Chapter 32: Bounty Notice

“Have you heard? The Tianlan Sect killed a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator from the Spirit Treasure Association and even hung his body up for display.”

“I heard about that too. Apparently, Tianlan Sect disciples even urinate on that pillar every day.”

“Tsk, tsk. Those Tianlan Sect disciples must be incredibly spirited! I’m so envious; I want to join the Tianlan Sect now.”

“Don’t even think about it. The Tianlan Sect can only be arrogant for a short while. It won’t be long before they’re annihilated.”

“Exactly. The Spirit Treasure Association isn’t just a force within Qi Prefecture. Rumor has it that they always have many true Nascent Soul masters. So what if that Ancestor Xu Yang is in the Nascent Soul stage? Two fists can’t possibly fight four hands.”

All the tea houses and taverns throughout Qi Prefecture were abuzz with discussions about the Tianlan Sect, which had recently gained much notoriety.

***

Zhang Shuangtian listened with a grim expression as his subordinates relayed various messages, his face turning from dark to frosty.

Liu Sanlong was dead!

Liu Sanlong was not just his subordinate; he was also his brother.

He had sent Liu Sanlong this time merely to observe when Xu Yang would return to the Tianlan Sect.

He never expected Liu Sanlong to go and never return!

First, his Fangtian Sword was stolen, then Zhao Long was killed, and now his brother is dead too! How could he possibly stomach such an insult?

He yearned to fly to the Tianlan Sect and personally engage Xu Yang in a fight to the death.

But he held back, as Xu Yang’s true strength remained unknown.

As an old fox, he would never put himself at risk.

“Zhao Long has an elder brother who joined an elder of the Demonic Cloud Sect several years ago. He’s now a Nascent Soul cultivator. Why not have him come out and help!?”

Zhang Shuangtian’s eyes gleamed. He immediately sent a message via flying sword, informing Zhao Long’s brother, Zhao Bai, of Zhao Long’s death.

He then issued a wanted order, commanding cultivators across the land to hunt down and kill Xu Yang. The Spirit Treasure Auction promised a great treasure as a reward to anyone who succeeded.

***

At the Tianlan Sect, Xu Yang was meditating when Ling Qingshu suddenly rushed in. “Ancestor Xu, something has happened!” she exclaimed.

Xu Yang slowly opened his eyes to see Ling Qingshu’s anxious face, a white piece of paper clutched in her hand.

The paper fluttered gently, and he could vaguely make out Xu Yang’s likeness on it.

“Why so flustered? What happened?” Xu Yang asked.

Ling Qingshu handed the bounty notice to Xu Yang. “Ancestor, please look at this,” she urged. “Every cultivator in Qi Prefecture has seen it!”

Xu Yang took the paper and scanned it. At the top was a lifelike portrait of him, identical to his real appearance, with a line of text written beneath it.

Xu Yang couldn’t help but chuckle. It was a wanted poster from the Spirit Treasure Auction, offering a bounty for his head.

“Wanted? What a joke. What does it matter even if the whole world turns against me?”

A flash of fire passed through Xu Yang’s hand, and with a soft sizzle, the bounty notice turned to ash.

Ling Qingshu asked with some concern, “Ancestor, are you alright?”

“With me here, what could possibly happen? Even if all the world’s cultivators came, I would not fear.”

Xu Yang’s words were plain and unremarkable, devoid of any grandiloquence, as if he were simply stating something as mundane as having porridge for breakfast tomorrow.

Hearing this, Ling Qingshu smiled.

Indeed, she had been too nervous just now. As long as the Ancestor was here, who could possibly harm the Tianlan Sect?

“Yes, Ancestor, I understand,” Ling Qingshu said in a low voice, lowering her head.

Xu Yang nodded, noting that Ling Qingshu’s strength was only at the Golden Core stage. She hadn’t yet experienced much tempering, and her perspective was still somewhat limited.

