Starting as The Young Master of A Pharmacy, He Trained Swordsmanship in Seclusion For Twenty Years - Chapter 34

After the Second and Third Chiefs left, the stronghold’s main hall fell into dead silence.

The elderly man—frail and withered at first glance—slowly shifted in his seat. With great effort, he rose to his feet, his aged eyes gleaming with an eerie white light. His cracked lips parted slightly as he muttered under his breath:

“Soon… Soon… Just one last step… The name Fang Sheng will once again shake the world.”

He had waited far too long for this day—from the Tianqi Era all the way to the current Tianwu Era, the reign of the Great Xia Emperor.

Fang Sheng had lived since the Tianqi period, once ruling as the chief of the Black Wind Stronghold, a bandit faction entrenched along the trade routes between Lanshan County and several neighboring regions.

Back then, after obtaining that thing, he had quickly drawn the attention of the Great Xia’s most feared organization—the Blackfeather Guards, the empire’s most formidable force.

Had Lu Xuan been present, he might have recognized the old man and the Black Wind Stronghold from the Lanshan County records he had studied earlier.

Suddenly, Fang Sheng’s eyes darkened with murderous intent as he recalled a past betrayal.

“The Lanshan County Magistrate!”

“After all the filthy deeds I carried out for those damned officials… they still sold me out!”

Those corrupt bureaucrats had pinned countless atrocities on him—massacres, crimes he never committed—just to save their own skins.

If not for the spies he had planted in the city, he would have been blindsided by their treachery.

“Heh heh heh…”

A sinister chuckle escaped his lips as he remembered something else.

Who would have thought… this world harbored such abominations—things that could not be killed?

The Blackfeather Guards likely existed to exterminate those very horrors.

Fortunately, before his downfall, he had made contact with the White Lotus Purification Sect.

But a traitor within the stronghold had leaked this to the Lanshan County Magistrate, giving those damned officials the perfect excuse to sic the Blackfeather Guards on him.

The White Lotus Purification Sect—the number one forbidden cult in the Great Xia Empire, an organization the imperial court would annihilate at any cost.

Wherever the White Lotus appeared, the Blackfeather Guards would follow, eradicating all traces of the sect without mercy.

Fang Sheng pulled aside his robe, revealing his chest—or rather, what remained of it.

A gaping void marred the upper half of his torso, his organs exposed to the air.

Yet, nestled within that grotesque cavity was a radiant white lotus, its petals shimmering with an ethereal glow.

At its core pulsed a lump of flesh—a living embryo, as if nurturing something unspeakable.

The Sacred Seed of the White Lotus Purification!

This was why the Blackfeather Guards hunted him relentlessly.

Fang Sheng stared at the parasitic flower, his eyes alight with fanatical obsession.

“I can only pray the White Lotus Sect spoke the truth…”

Once the Sacred Seed fully matured, he would devour and refine it, healing his grievous wounds—and perhaps even ascending to that legendary realm.

The Inner Qi Realm!

A stage beyond the Blood-Refining Realm, the lifelong aspiration of countless martial artists.

…..

Early Morning, Lu Family Hall

Liang Cheng arrived at the Lu Estate in a hurry, his expression tense.

He had come the previous day as well, only to find Lu Xuan absent. Clearly, this matter concerned him directly.

The moment a tall figure appeared at the hall’s entrance, Liang Cheng sprang to his feet.

“Cousin!”

Gone was his usual carefree demeanor—today, he was dead serious.

“Mn.”

Lu Xuan acknowledged him with a nod before taking the seat of honor.

With only the two of them present, Liang Cheng cut straight to the point.

“Brother Xuan… Zhang Heng is dead.”

“And before he died, he killed five people—all from the Huang Family. One of them was the County Deputy’s nephew.”*

He studied Lu Xuan’s reaction, but his cousin remained as composed as ever.

“I see.”

Lu Xuan understood Liang Cheng’s intent—this was a warning.

“Don’t worry, Brother Xuan. I’ve made sure Zhang Heng’s actions won’t implicate us.”

“Yesterday, the Chief Constable reported the case to the Magistrate, and it’s already been closed.”

With numerous eyewitnesses present during Zhang Heng’s rampage, the Magistrate had swiftly ruled it an open-and-shut case.

Lu Xuan sipped his tea, observing Liang Cheng’s fidgeting.

“You came all this way… just for this?”

“Since when do you hold back with me? Out with it.”

Liang Cheng scratched his head, flashing an awkward grin before launching into exaggerated praise:

“Hahaha! As expected of my brilliant, peerlessly handsome, unparalleled—”

“Enough.” Lu Xuan cut him off with a raised hand. “Spit it out.”

Liang Cheng’s grin faded into a sheepish expression.

“Well… My martial progress has stalled at the Minor Achievement Stage of the Flesh-Forging Realm. I was hoping… you could give me some pointers?”

Lu Xuan couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You? Actually wanting to train seriously? Now that’s a first.”

“Weren’t you the one who said you’d rather spend your time ‘enjoying the fairies’ at the Fragrant Pavilion than waste effort on cultivation?”