Gu Zuo left very quickly. After that shop assistant startled, he looked at the bottle in his hand. The emotions in his mind flashed by quickly.

To chase or not? But soon, he didn’t think about it anymore.

What use was there to chase after that person? If the other party truly had good intentions, what would he do if he instead offended them? Moreover, there weren’t any other detoxification methods right now. It was better to swiftly deliver this thing before making any plans. Otherwise, if this stuff turned out to be real, then his delay would instead lead to an awful turn of events.

The shop assistant quickly forced his way through the crowd, and dashed into the restaurant. He didn’t act on his own initiative, and just handed over the porcelain bottle to the shopkeeper. Then, the shopkeeper delivered it into the hands of a member of the Wild Martial Arts Society.

He Xianglong received this medicine. Likewise, many thoughts emerged in his mind, but in the end, he was a decisive individual. At once, he opened the porcelain bottle, and poured out the medicinal pill inside.

This pill had an amber color. Sniffing the pill fragrance, there was a hint of spiciness mixed in. It looked as if it also carried a sort of toxicity. However, since He Xianglong made up his mind, he didn’t hesitate at all. One hand simply forced open that poisoned martial artist’s clenched teeth, and the other hand sent the medicinal pill into his mouth.

The next moment, the expressions of the spectating martial artists all changed.

That Detoxification Pill seemed to melt in the mouth almost instantly. The moment it was stuffed into that poisoned martial artist’s mouth, it promptly took effect!

The poisoned person’s face had originally turned jet-black, and the skin of his entire body became a black color. His body was also enveloped in black qi, and a few sections of the body’s surface had some traces of rot.

However, at this very moment, the black qi around those festering areas instantly disappeared. The black color on the body’s surface also continuously lightened at speeds visible to the naked eye.

Not even a joss of incense had passed before that black color faded completely!

All that remained was a black-colored liquid underneath that poisoned person’s body. It emitted waves of a foul stench. However, although the poisoned person’s complexion was still a little pale, those symptoms of the poisoning had already vanished.

He Xianglong was overjoyed at the unexpected, good news: “It’s really useful!” Soon after, he repeatedly called out in a low voice, “Junior Sect Brother Wu, are you okay? Is there any discomfort?”

That poisoned martial artist let out a feeble groan. His lips trembled, and his face revealed a bitter smile: “N-no problem… Just that my vital energy took a big hit…”

The members of the Wild Martial Arts Society hastily yet carefully moved him from that puddle of black liquid. They were very cautious while doing so as they were worried that the black liquid was toxic, too. Fortunately, the toxicity within the black liquid had been completely eliminated. When the person was moved out, nothing happened at all.

At this time, the members of the Wild Martial Arts Society let out sighs of relief. Then, they remembered something.

When all was said and done, who was that person who specially came over to deliver the medicine?

Being capable of bringing this medicinal pill so quickly, they were either a person who originally had an antidote for this type of poison, or they were an expert of the Pharmacist Hall who happened to be nearby and had taken action.

But whatever the case, that honorable person who delivered the medicine didn’t seem willing to show their true appearance. As such, it was only the pure intent of providing aid. The members of the Wild Martial Arts Society were deeply grateful, and didn’t have any desires of getting to the heart of the matter.

The top priority was to return to the Sect without delay, and to get in touch with the contacts behind them — They needed to figure out the origins of those three people, and what capital they possessed which allowed them to dare be so insolent!

They, the people of Qingyun Sect, absolutely wouldn’t be so easily bullied and humiliated!

Now, back to Gu Zuo.

After he delivered the medicine, he used his psychic power to fully shield himself. In a small nook, he changed out of his dark clothes, restored his original appearance, and returned to the Sect.

Gongyi Tianheng still hadn’t returned yet. Gu Zuo didn’t talk about the matter that just happened to anyone else. He kept it in mind, and shelved it first. However, what he didn’t expect was that, just when he refined a few cauldrons of medicinal pills, someone unexpectedly called for him outside.

Among the current team, although Gu Zuo was known as the pharmacist attached to Tianheng, in actuality, both people shared a Profound Friendship. It simply wasn’t comparable to other people. Tianheng treated Gu Zuo in a very affectionate manner, and it was extraordinarily close and dear. Thus, even Tianyang and Mingxia couldn’t give orders to Gu Zuo, and other people were even more deferential. Usually, whenever there was a matter that required Tianheng or Gu Zuo’s instructions, unless it was urgent, no one would come to bother Gu Zuo.

