Chu Lan stood up, his cold eyes fixed on Chu Xiaofeng as he said, "Since you are so eager to court death, I will grant your wish!"
"What an arrogant boast!"
Chu Xiaofeng sneered. "If it were the old you, I might have held some shred of fear."
"As for the you of today, you are nothing more than good-for-nothing trash!"
With that, Chu Xiaofeng no longer concealed his aura, letting the full cultivation of the Body Spirit Realm Fifth Layer burst forth.
"Is that so? Then you are welcome to try!"
Chu Lan gave a scornful laugh.
It was true that, had this happened before, Chu Lan would have been no match for Chu Xiaofeng.
Yet now, after practicing within the Divine Desolation Pagoda for a full year, Chu Lan's cultivation had long since advanced to the Body Spirit Realm Fourth Layer.
Yes, inside the Divine Desolation Pagoda, once the Spirit-Gathering Array had recovered its spiritual energy, Chu Lan had absorbed it all once more, elevating his cultivation to the Body Spirit Realm Fourth Layer.
Seeing Chu Lan treat him with such utter contempt, Chu Xiaofeng let out a cold snort.
Without wasting any more words, he launched an attack immediately.
From Chu Xiaofeng's perspective, dealing with Chu Lan given his own strength would take no effort at all.
Spreading his five fingers like sharp talons, Chu Xiaofeng lunged to grab Chu Lan by the throat.
Chu Lan's face instantly turned glacial. Raising his right hand and gathering the full strength of his body into his right fist, he threw a full-force punch straight at Chu Xiaofeng.
"Heh... You don't know what's good for you, actually daring to fight back!"
Chu Xiaofeng let out a disdainful, cold chuckle as he curled his fingers into a fist and smashed it toward Chu Lan.
Naturally, Chu Xiaofeng held back some of his strength with this punch.
After all, he still needed to bring Chu Lan back alive to Great Elder Chu Nie.
Even so, the force behind Chu Xiaofeng's blow was more than enough to cripple Chu Lan's entire arm.
Chu Lan smiled faintly, executing the martial technique, the Golden Fist, with a counter-hand strike!
When their fists collided, Chu Xiaofeng's expression changed drastically in an instant.
He felt an overwhelming might behind Chu Lan's punch, followed immediately by a surging, torrential wave of power erupting outward.
"Ah!!"
With a pale face, Chu Xiaofeng let out a miserable howl, accompanied by the crisp, distinct sound of shattering bones.
"How... how can this be?!"
Chu Xiaofeng screamed in terror, "You've already cultivated the Golden Fist to perfection!"
Although the Golden Fist was only a Yellow-grade low-tier martial art, someone of Chu Lan's age had no business pushing it to the state of perfection!
"No wait, and your cultivation level as well!"
Shocked, Chu Xiaofeng staggered backward a few paces.
Before Chu Xiaofeng could recover from his shock, Chu Lan was already upon him.
Terrified out of his wits, Chu Xiaofeng shrieked at the top of his lungs, "What... what are you idiots standing around for?! Attack him now!"
The other guards, snapping out of their stupor, immediately charged at Chu Lan.
Unfortunately, these men were nothing more than a mob of useless rabble and were no match for Chu Lan whatsoever.
In just two or three moves, Chu Lan dispatched them all.
Chu Xiaofeng's face turned ashen with terror.
Chu Lan was simply too terrifying. He had to hurry back and report the news of Chu Lan's restored Dantian to Great Elder Chu Nie.
"Trying to run? Did I give you permission to leave?"
Leaping high into the air, Chu Lan delivered a blow with the Golden Fist straight down toward Chu Xiaofeng's back.
Noticing the attack, Chu Xiaofeng desperately unleashed his own Golden Fist, attempting to fend off Chu Lan's onslaught.
Sadly, Chu Xiaofeng had severely underestimated the power of the perfected-tier Golden Fist.
Even though Chu Xiaofeng was at the Body Spirit Realm Fifth Layer, his mastery of the Golden Fist was subpar, failing to even reach the Great Success stage.
He was entirely incapable of blocking the might of Chu Lan's strike.
*Bang!*
Chu Xiaofeng was sent flying like a cannonball.
A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat a mouthful of fresh blood.
