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"He killed the eighth elder of the Yang family?"

Liu Xuanyu raised his eyebrows and asked, "How did their conflict arise?"

"Apparently, that middle-aged man saw a Primal Core adept flying through the air into the city, and let out an exclamation in a loss of composure… thereafter, the eighth elder of the Yang family mocked him for being from the countryside and being a country bumpkin, and that's how it started."

The old man laid out the results of his investigation, "Yang Wei made the first move… however, he was only a middle Connate adept, and that middle-aged man was a late Connate adept, and he wounded Yang Wei in mid-air, causing him to fall to his death."

"He lost his composure and let out an exclamation when he saw a Primal Core adept?"

Liu Xuanyu's eyes lit up. "Just this detail shows… that middle-aged man very rarely sees Primal Core adepts.

"From this, we can disregard the possibility of him having an exceptional background."

"We cannot find out more about his origins probably because he is an obscure person from some small place."

Liu Xuanyu looked at the old man, and a look of greed flashed across his eyes. "Where is that person now?"

"Yuntai inn."

The old man smiled bitterly.

"Yuntai inn?"

Liu Xuanyu frowned. "He is actually staying at the inn sixth elder is in charge of?"

The sixth elder that Liu Xuanyu mentioned was none other than the sixth elder of the Shenguang sect.

Some of the elders of the Shenguang sect owned businesses in the capital city of the Shenguang empire. The sixth elder of the Shenguang sect, for example, had opened an inn in the capital city of the Shenguang empire.

That inn was named "Yuntai inn", and was located in the affluent and prosperous district of the capital city of the Shenguang empire, and was one of the best inns in the Shenguang empire.

"Precisely because he is staying at sixth elder's inn, and has not left his room in almost a month, the situation is somewhat tricky… even if he has no background and is ordinary in terms of ability, we cannot barge into Yuntai inn and take the spirit stones and space ring from him."

The old man said with a bitter smile, "Otherwise, sixth elder will definitely receive news and even discover what is actually going on… if the matter is exposed, the sect will not let you off easily, Seventeenth Elder."

"We can only wait for them to come out."

Liu Xuanyu's tone was gloomy. What the old man had said was exactly what he feared.

If it was an ordinary elder of the Shenguang sect, he could choose to work together with him and take the spirit stones and space ring from the youth, then divide the spoils.

However, that sixth elder belonged to a different camp within the Shenguang sect, and would dearly like to have leverage over him, so how could they cooperate?

"In that case…"

Liu Xuanyu looked at the old man with a cunning look and said, "Find someone to go to the Yang family, and tell them that the person who killed the eighth elder of the Yang family is staying at Yuntai inn."

"Let's see if they can find a way to lure that middle-aged man out from Yuntai inn… if they can't find a way, we can only wait."

Liu Xuanyu finished.

"I'll get someone to go the Yang family now."

The old man acknowledged and withdrew.

When the person sent by the old man had gone to the Yang family and told them that the person who killed the eighth elder of the Yang family Yang Wei was staying at Yuntai inn, the Yang family members wanted nothing more than to go immediately to take revenge, but they did not dare to proceed rashly.

Yuntai inn's background lead directly to the Shenguang sect, and was the personal business of the sixth elder of the Shenguang sect, a late Primal Core stage adept.

It was not something that the Yang family could trifle with.

"Send an invite to that person, and say that our Yang family is holding a banquet at Longteng restaurant tomorrow and invite him to attend… if he gives us the respect, we will only require his life for Eighth Elder's. If not, we will make the youth with him pay as well!"

The patriarch of the Yang family gave the order, and instructed someone to send the invite to Yuntai inn.

In any case, once the invite was sent out, it was like throwing a stone into the ocean, and there was no response whatsoever.

"Patriarch, according to the people at the inn, that person and the youth with him have not left their rooms for the past month… nevertheless, we can be certain that they are still there. We suspect that they are practicing in seclusion."

The patriarch of the Yang family very soon found out this news from several Yang family juniors who went to Yuntai inn to gather information, and could only order a rotating watch on the main entrance of Yuntai inn.

If that person or the youth with him were to leave, they would report it to the Yang family immediately.

Of course, while the people from the Yang family were keeping watch over the main entrance of Yuntai inn, the people sent by the elder of the black market, the seventeenth elder of the Shenguang sect Liu Xuanyu, would also be keeping watch.

The Yang family wanted to avenge the eighth elder of the Yang family.

Liu Xuanyu however, wanted to take his target's spirit stones and space ring.

…

There were no markers of time while practicing.

In a flash, seven whole months had passed since the day Zhou Donghuang used the thousand spirit stones to create the energy-gathering position.

Now, the Ziyun era had entered the end of the year 1230.

