Chapter 42: A Man In Black

　　Yunxiao had not taken a step outside during the five days of secluded cultivation, so he naturally did not know what had happened.

　　Five days later, he finally came out of his guest room, and his aura had risen to another level—he had successfully broken through and become a four-stars warrior.

　　When he stepped into Meng Wu’s house again, he immediately heard Meng Bai’s screams and Meng Wu’s sobs.

　　“Brother, stop practicing! Stop immediately!”

　　“No, I feel like I’m on the verge of breaking through!”

　　“The poison in you is scaring me! If you continue like this, you will die!”

　　“Even if I die, I want to break through! AHHH!”

　　A cry of pain rang out. Meng Bai’s body was covered with countless green spots, making him look like a moldy radish while many parts of his skin were festering. However, the Primordial Qi in him was growing stronger and stronger, while cyclones formed directly outside of his body, rotating and converging toward his dantian.

　　“AHHH!”

　　All of a sudden, he threw his head back and roared. A mighty force instantly exploded out from his seven chakras and converged into a line, rushing toward his dantian. A loud boom rang out of his body as his dantian was blasted apart and began to rotate slowly like a nebula—his Qi Sea was born.

　　“I…I’ve made it! Haha! Sis, I’ve made it!” Meng Bai was delirious with joy.

　　With tears hung on her cheeks, Meng Wu said pitifully, “Look, you are covered in poison. I’ll go get Young Master Yun now! Only he can get rid of the poison on you!” As soon as she turned around, she found Yunxiao already standing at the door.

　　“Tsk, tsk! You have produced a lot more poison again. Not bad, not bad at all! I can enjoy a great tonic once more!” Yunxiao clicked his tongue as he walked over while smiling.

　　“Master, I’ve broken through! I’ve really broken through and become a warrior in five days!” Meng Bai was still in a state of extreme excitement.

　　“Yes, you did well! I saw it all…Now, you should sit cross-legged down and let me suck the poison out of you.” Without waiting for an answer, Yunxiao placed a palm on Meng Bai’s shoulder and pressed him down, then exercised the One Qi of Destiny and began crazily absorbing the poison.

　　After enough time went by for an incense stick to burn, Meng Bai’s painful expression was completely relieved, and all the green spots on his body disappeared. His skin now looked as smooth as jade.

　　“Master, why do I feel that although the pain is gone after you have absorbed the poison in my body, I’ve lost a lot of strength at the same time?” he asked curiously.

　　Yunxiao smiled and said, “That’s because your physical constitution is the Heaven Earth Venomous Body, and your poison is the source of poison which contains innate energy. The stronger the poison, the stronger your strength will be. But, your current cultivation base simply cannot withstand the poison. With the improvement of your cultivation base, your endurance will become stronger, and the poison will become stronger as well. When the balance is reached, you will not only not be eroded by the poison, but will be able to exert this source of poison as well.”

　　He narrowed his eyes and said seriously, “The day you can use the source of poison in your body, you will be absolutely invincible among those of the same rank as you, unless you meet someone who was also born with other extremely strong physical constitution like you!”

　　“Other extremely strong physical constitutions?” Meng Bai asked in surprise. “So, the poison in my body is actually a good thing?”

　　Yunxiao laughed. “Of course, it’s a good thing! Why else would I absorb it? In addition to your Heaven Earth Venomous Body, there are many special physical constitutions in this world, and they all have great power. As long as you keep going along the road of martial arts, you will naturally meet them in the future.”

　　Meng Bai’s eyes widened as he said, “It turns out that the Master has been taking advantage of me…”

　　Yunxiao blushed as he quickly took out the ten detoxification pills from his ring and gave them to Meng Bai as he said, “Each of these detoxification pills can suppress the poison in you for three days. When I am not by your side, you can use them to suppress the poison in your body. However, the fundamental solution is to improve your strength and rely on your cultivation base to suppress it.”

　　“Hurry up and thank your Master!” Meng Wu said with great joy.

　　Yunxiao took out an origin impacting pill and handed it to her. “You, too, are gifted. But, because you are busy working every day to make money and do not practice, you have been stuck in the realm of apprentice warriors. After taking this origin impacting pill, you will become a warrior immediately.”

　　“An origin impacting pill?” Meng Wu was shocked, but then she took the pill joyously and said gratefully, “This thing is very expensive, and even the worst quality one on the market can sell for more than a thousand gold coins.”

　　‘You can’t even buy the pill I refined in my previous life for ten million supreme-grade Primordial Stones,’ Yunxiao thought to himself.

　　“Meng Bai! Meng Bai! Are you going to mine today?” A familiar voice came from outside the door and then Uncle Li came in. But when he saw Yunxiao, his face turned pale instantly and he was frozen at the door.

　　“Uncle Li, look, I’ve broken through and become a warrior!” Meng Bai said excitedly.

　　Uncle Li was stunned, and his eyes flashed with shock as he said with a wry smile, “You are really a little monster!” Then, he muttered in a low voice, “Your Master is a monster, too!”

　　Yunxiao said coldly, “You, come here!”

　　Uncle Li trembled, and there was a look of fear in his eyes. Not daring to disobey, he walked over obediently. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

　　“Master, don’t make things difficult for Uncle Li,” Meng Bai said nervously.

　　“What’s your name?” Yunxiao asked.

　　In fear and trepidation, Uncle Li said hastily, “Everyone calls me Uncle Li, so you can call me Uncle Li as well.”

