Chapter 23: Obtaining the Spirit Marrow Elixir

Tong Family.

In a certain luxurious villa.

Tong Yu was in a foul mood. Her phone had hardly stopped ringing. "What's going on? Why isn't Master Ye answering?"

Three days had passed since Master Ye went to find Lin Yi to demand the Golden Pill, and there had been no word from him since. At first, Tong Yu thought Master Ye might be busy, but after three days without any contact, something was clearly wrong.

The first possibility was that Master Ye had defected from the Tong family, but Tong Yu knew him too well—he was a man ruled by his desires. As long as she, Tong Yu, was in the family, Master Ye would never betray them.

The second possibility was that Master Ye had reached a critical point in his cultivation.

And the last, and worst, possibility was that something had happened to Master Ye.

Tong Yu had already sent people to investigate around the provincial capital. When she learned that Lin Yi was perfectly fine, she understood what must have happened. Still, she was reluctant to believe it. After all, Master Ye was a half-step Grandmaster. With strength like his, even with the Wang family backing him, Lin Yi was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Not to mention just the Wang family; even if every martial clan in Lancheng joined forces, none could match Master Ye.

"Miss."

An elderly man in a black suit suddenly appeared in the room.

"Mr. Mo, have you found any sign of Master Ye?" Tong Yu asked anxiously.

Mr. Mo let out a heavy sigh. "We found Master Ye's body. He was killed instantly, his chest pierced through. Only a true Grandmaster could have struck with such deadly force."

"A Grandmaster!"

Tong Yu's expression darkened. Only those who had surpassed the ninth level of Innate could be called Grandmasters. In the entire Tong family, Master Ye alone was a half-step Grandmaster. That was why they could maintain dominance over Jiang Province, and the other powers were roughly equal.

One could imagine just how terrifying the power of a Grandmaster truly was.

"Why would a Grandmaster interfere?" Tong Yu pressed in a low voice.

"Miss, perhaps a Grandmaster happened to pass by and acted on a whim, or perhaps the culprit had connections with one," Mr. Mo replied.

Even the wealthy have poor friends; Grandmasters are human too. They all start from nothing and are bound to have made ordinary friends along the way.

"Lin Yi, and the Wang family, you will all pay for this," Tong Yu hissed through gritted teeth.

The fall of a half-step Grandmaster was a tremendous event. If the family found out, she would be branded a criminal to the Tongs. Everything she had worked so hard to build would turn to dust.

Tong Yu fell silent for a moment, then asked, "How many people know about this? Make sure none of them talk. Mr. Mo, warn them—if anyone dares to breathe a word, I'll make their life a living hell."

"Yes, Miss." Mr. Mo understood her thoughts immediately. She was simply trying to buy time.

But it was only a stalling tactic, and would be of no real use unless they could recruit another half-step Grandmaster to the family.

After Mr. Mo left, Tong Yu received a call. "Where is Ye Nantian?"

Ye Nantian was Master Ye's real name.

"And you are?" Tong Yu asked, her expression unchanged.

"I am his senior brother. Just tell me where he is," the voice on the other end replied coldly.

A surge of hope rose in Tong Yu’s heart. Ye Nantian had once told her that his senior brother had reached the half-step Grandmaster realm ten years ago. After all these years, his senior might well have become a true Grandmaster.

If she could bring Ye Nantian’s senior into the Tong family, it would more than make up for her loss.

With this thought, Tong Yu’s eyes gleamed. She replied in a low voice, "To be honest with you, Master Ye has passed away."

"What happened?"

Tong Yu told Ye Nantian’s senior the truth—the matter could not withstand scrutiny.

"You mean a Grandmaster made the move," the voice responded, still cold and emotionless.

"Exactly," Tong Yu replied.

"No matter what, Ye Nantian was my junior. Someone must pay for his death. Grandmaster or not, it's not the first time I've killed one..."

…

In the past three days, Lin Yi had scoured every herbal market in Lancheng, but had found only five century-old herbs. He'd also asked Wang Yang in the provincial capital to help search.

He was preparing to refine the spiritual elixir. Though he lacked spirit marrow liquid, and the Golden Pill’s effect would be diminished, there was no other way.

His cultivation had been stuck on the ninth Golden Pill for too long—he had not felt the thrill of a breakthrough in ages.

He had waited so long for this day.

