Chapter 362 – The Bai Siblings’ Crisis, Su Xing Takes Action!
by spirapiraChapter 362 – The Bai Siblings’ Crisis, Su Xing Takes Action!
In the outskirts of White Cloud City, within a dilapidated courtyard.
Su Xing sat cross-legged beneath an ancient tree, breathing rhythmically.
The sky above was dotted with stars. Su Xing circulated the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, and wisps of the power of the stars surged in from the horizon, merging into his body.
Su Xing closed his eyes and rested, feeling the power of the stars strengthening his physical body. The injuries within seemed to have recovered somewhat more.
“Hoo… the power of the stars truly is marvelous!”
“Though I don’t have top-tier pills or immortal medicines to aid my recovery, with the power of the stars, my physical body will gradually return to its peak state.”
Su Xing pondered for a moment.
His current Body Tempering cultivation had already recovered to roughly the Tribulation Crossing stage.
If he spared no cost and used his trump cards, he could unleash the combat power of an immortal…
“With my internal spiritual energy in disarray and my Qi Refinement cultivation destroyed, I can practically only rely on my Body Tempering cultivation now!”
“But fortunately, I do have some ability to protect myself.”
Su Xing nodded with satisfaction.
He felt somewhat fortunate that he was a dual cultivator of qi and body, and that his foundation was solid. Otherwise, his current situation would only be far more miserable.
“Before I knew it, it’s already been two years since I arrived in this White Cloud Realm…”
“Once my cultivation fully recovers, I can set out for the Celestial Secrets Realm!”
Su Xing rubbed the space between his brows.
Over these two years, though he had been unable to leave the house and could only recuperate at home all day, through the siblings Bai Xiaoxiao and Bai Yutang, he had come to understand some things about the White Cloud Realm.
The White Cloud Realm was merely a minor world—it couldn’t even be considered a lesser chiliocosm!
The greatest sect in this realm was the White Cloud Sect.
Legend had it that the White Cloud Sect once had an immortal appear…
Therefore, Su Xing estimated that Human Immortal or the Earthly Immortal realm was already the pinnacle of combat power in this world.
And the cultivators of the White Cloud Realm, just like Su Xing once was, knew only of the White Cloud Sect but had never heard of the Three Thousand Worlds, nor of the Celestial Secrets Realm or the Celestial Secrets Pavilion!
“Ordinary cultivators of this realm may be cut off from information… but the White Cloud Sect, as a sect with an immortal’s legacy, must surely know of the Three Thousand Worlds and the Celestial Secrets Pavilion!”
“If my sense of direction is correct, the White Cloud Realm should be an insignificant minor world within the Heavenly Secrets Domain.”
“Here, Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators are already the ancestors of small sects, and Mahayana and Tribulation Transcendence cultivators can sweep across the entire realm.”
After a pause, Su Xing shook his head slightly, his gaze turning toward the distant sky as he sighed inwardly:
“But regardless of how high or low one’s cultivation is, wherever there are cultivators, there is a world of conflict!”
“I’ve been recuperating for a full two years… it’s time to go out and stretch my legs!”
Su Xing stood up, leaving this courtyard for the first time in two years.
When Bai Xiaoxiao had left, the sky hadn’t yet darkened. Now, two hours had passed, night had fallen and the moon hung high, yet she still hadn’t returned.
The center of White Cloud City was only a few dozen li from this courtyard. At a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s speed, she could have made the round trip several times over by now.
That the siblings hadn’t returned meant something had happened.
“When it comes down to it, their wealth was exposed…”
Su Xing shook his head slightly. A single step carried him several dozen zhang forward. Though he had no spiritual energy, with this physical body alone, Su Xing’s speed was already formidable.
The Bai siblings were not rootless strangers in White Emperor City.
Ever since their ancestral property and medicinal herb shop had been seized by a White Cloud Sect elder, the two had been making a living by gathering herbs.
Though they didn’t earn much, they could occasionally save up one or two spirit stones to buy a few pills to assist their cultivation.
But after Su Xing’s arrival, all the herbs the siblings gathered were refined into pills to help Su Xing recover from his injuries.
As a result, the siblings’ cultivation had certainly fallen behind.
Therefore, Su Xing had also permitted Bai Xiaoxiao to occasionally sell some pills to earn spirit stones and ensure their continued cultivation.
This was all because Su Xing’s spirit field grotto-heaven was unusable—otherwise, why would any of this be necessary?
The wealth within the spirit field grotto-heaven was probably enough to buy the entire White Cloud Realm!
But for now, he could only have them sell some low-grade pills to sustain their cultivation.
Each time they sold no more than three to five pills, only of First or Second Rank, priced at merely a few dozen low-grade spirit stones.
Su Xing had originally thought such small quantities wouldn’t attract attention.
But things had not gone as he’d hoped…
This time, the siblings must have run into trouble.