“By the way, is it just you who is at the Golden Core stage in our Tianlan Sect?” Xu Yang asked.

“That’s right. All the other disciples are at the Foundation Establishment stage,” Ling Qingshu nodded.

Xu Yang frowned. The prosperity of a sect wasn’t about the strength of one or two individuals, but the collective power of the entire sect.

He still needed to lead the Tianlan Sect back to its peak. How could a mere group of Foundation Establishment cultivators achieve that?

“Go and select a dozen or so individuals who possess good character and are loyal to the Tianlan Sect. I will help them break through to the Golden Core stage.”

“And remember, cultivation level isn’t important, nor is talent. Only two criteria matter: good character and loyalty to the Tianlan Sect. Understood?” Xu Yang said.

During his recent trip to the secret realm, he had gathered numerous spiritual herbs. If refined into elixirs, they could enable over a dozen people to break through to the Golden Core stage.

Ling Qingshu was stunned. Select a dozen people and have them cultivate to the Golden Core stage?

That sounds too easy, right?

For a cultivator to reach the Golden Core stage, both talent and serendipitous opportunities are crucial; only then is there a mere one in ten thousand chance of success.

A sect with even a single Golden Core cultivator was already considered a major power.

Yet Xu Yang casually stated he would elevate over a dozen disciples to the Golden Core stage.

She even suspected she had misheard.

***

After entrusting all sect matters to Ling Qingshu, Xu Yang entered his room.

With a whoosh, a pile of spiritual herbs flew out of the alchemy furnace and landed on the ground.

These were spiritual herbs gathered from the secret realm; ten thousand years ago, any one of them would have been considered a supreme treasure.

But today, they had become weeds.

He took out the Ice Soul Snow Lotus he had gathered previously and threw it into the alchemy furnace.

Soon after, a snow-white pill emerged from the furnace, emitting a white mist and filling the entire room with its fragrance.

“A Boundary-Breaking Pill,” Xu Yang murmured, looking at the elixir and nodding in satisfaction. “It can allow a Golden Core cultivator to step directly into the half-step Nascent Soul realm.”

This was for Ling Qingshu.

Xu Yang continued refining, and a day passed.

Just as Xu Yang’s final elixir was about to be successfully refined, he suddenly heard a man cursing from outside the door, followed by the clanging sounds of a struggle.

Boom…

Two figures stumbled inside, crashing directly into Xu Yang’s alchemy furnace.

The elixir, just moments from completion, was crushed into a thin, flat mess, like a dumpling skin.

Xu Yang was furious.

For tens of thousands of years, he had never failed in alchemy.

Yet today, he had failed like this…

“You’re Xu Yang, the brat? So you were hiding here.”

Just then, a harsh, taunting voice grated in Xu Yang’s ears.

Xu Yang looked up to see an effeminate man, dressed in a white robe and holding a folding fan, slowly walk into the room.

On the black and white ink-washed folding fan, the words “Unrivaled Under Heaven” were boldly inscribed in elegant script.

Then he looked at the ground.

He saw two people lying on the ground: Ling Qingshu and Fang Yan.

Ling Qingshu’s body was covered in wounds, staining her white dress crimson. A shocking, hideous gash marred her face, nearly disfiguring her delicate features!

Fang Yan was in no better state. His face was streaked with dirt, and his clothes were ragged. He looked utterly miserable, a far cry from the endlessly handsome and wealthy young master he once was.

Clearly, Ling Qingshu and Fang Yan had fought this white-robed man but were no match for him.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll assume you’ve conceded! Die!”

Suddenly, a cold, murderous intent locked onto Xu Yang!

The white-robed man’s folding fan transformed into a dagger and shot toward Xu Yang with extreme speed! The air itself seemed to tear apart, accompanied by booming explosions!

“Nine Yin Stab!”

The white-robed man let out a muffled laugh, suddenly unleashing his Nascent Soul cultivation!