"You little bastard, you're toying with me!"
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Liu Junyi was furious and exasperated.
He wished he could just kill Yang Xiao right then and there.
"How can you say I'm toying with you? I said it before: a life for a life. Your death can be exchanged for your son's life. As for that old servant from before, well, he could only be exchanged for another servant. Oh, by the way, I still have five of your Liu Family's servants here. The three you brought don't seem to be enough."
Yang Xiao started to laugh.
"You!"
Liu Junyi nearly spat out another mouthful of blood.
But he forced it back down, glaring at Yang Xiao and said coldly, "You treat me like this, but aren't you afraid that I'll use the same methods against you in the future?"
"Oh, I'm scared. I'm really so scared. However, the only person I care about is my father. As for his adopted sons, every single one of them looks down on me. With your power, would you dare touch my father?"
"Fine, you win. What will it take for you to let my Tianming go!"
Liu Junyi was so angry he could have ground his teeth to dust.
But for his son's sake, he admitted defeat.
"Now this is a bit more like it. First, toss over that Storage Ring on your hand. I'll be taking everything inside."
Yang Xiao said with a faint smile.
Liu Junyi, however, felt a pang of heartache.
He loved wealth as much as his own life. He had spent a fortune to acquire this Storage Ring, not to mention its contents, which accounted for more than half of his entire fortune.
But for his son, he had no choice. Liu Junyi tossed it over.
"Fine, take it!"
Though he said this, in his heart, he still planned to kill Yang Xiao as soon as his son was safe.
Yang Xiao didn't mind. He picked up the Storage Ring and swept his gaze over it. The space inside wasn't bad, about the size of a house.
It was more than enough for his current needs.
Moreover, the contents were mostly Spirit Medicines, along with several chests of gold and some rare jewels, which left Yang Xiao very satisfied.
More importantly, among those Spirit Medicines, he found something he could use.
Right in front of Liu Junyi, he casually took out a few stalks of Spirit Medicine, produced a jade bowl, mixed them together, and created a vibrant green liquid.
He said to Liu Junyi, "This is called the Five-Flavor Life-ending Soup. Drink it, and I'll save your son. Otherwise, we can just go our separate ways, and you can let your son wait for death. Oh, and after such a long delay, the Fire Elemental Power inside your son's body is probably about to reach its saturation point. I estimate you have only one minute to consider."
The moment Yang Xiao finished speaking, waves of scorching heat erupted from Liu Tianming's body.
His clothes instantly became bone-dry, and his entire body turned beet red, radiating an oppressive heat.
"Dad! Save me!"
Liu Tianming screamed.
"You! You really want my life?"
Liu Junyi's expression was grim and uncertain.
He desperately wanted to save his son, but if it meant trading his own life, he hesitated.
"It won't kill you. It's just a slow-acting poison. You'll have to take an antidote once a month. What do you say? Is it a deal?"
"Deal!"
Although he knew perfectly well that Yang Xiao was giving him a slow-acting poison to control him, Liu Junyi still felt that getting his son's life back was worth it.
Besides, he had been present when Yang Xiao mixed the medicine and had seen the ingredients. With his skills as a Fourth-level Great Pharmacist, was he really afraid of being outplayed by some young punk?
Liu Junyi refused to believe it.
"Good. Drink it, and I'll save your son."
Yang Xiao smiled faintly.
Liu Junyi was also decisive, downing the Five-Flavor Life-ending Soup. Seeing him drink it, Yang Xiao was relieved.
If a real fight were to break out, he probably wouldn't be a match for Liu Junyi.
But when it came to concocting medicines and poisons, Liu Junyi couldn't hold a candle to him.
Thus, with a few casual finger taps, he transformed the Death Array on Liu Tianming's body into a Living Array. Then, with a light pat, he drew all the flames from Liu Tianming's body into his own.
This caused the Red Flame within Yang Xiao's body to tremble slightly, growing a bit more solid.
Along with it, Yang Xiao's Physical Strength also increased, reaching the peak of the 1st-Layer Martial Master realm.
However, he was still a long way from breaking through his limits and advancing to the Orange Flame Realm.
"Young Master Yang, may we leave now?"
Liu Junyi was very submissive at this moment.
Until he had figured out an antidote for Yang Xiao's poison, he wasn't about to joke with his own life.
"You may. However, you must remember to bring a Fifth-level Spirit Medicine every month when you come for the antidote. And remember, it must be of the Fire Attribute. Otherwise, I won't give you the antidote."
Yang Xiao's words immediately made Liu Junyi's face darken again.
A Fifth-level Spirit Medicine.
That wasn't something you could pick up at a cabbage stall.
Even for a Great Pharmacist as ridiculously wealthy as he was, producing one every single month was an impossible task.
That would be enough to bankrupt him.
But, to stay alive, he endured it for now.
'The day I figure out the antidote will be the day you die!'
Killing intent raged in Liu Junyi's heart.
"By the way, these three Outer Disciples were brought here by your son. Aren't you going to deal with them?"
Yang Xiao added, pointing at Liu Hua, Li Xue, and Tang Xiaoyu.
After saying his piece, he swaggered away.
"Hmph. Damn little bastard. For the shame I've suffered today, I will pay you back a hundredfold in the future!"
With a dark smile, his gaze fell upon Liu Hua.
In truth, even if Yang Xiao hadn't said anything, Liu Junyi would have dealt with them anyway.
He had lost so much face in front of Yang Xiao; if word of this got out, the consequences would be unbearable.
So, he raised his hand and unleashed a palm strike.
Innate True Qi manifested as a giant hand of fire, instantly incinerating the bound Liu Hua, along with the deceased Li Xue and Tang Xiaoyu, leaving nothing behind.
Not only that, but he didn't spare the six servants either, including Liu Zhong.
With several consecutive palm strikes, these servants, who were Martial Artists at best, were burned to ash before they could even react.
In the entire grove, only Liu Junyi and his son were left, along with his three confidants who were Middle to Late-Stage Martial Artists.
"Father, are we really going to trade Fifth-level Spirit Medicines for the antidote?"
By this point, Liu Tianming had long since snapped out of his daze.
But seeing his father's fury, he didn't dare say more.
Now that things seemed to be dealt with, he couldn't help but ask.
Liu Junyi shot him a cold glance. "You useless waste of space, more adept at ruining things than achieving anything. From now on, when you see that kid surnamed Yang, you stay away from him. Otherwise, I won't save you next time."
"Yes, yes."
Cold sweat immediately beaded on Liu Tianming's forehead.
He didn't dare ask any more questions.
After finishing all this, Liu Junyi didn't linger.
Upon returning to Medicine Peak, he immediately entered seclusion.
His goal, naturally, was to find a way to neutralize the poison in his body.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiao leisurely made his way back home.
Yun'Er was just about to take Yang Xiong out to look for him when she saw him return.
Overcome with emotion, she threw herself into his arms and started crying.
This left Yang Xiao feeling a bit awkward.
After finally managing to coax the little girl to stop crying, Yang Xiao returned to his bedroom.
He took out all the Spirit Medicines from Liu Junyi's Storage Ring.
'A Fifth-level Spirit Medicine probably won't be enough for me to break through to the next realm. It looks like there's only one way left.'
A glint flashed in Yang Xiao's eyes, and he sprang into action.