C75

While Xu Fan was hiding in the stone room, studying alchemy and the Fire Controlling Technique, the Dragon City thousands of kilometers away was in an uproar.

Today, after a round of reshuffling, the powers in the Dragon City finally regained their calm. For ordinary citizens, it was the same for those who held power and were the masters of the Dragon City. As long as they could live a peaceful life, they would not care about anything else.

However, the Dragon City that had just experienced a great upheaval did not remain calm for long. Due to the arrival of some special existences, it once again broke the peace, especially for the Xu and Zhao Families in the Dragon City.

In the Dragon City's Xu Family's castle.

Xu Tong, who was wearing a fire-red dress, sat quietly in her room. Her face had a look of half joy and half happiness. Then, she frowned as if she was considering something and was hesitating.

Despite Xu Tong's delicate appearance, anyone who thought she was a gentle little sheep would be completely wrong.

This young and seemingly delicate and beautiful girl had the strength of the peak of the 10th Layer of Martial Arts. She had a smart head and deep intelligence, and more importantly, under this beautiful appearance, hid a wolf-like, cunning and cruel character, and a heart as vicious as a snake or scorpion's.

All these years, Xu Tong's status could be considered very influential in the Xu Family Castle. She had the trust and respect of the previous Patriarch Xu Jincheng. However, as her status and power grew, so did her ambition.

Even so, this woman had hidden it very well, very deeply. Until half a year ago, she had only exploded like a storm, pushing her father into the position of Patriarch in one go.

However, under Xu Tong's conspiracy, even though she had subverted the former Patriarch and had finally grasped everything about the Xu Family, she had not been able to obtain what she wanted the most.

This big threat was Xu Fan, who was hiding in the stone room and studying alchemy. And what she wanted the most was the alchemy manual on Xu Fan!

During this month, Xu Tong had sent out countless experts to the forbidden area to search for Xu Fan's whereabouts, but Xu Fan seemed to have vanished from the world without a trace. This made Xu Tong, who thought that victory was in her hands, and the Xu family's Immortal cultivation technique was within her reach, immediately feeling as if she had fallen from the sky to the bottom.

A few days ago, when Xu Tong had heard that Xu Jinnan had returned to Dragon City with the momentum of a thunderbolt to denounce his crimes, she had brought a group of experts back to Dragon City without stopping, all for the sake of destroying Xu Jinnan's forces in one fell swoop, uprooting the Xu Family's direct line of work and causing the Xu Family Castle to be tightly held in the hands of her father and daughter.

On the way back, it was not calm at all. Xu Tong had actually been ambushed by a group of black-clothed men. Although they had eventually repelled this unknown force and returned to Dragon City, they had still lost a lot of experts.

Perhaps it was due to Xu Tong's high luck that, on the second day after she had returned to the Dragon City, two immortal masters from the Spiritual Medicine Sect suddenly came to the Xu Family Castle. Xu Tong was a little frightened by this, but soon after, her gloomy mood immediately brightened as she realized that it was these two immortal masters from the Spiritual Medicine Sect that had allowed Xu Tong to see her hope of controlling the Xu Family. At the same time, they had also caused this woman with a face like a peach blossom and a heart like a snake and scorpion to hesitate.

"I never thought that our Xu Family would have such a cultivation sect backing us. Fortunately, these two immortal masters seem to be dissatisfied with the Patriarch of that damned ghost clan. Otherwise, a great catastrophe would have befallen us both."

Xu Tong muttered to herself as she sat in her room.

In truth, she had not thought of the Xu Family having such a background at all. Now, she finally understood that the Xu Family which had once been famous and inexhaustible was actually the representative of that cultivation sect called the Spiritual Medicine Sect in the mortal world.

Such a secret would only be known by the Xu Family's Patriarch of every generation. Although Xu Tong held quite a high position within the Xu Family, she was still unable to come into contact with such a secret.

To the mortals of the mortal world, the Immortal Cultivation Sect was a mysterious and unreachable existence. It was a supreme existence. One could only imagine how shocked Xu Tong was when she heard this news.

However, Xu Tong was at ease because after the two immortal masters had arrived at the Xu Family Castle, they had not been angered because of their conspiracy to seize the Xu Family's Patriarch's seat. Otherwise, everything would have been over.

