Chapter 696 - Appointment

A chilling gaze locked on Grandmaster Hai’s face, causing the latter to shudder and retreat instinctively. He was weaker than Qing Mu and didn’t dare to speak with Liu Wuxie.

“Back in Treasure City, I had sworn to kill you,” Liu Wuxie said, his voice steady. If Elder Yi Xuan hadn’t shown up in Treasure City, there was a high possibility Grandmaster Hai would’ve killed him. Since then, he had sworn to kill the latter.

“Liu Wuxie, try and lay a hand on me! I’m an elder of the sect!” Grandmaster Hai said, but his voice betrayed his faltering confidence. He looked around, trying to find support from the surrounding elders who had chosen to be silent. They didn’t dare to intervene, not to mention plead on his behalf.

After all, Qing Mu’s plight had served as a clear warning, and they didn’t want to be embarrassed by Liu Wuxie. This was why they turned their heads away and pretended not to see Grandmaster Hai’s pleading gaze.

This scene left Grandmaster Hai disheartened. He knew he was finished. If no one was willing to stand up for him, his death was practically certain at Liu Wuxie’s hands.

“Liu Wuxie, do you really want to drive me to my death?” Grandmaster Hai was afraid as he retreated. He didn’t even have the confidence to clash with Liu Wuxie.

He might’ve been an expert in the Nascent Transformation Realm, but even those in the True Profound Realm were terrified of Liu Wuxie, not to mention him.

“You’re the ones who showed no mercy first!” Liu Wuxie retorted, unwilling to waste more words with Grandmaster Hai, and he retrieved the Heretic Blade.

When he raised the Heretic Blade to the sky, a terrifying blade aura swept out, forming a massive vortex. The vortex devoured everything in its surroundings, creating a black hole. The sight was horrifying as the disciples stood frozen in horror.

“Senior Brother Liu is so terrifying!” Many true disciples were in deep shock. They had spent decades cultivating, but their achievements seemed insignificant compared to those of Liu Wuxie, who had made a meteoric rise in just two years.

After refining the creation deity’s embryo, his physique was reconstructed by the Revitalizing Pill with the evolution of the True Dragon Physique. With his current physique alone, he could kill those in the low levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm.

“What terrifying power! Grandmaster Hai is in danger now!” The other elite disciples could no longer comprehend what they were seeing and could only sense the immense shockwave.

Mu Tianli was hidden in the void as he glanced at the lesser realm with a sneer.

The surrounding space shattered under Liu Wuxie’s blade aura, leaving Grandmaster Hai with no choice but to take out three spiritual talismans. He was proficient in fighting with spiritual talismans, and clashing head-on wasn’t his forte.

“You dare take out such garbage spiritual talisman?” Liu Wuxie sneered and tapped out with his finger. The surrounding space was immobilized as yin and yang energies emerged, locking the three spiritual talismans in place.

“What’s going on? What is this power?” gasped the surrounding elders. Elder Tian Xing and Elder Yi Xuan had just arrived, and even though they couldn’t comprehend the yin and yang energies, they felt uneasy with this power.

Grandmaster Hai was courting death to use spiritual talismans before Liu Wuxie. In the Southern Province, no one could surpass Liu Wuxie in terms of spiritual talismans, not even those in the True Profound Realm.

Once the spiritual talismans were restricted, Liu Wuxie unleashed the True Strike. Space was ripped apart, creating a spatial rift that reached Grandmaster Hai.

Qing Mu had retreated a kilometer away, and he shivered at this sight. He felt increasingly cold, with a creeping dread taking hold of him. He felt like Liu Wuxie had left something in his body, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

He couldn’t muster energy and felt powerless, his lips turning pale. It felt as if he was poisoned, but he couldn’t find any poison in his body. Then again, if Liu Wuxie wanted to kill him, he would’ve already done so earlier.

Ever since Liu Wuxie had joined the sect, Qing Mu had targeted him multiple times, wanting to kill him repeatedly. So how could Liu Wuxie allow him to have such an easy death?

When Liu Wuxie had slapped Qing Mu earlier, he had subtly injected a wisp of poisonous miasma into his body. Over the next year, Qing Mu would endure excruciating pain before succumbing to a mysterious death. The ancient power he wielded was sinister, far beyond the comprehension of ordinary cultivators.

“I’ll fight you to the death!” Grandmaster Hai drew his weapon and charged at Liu Wuxie, planning to perish together.

“A garbage like you wants to perish with me?” Liu Wuxie sneered, his palm surging with energy from the desolate world.

The surrounding space began to collapse as Grandmaster Hai fell into boundless darkness.

Liu Wuxie was right. Grandmaster Hai couldn’t even resist him, not to mention dragging him down.

When the Heretic Blade descended, Grandmaster Hai was torn into pieces. Everyone was shocked to see how Liu Wuxie killed an elder in the Nascent Transformation Realm publicly.

At this moment, Liu Wuxie was like an abyssal king, shrouded in boundless abyssal energy. No one dared to get too close and retreated far away.

After killing Grandmaster Hai, the murderous intent of Liu Wuxie gradually subsided. The main perpetrator was dead, and Qing Mu’s days were numbered. The poison would slowly eat away at him until his death.

When Liu Wuxie glanced at the surroundings, he was satisfied with the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s decision. No one stepped forward to stop him, and this was a clear message the sect’s higher hierarchies had tacitly approved of Liu Wuxie’s actions. They would rather lose an elder than risk losing Liu Wuxie.