Right now, the person calling at the door was a Tianlong Guard. And the Tianlong Guards were the ones who most strictly abided by the rules. Naturally, Gu Zuo heard the call. He hurriedly put his things away, and promptly walked out.

The person outside was Dragon Three, who had returned sooner.

Gu Zuo asked: “Why have you called me at this time?”

Dragon Three respectfully handed over a card: “Reporting to Pharmacist Gu. Someone had delivered this invitation just now.”

Gu Zuo took the card and casually asked: “Who issued the invitation?”

Dragon Three answered: “It was Pharmacist Xu Lingxiu.”

At this moment, Gu Zuo read the contents of the card clearly. The general idea was that there was something he needed to discuss with Gu Zuo. Xu Lingxiu invited him over for a prompt trip. Originally, after the journey to Danyun City, Xu Lingxiu basically didn’t often summon Gu Zuo to give him pointers. On the matter of medicine refinement, they vaguely became equals when interacting with each other. Now that an invitation was issued, it seemed very serious. In that case, the matter certainly wasn’t small.

However, Gu Zuo clearly saw the name inscribed.

Above the writing was “Pharmacist Hall • Xu Lingxiu”… On the previous, common invitation cards, there was always a “Xu” character in flamboyant, cursive calligraphy. This meant that the identity that Xu Lingxiu was currently using wasn’t as Gu Zuo’s friend. Rather, it was Pharmacist Xu, whose identity was special in the Pharmacist Hall — Senior Sect Brother Xu.

For some reason, the scene that Gu Zuo previously witnessed appeared in his mind.

It should’ve been for the purpose of this matter, right? Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence?

Thinking as such, Gu Zuo promptly left. He immediately said to Dragon Three: “Come with me.”

Dragon Three didn’t dare to neglect anything, and promptly replied: “Yes, Pharmacist Gu.”

After calling over a wild bird, Gu Zuo and Dragon Three climbed up its back. After that, both of the wild bird’s wings flapped as if it was going to dash through the clouds in the firmament. Just like this, it flew upwards swiftly. It only took a little bit of time to smoothly arrive at Xu Lingxiu’s Violet Tower.

The atmosphere here seemed somewhat rigid, and the wild bird circled around for a short while.

Gu Zuo’s heart also carried a trace of heaviness.

There were many pharmacists and martial artists going through here. For what reason did they come? Could it be that the scale of this gathering wasn’t small?

It wasn’t known what Xu Lingxiu had planned, but Gu Zuo still had the wild bird descend from the clouds. Afterwards, he took the invitation and led Dragon Three to pass through the guard’s inspection. Then, they entered the Violet Tower.

Their location was an expansive area on the first floor.

Gu Zuo’s gaze casually swept over, and he discovered that there were already dozens of people scattered around. Their expressions either revealed their bad moods or confusion, but they all quietly and stably remained in their own seats. It could be seen that Xu Lingxiu’s ability to rally supporters was truly amazing.

Not to mention the levels of the pharmacists, the strengths of the martial artists here were all Xiantian stage seven and above. The number of stage eights and stage nines weren’t few… But why weren’t there any Immortal Realms?

The next moment, Gu Zuo realized his own error.

Walking down the second floor’s flight of steps was a string of seven or eight people. All of them were martial artists who were at the Immortal Realm. The only one who wasn’t an Immortal Realm was that purple-robed teenager who always wore a slightly arrogant expression and whose status was respected — Xu Lingxiu.

Xi Yangyun was also among them. Moreover, from his position, it looked like he should’ve been Xu Lingxiu’s staunchest supporter.

Xu Lingxiu’s line of sight swept past everyone. When his gaze “passed by” Gu Zuo, it lingered slightly for a few inscrutable moments — If Gu Zuo’s psychic power hadn’t been strong enough, he basically wouldn’t have detected it. After this, Xu Lingxiu retracted his gaze.

Then, he and several Immortal Realm martial artists took their seats. The entire first floor was filled with a type of heavy and solemn air.

Xu Lingxiu said: “I’ve heard some news today. Ladies and gentlemen, has the same happened to you all as well?”

Once these words were uttered, the crowd’s emotions were somewhat stirred up.