　　Yunxiao’s face immediately darkened, and he said in a fit of slight anger, “No one has ever dared to call himself ‘uncle’ in front of me. Do you want to die?”

　　Startled, Uncle Li said in a shaking voice, “Li…Li Dayuan, my name is Li Dayuan.”

　　Only then did Yunxiao nod. “Where do you usually mine?”

　　“It used to be in Fivepeaks Vein, but the place was taken over by the official later on,” Li Dayuan answered honestly. “Now, we are all digging in some small veins next to Fivepeaks. As the deposit is meager, the officials pay us no mind. However, it is also because the officials pay us no mind that the competition there is quite fierce. But, I’m a five-stars warrior, and no one dares to steal from me usually.”

　　‘As a five-stars warrior, he still went to mine. This guy is indeed quite different.’ Yunxiao asked again, “Have you ever come across the raw ore of Purple Sun Stone after digging for so many years?”

　　Meng Bai quickly described the shape and characteristics of the Purple Sun Stone. After hearing Yunxiao say that this kind of stone was valuable last time, he also went to look for it, but never came across any.

　　Li Dayuan cocked his head and thought for a while, then said, “I think I’ve seen it in Fivepeaks Vein before, but that place is now sealed up by the officials.”

　　Yunxiao asked while frowning, “Sealed up by the officials? Is it His Majesty who sealed it?”

　　“No,” Li Dayuan shook his head and said, “The order came from the Mansion of Duke Jingguo. It is the Li Family who sent people to seal it. They said it is a strategic reserve vein and no private digging is allowed.”

　　Meng Wu gave Yunxiao an astonished look.

　　“…Li Dayuan, you don’t have to go mining in the future. I’m giving you a job now. I want you to sneak into the Li Family’s mining team and find Purple Sun Stones for me. All you need to do is provide me with clues. No matter what the result is, I’ll give you five hundred gold coins a month.”

　　“Five hundred gold coins a month!” Li Dayuan and Meng Bai were both taken aback. If he had not known Yunxiao’s terrifying strength, Li Dayuan would have thought that he was lying to him. He became excited immediately as he said while slapping his chest, “Rest assured, little Master! Many of their miners are acquaintances I used to work with. They invited me several times, but I didn’t go because they only pay ten gold coins a month. Don’t worry, as long as there are such stones in the vein, I’ll find them for you!”

　　Yunxiao nodded and said, “You can leave now. I have something to discuss with them.”

　　Hearing that, Li Dayuan left in high spirits.

　　Yunxiao glanced at the brother and sister. “Go and change into cleaner clothes and come to a feast with me.”

　　“A feast?” Meng Wu was shocked. “Where’s the feast?”

　　Yunxiao said calmly, “The palace.”

　　The brother and sister, “…”

　　…

　　Women were troublesome.

　　Meng Bai had changed into a random but clean suit. Meng Wu, on the other hand, had already taken out all her clothes and changed into them one by one, yet was not satisfied. As a result, she pestered Yunxiao and Meng Bai to accompany her to the market for most of the day before finally buying a pink dress.

　　Just when Yunxiao and Meng Bai breathed a sigh of relief, she dragged them out again to buy cosmetics, earrings, hairpins, embroidered shoes…

　　Yunxiao’s forehead was dripping with cold sweat. “It occurs to me that I have some very important thing to deal with. I’ll meet you at the front gate of the palace in the evening.”

　　He turned and ran away as soon as he finished speaking, and only after speeding across several streets did he breathe a sigh of relief. Then, he bought a stick of roasted beef balls from a stall on the roadside and walked leisurely along the street while eating. “I’m still more relaxed by myself.”

　　Suddenly, a figure clad in black appeared behind him and shouted softly, “Li Yunxiao!”

　　When Yunxiao turned back, the man in black stepped out and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

　　“Hmph! Trying to play a trick on me?”

　　He ate the last beef ball and lightly flicked the skewer out of his hand. Although there were many people nearby, the bamboo skewer was chasing straight at the black figure as if it had eyes.

　　The black-clad man’s eyes filled with horror. He had already mixed into the crowd, but the bamboo skewer could still find him so accurately! He quickly turned and mustered his strength as he threw out a palm, trying to break the skewer.

　　“Ouch!”

　　However, the man let out a muffled cry of pain in the next moment, and was horrified to find that the skewer had pierced through the wind created by his palm and penetrated his palm!”

　　“How’s that possible?” He stared blankly at his palm—an ordinary bamboo skewer was stuck in it, still smelling of roasted beef balls…

　　He suddenly felt a cool breeze blowing on his face, and when he looked up, he saw Yunxiao’s face approaching. He cried with terror and hurriedly retreated.

　　“Hmph!”

　　Yunxiao gave a cold snort and lightly kicked on the ground, arriving in front of the man in black in the blink of an eye. Under the frightened glance of the man, he stabbed his five fingers like claws into the man’s shoulder, then lifted him and glided away.

　　The man felt a sharp pain on his shoulder before the circulation of his Primordial Qi seemed to be interrupted by an external force, which made him unable to muster any strength. That was why Yunxiao lifted him like a chick.

　　Bam!

　　In an empty alley, Yunxiao threw the black-clad man on the ground like a bag of rubbish and said coldly, “Who are you? What do you want from me? Speak!”

　　At the moment of falling to the ground, the man felt that his shoulder was loosened and the external force in his body had been withdrawn. Subsequently, his Primordial Qi began to circulate smoothly again. He was instantly shocked, and his eyes were full of incredulity.