Chapter 1554 - Black Tiger

Zhen Yiming departed under the cover of the night and hurried toward the Skyward Gate without stopping. When midnight arrived, Liu Wuxie slipped out of the inn and went straight to the mysterious building.

After roughly fifteen minutes, he arrived at a strange house with no windows, only a pitch-black door. Dense spiritual arrays packed the entrance so tightly that even cultivators at the Heaven Gaze Realm couldn't force their way in. The building itself looked small and plain, the kind of place no one would spare a second glance.

"There must be something special inside," Liu Wuxie said.

He was certain the house concealed more than it revealed. The space within had to be far larger than the exterior suggested.

Right after midnight passed, two experts at the pinnacle of the Heaven Gaze Realm appeared, produced a medal, and entered the mysterious door with ease.

Liu Wuxie activated Ghost Pupil, pierced through the restrictions, and slipped through the door as well. Moments after he stepped inside, a clamor surged into his ears. Then, an overwhelming wave of energy swept over him, crushing his divine sense.

"There's an expert guarding this place," Liu Wuxie said, his gaze sharpening. That oppressive force earlier clearly came from an expert at the Quasi-Immortal Realm.

During this period, Liu Wuxie hadn't been the only one to probe this place, and that Quasi-Immortal Realm's divine sense had crushed all of them.

In the next instant, Liu Wuxie vanished without leaving a trace. The quasi-immortal had already detected him, and he knew he couldn't stay a moment longer.

Not long after Liu Wuxie disappeared, a boundless force swept out, unmistakably belonging to that quasi-immortal.

Back at the inn, Liu Wuxie finally let out a sigh. If that quasi-immortal had truly locked onto him, escape would've been impossible.

For the entire following day, Liu Wuxie stayed inside until the second evening, when Huang Li arrived with his two martial uncles. The moment Huang Li saw Liu Wuxie, helpless frustration dragged his expression down.

Huang Li apologized, "Young Master Liu, I'm sorry to have disappointed you."

The appearance of the counterfeit Soul Pills had left the Skyward Gate helpless; they hadn't dared to alarm Liu Wuxie, yet even after mobilizing many forces to stop the spread, they had achieved little.

The counterfeit operation moved with vicious cunning. After refinement, the pills were shipped to the Heavenly Saint Guild for distribution, while the masterminds only handled refining and never touched the sales. Anyone could sell the counterfeit pills as long as they headed to the Heavenly Saint Guild to take stock. The method was brilliant, and even Liu Wuxie hadn't found clues, let alone the Skyward Gate.

"Let's sit down and talk," Liu Wuxie said, gesturing for the three to take their seats. At this point, he couldn't place all the blame on the Skyward Gate.

"Wuxie, it's great that you came. With you around, I believe that we can crush the counterfeit pills quickly," Huang Li said.

They couldn't find a solution, but that didn't mean Liu Wuxie couldn't.

The two middle-aged men were familiar faces to Liu Wuxie—Su Ling and Zhang Zhe, Huang Li's martial uncles and top-tier figures within the Skyward Gate.

"Which sect has been purchasing the most spiritual herbs recently?" Liu Wuxie asked.

Refining thirty thousand pills demanded a staggering supply of spiritual herbs every day. If they traced that flow, they could identify the mastermind.

"We have investigated that. A mysterious organization has appeared recently and has been buying spiritual herbs on a massive scale," Huang Li reported, laying out the results of their investigation.

Liu Wuxie asked, glancing at the file, "Do you have any leads on that organization?"

Little was uncovered. The organization moved in the shadows, sourcing materials from various sects and leaving almost no trace.

"We don't have any concrete leads, but we've sent people to tail them in secret," Su Ling replied. He spoke to Liu Wuxie evenly, without treating him like a junior.

"Does your Skyward Gate have any enemies?" Liu Wuxie asked, changing direction. There was a chance the counterfeit pills didn't target the Heavenly Dao Society at all, but the Skyward Gate instead.

"If we have any mortal enemy, it would be the Indigo Dragon Cult," Huang Li answered without hesitation.

Liu Wuxie pulled up the materials on the Indigo Dragon Cult, scanned them, and shook his head, dismissing them at once. That left the True Flame Hall and the Nalan Clan as the most suspicious.

"Master, I have information to share. Not long ago, a mysterious organization announced that it was recruiting a batch of alchemists and offering generous pay. Many alchemists have already made their way over," Zhen Yiming informed from the side.

Liu Wuxie's eyes brightened immediately. The development matched his expectations, as refining pills at that scale required a huge number of alchemists.

"Where is it located?" Liu Wuxie asked immediately.

"The Three Realm Island," Zhen Yiming replied.

"Okay, I'll head to the Three Realm Island immediately. A few of you stay behind and wait for my news," Liu Wuxie said, then left the inn at once and headed for Three Realm Island.

Huang Li could only exchange baffled looks with his martial uncles. They couldn't see what Liu Wuxie intended to do and could only wait without further instruction.

The Three Realm Island lay not far from Kaya City, hidden in a remote region of Spirit Martial Star. It connected three races together, which was how it earned its name.

