Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

Bai Ruanyu felt a burning pain in her internal organs, clearly indicating that the poison from her navel was traveling along the meridians to her lungs.

She dared not delay and immediately activated the fire to suppress the spread of poison gas. Using her feet for leverage, she ran even faster, but a trickle of crimson blood still spilled from the corner of her mouth.

The exit was just a few feet away.

But Master Liu, who was behind him, was like a persistent leech, pressing closer and closer.

He formed his five fingers into claws, with powerful wood-attribute spiritual energy swirling around his fingertips, and with a whooshing sound, he grabbed Bai Ruanyu's vital point at the back of her heart.

If he really gets a firm grip on this, it would be enough to shatter Bai Ruanyu's heart meridian.

On another brush with death, Bai Ruanyu's mind became increasingly clear.

She suddenly made a move that surprised the alchemist.

Instead of accelerating forward, she twisted her body and slammed into the stone wall to the side.

This sudden change of tactics caused Liu Danshi's offensive to pause slightly.

Taking advantage of this fleeting moment, Bai Ruanyu barely managed to avoid a fatal claw strike.

Liu Danshi's claw attack missed its mark and slammed into the stone wall, instantly leaving five deep, bone-revealing claw marks.

He was filled with shock and anger, and wanted to immediately control the dark blue dagger to follow closely and kill the eldest daughter of the Bai family here. However, Bai Ruanyu had already taken advantage of the gap and rushed to the exit.

She raised her hand and pressed it on the passageway mechanism on the wall, and the heavy stone door began to slowly descend.

Upon seeing this, Master Liu looked astonished and immediately quickened his pace, rushing over.

But how could Bai Ruanyu give him a chance?

As soon as she stepped out of the passageway, she made hand seals, and two blue water arrows instantly condensed.

This water arrow is about one meter long and as thin as a fingertip; it is the "Water Arrow Technique" that cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining can learn.

This technique isn't particularly powerful, but its strength lies in its speed of casting.

Bai Ruanyu gave a low shout, and two water arrows shot straight at Liu Danshi.

She never expected to severely injure Liu Danshi, who was at the late stage of Qi Refining, with this rudimentary spell; she only hoped to disrupt his movements and buy time for the stone gate to close.

As expected, the rapidly advancing alchemist Liu Danshi didn't have time to summon a defensive magic weapon. He could only use his dagger to shatter one water arrow while narrowly dodging another.

Just as he barely dodged the water arrows, the heavy stone door crashed down, completely sealing off the passageway, and the surroundings returned to complete darkness.

A faint blue light shone in the darkness, illuminating Liu Danshi's somber face.

He stepped forward and knocked on the stone door; the sensation from his fingertips stirred something within him.

This stone door is not indestructible; it's just that forcibly breaking it open would be too time-consuming.

He glanced back at the direction of the deep, dark array chamber, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

His primary mission was to disrupt or control the market formation.

Time was of the essence, and he could not afford to linger here.

Moreover, Bai Ruanyu must have already vanished without a trace by now.

After only a couple of breaths of hesitation, Master Liu decisively turned around, transforming into a bluish-gray afterimage, and rushed towards the secret chamber of the array's core.

Since we failed to seize the array control panel, we had no choice but to resort to this last resort.

Once the core of the formation is destroyed, the protective formation of Yunxi Market will collapse on its own.

As for the seriously injured and fleeing eldest daughter of the Bai family...

A cold smile curled at the corner of Liu Danshi's lips.

Besides coating the dagger with potent poison, he had also secretly placed a tracking mark on it.

Once he has dealt with the formation, there are plenty of ways to find him.

......

On the other side, Bai Ruanyu, who had narrowly escaped death, leaned against a pillar, her lips now a dark purple.

Trembling, she pulled a medicine bottle from her storage bag, uncorked it, and poured it into her mouth, not caring about the dosage at all.

After a few breaths, the surging poison in his body was finally suppressed temporarily, and the color of his lips faded from purplish-black to deep purplish-red.

