39: The Medicine King's Cauldron? My son is the true cauldron!

Li San's face was ashen, slumped on the cold ground like a mangy dog with its spine removed. The wisp of sweet-smelling medicinal powder floating in Jiang Linfeng's palm was like a red-hot iron, searing away his last shred of hope. Soul Erosion Powder! A secret transmission of the Medicine King Valley! This... how could this Jiang Linfeng see through it at a glance?!

"Speak!" Jiang Linfeng's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a guillotine forged from ten-thousand-year-old ice, hanging over Li San's head! That terrifying pressure of the sixth level of the Zhaoshen Realm, mixed with the overbearing will of Star Chaos, firmly locked onto his Divine Soul, making even self-detonation a luxury! "Who sent you?! How many more hidden agents does the Medicine King Valley have?!"

"I... I..." Li San's lips trembled, his teeth chattering, his eyes filled with a desperate struggle. Betraying the Medicine King Valley... meant certain death! But if he didn't speak... he would die right now! He suddenly gritted his teeth, a flash of crazed malice appearing in his eyes!

"It's... it's Elder Mo! Elder Mo Yanqi! He... he left a secret order before he departed! If he died... then... then use the Soul Erosion Powder to... destroy your Dao foundation! To... to lead the Medicine King Valley's army... to flatten Qingyun! And seize... the Star Dao Body!"

"Mo Yanqi?" Jiang Linfeng's gaze was as cold as a blade. "That old dog certainly had a good plan! Unfortunately... he won't live to see the army!" He suddenly clenched his five fingers!

Buzz!

That wisp of Soul Erosion Powder was instantly crushed into nothingness by an invisible force! Simultaneously, an even more violent pressure slammed into Li San's body!

"Pfft—!" Li San sprayed out a mouthful of fresh blood, his internal organs feeling as if they had been struck by a giant hammer! He felt as if his very Divine Soul was being torn apart!

"No... don't kill me! I... I'm still useful!" Li San let out a shrill wail. "I know... I know the Medicine King Valley's true target! It's... it's the medicine king cauldron! It's... it's the Young Sect Master!"

"medicine king cauldron?!" Jiang Linfeng's pupils suddenly constricted! The treasure of the Medicine King Valley! The legendary supreme treasure that contained the Chaos Medicine Dao Origin?! How could Star Universe... be involved with the medicine king cauldron?!

"Explain clearly!" Jiang Linfeng's voice was like a cold wind from the Nine Underworlds, carrying a bone-chilling killing intent!

"I... I only know... Elder Mo said... the Star Dao Body... is... is the key... to opening the medicine king cauldron!" Li San screamed as he struggled. "The Valley Master... he... wants to use the Young Sect Master... to sacrifice... Sacrifice to the Cauldron! To... reopen the Chaos Medicine Dao!"

Boom—!!!

A wave of towering rage, like a volcanic eruption, instantly swept through Jiang Linfeng's entire body! Sacrifice to the Cauldron?! Using his son... to Sacrifice to the Cauldron?! Medicine King Valley! What a Medicine King Valley!

"You seek death!!!" Killing intent exploded in Jiang Linfeng's eyes! He suddenly raised his right palm! Star power gathered frantically in his palm! A miniature, ice-blue star phantom instantly took shape! Carrying a terrifying will that could crush everything and destroy eternity! He slammed it down... ruthlessly toward Li San!

"No—!!!" Li San let out a desperate shriek! His eyes were filled with endless fear and regret!

However, at the very moment the palm print was about to fall—

Buzz!

At the center of Li San's brow, an extremely obscure rune that emitted an ancient medicinal fragrance suddenly lit up! The rune twisted, wriggling like a living thing! A sinister, foul aura, as if it had condensed all the malice and curses of ten thousand years of Pill Furnaces, exploded outward!

"Soul-Suppressing Pill Seal?!" Jiang Linfeng's gaze sharpened! A vicious Restriction used by the Medicine King Valley to control death soldiers!

"Jie jie jie... Jiang Linfeng... don't you think... you'll know more..." A twisted and malicious smile appeared on Li San's face, his voice sounding like sandpaper rubbing together. "The Valley Master... will... avenge... me... the Young Sect Master... must... die..."

Boom!

The rune completely exploded! Li San's head burst like a ripe watermelon! Red and white mixed with stinking, foul blood, spraying everywhere! Along with his Divine Soul, he was instantly annihilated under that sinister Restriction! Only a headless corpse remained, emitting a nauseating stench!

"Hmph!" Jiang Linfeng snorted coldly, the star phantom in his palm dissipating. He looked coldly at the corpse on the ground. medicine king cauldron? Key? Sacrifice? Medicine King Valley... you... are very good!

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over reporting to the Sect Master and the others who had rushed over upon hearing the noise.

"Drag it away and feed it to the dogs." His voice was flat, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness. "Thoroughly investigate the Sect! Anyone with the mark of the Medicine King Valley... kill them without mercy!"

"Yes! Sect Master!" reporting to the Sect Master and the others were as silent as cicadas in winter, quickly taking their orders.

