Chapter 34: Star Hidden, Using Blood to Avenge (Part 1)

On the outskirts of Flowing Cloud City, in the corner of an abandoned house.

Xiao Che sat there quietly, his body weakly leaning against the cold wall behind him, his unfocused eyes staring blankly ahead, as if his soul had left his body.

He had maintained this posture for several hours.

In his life on Azure Cloud Continent, he had been abandoned by his parents, and until his death, he never knew who his birth parents were. The only thing connecting him to them was the pendant he always wore around his neck.

In this life on Profound Sky Continent, he had been orphaned from a young age, but at least he knew who his parents were, their names, and he had a grandfather and an aunt... However, fate had played a cruel joke on him once more. All of it had turned out to be false.

His grandfather was not his biological grandfather, and his aunt was not truly his aunt...

He still didn't know who his parents were, nor did he know his own surname.

His experiences across two lives had broadened his emotional capacity, but he still couldn't quickly accept this rootless, drifting sensation again.

Who am I really...? And where do I go from here?

He had been expelled from the Xiao Clan, forbidden to ever set foot inside again. He knew very well that it wasn't just the Xiao Clan; he couldn't stay in Flowing Cloud City at all. He hadn't left yet, only because he was worried about his grandfather and aunt; at the very least, he needed to confirm their safety.

Time flowed slowly, from morning to noon, and then as the sky gradually darkened.

After a day without food, Xiao Che felt no hunger. As the sun withdrew its last ray of light and fully set, Xiao Che finally slowly raised his head. In his previously blank eyes, a terrifying, devilish light slowly congealed. Silently, he began to laugh without a sound, his lips slightly parted, smiling with a grimness like a demon from hell.

With a chilling, faint smile, he slowly extended his left hand. In his palm appeared a small, emerald green herb... It was one of the two Star Concealing Grasses he had found on the back mountain the night he married Xia Qingyue. He gazed at the Star Concealing Grass, and suddenly, a verdant light burst forth from his palm, enveloping the herb.

Under the emerald light, the Star Concealing Grass strangely twisted, contracted, and changed color... Finally, it transformed into a small pile of dark green powder.

Xiao Che gently blew, and the dark green powder immediately scattered completely. In his palm, only a transparent bead remained, having appeared at some unknown moment.

This was the Sky Poison Pearl's most core and most heaven-defying ability... Refinement!

The formation of a single medicinal pill often requires multiple herbs to undergo several processes, including grinding, conditioning, heating, and profound energy enhancement. This process is not only cumbersome but also inevitably results in some loss of medicinal potency and carries a certain chance of failure. High-grade pills, in particular, not only demand a large quantity of precious, hard-to-obtain materials but also have an extremely high failure rate during refinement; a single failure renders all efforts void. Furthermore, not everyone is capable of refining high-grade pills, as it places very high demands on the alchemist's skill, the cauldron, environmental conditions, and profound energy application.

However, with the Sky Poison Pearl's refinement, none of these concerns exist. It can rapidly refine the most essential parts of materials within a very short time and perfectly fuse them... The entire process wastes no medicinal potency whatsoever, and failure is impossible! Any useless parts are completely removed by the Sky Poison Pearl. After its master is recognized, it can even refine and fuse specific ingredients according to the master's thoughts.

The terrifying nature of this ability is enough to drive everyone in the world mad! Back then, the top sects of Azure Cloud Continent united to hunt him down, not because of the Sky Poison Pearl's poisonous power, but because of its unimaginably terrifying and unreasonably heaven-defying refinement and fusion ability!

As long as suitable and sufficient materials are available, when processed by the Sky Poison Pearl, they will transform into the most perfect medicinal pills in an extremely short time, without any risk.

If this ability of the Sky Poison Pearl were to become known on Profound Sky Continent, Profound Sky Continent would surely be thrown into chaos, and the number of people hunting Xiao Che would certainly be no less than on Azure Cloud Continent.

Gazing at the transparent bead in his hand, Xiao Che's smile grew even more grim and terrifying. He opened his mouth, placed the bead inside, and swallowed it directly. Immediately, his body flickered, and then slowly vanished from where he stood... as if he had suddenly evaporated completely.

Star Concealing Pill: It can be directly refined from just one Star Concealing Grass. Upon consumption, it grants perfect invisibility for three hours. The body, voice, aura, and all belongings will be completely concealed!

Star Concealing Grass was an incredible item. And the Star Concealing Pill refined from it was even more astonishing! This was because it bestowed a miraculous effect that transcended the common sense and human understanding of Profound Sky Continent, an effect no one had ever even dared to imagine. Xiao Che was absolutely certain that the one he used was the first Star Concealing Pill on Profound Sky Continent, because only Star Concealing Grass could form the Star Concealing Pill, and only the Sky Poison Pearl could refine Star Concealing Grass.

Unseen, unheard, and without a trace, Xiao Che stood up and walked toward the Xiao Clan.

The sky had already darkened, and the Xiao Clan grounds were brightly lit.