Winter had arrived, and the areas surrounding the Shenguang empire were blanketed with snow, and everything seemed to be draped in a layer of silver.

"Master really told me the truth… in only half a year, I, Su Mo, have attained the Primal Core stage!"

In a room in a spacious guest compound in Yuntai inn, the dignified middle-aged man who was sitting on the bed with his eyes closed as he practiced suddenly opened his eyes.

The next moment, there was a dull white haze that surrounded his body and wound itself around him, dragging him up unsteadily into the air.

I originally thought that I would need over ten years to break through… I never imagined that I would break through so quickly!

Now, the middle-aged man who was wobbling in the air was none other than the valley lord of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Su Mo.

In just half a year, Su Mo had attained the supreme Connate stage two months before, and then smoothly attained the Primal Core stage in the six following months.

At this moment, the qi in his dantian was already compressed into a void of white primal core, his qi completely transformed into essential core.

Dantian was developed in the body when a Qi-gathering adept attained the Connate stage, and the qi of the Connate stage adept was stored in the dantian.

And after the Connate stage adept attained the Primal Core stage, not only did the qi in the dantian become compressed and transformed into essential core, the dantian and the meridians of the body also developed and became even more resilient.

Otherwise, there would be no way to endure the stress of the essential core.

If the greatest difference between a Connate stage adept and a Qi-gathering stage adept was whether qi could be projected, then the greatest difference between a Primal Core stage adept and a Connate stage adept would be the complete transformation of strength.

The transformation of qi to essential core was a change in quality…

The difference between them was unimaginable!

Connate stage adepts, and even supreme Connate stage adepts, were still in the world of ordinary people, and if they plummeted from the sky, they would have no chance of surviving.

However, Primal Core adepts were entirely different.

Primal Core adepts could physically fly through the air, and adepts at the Primal Core stage and above were also called "gods on earth" by common people.

This showed the great difference between the Connate and Primal Core stages.

I wonder… has my master also broken through?

Shortly after, as soon as he had familiarized himself with the essential core in his body that had his qi had transformed into, Su Mo slowly landed, then pushed open the door of his room and left.

Just as Su Mo opened his room door.

The door of the neighbouring room opened as if on cue, and a handsome, detached-looking youth in white strolled out from the room.

"Master."

Su Mo bowed respectfully before closely looking over the young man in white.

In the past half a year, the few traces of youthfulness on his master's face had disappeared completely, and he looked much more mature, and also seemed to have become even more mysterious.

"You've broken through?"

The young man in white was "Zhou Donghuang".

It was now December 27, 1230 of the Ziyun era, and he would be twenty years old in a few more days.

They youthful look on Zhou Donghuang's face had vanished, and he appeared much more mature.

"Many thanks to Master for helping me achieve my dream!"

Without warning, Su Mo prostrated himself on the ground in thanks to the young man before him.

As Su Mo practiced for the past half a year, it was obvious: The speed at which he advanced in practice was not just because of the aid of the spirit stones… it was more because the strength of the golden light that had enveloped him aided his practice, and it was over ten times as powerful as before!

Because of this, his level of practice had increased at an incredible pace.

And the reason Zhou Donghuang did not continue to hold back from Su Mo and increased the strength of the Buddha's lifeblood he gave to Su Mo to aid his practice was also because: Half a year ago, Su Mo had won his approval for bringing back a thousand spirit stones.

"Get up."

Zhou Donghuang spoke up casually while he was already walking to seat himself at the stone table in the courtyard. "Soon, I will prepare to make a trip back to the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley."

"Yes, Master."

Su Mo acknowledged and stood, moving to stand respectfully behind the young man, as he could not resist asking curiously, "Master, you… have you attained the Primal Core stage?"

Zhou Donghuang's eyes narrowed slightly at Su Mo's question. "I have attained it, but yet I have not."

Zhou Donghuang's words naturally befuddled Su Mo when he heard it.

In actual fact, two months ago, Zhou Donghuang had already smoothly condensed all the qi in his body into a primal core, giving him a level of ability equal to an early Primal Core adept.

However, while he continued practicing, he found no way to increase that Primal Core, but could only continue to transform the spirit energy he absorbed into qi, and begin condensing a second primal core.

In the past two months, he had finally condensed a second primal core after spending a great deal of effort.

The reason for these circumstances was entirely because Zhou Donghuang chose to practice the technique the Lord of the Four Supremes.

To ordinary people, condensing one primal core would be considered having attained the Primal Core stage.

However, to an adept practicing the Lord of the Four Supremes, only after condensing four primal cores would he be truly considered to have attained the Primal Core stage!

Now, Zhou Donghuang had only condensed two cores in his dantian, and was only halfway to meeting the requirements to the Primal Core stage.

