Yun Tianheng calmed his mind and said in a deep voice, “To refine the Dragon Blood Red Marrow Pill, we need six miraculous herbs of heaven and earth as the primary ingredients.”
“Dragon Marrow Crystal, Crimson Blood Vermilion Fruit, and Yin-Yang Mystic Marrow Grass... These three ingredients are stocked in the imperial palace's treasury. I will request them from His Majesty myself. Consider it a personal favor; you don't need to pay for them.”
At this point, Yun Tianheng's expression grew more serious. “However, as for the remaining three, you will have to retrieve them yourself, Miss.”
“First is the Earth Meridian Fiend Astral Essence, which is hidden in the deepest depths of the Cangji Mountain Range near Luochuan City within the borders of our Great Li Dynasty.”
“Second is the Nine-Leaf Nirvana Ice Marrow, which only grows deep underground in the extremely cold regions of our neighboring country, the Great Qian Dynasty.”
“Third is the Myriad Tribulations Blood-Washing Vine. This item is extremely difficult to find. There are rumors of it being produced in both the Great Qian and Great Yan Dynasties, but gathering enough of it with sufficient age will likely take some effort.”
Hearing this, Su Yueli frowned slightly.
Just from their names, she could tell these three items would not be easy to obtain. Not only did she have to venture deep into perilous mountain ranges, but she also had to cross national borders to travel to the Great Qian and Great Yan Dynasties.
Stroking his long beard, Yun Tianheng could not help but smile when he saw her frown. “Are you afraid, Miss?”
Su Yueli glanced at him and smiled as well. “Of course not. I just find it a bit time-consuming, that's all. Master, prepare your refining equipment and wait for my return.”
Before her voice could even fade, her figure shifted slightly.
Without the slightest ripple of spiritual energy, or even the faint sound of wind, she vanished into thin air from the alchemy room like a wisp of formless smoke.
“This...”
Yun Tianheng's hand stroking his beard froze in midair, his pupils contracting violently.
He was a Tenth Realm cultivator after all, yet he had watched her disappear right before his eyes without being able to capture even the slightest trace of her movement!
Staring at the empty room, Yun Tianheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his heart turning numb.
Was this the legendary Ji Dao martial artist who had shattered the barriers of the martial path and swept through the Thirteenth Realm?
There was no brilliant light from countless magical treasures filling the sky, only the eerie terror of a physical body tempered to its absolute limit.
If that woman had truly harbored killing intent just now, he probably wouldn't have even had the chance to crush a life-saving talisman before being pulverized into a bloody mist by a single punch.
So when she said earlier that she could kill him easily, she was telling the absolute truth.
“A monster... truly an untouchable monster.”
Yun Tianheng let out a bitter laugh and shook his head, turning around to prepare for the alchemy.
...
After leaving the Great Li Imperial City, Su Yueli headed straight toward Luochuan City along the official highway.
According to Yun Tianheng, the most convenient material to gather first was in the Cangji Mountain Range near Luochuan City, within the Great Li Dynasty.
It wouldn't be too late to head to the Great Qian Dynasty after securing this Earth Meridian Fiend Astral Essence.
Two days later.
A fine drizzle fell from the sky, leaving the winding mountain road muddy and messy.
Wearing a light blue and white robe, Su Yueli walked along the muddy highway. Yet, not a single speck of mud clung to her feet, leaving her looking completely clean and neat.
As she walked, a chaotic rush of footsteps suddenly echoed from the dense forest ahead, accompanied by the clashing of metal and angry shouting.
“Catch them! Don't let those two wenches escape!”
“If we don't bring them back today, the patriarch will have our heads!”
The sound of rushing wind whistled as two slender figures appeared, looking incredibly disheveled and battered.
They stumbled out from the depths of the dense forest and fell right into the mud in the middle of the highway.
The two young women appeared to be in their early twenties, with very beautiful features. However, they were now covered in blood, their clothes torn in multiple places, and their faces deathly pale. They had clearly suffered extremely severe internal injuries.
As they struggled to stand, they happened to see Su Yueli walking toward them.
Seeing Su Yueli in her light blue robe, with her tall figure and cold, elegant features, yet lacking any fluctuation of spiritual energy from a cultivator, they assumed she was just an ordinary mortal woman passing by.