Xiao Che stepped through the Xiao Clan's main gate and walked straight inside, his movements casual, showing no hint of caution. Xiao Clan disciples walked past him, yet not a single one glanced in his direction. The concealment gained from the Star Concealing Pill was perfect, because it wasn't just about making his body transparent; it completely hid his external and internal aura, as if his entire being had been hidden within an invisible spatial crevice. Back on Azure Cloud Continent, when he first used the Star Concealing Pill, even a sect master whose strength ranked among the top ten on the continent failed to detect him within ten paces.

Xiao Che continued forward, his expression exceptionally calm. Along the way, listening to the whispered conversations, he learned that Xia Qingyue had been taken away by her master, and Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi had been imprisoned in the back mountain... for a full fifteen years.

The outcome of today's Xiao Clan Assembly was undoubtedly that Xiao Yulong had been chosen, and he would return to the Xiao Sect tomorrow with Xiao Kuangyun and the other three.

Arriving before the guest hall, Xiao Che stopped and silently listened to the conversation inside.

“Yulong, when you go to the Xiao Sect with Young Master Xiao tomorrow, you must remember Young Master Xiao's immense kindness today!”

“Of course, Young Master Xiao's great kindness is unforgettable to Yulong... Yulong will toast Young Master Xiao three more times...”

“...Xiao Yulong, although things fell apart today, it wasn't your fault. Who could have known that Xia Qingyue was actually a disciple of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace? Your personality suits my taste. In the Xiao Sect, as long as you're obedient, I won't treat you unfairly.”

“Thank... Thank you, Young Master Xiao! Young Master Xiao, you are truly my great benefactor; Yulong will be absolutely loyal to Young Master Xiao, without any second thoughts... I had no idea about Xia Qingyue's situation... But my plan to frame Xiao Lingxi... uh, it wasn't a complete waste. Although Chu Yueli is there, Young Master Xiao can't touch her now, but in another six months or a year, when Young Master Xiao finds another reason to return here, Xiao Lingxi won't be able to escape... Hehehehe...”

Xiao Yulong's voice was a little slurred; he was clearly quite drunk. Xiao Che's expression grew colder as he listened, his hands clenching tightly. Then, he turned and walked away, heading towards the East Courtyard. When he emerged from the East Courtyard, an unfamiliar short blade was in his hand, and then he proceeded directly to the North Courtyard.

North Courtyard No. 11 was Xiao Yulong's residence, currently empty. Xiao Che pushed the door open, glanced at the room's layout, then sneered coldly. He walked to the window opposite, raised the short blade, and diagonally stabbed it into the window, pulling it out to reveal a fist-sized hole.

Then, Xiao Che stood to the side and quietly waited for Xiao Yulong's arrival.

He didn't have to wait long. Two quarters of an hour later, sounds came from outside the door, and then the door was pushed open. Xiao Yulong stumbled in, supported by Xiao Yang, reeking of alcohol.

“Big Brother, I’ve been serving you faithfully all these years. After you go to the Xiao Sect, please don’t forget your little brother,” Xiao Yang said with a fawning expression as he helped Xiao Yulong onto the bed.

He would never have dreamed that at this very moment, a person was silently standing two paces to his left, watching him with a cold gaze.

“Oh... Hmph...”

Xiao Yulong seemed quite drunk, mumbling a couple of responses before collapsing onto the bed, groaning softly. Seeing this, Xiao Yang casually nudged Xiao Yulong further onto the bed, then walked out with a crooked smile, closing the door behind him.

Xiao Che walked to Xiao Yulong's bedside and slowly raised the short blade in his hand.

In a direct confrontation, he naturally wouldn't be Xiao Yulong's match. Even with the aid of the Star Concealing Pill, he wasn't guaranteed to kill Xiao Yulong. This was because even when unprepared, profound energy would instinctively protect the body upon attack. With his body, which had almost no profound energy, a common knife might not be able to pierce Xiao Yulong's body, which possessed third-level Elementary Profound Realm profound energy.

The Star Concealing Pill's invisibility wasn't without flaws. During concealment, if another person touched the hidden body, the invisibility effect would immediately disappear. If his attack failed to land, and he was instead touched by the opponent's counter-move, he would be completely exposed... or even killed.

However, Xiao Yulong was now heavily drunk, which presented an opportunity that couldn't be better.

He glanced at the hole he had previously stabbed in the window, calculated the position, and narrowed his eyes. The short blade in his hand suddenly fell, plunging with all his strength into the left side of Xiao Yulong's Dantian... The moment it pierced, his body sharply recoiled, standing in the corner.

With this single strike, he could have directly slit Xiao Yulong's throat and taken his life, but he didn't.

How could he bear for Xiao Yulong to die so easily? If Xiao Yulong died that simply, how could it truly quell the hatred in his heart?

He wanted to utterly crush Xiao Yulong's beautiful dreams, to make him fall from heaven into hell, to make his life worse than death!

The real show had only just begun.