Chapter 31: The Contest in the Herb Garden

As the Grand Elder Yan Kongyi turned around, he suddenly felt his body weaken. When he tried to circulate his spiritual power, he was horrified to discover that his core had somehow been sealed, leaving him utterly unable to summon even the slightest trace of his cultivation.

To make matters worse, this place was protected by a restrictive formation they had hired a formation master to construct at great expense, designed to block out all spiritual sense probing at the Foundation Establishment level. He couldn’t even send out a message.

“Grand Elder...”

At that moment, eight hidden Yan clan bodyguards, concealed within the residence, emerged upon hearing Yan Kongyi’s voice.

But as soon as they stepped out, each felt a strange sensation in their core as well.

Their cores had been sealed, rendering them unable to use any spiritual power. Even the vitality they had cultivated with their spiritual power was instantly locked down, leaving them limp and powerless.

“Master Mo... The Yan clan has treated you generously!” Yan Kongyi’s face darkened as he glared at Master Mo.

Master Mo, now standing alone with no need to conceal himself, burst into hearty laughter. “Ha! I never said you treated me poorly.”

“If that’s so, then why betray us?” Yan Kongyi demanded.

Master Mo stroked his beard and replied with a smile, “Because what they offered was simply too much to refuse!”

“You...” Yan Kongyi’s expression grew even darker.

Had Master Mo only coveted the Originfruit trees, at worst he would have stolen a few, and there might have been a chance to reclaim them later. But to think he had colluded with outsiders...

This was a far more serious matter!

Without another word from Yan Kongyi, a tiny black beetle unfurled its wings and flew from Master Mo’s right ear.

“A twin-soul spirit bug!” Yan Kongyi’s last hope was dashed at the sight of the insect.

The twin-soul spirit bug served no other purpose but this: the two halves shared a single soul, and were impervious to spiritual sense or protective barriers. Even if one were in the underworld and the other in the celestial realm, they could still sense each other’s location without fail.

“Ha ha ha! Master Mo, you have rendered us a great service.” A voice, brimming with excitement, rang out from outside the residence.

Moments later, a group of four entered.

At their head was a man well known to Li Ji’an: Wei Huairen, the Wei clan elder who had ambushed Master Mo three years ago.

“Wei Huairen, do you truly wish for our clans to become mortal enemies?” Yan Kongyi’s anger faded, replaced by chilling calm.

Wei Huairen glanced at him dismissively. “Old Yan, you overestimate your clan’s importance. Mortal enemies? Please.”

He turned to a subordinate and gave a cold command: “Do it. Leave not a single grain of earth behind.”

One of his men stepped forward, producing a brocade pouch inlaid with strange jewels. After murmuring a brief incantation, light flashed, and a frog the size of a millstone bounded out.

“Ribbit...ribbit!” The frog’s eyes, as large as bronze bells, blinked with alarm at the gathered crowd, croaking in fright.

“A Heaven-Swallowing Crimson Toad!” Yan Kongyi’s face drained of color.

Though but a first-rank spirit beast, it possessed the ancient bloodline of the Heaven-Swallowing Crimson Toad and carried the law of spatial devouring in its mouth. It truly could swallow the entire medicinal garden, leaving not a speck of soil behind.

---

“Wei Huairen, must you truly see this through to the bitter end?” Yan Kongyi’s emotions flared once more.

He had expected them to steal the Originfruit trees and perhaps destroy the garden in the process—losses he could bear, for the clan still had seeds in reserve, and as long as the land remained, there was hope.

But now, his adversary meant to steal even the soil itself!

“Wei Huairen! Let me tell you the truth: no matter what you do, you cannot transplant the Originfruit trees and keep them alive. If you could, why would we not simply move them back to our clan’s own spirit vein?” Yan Kongyi protested as the Heaven-Swallowing Crimson Toad, at its master’s command, opened its gaping maw toward the garden, causing the trees and soil to stir.

“That’s not your concern, Brother Yan. We mountain folk have our ways,” Wei Huairen replied with a relaxed smile, entirely confident. He then turned to Master Mo.

“Master Mo, I leave these people to you. You won’t hesitate, will you?”

