Xu Qingsong did not leave the Exquisite Tower. The owner of the Exquisite Tower was a noble from the palace, making it one of the safest places in the capital. Each of its quiet rooms was as secretive as a cave-dwelling, shrouded in countless restrictions.

Back in his quiet room, Xu Qingsong slowly took out a few strands of hair, a cruel smile painting his lips. "Fang Chen, oh Fang Chen, did you ever think you would end up like this? The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations… I don't believe you can pass through them so easily."

Floating nearby in his divine soul form, Fang Chen lightly nodded.

The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations were indeed difficult to pass. However, merely performing the disaster ritual wasn’t enough to fluster him.

Xu Qingsong had to have other tricks up his sleeve.

Xu Qingsong set aside the hair and took out a Heaven Profound Mirror.

He said, "You all can prepare to act now. Do not leave any traces. If you do, the Innate Dao Sect will not only deny any connection with you, but we'll also hunt you down at the first opportunity."

"Rest assured, the Heavenly Doom Hall has never failed a client," a mechanical, lifeless voice echoed from the mysterious mirror.

Xu Qingsong smiled and put away the mirror. Looking at the stands of hair, he rehearsed the tribulation ritual in his mind, preparing thoroughly for the spell he was about to cast.

Fang Chen's brows scrunched up. "The Heavenly Doom Hall?"

Lord Tiger and Nong Guoquan from Grand Qian were from the Heavenly Doom Hall, as was Li Daoye's father.

Fang Chen had initially believed that the Heavenly Doom Hall was just a small sect responsible for carrying out dirty work others didn't want to do. He hadn't thought that Xu Qingsong, hailing from the Innate Dao Sect, would have ties with them.

Nong Guoquan had mentioned that the Shadow Buddha Technique originated from Heavenly Doom Hall. Possessing a technique like this meant it wasn't a simple faction.

As Fang Chen pondered, Xu Qingsong had already begun preparing the tribulation ritual.

With some fuss, he eventually spat out a blood dragon, formed from an inch of his essence blood. The blood dragon howled as it charged toward the hair. If the disaster ritual succeeded, the hair would merge with the blood dragon. However, Xu Qingsong soon realized that no matter what he tried, the hair couldn't fuse with the blood dragon.

The blood dragon turned its head and roared a few times at Xu Qingsong.

"Is the essence blood… not enough?"

Xu Qingsong suddenly understood, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Hadn't Ji Liang said that just an inch of essence blood would be sufficient? He had already burned an inch of his essence blood, so why was it still insufficient?

"Given the situation, I can't just throw away all my efforts."

Gritting his teeth, Xu Qingsong opened his mouth, and another blood dragon, baring its fangs and claws, roared out.

However, the result was still the same: not enough essence blood. Now Xu Qingsong found himself in a difficult position.

"Ji Liang has no reason to deceive me; something must have gone wrong somewhere," Xu Qingsong muttered.

He didn't notice that his face had already turned a bit gaunt, with his cheekbones protruding. Losing two inches worth of essence blood had visibly sucked in the flesh on his cheeks. ꭆÁΝȫ𝖇ĚȘ

Fang Chen silently cheered him on.

Come on, just two more inches of essence blood should be enough.

After all, Xu Qingsong was an Immortal Seedling and a cultivator at the Fusion Realm; if an individual wasn't blessed with persistence, it wouldn't have been possible for them to reach a realm like that.

Sure enough, after a few breaths, Xu Qingsong made a decision. Yet another blood dragon erupted from his mouth. The three streams of blood merged into one, attempting to fuse with the hair, but it still wasn't enough. This time, he showed no hesitation and burned another inch of essence blood.

Xu Qingsong's gaze darkened. "If this doesn't work, I'll just wait for the next opportunity, and Ji Liang will have to compensate me for the essence blood I've lost, or else…"

Ultimately, he burned four inches of essence blood. The four blood dragons merged into one, thick as an arm, and swallowed the hair in one gulp.

The hair intertwined on the surface of the blood dragon, and in the end, it transformed into scales on its body.

A grim smile appeared on Xu Qingsong's face as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "It worked."

Although he felt incredibly weak and had lost four inches of essence blood, which had cost him some longevity, it was all worth it.

As long as he could curse Fang Chen to death, he would have achieved a great merit for the Innate Dao Sect!

The blood dragon roared and swam through the void, ultimately transforming into a blood-red beam of light that shot into the sky and disappeared from sight.

Xu Qingsong grinned widely. "The karma… is about to be invoked… Hahaha…"

Perhaps due to his weakness, he choked on his own saliva, and his laughter turned into violent coughing.

Even so, his face remained full of joy.

Fang Chen nodded lightly and turned to leave the area.

As his divine sense returned, he saw Gai Wu engaged in a lively conversation with the Fourth Princess, while Ji Liang and the others occasionally chimed in. Gai Wu would subtly keep an eye on Fang Chen from the corner of his eye as he spoke.

As long as that guy, Bai Qingming, isn't around, why would I fear a little sword leader?

Fang Chen sat quietly, waiting for the feedback from the Blessing Disaster Technique.

After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he suddenly felt a stirring within him, and some strange sounds reached his ears.

These sounds seemed to whisper right next to him, yet also felt distant, breaking in and out like fragmented whispers. If one didn't listen closely, they could easily be mistaken for the murmurings of a dream, entirely incomprehensible.

As Gai Wu was speaking, he picked up his teacup and took a sip, suddenly pausing mid-sentence. He then began to cough violently, a surge of spiritual energy erupting from within him.

"What's going on?!"

Everyone was taken aback, exchanging glances, unsure of what to do.

It took several breaths for Gai Wu to calm down, his face flushed. He managed to force a smile, though it looked somewhat strained. "It's nothing, I just choked on the tea just now."

After saying this, he stood up and added, "Everyone, I'll take my leave first."

However, after just taking a step, he seemed to trip over something unseen, falling to the ground with a loud thud.

The others exchanged glances, their expressions growing increasingly serious.

Something definitely wasn't right.

Although Gai Wu had been injured in the Void Immortal Sword Sect, the fact that he dared to show up now indicated that his injuries were long healed, at most leaving behind some irreversible hidden ailments, as the rumors suggested.

However, his current situation was clearly strange, as if someone were deliberately toying with him!

Gai Wu immediately stood up, shooting a cold glare at Fang Chen. "Who?! If you want to deal with me, Gai Wu, then do it to my face! Don't scheme behind my back!"

Xia Ji was taken aback for a moment and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Gai Wu sneered. "Don't think I don't know that some Dao techniques are like this."

Just then, the Fourth Princess's voice suddenly rang out. She stared at Gai Wu expressionlessly for a moment before saying, "No one is targeting you; your Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations have arrived. Given your current condition, it should be a misfortune."

Everyone was momentarily stunned.

"His Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations have arrived?!"

Gai Wu was also taken aback.

Ji Liang's expression shifted as he glanced at Fang Chen, his brow furrowing slightly.

How could Gai Wu be the first to experience the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations?

"

Achoo

!"

A loud sneeze echoed through the room.

Everyone turned to look at Xu Peng.

Seeing everyone look at him, Xu Peng forced a smile. "It's nothing, just the weather seems a bit chilly."

At this point, he sensed that something was amiss and instinctively looked toward the Fourth Princess.