To the left was the Fishmen Clan, home to countless oceanic races whose combat strength didn't fall behind humans. To the right stretched a chain of islands ruled by pirates as island lords. Up ahead lay the human region, and the central island gave the entire area its name.

Three Realm Island was vast and lawless, a place where oceanic races and pirates visited freely. Many humans chose it as a resting stop whenever they traveled across the sea.

At this very moment, streams of cultivators rushed toward Three Realm Island, drawn by rumors of generous pay for recruited alchemists. Many alchemists lacked achievements and possessed mediocre skills, living in poverty. This was likely their only chance to turn their lives around.

Liu Wuxie disguised himself as a worn and ragged middle-aged man.

One day later, he arrived at Three Realm Island. Someone had sealed off the entire island, and anyone who wanted to enter faced strict interrogation.

A black-clad man received Liu Wuxie. He was entirely wrapped in black cloth with only his eyes exposed.

"What's your name?" the black-clad man asked coldly.

"Wu Xie," Liu Wuxie replied. He had used this moniker before.

"Do you know the arts of alchemy?" the black-clad man inquired.

"I know a little," Liu Wuxie replied, expecting an alchemy test on the spot. However, the moment he admitted to having some knowledge, the black-clad man merely waved him aside and told him to wait.

Even Liu Wuxie hadn't expected acceptance to come so easily. Like him, more than a hundred other alchemists gathered there from various planets. Most were rogue cultivators with some alchemy knowledge, but none could be called grandmaster alchemists. Afterall, true alchemist grandmasters would never submit to anyone.

Over the next two days, the black-clad men recruited more than a hundred and fifty alchemists before they finally stopped.

"Everyone here put on a hood. We're going to the designated location, and you'll get a generous reward once you finish the job." Over a dozen black-clad men stepped forward, each one carrying terrifying cultivation at the higher levels of the Heaven Gaze Realm. Meanwhile, most of the recruited alchemists only stood at the higher levels of the Void Realm or the low levels of the Earth Immortal Realm.

No one dared resist, and they obediently pulled on black hoods. Even with their senses sealed by the hood, Liu Wuxie could still observe through Ghost Pupil.

Everyone boarded a warship, and the vessel departed Three Realm Island at once. They sat on the deck with almost no conversation. After about an hour of flight, the warship finally landed outside Kaya City.

"It's really here," Liu Wuxie sneered after he surveyed the surroundings.

After everyone disembarked, the black-clad men led them into a forest. Liu Wuxie scanned the area and quickly realized someone had deliberately modified the surroundings.

Cracking sounds echoed as a massive tree shifted aside, revealing a gap only large enough for one person to pass through.

Liu Wuxie's gaze tightened. "A hidden passage!"

He hadn't expected an underground route here, and he suspected that this passage connected to the mysterious building.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The group entered the hidden passage, yet, with their vision blocked, they could only follow instructions blindly. Once they reached the underground world, they found a simple teleportation array meant to send them to a predetermined location.

All 150 people vanished in quick succession, including Liu Wuxie. The travel lasted only about a minute. The instant they stepped out, clamor rushed into Liu Wuxie's ears.

As soon as they emerged from a stone chamber, the black-clad men ordered everyone to remove their hoods.

When Liu Wuxie lifted his hood, shock seized him. The space teemed with cultivators, and a terrifying wave of flame surged from the surroundings.

This was an alchemy workshop, centered around a giant cauldron that spewed blazing flame. It was so intense that even ordinary cultivators at the Void Realm would struggle to endure it. The rumbling heatwave rolled over everything, making everyone extremely uncomfortable.

"This will be where all of you will be working, and you will receive fifty astral crystals every month," said the black-clad man who had brought them there.

A burly man soon strode out with heavy steps, brimming with explosive power.

The burly man asked, scanning Liu Wuxie's group with obvious dissatisfaction, "Why are there so few people?"

"This is all we could get. Make do with it," said the black-clad man in a helpless tone. Finding 150 people in just two days hadn't been easy.

"You come with me. From now on, stay silent and follow orders. No complaints, or don't blame me for being ruthless," the burly man said.

He swept his gaze across the crowd, chilling everyone to the bone.

"I'm starting to regret it now. I want to leave," said a skinny-looking alchemist who panicked and tried to force his way out.

The burly man sneered, flashing his teeth like a beast ready to bite. "Leaving isn't that easy."

"I'm leaving," said the skinny alchemist, pushing toward the gate.

"Die!" No one saw how the burly man moved, yet a huge fist smashed down from above, crushing the skinny alchemist into a paste of meat.

The brutality stunned everyone. Several alchemists who had entertained thoughts of retreat instantly swallowed their words. They finally understood someone had deceived them, and they wouldn't leave this place easily.

The burly man asked, his gaze sweeping the crowd again, "Does anyone else wish to leave now?"

Everyone stayed silent, trembling, and none dared speak.

"My name is Black Tiger, and you can all call me Instructor Tiger. I will assign your tasks now," he said as if he had done something insignificant.