"Come to think of it, the only herbal clinic in Lancheng I haven’t visited is Yang Junqi’s," Lin Yi mused.

Truth be told, he didn’t have much hope for Yang Junqi’s clinic. He’d been there when he first applied for a job, and if there had been any century-old herbs, he would have sensed them.

"Never mind, thinking about it won’t help. I’ll just go and see for myself."

Lin Yi rode his bicycle to the clinic, which was as devoid of patients as ever.

"Mr. Lin, you’re here," the receptionist nurse greeted him, recognizing him from before.

"Yes. Do you have any century-old herbs here?" Lin Yi asked.

"Mr. Lin, you must be joking. Herbs that old cost at least tens of thousands. How could we have any here?" the nurse replied, shaking her head.

Yang Junqi’s clinic focused mainly on traditional healthcare for middle-aged and elderly clients, rather than selling rare and expensive herbs.

Lin Yi wasn’t disappointed; he had expected as much.

Just then, Yang Junqi came down from the second floor and was surprised to see Lin Yi.

"Lin Yi, what brings you here?" she asked, her tone friendly.

"I came to buy some century-old herbs," Lin Yi answered honestly.

"Century-old herbs? What do you need those for? Don’t tell me you’re looking to boost your health," Yang Junqi teased.

Such things were just a scam; only the wealthy could afford them, which made century-old herbs increasingly rare and expensive.

"You could say that," Lin Yi replied, telling a small lie. There was no point explaining alchemy to her, she wouldn’t understand.

"If you want, I could give you a health treatment upstairs," Yang Junqi joked.

Lin Yi shook his head and noticed a jade bottle in Yang Junqi’s large white coat pocket.

"Big Sister Yang, what’s that?" Lin Yi’s eyes lit up with a trace of joy.

"A friend gave it to me, said it was liquid that dripped from a stalactite," Yang Junqi replied carelessly.

But Lin Yi was inwardly overjoyed. He hadn’t expected to find the spirit marrow liquid he’d searched for so long right here.

He’d pinned his hopes on the Feng Shui stone last time and found nothing, yet here in Yang Junqi’s tiny clinic, he’d stumbled upon it by chance.

Had he not come on a whim today, he might have missed this spirit marrow liquid entirely.

Truly, when one door closes, another opens.

"Could I take a look?" Lin Yi asked.

Yang Junqi tossed the bottle to him nonchalantly; to her, it was just a curiosity or souvenir.

Lin Yi caught the bottle—it was a cheap trinket, worth maybe ten yuan at a street stall.

He opened it. A faint fragrance drifted out: spirit marrow liquid. There was only a little, just coating the bottom, completely clear, looking just like water.

But if one looked closely, a hint of emerald green shimmered on the surface.

"Big Sister Yang, could you sell this to me?" Lin Yi asked.

"If you want it, take it. It’s nothing valuable anyway," Yang Junqi replied offhandedly.

In high spirits, Lin Yi said, "Big Sister Yang, I owe you a favor for this. If you ever need help, just ask."

Yang Junqi didn’t take his promise to heart—if she couldn’t solve a problem herself, what use would Lin Yi be? Still, it was a kind gesture, so she smiled and nodded.

Just as Lin Yi was about to leave, a couple burst in. The man was carrying a little girl, seven or eight years old.

The girl was already unconscious, her chest covered in red blotches, white foam spilling from her mouth.

"Doctor Yang, please, save my child!" the man pleaded.

Yang Junqi quickly checked the girl’s pulse—weak and fading, as if it could disappear at any moment.

The woman, seeing Yang Junqi hesitate, grew anxious. "What are you waiting for? Save my daughter!"

Yang Junqi’s face was grave. "I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do. Take her to the hospital right away."

Such was the helplessness of traditional medicine; many acute cases arrived too late for them to treat.

From the girl’s symptoms, Yang Junqi could tell it was poisoning, but even if she could prepare the right medicine in time, it would probably be too late.

"What kind of doctor are you?" the woman shouted, agitated.

"I’ll file a complaint against you. If you can’t help people, why even have a clinic?" the man yelled as well.

If this clinic hadn’t been the nearest, they wouldn’t have come in the first place.

With that, the man made to leave with the child.

But then Lin Yi spoke up, "If you leave with her now, she won’t make it five minutes."

"Watch it, kid. Want me