C15 Domineering Revenge!

Loong Jiaoyang dismissed Yue Bai's attempt to throw his weight around. He deftly opened a sandalwood medicine box and, with a pinch of his thumb and fingers, lifted a green pill. "Take a good look, fellow Daoists of the Profound Girl Sect. Can you tell which cycle this Spirit Gathering Pill is from?"

The green pill in Loong Jiaoyang's grasp had a richer hue than Gao Chuan's, distinguished by three swirling lines in its center.

"A Third Cycle Spirit Gathering Pill?!" gasped an alchemy apprentice standing nearby.

The mere mention of a Third Cycle Spirit Gathering Pill sent shivers down Gao Chuan's spine, while Yue Bai and the others looked on in sheer disbelief.

Guo Liangren's eyes, sharp as a mouse's, scrutinized the green pill in Loong Jiaoyang's hand. The fear in his gaze swiftly vanished, replaced by excitement as he leapt up, exclaiming, "Wow... Fellow Daoist Loong Jiaoyang, you're incredible! To think you've managed to refine a Third Cycle Spirit Gathering Pill!"

"This isn't a Spirit Gathering Pill! It was made with only half the required ingredients; how could it possibly be genuine?" Yue Bai protested vehemently.

"Do any of you from the Profound Girl Sect know of a place where we can authenticate this pill?" Loong Jiaoyang inquired with a smile.

"Yes, the Medicine King Pavilion can test its authenticity. I'll escort you there, Fellow Daoist Loong Jiaoyang," Guo Liangren eagerly volunteered.

Loong Jiaoyang fixed Gao Chuan with a stern gaze. "I won't be going to the Medicine King Pavilion. You go and bring someone from there who can verify the pill's authenticity. It must be done here, in front of everyone."

"Right away, I'll fetch someone from the Medicine King Pavilion," Guo Liangren replied with a thrill in his voice.

"Guo Liangren, have you lost your will to live?" Gao Chuan's voice was icy, his gaze venomous as he locked eyes with Guo Liangren.

Frozen in place, Guo Liangren didn't dare to move. His fear of Gao Chuan was bone-deep.

"Fear not, for after today, the Profound Girl Sect will be without an alchemist like Gao Chuan," Loong Jiaoyang declared with conviction.

Gao Chuan's eyes glittered with a deadly glint as he challenged, "Loong Jiaoyang, are you telling me you only learned alchemy three days ago?"

"Yes."

"Tsk, you take me for a fool? How could a mere novice use a clay pot to concoct a third-rank Spirit Gathering Pill? You've clearly been refining pills for ages. You set a trap to ensnare me!" Gao Chuan accused, seething with anger.

"Me, set a trap? Was it not you who challenged me to this duel to the death? If you harbored no ill will, how could you possibly be defeated?" Loong Jiaoyang retorted with a sneer.

"Defeated? Without an appraisal, who's to say whether what you've refined is truly a Spirit Gathering Pill?" Gao Chuan shot back. In that instant, he hoisted the Spirit Jade Pill Refining Furnace and, channeling his Spirit Power, hurled it at Loong Jiaoyang.

Bang!

Loong Jiaoyang barely had time to react before the Spirit Jade Pill Refining Furnace was upon him. He stumbled backward in haste, arms flailing to block the assault.

Having intercepted the furnace, Loong Jiaoyang was about to unleash his fury when a blast of heat surged towards him, threatening to engulf his head. Instinctively, he summoned his Spirit Power for protection.

Boom... Crash!

Loong Jiaoyang was sent hurtling through the air, slamming into the solid pill refining platform, blood gushing from his wounds—a severe blow.

"Die!" hissed Gao Chuan, as a fiery sword sliced through the air towards Loong Jiaoyang's neck, scorching the flesh to a fiery red.

Clang!

In the nick of time, a long blade intercepted the fiery sword, sending it clattering away. A woman clad in black, her speed astonishing, charged forward. A spectral cheetah cloaked her form, embodying the ferocity of a wild beast king.

Bang!

The woman soared into the air, a spectral cheetah roaring beside her. With a gaping maw, it lunged for Gao Chuan!

