Chapter 9: Nine-Rank Spiritual Root is Ineffective

Qin Changsheng glanced at Jiang Fan, stating indifferently, "Apart from my Qin family, no one else in Guzhou City has Qi Cultivation Fluid."

"You're probably asking in the wrong place by seeking Qi Cultivation Fluid at the Pavilion of Treasures."

"Instead of asking them, you'd be better off asking Young Master Lu."

Lu Zheng scoffed teasingly, "Asking me for Qi Cultivation Fluid? He might as well ask me to spare his fiancée! Ha ha!"

He rode off, laughing loudly.

Qin Changsheng eyed Jiang Fan disdainfully. "Forget about the Qi Cultivation Fluid," he said.

"As long as I, Qin Changsheng, am here, you'll never get a single drop of Qi Cultivation Fluid in your life."

With that, he spurred his horse and galloped away.

Jiang Fan merely shrugged.

Low-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid wasn't even worth a dog's attention.

Shortly after, important figures arrived at the Pavilion of Treasures.

Members of the Chen family, each with a dignified demeanor, came in one after another.

The shopkeeper bowed low, trembling with fear. "Young Miss, things are exactly as I just explained."

Among the Chen family members was a beautiful, tall young woman with delicate features and wise eyes.

She was Chen Siling, the eldest daughter of the Chen family.

"Did you send anyone to investigate his identity?" Chen Siling asked, her gaze sharp.

The shopkeeper shuddered and quickly replied, "How would this old servant dare? What soul masters fear most is being coveted by others. Wouldn't displeasing him bring disaster upon the Chen family?"

Chen Siling's expression softened slightly, and she finally relaxed. "Very good, you handled it exceptionally well!"

"You not only offered benefits to this soul master and fostered a closer relationship, but you also showed no disrespect."

"Now, whether we can establish a connection with this soul master depends entirely on his mood!"

"If he can provide us with some mid-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid at the exhibition, we'll gain widespread fame and be able to compete with the Qin family."

Remembering how the Qin family had suppressed them for a century, Chen Siling yearned for the soul master to elevate the Chen family and change their destiny.

At that point, she would be willing to pay any price.

Speaking of Jiang Fan, upon returning to his residence, he found the household in a flurry of activity.

"Search! Find her quickly! Dig three feet deep if you have to, but find Xu Youran!"

What?

Xu Youran was missing?

Jiang Fan's heart sank. He immediately recalled her sudden departure that morning, and a bad feeling surged within him.

Could that foolish girl have gone to search for heavenly materials and earthly treasures for his breakthrough?

It was almost dark, and she still hadn't returned. Had she encountered danger?

He quickly ran out of the city, heading towards Cloud Mist Mountain, the only nearby place known to grow heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

"Miss Xu, don't struggle anymore, or it would be a pity if you fell and turned into a pulp!"

On the edge of a cliff, three burly men with bat emblems embroidered on their chests grinned sinisterly as they stared at Xu Youran, who was desperately clinging to a vine below.

Her palms were raw and bleeding from holding onto the vine for so long.

Exhausted, her face was pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

Below her, swirling clouds concealed a bottomless abyss.

"Come up quickly. Every wrong has a cause, every debt an owner. We just want to capture you to collect the gambling debt Lu Zheng owes us."

"We swear we won't harm you."

Despite their words, their greedy eyes never left Xu Youran's captivating figure.

It was clear what would happen if they caught her.

Xu Youran gritted her teeth. "Never!"

The leader of the men lost patience, his eyes flashing fiercely. "Pull her up!"

He didn't believe Xu Youran would actually let go and commit suicide!

The other two burly men immediately began pulling the vine upwards with force.

Xu Youran watched herself slowly being pulled up, her heart filled with despair.

Biting her red lips, she said mournfully, "Xiao Fan, I'm sorry, I won't be able to marry you in this life."

She was about to release her grip and plunge into the abyss.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed.

Immediately after, one of the men pulling the vine was unexpectedly kicked off the thousand-zhang cliff.

His dark silhouette plunged into the clouds, vanishing without a trace, accompanied by a string of agonizing screams.

The other two men were enraged and fiercely engaged the newcomer.

Soon, another one lay screaming on the ground.