Bai Ruanyu knew perfectly well that Liu Xi, as an alchemist, could not eradicate poisons with ordinary antidotes.

The pill I just took was merely a temporary measure.

To completely eradicate the poison, we must find a higher-level antidote.

She dared not delay, and despite her injuries, she ran wildly toward the underground treasure vault of the Hundred Pill Hall.

The moment she rushed into the treasure vault, a dazzling array of treasures came into view. But Bai Ruanyu didn't even glance at them. She went straight to the corner where the pills were stored and opened each brocade box with her nimble hands.

After a frantic rummaging through drawers and cabinets, she finally found a beautifully carved rosewood box.

Bai Ruanyu hurriedly lifted the lid of the box, took out the jade bottle inside, poured out the pills, and put them into her mouth.

He then sat cross-legged, channeling all his inner strength to fully activate the medicinal effects of the pill.

A gentle medicinal power spread through the dantian, circulating along the meridians throughout the body, gradually gathering the scattered poisonous gas.

Fifteen minutes later, Bai Ruanyu coughed up a mouthful of dark red blood. Her previously dim eyes suddenly lit up. After the relief of surviving the ordeal, all that remained was a cold and resolute expression.

Liu Xi... no, he was actually a spy planted by the Deng family in Bai Dan Tang!

Now that the key point of the formation has been breached, Yunxi Market can no longer be defended and has no choice but to abandon it.

It's a pity that the business my father built up over many years was destroyed in one day.

Although this turn of events was unexpected, and the family may not hold her accountable, the elders from several factions within the clan who are eyeing her covetously will certainly use this as an opportunity to make a big fuss.

Her chances of winning the next Foundation Establishment Pill competition will likely be greatly reduced...

Her father failed to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill in this year's cohort, and the path he had paved for her was all in vain.

Bai Ruanyu closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

That's fine. As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about running out of firewood.

Preserving one's life is the most important thing right now. As for how many people in the market can be informed, that depends on their own fate.

She suddenly stood up, raised her hand and waved it to put the most valuable items in the treasure vault into her storage bag. Then she pushed open the vault door and strode towards the main hall of the Hundred Pill Hall.

......

At this moment, Wu Fan was standing guard alongside a group of cultivators in the main hall of the Hundred Pill Hall.

Looking out the window, Bai Chenrang's market guards were relying on their formation to fight the group of masked men in black with equal skill.

But Wu Fan felt inexplicably anxious, as if something was wrong.

Why has the market's protective array remained only defensively strong since Bai Ruanqiu left, without showing any sign of counterattack?

What puzzled him even more was that the Jie Xiu outside, who had launched an extremely fierce attack at the beginning, seemed to be deliberately delaying, and the strength he used to fight the guards was far less fierce than when he first attacked.

His calm and unhurried demeanor subtly revealed a sense of certainty that he had the victory in his grasp.

Something's not right, something's really not right!!!

A cultivator's intuition often contains hidden secrets and is by no means a mere random thought.

Wu Fan's unease grew stronger, and he even had the idea of ​​running away immediately.

But then he thought, if Yunxi Market is ultimately defended, he won't have any official explanation for his desertion, but he'll probably never be able to return to Baidan Hall again.

Just as he was struggling with his inner turmoil, a disheveled figure suddenly rushed into the hall.

It was Bai Ruanyu, the eldest daughter of the Bai family.

Her hair was disheveled, there were bloodstains on her white clothes, and her face was pale.

Seeing her like this, Wu Fan's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition was instantly confirmed.

Bai Ruanyu staggered to her feet, her voice hoarse: "The protective array's core has been taken by the traitor Liu Xi! He's a spy planted by the Deng family in the Hundred Pill Hall. This market's array probably won't last much longer. Everyone, scatter and flee for your lives."

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and ran towards the back hall without looking back.

Seeing this, Wu Fan did not hesitate for a moment and immediately activated the "Swiftness Talisman" that he had prepared in his sleeve.