He still needed to condense two more primal cores to have four in total, before he could truly be considered to have met the requirements of the Lord of the Four Supremes for attaining the Primal Core stage!

At first, Zhou Donghuang intended to strike while the iron was hot, and continue condensing the third primal core.

However, after practicing for barely several days, he noticed: The thousand spirit stones that made up his energy-gathering position had been totally expended, and were now completely worthless!

"The power within the Buddhist relics mainly helped me to create an inferior spirit weapon so that I consumed nothing. In other words, it was as if I had obtained a thousand more inferior-quality spirit stones to amass spirit energy. So, I will need at most two months to cultivate a spirit weapon."

Zhou Donghuang clearly understood the current situation of his martial training.

The pace of his study was quick, and while using his using spirit stones to gather spirit energy was part of the reason, the aid of the Buddhist relics was also important. In fact, the relics were far more significant than the spirit stones.

Even if he had obtained a thousand more inferior spirit stones, without the help of the Buddhist relics he also would have needed to at least a month to finally produce an inferior spirit weapon.

"I might as well go for a stroll," Zhou Donghuang said to Su Mo, rising at once.

Zhou Donghuang left the Yuntai Inn to walk and think.

Since coming to the Shenguang Empire more than half a year ago, he had not had the chance to take a good stroll; he simply wanted to go for a walk.

He planned to go to several of the herbal medicine shops within the capital of Shenguang to purchase some medicinal ingredients.

Although he was no longer the Lord of the Four Supremes, those two spirit weapons within his body could already produce inner Yuan and even condense and create Samadhi fire.

He could already open a furnace to forge core energy.

"Starting today, you will be unable to rely on my Buddhist relics to aid the progress of your practice. These Buddhist relics can only help you during the initial stages of forging a spirit weapon. Thereafter, you'll have to depend on your natural ability along with core drugs, elixirs or spirit stones."

Zhou Donghuang said this to Su Mo as they exited the courtyard of the inn.

"Buddha's lifeblood relics?!"

On hearing Zhou Donghuang's words, Su Mo froze in place, dumbstruck, "Master, what are you saying? I don't understand. It was your Buddhist relics that made my power so intense! Are you a Buddhist monk?"

He lowered his voice, shaking his head. "No, that can't be it. Master, in the past you had not entered into the Primal Core stage, and you definitely didn't have those Buddhist relics."

"These Buddhist relics are the ones left behind by that Buddhist monk during that year in the Shenguang Empire. It just so happened I managed to get my hands on them," Zhou Donghuang said.

"What?!"

Su Mo was utterly shocked. He had never imagined that Ziyun's long-sought-after Buddhist relics, Buddha's lifeblood, had been taken and were in his master's possession. And, more than that, his master had, with the Buddhist relics' assistance, attained the spiritual level of Primal Core stage in such a short time.

"So master, are you saying that you are the one who got the inheritance of that monk of the Divine Light sect?" Su Mo asked curiously.

"Besides these relics… he… did he leave anything else behind?"

Zhou Donghuang responded disinterestedly as he and Su Mo exited the Yuntai Inn through the main gate.

Despite the passage of half a year, outside Yuntai's main gate still stood the allies of the Yang family as well as Liu Xuanyu's men, who were watching the people leaving the inn.

As soon as Zhou Donghuang and Su Mo left the inn, they were spotted by them.

"The target has appeared. The target has appeared!"

"It's them. They're finally here. They've finally shown up."

The Yang family's minions and the Liu Xuanyu allies had left behind some men to tail them. The rest returned quickly to the Yang family and the black market to report back with the information.

"Master, someone's following us."

Shortly after leaving the Yuntai Inn, Su Mo, who was closely following Zhou Donghuang, noticed the people following them.

By this time, Su Mo had entered the Primal Core stage and, luckily for them, his spiritual senses had reached the heightened level that came with this transformation. It was not hard for him to detect the two people furtively following.

"I noticed them when we first left the inn," Zhou Donghuang said simply.

"Should we deal with it?" Su Mo said with an intimidating glint flashing in his eyes.

"Doesn't matter; it's up to you," Zhou Donghuang said indifferently.

Behind Zhou Donghuang, Su Mo ceased speaking, came to a sudden stop, and pivoted toward their two pursuers.

Their position exposed, the two men behind them instantly looked to flee.

Though they were quick, Su Mo was far quicker, and in the blink of an eye, he grabbed hold of both of them, seizing them one by one, and dragged the two of them to an out-of-the-way alley, asking with a gleam in his eye, "Why are you following us? Who sent you?"

Once he received his answer, Su Mo killed them easily and without regard. He then caught up to the young man walking a little distance in front of him.

"Master, we've been spotted!"

Su Mo gave Zhou Donghuang a grave look and said, "Those two men were not normal hoodlums. One belonged to the Yang family. Half a year ago, when we came to the capital here in Shenguang, that person I fought and struck down was the Yang family's eighth elder.

