Chapter 6: Ashfell Family Envoy, Crisis Arrives

After clearing his mind of distracting thoughts, Arius carefully stored away the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror. He then placed the thick tome of The Path of Crimson Flame, Volumes 1-2 into the underground chamber beneath the room.

The first volume of The Path of Crimson Flame was enough to guide Arius's cultivation to Level 2 Realm.

As for the second volume, it could take him all the way to the 4th Level Realm.

However, even with such a profound technique and his spiritual roots elevated to the Mystic-grade, cultivating to the Second Level Realm within the De Molinos family's territory remained challenging.

The De Molinos family's ancestral land in Nezier Town lacked spiritual veins, meaning the area had an extreme scarcity of spiritual energy.

To cultivate long-term within the De Molinos family's territory, Arius would either need a significant supply of spirit stones and spiritual herbs or a spiritual gathering array.

However, even the lowest-grade spiritual gathering array required spirit stones to operate. Maintaining it would cost at least one spirit stone fragment per month.

Currently, Arius was severely lacking in cultivation resources.

But with the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror, Arius had a straightforward way to earn more spirit stone fragments—or even full spirit stones.

Two hundred miles from Nezier Town lay a small cultivator market town.

There, spiritual herbs and materials could be traded for spirit stones.

Arius decided to use the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror to enhance the two Spirit Tempering Herbs in his possession, sell them at the market for spirit stone fragments, and then use those fragments to purchase more cultivation resources.

Spirit Tempering Herbs were among the most commonly cultivated spiritual herbs in the cultivation world. They could be consumed directly or used in refining Body Tempering Pills.

The two Spirit Tempering Herbs in Arius's possession were less than ten years old and of very ordinary value. If sold as-is, they would fetch no more than one spirit stone fragment in total.

This time, Arius placed all the gold ingots he had onto the surface of the Heaven-Seeking Treasure Mirror.

As the gold ingots were fully absorbed by the mirror, layers of divine radiance erupted from its surface. When the light enveloped the two Spirit Tempering Herbs, their medicinal fragrance suddenly became incredibly rich.

The herbs, originally just over two inches long, grew rapidly to half a foot in length.

Their age, which had been under ten years, transformed into century-old spiritual herbs.

If sold at the cultivator market, each herb would now be worth at least three low-grade spirit stones.

Three low-grade spirit stones equaled three hundred spirit stone fragments.

While three low-grade spirit stones might not sound like much, it was a substantial fortune.

At the Albigensians Sect, even completing sect tasks for an entire year wouldn't guarantee Arius enough rewards to save up a single spirit stone fragment.

The value of spirit stones was far beyond that of mundane gold and silver.

Even cultivators who had just entered the Level 1 Realm would find it difficult to casually produce three low-grade spirit stones.

Staring at the two century-old Spirit Tempering Herbs, Arius felt both excitement and concern.

Their value was undoubtedly high, but if Arius dared to bring them to the cultivator market and sell them as-is, he would likely become a target for robbery and murder.

Among cultivators, the law of the jungle ruled. Strength determined survival, and worldly laws meant little.

After a moment of thought, Arius had an idea. He carefully took out a sharp dagger and, with great precision, sliced off a single leaf from one of the Spirit Tempering Herbs.

Selling just this leaf could likely earn him around twenty spirit stone fragments.

While a leaf from a century-old spiritual herb still had significant value, it was far safer and more discreet than attempting to sell the entire herb.

Still, Arius felt this approach wasn't entirely foolproof.

After much deliberation, Arius decided to consume one of the herbs himself. Increasing his strength was the most reliable way to ensure his survival in the cultivation world.

Sitting cross-legged in the secret chamber, Arius wasted no time in swallowing one of the century-old Spirit Tempering Herbs.

Fortunately, Arius was now at the Bone Tempering Realm, allowing him to barely withstand the herb's potent medicinal power.

Had he still been at the mid-stage of the Blood Tempering Realm, consuming such a powerful herb would likely have caused his body to explode on the spot.

Compared to consuming Body Tempering Pills, directly ingesting spiritual herbs carried a degree of risk.

However, Arius possessed an incredibly advanced cultivation technique—The Path of Crimson Flame.

With the support of an advanced cultivation technique and Mystic-grade spiritual roots, Arius found it far easier to refine a single century-old Spirit Tempering Herb than most cultivators.

Following the breathing and cultivation techniques detailed in The Path of Crimson Flame, Arius rhythmically absorbed and refined the herb's medicinal power, while attuning himself to the faint spiritual energy in his surroundings.

Gradually, Arius's aura began to grow stronger.

Meanwhile, outside Nezier Town, a procession flying the Ashfell family's banner arrived in a grand and imposing fashion.

This procession was escorted by more than two hundred armored guards and included dozens of trained martial artists from the mortal world.

At the front of the group was a young man clad in a black robe, exuding a chilling aura.

He rode atop a ferocious giant tiger beast, his expression cold and indifferent as he gazed down at Nezier Town from his elevated position.

The next moment, the young man spoke in a hoarse voice, his words slow and deliberate:

"I represent the Ashfell family. De Molinos family patriarch, present yourself at once to welcome me."

Rumble!

As the young man's raspy voice rang out, it swept across Nezier Town like a tidal wave, shaking the town's very foundations. The buildings trembled slightly under its force.

It was clear that this young man was a cultivator.

Inside the De Molinos family estate, Arius, who was meditating in the underground chamber, was abruptly startled awake by the young man's voice.

Though raspy, the voice carried an overwhelming vitality and power.

The sheer presence conveyed through that single utterance was enough to suggest that the young man was at least at the Blood Tempering Realm.

Arius's expression darkened.

He had only just returned from the Albigensians Sect, and already a Ashfell family cultivator had descended upon Nezier Town. Their ambitions were blatantly obvious.

There was no doubt: the Ashfell family intended to seize control of Nezier Town and force the De Molinos family into submission.

In the meantime, the commotion had alarmed not just the De Molinos family but the entire population of Nezier Town.

At the town's entrance, De Molinos family armored guards had already formed ranks, ready for battle.

On the Ashfell family's side, while they showed no immediate signs of attacking, their guards stood poised to strike, waiting for the young cultivator's command.

At that moment, the tension in and around Nezier Town reached a boiling point.

"The entire De Molinos family welcomes the envoy's esteemed arrival!"

"It is an honor for Nezier Town, and for the De Molinos family, to receive a guest from afar."

At the entrance to Nezier Town, De Molinos Simon, accompanied by several De Molinos family elders and dozens of mortal martial artists, appeared slowly and solemnly.

Although Simon tried his best to maintain a composed demeanor, standing before a Ashfell family cultivator filled him with an immense, inescapable pressure.

Even though the De Molinos family had Arius, their ancestral elder, to rely on, Simon still lacked confidence in the face of a cultivator from the Ashfell family.

If it were just an ordinary cultivator, that would be one thing…

But the Ashfell family was the undisputed overlord of Purple River City.

Within a thousand miles of Purple River City, no combination of cultivation factions could rival the Ashfell family's dominance.