Breaking through the illusion of the mortal world

Chapter 142: Alchemy Refinement at the Dark Fragrance Pavilion's Pill Pavilion; The Academy

The assassin from the Dark Fragrance Pavilion who kidnapped Lu Ming was named Thousand Illusion Gentleman. Thousand Illusion Gentleman carried the unconscious Lu Ming through the clouds and mist, his figure as elusive as a ghost.

As a top-tier assassin from the Dark Fragrance Pavilion, he was a master of disguise, able to perfectly mimic even the fluctuations of cultivation levels. This time, he impersonated Li Jingyun by taking full advantage of the trust of the people in the Dao Academy, which allowed him to succeed easily.

The Thousand Illusions Gentleman glanced down at the silent Lu Ming in his arms, his eyes filled with greed:

"This child not only possesses two spiritual treasures, but also countless top-grade spirit stones and pills."

"Killing him will not only yield another 1,500 top-grade spirit stones, but once the essence of his flesh and blood is extracted and refined into a pill with rare and precious herbs, consuming it will be enough to raise one's cultivation level to the next level!"

"Thank goodness, I got to snag such a great deal!"

Passing through layers of clouds and crossing several large formations, a pavilion suspended high in the sky gradually revealed its outline.

Hidden deep in the clouds, the Dark Fragrance Pavilion is elusive and surrounded by three layers of formations.

The outer layer is the Thousand Illusions Array, which can confuse perception; the middle layer is the Great Dream Devouring Heart Array, which leads people to fall into depravity; and the core is the Chaos Concealing Origin Array, which conceals the secrets of heaven. The three arrays intertwine, making this assassin's tower the most secretive existence in the Central Continent.

The building appears to be only three stories high, but it actually contains a vast, boundless space, like a small world within itself.

Qianhuan Langjun took out a purple token and pressed it into the groove of the door.

The heavy doors slowly opened, revealing countless buildings within, each forming its own world. The Thousand-Faced Gentleman led Lu Ming straight to the Pill Pavilion.

The aroma of medicinal herbs filled the air inside the Dan Pavilion. An elderly man dressed in a crimson-gold robe was busy around a purple-gold cauldron that was about ten feet tall. The flames inside the cauldron were a deep blue color. This was none other than Dan Chenzi, the master of the Dan Pavilion of Anxiang Tower and a master of alchemy.

"Sect Master, I have brought you an incredible opportunity." Qianhuan Langjun threw Lu Ming directly to the ground.

Dan Chenzi raised his eyes, his turbid gaze falling on Lu Ming. He scanned him with his divine sense and his face lit up with surprise, almost dropping the medicine gourd in his hand.

"This...this is a body perfected at the Great Perfection of Body Tempering! It contains such a vast source of life essence, and the cultivation level is so low—it's practically a top-tier natural medicinal ingredient!"

"Exactly," Qianhuan Langjun laughed. "This boy's physical body is comparable to divine metal, and his divine blood nourishes his internal organs. By refining his flesh and blood essence and supplementing it with the rare and precious materials treasured in the pavilion, we can refine it into a pill. If you and I share it, Pavilion Master, we will surely be able to break through our current bottleneck and reach a higher level!"

Chi Yangzi, breathing rapidly, circled Lu Ming twice, his withered fingers tracing lines in the air, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism: "Excellent! Absolutely excellent! Such a precious body is a once-in-a-millennium find! The benefits of refining it are immeasurable!"

He raised his hand and waved, sending several runes flying out, landing on Lu Ming's limbs and bones to reinforce the restraints: "Throw him into the alchemy furnace, first temper him with Yin Fire to force out impurities from his flesh and blood, then add rare and precious materials three days later, and officially begin the refining!"

Lu Ming was unable to speak at this moment, and could only stare at them with anger that seemed to be spitting out of his eyes.

Qianhuan Langjun stepped forward, picked up Lu Ming, and said smugly, "It's not that I don't want to give you a quick death, but if you die early, your body will lose its spirit."

"Remember in your next life not to mess with people you can't afford to offend."

Lu Ming was like a lamb to the slaughter, thrown into that purple-gold alchemy furnace.

The furnace lid slammed down, and the runes on it instantly lit up, sealing the furnace tightly, leaving only a gap through which a faint blue flame and a delicate medicinal fragrance could be seen.

Lu Ming struggled desperately inside the furnace, but under the layers of suppression, it was extremely difficult.

Meanwhile, in Li Jingyun's residence in the Fuyou Holy Land, Li Jingyun was sitting and drinking with a cultivator.

