"Damn it!"
Hu Qi stormed out of the Taoist temple, having found nothing. He shoved aside two children, lifted Xu Ming'an from the ground again, and said coldly, "Hand over the elixir formula immediately, or you'll regret it!"
"You dream!"
Xu Ming'an's gaze was icy. At this moment, he truly understood what it meant for the martial world to be full of dangers.
"Seeking death!"
Hu Qi searched Xu Ming'an thoroughly. Finding no storage bag, nor the elixir formula, he angrily swept out a leg, sending Xu Ming'an spitting blood once more.
Lü Shaoyan cast a cold glance at the young Taoist lying on the ground and sneered, "Guards, seize his two disciples and sacrifice them!"
"Kill them, kill them all!"
Xu Ming'an's eyes were bloodshot. "After you kill Xiao Man and Xiao Han, kill me too. You'll never get the elixir formula in this lifetime!"
"Young Master."
Beside him, the scholar Shen Wu shook his head and signaled, "There's no need for a mutually destructive outcome. It's not good for anyone. We should always leave room for maneuver. Since he's unwilling to hand over the formula, let it be."
"Hmph!"
Lü Shaoyan said resentfully, "Let's go, down the mountain!" Da Feng Novel Network.
The group left one by one. The scholar Shen Wu bowed deeply to Xu Ming'an, his eyes filled with helplessness. "I apologize, Master Xu. This is the way of the Lü Clan business. There's nothing I can do..."
"En."
Xu Ming'an endured the searing pain and nodded. "It's fine, you can go."
...
However, this debt could not be settled just like that.
Xu Ming'an braced himself and rose. No matter how powerful the Lü Clan business was, could they be more powerful than the twelfth-level Sword Immortals of the Mountain Peak Villa? At most, he would exhaust everything and ask Lin Zhao to invite a Sword Immortal down the mountain for help, and then refine the Zhenyuan Pill for Xueyu Tianchi for free to repay the favor. This debt still had to be settled. Otherwise, not only he, but Xiao Man and Xiao Han would also be in danger.
He wrote a letter to Lin Zhao. Just as he was about to use the talisman stone to summon a Flying Fish, someone else arrived on the mountain.
Only two people came. One was a middle-aged man in a deep red robe, Sun Tingxuan, the patriarch of Medicine King Valley. The other was the Mr. Su Zhe from Medicine King Valley who had visited that morning.
"We're late!"
Looking at the mess outside, Sun Tingxuan gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with indignation. "Damn it! These beasts from the Lü Clan of Yunzhou, I knew they must have planted people in our Medicine King Valley, otherwise the news wouldn't have leaked. This time... it's truly our Medicine King Valley that has implicated Daoist Master Xu!"
Speaking of this, Sun Tingxuan bowed and clasped his fists. "I, Sun Tingxuan, Patriarch of Medicine King Valley, apologize to Daoist Master Xu! If it weren't for the loose tongues of our Medicine King Valley servants leaking the news, Daoist Master Xu wouldn't have suffered this tribulation. It is our Medicine King Valley's fault!"
Upon hearing that this was the patriarch of Medicine King Valley, Xu Ming'an hesitated. He had met people from Medicine King Valley that morning and had a good impression of their sect, especially the twin sisters Sun Xingchun and Sun Yunnuan. They were innocent and had no ulterior motives. Sun Xingchun had even given a spirit hairpin to his disciple Gu Xiaohan.
"Patriarch Sun, there's no need to be like this..."
Xu Ming'an folded the letter for Lin Zhao and put it into his sleeve. He couldn't send it via Flying Fish for the moment. He frowned and said, "The people from the Lü Clan business might return for a surprise attack. Patriarch Sun should leave quickly, or if they really come, they might bring you great trouble."
"Impossible!"
Sun Tingxuan frowned, his eyes filled with righteous spirit. "The trouble our Medicine King Valley has caused Daoist Master Xu, our Medicine King Valley will naturally bear it. Even if the Lü Clan business returns for a surprise attack, I, Sun Tingxuan, will take responsibility for all matters!"
Just then, applause and cheers came from outside: "Patriarch Sun Tingxuan, what great courage you have!"
It was Lü Shaoyan, they had indeed returned!
"This..."
Xu Ming'an was burning with anxiety.
"Daoist Master!"
Sun Tingxuan frowned. "I said that no matter what happens today, our Medicine King Valley, I, Sun Tingxuan, will bear it all. This is not an empty promise. Please sit down, Daoist Master. I, Sun Tingxuan, will deal with these people!"
Saying this, the patriarch of the Sun family strode out of the Taoist temple, immediately conjuring a small world of an eleventh-level spirit cultivator. His spiritual energy surged like a descending sage. At the same time, Su Zhe also stepped forward, his fist intent immense. He smiled, "Young Master Lü is delicate and precious, he cannot suffer any bruises or injuries. Why don't you leave it to me, Su Zhe? Treading Sea realm versus Treading Sea realm!"
"Alright, Mr. Su, be careful!"
The next moment, Su Zhe's body was filled with surging fist intent. He transformed into a bolt of lightning and rushed out, his fist slamming violently into Lü Shaoyan's. The two martial artists immediately crashed into the nearby forest, their fist auras exploding.
"Sun Tingxuan, you are asking for humiliation!"
