"Well, well. The piece of trash actually woke up?"
They had just arrived at Medicine King Valley.
Yang Xiao hadn't yet gotten a clear look at the place.
He only saw one thing clearly: a face.
A disdainful face.
A contemptuous face.
It was a haughty, arrogant face, looking down on Yang Xiao as if he were a mere insect.
"Qiu Chengjun, what is the meaning of this!"
Qin Yan's expression changed as she snapped in anger.
Cheng Boxuan looked grim as well.
They had long expected to face trouble upon entering Medicine King Valley.
But hearing these people call Yang Xiao "trash" to his face was still hard for them to accept.
This was their Junior Sect Leader, after all.
Of course, Qin Yan's outburst was likely motivated more by her desire for Yang Xiao to do as she wished and shoulder all the responsibility.
Only then could she escape this ordeal.
"What do I mean? Haha! A dead woman walking dares to yell at me? If you weren't a woman, and a halfway decent-looking one at that, do you think you'd still be sitting here so peacefully?"
Qiu Chengjun scoffed.
His tone was dripping with arrogance.
And resentment.
Among those Yang Xiao had ordered the Purple Gold Cloud Peng Beast to kill was a girl he fancied.
In fact, almost all the Medicine King Valley disciples sent to Celestial Cloud Kingdom to escort Yang Xiao's group back had some connection to the people who died.
They were friends, distant relatives, or brothers they had grown up with...
Of course, people like Qiu Chengjun were in the minority.
He had been madly in love with that woman.
But she hadn't loved him back.
Now, she was dead.
And Qiu Chengjun had become even more unhinged.
He took every opportunity to make trouble for Cheng Boxuan and the others.
Even Yang Xiao wasn't spared.
While Yang Xiao had been unconscious, Qiu Chengjun had still found ways to torment him.
If Cheng Boxuan hadn't been there to protect him, and if Yang Xiao hadn't been such an important figure, Qiu Chengjun would have probably thrown him from the carriage long ago.
So now that Yang Xiao was awake, Qiu Chengjun's hostility was on full display.
He made no attempt to hide his animosity.
Especially now that they were inside Medicine King Valley.
In Qiu Chengjun's eyes, they were already dead men walking.
"Dead men walking? What might this Senior Brother from Medicine King Valley mean by that?"
Yang Xiao asked with a look of utter surprise.
He acted as if he didn't know a thing.
Qiu Chengjun shot him a disgusted look. "Still clueless even at death's door. Don't you know that killing so many disciples of Medicine King Valley is a capital offense?"
"Disciples of Medicine King Valley? Not at all. The people I killed were clearly disciples of the Red Flame Sect. Furthermore, those people had infiltrated the Celestial Cloud Kingdom with the intent to seize my Purple Sun Sect's territory. For such treachery, wasn't it perfectly right for me to kill them?"
"You—stop playing dumb! They were all..."
Qiu Chengjun almost blurted out that the people from the Red Flame Sect were all disciples of Medicine King Valley, but he caught himself just in time.
"They? Are they perhaps related to Senior Brother Qiu? Or is Senior Brother Qiu suggesting that our Purple Sun Sect should have just let the Red Flame Sect destroy us?"
Yang Xiao's expression suddenly turned grim.
This time, Qiu Chengjun didn't dare to respond.
He knew Yang Xiao was setting a trap for him.
If he admitted that the members of the Red Flame Sect were disciples of Medicine King Valley, he would fall right into Yang Xiao's trap.
It was just like with Yun Chengxiao, the Crown Prince of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom; as long as the Red Flame Sect existed, they could be used as a proxy to target the Purple Sun Sect, and the Red Flame Sect would bear all the consequences.
But now, the Red Flame Sect was no more.
No matter how unwilling certain people in Medicine King Valley were, they couldn't use this incident to punish the Purple Sun Sect.
Otherwise, they would not only alienate the Purple Sun Sect, but the entire world, and in doing so, tarnish the prestige of the Upper Three Sects.
As a disciple of Medicine King Valley chosen for the task of bringing Yang Xiao back, Qiu Chengjun was clearly of no ordinary background. He naturally understood this principle.
And since he understood, he wouldn't act recklessly.
'The Junior Sect Leader is truly something else.'
Seeing Yang Xiao shut Qiu Chengjun down with just a few words, Cheng Boxuan breathed an inward sigh of relief.
