Tian Ji Yu, the County Governor, was patiently waiting in the main hall. He rose to his feet quickly at this moment, as though he had sensed something.
Soon after, a voice rang from outside the main hall. "County Governor."
A bright smile appeared on Tian Ji Yu's face as he moved outside at lightning speed, coming face to face with a purple-clad young man. "Duan Ling Tian, has everything been dealt with? Do you need my help?"
Duan Ling Tian, who had just returned from the Liu clan, faintly smiled as he replied, "Thank you for your concern, County Governor. With your support, they're extremely cooperative." Although it might be difficult for the Pang clan to come up with 200,000 prominent Celestial Stones to compensate him, he had no doubt Pang Bing would find a way to deliver the Celestial Stones. After all, Pang Bing was wise. He would not dare to act otherwise after seeing Tian Ji Yu was on his side.
Naturally, Duan Ling Tian knew he had Tian Ji Yu's unconditional support because Tian Ji Yu knew he was capable of ranking first in the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties, and in turn, obtaining the three mediocre Celestial Pills, the Great Overarching Pills. What was a mere inner-estate elder who was only a peak Golden Celestial compared to the Great Overarching Pills?
"That's great." Tian Ji Yu nodded and welcomed Duan Ling Tian to the main hall. "Let's go in and talk."
When they were in the main hall, Tian Ji Yu did not sit on the main seat. Instead, he sat with Duan Ling Tian on one of the lower seats. His expression was solemn as he said with a sigh, "Duan Ling Tian, I'm afraid from today onward, you can no longer stay in the County Governor's estate."
"I understand." Duan Ling Tian nodded.
"You do?" Tian Ji Yu was taken aback, He had just thought about this issue when he returned, but it seemed like Duan Ling Tian had long been aware of it?
Upon seeing the confusion on Tian Ji Yu's face, Duan Ling Tian said, "After today, words will definitely spread about how I possess strength almost comparable to a Great Overarching Golden Celestial even though I'm not even 100 years old. It'll definitely spread all over and out of Nine Specters County! Even as the County Governor, you won't be able to stop people from talking. After all, there's nothing like the lightning oath in Devata Realms. Once the 15 counties receive news of this, they would definitely try to assassinate me before the start of the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties that will be held in King Qing's Mansion. Those people might hire powerhouses who are stronger than you to assassinate me..."
"Yes." Tian Ji Yu nodded. He did not expect that Duan Ling Tian had thought about the matter in such a thorough manner. "As long as they're willing to pay a decent price, it's not difficult to hire someone more powerful than me!"
"When do you plan to leave?" Tian Ji Yu asked.
"The sooner the better… However, if things go according to plan, I'll leave in three days after I receive my compensation," Duan Ling Tian replied.
"Compensation?" Tian Ji Yu was confused. After listening to Duan Ling Tian's explanation, the corners of his mouth twitched. "You're really ruthless! Although 100,000 prominent Celestial Stones won't cause a huge damage to the Liu clan, they would need to sell off their businesses and properties to gather so many Celestial Stones in a short time. As for the 200,000 prominent Celestial Stones from the Pang clan, I don't think they'll be able to come up with so many Celestial Stones."
"That may be the case. However, Elder Pang Bing is a wise and resourceful person. I'm certain he'll make the Liu clan bear some of the compensation. It won't be difficult for the Liu clan to come up with another 100,000 prominent Celestial Stones for the Pang clan," Duan Ling Tian said lightly.
"200,000 prominent Celestial Stones… Even if it's the Liu Clan, they'll have to sell off many businesses and properties. This will definitely impact them negatively. Originally, I plan to provide you with some Celestial Stones before you leave. I guess that's not necessary now. You won't be lacking Celestial Stones for a time with 300,000 prominent Celestial Stones in hand," Tian Ji Yu said. His expression turned solemn as he continued to say, "When you leave, please don't forget about the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties that will be held in King Qing's Mansion. I'll help you register for the competition, all you need to do is show up. Even if those people want to kill you, they won't dare to act recklessly in the presence of King Qing's people."
"That's what I thought as well." Duan Ling Tian nodded. After a while, he bade farewell to Tian Ji Yu. He still had a few things to do before he had to leave. Refining Celestial Pills was at the top of his to-do list. He had obtained more than enough medicinal herbs to refine Spirit Nourishing Pills.
"Since Liu Qing, one of the Supreme Elders of the Liu clan whom I killed, was a Celestial Alchemist, there must be a cauldron in his Spatial Ring." When Duan Ling Tian returned to his stone chamber in the Latent Dragon Abyss, he took out a Spatial Ring from his Spatial Ring.
After he had claimed ownership of Liu Qing's Spatial Ring, it did not take long for him to find a cauldron. He discovered a few medicinal herbs and formulas in there as well. As for the Celestial Stones, he did not even spare a glance at it. Although the number of Celestial Stones was not small, it was nothing compared to what he would receive from the Liu and Pang clans.
"These are formulas for primitive Celestial Pills. Hm? This is the formula for the primitive Celestial Pill, the Hidden Spirit Pill?" Out of all the formulas in Liu Qing's Spatial Ring, the Hidden Spirit Pill's formula caught Duan Ling Tian's attention.
Previously, Tian Ji Yu had given him a bottle of Hidden Spirit Pills. In just a year and a half, it helped improve his cultivation base greatly and he became a Yellow Sun Golden Celestial. Coincidentally, he had run out of Hidden Spirit Pills.
After reading the formula, Duan Ling Tian muttered to himself, "No wonder the Hidden Spirit Pills are more valuable than Spirit Nourishing Pills. Not only is one of the ingredients rare, but the refinement technique is relatively difficult with a low success rate of refining the pills."
In the end, Duan Ling Tian decided to refine the Spirit Nourishing Pills first. He wondered out loud, "I wonder if the Celestial Fire is one for refining pills or forging weapons?"
Duan Ling Tian inhaled deeply before he began to draw the grey Celestial Fire out of the defective metal piece. However, similar to his previous attempt, he only managed to draw a small part of the Celestial Fire out. At the same time, he positioned the cauldron in front of him and threw the medicinal herbs inside.
For his first attempt, the medicinal herbs were burned to crisps as soon as they made contact with the grey Celestial Fire.
"What a waste!" Duan Ling Tian smiled bitterly. He knew he failed because he did not control the heat properly. After all, it had been a long time since he last refined pills.
"It seems like the grey Celestial Fire is quite powerful even if it's just a small part of it. I think it's on par with primitive Celestial Fires at least."
After determining what he did wrong during his first attempt, Duan Ling Tian proceeded with his second attempt. He tried to control the heat, but the medicinal herbs only lasted for a moment before they were burned to crisps again.
"Again!" Duan Ling Tian continued his third, fourth, and fifth attempts…
He used sets after sets of medicinal herbs, all of them going to waste. Others would feel their heart ached if they were here to witness how wasteful Duan Ling Tian was
During his 13th attempt, Duan Ling Tian finally managed to control the grey flame and turned the medicinal herbs into liquid. However, during the stage where he was supposed to turn the liquid into pills, the cauldron suddenly began to shake. Soon after, thick smoke began to rise from the cauldron, and a burning smell permeated the air.