He crashed to the ground, unable to move a muscle, left with no choice but to watch helplessly as Chu Lan walked toward him.
The murderous intent flashing in Chu Lan's eyes made Chu Xiaofeng shiver, dread gripping his entire body.
"W-Wait, Young Master Chu!"
"Don't kill me!"
"It was all the Great Elder's idea to send me, it has nothing to do with me!"
If Chu Xiaofeng hadn't been paralyzed, he would undoubtedly have been kneeling and kowtowing to beg for his life.
Chu Lan chuckled softly, the killing intent in his eyes unabated. "No matter who sent you."
"The moment you raised your hand against me, your doom was sealed!"
Amidst Chu Xiaofeng's continuous pleas for mercy, Chu Lan ended his life with a single punch.
Chu Lan was no softhearted fool; his enemies had to be uprooted entirely.
If he harbored even the slightest sliver of pity, the next person to die would only be himself.
As for the remaining guards trying to flee, unfortunately for them, Chu Lan had no intention of leaving any of them alive.
In the blink of an eye, every last one of them was slaughtered cleanly.
As for their corpses, Chu Lan gathered them all into the Divine Desolation Pagoda.
The flesh and blood of martial artists could accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs.
Their remains would serve as the perfect fertilizer for the Yunxiang Grass.
"I can't return to the Chu Family now."
Having tidied everything up, Chu Lan muttered to himself, "Great Elder Chu Nie is at the Vein Spirit Realm First Layer. The moment I go back, he will certainly not let me off."
"Besides, there's no reason for me to go back to the Chu Family anyway."
There were no loved ones left for him there; his parents had vanished over a dozen years ago and were presumed dead.
And since the Chu Family had never treated him well, why on earth should he return?
Besides, the North Courtyard's Spirit-Gathering Array was now inside the Divine Desolation Pagoda.
The most crucial task for Chu Lan right now was to increase his own strength!
The forces he had to contend with were not just Liu Yemei, Wang Zhaoyun, and the Wang Family standing behind Wang Zhaoyun, but even the Jun Family behind the imperial dynasty!
Stepping into the Divine Desolation Pagoda, he found that the Yunxiang Grass was close to ripening, and the flesh and blood of Chu Xiaofeng and his men acting as fertilizer had further accelerated its growth!
"This is!"
Gazing at the fully matured Yunxiang Grass, Chu Lan was struck dumb with astonishment.
Nourished by the flesh and blood of martial artists, the Yunxiang Grass had not only turned out of exceptional quality, but the spiritual energy contained within it was also extraordinarily turbulent.
It was a pity that consuming the Yunxiang Grass directly allowed one to absorb only twenty percent of its spiritual energy; otherwise, Chu Lan would have planted vast fields of it inside the Divine Desolation Pagoda to cultivate exclusively through it.
For now, it was time for the harvest.
It took Chu Lan just over ten minutes to gather all the Yunxiang Grass.
As a martial artist, harvesting these few plots of land did not consume much time at all.
Afterward, Chu Lan left the Divine Desolation Pagoda to seek out a clerk at Qingyun Market.
Upon hearing that Chu Lan wished to sell Yunxiang Grass, the clerk was momentarily startled, followed by a look of confusion.
Did the Chu Family even possess such an enterprise?
Nevertheless, the clerk said to Chu Lan, "If you want to sell Yunxiang Grass, follow me to the second floor."
Guiding Chu Lan up to the second floor, the clerk led him to a private room, knocked on the door, and spoke with utmost deference: "Miss Bai, someone is here to sell Yunxiang Grass."
"Come in."
A short moment later, a clear and ethereal voice drifted out from inside the private room.
The clerk cautiously pushed the door open. The moment it swung wide, Chu Lan caught his first glimpse of the woman inside.
She wore a white dress, exuding an air of quiet, elegant purity.
The skin of her neck, exposed above the collar of her garment, was as fair and flawless as snow.
Regrettably, a white veil obscured her face, making it impossible to discern her features.
Bowing respectfully, the clerk said, "Miss Bai, it is this gentleman who wishes to sell the Yunxiang Grass."
Chu Lan felt a mild surge of surprise; it turned out that Qingyun Market wasn't the one looking to acquire the Yunxiang Grass, but rather someone else entirely.