Among those who sat in the front, some people were already blurting out:

“Who knows where that intolerable bully came from!”

“The properties of my Tower were nearly destroyed!”

“My place also had a conflict. Several Outer Sect disciples died!”

“This kind of savagery is simply no different from wild beasts!”

For a period of time, there was a lively discussion with everyone talking at once. Numerous people spoke out about the grievances that they encountered.

Gu Zuo listened and listened, and felt that something was wrong.

It seemed like the matter that he previously witnessed wasn’t an isolated incident?

From what he could see, the dozens of people who came were each from different forces. Listening to these people’s hushed whispers, he could infer that it included the Autumn Waters Association, the Wild Martial Arts Society, Clear Water Pavilion, Mingyue Pavilion, Wangyang Tower, and other established forces in the Earth Leaderboard’s top ten rankings. Among them, the Autumn Waters Association and the Wild Martial Arts Society were the strongest ones. Following them, Clear Water Pavilion also wasn’t lacking. As for Wangyang Tower and Mingyue Pavilion, they were slightly inferior. No one from Duanshui Hall came. However, as Duanshui Hall and some other powers were enemies with Mingyue Pavilion, it was considered normal for them not to come.

But although it was like this, among the Inner Sect disciples, it could be seen that some of the most outstanding forces had been provoked at around the same time. On the contrary, the amount of deaths were unequal. It could also be seen that this was absolutely premeditated.

Once the forces’ representatives finished speaking, Xu Lingxiu extended a hand and made a quelling motion. This stopped the racket that everyone was making.

At this time, Gu Zuo further discovered that Xu Lingxiu’s position was much higher than what he imagined. With a pharmacist’s identity, he had summoned so many forces, and all these forces had recognized his authority!

The corner of Xu Lingxiu’s mouth slightly curled into a sneer: “Sure enough, it seems to be like this.”

— Sure enough, like what?

The numerous powers which had suffered losses all cast their gazes at him.

In a cold voice, Xu Lingxiu said: “In our Qingyun Sect, there are several dozens of powers in the Inner Sect. Today, all of those in the top ten rankings have suffered commotions. Among which, thirty-eight Outer Sect disciples or management personnel have died, and nineteen Inner Sect disciples who rushed to the rescue have suffered serious injuries. Although they’ve returned with their lives, most of their martial strengths have been crippled, and they’ve been bedridden up until now.”

Hearing the number of casualties, the forces’ representatives clenched their fists, and forcefully suppressed their fury.

Gu Zuo was also shocked by these numbers.

Just how long had it been…

An uneasy premonition arose in his heart.

Xu Lingxiu continued to speak: “From this, it can be seen that someone is deliberately targeting our Qingyun Sect. Therefore, after I became aware of this information, I requested a Senior Sect Brother to conduct a discreet inquiry. Now, I know the main culprits.”

Gu Zuo’s heart shivered. At once, he raised his head and looked over.

The leaders of the other forces made similar movements. Their hearts welled up with many emotions.

However, at this time, Xu Lingxiu looked at Xi Yangyun: “Senior Sect Brother Xi, please talk about the following matters.”

The following matters were mainly related to martial artists.

Xi Yangyun didn’t decline. His expression was solemn: “Perhaps, everyone isn’t aware that our Qingyun Sect had some guests arrive yesterday. They were staying in the hinterlands beyond the Sect. As it turned out, someone had welcomed them into the Sect, but who would’ve thought that they would come too early? After the Sect became aware of this, when extending a genuine invitation, they had already settled down. If they were to move their encampment, that would’ve made things rather difficult. Therefore, they were given directions to take care of themselves for the night, and they waited until today for the Sect to invite them in.”

These words came out, and everyone was discontent:

“Guests? More like pests!”

“If they’re really guests, how could they have done those things!”

“Their disdainful words clearly show that they’re looking down on our Qingyun Sect. They don’t deserve to be treated as guests!”

“Could it be possible that they’re posing as guests, but were just concealing their wicked conducts?”

“They must give us an explanation!”

After Xi Yangyun let them finish venting, he said: “About the matter of them picking fights in the Business District — After the Sect found out, it had already dispatched people to the hinterlands to negotiate with their teachers and Elders. Those disciples who arrived expressed their apologies, but they only said that it was like this because too much wine had been drunk and the youths were frivolous. Their Elders had already given each of them ten lashes of the whip as a reprimand.”

