Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

It is more than 20 miles away from Huaiyuan Town.

A long-abandoned house stands alone in the mountain valley.

The courtyard wall has mostly collapsed, and the doors and windows have long since rotted away.

The night wind swept through the empty corridor, causing the dilapidated doors to sway back and forth, producing a series of harsh scraping sounds.

Inside the main hall of the mansion, a dim, blood-red light shone, and five organs—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—were placed on the ground.

Each organ was placed in a specific location, with a yellow cloth covered in runes underneath, connected to dark red array patterns on the ground.

In the center of the formation sat a huge alchemy furnace that was nearly ten feet tall.

The furnace body is dark red, with twisted human figures carved on its surface. Flames burn fiercely at the bottom of the furnace, turning the entire main hall a crimson red.

At several nodes of the formation, several bodies of Li family water spirits lay lying.

Their bodies were stiff, their eyes were closed, and each of them had a short sword stuck in their head. Blood slowly flowed down the sword and into the array patterns.

hum-

The formation trembled slightly.

The blood on the ground seemed to be drawn by some force, converging along the array patterns to the bottom of the alchemy furnace, turning into wisps of crimson blood vapor, which were then drawn into the furnace fire.

Boom!

dong dong!

From the enormous alchemy furnace, dull, resounding impacts could be heard intermittently.

It was as if someone inside was using their last bit of strength to pound on the thick furnace wall.

"Li Chengfeng..."

A hoarse voice came from the alchemy furnace.

Through the thick furnace wall, the sound sounded muffled and weak, and its original timbre was almost indistinguishable.

"You liar!"

"You clearly said... you would help us break free from the Li family's control."

"You said the Yellow Heaven Sect has a method that can lift the blood restriction our ancestor placed in us, and that they will teach us the true Daoist arts..."

"You still dare to say that..."

The person inside the furnace suddenly coughed.

"Cough cough cough!"

Amidst the violent coughing, there was a muffled sound of blood rushing into his throat.

After a moment, the man continued, panting.

"You also said you'd lead us back to the Li family, smash those clay statues, and rescue all our brothers and sisters who were turned into water spirits..."

"We believe you!"

"We even stole the clan's blood mud for you, covered your tracks, and even brought the other brothers here..."

"But you actually used us to refine pills!"

"Li Chengfeng..."

"You'll die a horrible death!"

In front of the alchemy furnace, Li Chengfeng, dressed in a wide yellow robe, sat cross-legged.

Hearing the curses coming from inside the furnace, he slowly opened his eyes.

The firelight illuminated his face, which showed no remorse but rather an undisguised mockery.

"The fact that you can believe the words of a traitor from the Li family only proves how stupid you are."

Li Chengfeng looked at the alchemy furnace in front of him, his tone calm.

"The Li family truly deserves to die!"

"But if you don't die, how can I extract the bloodline from your bodies?"

"Without your flesh and blood, and your souls, how can I increase my strength?"

A slight smile played on his lips.

"If I don't have enough strength, how can I deal with the Li family?"

"So, by doing this, I am also helping you fulfill your last wishes."

"Isn't that right?"

Boom!

Another muffled thud came from inside the alchemy furnace.

"Li Chengfeng..."

"You... bastard!"

The man's voice grew weaker and weaker, as if each word required all his strength to utter.

Li Chengfeng's smile deepened even more.

"asshole?"

"That's far too lenient a scolding!"

He approached the alchemy furnace with great interest and gently tapped on the furnace wall.

"Shouldn't you call me a bastard, a scumbag, or an ungrateful dog?"

"The Li family raised you so well, how come you can't even swear?!"

The alchemy furnace was quiet for a moment.

After a long while, a broken sound finally came through.

"Dog... bastard..."

Li Chengfeng nodded in satisfaction.

"That's more like it!"

"What a beautiful name! I love it, thank you!"

As he said this, he seemed to suddenly remember something and added with a smile,

Oh, right, I forgot to tell you.

"You probably won't have a chance to become a ghost."

"Your flesh and soul will be refined by this alchemy furnace, eventually turning into a furnace of Blood Soul Pills."

After he finished speaking, there was no response from inside the alchemy furnace.

Li Chengfeng waited a moment and then tapped the furnace body with his finger.

dong dong——

It remained eerily silent inside.

Those young masters of the Li family who were just cursing and struggling seemed to have no strength left to even open their mouths, and might even have already died.

Li Chengfeng listened intently for a long time, a hint of regret appearing on his face.

"Is he dead? What a pity..."

"I want to hear you curse a few more times."

Despite this, there was not a trace of regret in his eyes.

Instead, an uncontrollable heat gradually emerged.

"However, it's better to be dead."

"By devouring your flesh and souls, my cultivation will surely advance even further."

Li Chengfeng raised his hands, his ten fingers moving rapidly.

He cast dark red spells into the formation.

hum!

The entire formation suddenly lit up.

The organs placed in the five directions quickly shrank, as if an invisible hand had drained all their essence.

The Li family's water seeds lying on the array nodes also began to tremble violently.

Their flesh contracted at a visible speed, and their blood, essence, and soul were all drawn out by the short swords above their heads, turning into streams of blood along the array patterns and surging wildly into the central alchemy furnace.

boom!