"I don't know how the Yang family found out our whereabouts, but it turns out they have been watching us since then.

"However, the strongest in the Yang family is only a Connate-stage adept, nothing to worry about at all."

Having said that, Su Mo paused, and then continued with fear in his eyes, "But the other person was a senior member belonging to the black market, a member of the Divine Light sect, one of the seventeenth elder Liu Xuanyu's men. Over half a year ago, he wanted to capture me in exchange for a thousand spirit stones and space rings.

"I never expected that he would actually manage to find me."

Su Mo continued gravely, "Even if you and I, being early Primal Core adepts, worked together, we would still be no match for him.

"I just questioned that man sent by Liu Xuanyu. Liu Xuanyu did not dare enter the Yuntai Inn to face me since Yuntai is an establishment under the control of the sixth elder of the Divine Light sect. Liu Xuanyu is the acting seventeenth elder of the Divine Light sect. He belongs to a different camp than the boss of the Yuntai Inn, so he wouldn't want to start any trouble.

"Master, do you think we had better return to the inn and hide for some time? We can wait until you achieve the mid-rank level of Primal Core, and then we can stop hiding."

Being that the adept in question was a mid Primal Core adept, it was natural that Su Mo was frightened.

"That won't be necessary."

In contrast to Su Mo's fearfulness, Zhou Donghuang was calm and at ease, "If that measly mid Primal Core adept wants to commit suicide, I have no problem helping him go down that road!"

As his words faded, a voracious gleam flashed across Zhou Donghuang's eyes.

As Zhou Donghuang's words reached Su Mo's ears, he once again felt a quiver in his body. While he felt Zhou Donghuang's words were incredible, his face recovered its original color at once, and he was no longer fearful of that seventeenth elder, Liu Xuanyu.

Of course, his heart was like a raging and stormy ocean.

How could his master be unafraid of even a mid-ranking Primal Core master within the short space of six months?

In truth, in terms of Primal Core mastery, that sword his master wielded possessed no great, intimidating power at all.

In other words, this meant that his master must have some card up his sleeve.

"Master, um… do you intend to buy medicine?"

As they walked down the street, Su Mo realized that his master went straight ahead, neglecting every herbal medicine shop, until he finally entered one particular apothecary. His master wanted to buy medicine, but did he want to buy them to use as plain medicine or core drugs to refine spiritual energy?!

Primal Core adepts could use inner Yuan to cultivate Samadhi fire to refine their spiritual cores.

If an ordinary person had just reached the Primal Core Stage, he would not imagine that his opponent would have the ability to refine core drugs. After all, refining core drugs required skill, extensive study, and accumulation of qi.

Still, only half a year ago, his master could successfully create qi-gathering elixirs, so even if he could directly refine spiritual core drugs while in the Primal Core stage, Su Mo would not think it extraordinary in the least.

"Are you going to a core-forging master who sells the furnace you'll need to use?"

After buying a large batch of medicinal materials, Zhou Donghuang spoke to the shopkeeper of the medicine shop and got straight to the point.

"Sir, within the capital, there are no medicinal shops selling furnaces. If you want core furnaces, try looking in weaponry shops. For the most part, public weapons shops carry core furnaces for sale," the shopkeeper of the medicinal shop said.

"Understood." Zhou Donghuang nodded.

As Su Mo gave a pile of gold notes to the shopkeeper, his chest quaked violently, and it took a long time for it to return to normal.

Although he had guessed it beforehand, actually hearing the young master say he wanted a core furnace struck fear in him. Could his master really refine core drugs upon entering the Primal Core stage?

"It seems that my master could very well be the reincarnation of some extraordinary freak of nature," Su Mo then secretly thought. "Or perhaps… a strong, Primordial Soul has taken possession of him? Those martial adepts who have reached the Divine Essence stage are said to be able to shed their mortal bodies and take over those of other people. Afterward, the bodies of those who are supplanted are reborn with a new capacity and rank."

Although Su Mo had killed the Yang family's man who had been following them, their whereabouts had still been pinpointed by them.

The two left the herbal medicine shop but had not gotten far when they were stopped by a group of passers-by.

The man in front was an old man wearing a blue robe. There were also several other people standing behind him, all glaring menacingly at Zhou Donghuang and Su Mo.

"You two! I am the fourth elder of the Yang family, Yang Zhui. The head of our family requests that you come for a meeting at the Yang residence." The old man in the blue robe stared at both of them with a grave expression as he spoke.

"You…" At that moment, Su Mo broke into scathing laughter, ready to cut down the man in front of him and resolve the situation. Zhou Donghuang cut in, interrupting his words, "Since they are showing such great kindness in inviting us, let's go with them."