The older woman's face paled drastically. With urgency and panic, she shouted, “Miss! Run! There are killers behind us!”
Su Yueli stopped in her tracks, raised an eyebrow, and sized up the two women before her.
She could tell that neither of them possessed spiritual roots. They were merely ordinary martial artists who had learned some third-rate mortal martial arts.
Right now, their blood qi was in disarray, and several of their meridians were severed. They were already at the end of their rope.
Su Yueli spoke calmly, “What happened?”
Supporting herself against a nearby tree trunk, the heavily injured woman panted heavily and said anxiously, “We are daughters of the Han family from Luochuan City... The neighboring Zhao family is powerful and wants to forcibly annex our Han family. Even if we sisters agreed to the political marriage, it would be useless. They want to pull us up by the roots! We managed to escape...”
At this point, the woman's voice trembled slightly as she cast a terrified glance at the dense forest behind her. “Miss, you must leave quickly! To hunt us down, the Zhao family hired a cultivator! He is a lofty immortal master of the Second Realm! He is not someone we mortal martial artists can afford to provoke!”
In her eyes, if this delicate and beautiful woman before her were dragged into this, she would surely meet a tragic end.
Just then, through the wind and rain, she got a clear look at Su Yueli's face.
Her face was so beautiful and pure that it seemed untouched by the mortal world, with a faint red tear mole at the corner of her eye, and her light blue robe looked exceptionally neat and tidy.
If such a beautiful woman were caught here, her fate would surely be far more miserable than theirs.
“Hurry and run!”
Anxiety filled the woman's eyes as she reached out to push Su Yueli's shoulder. “That immortal is a lustful demon! If you are caught by them, death will be a mercy! Don't let us drag you down!”
She pushed with great force, but when her hand met Su Yueli, it felt like pushing against an iron mountain that had stood for ten thousand years.
Su Yueli remained completely motionless; even the hem of her robe did not sway.
She merely looked at the anxious woman before her, her expression perfectly calm, without a single ripple in her eyes.
“Run? The rain is pouring so hard, where could you two sisters possibly run to?”
Before the woman could react, a mocking voice pierced through the wind and rain.
Leaves and branches flew in the depths of the forest as over a dozen servants armed with sharp blades surrounded them, blocking the path.
Leading them was a young man dressed in a brocade robe with a long sword hanging from his waist—the young master of the Zhao family from Luochuan City.
Standing beside him was a middle-aged man in a black robe, with faint fluctuations of spiritual energy rippling around him and a haughty expression. He was indeed that Second Realm cultivator.
The young master of the Zhao family squinted at the two sisters on the ground and sneered, “The Han family is on the verge of extinction. I offered you a path to survival by becoming my concubines, yet you insisted on running. Did you really think escaping Luochuan City would save you?”
The eldest sister of the Han family gritted her teeth, her face filled with hatred as she spat, “Zhao Tiancheng! Your Zhao family plotted against my father and seized our family assets. Now, you even resort to shameless schemes like forced marriage! You are worse than beasts! Even if we die today, we sisters will never bow our heads to a villain like you!”
“Whether you bow or not is not up to you.”
The young master of the Zhao family smiled coldly. Just as he was about to wave his hand for his servants to seize them, his gaze accidentally swept over to Su Yueli, who was standing to the side.
With just one look, he froze right where he stood.
In the fine drizzle, the woman before him wore a light blue and white robe. Her figure was tall and straight, her waist slender, and her skin as flawless as jade.
Though she wore no makeup, her cold, clear eyes and the faint red tear mole at the corner of her eye held an indescribable, otherworldly beauty.
Not only him, but even the lofty Second Realm cultivator beside him had his eyes light up, his breathing noticeably growing heavier.
To encounter such an exquisite beauty in the desolate mountains and on a muddy path.
Snapping back to his senses, a greedy smile curled on the lips of the Zhao family's young master. He licked his dry, chapped lips, his gaze sweeping over Su Yueli with raw lust.
“Tsk, I didn't expect that while coming out to catch these two wenches today, I'd encounter such a fine specimen in the middle of nowhere... I've truly hit the jackpot today!”
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