Master Mo’s brows shot up. “Clan Head Wei! I made it clear ten years ago: I am but an alchemist. I have already overstepped my bounds; I wish only to make pills in peace. You mustn’t—”

“Ah, but Master Mo, things have reached this point. If you don’t act, how can I trust you—how can our backer trust you?” Wei Huairen cut him off.

Master Mo’s face stiffened, his eyes flickering nervously to the black-robed figure standing behind Wei Huairen.

“Very well. I hope Clan Head Wei will keep his word,” he finally relented.

With that, under Wei Huairen’s watchful gaze, Master Mo exhaled slowly and conjured flames in his hand. With a sweeping motion, the fire split into eight blazing spheres and shot toward the Yan clan bodyguards.

With their cores sealed and bodies limp, the eight stood no chance. In an instant, they were consumed by fire.

Then Master Mo turned to the three people at his feet.

He looked first at Yan Kongyi, meeting the elder’s gaze, and his eyelids twitched. Then he glanced at Yan Qingwan, but her sharp, cold stare forced him to look away in haste. Finally, his eyes came to rest on Li Ji’an—this, at least, did not unsettle him so much.

Li Ji’an held his breath as Master Mo’s gaze fell on him. He had only realized after Yan Kongyi had pointed it out that his own core was also sealed.

It made little difference to him; his spiritual power was meager to begin with.

He soon noticed that his own vitality was also being locked down. But after a moment's adjustment, he realized Master Mo’s poison only affected spiritual power and the vitality nurtured by it. For him, it only managed to freeze a tenth of his life force, and after a brief effort, he had largely dispelled it.

“Young Li, you’ve followed me for six years… I’ve had no complaints about you. But the cultivation world is thus—you mustn’t blame me. If there is a next life, seek me out, and I promise you great opportunity.”

Seeing Master Mo preparing to strike at him first, Li Ji’an frowned slightly. Everywhere is the same—always picking the softest target.

But…

His attention was not on Master Mo, but on the black-robed figure behind Wei Huairen.

From the moment the three had entered, Li Ji’an had sensed something unusual about this person.

---

It stemmed from his sense of vitality: this figure’s life force was as robust as a mid-tier first-rank body cultivator’s.

Yet Li Ji’an’s spiritual sense could not detect his true cultivation level.

With Wei Huairen beside him, Li Ji’an saw no chance of victory.

“Hmph! Wei Huairen! Mo Zishan! You celebrate too soon!” At that moment, Yan Kongyi suddenly sneered, revealing a half-broken jade talisman in his hand.

“No!” Wei Huairen’s face changed dramatically. “Your life talisman is a messaging talisman? Impossible!”

The restrictive array outside should have rendered any ordinary talisman useless—and with his core sealed, Yan Kongyi should not have been able to activate one, cutting off any hope of contacting his clan.

But a life talisman could be triggered without spiritual power.

Wei Huairen had never considered that Yan Kongyi’s life talisman could serve as a messenger—such a thing defied all reason. No proper talisman master would ever choose a messenger as their life talisman; it was always a means of last resort—offense, escape, illusion at the very least.

Wei Huairen immediately turned to the black-robed man.

Without a word, the black-robed figure strode out of the residence.

“Don’t panic—we’ll buy you some time outside,” Wei Huairen called, hurrying after.

“Master Mo, there’s no turning back now—do not hesitate!” he reminded Master Mo once more before disappearing.

With Wei Huairen and the black-robed man gone, Master Mo’s expression turned panicked.

He looked again at Li Ji’an, his eyes suddenly fierce. “Your spiritual roots are too poor; you have no hope in this life. Let me send you early to the next cycle, and may you be blessed with better talent in your next!”

With that, he condensed a fireball in his hand.

“Go!” Just then, Yan Kongyi gave a low command, grabbing Yan Qingwan with one hand and producing a flawless jade talisman with the other.

“Another life talisman?” Master Mo’s hand paused in midair, his face full of surprise.

“You... you tricked me!” he suddenly realized.

But it was already too late. Yan Kongyi and Yan Qingwan froze for three heartbeats, then vanished on the spot.

The whole scene unfolded in the blink of an eye.

Li Ji’an stood there, momentarily stunned, marveling at how truly unpredictable, treacherous, and wondrous the cultivation world could be.