60: Medicine Man (8)

Another ten years passed.

During these ten years, the situation in Southern Border changed drastically, with great upheaval.

Lu Li's Revered Master failed in his attempt to reach the Grotto-Heaven Realm, and his Lifespan was nearing its end.

Lu Li went insane searching for spiritual items to extend his Revered Master's Lifespan, and he broke into a famous Forbidden Ground in Southern Border.

After that, his whereabouts became unknown.

Thousand Mountains Holy Land, the strongest power in the Thousand Mountains Region, organized experts from various Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands to jointly explore a newly discovered Ancient Forbidden Land, resulting in a devastating blow.

Countless experts perished.

Among them were Lu Li's Revered Master, who had just emerged from secluded cultivation intending to make one last desperate attempt, and the sole remaining Grotto-Heaven Realm Old Ancestor of the Hundred Grass Grotto-Heaven.

With both pillars falling simultaneously, the decline of the Hundred Grass Grotto-Heaven was a foregone conclusion; its collapse and eventual demise were only a matter of time.

Si Yun's protection was gone.

Over these ten years, he had pushed his cultivation to the Earth Spirit Realm Ninth Level, only a step away from the Heavenly Spirit Realm.

But this final step became an insurmountable chasm.

What was worse, Pill King Qianyuan, that old dog who viewed him as the “Perfect Medicinal Catalyst,” had reportedly achieved a Breakthrough a year ago and was now an expert at the Heavenly Spirit Realm Peak.

Having lost his backing, Si Yun once again became prey.

He began his life of constant hiding in the Thousand Mountains Region... Another two years passed.

In the Thousand Mountains Region, a desolate Scattered Rock Valley.

Si Yun wore common clothes, his aura completely restrained, making him look like an ordinary Loose Cultivator.

These two years, he lived more cautiously than ever before.

He dared not stay in one place for more than three months, dared not form close relationships with anyone, and certainly dared not expose even a fraction of his Alchemy Skill.

Qian Yuan's pursuit was relentless, like a shadow following him.

Several times, he sensed people from the Danxia Sect or those commissioned by Qian Yuan sweeping the area he was in. Each time, it left him drenched in cold sweat, forcing him to immediately flee far away.

While searching for an Opportunity to achieve a Heavenly Spirit Realm Breakthrough, he accidentally stumbled into a forgotten ancient ruin.

There, he discovered a huge and dilapidated Teleportation Formation.

The Formation patterns were obscure, and the structure complex, but Si Yun immediately judged it to be a Grand Teleportation Formation capable of crossing vast distances.

A path of retreat.

From that day on, he treated this place as his final refuge.

While cautiously repairing the Teleportation Formation, he secretly searched for Opportunities that could help him achieve a Breakthrough.

He knew clearly that simply hiding was not a solution.

Only by achieving a Breakthrough to the Heavenly Spirit Realm and possessing the capital to resist head-on could he truly control his own destiny.

One day, he ventured deep into a Secret Realm in Southern Border named “Dragon Burial Abyss.” This place was perpetually shrouded in virulent poisonous miasma, making it rarely visited, but it was also where many rare and exotic flowers and herbs, hard to find elsewhere, grew.

He was carefully picking a Celestial Heart Ganoderma of sufficient age from a cliff face.

Suddenly, Si Yun's movements froze.

A powerful aura descended without warning.

The surrounding space was instantly confined, and the air stopped flowing.

It was a Formation!

This area of space was completely sealed!

Si Yun's heart sank.

A figure slowly walked out from the distorted air.

The person who arrived had white hair and beard and an aged face, but his eyes were astonishingly bright, filled with greed and fury.

It was none other than Pill King Qianyuan.

“You little beast, you made me wait for so long.”

Qian Yuan's voice was hoarse and grating.

He stared intently at Si Yun, his gaze treating him as a lost and recovered treasure.

“Twenty years, a full twenty years! Do you know how I spent these twenty years?”

“I risked life and limb to retrieve the ‘Nine Revolutions Rejuvenation Saliva’ from a Secret Realm for you, preparing to reshape the Foundation of your perfect Pill Furnace, yet you ran away!”

“If you hadn't run, I would already be in the Three Origins Realm now, and even a Pill Emperor-level Alchemist!”

Qian Yuan's roar echoed within the sealed space.

Si Yun remained expressionless, put the Celestial Heart Ganoderma into his Storage Ring, slowly straightened his body, and immediately activated a Secret Technique, preparing to escape.

“Seeking death!”

Qian Yuan was utterly enraged and stopped wasting words.