The cultivator was dressed in a blue Taoist robe, with a tall and upright figure, handsome face, and an aura of dignified immortality between his brows. He was none other than Xia Linxian, the chief disciple of the Taoist Academy, who was known as one of the two prodigies of the academy along with Li Jingyun.

Considering the complex situation in Zhongzhou, the Taoist Academy dispatched Xia Linxian to oversee the overall situation and discuss the follow-up plans for the trip to Zhongzhou.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted.

"Is Senior Brother Li there?" Chu Tianyi knocked anxiously on the door.

"Fast forward," Li Jingyun replied.

The eight disciples of the Daoist academy and Cheng Hao all entered, their faces filled with anxiety. Su Qingyuan spoke rapidly: "Senior Brother Li! Something terrible has happened! Junior Brother Lu has been kidnapped by the people from Anxiang Tower! That person disguised himself as you and tricked us all into leaving."

Only then did everyone notice Xia Linxian sitting next to them. Although he was sitting there, they could not sense his presence by using their senses alone.

Upon seeing Xia Linxian, everyone bowed and greeted him, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother."

Li Jingyun's wine glass suddenly stopped. He was usually gentle and composed, but now he was burning with anger.

"How dare they impersonate me and attack my fellow disciples! They have absolutely no respect for me!"

Li Jingyun led the Dao Academy to Zhongzhou, but they were attacked several times in just a few days. It was clear that they didn't take him or the Dao Academy seriously, so how could he not be angry?

"Tell me slowly, what exactly happened?" Xia Linxian's voice was slightly deep, gesturing for everyone to explain in detail.

Chu Tianyi looked guilty and recounted the whole ordeal at Lingyun Tower in Fulong City: "We thought it was you who personally invited us to drink, but we never expected it was Anxiang Tower in disguise. He drugged the drinks, and we were all affected. When we woke up, Junior Brother Lu was gone, and the Anxiang Tower logo was still on the table..."

Chenghao stepped forward, his tone grave: "I was negligent in this matter. I failed to notice the clues in time and failed to protect Junior Brother Lu. I am willing to go with everyone to the rescue."

As Li Jingyun listened, his fist slowly clenched: "Does Anxiang Tower really think my Daoist Academy is so easily bullied!"

Xia Linxian remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the disciples of the Dao Academy. The invisible pressure emanating from him made the atmosphere in the hall increasingly heavy.

Xia Linxian said sternly, "You have made a serious mistake in this matter."

Xia Linxian's gaze fell on the eight people from the Dao Academy, her tone merciless: "As elite disciples of the Dao Academy, each of you has cultivated for at least several hundred years. You should be meticulous, yet you easily fell into the enemy's trap, causing your fellow disciples to be in danger. This is arrogance and underestimation of the enemy, and even more so, irresponsibility towards your own cultivation and the reputation of your sect!"

All the disciples of the Taoist temple lowered their heads, and no one dared to refute them.

Xia Linxian's words were all reasonable, and they were indeed to blame for this incident.

"The most important thing right now is to rescue Lu Ming. Once this matter is settled, everyone can go back and reflect on their actions," Xia Linxian criticized.

At this moment, the elders of the Fuyou Holy Land, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, stepped forward and said, "Junior Nephew Xia, Junior Nephew Li, the Dark Fragrance Pavilion is treacherous and cunning, and its whereabouts are hard to find. The Fuyou Holy Land is willing to assist you in tracking down Young Friend Lu."

Xia Linxian nodded slightly and politely declined, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Elder, but this matter concerns the reputation of the Dao Academy and must be resolved by ourselves."

He looked up at the sky outside the window, his aura suddenly surging, and said, word by word, "Today I declare here and now, within the Central Continent, anyone who dares to harm even one member of the Dao Academy is an enemy of the entire Dao Academy! The Dark Fragrance Pavilion kidnapped my junior brother; I will raze that pavilion to the ground and make them pay the price!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful aura of immortality soared into the sky, causing the clouds to churn. Everyone present felt this domineering aura that looked down upon the world.

Then, Xia Linxian took out a bronze compass. The surface of the compass was engraved with the Ziwei star map and the hexagrams of the Plum Blossom Divination. Seven dazzling star stones were inlaid on the edge. It was the Heavenly Mystery Compass, one of the Ten Great Spiritual Treasures of the Nine Provinces.

"This compass can deduce the secrets of heaven. Even if the Dark Fragrance Pavilion obscures these secrets, I can forcibly break through them!" Xia Linxian held the compass, his fingers forming hand seals as he chanted, "The Purple Star determines the stars, the Plum Blossom Divination unfolds, with my Daoist will, the secrets of heaven reveal themselves!"