When she thought about it, Xu Tong still felt some lingering fear.

"This immortal master must be the one in charge this time. He really did not waste my effort in trying to please him; he actually gave me a pill. However, this immortal master gave me an extraordinary pill that allowed me to break through to the peak of Stage 10. I'm only one step away from the Nascent Realm. I won't need to look for the Xu family's secret cultivation method from that trash." As long as he could get close to Immortal Master Zhang, the Xu family would be tightly grasped in his hands. Looking at Immortal Master Zhang's casual way of giving Immortal Pills, he would definitely have a lot more with him. If he tried his best to please him and get more from his hands, then he would be able to cultivate a large number of capable men. Was there a need to marry Zhao family members? "Of course you don't have to worry about that Xu Jinnan threat."

Xu Tong stood up and once again felt her strength increase. She silently calculated as her eyes burned with passion.

She was very clear that although her father and daughter had secretly borrowed the power of the Zhao Family this time to seize control of the Xu Family in one fell swoop, there was still the danger of a wolf entering the family.

If he wanted to erase the potential crisis before him, if he wanted to gain complete control of the Xu Family, without any powerful backers, everything would be an illusion.

"Humph!" Who can take what I, Xu Tong, want? "

Xu Tong's flower-like face flashed with a hint of viciousness, as if she had finally made up her mind. She hurriedly walked to the dressing table in her room and dressed carefully, then ordered the servants to prepare some delicacies and rare items.

"..."

The elegant small house of the Xu family castle.

This place was specifically used by the Xu Family to receive the most respected guests, and it was also the place that the Xu Family's Patriarch Xu Jincheng used to receive his guests.

At this moment, two men with proud expressions were sitting inside the elegant small building.

The two men were the two immortal masters who claimed to be disciples of the Spiritual Medicine Sect. One of them, a middle-aged man with a mustache, was called Zhang Sikai, who had a cultivation base of Qi Disciple level 12.

As for the other horse-faced young man, his name was Gu Yiming. His cultivation base was slightly lower, but he was also in the 11th level of the Qi Cultivating Stage.

In the private room, Zhang Sikai and Gu Yiming were drinking tea and chatting in low voices.

Gu Yi Ming said: "Senior Zhang, although this time the two of us are representing the Spiritual Medicine Sect to recruit disciples, I am only following your lead. I wonder what kind of explanation Martial Uncle has for this disciple recruitment mission?"

Although Gu Yiming's cultivation was only a level lower than Zhang Sikai's, his words clearly showed that he was trying to curry favor with the middle-aged man called Zhang Sikai.

In the cultivation world, strength was everything, not age.

Although the difference between the two was only a small realm, it was still a thousand miles apart. The higher the level of cultivation, the harder it was to raise each level. Once one reached the twelfth layer, he would be a step away from Foundation Establishment. Once he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, his status would be above the heavens, and he would be on the ground.

Furthermore, although Zhang Sikai and Gu Yiming were both outer sect disciples of the Spiritual Medicine Sect, Gu Yiming's fate wasn't as good as Zhang Sikai's. With a Foundation Establishment stage master protecting them, Gu Yiming didn't dare to be disrespectful to Zhang Sikai in the slightest.

Zhang Sikai was very pleased with Gu Yiming's attitude. With a hint of pride and a smile that was not a smile, he said, "Junior Brother Gu, I assume you also know that our mission this time is not only a simple one, but a good one as well. To be honest, the reason why we have this fifty year old chance to be born is all because of my master's beautiful words to the elders.

"Yes, yes …"

Gu Yiming smiled ingratiatingly and hurriedly said, "Senior brother Zhang, I naturally understand this point. Senior brother, just speak your mind, I will listen to whatever you say."

"In that case, let me be frank. Although our Spiritual Medicine Sect may seem calm on the surface, the inside is filled with raging waves. However, those are not things that I, an outer disciple, can touch, so you should be very clear about this, right?"

"That's right. Although Junior is just an outer disciple and is not as lucky as you, Senior, and has a Foundation Establishment stage master, I have heard quite a few rumors about him in the past few decades."

Gu Yiming nodded.

