C8 Night Attack!
In the City Lord's Mansion of Darkmoon City, within a secret chamber built from cold stone, a half-naked man sat, his body glowing red as if forged from iron, his blood boiling like molten lava within his veins.
His hair was wild and unkempt, and his muscular frame was bound by heavy chains of ice-silver, which coiled around his limbs.
The man's bearded face alternated between expressions of madness and moments of eerie calm. Deep within his eyes, twin volcanoes seemed to smolder, threatening to erupt at any moment.
Above his head, a crimson column of light burst forth intermittently, like a geyser, pulsing with energy. Within this fiery beacon, numerous talismans danced around a tiny figure that mirrored his appearance, though it radiated a fierce and menacing aura.
"Father," a soothing voice echoed through the chamber.
A moment later, a stunning woman materialized before the man. She was clad in a flowing light purple gown that hugged her slender waist, accentuating her voluptuous figure. Her poised and elegant demeanor was captivating, her beauty as enticing as a perfectly ripe peach.
"What's wrong with you?" she inquired with a soft concern.
Her father's attempt to ascend to the Yin God Stage had gone awry. His Earth Soul had failed to transform into a Yin God, leading to a catastrophic loss of control in his upper dantian. The unrefined Earth Soul, now tainted by a fire toxin, had not only caused his power to plummet to the Middle Period of the Penetrating Stage but also sparked conflict with his Heavenly and Human Souls, plunging him into bouts of confusion and violent madness.
His previous frenzies had led to several tragedies within Darkmoon City. Thankfully, as the City Lord, she had swiftly contained the chaos, averting further disaster.
Yet, with no other choice, she had reluctantly acquired expensive ice-silver chains to confine him within this chamber, ensuring no further mishaps would occur.
With a guttural howl, Yuan Qiufang's clarity returned, the red light atop his head subsiding.
"While purifying the fire toxin from my Earth Soul, I detected an intense surge of fiery energy," he explained, his voice steady once more. "Upon probing with my Spiritual Sense, I uncovered someone conducting pill refinement beneath the Yu family's estate in the northern reaches of the city."
Yuan Qiufang's face no longer bore traces of madness, only a thick fog of confusion.
"After Yu Cann's legs were broken, he remained under the Huang family's thumb, showing no signs of disturbance in recent years. Given the Yu family's resources, they shouldn't have the means to sustain, let alone hire, an alchemist."
He found it very odd.
"Perhaps it's just someone from the Yu family tinkering around," Yuan Lianyao suggested with a furrowed brow. "Pill refining? It's not as simple as it sounds!"
"No!" Yuan Qiufang shook his head, his voice grave. "The disturbance I sensed was no trifling matter! The burst of flames from the pill furnace was extraordinary! It must be the work of someone versed in the secret arts of pill refining, using a Flame Crystal to ignite the Matrix Diagram within the furnace!"
"Ah!"
Yuan Lianyao gasped, her hand covering her mouth. "Even the most basic pill furnace is engraved with a Flame Matrix Diagram. I'm aware that the Yu family spent a fortune on a low-grade pill furnace. But since its arrival, no one from the Yu family has managed to activate its Flame Matrix Diagram!"
"I'm certain now that someone has indeed activated the Flame Matrix Diagram on that pill furnace!"
"Understood, Father. I'll give this matter the attention it deserves."
"If there is indeed an alchemist out there!" Yuan Qiufang's voice rose with excitement. "Perhaps I could swiftly cure the fire toxin afflicting my soul!"
"Father," Yuan Lianyao sighed gently, "the fire toxin plaguing you isn't something just any alchemist can cleanse."
She didn't wait for a response before drifting away.
As soon as she left, the secret chamber was once again filled with intermittent roars.
...
Yu Yuan ingested a Channel Opening Pill.
As the pellet's potency began to unfold, he immediately engaged the Glorious Heavenly Wheel technique, drawing in the sparse Spiritual Qi of the area into his body.
Once the nine orbs of Spiritual Qi had orbited his dantian, eventually coalescing into a stream of Spiritual Light, the power of the Channel Opening Pill had permeated his meridians.
"Hu!"
The instant the stream of Spiritual Qi surged toward the ninth meridian, Yu Yuan sensed a distinct difference!
The ninth meridian's opening and clearing accelerated significantly, devoid of any unbearable pain or swelling.
"Heh! This pill truly hits the mark!"
In his past life, he had attempted to use the Channel Opening Pill to unblock his meridians with the power of the pill, but to no avail. Each attempt ended in excruciating pain, sometimes even causing him to faint, without a hint of progress.
Now, he was experiencing the Channel Opening Pill's extraordinary effects firsthand.
Before taking the pill, the ninth meridian was like a riverbed clogged with sand and stones, making the flow of energy a struggle.
With the pill, it was as if those hard obstructions had turned to quicksand, and with a surge of spiritual power, clearing the pathway became effortlessly easy.