However, he also knew that even though Yang Xiao had verbally cornered them, preventing them from acting openly for now, they would undoubtedly resort to underhanded tricks in secret.
Especially now that Yang Xiao was in Medicine King Valley.
He would have to abide by their rules.
"Still, I must thank Senior Brother Qiu for your care along the journey, which has allowed us to arrive at Medicine King Valley on schedule."
Yang Xiao was also aware of this, so he changed his tone, offering Qiu Chengjun a way to back down gracefully.
Of course, he wasn't like Cheng Boxuan.
It wasn't that he feared Medicine King Valley.
It was because he had already gotten what he wanted.
He had come to Medicine King Valley for a breakthrough. More important than breaking through to the Yellow Flame Realm, however, was the breakthrough in his Spiritual Level.
Only by breaking through to the Observing Micro High Level could he cultivate the Nine Yang Celestial Skill.
In this lifetime, he needed to cultivate anew, proceeding cautiously with every step. It wasn't like his first life, when he was born as a Fire God with a profound foundation from the very beginning.
After a few trials, he became an Innate Divine Spirit and reached the Realm of the Unparalleled Divine King.
But in a way, that outcome had also limited his potential.
While the Stone Body was the main reason, he feared the real issue was that his karmic destiny and his own efforts had been insufficient. A naturally perfect foundation was great, but it meant he couldn't build it any thicker.
That was why he needed to cultivate again from scratch.
Therefore, in this new life, Yang Xiao was determined to build an unshakable foundation.
Only with a solid foundation could he achieve his goal of becoming a Great Emperor, or even a Saint Emperor.
But how difficult was it to build such a foundation?
He had been incredibly blessed in his first life, and even that hadn't been enough.
He had fallen just short.
So in this life, he naturally needed to achieve even greater breakthroughs.
His rebirth in his second life was because he had obtained the Nine Yang Celestial Skill from his master, the Nine Yang Body, and on top of that, an Innate Daoist Body.
Only then did he have a sliver of confidence that he could achieve his breakthrough.
Among these, the Nine Yang Celestial Skill was the bedrock.
His main support.
Now, in this lifetime, he no longer had the Innate Daoist Body and came from a humble background, but he still possessed the Heaven and Earth Origin Fire and the Nine Yang Celestial Skill.
Yang Xiao wasn't lacking much compared to his second life.
What's more, he had recently acquired the Greater Yang Treasure Pattern and the Starburst Skill, both of which could deepen his reserves. Yang Xiao naturally valued them highly.
He wouldn't have risked life and limb to obtain them otherwise.
Now, the conditions for cultivating the Nine Yang Celestial Skill were finally met.
He just had to proceed step by step.
Yang Xiao had no desire for further complications.
Previously, out of desperation, he had considered seizing the Medicine King from Medicine King Valley, but now, that might not be necessary.
Once his Spiritual Level stabilized, he could refine his own King-Grade Pills to aid his breakthrough. Of course, if he could cultivate the True Greater Yang Fire while still in the Orange Flame Realm, that would be even better.
'When the time comes, I'll find an excuse to return to the Purple Sun Sect. As for these people, as long as they don't provoke me, I don't need to pay them any mind.'
Such were Yang Xiao's current thoughts.
His mind was completely focused on cultivating the Nine Yang Celestial Skill.
He couldn't be bothered with the likes of Qiu Chengjun.
He just needed to resolve the current crisis and find a chance to return to the Purple Sun Sect later.
But while Yang Xiao didn't care, Qiu Chengjun cared a great deal.
He had been verbally trapped by Yang Xiao, who then offered him a graceful way out.
But he had no intention of taking it.
He snorted coldly and said, "I hear you're the Junior Sect Leader of the Purple Sun Sect? As the Junior Sect Leader, you must be the strongest disciple in your sect. I, Qiu, am untalented, but I would like to request some pointers from Junior Sect Leader Yang. I wonder, would you honor me with a match?"
'A challenge?'
'This guy isn't wasting a single moment. He's challenging me right now?'
Yang Xiao was a little surprised.
But he was not afraid.
'A mere cultivator at the Peak of the Innate Realm… since he's so eager, delivering himself to my doorstep and asking for a beating, who am I to refuse?'
'It would be impolite not to give him face, wouldn't it?'
Yang Xiao smiled faintly.