyuan’s cultivation was undoubtedly at the Earth Spirit Realm. He could only give the sword to Blood Princess and let her try. As long as Jing Zhiyuan wasn’t above the 3rd Layer of the Earth Spirit Realm, Blood Princess, armed with this sword and utilizing her Divine Power of Instant Movement, was entirely capable of killing him.
Blood Princess nodded repeatedly. "That old man caused me so much pain. He deserves to die!"
"Blood Princess, remember: three strikes at most. If you can’t kill Jing Zhiyuan within three strikes, leave immediately."
"Understood, Master. Should I go now?"
"Yes, go now."
"But what if I fail to kill that old man? Won’t you be exposed? What if he chases after you?"
"It’s fine. Once we pass this street, we’ll be at the Gongsun family estate. Within the Gongsun family, he can’t kill me."
Meanwhile, in the inner courtyard, Sun Hang and Jing Zhiyuan had yet to leave.
"Master, why did you let him go?" Sun Hang asked, still unwilling to let the matter rest. His eyes were thick with murderous intent.
Jing Zhiyuan replied coldly, "Why do you think? He is, after all, a member of the Gongsun family."
Sun Hang scoffed arrogantly. "Others might fear the Gongsun family, but I, Sun Hang, do not. Setting aside the fact that I am your prized disciple, my grandfather is from the Celestial Secret Pavilion! Would the Gongsun family really dare to kill me just because I insulted Gongsun Yanran?"
"Sun Hang, you are too proud. The Gongsun family does indeed show the Sun family some courtesy out of wariness toward the Celestial Secret Pavilion. But if they truly cast aside all decorum and made a move against you, what would your grandfather dare to do? Would he dare kill Gongsun Wenjin? He wouldn’t! If he made a move, even the Celestial Secret Pavilion couldn’t protect him. He would be hunted to the ends of the earth by the one hundred and eight Sub-City Lords."
Sun Hang spat on the ground. "What a disgusting rule!"
"Enough. I know you hold a grudge, but you didn’t lose out. The woman who attacked you earlier won’t survive."
"Really?"
"I showed no mercy when I struck. The erupting Spiritual Qi has already devastated most of her internal organs, and her heart might have been shredded as well. Even with Spirit Medicine, she cannot recover! She is definitely a dead woman."
"That’s a relief. That bitch almost killed me. Damn it!"
"Learn from this. When you encounter members of the Gongsun family in the future, don’t be so insolent. If I hadn’t been with you today, you would already be dead."
Sun Hang looked somewhat exasperated. "I just didn’t expect a mere illegitimate child to dare attack me. Anyone else from the Gongsun family, even Gongsun Po, would be polite to me out of respect for you. How dare he lay a hand on me! Master, I still can’t swallow this insult. The moment I get a chance, I’ll kill him."
The more Sun Hang thought about it, the more frustrated and infuriated he became.
Jing Zhiyuan said flatly, "Kill him if you wish, but you must choose the right moment. Do not expose yourself."
"Don’t worry, Master. Killing him will be effortless. I won’t leave a trace."
"Good. By the way, did these two grade-six pill furnaces just arrive?"
"Yes, my grandfather likely had someone deliver them."
"Then I must take a careful look."
Jing Zhiyuan said no more. He lowered his head and meticulously examined the two grade-six pill furnaces. His cautious demeanor made it seem as though he were terrified of accidentally breaking them. To a Pill Master, their most cherished possession was their pill furnace.
As Jing Zhiyuan was engrossed in his inspection, a burst of evil energy suddenly materialized in the courtyard. It appeared without warning, leaving him completely unprepared.
"It’s that woman! Oh no."
By the time Jing Zhiyuan reacted and whipped around, his eyes nearly split open in fury.
A head flew high into the air. Blood rained down from the sky like falling petals. Blood Princess had severed Sun Hang’s neck. His head soared upwards, his eyes wide open in a dead stare.
"No!" Jing Zhiyuan roared in rage.
Though Sun Hang was arrogant, he possessed great talent for Alchemy. Jing Zhiyuan had lived for over two hundred years, and Sun Hang was the only formal disciple he had ever accepted. When his lifespan inevitably neared its end, Sun Hang was meant to inherit all his teachings. Yet now, he had been slaughtered.
But after the initial wave of fury, profound shock washed over Jing Zhiyuan. This woman had taken his full-power strike, yet here she was, leaping about alive and well. He scrutinized her body, and what he saw left him dumbfounded. Though there was still a visible wound, it had mostly healed.
What was this astonishing regenerative ability? Did she possess some miraculous Spirit Medicine?
Just as Jing Zhiyuan was reeling in disbelief, Blood Princess vanished into thin air.