As the incantation was recited, the star stones on the Heavenly Compass lit up one by one, and the Ziwei Star Chart began to rotate rapidly, emitting a soft glow and spreading towards the heavens and earth.

However, just as the power of deduction was about to reach the location of the Dark Fragrance Pavilion, an invisible force suddenly surged out and collided with the power of deduction of the Heavenly Mystery Compass!

That was the Heavenly Secret Concealing Power emitted by the Chaos Concealing Yuan Array of the Dark Fragrance Pavilion, like a black cloth, completely covering the traces of the Dark Fragrance Pavilion, and even trying to erode the deductive power of the Heavenly Secret Compass!

"Hmm?" Xia Linxian frowned slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "They actually have such powerful methods of concealing heavenly secrets. No wonder Anxiang Tower is so arrogant and has been able to hide for so many years."

His spiritual power surged, continuously pouring into the Heavenly Mystery Compass. The light on the compass grew ever brighter, and the Ziwei Star Chart rotated even faster. The power of deduction was like a surging river, repeatedly impacting the invisible shielding force!

In the void, two invisible forces are fiercely clashing.

Xia Linxian's power of deduction carried the rhythm of the workings of heavenly secrets, while Anxianglou's power of concealment attempted to distort those secrets.

At times, the power of deduction, like a sharp sword, tears open a crack, revealing glimpses of the outlines of pavilions in the clouds.

At times, the concealing force surged back like a tide, sealing the gaps again, even causing the Heavenly Compass to tremble slightly.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Xia Linxian's forehead as he focused his mind intently, constantly adjusting the hexagrams and drawing upon even stronger celestial power.

Xia Linxian took out a white crystal, which emitted a faint fairy light.

In an instant, Xia Linxian was surrounded by immortal energy, like a celestial being descending to earth, and began a profound battle with the invisible force that obscured the secrets of heaven.

In the distance, at the Dark Fragrance Pavilion, the cultivator responsible for operating the grand formation and concealing the secrets of heaven was already drenched in sweat, constantly casting spells to stabilize the formation's operation.

"Such domineering deductive power! It actually makes the Chaos Hidden Origin Array operate with such difficulty!" The cultivators of Dark Fragrance Pavilion who were stabilizing the array were secretly shocked.

"You mere heretics dare to obscure the secrets of heaven!" Xia Linxian shouted, his fingertip striking the center of the compass. "Break!"

The Heavenly Compass suddenly burst forth with a hundred-foot-long beam of light, the Purple Star Chart froze, and the Plum Blossom Hexagram revealed the Tai Hexagram with Kun above Qian below. A pillar of light, condensed with profound deductive power, shot into the sky, piercing the heavens like a sharp sword, and slashed fiercely at that invisible shielding force!

"Snap!"

A cracking sound, seemingly coming from the depths of the void, rang out, and a huge hole was forcibly torn open in the Heavenly Secrets Concealment Power of the Dark Fragrance Pavilion!

"Pfft! Oh no!" The cultivator maintaining the formation at Anxiang Tower spat out a mouthful of blood and cried out in alarm.

The star map on the celestial compass instantly became clear, and a point of light flashed in the center of the compass, which was the location of the Dark Fragrance Pavilion!

"Found it!" Xia Linxian's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "The Dark Fragrance Pavilion is hidden deep within the sea of ​​clouds in the southern part of Central Continent, suspended high above the clouds!"

Li Jingyun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Senior brother, let's set off immediately!"

Xia Linxian put away the Heavenly Compass and glanced at everyone: "Jingyun, you lead the eight from the Dao Academy and Junior Brother Chenghao with me to the Sea of ​​Clouds to rescue Lu Ming!"

"This operation will be swift and decisive, razing the Dark Fragrance Pavilion to the ground, letting the Central Continent know the academy's might, and completely extinguishing their sinister intentions!"

"Yes!" the crowd responded in unison, their eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"Senior Brother Xia, as a disciple of the Dao Academy, I should go along as well." At this moment, Xia Yufei had already pushed open the door and entered.

"Alright, let's go!"

Eleven figures transformed into streaks of light, rushing out of the Fuyou Holy Land and speeding towards the sea of ​​clouds in the southern part of the Central Continent.

Above the clouds, in the Dark Fragrance Pavilion, Dan Chenzi was still dreaming of refining Lu Mingbao's body!

Upon learning that the Heavenly Secrets Array had been broken, the owner of the Dark Fragrance Pavilion was on high alert and had already begun making preparations.