Qin Changsheng glanced at Jiang Fan, indifferent, "In Lonely Boat City, besides my Qin family, no other place will have Qi Cultivation Liquid."
"You went to the Treasure Pavilion to ask for Qi Cultivation Liquid, but you might have asked the wrong place."
"Instead of asking them, it's better to ask Young Master Lu."
Lu Zheng teased, "Asking me for Qi Cultivation Liquid is not as good as asking me to let your fiancée go, haha!"
He laughed heartily and rode away.
Qin Changsheng cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Fan, disdainfully saying, "Forget about Qi Cultivation Liquid."
"As long as I'm around, you'll never get a drop of Qi Cultivation Liquid in your lifetime."
After saying that, he also galloped away.
Jiang Fan shrugged.
Low Grade Qi Cultivation Liquid, even dogs don't want it.
Soon.
A distinguished person arrived at the Treasure Pavilion.
One by one, the imposing members of the Chen family arrived.
The shopkeeper bowed low, trembling with fear, "Miss, the matter is just as I said earlier."
Among the Chen family members, there was a beautiful young girl with a delicate face, tall stature, and intelligent eyes.
She was the eldest daughter of the Chen family, Chen Silin.
"Did you send someone to investigate his identity?" Chen Silin asked sharply.
The shopkeeper shivered and quickly said, "How dare this old servant? Soul Masters fear being coveted by others most. If we annoy him, wouldn't we bring a catastrophe to the Chen family?"
Chen Silin's expression softened slightly and she said, "Very good, you handled it very well!"
"Not only improving relations by offering this Soul Master benefits but also not showing the slightest disrespect."
"Next, whether we can associate with this Soul Master depends on his mood!"
"If he could provide us with some Mid-grade Qi Cultivation Liquid at the exhibition, we would gain fame and finally contend with the Qin family."
Thinking about how they had been suppressed by the Qin family for centuries, Chen Silin was exceptionally eager for that Soul Master to support the Chen family and change their family's fate.
By then, she would be willing to pay any price.
As for Jiang Fan, upon returning to the mansion, he heard a commotion inside.
"Find her! Quickly find her! Even if you have to dig three feet deep, find Xu Youran!"
What?
Xu Youran was missing?
Jiang Fan panicked, and an image of her suddenly leaving in the morning flashed through his mind, conjuring a bad thought.
This silly girl, could she have gone to find Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures for his breakthrough?
Now it's almost dark, and she's not back yet—could she be in danger?
He hurriedly ran out of the city, heading towards the only place nearby with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—Cloud Mist Mountain.
"Beauty Xu, stop struggling, or you'll fall and turn into a pile of flesh."
At the edge of a cliff, three brawny men with bats embroidered on their chests grinned menacingly at Xu Youran, who was clinging tightly to a vine below.
Her hands, worn and bloody from clutching the vine for so long, were trembling and pale from exhaustion.
Beneath her was a boundless cliff shrouded in rolling clouds, making it impossible to see the bottom.
"Come up quickly. There's no conflict with us. We just want to capture you and demand that Lu Zheng pay his gambling debt."
"We swear we won't harm you."
But as they spoke, their greedy eyes never left Xu Youran's alluring body.
If they caught her, it was easy to imagine what would happen.
Xu Youran gritted her teeth and said, "Dream on!"
The leader lost patience and ordered, "Pull her up!"
He couldn't believe Xu Youran would really let go and fall to her death!
The other two brawny men immediately started pulling up the vine.
Seeing herself being lifted up, Xu Youran felt desolate.
Biting her red lips, she murmured, "Fan, I'm sorry, I won't be able to marry you in this life."
She loosened her hands, ready to jump into the abyss.
At that moment.
A series of hurried footsteps suddenly approached.
Then, one of the men pulling the vine was kicked off the cliff, caught completely off guard.
His dark figure plummeted into the clouds, screaming, and vanished without a trace.
The other two men were furious and fought the attacker.
Soon, another lay on the ground, screaming.
The last man, terrified, yelled, "Dare to kill someone from Blood Bat Palace! You're dead! You're dead!"
As he yelled, he fled.
