A god-level alchemist, starting by manually crafting forbidden pills.

"Junior Brother Luo, what's going on?"

Lu Qingdai walked over and pointed to the people still besieging Xie Nantian in the distance, asking a question.

The formation had been broken, that was an indisputable fact, but those people still had bloodshot eyes and were not yet awake.

Luo Fan frowned. "Their minds have been corrupted by the evil energy, and they need to have the residual evil energy in their bodies cleared away."

"How do we remove it?"

Lu Qingdai pressed for an answer.

Before Luo Fan could answer, the God-Slaying Sword broke free from his grasp.

The sword transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the group of controlled disciples.

The sword hung in mid-air, radiating a spiritual light.

next moment.

Wisps of black energy were drawn into the sword from the seven breaths of those people.

The crimson in their eyes faded quickly, and their movements slowed down.

In the end, they all stood there blankly.

"What's wrong with us?"

"What happened?"

"Why does my head hurt so much..."

Seeing that everyone was awake, Xie Nantian and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

The God-Slaying Sword absorbed the last trace of malevolent energy!

The dark silver patterns on the surface of the sword gradually flowed, emitting a spiritual light several times stronger than before!

"This is an advancement?!"

"My God, this aura..."

"Hiss... Low-grade Earth Rank!"

"My God! Just this sword alone makes this trip to the secret realm worthwhile!"

The crowd's eyes were filled with envy, but even more so with greed, and some even felt an urge to snatch it.

Before he could act, the sword was back in Luo Fan's hands.

Although Luo Fan was just a useless person at the first level of Qi Refining, he had Bai Jie and others protecting him.

Even if they wanted to seize it, they might not succeed, so they might as well get their hands on the inheritance first.

The difficulty lies in the fact that, although they are all direct disciples, they know they are no match for Xie Nantian and the others.

Whether through brute force or talent, they cannot compete with each other, let alone make it into the top ten.

But if the battleground is shifted to Bai Jie and Xie Nantian, then there will be an opportunity.

Just as everyone was shocked by the advancement of the God-Slaying Sword, Qin Shou, the eldest disciple of the Pill Hall, stepped forward.

He first bowed to Luo Fan with a fake smile on his face.

"Thank you so much, Junior Brother Luo, for saving us. Otherwise, we would probably be dead here."

He spoke politely, but his eyes were fixed on the sword in Luo Fan's hand.

Before Luo Fan could respond, he changed the subject.

"However, I feel like I've seen that sword in my junior brother's hand before."

He paused deliberately and looked at the several disciples of the Pill Hall behind him.

The others immediately understood and echoed their agreement.

"Yeah! This sword looks so familiar!"

"Isn't this the Qingfeng Sword that was stolen from our Pill Hall a few years ago?"

"That's right! The patterns on the sword are exactly the same as described in the records!"

"Junior Brother Luo, now that you've found this sword, it's only right that you return it to its rightful owner."

Several disciples of the Dan Hall spoke in unison, making their story sound very convincing.

The disciples from the other peaks around them looked at each other in bewilderment.

Some people frowned, some were confused, and some watched coldly.

Anyone could tell that this was blatant robbery.

"You're talking nonsense!"

Xiong Chumo wasn't going to tolerate them and stood in front of Luo Fan with a large hammer.

"Are you blind?! This sword was obtained by Junior Brother Luo in the Ten Thousand Swords Forest, how did it become your Pill Hall's?!"

She glared angrily at Qin Shou, "Trying to steal from me? You think I won't smash you flat with a hammer?!"

She swung the sledgehammer in her hand, and lightning flashed.

Qin Shou's face darkened. "Xiong Chumo, stop making baseless accusations! Our Pill Hall did indeed lose a sword!"

"Pooh!"

Xiong Chumo almost spat in his face!

"A weasel's offspring are worse than a litter! Just like your master!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shou's face instantly turned ashen.

"Xiong Chumo! How dare you insult my master?!"

"So what?"

Xiong Chumo stood with her hands on her hips, refusing to back down.

"Back then, your master stole my Uncle-Master Li's treasured Breakthrough Pill. He was caught red-handed, and the sect leader punished him by making him face the wall for three years. Who in the entire sect doesn't know that?"

"Now my apprentice is trying to steal my junior brother's sword. The upper beam is crooked, and the lower beam is crooked too!"

"A whole bunch of shameless people!"

Her voice was crisp and clear, and everyone present could hear it clearly.

Qin Shou was so angry that he trembled all over, pointed at Xiong Chumo, and couldn't say a word for a long time.

Luo Fan reached out and pressed down on Xiong Chumo's shoulder.

He stepped forward, looked at Qin Shou, and said, "If a dog bites you, you don't have to bite back."

Upon hearing this, a fierce glint flashed in Qin Shou's eyes.

"Luo Fan, who are you calling a dog?!"

Luo Fan ignored him, simply raising the God-Slaying Sword in his hand. "Senior Brother Qin, do you want this sword?"

Qin Shou suppressed his anger and took a breath.

"This sword originally belonged to my Dan Hall. Today, it is only right and proper for it to be returned to its rightful owner."

"You want it? Sure, but my sword has a bad temper and it might hit you."

Luo Fan smiled slightly, "I'm just afraid that Senior Brother Qin won't be able to hold on and will end up hurting himself instead."

"Oh!"

Qin Shou laughed as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. "Luo Fan, what are you so smug about?"

He took two steps forward, closing in on Luo Fan, "Aren't you just relying on Junior Sister Bai and the others to back you up?"