After Gu Zuo heard this, he felt a little odd.

They didn’t need to go so far, right? So many people picked fights, but the Elders of those unwelcomed guests didn’t know a damned thing! Treating Qingyun Sect like this was definitely a provocation. This was in order to upset Qingyun Sect. They even slapped the Sect’s face and apologized afterwards. To go this far was just too foolish…

But right away, Gu Zuo realized that his own thinking was wrong.

Because the people of those powers were even more worked up:

“Just ten lashes? Do they think that this will make up for the matter?”

“Truly, their thinking is very splendid!”

“Sure enough, their purpose for coming is not good. We can’t let matters rest with them!”

“This shameless herd of animals!”

There were many furious words afterward. Gu Zuo heard them clearly, and knew the reason.

What was a punishment of ten lashes? As it turned out, it was simply a perfunctory action. Because, as far as those Xiantian Realm martial artists were concerned, ten lashes of the whip was the same as a tickle. How could this be counted as a punishment? Also, that insubstantial apology didn’t contain the tiniest bit of sincerity. Additionally, what justification was that about getting drunk? Nothing else needed to be said. When Gu Zuo encountered those three people, were there even the slightest of signs that they were drunk? It was basically an excuse!

From beginning to end, it was all empty words. The so-called punishment was a sketch in light shades.

But not only had Qingyun Sect been insulted, its disciples had greatly lost face and so many people were killed or injured… That group of people tried to talk their way out to settle this problem. It really made people’s rage skyrocket.

Gu Zuo understood what he heard, and let out a sigh.

Indeed, he was sullen. To still dare call them guests! But nevertheless, what kind of guests were so grand and noble that, in the presence of the other party, Qingyun Sect didn’t seem as strong as when confronting the people of the continent’s other forces?

Gu Zuo had this kind of question, and so too did the representatives of those powers.

Moreover, from looking at these matters, all of the unlucky people were martial artists. On the contrary, no pharmacists were implicated. However, if it was like this, then it would’ve been enough for only martial artists to come. What was the meaning of several pharmacists coming with them?

Xu Lingxiu finally opened his mouth once more, and brought this matter to an end: “The so-called guests who arrived here aren’t people of our Qingyun Continent. The continent they hail from is called the Chongyun Continent. Their Sect is also the Chongyun Continent’s number one sect, and it’s called Chongyun Sect. However, when compared to our Qingyun Sect, Chongyun Sect is even stronger.

“Although the strength of the strongest in their Sect is almost the same as the strength of our Qingyun Sect’s current Sect Master, they have two more powerhouses at this realm, and our Sect only has a single Sect Master. Additionally, below their Sect Master, their Atomic Realm Grand Elders number seventeen, and our Sect only has ten individuals… In terms of peak martial power, they have nearly twice as many powerhouses as we do. Also, because the resources of Chongyun Continent are even more abundant than that of our Qingyun Continent, the Immortal Realms, Xiantian Realms, Houtian Realms… Within all the realms, their geniuses surpass our Qingyun Sect’s geniuses!”

With almost twice as much total strength, that Sect’s disciples looked down upon Qingyun Sect’s disciples. This was to be expected. It was just like how the present Qingyun Sect appeared friendly and amiable, but they were actually very prestigious on Qingyun Continent. Normally, wherever they went, lower ranking forces all needed to strategically withdraw out of restraining fears. If one thought about it, how big of a difference was there between that and Chongyun Sect looking down upon Qingyun Sect?

It was just that Qingyun Sect took responsibility of its face. It didn’t deliberately push around weaker sects. However, once that critical juncture was reached, Qingyun Sect wouldn’t take anything else into consideration and would only allow itself to develop and strengthen.

After Xu Lingxiu’s speech, the packed venue was quiet.

Of course, they knew that this world had many continents, but they also knew that Qingyun Continent was the one whose rank was the highest among all the continents. Among the sects of other continents, there basically wasn’t a single one that could compare to Qingyun Sect. Where did this Chongyun Sect come from? Where did Chongyun Continent come from?

Someone was unconvinced: “As the proverb goes, a powerful dragon cannot crush a snake in its old haunts. No matter how powerful that Chongyun Sect is, don’t tell me that they’ll bring back all their peak powerhouses to act as guests? Since they can’t bring them, in our Qingyun Sect’s domain, they’ll have to observe the rules of our Qingyun Sect. How could there be the matter of the guests taking unfair advantage of the host?”