Those who had their eyes on them might be old enemies.
Or perhaps the pill shop had grown greedy, knowing the siblings had no backing, and wanted to rob them.
As he mulled this over, Su Xing had already arrived at his destination, stopping before a medicinal herb shop. He murmured:
“There’s one last possibility—they know the siblings have an expert guiding them from behind the scenes… so they want to lure out the person behind them…”
“Which would be me…”
Su Xing walked slowly toward the herb shop. The moment he stepped inside, a shop attendant’s voice reached his ears:
“Oh, fellow cultivator… it’s getting late, our shop has already closed for the day!”
“Whatever pills you’re looking to buy or sell, please come back when we open tomorrow…”
Su Xing glanced at the attendant who had spoken and said flatly:
“Have you seen a pair of siblings? The sister is about eighteen or nineteen, the brother around eleven or twelve. They came here to sell pills.”
The attendant’s expression shifted subtly at these words, and he blurted out instinctively:
“What are you to them…”
The words had barely left his mouth before the attendant realized his slip.
That question alone confirmed that the siblings had been here.
Seeing the attendant’s reaction, Su Xing already had his answer. He said:
“I’m their elder… Seeing that it’s gotten this late and they still haven’t come home, I came to call them back for dinner.”
The attendant fell silent after hearing this, sizing Su Xing up for a moment before saying with some uncertainty:
“Those siblings did come here… but they left after selling their pills.”
“If you’ve lost a child from your household, please go to the authorities to file a report… Our shop is small, and I’m afraid we can’t accommodate you further.”
Su Xing stood in place after hearing this, casting a cool glance at him.
The attendant’s story didn’t hold up at all. The siblings had come one after the other, with a full two-hour gap between them.
There was no way they could have been targeted by other forces within the city. The ones who had done this could only be this very herb shop.
Seeing that Su Xing wouldn’t leave, the attendant stepped forward to push him out.
But Su Xing stood immovable as a mountain, and the attendant felt as though he had slammed into a great peak.
Su Xing hadn’t moved a muscle, yet the attendant had already fallen flat on his backside.
“Ow! He’s hitting people! This troublemaker is assaulting people because a deal fell through!”
The attendant sat on the ground, stumbling as he fell, yet reacted with remarkable speed, immediately shouting at the top of his lungs.
Within a few breaths, several armed guards emerged from the shop’s rear courtyard, surrounding Su Xing on all sides.
Su Xing frowned slightly at the sight and said:
“I came here only to pick someone up… I don’t want to fight.”
Seeing Su Xing back down, the attendant grew only more unreasonable, pushing his luck further:
“Hah, I told you to leave earlier and you wouldn’t… Now it’s too late to leave. Seize this cripple!”
The guards eyed the one-armed Su Xing with faint smirks, each drawing their weapons and slashing toward him.
But how could these mortal iron weapons harm Su Xing in the slightest?
These guards were nothing more than novices who had barely stepped onto the path of cultivation. Even if Su Xing stood still and let them attack, how could they possibly harm him?
After a flurry of blades and swords, every weapon lay broken, while Su Xing stood in the same spot without so much as a hair out of place.
Then, with a single glance, every guard collapsed to the ground.
Seeing the situation turn dire, the attendant scrambled to his feet and ran to the rear courtyard to call for help.
Su Xing didn’t stop him, simply waiting in place.
Moments later, the attendant came running back, followed by a middle-aged man dressed in fine brocade robes.
Su Xing saw through this man’s cultivation at a single glance—a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!
The man was also sizing up Su Xing. When he found that he couldn’t see through Su Xing’s depth, his expression eased somewhat as he asked:
“May I ask what brings you here, sir?”
Su Xing glanced at him and said:
“I’m here to pick up a pair of siblings. And who are you?”
The man’s expression stiffened at these words. He said:
“If you’re looking for someone, you should go to the authorities. This is a pill shop…”
“Please leave at once, and I can pretend nothing happened here.”
Hearing this, Su Xing glanced at the attendant, and in the man’s evasive eyes, Su Xing found his answer.
So Su Xing said:
“You’re welcome to keep the pills. They’re just a few low-grade pills… I’d happily give you ten more batches if you want.”
“All I ask is that those two siblings are safe and sound!”
After hearing Su Xing’s words, the middle-aged man fell silent.
Seeing this reaction, Su Xing instantly understood that the siblings hadn’t been taken because of the pills.
If not the pills, then it could only be old enemies…
At this thought, Su Xing’s expression darkened as well. He said:
“Leave others a way out. Grudges from the previous generation shouldn’t be visited upon the next…”
Before Su Xing could finish, the middle-aged man’s face also turned cold as he snapped:
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The people you’re looking for aren’t here. Leave immediately!”
Seeing the man so adamant, Su Xing was now certain he had indeed captured the siblings.