The flames at the bottom of the furnace suddenly surged, and the enormous alchemy furnace began to shake violently.

The furnace lid trembled incessantly, spewing out large plumes of crimson mist from the gaps, enveloping the entire main hall.

Li Chengfeng sat cross-legged outside the formation, his hands constantly forming hand seals, and fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.

Time passed slowly, and the sky outside grew completely dark.

There wasn't a single light in the abandoned house, except for the alchemy furnace in the main hall, which emitted a blinding red light.

Thick red mist billowed and churned inside the room.

The air was thick with the stench of blood.

After an unknown amount of time, the vibrating alchemy furnace suddenly calmed down, and the red light on the furnace body gradually subsided.

The surrounding red mist seemed to be attracted as well, quickly swirling back and all entering the alchemy furnace.

In the blink of an eye, the main hall returned to silence.

Li Chengfeng opened his eyes and stared intently at the alchemy furnace in front of him.

Sensing the rich and pure energy fluctuations within the furnace, his eyes suddenly blazed with excitement.

"It's done!"

Li Chengfeng quickly ran to the wall, moved a wooden ladder, and placed it next to the alchemy furnace.

He climbed the ladder to the furnace opening, carefully lifted the heavy furnace lid, and was immediately greeted by a wave of scalding hot blood.

Li Chengfeng squinted and looked down into the furnace.

At the bottom of the alchemy furnace, a large mass of dark red, viscous substance had condensed.

The substance resembled a nasal ointment that had not yet solidified, with bubbles constantly rising to the surface.

Each time a bubble bursts, a blurry human face flashes by.

Li Chengfeng showed no fear, but instead his face was full of joy.

He took a long spoon, dipped it into the stove, and scooped out a large spoonful of blood-red ointment.

He blew on it a few times, then tilted his head back and swallowed it whole.

boom!

The moment the ointment entered his stomach, Li Chengfeng's whole body shuddered violently.

A surge of powerful blood energy exploded in his abdomen, rushing wildly through his limbs and bones.

His skin quickly turned red, and the veins on his forehead bulged out.

The evil energy within the body also began to boil.

Li Chengfeng's expression changed, and he quickly put the stove lid back on and jumped down from the ladder.

He strode to the edge of the formation, sat down cross-legged, and began to fully refine the medicinal power within his body.

A rich aura of blood seeped continuously from his pores, condensing around him without dissipating.

Li Chengfeng's aura rose steadily.

The bottleneck of the late-stage Grand Mage only lasted a moment before shattering under the impact of the violent medicinal power.

boom!

An even more powerful aura swept out from his body, instantly blowing away the wood chips and dust scattered in the room.

Li Chengfeng suddenly opened his eyes, "Grand Master Perfection!"

He felt the surge of power within him and couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh.

"nice one!"

"This is really good stuff!"

"No wonder that old man went to such lengths to refine these water varieties!"

Li Chengfeng clenched his fist, the surging blood and qi within him filling him with power.

The feeling of his cultivation level improving rapidly almost made him feel intoxicated.

"That feels so good!"

He turned to look at the alchemy furnace, his greed no longer concealed.

"Such a large mass of Blood Soul Pills..."

Li Chengfeng paused for a moment, then shook his head and smiled.

"wrong."

"This thing hasn't truly condensed into a pill yet; it should be called Blood Soul Ointment."

"If I refine all of this Blood Soul Ointment, my strength will at least reach the Human Master realm!"

After calming his excitement, Li Chengfeng reached into his Qiankun bag and took out a strange beast statue about half the height of a person.

The statue resembles a lion, but is more ferocious than an ordinary lion.

With its mane curly, unusual horns on its head, and four feet treading on fire, the beast's open mouth is carved with layers of smoke and clouds.

It is Suanni, one of the nine sons of the dragon.

Li Chengfeng held the statue in his palm while making hand seals with his other hand.

Wisps of evil energy emanated from his fingertips and poured into the Suanni statue.

hum-

The statue trembled slightly.

At the same time, the water-seed pouches lying on the array nodes also trembled.

Their bodies were completely shriveled, leaving only a layer of bluish-black skin covering their bones.

Click!

A scale fell off the water creature.

Immediately afterwards, more and more scales detached from the skin, floated in mid-air, and flew towards the Suanni statue in Li Chengfeng's hand.

Snapped!

The first scale was attached to the back of the statue.

Then came the second film, the third film...

The scales are embedded one by one into the surface of the statue, fitting together perfectly.

The originally lifeless stone statue gradually gained an indescribable mystical aura.

A dark red light even flashed in the eyes of the Suanni statue.

Li Chengfeng carefully examined the statue in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

"Although we lost the water vein map, it's still worth it to get this bloodline statue."

"If I collect a few more water-type scales, I can strengthen my demon blood, and then devour them to become stronger!"

He casually put the Suanni statue into his Qiankun bag, then looked back at the huge alchemy furnace in the center of the main hall.

After a brief moment of joy, a cold glint gradually appeared in Li Chengfeng's eyes.

"but……"

"My things aren't so easy to take!"

"No matter who gets their hands on the water vein map, I'll make them pay it back with interest!"

"Whether you're the Taoist priest Huaguang or the Buddhist monk Lushan, I will find you one day!"