Horror dawned on Hong Xu again when he heard Li An's words.
Although most people were selfish in this world where they revered the strong, to Hong Xu, his clan was more important than his own life. It was all thanks to the support from his clan that he was able to come so far. If his clan did not nurture him with everything they had, he would not be able to accomplish everything at his age with his light green Innate Spiritual Root. One could say that his achievements today was 30% of his own hard work and 70% of his clan's nurturing.
"Elder Li An, Duan Ling Tian is very strong. He has even defeated Sun De who has comprehended the Divine Ability, the Black Turtle's Barrier. Although my cultivation base is at the Mastery Quintessential Saint Stage, I might not be a match for him at all!" Hong Xu looked at Li An with bloodshot eyes and a grave expression. "Even if I'm stronger than him, I can't be much stronger than him. Wanting to kill him in a short time without giving the elders in the Punishment Zone of the Four Symbols Sanctum's First Mine to intervene is extremely difficult!" It was obvious Hong Xu had caved under Li An's threats.
He had no choice but to compromise!
His clan was much more important than his own life. He suspected Li An knew this, that was why he had used his clan to threaten him.
Faced with Li An's threats, he had thought of resisting. He thought about looking for an Enforcement Elder to seek justice. However, he also knew that even if he managed to obtain justice for himself, Li An would only be lightly punished. After all, Li An had only threatened him, but he did not touch him at all.
As for his clan and the lives of his relatives in the clan, they were unworthy in the eyes of the Fire Worship Sect's high-ranking officials. After all, he had not grown so strong that the Fire Worship Sect would pay attention to him.
Even if Li An went to annihilate his clan, the Fire Worship Sect would not do anything at all!
In the eyes of the Fire Worship Sect's high-ranking officials, Li An's personal dispute had nothing to do with the sect.
"I've already thought about the things you mentioned. Don't worry. It'll take some time for the Punishment Zone's elders to reach you if you make your move in the residence of the Four Symbols Sanctums' First Mine's Punishment Zone. Everything will be fine as long as you kill him before the Punishment Zone's elders arrive!" Li An said indifferently as he answered Hong Xu's questions, "In the worst-case scenario, if you find that you're unable to kill him or you're no match for him, I've also made preparations for that!"
As soon as Li An finished speaking, he raised his right hand that was holding on to an exquisite pill bottle. "With your strength, as long as you consume this pill, your strength will be raised almost to the Saint Celestial Stage in a short period of time!"
Li An looked at the bottle in his hand as Hong Xu's eyes followed his gaze. His expression changed slightly. Then, he shifted his gaze onto the pill bottle in his hand.
After hearing Li An's words, Hong Xu knew the pill would be able to raise his strength even though it was only for a short period of time.
The effect of such a pill was similar to the assist-type Divine Ability that could raise one's strength for a short time. However, the aftereffects were really bad compared to that of a Divine Ability.
The aftereffects of the assist-type Divine Ability were mostly temporary and would disappear after a while. However, it was difficult for the aftereffects of the pill to go away. Even if it did, the conditions that needed to be met were very strict.
Due to this reason, Hong Xu was horrified when he heard Li An's words and saw the pill bottle.
After a long while, Hong Xu took a deep breath and moved his slightly stiff neck before raising his head to look at Li An with a fearful expression on his face. He asked, "Elder Li An, what pill is this?"
"The Kismet Rejoining Pill!" Li An answered nonchalantly.
Swoosh!
As soon as Li An finished speaking, Hong Xu's eyes widened as he gasped.
He had heard of these pills before.
The Kismet Rejoining Pill, just like its name, was a pill that would join a person with his fate. It was also one of the few forbidden pills in the Upper Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land. People would be horrified when these pills were mentioned.
Usually, only a quasi Celestial-grade Saint Refinement Master who specialized in Medicine Refinement Dao could refine it. Not only that, but the medicinal efficacy was very strong as well.
Rumor had it that a high-grade Kismet Rejoining Pill could even help a Saint Celestial Stage powerhouse to raise his strength for a short time! The amount of strength it granted its user was not little as well.
However, there were downsides to it as well. The aftereffects were horrendous. Best case scenario, one would be severely injured and would be chronically ill for a lifetime. Worst-case scenario, one would lose their lives.
This was why Hong Xu was so horrified when he heard Li An said the pill was a Kismet Rejoining Pill.
The Kismet Rejoining Pill was not an ordinary forbidden pill! In the Upper Province of the Dao Martial Saint, the Kismet Rejoining Pill was a very famous forbidden pill. Naturally, the price for it was extremely high as well.