Gao Chuan, a cultivator in the Earth Stage's Middle Period, had effortlessly ambushed Loong Jiaoyang. But now, faced with a Heaven Stage powerhouse, whose ancestral bloodline and cheetah strength had awakened, he was as helpless as an infant. A single punch had sent him sprawling, blood spilling from his mouth as he lay on the ground, utterly defeated.

The woman pulled her long saber from the earth, her gaze icy as she looked down at Gao Chuan. Despite the blood bubbling from his lips, he showed no fear, locking eyes with her and growling, "Do you think you, as the Holy Maiden's Protector, can act with impunity? I am a second-level alchemist. You'll regret injuring me like this... Cough, cough... I'll have the sect master behead you!"

"Had you succeeded in your pill refining and merely crippled his hands, I wouldn't have intervened. But you failed and sought to kill him, leaving me no choice but to step in. Saintess Zi Shan charged me with his safety; anyone wishing to harm him must contend with me first!" Zhou Li's eyes flashed dangerously as she surveyed the crowd.

"Who says I lost? It's not even clear if he produced a Spirit Gathering Pill!" Gao Chuan retorted defiantly.

"Have it appraised!" Zhou Li tossed a Sandalwood Pill Box to Guo Liangren, who caught it and dashed off toward the Medicine King Pavilion.

Yue Bai, drenched in a cold sweat, tried to slip away unnoticed. Others who had jeered at Loong Jiaoyang were also stealthily backing away, hoping to flee.

"Nobody leaves until this is settled. Anyone who tries... will be shown no mercy!" Zhou Li's murderous aura was palpable, her eyes like those of a bloodthirsty cheetah, commanding the attention of all present.

Loong Jiaoyang, clutching the back of his neck in agony, managed to stand and spat out with a twisted expression, "Gao Chuan, you are despicable!"

"Loong Jiaoyang, if you dare to cripple my hands, the wrath of the Gao family will engulf you!" Gao Chuan declared, unfazed by Loong Jiaoyang's presence. With the might of his influential family behind him, he feared no one.

"Our duel as alchemists is a matter of life and death; what does it have to do with family ties? People like you, who use their status to bully others, should live as commoners to avoid causing harm," Loong Jiaoyang countered, suppressing the agony of his disrupted meridians as he advanced towards Gao Chuan.

"Loong Jiaoyang, stay back! You can't be sure it's a Spirit Gathering Pill you're concocting; you have no right to harm me!" Gao Chuan's voice trembled with fear as he saw the murderous look on Loong Jiaoyang's face.

Without a word, Loong Jiaoyang approached Zhou Li and said, "Thank you for saving my life."

"I didn't save you out of concern; it was merely my responsibility," Zhou Li replied, her tone icy.

"May I borrow your knife?" Loong Jiaoyang requested, extending his hand.

A flicker of intrigue crossed Zhou Li's eyes before she responded coolly, "You may borrow the knife, but be sure of your actions."

"I am acutely aware of what I'm doing," Loong Jiaoyang affirmed resolutely.

After scrutinizing Loong Jiaoyang's expression for a moment, Zhou Li handed over the long blade.

"Don't give him the knife... Loong Jiaoyang, what are you planning to do... Loong Jiaoyang, if you harm me, you won't leave the Profound Girl Sect alive... and the Gao family will never forgive... Ah..."

With a swift motion, Loong Jiaoyang's hand brought down the knife, severing Gao Chuan's right hand!

"Ah... Loong Jiaoyang... I will kill you..." Gao Chuan wailed in agony. Loong Jiaoyang replied coldly, "You've been after my life from the start. Our contest was merely over Medicine Pills. Losing meant only crippling your hands, yet you sought to kill me. This cut is retribution for your earlier ambush!"

The apprentice alchemists of the Profound Girl Sect were utterly astounded by the scene unfolding before them, swallowing hard in disbelief. The prestige of an alchemist was unparalleled; for a sect to cultivate a second-tier alchemist, it would require a staggering investment of resources. Yet, Loong Jiaoyang, in a brazen act, had severed Gao Chuan's right hand with a single decisive stroke, effectively ending Gao Chuan's illustrious career as an alchemist.

With a thud, Yue Bai, terrified, dropped to his knees, his complexion ashen. "Fellow Daoist Loong Jiaoyang, I admit my mistake... Please show mercy. I beg you not to harm me... I am ready to serve as your lifelong servant..."