Mo Xuan's laughter was a jagged, ugly sound that filled the small apothecary. He didn't even look at the body of Doctor Lu Cheng slumped on the floor; his eyes were locked on the shelves.
"With these," he hissed, his fingers trembling as they brushed against the porcelain bottles, "I can finally rise. I'll surpass that bastard Su Qingmei. I'll make the Elders crawl to me, begging me to be they're disciple."
The bitterness of years spent as a "trash" outer disciple poured out of him. No pills randomly, no techniques randomly, no respect, only the scraps left behind by the inner disciples. He clutched a bottle of Earth-grade pills like it was his very soul.
Clang!
The ring of steel on steel erupted from outside. Mo Xuan scowled toward the door. "What are those two fools doing now? Can't they even rob a village quietly?"
"Drop my pills."
The voice was cool, steady, and came from directly behind him. Mo Xuan froze. His skin crawled as he slowly turned his head.
Standing there, untouched and breathing calmly, was Lu Cheng.
"Impossible!" Mo Xuan shrieked, stumbling back. "I killed you! Xuan whisper to himself,I felt my blade sink into his throat!"
Lu Cheng tilted his head slightly, his expression almost pitying. "Killed me? You have a vivid imagination, Junior."
"Then what was that? The blood! The body!" Mo Xuan's breathing became a series of frantic gasps.
"Did you truly think you were worthy of even touching my robe?" Lu Cheng stepped forward. The simple wooden floorboards seemed to hum beneath his feet.
"You look down on me too?!" Mo Xuan's fear snapped back into a blind, murderous rage. "I'll carve you into pieces!" He reached for his sword, and his hand grasped empty air. "My sword... where is my sword?"
A sudden, white-hot agony exploded in his stomach. Mo Xuan gasped, looking down. His own blade was buried deep in his lower abdomen, held by his own trembling hand.
"If you don't treat that wound soon," Lu Cheng said, his voice as clinical as if he were diagnosing a cold, "you'll lose your cultivation entirely. You played the role of the assassin perfectly, Junior. It's a pity you were the only one in the play."
"An... illusion?" Mo Xuan coughed, blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth. He had stabbed himself, lost in a dream of his own making.
He didn't wait for another word. This wasn't a doctor; this was a monster. Mo Xuan ripped the steel from his gut, stuffed a handful of torn silk into the wound, and staggered out of the shop.
Outside, the village wasn't a scene of slaughter. It was a scene of humiliation.
The "friendly" merchant from earlier stood in the center of the road, holding a glowing Explosive Sun Disc. With a casual flick of his fingers, a blast of Qi erupted, not toward the buildings, but into the sky. The force of the shockwave nearly knocked Mo Xuan flat. Even a Sect Elder would have been vaporized by a direct hit from that artifact.
Mo Xuan,he sun and Bai lu.
They tremble as they felt a mountain crushing them.
"Leave," Lu Cheng's voice echoed from the shop, cold and final. "All three of you. Consider this the only mercy you will receive in this life."
The three disciples, broken and pale, bowed until their foreheads nearly touched the dirt. "Thank you... Senior... for the mercy."
Inside the Nine Heaven Sword Sect
Su Qingmei listened to the report, his eyes narrowing until they were mere slits. "So," he whispered, "a village of 'nothing but trash mortals' who play with Earth-grade artifacts as if they were toys?"
"Huh"
He didn't care about Mo Xuan's injuries. He only cared about the power. An artifact that could threaten an Elder... it was a treasure that should belong to him .
"I'll go there myself," Su Qingmei announced, standing up. Behind him, Mo Xuan and the others exchanged looks of cruel delight. If the Senior Brother was going, the village was as good as ash.
But still, they whisper,we can't guarantee.
Mo Xuan looked at him,if he is a threat to them.
Qinghe Village
The villagers notice old lady shen present as she walked through the gates, they smiled and pressed their hands together in genuine warmth.
"There's no need for that," she said, her eyes searching the shops. "We are family."
She looked direct too doctor lu cheng store,and she marched straight into Lu Cheng's apothecary, the door swinging open with a bang.
"You're back early," Lu Cheng said, looking up from a new ledger.
Do you what something?
"Or as wang Fang reached the Qi Gathering Realm," he said. what happened here, old lady shen voice lacked its usual pride. Her gaze sharpened. "And , tell me. Why does the air here smell like the Nine Heaven Sword Sect?"
Lu Cheng sighed, leaning against his counter. "A few stray dogs came to growl. They called themselves disciples."
Old Lady Shen's eyes flashed with a lethal blue light. "The three I saw on the mountain... they dared to come here?"
"Huh"you have meet them too,lu cheng asked.
"Yes" on the mountain,were Wang use as training hall.
"Now explain," she commanded, her voice vibrating with a power that made the pill bottles rattle. From the very beginning