An hour later, Tao Lang returned with all the herbs Lin Ye had listed.
Even Lin Ye was slightly surprised.
Fast.
"Not bad," Lin Ye said.
Tao Lang grinned immediately, as if he'd been given a royal compliment.
"Heh. Senior Brother, whenever you need something, just say the word. Running errands is what we're best at."
"Good. Leave."
Tao Lang didn't hesitate. He bowed and quickly withdrew.
Among the inner disciples of Listening Mystic Peak, Tao Lang held a bit of influence.
He'd once worked under Zhang Wenxu, sure—
but in the end, people followed whoever had the bigger fist.
That rule never changed.
And Tao Lang had served as a bodyguard for a wealthy household before joining Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect.
He understood "big shots" better than most.
The moment he saw Lin Ye beat Zhang Wenxu into a bloody mess, Tao Lang knew—
this Senior Brother Lin Ye was no longer the same man.
Not even close.
Inside the courtyard, Lin Ye placed the pill furnace he'd stolen from Zhang Wenxu's storage ring on the ground.
He took out three flaming stones and placed spiritual stones beneath the furnace.
Ordinary firewood wasn't hot enough for refining pills.
Lin Ye's alchemy skill was absurdly high—
but his current cultivation was still too weak.
So he had to borrow tools.
Second-Grade pills?
Lin Ye could refine those with his bare hands.
Third-Grade pills?
Still nothing to him.
So Lin Ye decided…
to go straight for a Fourth-Grade pill.
From the dry well inside Dragon Void Cave, Lin Ye had collected three stalks of Blood Spirit Grass.
He had eaten their roots earlier—
but the leaves were preserved.
"A bit of fifth-rank beast bone powder…"
"Wind Spirit Fruit…"
"Some second-grade herbs…"
"And the Mad Crocodile's beast core…"
He calculated quickly.
"This should be enough."
Using only second-grade materials to refine a fourth-grade pill would normally be impossible.
The only reason Lin Ye dared attempt it…
was because of the fifth-rank beast skull.
That bone carried enough power to force the pill's grade upward.
Most alchemists wasted ninety percent of a herb's medicinal essence.
The Jade Blossom Pills were proof.
Those pills barely preserved even one twentieth of the original power.
Garbage.
Pure garbage.
"All that matters is enough essence and pressure."
Lin Ye cut a small fragment from the fifth-rank skull and dropped it into the furnace.
Then he tossed in two beast cores.
With the flaming stones' heat as a base…
the real key was Lin Ye's Blood-Asura Mystic Qi.
He spun it rapidly, generating explosive heat and pressure, forcing everything to melt and fuse.
HUM!
Flames surged within the furnace.
A rich fragrance of pill essence filled the air.
Lin Ye raised his hand and sent several threads of mystic qi into the furnace.
A sealing formation formed instantly around it.
The fragrance was locked inside.
If it leaked…
someone would notice.
And Lin Ye didn't plan on living without peace.
Not yet.
Now that his cultivation had reached Qi Sea Realm Fourth Layer, refining this pill was no longer difficult.
And with his monstrous experience…
he could even split his mind:
One part circulating the Nine Revolutions Asura Art.
The other part controlling the furnace.
A normal alchemist would need absolute focus, terrified of losing control.
Lin Ye?
He refined with calm confidence.
The refinement lasted the entire night.
Yawen Residence
Zhang Wenxu woke up in agony.
His face throbbed.
Splintered stone and broken table fragments lay nearby.
"Damn it…"
"My face…"
He grabbed a bronze mirror.
The handsome face he once took pride in…
was ruined.
Deep scars.
Shattered skin.
The injuries could heal—
but scars would remain.
His eyes went bloodshot with rage.
"Lin Ye… you dared hit me…"
"I'll kill you."
"I'll challenge you to a life-and-death duel!"
Then he reached for medicine—
and froze.
"My storage ring…!"
He looked inside.
Empty.
Everything was gone.
Not just treasures.
Even anything remotely valuable—
cleaned out.
Who could do that?
Who would dare?!
Zhang Wenxu's fury exploded.
"LIN YE!"
"I'll tear you apart!"
"I'll butcher you piece by piece!"
He didn't know what dirty method Lin Ye had used.
He'd been too stunned to respond.
But his cultivation wasn't fake.
Qi Sea Realm Third Layer.
If Lin Ye wanted to play—
then Zhang Wenxu would play to the end.
His eyes burned with revenge.
His background wasn't simple.
Within the sect, his influence was average.