Jiang Linfeng returned to the main room of the Thatched Cottage. Luo Yan held Star Universe, a hint of worry in her beautiful eyes. Su Ningxue sat kneeling to the side, her deer-like eyes lowered, her small hands tightly clutching the corner of her clothes, her face somewhat pale. The bloody scene and terrifying killing intent from earlier had left her with lingering fears.

"The Medicine King Valley... wants to use Star Universe to Sacrifice to the Cauldron?" Luo Yan's voice carried a hint of a tremble.

"Wishful thinking!" Jiang Linfeng's gaze was cold. "As long as I'm here, no one can touch a single hair on Star Universe's head!" He walked to the side of the cradle, looking at his sleeping son. The little fellow seemed to sense his father's presence; he smacked his little lips, turned over, and continued to sleep soundly. Pure Star Dao Rhyme flowed around him like the warmest protection.

[Ding! Detected a weak resonance between the Star Dao Rhyme in Jiang Xingyu's body and an unknown Chaos Medicine Dao aura!]

[Hint: There is a mysterious connection between the medicine king cauldron (Chaos Medicine Dao Origin) and the Star Dao Body (Chaos Life Origin)!]

[Warning: The Medicine King Valley may possess a certain secret technique, attempting to use the Star Dao Body as a catalyst to forcibly awaken the medicine king cauldron!]

Jiang Linfeng's gaze froze! Chaos Medicine Dao Origin? Chaos Life Origin? So that's how it is! The Medicine King Valley... has set its sights on the Chaos Life Origin within Star Universe that comes from the Source Spirit Body! They want to use him... to activate that dormant medicine king cauldron?!

"They want to use my son as a key?" A cold arc curved at the corner of Jiang Linfeng's mouth, cold light exploding in his eyes. "Then this seat... will first destroy your cauldron!"

He needed power! Stronger power! Power sufficient to charge into the Medicine King Valley and overturn that broken cauldron!

"Ningxue." Jiang Linfeng turned his gaze toward the young girl kneeling to the side.

"Here! Sect Master!" Su Ningxue quickly looked up, her deer-like eyes still holding a trace of lingering fear, but even more so, they were filled with dependence and trust in him.

"Come here." Jiang Linfeng's voice was deep.

Su Ningxue's heart skipped a beat! She suppressed the thumping in her heart and obediently stood up, walking to Jiang Linfeng with small steps. She lowered her head slightly, revealing her snowy-white, slender neck. A crisp aura of the Ice Soul Star Body mixed with a faint maidenly fragrance diffused silently.

Jiang Linfeng reached out his hand, not touching her, but drawing her power from a distance!

Buzz!

A wisp of pure Ice Soul Star power was gently stripped from Su Ningxue's body, like an ice-blue star-mist, slowly merging into Jiang Linfeng's palm. This power was cool and moist, carrying the girl's pure aura, instantly smoothing the churning rage and killing intent in his heart.

[Ding! Absorbed Ice Soul Star Body Origin aura! Origin Spirit Power (Ice Attribute) activity +10%! Star Insight Fragments x1!]

[Su Ningxue Intimacy +3! (Current 128%!)]

"Sect... Sect Master..." Su Ningxue felt a wisp of power being drawn from her body, but instead of discomfort, she felt a strange sense of satisfied recognition. Her deer-like eyes were watery and bright, her cheeks slightly flushed, carrying a hint of shy expectation. "Do... do you need... this Disciple to do anything else?"

Jiang Linfeng looked at the girl's shy and timid appearance, as if ready to be plucked, and his heart stirred slightly. This girl... the Ice Soul Star Body was indeed a treasure. He needed to stabilize his Realm as quickly as possible, and he also needed... to accumulate power to strike at the Medicine King Valley. Dual Cultivation... was undoubtedly the fastest path.

"Tonight..." Jiang Linfeng's voice was deep, carrying an unquestionable majesty, "stabilize this seat's... Realm."

Su Ningxue's whole body trembled! Her deer-like eyes instantly widened! Stabi... stabilize his Realm?! That... didn't that mean... Dual Cultivation?! Immense shyness and wild joy instantly overwhelmed her! She felt as if her cheeks were hot enough to fry an egg, and her heart was pounding so hard it almost jumped out of her chest! She bit her lower lip hard to keep herself from making an embarrassing sound, only responding with a trembling nasal tone as soft as a mosquito's hum:

"Um... this Disciple... obeys..."

She slowly sat kneeling on the prayer mat spread before Jiang Linfeng, her cool little hands trembling slightly as they lightly touched his knees. She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently like butterfly wings, and began to fully circulate her Ice Soul Star Body. A more pure, cooler Ice Soul Star power, like a gentle stream, slowly flowed out, actively wrapping around Jiang Linfeng's body.

Jiang Linfeng closed his eyes, feeling that cool and moist power permeate his skin and merge into his Meridians. The girl's scent was close at hand, carrying the crispness of melting snow and a hint of secret sweetness. He guided this power to blend and circulate with his own surging Origin Spirit Power... Within his Sea of Consciousness, that Ice Soul Star Fusion Seed slowly rotated, emitting an even more profound Dao Rhyme...