In fact, Gu Yiming had indeed heard quite a few rumors about the internal conflict in the Spiritual Medicine Sect over the past few decades, but he had never dared to discuss it. Today, when Zhang Sikai brought it up, Gu Yiming immediately understood that this was Zhang Sikai showing off his cards to him.

Zhang Sikai coldly replied, "Heh, this is not a rumor. As the saying goes, there is no wind and no waves. Since you've followed me out and you know it so well, I'll tell you the truth."

Gu Yiming said sternly, "Senior Brother, please speak. Junior knows what to say and what not to say, so of course I will say what I shouldn't."

Zhang Sikai glanced at Gu Yiming with slight approval and said, "In fact, my master is a member of the outer sect that was arranged by Elder Wu and his honorary disciple. It's just that very few people know about it."

At this point, Gu Yiming alone understood that Zhang Sikai was from Elder Wu's faction.

However, he wasn't shocked. Instead, a look of understanding and surprise flashed across his face. The look he gave Zhang Si Kai was completely different from before. His attitude became more and more respectful.

In the outer sect, Gu Yiming was just a trivial disciple out of thousands of Qi Cultivation stage disciples. If he could have a close relationship with Elder Wu, he would be overjoyed.

Seeing Gu Yiming's expression, Zhang Sikai said in a low voice, "This time, not only will we have to recruit a group of disciples with good aptitude, we will also have to completely change the representatives of our Spiritual Medicine Sect in the mortal world. Only then will we be considered as having successfully completed this mission."

Although Gu Yiming had long heard that the upper echelons of the sect were at odds, he still didn't dare to confirm it. At this moment, upon hearing Zhang Sikai's last sentence, his face couldn't help but change as he cautiously asked, "Senior Brother Zhang, what's going on?"

"I'm not afraid to tell you that this Xu Family is originally the representative of our Spiritual Medicine Sect's family in the mortal world, but the Xu Family is under the control of the sect master. Do you know why the disciples we brought back from the Xu Family the last few times didn't die in an accident?"

Gu Yiming didn't dare to answer, although he had guessed a bit.

Zhang Si Kai said gloomily, "In truth, this was not an accident. It was the result of Elder Wu's secret instructions. The previous disciples of the Xu Family who had entered the sect on several occasions all had decent aptitudes. If someone was still alive, perhaps someone would have successfully entered Foundation Establishment long ago. Unfortunately, they are still part of the Sect Master's faction. If not for the fact that Sect Master had closed up for dozens of years, we would not have found the appropriate opportunity.

At this moment, Gu Yiming's heart was in turmoil, he could be said to be both surprised and happy, surprised that the sect still had such a complicated relationship, surprised that he died without knowing how he died. Delighted that senior brother Zhang had already said such a thing, it meant that he no longer regarded him as an outsider, and he was finally connected to Elder Wu.

However, he also knew that if he showed even the slightest bit of a change in his expression, he would never have the chance to return to the sect.

Thinking of this, Gu Yi Ming suddenly stood up, and expressed his loyalty with his shining words: "Thank you senior brother for thinking so highly of junior brother. In the future, if senior brother has any requests, I will definitely do everything I can."

"Junior Gu is too serious. As cultivators, we are people who go against the heavens and pursue the longevity of the Great Dao. As long as you follow me, Foundation Establishment is only a matter of time. I believe in the future, as long as Elder Wu takes another step, the Spiritual Medicine Sect will not be under us."

"Senior-apprentice Brother Zhang's teachings are correct. I have learnt my lesson."

He suddenly thought of something and lowered his voice: "Senior brother Zhang, since our mission this time is to rebuild the sect's representation in the mortal world, then why did you give the Xu family pills?"

As soon as Zhang Sikai heard this, a smile appeared on his face, and he said somewhat proudly, "I don't think this Junior Brother knows. Speaking of our luck this time, it's quite good. Originally, I was still vexed over how we could change the representation of the mortal world's clans into our own, and at the same time not letting the Sect Master discover us. This is just right. As long as we can control the current Patriarch of the Xu Family, then this mission will be more than half completed. Furthermore, those pills were merely ordinary pills specially concocted by my master before I came out this time. They can only enhance the mortal martial arts of mortals, and are completely useless to us cultivators. "

Gu Yiming suddenly said: "So that's how it is, I assume senior brother Zhang wants to support Xu Jinxi and Xu Tong?" From what I can see, that little beauty Xu Tong is pretty attractive, and a virgin at that. Senior Brother, don't tell me you've taken a fancy to that little beauty? "Haha, junior brother congratulates senior brother."