Moreover, the pill's effects weren't limited to pain relief; it also repaired minor damages to the meridians, speeding up recovery.
Consequently, Yu Yuan's pulse opening efficiency soared.
He estimated that with the Channel Opening Pill's assistance, his meridian clearing efficiency was eight to nine times greater than before—and it was sustainable!
Previously, the process of opening meridians would cause soreness and swelling, with minor injuries requiring time to heal before continuing.
The Channel Opening Pill's presence meant that as the medicinal effects dissipated, the torn tissues would heal during cultivation, allowing uninterrupted progress.
"A single Channel Opening Pill releases its effects slowly, lasting over ten days. With these five pills and the Glorious Heavenly Wheel's capabilities, I should be able to open two more meridians and ascend to the tenth level!"
Determined not to squander the pill's potency, Yu Yuan dedicated the following days solely to cultivation, only pausing to request meals from his maid, Ann Ziqing.
Yu Cann, having been fed a lie, did everything in his power to assist and ensure Yu Yuan was left undisturbed.
Thus, Yu Yuan was able to immerse himself deeply in his cultivation.
Then, one deep night, he was jolted awake from his intense practice.
The cause of his sudden awakening was the presence of unnatural spiritual Qi mixed with the natural spiritual Qi he was absorbing through his pores.
The spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth carried an inherent icy chill, clashing with the Nine Glorious Heavenly Wheel technique he was cultivating. Far from aiding his practice, it posed a risk of injury.
He had no choice but to cease his cultivation.
"Is it the cold spiritual Qi again? Lim Zhuyun, or perhaps that cur, Yinn Jue?"
Yu Yuan's brow furrowed as he cast a somber gaze toward the sealed door and window. With deliberate calm, he drew a pill from within his robe.
It was a semi-finished Channel Opening Pill, reprocessed into a Lizard Blood Pill.
The Lizard Blood Pill was crafted using the ashes of the Blood Worm.
Yu Yuan had coated these ashes with a pitch-black, sticky substance derived from the corpses of various poisonous insects, ingeniously integrating it into the Channel Opening Pill to produce three Lizard Blood Pills.
This pill was a poison, concocted specifically for Yinn Jue.
"I have the skill to craft the Lizard Blood Pill, and I can just as easily neutralize its venom. Should a friend come bearing the effects of the poison because of me, I will resolve it. But if it's an enemy, well... they'll have to fend for themselves."
With a sudden force, he agitated the porcelain bottle containing the Lizard Blood Pill.
The pill inside, subjected to the violent shaking, burst into a crimson mist within the clear bottle.
Yu Yuan rose abruptly and approached the window, stealthily lifting a corner. He twisted the cotton plug sealing the bottle and angled the opening outward.
The red mist wafted from the bottle, swiftly dissipating into the air.
Invisible to the naked eye, minuscule toxins blended with the atmosphere, instinctively drifting toward any source of life energy.
A cultivator with exceptional vision might discern countless tiny red insects, far smaller than mosquitoes, their diminutive, serrated wings flapping eagerly as they danced through the air with a voracious thirst for blood.
This was the blood poison, released upon the volatilization of the Lizard Blood Pill.
The blood poison, sensing the presence of flesh, would aggressively seek it out.
...
In a shadowy nook of the pavilion, untouched by moonlight, a figure blended seamlessly with the darkness.
Yinn Jue, shrouded in a grey-black robe with a matching scarf concealing his face, revealed only his eyes—cold and calculating, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark, ready to strike.
Maid Ann Ziqing's eyes were wide with despair and terror, but she couldn't utter a sound. Just as it had happened days before, Yinn Jue's chilling green mist had once again immobilized her, freezing her limbs and even stalling the thoughts in her mind with its penetrating cold.
"You wretched thing, once I've killed that idiot, I'll take my time with you," Yinn Jue's eyes gleamed with a mix of cruelty and depravity. "He'll be the first to go, followed by you, and then the entire Yu family will join you in death."
Tiny green orbs, no bigger than grains of rice, flickered like fireflies, emerging from his fingertips. The orbs exuded a frigid aura as they swirled around the pavilion where Yu Yuan was in deep cultivation, seeking an opening like malevolent spirits.
"If you escaped death last time, this time, you won't be so lucky!" Yinn Jue, sensing the trajectory of the icy light with his spiritual energy, was consumed by a fierce desire to kill. He was well aware that if Yu Yuan survived, the Cold Yin Sect would never let him off the hook.
He had reached the Profound Break Stage thanks to the "Green Flame" technique bestowed upon him by the Cold Yin Sect. Although this Spiritual Spell was not of the highest grade and came with numerous side effects, it was inferior to the spell practiced by Lim Zhuyun. Yet, for Yinn Jue, it was the most precious technique he could have, and he treasured it deeply.
Determined to not disappoint the Lim family or the Cold Yin Sect, he was prepared to do whatever it took to secure the spiritual materials needed to advance his cultivation of the "Green Flame."
Suddenly, his expression shifted dramatically.