It did not cross Hong Xu's mind that Li An, the Black Turtle Sanctum's First Silver Flame Elder, would use such an expensive forbidden pill like the Kismet Rejoining Pill just to kill Duan Ling Tian.
He was very clear that even if Li An was the Black Turtle Sanctum's First Silver Flame Elder, he might not have another Kismet Rejoining Pill. The Kismet Rejoining Pill was just too valuable.
Naturally, Hong Xu was unaware that Li An had already regarded Duan Ling Tian as a threat to his life.
Once Duan Ling Tian had grown stronger, if Li An wanted to live, it would be impossible for him to stay in the Fire Worship Sect. At that time, the Fire Worship Sect that had Duan Ling Tian would not allow Li An to remain in the sect!
Duan Ling Tian was not just some commoner with a yellow Innate Spiritual Root. He was a martial genius who possessed a blue Innate Spiritual Root and a heaven-defying ability to comprehend Divine Abilities. Once he had grown stronger, his position would definitely surpass Li An's position.
For this reason, in order to get rid of this threat, Duan Ling Tian, Li An did not mind using the forbidden pill, the Kismet Rejoining Pill, that he had treasured and kept for many years.
"Based on your expression, it seems like you've heard of the Kismet Rejoining Pills… In that case, there's no need for me to explain anything to you!" Li An said coldly as he passed the pill bottle to Hong Xu.
Hong Xu's hands froze when he saw Li An passing the pill bottle to him. A hint of terror appeared in his eyes when he looked at the pill bottle as though he was looking at some wild beast.
"Hurmph!" Li An snorted, causing Hong Xu's body to tremble.
Hong Xu reached out to take the pill bottle from Li An.
Although the pill bottle was small, Hong Xu felt as though he was carrying a heavy load.
"There's no need for me to teach you what to do next to be sent to the Four Symbols Sanctums' First Mine, right?" Li An looked at Hong Xu coldly. Without waiting for Hong Xu to reply, he had flown away, leaving Hong Xu who had a sullen expression on his face behind.
He put the pill bottle away. Both his hands were fisted tightly as he stared at Li An's disappearing figure. A hint of dissatisfaction appeared in his eyes. He did not want to be ordered around by Li An. However, he had no choice at all. He could only do as he was told unless he forsook his family.
...
Meanwhile, in the Punishment Zone of the Four Symbols Sanctums' First Mine.
Inside a mining cave, the Four Symbols Sanctum's disciples stood far away from the area where Duan Ling Tian was mining since they were afraid of him. For that reason, he was mining first-grade Saint Stones with ease.
"If this goes on, I'll be able to collect a huge number of first-grade Saint Stones soon!" Duan Ling Tian muttered to himself as he put the Saint Stones into the extra-large wicker basket behind him and also into Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda as well. His movement was as smooth as water.
Nobody would be able to catch on to what Duan Ling Tian did unless they stared at him intently.
The first-grade Saint Stones might not be useful to Duan Ling Tian who was in the Fire Worship Sect, but it would be a great fortune once he left the sect.
The Saint Stone was a common transaction currency in the Upper Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land.
"Huh?" Suddenly, Duan Ling Tian's sword was met with resistance. He instantly extended his Divine Consciousness to investigate.
Soon after, he noticed a Saint Stone emanating rich Heaven and Earth Spirit Energy that was embedded in a huge first-grade Saint Stone ore. The richness of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Energy far exceeded the first-grade Saint Stones.
'A quasi Celestial-grade Saint Stone!' Duan Ling Tian's eyes brightened immediately as he became excited.
However, his expression changed into one of calmness as he continued working as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
As he maintained his usual expression, Duan Ling Tian threw the huge Celestial-grade Saint Stones into the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda. His movement was stealthy and did not attract anyone's attention.
"It seems like I'm quite lucky. It's only the second day, but I've already found a quasi Celestial-grade Saint Stone! Moreover, the quasi Celestial-grade Saint Stones isn't small!" Although his expression was calm, inside he was feeling a little overwhelmed.
As far as he knew, it would take an average of ten days for an ordinary Four Symbols Sanctums' disciple to find a quasi Celestial-grade Saint Stone.
The reserve in the Four Symbols Sanctum's First Mine was a first-grade Saint Stone reserve after all. Although there were quasi Celestial-grade Saint Stones, the number was few.
'However, this Four Symbols Sanctum's First Mine is really petty! There's no reward even if we find a quasi Celestial-grade Saint Stone. We still have complete our daily tasks! There's no difference if we mined first-grade Saint Stones or quasi Celestial-grade Saint Stones!' Duan Ling Tian grumbled inwardly.