Zhang Sikai smiled complacently. "That's right. I was planning on supporting the father and daughter pair, but unfortunately, that girl doesn't have any spiritual roots. Otherwise, she could have become a concubine."

Gu Yiming smiled obsequiously, "Senior Brother, we still need to stay in Chu Yun Country for half a year anyway. From what I can see, that girl seems to be interested in you, so why not just take her?

Xu Tong's sexy figure and beautiful face flashed across his mind as he smiled sinisterly, "Still, we don't have much time to stay at the Xu Family Castle. We still have to go out and check on the representative families of the other sects in the mortal world, and at the same time, we also have to find out about Xu Jincheng and his son. Since these two people cultivate the《 Exhibition Golden Arts》, I believe they won't be killed that easily.

Gu Yiming hurriedly said: "I'll handle these matters. Senior Brother, you can stay in the castle and enjoy the beauties. However, what should we do if we find those two?"

With that, Gu Yiming made a killing gesture with his hands.

Zhang Sikai pondered for a moment and said, "That's fine too. With me at the Xu Family Castle, the rest of the Xu Family wouldn't dare to have any ideas about the Xu father and daughter. Also, if you find out about them, you don't have to kill them."

"Why are the two of them still alive?" Gu Yiming was confused.

Zhang Sikai chuckled, "Even if we want to kill them, we don't have to do it now. The sect has a rule that every fifty years, the representatives of the clans of the mortal world must send a group of disciples who have cultivated the Golden Alchemy Art into the sect. The father and son of the Xu family wouldn't dare to go against that rule." Besides, weren't the spirit stone mines in the sect lacking miners? As long as the father and son follow us back to the sect, we'll be able to slaughter them easily. Besides, we can't just casually make a move in the ordinary world and leave any traces for the other sects, right? "

"Senior apprentice-brother is wise!"

Gu Yiming sincerely admired Zhang Sikai's scheming at this moment. He couldn't help but give a big thumbs up and praise him, but at the same time, he was becoming more and more afraid of Zhang Sikai.

"Hahaha …!"

"..."

At the same time that Xu Tong was secretly planning to have a secret chat with the two disciples of the Spiritual Medicine Sect, the three people of the Long City's Zhao Family also received a respected guest, a guest who made Zhao Zhenfeng's eyes light up.

In the past month, because Xu Fan had gone missing, not only did Xu Tong, the evil woman, feel uneasy, it also deeply affected the Zhao father and son's mental state. Even the heir to the Zhao Family, Zhao Long, had secretly cursed Xu Fan countless times.

In this period of time, other than being dissatisfied with the arrangement of his marriage with the Xu Family, Zhao Hu had been diligently training in the manor while Zhao Long had been following behind Xu Tong's butt the entire time. Originally, he had planned to take advantage of Xu Tong and secretly take her virginity, bringing his elder brother, Zhao Hu, to the point where he had no idea what had happened in the past month.

The more Zhao Long wanted to get Xu Tong, the more he wanted her. He couldn't help but salivate at her. Today, he was in his own room, holding a beauty he had just brought back to vent his anger. However, Zhao Zhenfeng had sent someone to interrupt his excitement, telling him to go to the Guest Tower to meet his guest.

In truth, Zhao Zhenfeng had been burning with anxiety during this period of time. The Xu Family's failure to obtain the Immortal Cultivation Secret Art had caused him, the great general of Chu Yun Country, to be worried and resentful.

As a recently risen family, Zhao Zhenfeng naturally knew his own background and the importance of the Xu family's secret cultivation technique.

The Xu family's secret cultivation method was not only related to his own strength and longevity, but more importantly, if the Zhao family wanted to stay strong, they would have to pass on their legacy throughout the ages. This secret cultivation method could be said to be extremely important to him.

