Liu Wuxie rose after taking only a few bites and quickly excused himself. Over the next few days, he had to cultivate and break through to the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm. Only then would he have a greater chance of survival. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He told Steward Jia not to disturb him for the next two days. After returning to his room, he sat cross-legged and took out the immortal pills Ye Linghan had given him.

"A second-grade Spiritual Treasure Pill!" The Spiritual Treasure Pill wasn't particularly rare and was commonly available on the market. Under normal circumstances, one or two pills wouldn't help Liu Wuxie break through to the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm. However, Liu Wuxie had only just entered the celestial realm, and even without pills, he would still experience a period of explosive growth.

His physique devoured celestial realm laws at every moment, while his desolate world swallowed immortal energy at a terrifying speed, filling the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron with liquid.

Liu Wuxie had accumulated power over the past few days, and now everything came naturally. He swallowed three Spiritual Treasure Pills, which dissolved into liquid and flowed into the desolate world.

Suddenly, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from the depths of the desolate world. Ever since Liu Wuxie had ascended to the celestial realm, the runes on the Ancestral Talisman had rapidly repaired themselves. The fire-attributed energy feeding back to him also grew increasingly terrifying.

Liu Wuxie had to suppress his aura as much as possible to avoid causing unnecessary panic. He circulated the Desolate Devouring Art, and the immortal energy in the surroundings began gathering above the Peace and Stability Merchant Association. Although he acted discreetly, he couldn't hide the disturbance from those with sharp senses.

Ye Linghan was staying in an inn. She had also overheard the conversation among the Azure Bamboo Gang's upper echelons. She planned to remain in Moon Reverence City for another three days to see how Liu Wuxie would resolve this crisis.

If Liu Wuxie couldn't handle it, she could intervene at the critical moment as repayment for saving her father.

"This is strange. Why is so much immortal energy gathering toward the Peace and Stability Merchant Association? Is he the cause?"

The inn she stayed at was only one street away from the Peace and Stability Merchant Association.

Ordinary immortals couldn't sense it. Only profound immortals could detect the flow of immortal energy.

Chen Ping was busy handling his affairs when he suddenly turned toward Liu Wuxie's courtyard, shocked. He didn't dwell on it and soon continued dealing with his matters.

Liu Wuxie poured all the liquid from the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron into the desolate world, forming overlapping ripples of immortal energy. The ripples layered over one another before slamming into the gateway to the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm.

Laws churned around Liu Wuxie, forming waves that swept through the surroundings, making the tables and chairs creak continuously.

"Break!" Liu Wuxie shouted. His immortal energy condensed into a river and swept through the desolate world.

The gateway to the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm appeared and began creaking beneath the crushing force of his immortal energy. The immortal energy continued surging, strengthening the impact repeatedly.

When the gateway to the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm shattered, its fragments sank into the depths of the desolate world. The instant Liu Wuxie broke through, a violent wind swept outward, sending the tables and chairs swirling into the air.

Laws surged out and turned the tables and chairs into dust when they crashed back to the ground. Even the breakthrough of a true immortal wouldn't create such a terrifying scene.

Once Liu Wuxie broke through to the High Immortal Realm, even low-level True Immortals would no longer be his match. He consumed five thousand immortal stones before finally filling the desolate world.

He couldn't imagine how many immortal stones he would need to reach the Immortal King Realm. The number would probably reach hundreds of millions.

As time passed, Liu Wuxie showed no intention of ending his breakthrough. Instead, he continued polishing his cultivation.

After Chen An reached Fourfold City on the aerial immortal beast, he immediately began purchasing large quantities of the materials written on the list. After several hours, he had gathered everything Liu Wuxie needed at a cost of nearly forty thousand immortal stones.

They were running out of time and had no choice but to purchase many materials at inflated prices. Chen An stayed in Fourfold City for one night before setting out for Moon Reverence City at dawn. By dusk, he had returned to the Peace and Stability Merchant Association.

Liu Wuxie spent two days before finally consolidating his cultivation. After breaking through to the ninth-level Heavenly Immortal Realm, he could now release divine sense from his body, though it could only extend several dozen meters. The range of his Ghost Pupil also increased from one hundred meters to two hundred meters. If he extended it any farther, the effect would greatly decline.

When Liu Wuxie emerged from his room, he hurried toward the main hall.

"Father, the Azure Bamboo Gang has been quiet over the past two days," Chen An said, reporting to his father the moment he returned.

"I'm worried they are plotting something big against us," Chen Ping said from the main seat. He could already smell trouble in the air.

He wouldn't have cared if the Azure Bamboo Gang had only caused minor trouble. But now that something abnormal had happened, he had no choice but to take it seriously.

Liu Wuxie entered the main hall at that moment and interrupted their conversation.

"Brother Wu, all the resources you asked for are ready," Chen Ping informed, taking out an interspatial ring that contained all the materials. He had never even heard of many materials on the list before.

"Thank you," Liu Wuxie replied. He accepted the interspatial ring and scanned it with his divine sense before nodding in satisfaction. After exchanging a few simple words, he soon returned to his room.

Next came the setup of the spiritual array. To avoid drawing suspicion, Liu Wuxie planned to wait until nightfall before setting it up.

At night, Chen Ping left the merchant association to inspect several shops. After all, the Azure Bamboo Gang had repeatedly attacked their businesses at this hour over the past few months.

Liu Wuxie took out all the materials and began sorting through them one by one.

