Ling Yun drove straight back to the home he hadn't returned to for more than a month — Mansion Number One in Qingxi Villa District — at dawn.
The spirit gathering formation had absorbed more than a month of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. None of it spilled out into the atmosphere, and the density had almost liquefied the spiritual energy.
There was only Dugu Mo in Mansion Number One. He was deep in practice, sitting cross-legged in the yard and facing the east.
The dragon saliva that Dugu Mo drank had shown its effects. He broke through to the mid-stage of Xiantian Realm Level One within a few days of Ling Yun's journey out to sea.
However, Dugu Mo looked sickly. His face was pale, and he had lost a lot of weight. There was also an ominous black aura around his head.
Ling Yun scanned him with his divine sense and deduced that Dugu Mo had sustained a serious internal injury.
"Ling Yun, you're back?" Seeing Ling Yun's car entering the gate, Dugu Mo got up unsteadily to welcome him.
Ling Yun's pair of sharp eyes glared at the black aura around Dugu Mo's forehead. "Who hurt you?" Ling Yun asked
"Har…" Dugu Mo let out a sulky sigh as he walked over to Ling Yun. He shook his head violently, seemingly to get rid of the depression and frustration he had endured. "There have been nightly visitors over the past week."
"Most of them left after my warning, but there were two groups of people who ignored me. That resulted in a fight."
"Who are these people?" Ling Yun asked, his murderous intent resurfacing in an instant.
"If I'm not wrong, one of the groups were Japanese ninjas. I fended them off easily since their best fighter was only at Houtian Realm Level Nine," Dugu Mo replied after a significant pause.
"The other group, however, consisted of only two people, both at the Xiantian Realm. Their skills and movements were very strange and had an evil feel to them. I'm guessing they might be from the Devil Sect."
"My injuries were from them."
Dugu Mo smiled wryly. He had trained so long and so hard to break through to the Xiantian Realm only to be wounded so badly by some masters from nowhere. That was really depressing.
"Hmph, so they did come here…" Ling Yun noted in a cold tone. "Did you tell anyone else?"
Dugu Mo shook his head with a smile. "Who am I to tell but you?"
Ling Yun acknowledged him with his lips pursed. "That's good as well. Let them come since they want to court death!"
Dugu Mo was in awe of Ling Yun's confidence. He wondered what realm Ling Yun had achieved.
"I'll treat you first."
Ling Yun took Dugu Mo into the guest room that he was staying in. He got Dugu Mo to sit on the edge of the bed and take his shirt off. He didn't use the Nine Needles of the Spiritual Pivot. Instead, he placed his palms on Dugu Mo's back.
This wasn't an illness but an injury. Ling Yun could use the Nine Needles of the Spiritual Pivot to treat him, but it would be less effective than if he were to use his palms directly.
Ling Yun activated the Yin-Yang harmony balance and ran the True Qi between his palms and into Dugu Mo's back. The True Qi circled Dugu Mo's meridians, forced the foreign True Qi into a corner, and then gobbled it up.
Dugu Mo felt the foreign True Qi in his body disappear immediately after the treatment. His own True Qi was now unobstructed.
Ling Yun withdrew his palms, and Dugu Mo got off the bed and had a good stretch. "Hehe, that's the power of the last descendant of the Immortal Doctor. I was worried that I might die anytime. I didn't expect to be healed so quickly," Dugu Mo exclaimed.
"Alright, stop it. Why don't you have any external injuries?" Ling Yun asked curiously.
"Did you forget that you gave me quite a few Healing Talismans before you left? I did get sliced and stabbed, but your Healing Talismans were really awesome. Wounds would be healed instantly without a scar as long as the body parts were still in the right places." Dugu Mo rolled his eyes.
Oh, so that's it. Ling Yun realized. "It's alright now. I'll crush their balls if they dare come tonight in order to avenge you!" Ling Yun grinned and patted Dugu Mo's shoulders.
Ling Yun flew out of the guest room and into the yard before Dugu Mo got dressed.
He came to where the Shichiyou herb grew and looked at it lovingly.
"So much spiritual energy has gathered that it has liquefied," Ling Yun muttered.
The Shichiyou herb grew in the spirit gathering formation, so the aura was infinitely more intense. Ling Yun basked in it and was refreshed. He had ample spiritual energy in him, so he didn't absorb them.
Ling Yun considered the characteristics of the Shichiyou herb when he transplanted it. He had planted it in a place where it could obtain the most sun.
In another half a month, the Shichiyou herb would be ripe. This patch of Shichiyou herb was special. He had infused Immortal Spiritual Energy into it.
Ling Yun had Immortal Spiritual Energy in his body, but he had no place to use it. That was a huge shame.
However, a ripe Shichiyou herb infused with Immortal Spiritual Energy could be used to concoct the Shichiyou Pill. It could help Ling Yun breakthrough into the Qi Cultivation Stage with less effort.
Of course, he also had the dragon saliva, thousand-year ginseng, Chinese Knotweed, Heaven Yang Grass, Earth Yin Grass, and Longxian Grass…
Ling Yun wasn't in a hurry to collect the liquefied spiritual energy. He had great plans for it.
His pleasure was broken by the sound of two roaring engines. Tang Meng and Tie Xiaohu had arrived.
Ling Yun hurried to Tang Meng. "Do you want to die? How dare you drive this Spyker C8?" Ling Yun threatened in a teasing manner.
He didn't expect Tang Meng to drive the Spyker C8 that belonged to the Holy Virgin of the Devil Sect.
"Hehe, just this once. The engine is really smooth. It's f*cking awesome…"
The excitement didn't leave Tang Meng's face. He slid his hand over the Spyker C8 as he would a lover.
"Only I can drive this car from now on. Anyone else will die trying," Ling Yun warned Tang Meng.
The strength of the Holy Virgin was far greater than Ling Yun had imagined. Even Ling Yun wasn't her match. Driving her car was no different from seeking death.
"I understand, Big Brother Yun. I drove here to you only." Tang Meng wasn't stupid either. He handed the keys to the Spyker C8 directly to Ling Yun.
"Big Brother Yun, will we be targeted driving the other cars?" Tie Xiaohu asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
The spacious black luxury Mercedes-Benz that Tie Xiaohu arrived in was also one of the cars from the Devil Sect.
"The other car owners have been killed by me. There should be no problems."
Ling Yun knew that the Holy Virgin was onto him. She couldn't care less about the people from the Assassins Organization, much less their cars.
"Where are the medicinal herbs you got for me? Bring me to them."
He followed Tang Meng into his villa and checked the medicinal herbs he got them to purchase for twenty million.
They were naturally Chinese medicine, comprising of both main medications and auxiliary medicines. Ling Yun bought a massive amount in one go. There were hundreds of sacks, which filled every nook and cranny of the villa.
As the saying goes, preparedness averts peril. The medicinal herbs could be used to create high-level talisman charms and also to concoct medical pills. This amount was more than enough to last Ling Yun until Qi Cultivation Level One.
"Yes, excellent…" Ling Yun nodded his head in satisfaction.
The three of them then went back into the living room and sat down.