However, the arrival of this man who claimed to be the Immortal Master of the Qian Ji Sect had given Zhao Zhenfeng hope for the future of the Zhao Family. Therefore, even though he had some doubts, he immediately invited the two immortal masters into his house and sent someone to call his two sons over to meet them.

In reality, Zhao Zhenfeng was not an ignorant person. On the contrary, even though Zhao Zhenfeng was just a mortal, his knowledge far exceeded that of an ordinary mortal's, which was why he had peeked on the Xu family's Immortal Cultivation Method. That was why he was able to recruit the ghost that had already turned into Immortal Ma.

Zhao Zhenfeng was someone who would rather believe in others than miss any opportunity. Thus, not only was he not as fearful as an ordinary mortal towards an immortal master, but he also felt that his chance had come, which was why he paid so much attention to this immortal master.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, in the Zhao Family Guest House.

When the Zhao father and son saw this immortal master's strength, the three of them couldn't help but reveal an expression of pleasant surprise.

To them, such a spell was akin to crying to the world. It turned out that the so-called Immortal Master Ma they knew was not even worthy enough to be compared to this Immortal Master Ma.

Thus, the father and son duo from the Zhao Family became increasingly respectful. Their hearts were also burning with passion.

At the same time, the disciples of the five mysterious sects had appeared in the four major cities and the capital cities of the Chu Yun Country. They were constantly in and out of several prominent families.

Half a year later, the news of the five great Immortal Cultivation Sects recruiting disciples in Yan Xia city spread like wildfire. In an instant, more and more people began to gather in Yan Xia city from all directions.

It could be said that with the appearance of the legendary five great cultivation sects, all of the great clans of the State of Yun were shaken.

"..."

At this time, our great Immortal Xu Fan had no distractions in his heart. He was excitedly hiding in a stone chamber at the foot of a mountain five kilometers away from the Yan Xia City, studying his pill refining techniques without eating or sleeping.

As for Xu Fan, he hid in the stone room and studied the newly acquired 'Fire Controlling Technique'. This sort of fire magic wasn't profound, it was only a basic magic. With his intelligence, it wouldn't be difficult for him to cultivate it.

Pill refining was not a child's game. The dangers and difficulties involved were not ordinary. If one was not careful, the pill refiner might be able to inflict a large amount of damage to his or her vital energy, especially to his or her soul.

This was because during the process of refining, the apothecary had to accurately control all kinds of herbs. He had to control the fire, the temperature and every step during the process without the slightest error.

In order to achieve all of this, one had to use the power of the soul. If one was not careful, it might cause injuries to the soul. Not only would it be impossible to refine pills, it could also cause a terrible chain reaction.

There were three important parts to refining pills. First, it was to refine and purify the herbs; second, it was to control the temperature of the fire; third, it was to condense the pills. These three parts were successfully completed. And these three most important points were closely related to the alchemist's soul power.

From this, it could be seen how important it was to refine pills.

After carefully studying and studying for two days, Xu Fan finally felt that he had completely mastered the techniques of the 'Fire Controlling Technique'. Even the fireball technique that he had originally compressed to an extreme degree was once again suppressed by him by several times, and its power had increased by several times after he had practiced the 'Fire Controlling Technique'.

After familiarizing himself with the flame control technique, Xu Fan's confidence in the pill concocting process increased by quite a bit.

Even so, Xu Fan didn't dare to be careless. He first used the empty furnace to practice the Fire Controlling Technique on the Earth Fire. After he became proficient in it, he decided to start concocting pills.

However, Xu Fan didn't immediately start concocting pills. Instead, he first followed the instructions in the < Beginner Alchemy Art > and sat down in meditation, preparing to restore his body and true essence to its peak state before beginning to refine pills.

"Heh, now that my spirit, soul strength, and true essence is recovered to its peak state, I should be able to try refining a pill, right?"

Two hours later, Xu Fan finished meditating and recovering. He was full of confidence as he muttered to himself.

After practicing the < Beginner Alchemy > technique for a few days, Xu Fan realized that he had gained a lot more experience with fire magic after learning the < Fire Controlling Technique > technique, and his soul had grown stronger without him realizing it.

That was why this fellow was so confident.

But was pill refining really as easy as Xu Fan had imagined?

"..."