"Without them, what are you? I'm putting my words right here."

He pointed at Luo Fan's nose, "Even if you had the guts of a bear and the courage of a leopard, you couldn't lay a finger on me!"

"Oh? That's a pity."

Luo Fan moved.

No one saw how he moved; they only saw a blur flash by.

Snapped!

A resounding slap landed hard on Qin Shou's face.

Qin Shou spun around three times, half of his face swelled up, and his teeth, mixed with blood and foam, flew out.

"You little beast, how dare you hit me?!"

Qin Shou was both shocked and furious.

Luo Fan didn't say anything, but slapped her again with his backhand.

Snapped!

The other half of my face was also swollen.

Before Qin Shou could speak, Luo Fan kicked him squarely in the stomach.

He was curled up like a shrimp, flew backwards for three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone was stunned.

One layer of Qi Refining!

Did they defeat Qin Shou, who was at the first level of Foundation Establishment?

Why did they fight so badly?

"Senior Brother!"

Several disciples of the Pill Hall then realized what was happening and rushed over to help Qin Shou up.

Qin Shou's eyes were filled with shock. "You...you...how is this possible?!"

He's at the Foundation Establishment stage!

Even if he was corrupted by evil energy and his strength was damaged, he shouldn't have been beaten like this by a piece of trash!

Could it really be because of this sword?

Earth-rank spiritual weapons possess such power?!

"Luo Fan! How dare you treat a fellow disciple so cruelly! You just wait!"

One of the disciples pointed at Luo Fan, "Once we get out, we will definitely report this to the sect leader and punish you for harming your fellow disciples!"

Luo Fan didn't even look at him, but simply walked slowly to Qin Shoumian.

"Even Ji Kun couldn't hold my sword, let alone you?"

Luo Fan smiled and handed over the sword. "Want to try again?"

Qin Shou clenched his fist. There was a chilling aura about the sword, and... a killing intent.

"snort!"

He instinctively shrank back and looked at Xie Nantian, "Senior Brother Xie, you saw everything."

"Luo Fan, relying on his Earth-rank spiritual weapon, openly attacked his fellow disciples. How is such behavior any different from that of the demonic path?"

He then changed the subject, "Senior Brother Xie is the eldest disciple of our Peach Blossom Temple. He led the team into the secret realm not for personal gain, but entirely to bring glory to the sect!"

"That Zhengyang Sect is going too far, trying to take advantage of us and we still need to rely on Senior Brother Xie's help."

He looked at Luo Fan and said, "Junior Brother Luo, you have obtained a tertiary-grade spiritual weapon, which is an immense opportunity."

But it would be a waste to leave such a precious treasure in your hands.

"If you really don't want to hand it over to Senior Brother Xie, you might as well offer it to the sect and let the sect leader decide its ownership."

"In this way, we can both maintain the bond between fellow disciples and contribute to the sect. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

He glanced sideways at Luo Fan, "Don't say that your senior brother didn't give you a chance."

"Hand over your sword now, and my Pill Hall can guarantee your safety within the sect. Otherwise, once you leave the secret realm, you might not even be able to save your life!"

Upon hearing this, many people present changed their expressions.

This is a blatant threat.

Bai Jie's gaze turned cold, her eyes revealing an intense killing intent.

Lu Qingdai also frowned, displeased.

"Pah! Your Pill Hall is good for nothing, but you're number one at stealing!"

Xiong Chumo's hammer burst into flames. "Anyone who dares to touch it will have to get past my Thunderfire Hammer first!"

"..."

"Senior Brother Xie, please say something."

Qin Shou showed no anger on his face; instead, he wore a smile.

All eyes were on Xie Nantian.

"Junior Brother Qin, there's no need to use righteousness to pressure people."

Xie Nantian looked at Luo Fan, his eyes clear, "It's his good fortune to have this sword's approval. As for what you said about offering it to the sect..."

He turned to Qin Shou, "If I were the one who obtained the sword today, or if it were you, would you say these words?"

Qin Shou's breath hitched. Xie Nantian stopped looking at him and scanned the entire room.

"If it weren't for Junior Brother Luo today, we would probably be fighting each other among our fellow disciples."

"He saved everyone's lives, that's a fact, and if anyone tries to take it by force..."

A wisp of ultimate sword intent burst forth from his fingertips. "First, ask the sword in my hand."

Qin Shou's expression shifted, but he ultimately fell silent.

Little did he know, Xie Nantian had already seen through his trick.

The talk of offering it to the sect and the sect leader's decision is nothing but an attempt to muddy the waters.

"Junior brother, Ji Kun seems to be more than just a simple person."

Xie Nantian looked at Luo Fan with sincere eyes, "Our encounter is by no means a coincidence, and we must be on guard."

He had noticed Ji Kun long ago, only that guy entered the Sword Stele Tower unscathed.

This is unreasonable!

"What you say is true, senior brother."

Luo Fan nodded. "This concerns the inheritance, so we can't be careless. Our immediate priority should be to go to the Sword Stele Tower."

"good!"

Without any objection, Xie Nantian took the lead and walked towards the vortex behind the black rubble until he disappeared into it.

Everyone followed.

In their eyes, Xie Nantian's respect for Luo Fan was out of consideration for Bai Jie and the others.

Only Xie Nantian, Chu Wuyai, Shen Fufeng, Zhao Jingzhou, and Yan Wujiu knew the truth.

Luo Fan, this junior brother, is no ordinary person!