From this moment onward, Liu Wuxie’s rise was inevitable, and no one in the sect would dare to challenge him or the Heavenly Dao Society unless they felt their authority was higher than the old sect master.

“Grandmaster Hai had long been a blight on the sect, publicly suppressing other disciples. According to sect law, he should have been stripped of his cultivation and expelled long ago. Now that he has been dealt with, this matter shall be considered resolved,” Elder Tian Xing declared, stepping forward with authority. As the head of the Law-Enforcement Hall, such pronouncements fell under his jurisdiction.

However, everyone knew Elder Tian Xing only represented the sect master, and his words also represented Mu Tianli. This was to legitimize Liu Wuxie’s actions.

Elder Tian Xing continued, “In light of Liu Wuxie’s monumental contribution to the sect, the higher hierarchies have decided to confer upon him the title of an elite disciple, along with the position of the Treasure Pill Peak’s chief alchemist!”

It was unprecedented for a true disciple to obtain the status of an elite elder in one go, and this was the sect’s decision to keep Liu Wuxie in the sect. After all, the consequences would be dire if Liu Wuxie left the sect.

The status of an elite elder was only an idle position, but this was to ensure Liu Wuxie could receive an elder’s treatment regardless of his actions.

The status as the Treasure Pill Peak’s chief alchemist was also a noble position. It was a status with influence and freedom, ensuring Liu Wuxie’s position in the sect. This was the same as telling Liu Wuxie how much the sect trusted him by giving him such a noble position.

Alchemy was the foundation of the Treasure Pill Pavilion, and the position of chief alchemist equated to wielding control over half of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s operations. Mu Tianli hadn’t even sought the agreement of the grand elders to give this position to Liu Wuxie, but everyone had witnessed Liu Wuxie’s strength, including the grand elders. They understood how extraordinary it was for someone in the Astral River Realm to defeat a cultivator in the Nascent Transformation Realm—a feat even they couldn’t achieve in their youth.

Strangely enough, no one was surprised by this outcome and even thought it was well-deserved. After all, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s status among the ten major sects would continue to fall if not for Liu Wuxie.

To begin with, the Treasure Pill Pavilion was under Liu Wuxie’s control. Thus, the title of the chief alchemist was only a natural enhancement to his accomplishments.

The position had been vacant since Qing Mu was stripped of his status as the chief alchemist. Even so, anyone could tell Mu Tianli was waiting for the right moment to give it to Liu Wuxie.

The four pills that Liu Wuxie provided were enough to secure his position as the chief alchemist. Not to mention the miracle Liu Wuxie created during the Ten Grand Ceremony. This was the right moment to give him the title of the chief alchemist, as no one would step forward to oppose it.

Liu Wuxie furrowed his brows lightly but made no objections, silently accepting the sect’s decision. With these two roles—an elite elder and chief alchemist—the Heavenly Dao Society had finally solidified its status in the sect.

His greatest enemy, Qing Mu, had been crippled, and Yu Bu couldn’t intervene in the conflicts among disciples as a grand elder. With that, the farce ended in such a manner that surprised everyone.

Liu Wuxie glanced into the distant void and nodded slightly. The other disciples had dispersed, while members of the Heavenly Dao Society remained. He could see the excitement on everyone’s faces. His name had spread throughout the Southern Province, and he was known and revered by all.

“Bi Gongyu, come here,” Liu Wuxie called out to Bi Gongyu, who quickly stepped forward.

“Master, do you have any instructions?” Bi Gongyu asked. The Treasure Pill Pavilion had become well-organized, allowing Bi Gongyu to devote himself to developing new pills while delegating the remaining tasks to others.

While Liu Wuxie held the title of the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s chief alchemist, he had no time for management, which would inevitably be left to Bi Gongyu.

“These are three Golden Spirit Fruits. Refine them into pills as quickly as possible, and I want everyone present to reach the Astral River Realm,” Liu Wuxie said as he took out three Golden Spirit Fruits. The fruits had matured when the Ten Grand Ceremony had ended.

The effects of consuming the first fruit were the greatest. He had already consumed one, and the effects would diminish greatly even if he took another one.

The Heavenly Dao Society’s overall strength was too low, and they could only gain a firm footing in the sect by reaching the Astral River Realm.

“Understood!” Bi Gongyu carefully received the Golden Spirit Fruits and turned around, not daring to waste another moment.

“Wuxie, there’s troubling news from the mundane world,” Fan Zhen whispered once Liu Wuxie had arranged everything.

“Accompany me on a trip back to the mundane world three days from now,” Liu Wuxie said after pondering briefly. He planned to settle everything within three days before heading to the mundane world to bring his in-laws into the cultivation world. Afterward, he would accompany Murong Yi to the Western Barren.

At his current level, advancing further in the Southern Province was becoming increasingly challenging. After experiencing the Heavenly Nether Battlefield, Liu Wuxie realized how slow his cultivation progress had become upon returning. It was clear he needed to seek a place more conducive to his growth. Remaining in the Southern Province might mean taking a decade to reach the high levels of the Astral River Realm.

Fan Zhen nodded and left to make arrangements. It had been a year since they came to the cultivation world, and Fan Zhen also wanted to look at the mundane world.

“Big Brother, can I come along?” Song Ling asked. He was still a youth, and it was natural for him to miss his family.

“Okay,” Liu Wuxie nodded. This meant Lan Yu had to stay behind as the Heavenly Dao Society couldn’t manage without him.