The city of Tianxiang stood shrouded in the deep, dark night, resembling an ancient behemoth that had lain dormant for eons untold.

In the distance, two figures staggered into view, running breathlessly. Only when they saw the looming, inky walls of the city did they simultaneously exhale a long, shuddering breath. The sudden release of tension caused them both to collapse onto the ground.

These two were Mu Xuetong and Han Yanmeng, who had narrowly escaped a bloodbath. Their desperate flight across thousands of miles had exacted a terrible toll. The first month had been especially brutal, plagued by ceaseless ambushes and deadly resistance from the experts of the Xiao family of Fengxue Silver City.

Mu Xuetong was somewhat better off; being an old hand at navigating the jianghu, his Heaven Profound (Tian Xuan) cultivation granted him deep reserves of energy. But the young princess of Silver City, Han Yanmeng, was suffering terribly. Raised as the favored daughter of the heavens in Ice and Snow Silver City, her life had been one of smooth sailing. She was wholly unprepared for such arduous travel, constantly facing the threat of the most savage pursuit. With only her meager Gold Profound (Jin Xuan) cultivation, she would surely have perished countless times were it not for Mu Xuetong’s presence beside her.

Their successful arrival in Tianxiang was entirely due to Mu Xuetong’s rich experience in martial world travel. He employed constant disguises, even forcing himself to sting the delicate, exquisite face of the pampered young Han Yanmeng with a giant hornet, leaving the swelling untreated. They smeared a special sap onto their skin, turning their complexions completely dark and allowing them to slip past checkpoint after checkpoint.

Along the entire journey, both had kept Voice-Altering Pills constantly in their mouths, never daring to remove them—not even when they were certain they were completely safe and alone—fearing that the habit might slip and alert their enemies.

Their caution had reached an extreme pitch. Even so, they had nearly been exposed several times due to minor slips, once even being surrounded by several enemies. Fortunately, by that point, they were far from Silver City and the pursuers weren't overwhelmingly powerful, allowing Mu Xuetong to fight desperately and carve a path for their desperate escape. However, this skirmish revealed their location, and the Xiao family immediately implemented a complete lockdown on all routes leading to Tianxiang.

Having twisted and turned through countless unforeseen paths, they finally reached this place—a location where sanctuary surely existed to protect them both. A wave of relief finally washed over them. Yet, Mu Xuetong had not forgotten that within Tianxiang City lay the Sheng Bao Hall! The Xiao family had agents there, perhaps the place was already completely under their control. He dared not let down his guard for a moment! The closest one gets to success is often the most dangerous juncture!

Until they could meet Jun Wuyi or, preferably, Jun Moxie, they absolutely could not afford any carelessness! One moment of laxity could lead to eternal damnation—and potentially the eternal damnation of all of Silver City!

The Xiao family rebels, plotting in secret over these years, had clearly amassed a power base of truly terrifying proportions! Thinking of it, Mu Xuetong felt a profound sadness!

Over the years, under the shadow of the Han family, the Han elders had always treated the Xiao family with the utmost tolerance and patience, even offering meticulous care and consideration—this very leniency was what allowed the Xiao family to swell to its current might. They had always lauded the Xiao family as diligent, shouldering every major task as if it were nothing—truly worthy of being called the Ironclad Allies of the Han family! But seeing things now... Mu Xuetong gave a bitter smile.

Fengxue Silver City, such a colossus, yet under the absolute control of the Xiao family, the true masters of the city, the Han family, had been rendered utterly deaf and blind! Across the vast continent, every major city possessed secret outposts for Fengxue Silver City, and intelligence networks could reach Silver City from anywhere—yet he dared not utilize a single one of them!

Because the nerve center of intelligence was controlled by the Xiao family.

The entire periphery of Silver City was dictated by the Xiao family!

Such an immense intelligence network, instead of providing aid, had become a collection of stumbling blocks hampering their movements! Not only could they gain no assistance, but they constantly feared that their own location would be discovered and betrayed.

After all, the fate of Silver City now rested on his shoulders—he simply could not afford the slightest lapse in caution!

Slowly regulating his breathing, Mu Xuetong managed to force himself to stand. He pulled two dry rations from his inner robes and handed one to Han Yanmeng, speaking softly, "Meng'er, eat something, regain some strength, and then we'll figure out how to get into the city to find Jun Wuyi and Jun Moxie."

Han Yanmeng’s small face, now smeared dark, bore no resemblance to her former delicate beauty; it was easy to see she had lost a full circle of weight. This desperate flight had thoroughly taught the innocent and lovely young girl the true meaning of human wickedness!

She could never have imagined that the elders who had always treated her with such kindness and amiability were orchestrating such despicable actions behind her back! They were determined to see her dead at any cost! Instantly, the young girl felt her entire understanding of life shattered!

The combined physical and psychological burden of the journey had nearly crushed her ability to breathe!

