At this moment, outside the apothecary, the wind continued to howl fiercely, emitting sharp sounds with a sense of horror. The entire earth city's atmosphere became more solemn and chilling amid the arrogant presence of thousands of members of the Wind Guard Race.
"That thief is probably kneeling in front of the ancestor and begging for mercy!"
"Humph, if begging for mercy worked, then the world would be completely peaceful."
"That thief stole our race's holy item. According to the ancestor's habit, this person will be skinned, made into a wind lantern, and his soul will be continuously burned within."
The members of the Wind Guard Race all sneered, especially the few white-robed men who had fought with Xu Qing. At that moment, all of them were filled with excitement and anticipation.
"The more arrogant that little thief was back then, the more miserable he will be today!"
"He snatched our holy item and escaped our pursuit. This person does have some ability but it's useless. In the face of absolute strength, he's destined to taste bitterness."
"If the ancestor uses him to make a lantern, I'll borrow it and display it in my cave abode for a while."
"There's also that parrot and the evil spirit!"
These few white-robed people who had fought with Xu Qing back then gathered together and chuckled as they discussed. Their eyes revealed anticipation as they occasionally looked at the apothecary.
Although it had been a long time since the ancestor entered, they weren't concerned at all. Even the four Spirit Repository elders thought so.
They looked at the apothecary that had its door closed and didn't sense any fluctuations from inside. This was normal. With the ancestor's cultivation, after he walked in, the people he saw wouldn't have the ability to fight back at all.
"I'm afraid that with just a glance, the hearts of the people inside have collapsed."
"I heard that the ancestor used to travel outside when he was young, and he liked to turn his opponents into little toys. I guess he has come up with new ideas inside."
"Interesting."
As the four Spirit Repository cultivators chatted and laughed with each other, the cultivators from other forces outside the earth city who were paying attention to this place also sighed with emotion. They knew that the Wind Guard Race's move this time was probably not as simple as destroying an apothecary.
"This earth city will become a death prison."
"In fact, according to the habits of this race, there might even be a wind that doesn't dissipate all year round here to tell the world how powerful and terrifying they are."
"However, don't you think that the time that the ancestor of the Wind Guard Race entered… is a little too long?"
Time slowly passed as the cultivators outside the earth city discussed in low voices and the Wind Guard Race in the earth city waited. Two hours later.
At this moment, some people already felt that something was amiss. Regardless of whether it was outside or inside the earth city, the number of times the cultivators here looked at the apothecary was increasing.
Even the four Spirit Repository cultivators from the Wind Guard felt that too much time had passed. They looked at each other and were about to approach when the door of the apothecary creaked and opened from the inside.
The instant it was opened, countless gazes instantly gathered over. These gazes were filled with anticipation, excitement, and concern. However, at the next instant, everyone's gazes froze.
In the entrance of the apothecary, the Wind Guard Race's ancestor had a respectful expression as he slowly retreated. As he retreated, he spoke.
"Sorry to disturb your rest."
"I was insensible and caused you trouble."
The ancestor nodded and bowed with unprecedented respect. After he crossed the door, he even cupped his fists and bowed to the apothecary.
"I'll get someone to send the remaining holy items over immediately. They're a set and aren't suitable to be separated. It's even more unsafe to leave them with me."
"If anyone has anything to do in the future, just pinch that jade pendant. No matter what I'm doing, I'll rush over immediately."
"I've really disturbed you this time."
"I'm very sorry!"
The ancestor's body trembled and he bowed again. After that, the door of the apothecary closed loudly.
The cold wind blew from all directions, landing on earth city and the streets. The surroundings were silent…
The members of the Wind Guard Race were all stunned and at a loss. As for the cultivators outside the city, their minds were also blank. They saw the politeness of the ancestor and the wind sent his words out for everyone to hear.
At that moment, everyone had the same feeling—that it was unreal. The words and actions of the old ancestor were beyond the expectations of all present. In their understanding, such an occurrence was considered impossible.
However, it happened.
In the cold wind, the ancestor, who was standing outside the apothecary, felt that his body was still trembling. The coldness that filled his entire body fused with his previous palpitations, transforming into intense lingering fear.
He felt his body growing cold. Since reaching a certain level of cultivation, he had not experienced this kind of mundane chill for a long time. But now, the sensation was exceptionally intense.
He didn't dare to think too much about it, let alone stay. When he turned around slowly, the four Spirit Repository cultivators among his clansmen also looked at him in surprise.
"Ancestor…"
"Ancestor, what happened?"
The ancestor shook his head. His eyes were filled with uncontrollable fear as he spoke in a low voice.
"Don't ask, don't mention it. Let's leave quickly!"
The hearts of the four Spirit Repository cultivators trembled. They surrounded the ancestor and quickly left. Before they left this earth city, the white-robed man who had come into contact with Xu Qing was now endlessly confused and couldn't help but ask.
"Ancestor, that thief…"
Before he could finish speaking, the ancestor suddenly turned his head and waved his hand. With a boom, the white-robed man spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying far away. He landed on the ground and fainted.
