Chapter Seventeen: The Aura of the Celestial Realm

Their eyes met, and Mu Feng felt a twinge of awkwardness. After all, spying on others was wrong. Without hesitation, he leapt out of the window, landing before the two.

Seeing Mu Feng jump down holding a longsword, the young woman immediately grew alert, her brows furrowing. She positioned herself protectively in front of the elder, a surge of spiritual energy emanating from her, her expression extremely cautious.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing much, I just happened to see you two injured and wanted to check on you,” Mu Feng replied, sheathing his sword to show he meant no harm.

After all, the elder’s injuries were likely due to his awakening of the Seven Absolute Corpse. If Mu Feng could help, he would. If not, there was nothing he could do.

“No need,” the young woman said coldly, turning to leave with the elder.

But as they moved, a series of coughs erupted. Dark, foul-smelling blood sprayed from the elder’s mouth. His complexion was deathly pale; standing upright was a struggle, let alone moving.

“What... what’s going on?” The young woman panicked, her face filled with urgency. She quickly took out a pill, intending to administer it to the elder.

At that moment, the ethereal girl spoke up: “Stop her.”

“Why? She doesn’t want my help anyway.”

“That pill is the Fire Yang Pill. While it suppresses corpse toxin temporarily, it causes a severe rebound. If he takes it, he’s as good as dead.”

That serious? Mu Feng's brow twitched as he stepped forward, knocking the pill from the young woman’s hand.

“What are you doing?”

Before she could scold him, she frantically searched for the fallen Fire Yang Pill. It was her last one; without it, her master would truly not survive.

“This Fire Yang Pill only suppresses the corpse toxin briefly but worsens the rebound. If he takes it, the elder will surely die.”

“You ignorant country bumpkin! This is a top-tier pill crafted by Master Gu Xuan! Get lost!” The young woman pushed Mu Feng aside, desperately searching.

Suddenly, the elder coughed and asked, “How did you know I was poisoned by corpse toxin?”

Mu Feng froze, unsure how to answer. He couldn’t reveal that the Seven Absolute Corpse was awakened because of him. These two were obviously well-connected; if they knew this, the consequences would be dire.

“Uh... my master told me. He knows a bit about medicine,” Mu Feng stammered.

“Who’s your master?” the ethereal girl snapped indignantly.

The elder’s eyes showed disbelief. To identify corpse toxin by sight alone was no small feat. Regardless of who this ‘master’ was, such perception was extraordinary.

“Since you can tell, is there a cure?”

His tone had shifted, showing respect.

“There is, but it requires crafting the Mysterious Yin Pill to counteract the toxin.”

Mysterious Yin Pill.

The elder sighed helplessly.

“Although not a top-grade pill, its main ingredient—the Mysterious Yin Herb—is extremely rare. Looks like my time is running out.”

“No, Master, you will be fine! That boy is lying!” the young woman cried, her voice breaking.

“Get lost! If you keep talking nonsense here, I’ll kill you!” she shouted at Mu Feng.

Clearly, the elder meant everything to her.

Mu Feng silently produced a faintly glowing herb from his pocket.

“I have the Mysterious Yin Herb, but I’ve never crafted the pill before. Why don’t you come to my alchemy hall to rest while I try to make it?”

Both froze upon seeing the herb. The young woman immediately reached out.

“Give me the herb. Name your price!”

“Shui Wu! Don’t be rude!” The elder frowned, displeased by her urgency.

But she remained relentless.

“Master, if you give this herb to Master Gu Xuan, you can be saved! This boy has never made the Mysterious Yin Pill; we can’t wait for him!”

“Even if he has the herb, nobody knows if he can make the pill!”

Though not an alchemist, she understood the difficulty. Crafting an unfamiliar pill often took many failures—even Master Gu Xuan, famed as the Snow Moon’s top alchemist, wouldn’t succeed on the first try. For someone as young as Mu Feng, it was even less likely.

“Shui Wu, don’t be willful,” the elder said sternly, then approached Mu Feng.

“Young friend, according to your estimate, how long can this old shell last?”

Mu Feng stroked his chin, repeating the ethereal girl’s words carefully.

“At most half a day. Because of taking the Fire Yang Pill, the corpse toxin has worsened. Forget finding Master Gu or even leaving Yellow Sand Town.”

“If you trust me, listen: I may not have made the Mysterious Yin Pill before, but it’s not a top-grade pill. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Not too difficult?

The elder found it hard to believe such a person existed in this remote place. Either this man was foolish beyond measure or truly confident.

“In that case, thank you, young friend. Please hurry... cough cough...” The elder’s words were cut off by violent coughing.

“Don’t speak, come inside quickly.” Mu Feng rolled up his sleeves and led them into the alchemy hall. After settling the elder, he rushed toward the refining chamber.

The young woman watched him suspiciously. She suspected her master’s attack by the Seven Absolute Corpse was connected to this boy.

“Master, how are you?” she asked anxiously as the elder weakened further, helpless.

“I won’t die just yet, ha ha,” he said with a faint smile.

“Don’t despair. Life and death are fate. If I die here today, then so be it.”

“I have a bad feeling about this boy. If he can’t save you, I’ll burn Yellow Sand Town to the ground tomorrow!” The girl spoke fiercely but was lightly tapped on the forehead by the elder.

“Don’t be arrogant or impatient, and stop blaming others. Even if I die today, you should thank him properly.”

“Cough cough cough...” The elder’s coughing worsened, black blood spewing copiously, chilling the air.

“Master!”

“You will be fine. You must be!” she cried.

At that moment, a figure slowly descended from upstairs, carrying a small cloth bag.

“Young friend, how’s it going?”

“I’ve finished. One pill a day, within seven days, the corpse toxin will be completely gone!” Mu Feng said cheerfully, tossing the bag.

The young woman caught it and opened it. The radiant glow of the pills reflected on her delicate features, rivaling even Xiao Yutong in beauty.

“The pill radiates brilliance and fragrance—this is the flawless pill Master Gu Xuan mentioned!”

Excited, she gave one to the elder. As he ingested it, a faint glow surrounded him, his pallid face quickly flushing with color.

His aura strengthened rapidly, the terrifying spiritual energy vibrating around them, leaving Mu Feng astonished.

“So this is a heaven-and-earth realm warrior? Truly formidable!”

Meanwhile, countless shadows approached the Mu family’s alchemy hall from afar. Their leader was filled with doubt and fear.

“The Grand Elder has been out for hours with no word. Could something have happened at the Mu family’s hall?”

“Impossible. The Grand Elder has reached the Yellow-Black realm. Not just Yellow Sand Town, even Yuanzhou City has few rivals. Nothing would happen to him!”

As they neared the hall, a tremendous aura surged forth. The unprecedented oppressive force struck fear into the assassins from the Xiao family.

“This... this is the aura of a heaven-and-earth realm warrior!”

“Quick! Return and notify the family head!”