After Ye Linghan finished dinner, she changed into black clothes and sneaked into the Peace and Stability Merchant Association. Since Chen Ping wasn't around, no one could detect her presence.

Ye Linghan had come each night over the past two days, but every time she had discovered immortal energy gushing into Liu Wuxie's courtyard, she had stopped outside.

"What is he tinkering with?" Ye Linghan murmured. She probed forward with her divine sense and discovered an invisible barrier around Liu Wuxie's room that blocked all divine senses.

Liu Wuxie had long prepared a spiritual array to prevent anyone from spying on him. He spent two hours refining all the materials, and he could devote the rest of the night to setting it up. One night would be enough.

Liu Wuxie left his room like a cat and slipped into the night.

Ye Linghan quietly followed behind him, only to see him take out array flags and insert them into hidden spots.

"Setting up a spiritual array?" Ye Linghan froze in place when she saw Liu Wuxie's actions.

Back in Fourfold City, Liu Wuxie's alchemy techniques had already shocked her. She hadn't expected him to be an expert in spiritual arrays as well.

Liu Wuxie kept changing locations. Aside from array flags, he buried the purchased materials as the cores of the spiritual array. He only completed half of the spiritual array by the latter half of the night. As for the remaining half, he would have to finish it the next night.

When dawn arrived on the third day, everything appeared as usual. Liu Wuxie spent his time cultivating in his courtyard to temper his cultivation further. Whenever he had nothing else to do, he practiced his blade techniques in the courtyard.

The Bloodthirst Blade displayed terrifying power, releasing a thick stench of blood with every strike.

On the third night, the Azure Bamboo Gang sent all of its experts toward Moon Reverence City. The White Tiger Merchant Association had also gathered its upper echelons. Tomorrow would be the day they destroyed the Peace and Stability Merchant Association, so they couldn't afford even the slightest mistake.

Liu Wuxie glanced out the window, then continued setting up the remaining half of the spiritual array during the final stretch of time. Near dawn, he returned to his courtyard covered in dust. He washed himself and changed into a clean set of clothes.

The moment dawn arrived, a powerful impact woke countless people from their sleep. Ye Linghan hadn't left because she had already learned about the attack in advance. She lay on a distant rooftop and quietly watched the Peace and Stability Merchant Association.

"An enemy attack!" No one had expected the White Tiger Merchant Association to join forces with the Azure Bamboo Gang. The attack alarmed the entire Moon Reverence City.

Countless cultivators began crowding out in the streets. Most were heavenly immortals, with some high immortals and true immortals mixed among them. Anyone who could reach the Spirit Immortal Realm already possessed some fame in Moon Reverence City.

The Azure Bamboo Gang's four protectors smashed open the Peace and Stability Merchant Association's gate and stormed inside.

"Azure Bamboo Gang, you've gone too far!" Chen Ping emerged from his room and struck downward with his palm, forcing the four protectors back while releasing his Profound Immortal Realm aura.

The moment the four guardians entered, a powerful force hurled them back out, leaving them dizzy and disoriented. They were all spirit immortals with decent cultivation, but they still fell short before a profound immortal.

"Chen Ping, today is the day you die. I advise you to surrender obediently," Bai Jingfu said as he walked in beside the Azure Viper Lord.

Over the years, Moon Reverence City had seen many powers rise and fall. The White Tiger Merchant Association had long since wiped out many smaller merchant associations, and only the Peace and Stability Merchant Association had barely survived. No one had anticipated it would face destruction today.

"Everyone, kill your way out with me!" Chen An led a group of experts and was prepared to break through.

The battle erupted, and Liu Wuxie appeared among the crowd to watch the battlefield.

Ye Linghan, on the other hand, had no interest in the battle below. Her gaze remained fixed on Liu Wuxie the entire time.

"Chief Chen, lead everyone into the Peace and Stability Merchant Association if you trust me," Liu Wuxie said, compressing his voice into a thin thread and sending it into Chen Ping's ears.

Chen Ping froze just as he was about to rush out and turned to look at Liu Wuxie. Their gazes met, but neither of them spoke. That familiar gaze appeared before Chen Ping once again.

Chen Ping treated Liu Wuxie politely because Liu Wuxie had saved Chen An multiple times, but he remained guarded, wary that Liu Wuxie could be a spy sent by the Azure Bamboo Gang. Such caution was only human nature, just as Ye Guhai had once suspected Liu Wuxie's identity.

After all, Liu Wuxie's background was completely unknown, so suspicion was inevitable.

"Give me a reason," Chen Ping said. Naturally, he refused to agree so easily, because once everyone entered the Peace and Stability Merchant Association, the enemy could trap them there until they died.

"No reason," Liu Wuxie replied with a nod. As an outsider, he couldn't offer a convincing reason.

The attacks outside grew increasingly ferocious, and the enemy had already driven Chen An's group backward.

The gate shattered into pieces as the Azure Viper Lord entered with a serpentine-shaped sword, sweeping it out and sending several guards flying. The moment the attacks struck the guards, poison invaded their bodies, leaving them trembling uncontrollably.

When Chen Ping saw the sincerity in Liu Wuxie's eyes, his heart trembled. Another person's image began overlapping with the young man's before him. That familiar figure smiled at him as though telling him to agree.

Chen Ping shook his head hard, and the familiar figure vanished, leaving only Liu Wuxie before him.

"Alright, I believe you!" Chen Ping said through gritted teeth before ordering everyone to retreat into the Peace and Stability Merchant Association.