"That's a Master. Let's see who dares to shout!"
The ancestor said angrily.
The surrounding clansmen of the Wind Guard Race all trembled. Amidst their bewilderment, the ancestor soared into the air and left. Very soon, thousands of figures from their race hurriedly left earth city and fused into the wind, rapidly returning.
This scene caused the various forces outside the city that were paying attention to this matter to unwillingly gasp. Shocking waves rose in their hearts and they couldn't help but look at the small apothecary again.
"What's going on!!"
"Did I see wrongly or am I hallucinating? Why do I feel that the Wind Guard Ancestor's body was trembling when he came out…"
"What did he experience? How come this ancestor of the Wind Guard Race, who entered with pride, emerged in such a state?"
"This apothecary… isn't right!!"
Gasps rang out outside the earth city. Countless looks were filled with fear as they retracted their gazes from the apothecary, not daring to look anymore.
What happened today made all of them feel incredulous.
The mystery brought about by this disbelief transformed into intense horror. Their curiosity about this apothecary also reached an extreme.
"What exactly… happened inside?"
Everyone was trembling in fear and didn't dare to stay any longer. They quickly left.
At that moment, everything in the apothecary was normal.
However, there were now more than ten storage bags. Ling'er was excitedly checking them. The others also surrounded her and checked curiously.
Nether Fairy mocked and continued to boil water.
Ning Yan sighed and wiped the places on the ground that had been stepped on again. He had been doing tidying work these few days and was already a clean freak. Whenever he saw a dirty spot, he felt uneasy and had to immediately grab a cloth to clean it for a sense of relief.
The heir chuckled and played with the two beads in his hand.
One of them was still Master Black Pupil, and the second one also had a face inside. It was none other than the Wind Guard Ancestor.
However, it was only a wisp of life soul.
Xu Qing hadn't appeared from the start to the end. He had been recuperating in the back room.
Chen Fanzhuo was extremely courteous at this moment. He carefully greeted everyone before leaving. However, before he left, Ling'er took out some treasures from those storage bags and gave them to Chen Fanzhuo.
Chen Fanzhuo was moved and thanked her repeatedly.
Just like that, time flowed by. The storage bags that Wind Guard Race Ancestor had given them in order to express his apology contained many good things. Regardless of whether it was spirit stones, medicinal pills, or magic artifacts, they were all extraordinary.
After they were distributed to everyone, the heir walked into the back room where Xu Qing was meditating.
Xu Qing lifted his head and hurriedly stood up to greet him.
The heir waved his hand and took out a pill bottle, tossing it to Xu Qing.
"These are the soul pills given by the little kid who just arrived. There are a total of ten of them. After you eat one, your injuries will not need so long to recover."
"The remaining nine pills are also very suitable for your recuperation."
Xu Qing silently took it. After opening it, he took a look. With his alchemy attainments, he immediately could tell that this pill wasn't ordinary. The medicinal effect was specially targeted at soul injuries.
This type of medicinal pill was extremely valuable and rarely seen.
Xu Qing didn't hesitate. He took out a pill and placed it in his mouth. As the medicinal pill melted, a heat wave directly erupted in his mouth. It didn't spread throughout his body but headed straight for his sea of consciousness.
At the next instant, his sea of consciousness rumbled as though a volcano had erupted and touched his soul. Waves of heat filled the air and his soul rapidly became clear. A moment later, not only did his injuries heal, but his soul also strengthened.
Xu Qing's expression changed. When he opened his eyes, the heir calmly spoke.
"Since you've recovered, the tempering shall continue."
"Xu Qing, the abilities in your body are chaotic. You haven't discovered and understood each of them at a deeper level at all. If you can achieve a deep comprehension of them, your combat strength will advance by leaps and bounds!"
The prince's gaze was deep as he spoke in a low voice.
"If we go with a step-by-step method, your growth will be too slow, so you have to force yourself to the extreme. Only between life and death will you know how much potential you have."
"This time, I won't bring you to the Red Moon Shrine. I'll give you ten days to fuse your Golden Crow Nascent Soul into this bead and fight with the little fellow inside."
As the heir spoke, he handed the bead that sealed Master Black Pupil to Xu Qing.
"You can only use the Golden Crow Nascent Soul, dig out its potential in life and death!"
"You have nine chances of death. After getting injured, you can use those soul pills, but only nine times."
"I promised the little fellow inside that I'll allow him to devour your Golden Crow Nascent Soul from the tenth time. Once he succeeds, I'll let him go."
"Therefore, you either comprehend the potential in your Golden Crow Nascent Soul and mold your trump card, or… you'll lose the Golden Crow Nascent Soul forever."
"Everything will depend on you."
The heir's gaze was deep. After saying that, he turned and left.
Xu Qing sat there silently and held the bead in his hand. His eyes gleamed. After a long time, he suddenly spoke.
"Golden Crow."
In an instant, a black light flashed above his head and the Golden Crow rushed out. As flames flowed, they emitted a holy feeling. Under Xu Qing's will, the Golden Crow's eyes revealed intelligence as it headed straight for the bead.
