Although he had the knowledge to refine Pills from the memories of the Rebirth Martial Emperor from the Mortal Continent in the mundane realm, the technique to refine pills in the Devata Realms was naturally different. Nonetheless, his knowledge from the mundane realm still served as a foundation for refining pills in the Devata Realms.
…
Meanwhile, word about Duan Ling Tian's feat spread like a wildfire in the Latent Dragon Abyss. Naturally, it caused quite the commotion. Those who were not in closed-door cultivation discussed the matter among themselves.
"Hey! Did you hear? Yesterday, Duan Ling Tian went to the Liu clan and killed their Supreme Elder, Liu Qing!"
"Supreme Elder Liu Qing? Liu Qing? From what I know, the Liu clan has three Supreme Elders. One of them is an inner-estate elder in the County Governor's estate and another one is a Celestial Alchemist!"
"Yes, I heard the Celestial Alchemist from the Liu clan is one of the three Celestial Alchemists in Nine Specters County."
"Isn't... Isn't the Celestial Alchemist's name Liu Qing?"
"What?! This means… this means Duan Ling Tian killed the Liu clan's Supreme Elder who was a Celestial Alchemist? How's that possible? After all, a Celestial Alchemist can detonate their Celestial Fire to bring their opponents down. Even a Great Overarching Golden Celestial would be affected if the Great Overarching Golden Celestian were in the range of the explosion!!"
"That's right! Therefore, even a Great Overarching Golden Celestial wouldn't dare to simply make a move on a Celestial Alchemist..."
"Well, think about it, if the Celestial Alchemist were to detonate his Celestial Fire, wouldn't he also raze the entire mansion to the ground? How many members of the clan would die at that time?"
"That's true..."
"Even if he didn't detonate his Celestial Fire, Elder Liu Qing's strength shouldn't be weak, right?"
"He wasn't weak. Although he wasn't as strong as the other two Supreme Elders, he's still stronger than the Clan Leader of the Liu clan. He's a peak Indigo Sun Golden Celestial and was only a step away from becoming a Violet Sun Golden Celestial!"
"So Duan Ling Tian killed a peak Indigo Sun Golden Celestial? Is this a joke?"
Many people felt skeptical. After all, Liu Qing was a primitive Celestial Alchemist and a peak Indigo Sun Golden Celestial. Although Duan Ling Tian was stronger than most Golden Celestials, they did not think he was capable of killing an Indigo Sun Golden Celestial.
Another few people stepped forward and confirmed the veracity of the news.
"Duan Ling Tian's strength is… is too heaven-defying, right?"
"Not only in Nine Specters County, but even in all counties under the rule of King Qing's Mansion, I don't think there's anyone who was younger than 100 years old with such strength before!"
"I didn't think I'd see a talented freak like him in my lifetime."
"There's more to it!" the young man who had first spoken up to confirm the veracity of the news continued to say, "Apart from killing Supreme Elder Liu Qing, Duan Ling Tian also killed another Supreme Elder, Liu Qian. Liu Qian was the Supreme Elder who was an inner-estate elder in the County Governor's estate. His strength is only second to Great Overarching Golden Celestials!"
As soon as the young man finished speaking, the entire place fell silent. A few people nodded their heads in agreement as well when they heard his words.
"I've heard about Duan Ling Tian killing Elder Liu Qian as well."
"That's not all! It's said that Elder Pang Bing was there as well, and Elder Pang Bing admitted he's not as strong as Duan Ling Tian!"
"What's even more shocking is Duan Ling Tian demanded 100,000 prominent Celestial Stones from the Liu clan and 200,000 prominent Celestial Stones from the Pang clan as compensation. He gave them three days to deliver the Celestial Stones to him."
Everyone was thoroughly shocked.
The first person who regained his senses first weakly said, "Duan Ling Tian's strength… How's he so powerful?"
"Isn't Lord County Governor angry?" Another person asked in confusion.
"Duan Ling Tian's, naturally, more valuable to Lord County Governor than Elder Liu Qian… Lord County Governor went to the Liu clan yesterday as well and voiced his unconditional support for Duan Ling Tian. For this reason, the Liu clan and Elder Pang Bing have no choice but to comply with Duan Ling Tian's demand. I heard the two clans have already begun to sell their businesses and properties to gather Celestial Stones."
"So the Liu and Pang clans are really giving Duan Ling Tian 300,000 prominent Celestial Stones?"
"300,000 prominent Celestial Stones? This is inconceivable!"
The crowd was thoroughly shocked, and it took a long time for them to recover from it. Although Duan Ling Tian was the strongest among them, they did not expect him to be so heaven-defyingly strong!
Meanwhile, Qin Yu who was cultivating in the second to last stone chamber in the Latent Dragon Abyss had overheard the conversations as well. 'Duan Ling Tian…'
Qin Yu laughed when he heard about what happened. 'Liu Clan? Serves them right!' In his opinion, the Liu clan had dug their own graves by provoking Duan Ling Tian. After all, Duan Ling Tian was even capable of killing a Great Overarching Golden Celestial, let alone the Liu clan.
...
The Latent Dragon Abyss was not the only place that was in an uproar. The County Governor's estate, in fact, the entire Nine Specters County, was in an uproar over this matter. Everyone in the County City was heatedly discussing this matter. Many of them were shocked by Duan Ling Tian's strength.
"He's not even 100 years old, but his strength is almost comparable to a Great Overarching Golden Celestial… Even Pang Bing, the strongest person under Great Overarching Golden Celestials, admitted he's not a match for Duan Ling Tian!"
"I didn't expect Nine Specters County to have a hidden dragon!"
"Once the hidden dragon leaves its nest, the Nine Specters County will be famous for producing such a peerless talent!"
Most people were happy and proud that the Nine Specters County had such a peerless genius among their ranks. They could not wait to see the growth of this genius and was curious about how far he would go in the future.
As with all things, there were, naturally, people who were displeased by this news. These people were the 15 County Governors of the other 15 counties under the rule of King Qing's Mansion. It was not difficult for them to find out about this. They had their spies in Nine Specters County. Naturally, the Nine Specters County had spies in the 15 counties as well.
At this moment, a man could be seen leaving Nine Specters County in a rush. He muttered to himself, "I must return to Qiu Lian County and report this to Lord County Governor… With such a peerless genius, there's no doubt the other 15 counties won't stand a chance in ranking first in the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties." This man was clearly a spy from Qiu Lian County.
Meanwhile, 14 other figures could be seen leaving Nine Specters County one after another in different directions.
…
At the same time, Duan Ling Tian who was focused on refining pills were unaware that he was making the 15 counties restless
Another day and night had passed.
A peal of laughter suddenly rang in the stone chamber located in the depth of the Latent Dragon Abyss. "I did it!" His voice betrayed his excitement when he spoke.
He touched the cauldron, and a beam of light appeared as pills began to rise from the cauldron.