Almost numbly, she accepted the dry ration from Mu Xuetong. She bit down, nearly grinding her teeth to dust, a wave of sorrow washing over her as tears began to fall. Mu Xuetong sighed, looking at her with pity. This pampered little princess of Silver City, this pearl of the royal house, accustomed to luxury and universal adoration—when had she ever endured such suffering?

The root of all this was the Xiao family, that damned traitorous clan!

No matter how hard it was to swallow, she had to eat it all. Only by consuming this tasteless food could she gather the strength to persevere...

After finishing the ration and resting briefly, both felt a significant return of energy—enough, at least, for normal travel. They slowly stood up. Looking toward the still distant Tianxiang City, their gazes were incredibly complex. Who would have ever thought that the proud Fengxue Silver City would have to place all its hopes on the Jun family, the very family Silver City had grievously wronged?

Wasn't this turn of events utterly absurd?

If this had been mentioned before this disaster, even Mu Xuetong would have found it laughable, but now it was an undeniable reality...

This was the only lifeline they currently held onto!

"Let's go!"

Two figures shot upward, flashing and vanishing entirely into the dark night...

The hour approached midnight!

Mei Xueyan sat alone, propping her chin in her hands beneath the dim glow of an oil lamp, gazing blankly at the flickering wick, lost in a daze. For years, the powerful Venerable Mei, commanding the world with such authority and splendor, had never appeared so stunned and adrift as she did now.

Jun Moxie's sudden kiss during the day had been like a stone dropping into the once placid lake of her heart. The ripples spread from the center across the entire surface, showing no sign of ceasing! Snake King had approached her with concern a few times, but Mei Xueyan ignored him, her face a picture of distress. Frightened, Snake King quickly retreated to speak with Guan Qinghan.

After all, watching their leader in this state, the oppressive atmosphere was enough to suffocate someone. If the Boss truly became angry, the consequences would be catastrophic. He needed to get away, lest he suffer collateral damage—no, what a terrible analogy! In any case, staying here was certainly less pleasant than hearing Guan Qinghan recount Jun Moxie’s past exploits as a profligate youth. Picturing how he must have carried himself back then made him smile—it was a genuine form of enjoyment.

Jun Moxie, meanwhile, continued his arduous pill refinement. It seemed he had put in significant effort, as he failed only a few times before successfully forging another batch of elixirs. He then materialized and immediately cloaked himself atop the Jun Family Pagoda, his divine sense spreading across the entire Jun family compound! People from the Illusory Blood Sea had lost two members in the compound last night; they were sure to make a move tonight!

Thus, Jun Moxie dared not let down his guard. While the members of the Illusory Blood Sea might not register highly in Venerable Mei’s sight, they were undeniably at the Supremacy level of strength. He admitted to himself that without the intervention of the beautiful Elder Mei yesterday, he might not have been able to handle those two figures in black.

Having successfully refined six Divine Pills tonight, and understanding the potent efficacy of these medicinal elixirs, Jun Moxie naturally had no intention of immediately satisfying the entire demand of the Heavenly Punishment Forest; that would be prioritizing immediate gain over long-term stability.

He allotted one pill to Old Master Jun, one to Jun Wuyi, one to Ying Bokong, and prepared one each for Hai Chenfeng and Song Shang. Furthermore, if Baili Luoyun managed to achieve his agreed-upon objective within the time limit, there would be one left for him too.

Although most of these individuals had not yet reached the Divine Profound (Shen Xuan) level required to consume the elixirs, Jun Moxie was confident he could elevate their cultivation within a short span!

Only when his own allies' strength truly increased would they possess the foundation to look down upon the world!

With these three major elixirs in hand, Jun Moxie felt supremely confident! Although he could only refine one type currently, he believed the other two varieties were not far off! This was because, in recent days, Jun Moxie had clearly felt his own progress, vaguely touching the peaks of the Heaven Profound level! He believed the Divine Profound Realm was merely a single step away!

His own advancement in cultivation represented a significant improvement in his pill refining capability as well!

Below, he could vaguely make out the two small children still practicing. The two mute children sparred relentlessly in the dark night, one striking with a sword, the other with a saber, never showing a moment's fatigue. They sweated profusely every single day...

Jun Moxie sighed inwardly. The dedication of these two children was astonishing to anyone who witnessed it.

But their innate aptitude was simply too low. They had recently consumed the Ten-Year Elixir, yet their strength had not remotely reached the level required for the Bone Forging Elixir (Yegu Dan). Moreover, being unable to speak or write made communication incredibly difficult...

Unable to speak!? Jun Moxie’s eyes lit up, for he remembered a very specialized skill—ventriloquism! If he could teach them this technique, given some time, their current problem could be solved! Especially since these children were not congenitally mute, he believed that once the basic technique was imparted and they could generate sound, all issues would resolve themselves!

(I’ve been lazy the past couple of days; I need to properly adjust my schedule. I will make an unprecedented promise: if I don't release a chapter tomorrow, I absolutely will on the day after! That guarantees a minimum of four updates to motivate myself! Lest this laziness becomes a habit and ruins everything. (To be continued))F