Xu Youran was startled, wondering who had come.
Among the three men from Blood Bat Palace, one was at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation, and the other two were at the Second Layer!
Suddenly.
A head poked out, and Xu Youran was stunned, "Fan?"
She couldn't believe it was Fan who had driven off the bad guys.
With a stern face, Jiang Fan pulled her up and smacked her bottom hard, shouting, "Who allowed you to come here?"
Xu Youran lowered her head in guilt and meekly held up her bloody hand, clutching a vibrant medicinal herb, and said weakly, "I just wanted to help you."
Seeing her worn-out hand, still unwilling to let go of the herb, Jiang Fan's heart ached.
He hugged her tightly and said, "You are the most important person to me. If you leave me, there will be no one in this world for me to care about!"
Despite his reproach, Xu Youran felt an unprecedented sweetness, as if tasting honey.
Leaning against his broad chest, she felt safer than ever before.
Relaxed, she fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.
Jiang Fan didn't have the heart to wake her.
Looking at the Blood Bat Palace corpses on the ground, he had an idea and searched them.
Soon, he found a token and couldn't help but rejoice, "Blood Bat Palace token! The City Lord's Mansion issued a reward decree: killing someone from Blood Bat Palace grants a chance to cultivate in the Spirit Pond of the City Lord's Mansion."
"Many people have made breakthroughs there!"
He put the token away and surveyed the surroundings.
It was pitch dark, making it impossible to see the way down the mountain.
He could only find a safe cave and spent the night there with Xu Youran.
While guarding her, Jiang Fan didn't stay idle.
He took out the materials from the Treasure Pavilion and attempted to refine Qi Cultivation Liquid.
At dawn the next day.
Jiang Fan looked at a pile of ashes on the ground, distressed, "I wasted three sets of materials."
"But..."
His eyes shifted to the eight bottles of Spiritual Liquid beside him.
Seven bottles of Top Grade Qi Cultivation Liquid and one bottle of top-grade Qi Cultivation Liquid.
"It seems I'm more talented than my father. I can already refine Top Grade Qi Cultivation Liquid and, in the best condition, even top-grade Qi Cultivation Liquid!"
"Once I become proficient, the success rate for top-grade Qi Cultivation Liquid will be higher."
He eagerly picked up the top-grade Qi Cultivation Liquid and drank it.
The potent medicinal power released Spiritual Energy ten times that of Low Grade Qi Cultivation Liquid, swelling Jiang Fan's body like a balloon!
He quickly sat cross-legged to cultivate, rapidly absorbing the Spiritual Energy.
One two-hour period later.
"Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation! And I'm not far from the Fifth Layer!" Jiang Fan was secretly amazed.
Xu Yining took ten days to advance from the Third Layer to the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation, drinking Low Grade Qi Cultivation Liquid daily.
He succeeded with just one bottle of top-grade Qi Cultivation Liquid!
The effect of top-grade Qi Cultivation Liquid was unbelievably powerful!
Feeling the strength of the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation, he couldn't help but look at Xu Youran's beautiful sleeping face, smiling slightly:
"Youran, this time, I protected you."
Xu Mansion.
Lu Zheng was sweating profusely, his face somewhat unsightly.
He stared at the ten empty Qi Cultivation Liquid bottles in front of him, saying, "Why is it like this?"
"I drank them all; why haven't I broken through?"
Wang Yingfeng, beside him, was also puzzled.
It shouldn't be!
With a Ninth Grade Spiritual Root and ten bottles of Low Grade Qi Cultivation Liquid, even a pig should have broken through.
But Lu Zheng showed no sign of progress!
She had to comfort him, "Zheng'er, haste makes waste. Perhaps your anxiety to break through has affected your state of mind."
"After all, you haven't lost. Jiang Fan, that loser, has neither a Spirit Root nor Qi Cultivation Liquid and is even less likely to break through."
"So you two are only even!"
Hearing this, Lu Zheng sighed in relief.
He sneered, "Does he deserve to compete with me?"
"My lack of breakthrough is only temporary, but he will never break through in his life!"
"Let's go to the main hall and determine the victor!"