He raised a hand and pointed; a beam of spiritual power condensed to the extreme pierced the Void Realm, shooting straight toward Si Yun's glabella.

Si Yun's pupils contracted, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.

The next moment, he appeared dozens of yards away, holding several Medicinal Pills of various colors.

Without looking, he crushed them in his hand.

Boom!

Dazzling bright light erupted along with a deafening roar, instantly engulfing Qian Yuan's figure.

Simultaneously, large patches of dark green poisonous mist spread out. Wherever it passed, even the rocks were corroded with sizzling sounds.

Si Yun did not hesitate, turning and fleeing with all his might in one direction.

He knew that these minor tricks could not possibly deal with Qian Yuan.

“Playing these petty Alchemy tricks in front of me is like showing off a meager skill before an expert!”

Sure enough, Qian Yuan's cold shout came from the center of the explosion.

Looking at Si Yun's fleeing back, a cruel mockery appeared on Qian Yuan's face.

“Today, you won't escape even with wings.”

His figure flickered, disappearing from the spot, and when he reappeared, he was already blocking Si Yun's path.

He struck out with a palm.

Si Yun felt an invisible mountain pressing down on him, leaving him nowhere to hide.

He roared in fury, unleashing the spiritual power of the Earth Spirit Realm Ninth Level without reservation, striking out with both fists to meet the massive palm print.

“Rumble!”

A huge sound.

Si Yun was slammed into the ground, plowing a deep ravine over a hundred yards long into the hard rock layer.

“Pfft!”

He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, feeling as if all the bones in his body were about to fall apart.

Too strong.

The Heavenly Spirit Realm Peak and the Earth Spirit Realm Ninth Level seemed only one Major Realm apart, but the difference was like heaven and earth.

“You can still stand up?”

Qian Yuan was slightly surprised, but the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger.

“The Heavenly Elixir Precious Body truly is a rare treasure unmatched in the world. The more tenacious you are, the better the effect when refined into a Medicinal Pill!”

“It is your honor to become the resource that allows me to step into the Three Origins Realm!”

Qian Yuan raised his palm again. This time, the spiritual power gathered in his palm was enough to level the area for several miles around.

Si Yun struggled to stand up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and showed no sign of retreat in his eyes; instead, his Battle Intent soared high.

Just as Qian Yuan was about to deliver the fatal blow, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Si Yun's mind.

“That dilapidated Teleportation Formation!”

A thought surfaced in his mind.

He stopped defending, pulled out a Medicinal Pill from his Storage Ring that was blood-red all over and emitted an ominous aura, and swallowed it whole.

“Blood Shadow Reverse Dust Pill!”

Boom!

A violent power exploded within his body. Countless bloody cracks appeared on the surface of his skin, yet his entire aura instantly surged several times over.

He did not charge at Qian Yuan, but instead transformed into a streak of bloody light, slamming ferociously toward a certain node of the Sealing Grand Formation.

“Trying to run?”

Qian Yuan was startled for a moment, then flew into a rage and pursued relentlessly.

Si Yun desperately activated the Secret Technique, blood flowing from all seven orifices, but he didn't care, focused only on one thought.

Faster!

A little faster!

He rushed out of the Dragon Burial Abyss, fleeing desperately toward the Scattered Rock Valley.

Qian Yuan followed closely, sending sharp attacks continuously slamming behind him, kicking up dust everywhere.

Finally, the familiar Scattered Rock Valley appeared in his sight.

A flash of joy crossed Si Yun's eyes, and he plunged into it.

He rushed to the front of the huge Teleportation Formation, his body already at its limit, swaying precariously.

Behind him, Qian Yuan's attack, powerful enough to destroy everything, was approaching with deadly menace.

It was too late!

Si Yun's eyes were filled with determination.

He fiercely bit the tip of his tongue.

“Pfft!”

A mouthful of Essence Blood transformed into a blood arrow, accurately spraying onto the most core Formation Eye of the Teleportation Formation.

Buzz—!

A dazzling white light shot up from the dilapidated Grand Formation.

Ancient and complex Formation patterns lit up one after another, and unstable spatial power surged wildly, forming a distorted vortex.

Just a split second before Qian Yuan's sharp attack was about to land on Si Yun.

The white light flashed.

Si Yun's figure, along with the distorted vortex, vanished from the spot.

Boom!

Qian Yuan's attack missed, blasting the entire Teleportation Formation, along with a small portion of the valley, into dust.

As the smoke and dust dissipated, the Scattered Rock Valley was empty.

“Aaaahhhh—!”

Qian Yuan raised his head and let out an extremely furious roar, the sound spreading throughout the four fields.