But his family…
was the number one clan of Thunder River City, one of Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect's territory cities.
Every month, his clan supplied massive contributions and resources.
Lin Ye's background used to be terrifying as well—an elder's son.
His father, Lin Zhonghai, had once been called Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect's strongest elder.
Even if Lin Ye was talentless, no one dared insult him openly.
But once Lin Zhonghai died…
Lin Ye fell from heaven.
Even inner disciples started provoking him.
Zhang Wenxu had always believed Lin Ye would die in Dragon Void Cave.
The fact that he came back alive was already unexpected.
But after his rage settled, Zhang Wenxu didn't charge into Lin Ye's courtyard immediately.
He had to understand what Lin Ye's secret was.
And more importantly—
the sect strictly forbade internal killings.
If two disciples had a feud, they had to settle it on the Life-and-Death Platform.
Once he figured out what tricks Lin Ye was using…
he would either kill him publicly on the platform—
or find an opportunity outside the sect and erase him quietly.
Inside the sect was too dangerous.
Every core disciple's death would be investigated.
If it was proven to be murder…
even his entire clan would suffer.
Zhang Wenxu wasn't stupid.
He gritted his teeth.
"Fine."
"I'll swallow this humiliation for now."
But his eyes were vicious.
"Just wait."
"If I don't get revenge…"
then I'm not my father's son!"
Morning
Lin Ye opened his eyes.
He raised his hand, catching a faint trace of violet energy descending from the sky.
A rare natural essence that appeared every morning—
and vanished instantly.
Most people couldn't capture it.
Even if they could, one strand wasn't worth much.
Still, Lin Ye fed it into the furnace.
HUM!
The furnace boiled violently.
Lin Ye slapped the furnace with his palm.
BOOM!
The pill furnace—something Zhang Wenxu had paid heavily for—shattered into pieces.
The material quality was average.
It couldn't withstand the force.
But Lin Ye didn't care.
His Blood-Asura Mystic Qi formed into a cage around the pill immediately, preventing its aura from leaking.
The remaining pill liquid swirled and condensed into shape.
Slowly.
Perfectly.
Lin Ye's eyes lit up.
"It worked."
"Demon-Bone Golden Pill."
Even Lin Ye felt a flash of excitement.
He had only deduced this method from experience, using theory and instinct—
he hadn't been fully sure.
Yet he succeeded.
Among fourth-grade pills, Demon-Bone Golden Pill ranked high.
It refined the bones and strengthened the body, amplifying mystic qi output.
Lin Ye exhaled.
"And thanks to the Spirit-Gathering Ring…"
"Last night's mystic qi consumption was brutal. Without it, this refinement might've collapsed."
He steadied his breathing.
Then swallowed the pill.
A fourth-grade pill…
refined by a ninth-grade alchemist with peak control—
how powerful would it be?
The moment it entered his stomach—
a savage force erupted inside him.
Like thousands of demonic soldiers tearing through his body.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Lin Ye heard his bones cracking.
Not breaking—
forging.
Tempering.
Rebuilding.
The pain was fierce.
His body's constitution was ordinary.
This refinement felt like hell.
"NGH—!"
Only after a long moment did the storm settle.
Lin Ye opened his eyes slowly.
He could feel it.
His body was stronger.
His mystic qi flowed faster.
Smoother.
His cultivation surged.
Qi Sea Realm — Seventh Layer.
A single fourth-grade pill had pushed him up three minor realms.
Most of its power had been used to rebuild his body.
Otherwise…
he would've climbed even higher.
Lin Ye frowned slightly.
"I thought I'd touch Earth Transformation Realm…"
"Still short."
"The pill's fire was a little lacking."
He was about to continue cultivating and absorb the remaining essence when—
a transmission artifact in the room suddenly vibrated and spoke:
"Core Disciple Lin Ye of Listening Mystic Peak."
"Report to the main peak plaza within half an hour."
Report?
Lin Ye raised his hand.
A blast of Blood-Asura Mystic Qi smashed into the artifact.
CRACK!
It shattered instantly.
Then—
knocking sounded at the door.
"Senior Brother Lin Ye! Senior Brother Lin Ye—it's me…"
Tao Lang's voice.
Lin Ye let him in.
Tao Lang's face was bright with excitement.
He held a scroll in his hand.
"Heh heh, Senior Brother—good news!"
"Someone dug up a treasure from an ancient tomb. When it surfaced, blood light shot into the sky!"
"It's definitely a Blood-Asura treasure!"
"Right now, it's in Thunder River City…"
"And it's about to be auctioned."