If Su Xing didn’t act now, the siblings’ safety would be uncertain…
So Su Xing stepped forward as well, his tone unyielding:
“And what if I refuse to leave?”
The middle-aged man sneered coldly. “A toast refused deserves a forfeit. Since that’s how it is, don’t blame me for being discourteous!”
With that, the middle-aged man unleashed a technique, sending a blazing torrent of scorching flames surging toward Su Xing.
But Su Xing merely took a single step forward, and the flames parted around him of their own accord.
An immortal’s body—impervious to water and fire!
Let alone fire-type techniques, even ordinary supernatural arts couldn’t harm Su Xing in the slightest!
His attack having failed, the middle-aged man’s expression shifted. He seemed to realize that Su Xing was not someone to be trifled with.
Yet before he could release his next technique, Su Xing took a single step forward and lifted the middle-aged man into the air with one hand.
Before the man could resist, Su Xing squeezed, crushing the bones in his arm to powder.
Searing pain instantly swept through the man’s entire body. Faced with Su Xing’s terrifyingly abyssal strength, he couldn’t resist at all.
In the span of a few breaths, Su Xing had systematically crushed the bones in both of the man’s arms and hands.
The middle-aged man promptly began begging for mercy:
“They’re… they’re all in the rear courtyard! They just finished drinking tea and fell asleep!”
“Great Immortal, please… please release me!”
The middle-aged man was drenched in sweat from the pain, nearly losing consciousness. He was certain that if this continued, he would literally die from the agony!
Hearing this, Su Xing didn’t let go. Instead, he carried the man like a dangling chick, heading toward the rear courtyard.
Before long, Su Xing found the siblings bound and tied in a woodshed.
Both were unconscious, but fortunately, their lives were not in danger.
After confirming the siblings’ safety, Su Xing turned his gaze back to the middle-aged man dangling from his hand and demanded:
“Who ordered you to go after these siblings?”
Hearing Su Xing’s question, the man hesitated briefly, but with his life still in Su Xing’s grasp, he quickly answered:
“It was… it was Elder Lu of the White Cloud Sect…”
“He arranged everything in advance, telling me to capture these two and eliminate the threat once and for all…”
Su Xing frowned slightly at this and asked further:
“If the goal was to eliminate the threat, why are they still alive?”
The man hurriedly replied:
“It’s… it’s because I thought… these two still had value. I wanted them to refine more pills before…”
Su Xing closed his eyes briefly. Now he understood the full picture.
Elder Lu of the White Cloud Sect was likely the enemy of Bai Xiaoxiao’s father.
He had ordered the owner of this herb shop to kill the Bai siblings.
But the shop owner had recognized that Bai Xiaoxiao could refine pills and saw value in her, wanting to squeeze every last bit of use from her before making his move…
And it was precisely this greed that had given the siblings the chance to keep their lives.
Having pieced the whole story together, Su Xing casually tossed the shop owner to the ground.
If not for this man’s greed, had it been anyone else, the Bai siblings would truly have lost their lives already.
Su Xing lifted the unconscious siblings and prepared to leave.
The middle-aged man, however, was so terrified that his soul had nearly fled his body. He knelt on the ground, repeating over and over:
“Spare me, Great Immortal, spare my life!”
“I… I didn’t want to kill innocents either…”
Su Xing paused for a moment, then said:
“Your life isn’t worth taking. I won’t kill you… If that Elder Lu comes looking again, you tell him—I’ve taken these siblings under my protection!”
“Tell him to stop scheming. The grudge is settled. If he doesn’t know what’s good for him, I’ll kill him myself!”
Su Xing carried the siblings and was about to leave the shop when, just as he stepped through the door, something occurred to him. He turned back and asked:
“Oh, one more thing… where is this herb shop’s pill vault?”
…
Early the next morning, Su Xing sat in the Bai family courtyard, regulating his injuries.
Bai Xiaoxiao and Bai Yutang had already awakened. Because of this incident, both had been punished by Su Xing—one year of cultivation with no leaving the house.
Beneath the ancient tree, Su Xing slowly produced a bundle, its interior packed full of pills.
These pills had naturally been taken from that herb shop.
“Tsk tsk… a blessing in disguise, this was. Though the siblings suffered a bit, these pills are the real deal.”
“With these pills, the speed of my recovery will improve considerably!”
The bundle contained quite a number of pills below the fifth rank.
Among them were the Qi-Drawing Pills that Su Xing needed.
Though not high in grade, they were still much better than what Bai Xiaoxiao could refine, and more than enough to accelerate Su Xing’s recovery.
With this thought, Su Xing began consuming the pills for treatment.
One pill after another was unceremoniously swallowed by Su Xing, then rapidly converted into pure life force that nourished the qi and blood within his body, greatly accelerating the healing of his injuries.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed…