Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

What does this have to do with him? The man grew increasingly agitated, feeling that the old man was utterly ungrateful and despicable. Hadn't he made himself clear enough?

"Are you even listening to me? Old man, how long do you think you can hold out? Besides, I'll be able to escape soon." Ignoring his commotion, the old man Bodhi attacked directly. He preferred to stay here and not go anywhere else; what happened outside was none of his concern…

He had met Yang Ling before and believed Yang Ling would handle things even better. Especially since Yang Ling's strength hadn't diminished... As for the fact that no one expected Yang Ling to take that item, they were preparing to confront him, as his actions were truly outrageous.

The demon beasts and several families all wanted to get rid of Yang Ling. Yang Ling had been riding high on their heads for too long, and they simply couldn't tolerate it anymore.

So, they set off in a grand procession towards Yangling.

The members of the Dark Gate were also acting recklessly, having long ago contacted several families to carry out underhanded schemes. Unexpectedly, the Dark Gate had managed to exploit a loophole, which they found unbelievable. The members of the Dark Gate were filled with doubt and suspicion. What was going on?

They went to great lengths to reach the Spirit Realm, only to find not a single person in sight. Why was this? They only saw many ordinary people coming and going, which puzzled them greatly. These people knew that the Dark Gate members were demons, and that they were sworn enemies of theirs.

"How could these people be here? We must stop them, otherwise they'll definitely commit heinous crimes. For our safety, we must not let them show their faces again. You must understand, this person is extremely dangerous!" With that, they swarmed forward. However, their actions were utterly futile in the eyes of the Dark Gate members. With their meager strength, they thought they could deal with the Dark Gate? It was utterly laughable.

"Your strength is too weak. We, the Dark Alliance, have been lying low for a long time. No one is our match, let alone you!" They were excessively arrogant. Everyone knew that this was a huge problem. These people were after Yang Ling.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have done such a thing. They tried to calm themselves down, while the female patriarch seemed lost in thought as to Yang Ling's side. She didn't understand why Yang Ling was taking so long. Yang Ling was extremely talented, yet he hadn't finished yet. What was going on?

In reality, Yang Ling's cultivation level had already surpassed that of ordinary people, and after obtaining the Origin, his cultivation rate improved even more rapidly. However, two days passed, and he still showed no signs of waking up. The female patriarch couldn't help but feel puzzled. Could it be because this demon beast's Origin was different from others?

The female patriarch pondered to herself, and was about to step forward to investigate when suddenly, Yang Ling exuded a powerful aura. She involuntarily turned her gaze to him, her heart filled with surprise and doubt: What's going on?

Yang Ling frowned, sensing that the source was repelling him. He poured all his energy into it, and through tireless effort, the source gradually merged with him. A warm current surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, making him feel incredibly comfortable.

This terrifying power made the heavens and earth tremble. Within a radius of a hundred miles, many people noticed this change and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"This is Yang Ling's aura. I have no mistake for him. I am too familiar with his aura..."

"He has obtained the origin and is about to break through his realm!"

"We must hurry back and tell the head of the family, or it will be too late!"

"Yes, he's too strong, we must go back as soon as possible!" the crowd exclaimed, preparing to leave. However, they hadn't taken more than a few steps when that force pierced through their chests. They coughed up blood, dying instantly before they could even scream, the scene extremely gruesome. Those who survived were terrified.

"This power is terrifying!"

"Let's get out of here quickly..." In no time, many people learned the news: Yang Ling had slain the demonic beast, obtained its essence, and absorbed it. The female clan head and Yang Ling had joined forces? They frowned, speculating that Yang Ling might have given the essence he obtained to the female clan head. Otherwise, why would the female clan head help Yang Ling?
With Yang Ling's help, the female clan head's strength soared, enabling her to easily kill demonic beasts. They couldn't think of any other reason. Shangguan Xuan Yue and the others racked their brains within the clan, convinced that the rumors were not unfounded.

The female patriarch was undoubtedly very strong, but Yang Ling was not to be underestimated. It should be understood that demonic beasts are incredibly powerful; escaping from one is no easy feat for anyone, and aside from Yang Ling, probably no one else could match him. The female patriarch was actually able to kill him in such a short time using only her strength.

Yang Ling's cultivation level improved once again. Shangguan Haotian fell into deep thought; his son, Shangguan Xuan Yue, had been right. Having understood Yang Ling's true strength, they dared not confront him directly again.

Rather than confronting them head-on, it's better to settle for second best and ally with Yang Ling. The Dark Gate is restless, with numerous remnants, and the constant interference of demonic beasts and other groups means the world will inevitably descend into chaos in time. The situation is dire; the female clan leader is their greatest hope. If they don't ally with Yang Ling now, they might not even get a sip of soup in the future.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The female patriarch looked at Yang Ling, feeling utterly perplexed. Since absorbing all the source energy, Yang Ling had not only failed to awaken but had instead fallen into a deep sleep. An aura surged around him, yet no one could perceive its secrets.

Yang Ling clenched his fists, the old man's soul lingering within his body, his brows furrowed. This source had been tampered with; no wonder Yang Ling was like this.

But he wouldn't just watch Yang Ling die; he still needed Yang Ling to help him rebuild his body.

Most unfortunately, if Yang Ling absorbed all the source energy, he would likely become no different from those demonic beasts. Yang Ling also felt this aura spiraling out of control, sweeping across his entire body at an extremely rapid speed. He gritted his teeth, and the power that had been suppressed within him for so long finally erupted. He roared and unleashed his power.

The female patriarch also sensed the immense power emanating from him. Yang Ling was wracked with murderous aura, writhing in pain, the veins on his arms bulging. Yang Ling was now no different from a demonic beast. She approached Yang Ling, deciding to subdue him first, and then devise a solution.

Facing the female patriarch's attack, Yang Ling suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm. The female patriarch's eyes widened; she had actually withstood such an attack. Even the demonic beast from before might not have been able to withstand it, yet Yang Ling did so with such ease—was this a qualitative leap?

"Don't worry, I'm fine now!" Yang Ling said hoarsely to the female patriarch, but his words carried little weight. He did indeed look somewhat frightening, and the female patriarch had only acted against him out of desperation. She stopped what she was doing and remained vigilant.

She would immediately strike again if Yang Ling lost control. "What happened?"

"It's nothing serious. I absorbed the beast's essence, and I can sense that someone tampered with it!" Yang Ling said after a moment of silence. Had his cultivation level improved?
Yang Ling didn't say much, but a white light flashed in his eyes.

"I suspect someone tampered with things beforehand. He must have anticipated this all along, and planned this before we even got there..." Yang Ling guessed that the other party might have wanted to take this opportunity to kill him. Fortunately, he was powerful enough to forcefully suppress it with his own strength. Unfortunately, his power was also affected.

"When did the people of the Dark Gate become so powerful? Their cultivation level must be above mine, otherwise they couldn't have guessed all this!"

"If that's the case, then we'd better be careful!" The female patriarch had mixed feelings. She had thought that after becoming stronger, she would be able to surpass others, but she never expected that there would always be someone stronger and there was always something beyond her reach.

Yang Ling seemed to have thought of something, and stretched out his palm, a cloud bead appearing in his hand. The cloud bead contained boundless power. The female patriarch looked in the direction Yang Ling was looking, wondering: Why is he showing me this?
What do you mean by showing me this?

"They want to attack me? Absolutely not. I've suppressed all my power into the Cloud Pearl, and it will move according to my will. The realm I display will remain the same as before."

"This thing is useless to me. I'll use it when I want and seal it away when I don't!" The female patriarch sighed helplessly; Yang Ling's words sounded weak and unconvincing to her. What kind of good deal is that?
"You still need to think about what would happen if this thing could control you one day. You need to consider it carefully. But since you have a solution, I won't stop you. However, it might not be good if someone discovers that you have the aura of a demonic beast on you!"

"It's alright, those people won't know my true strength. Even if they guess, I'll just say you took it. Even if they find out, I don't care what they think!" Yang Ling said calmly.

As his voice faded, Yang Ling fell into deep thought.

So this is what it's like to get things done through connections.

Looking back, he used to... well, let's not talk about it.

His thoughts drifted back to the lavish and extravagant chamber of commerce before him. This chamber was set up by his former enemy. Its current scale owed much to his past "assistance."

"Sigh, it seems I'll have to settle these old scores myself, otherwise, it would be an injustice!" Yang Ling muttered to himself, then strode deeper into the Chamber of Commerce. This sight surprised even himself; he was heading towards the guild leader's private area. To swagger in like this would likely get him kicked out. After all, this wasn't a place to enter and exit at will.

Sure enough, the guards outside stopped him, their tone quite unfriendly: "Who are you? Don't you know that you can't just enter this place? If you dare to come any closer, don't blame us for being impolite!" Yang Ling scoffed inwardly and responded with a cold laugh.

"Get that old bastard out here and see me! Enough with the nonsense!" Shen Yue was about to explain, but when she heard Yang Ling refer to the guild leader as "old bastard," her heart tightened, and she quickly stepped forward and whispered to him, "Don't be impulsive. That man has immense power. Even our former patriarch treated him with great respect. Offending him will bring you no good!" Upon hearing this, Yang Ling seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

"I offended him? I offended him a long time ago! That old bastard, he's an eyesore to me, he should have died long ago!" Everyone gritted their teeth, thinking that Yang Ling must be tired of living, daring to come here and cause trouble. Shen Yue looked at Yang Ling, feeling extremely distressed. This disciple she had just chosen had caused such a disaster before even entering the family.

She quickly stepped forward and said, "I am Shen Yue, an outer elder of the Qin family. This is my disciple. He is ignorant of the rules and may have mistaken this place for amusement. If he has offended you, please forgive him!" Her status was far higher than that of the guards, and the two men naturally did not want to offend her. After exchanging a glance, they said, "So it is Miss Shen. It's been a long time. We were blind to your greatness. However, if he is your disciple, please ask him to behave himself!"

“That’s right, Miss Shen. He’s so brazen. If he offends the chairman, we’ll have a hard time explaining ourselves.” Shen Yue nodded in agreement and was about to pull Yang Ling away when she saw Yang Ling wave his hand, and the entire house was overturned. He shouted loudly inside, “Old man, what are you doing hiding here? Do you think I can’t find you just because you’re hiding?” The man heard the commotion and came out cursing, but when he saw Yang Ling, he swallowed the words he was about to say, his mind a complete mess.

"It hasn't been that long since we last met, you haven't forgotten me, have you?" Yang Ling said with a smile, looking down at him.

The two are now worlds apart in strength, and he could have easily dealt with them directly, but Yang Ling felt it unnecessary to waste his energy on such an insignificant person. Now that they're back, he'll settle both the old and new scores.

He pointed at Yang Ling and asked, "Are you Yang Ling?" The man trembled with fear, never expecting that Yang Ling, who had killed so many people, would return. He knew all too well that Yang Ling had always wanted to kill him; back when Yang Ling was in the Qin family, he had indeed caused him no small amount of trouble. Now that Yang Ling was growing stronger, he was filled with dread.

It turns out Yang Ling really wanted to kill him.

"We're on completely different levels now. You've reached such a high level, why are you still pressing me so hard? Just say the word, and I'll offer you the entire Chamber of Commerce!" He felt the terrifying aura emanating from Yang Ling, which made it hard for him to breathe.

"Actually, you old codger should feel honored. I have indeed killed quite a few people, but very few are memorable to me!"

Just as he was about to say something, Yang Ling struck directly, piercing his chest, killing him instantly. For Yang Ling, there was no room for morality or righteousness; he would not offend others unless they offended him, but if they did, he would pursue them to the ends of the earth and kill them to his heart's content.

He calmly withdrew his gaze, while the others were enraged. Their leader had always treated them well, and now Yang Ling had dared to come and kill them so arrogantly—it was like provoking a tyrant. They were about to attack when they froze, realizing Yang Ling's true nature.

"Yang Ling? You actually came back?" They couldn't believe it; Yang Ling's strength was so great that he dared to come.

Moreover, rumors circulated that Yang Ling had obtained the Origin Source, greatly increasing his cultivation level and making him comparable to the female patriarch. Such a powerful figure was far beyond their reach. Therefore, they hurriedly bowed and apologized to Yang Ling: "We were blind to his greatness; please forgive us!" Standing before them was Yang Ling, the former pride of the Qin family, invincible. As for Yang Ling killing someone, they naturally dared not seek revenge. Shen Yue found it unbelievable that the disciple she wanted to take was Yang Ling; she had truly lost her mind. (End of Chapter)