These words were very reasonable, giving rise to everyone’s agreement.

Xu Lingxiu coldly stated: “Although this is reasonable and the other party’s actions are somewhat excessive, so long as they don’t shed all pretenses of cordiality, the Elders here won’t act. Otherwise, it’ll appear as if our Qingyun Sect fears them!”

Speaking up to here, he gave another sneer: “In spite of the other party’s provocations, if we can strike back at them, then it’ll naturally be the prestige of our Qingyun Sect. But if a person has inferior skills, what kind of face would we have to seek and complain to an Elder? Today, there wasn’t a single person at the Immortal Realm or above who acted. This aspect makes it small-scale. It’s true that we’re furious, but this is absolutely no reason to let a Grand Elder act! Otherwise, the face of our Qingyun Sect will seriously be trampled into the ground!”

The numerous martial artists were greatly ashamed.

Xu Lingxiu spoke correctly. If they were powerful enough, the other party’s provocations would’ve resulted in nothing more than a slap to their own faces. However, they weren’t strong enough, so the other party strutted their might in this way.

Right away, another martial artist spoke: “That’s right. The other party only provoked the lower disciples. We also can only dispatch the lower disciples to act. If we tell the Elders, then it’ll cause Qingyun Sect’s face to fall! However, those people also might not necessarily be that exceptional. They only bullied the Outer Sect disciples and external managers, or pushed around some ordinary Inner Sect disciples. The true geniuses still haven’t acted yet, so it can’t be said that we’ve suffered a defeat!”

At this moment, Xi Yangyun clapped his hands, and said: “Good! Well said! Now, we’ve gathered you all here to assemble our Inner Sect disciples and to integrate our power. There can’t be any more internal schisms. Whenever someone starts a fight, we can invite our fellow genius sect brothers to act. We must beat down the arrogance of those visitors!”

Then, someone asked: “Previously, an Elder went to pay them a visit to admonish them. Since the other party has already apologized, how will we retaliate if they don’t act out again later on?”

If they took the initiative to act, it would really leave an inexcusable resentment. But if they swallowed down this matter like this, their hearts would feel regretful and oppressed. They truly needed to get this off their chests.

The corner of Xu Lingxiu’s mouth hooked up into a slight sneer: “They were only allowed to provoke us, but could it be that we aren’t allowed to challenge them? If the other party stays quiet from now on, I’ll wait for the right time and invite our strongest people forward to challenge them. However, I think that, since their apology was so insincere, they won’t be content with their lot later on. At the present time, we’ll make preparations and observe their following actions before responding!”

This idea was pretty good.

Since the other party could provoke, then they naturally could challenge, too.

En, it would be a friendly spar!

Revealed on the faces of many martial artists were happy expressions. It seemed that they could pour out all their anger.

But, Gu Zuo wasn’t that optimistic.

He’d seen those people’s levels with his own eyes. Each one seemed somewhat stronger than the geniuses at equivalent realms. Otherwise, the Earth Leaderboard expert, He Xianglong, wouldn’t have been defeated under the hands of that ordinary young man so easily.

Perhaps the provokers in other areas didn’t encounter Earth Leaderboard experts, which allowed other people to misjudge… Once the the details of all the incidents were known by each force, maybe their way of thinking would change again.

Immediately afterwards, Gu Zuo raised his eyes to look at Xu Lingxiu, Xi Yangyun, and the couple of Immortal Realm martial artists who were beside them. Indeed, their expressions weren’t that relaxed either. Among the following forces, the representatives of those comparatively large powers likewise looked as if they hadn’t laid down their worries.

It seemed that his notions were correct. Xu Lingxiu only spoke like this to boost morale and to mobilize the thoughts of the Sect disciples’ shared hatred for the enemy. However, if he genuinely talked about any assurances, there were none to speak of. And even if there weren’t any assurances, there were many things that still needed to be done.

After talking about a few more details, the members of many powers said their goodbyes and departed. One after another, they each made their own preparations. Some of those who hadn’t been invited would inevitably learn of the news if they were friends with the people here.

In all likelihood, it wouldn’t take long for the disciples of the entire Inner Sect to have a response.

Gu Zuo looked all around.

Aside from the chief representative, Xi Yangyun, the ones who remained now were all pharmacists.

T

/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.

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