Hu Qi, the steward of the Lü Clan business entourage, sneered. His fist intent surged, and he slammed a powerful punch from the sky, directly landing in Sun Tingxuan's small world. Sun Tingxuan's body trembled, and his face turned extremely grim. Spirit cultivators of the same realm were bound to be at a disadvantage against martial artists, even if they conjured a small world, it would be broken by the martial artist's fist intent.
But Sun Tingxuan did not want to be a sitting duck. He unleashed his magical artifacts one after another, conjuring gusts of wind and spells towards his opponent. Hu Qi's fist intent surged, growing stronger as he faced a stronger opponent. Although his arms and shoulders were already bleeding from Sun Tingxuan's magic weapons, his robust physique could withstand it. Conversely, when Hu Qi's sharp punch landed on Sun Tingxuan's chest, the sound of broken ribs could be heard. The patriarch of the Sun family could only endure the pain of his injuries and continue to release spells to counter his opponent.
"Patriarch Sun!"
Xu Ming'an stood in front of the Taoist temple. He couldn't intervene in this battle between divine immortals on the mountain. After a few more moves, Hu Qi brought down a palm strike from the air onto Sun Tingxuan's body, even breaking his collarbone. Sun Tingxuan spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees before the Taoist temple door. He looked up, his eyes ice-cold as he stared at his opponent. "Hu Qi, if you have the guts, kill me and see how Medicine King Valley will respond!"
"Tsk tsk!"
Hu Qi smiled. "How dare I, how dare I? I am merely a humble attendant. How could I dare to kill the patriarch of a first-class sect like Medicine King Valley? I, Hu Qi, am merely following orders. Please forgive me, Patriarch Sun, for everything that has happened today!"
A figure fell from the sky, rolling far on the ground with a 'poof'. It was Lü Shaoyan, his head bloodied. Su Zhe, the steward of Medicine King Valley, was also covered in blood, frowning. "If your Lü Clan business really wants to destroy yourselves, then proceed. However, Medicine King Valley is in the Northern Region, after all, and closer."
As he spoke, he produced a Flying Fish in his hand.
"Wait, that's enough!"
Lü Shaoyan got up, looking disheveled and resentful. "Sun Tingxuan, are you really going to back this insignificant Taoist temple's young Taoist? Aren't you afraid of offending our Lü Clan business? Aren't you afraid of breaking off our business relationship!"
"Otherwise?!"
Sun Tingxuan staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall behind him, and sneered. "Do you think the cultivators of Medicine King Valley only know how to refine elixirs and have forgotten the righteousness of the martial world?"
"We'll see!"
Lü Shaoyan gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Hu Qi, let's go!"
Instantly, Hu Qi supported Lü Shaoyan and they rode the wind away.
...
Sun Tingxuan let out a pained groan and fell to the ground again.
"Patriarch!"
Su Zhe flew forward, took out a life-saving elixir, and immediately gave him one. He frowned. "What should we do? What should we do? With such severe injuries, we can't return to Medicine King Valley by wind today. Otherwise, the jolting along the way might worsen the injuries!"
Xu Ming'an immediately said, "If you two don't mind, please stay in the Taoist temple. I'll go kill a chicken and make soup for Patriarch Sun to replenish his vitality. Patriarch Sun was injured like this because of our Danxia Mountain. Xu Ming'an is grateful for your help and sincerely thanks you!"
"It's fine, it's fine..."
Sun Tingxuan smiled and shook his head. "We'll leave tomorrow. Everything today is just karma. Daoist Master, you don't need to feel indebted, and you don't need to feel guilty about not selling the elixir formula to Medicine King Valley. It's nothing. Medicine King Valley can wait. We can wait until your master returns. It's fine, Medicine King Valley can wait..."
"En, thank you!"
Xu Ming'an nodded, feeling that the patriarch of Medicine King Valley truly spoke with a warm heart.
...
Late at night.
Sun Tingxuan drank the chicken soup and took his medicine before falling asleep. Su Zhe kept watch beside him. On the other side, Xiao Man and Xiao Han were already fast asleep in the room to the left of the Taoist temple.
Xu Ming'an had a peaceful night and then came to the alchemy room alone, deciding to refine another batch of elixirs. He took out a piece of paper from somewhere, which recorded the formula for Zhenyuan Pill. He stuck the paper to a wooden stake nearby. After preparing everything, he began the new batch of alchemy, working until the middle of the night, when his eyelids began to droop.
At this moment, although Sun Tingxuan's eyes were closed, a small gray paper figure floated out from his sleeve. It silently flew out from the crack in the door of the Taoist temple and, with the gentle breeze, arrived in the alchemy room of the thatched cottage.
This paper figure was no ordinary object; it was a low-level magical artifact called a "Puppet Doll." Because it had little practical use, it was classified as a "Human-grade" magical artifact. Few cultivators on the mountains would refine such a magical artifact, but for the sake of the elixir formula, Sun Tingxuan had refined a Puppet Doll that day, and now it had finally served its purpose.
Everything the Puppet Doll saw was fully presented in Sun Tingxuan's mind. When his gaze fell upon the elixir formula, Sun Tingxuan's heart pounded. He and the Lü Clan of Yunzhou had conspired to stage a ruse, and finally, they had tricked the cunning and stubborn little Taoist into handing over the Zhenyuan Pill formula!
He closed his eyes, but his mind had already memorized every ingredient and every detail of the alchemy process.
...
Xu Ming'an leaned against the door, his eyes half-closed as he watched the alchemy furnace.
What it meant for the martial world to be full of dangers and human hearts to be like a deep abyss, he did not truly know.