The last remaining man was terrified and roared, "How dare you kill someone from my Blood Bat Palace! You're dead! You're dead!"

The last man shouted as he ran.

Xu Youran was startled. Who had arrived?

Just now, of the three Blood Bat Palace members, one was at the third level of Qi Condensation, and two were at the second level!

Suddenly, a head peeked out, and Xu Youran was stunned. "Xiao Fan?"

She couldn't believe that Xiao Fan had just scared off the villains.

Jiang Fan, with a grim expression, pulled her up, gave her a hard smack on the backside, and roared, "Who told you to come here?"

Scolded, Xu Youran lowered her head apologetically, silently raising her bloodied palm which held a spiritual herb radiating vitality. She meekly said, "I just wanted to help you."

Seeing her skin chafed raw, yet still unwilling to drop the herb, Jiang Fan's heart ached.

He pulled her tightly into his embrace, saying tenderly, "You are the most important person to me. If even you leave me, there will be no one left in this world for me to care about!"

Hearing his words of rebuke, Xu Youran's heart felt as sweet as honey, sweeter than ever before.

Leaning against his broad chest, she felt a sense of security she had never known.

Relaxed in body and mind, she drifted off to sleep, overcome by deep fatigue.

Jiang Fan couldn't bear to wake her.

He glanced at the Blood Bat Palace corpse on the ground. A thought sparked, and he searched the body.

Soon, he found a token and was delighted. "A Blood Bat Palace token! The City Lord's Mansion once issued a bounty: killing one Blood Bat Palace member grants access to the City Lord's spiritual pool for one cultivation session."

"Many people have achieved breakthroughs there!"

He put away the token and then looked around.

It was pitch black now, and the path down the mountain was invisible.

He would have to find a safe cave and spend the night there with Xu Youran.

While guarding her, Jiang Fan didn't sit idle.

He took out the Qi Cultivation Fluid materials he had acquired from the Pavilion of Treasures and began attempting to refine Qi Cultivation Fluid.

The next morning, at dawn, Jiang Fan looked at the pile of ashes on the ground and said regretfully, "Three sets of materials wasted."

"However..."

His gaze shifted, revealing eight bottles of spiritual liquid beside him.

Seven bottles were high-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid, and one was supreme-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid.

"It seems I'm more talented than my father. I can already refine high-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid, and when I'm in excellent condition, I can even produce supreme-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid!"

"Once I'm more proficient, the success rate for supreme-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid will be even higher."

He eagerly picked up the supreme-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid and drank it.

The immensely powerful medicinal effect released spiritual energy ten times greater than that of low-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid, causing Jiang Fan's body to swell up like a balloon!

He quickly sat cross-legged to cultivate, rapidly absorbing the spiritual energy.

An hour later, "Qi Condensation Level Four! And not far from Level Five!" Jiang Fan was secretly astonished.

Xu Yining had taken a full ten days to break through from Qi Condensation Level Three to Level Four, even with daily consumption of low-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid.

He, however, succeeded with just one bottle of supreme-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid!

The effect of the supreme-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid was incredibly potent!

Feeling the immense power of Qi Condensation Level Four, he couldn't help but look at the beautiful sleeping face beside him and smiled faintly:

"Youran, this time, I've protected you."

At the Xu residence, Lu Zheng was covered in sweat, his expression grim.

He stared blankly at the ten empty bottles of Qi Cultivation Fluid laid out before him. "Why is this happening?" he muttered.

"I've drunk them all, but why haven't I broken through yet?"

Wang Yingfeng, standing nearby, was equally bewildered.

This shouldn't be happening!

A ninth-grade spiritual root, plus ten bottles of low-grade Qi Cultivation Fluid—even a pig should have broken through by now.

Yet, Lu Zheng remained stagnant!

She could only comfort him, "Zheng'er, haste makes waste. Perhaps your eagerness to break through affected your mental state."

"In any case, you haven't lost. That good-for-nothing Jiang Fan has neither a spiritual root nor Qi Cultivation Fluid, so it's even more impossible for him to break through."

"You two merely fought to a draw!"

Hearing this, Lu Zheng sighed with a hint of relief.

He scoffed, "Does he even deserve to compare himself to me?"

"My lack of breakthrough is only temporary; he'll never break through in his entire life!"

"Come on, let's go to the main hall and settle this!"