Fantasy: I'm in a discarded alchemy room, but I can turn trash into treasure!

"Are Qin Mo's things at the Xiao family's?"

Qin Mo raised the wine bowl, lightly touched the rim with his fingertip, and looked up at the Xiao family disciple.

"You saw it with your own eyes?"

The sounds that had just been suppressed in the tavern resurfaced.

The cultivators exchanged glances, their hands already reaching for their storage bags.

The news of Qin Mo's death in Huangquanxu had been circulating for two days, but no one had yet provided evidence to support the claim that the Xiao family had taken twenty-three storage rings.

The Xiao family disciple's face darkened, and he pressed his palm against the table.

"Who do you think you are, daring to interrogate the Xiao family?"

Qin Mo put the wine bowl back on the table and tapped his fingers on the surface twice.

"I just want an explanation. You can't provide any evidence, so why should anyone believe you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all eyes turned to him.

The Xiao family disciple stood up, his long sword clashing against the table leg.

He was about to speak when Xiao Wu, the leader, raised his hand to stop him.

Xiao Wu wore a long robe with gold trim, his brows and eyes exuding arrogance.

He glanced at Qin Mo's gray robe and gave a soft hum.

"Why waste words with a rogue cultivator?"

Xiao Wu crushed the wine glass on the table, the shards piercing his palm, blood dripping from between his fingers.

"Sixth Uncle, take the men out. This place is small; don't break the tables and chairs inside."

A middle-aged disciple next to him nodded and led the four of them out of the tavern.

Xiao Wu did not leave.

He stood at the doorway, his gaze fixed on Qin Mo.

"Skinny monkey, teach him a lesson. Just leave him alive."

The disciple, nicknamed "Skinny Monkey," grinned, drew his long sword, and returned.

He was tall and thin, with black cloth wrapped around his wrists. The tip of his knife dragged across the ground, sparking a trail of fire.

Luo Zhengnan's smile couldn't hold back any longer.

He quickly walked around from behind the counter and stood between the two.

"Master Xiao, the shop has just opened. If we really have to fight, can we go outside and do it?"

He tucked his hands into his sleeves, his knuckles turning white from gripping them so tightly.

The skinny monkey raised his hand and pushed him away.

"Get out of my way, don't block my way."

Luo Zhengnan staggered a few steps and bumped into the wine jar rack.

Several wine jars wobbled and almost fell over.

Qin Mo glanced at him, then shifted her gaze back to the skinny monkey.

The skinny monkey approached with a knife in hand, his smile growing increasingly unpleasant.

"That was quite a bold question. Try asking it again now?"

Qin Mo stood up, the hem of his gray robe brushing against the corner of the table.

"Are all you Xiao family members good at intimidating people with your words?"

The skinny monkey's eyelids twitched, and he immediately brought his long sword down.

When the blade fell in front of Qin Mo, Qin Mo only raised two fingers.

With a clang.

The back of the knife was caught.

The skinny monkey's arms tensed, and the wooden planks beneath his feet cracked one after another.

He tried his best to pull back, but the long sword remained stuck between Qin Mo's fingers, not even moving an inch.

Someone in the tavern gasped.

The skinny monkey's face turned a deep liver color.

He gritted his teeth and exerted force again, causing the black cloth on his wrist to wrinkle.

Qin Mo looked at his trembling hand and gently loosened his grip.

Caught off guard, the skinny monkey immediately fell backward.

He knocked over two tables, rolled across a pile of broken bowls, and slammed his back against the wall.

He was covered in wine and soup.

Xiao Wu lowered his eyelids.

"waste."

The skinny monkey pushed himself up from the ground, surrounded by suppressed laughter.

He wiped the soup off his face, his eyes reddening.

"You're asking for it!"

He gripped the knife with both hands, channeling his spiritual energy into the blade.

The piercing wind swept through the tavern, making the wine bowls on the table jump.

The next moment, the blade energy soared into the sky and slashed directly at Qin Mo.

Qin Mo touched the ground with his toes and retreated to the wall.

The blade flashed past his sleeve and shot up onto the roof.

The wooden beams broke, tiles fell in pieces, and a large hole was exposed above the entire tavern.

Sunlight shone down from the cave entrance, and dust settled all over the ground.

Before the skinny monkey could sheathe his sword, Qin Mo was already in front of him.

A palm fell.

Skinny Monkey's chest collapsed, and his body flew backward, smashing through half a wooden wall before landing in the mud outside the tavern.

He rolled over twice, then his head lolled to the side and he fell silent.

The tavern fell silent.

Luo Zhengnan opened his mouth, looked up at the broken roof, then looked down at the skinny monkey lying outside, his fingers rubbing back and forth inside his sleeve.

Qin Mo walked over to the skinny monkey, bent down and searched his storage bag.

The bag was just opened when it contained only a few bottles of pills and some spirit stones.

Qin Mo flicked his finger through his sleeve, and the top-grade gold spirit iron quietly fell into the depths of his storage bag.

This is the treasure he staked in the military contract platform.

After Cang Wuyue won, all the bets returned to him.

Now that it's being brought out, it's just the right time to add fuel to the fire for the Xiao family.

Qin Mo carried the storage bag back to the tavern and casually tossed it on the ground.

"The items are here. Take a look for yourselves and see if any of Qin Mo's belongings are here."

Xiao Wu glanced at the storage bag but didn't touch it.

Stop pretending to be a good person here.

Qin Mo kicked open the bag.

The golden spirit iron rolled out and landed on the ground covered in wine, its spiritual light immediately illuminating the surroundings.

The cultivators paused for a moment.

"Top-grade Golden Spirit Iron?"

Someone by the wall shouted something, then quickly covered their mouth.

Another cultivator stared at the piece of spirit iron, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"This thing appeared at the Military Contract Platform. Qin Mo used it as collateral for the Azure Dragon Sect."

As soon as the news spread, people outside the tavern immediately crowded in.

Hua Meiniang sat in the corner, her fingers pressed against her brow.

A wave of heat emanated from the forbidden spell, and she stared at the gray-robed rogue cultivator for a moment.

Cang Wuyue gripped the sword hilt without uttering a sound.

The little blue-eared beast in Luo Xiaoman's arms poked its head out and shook its ears at Qin Mo.

Xiao Wu's expression finally changed.

"This piece of spirit iron belongs to the Xiao family. Who dares to lay a finger on it?"

He took a step forward and immediately invoked the title of Nascent Soul Clan Elder.

"My father is an elder of a collateral branch of the Xiao family, a Nascent Soul cultivator. Anyone who dares to stop me today will have their sect and family thoroughly investigated by the Xiao family once they leave Xuantian City."

The crowd stopped.

Many cultivators' lustful desires subsided.

The words "Elder of the Nascent Soul Clan" weighed heavily on most of the people.

Xiao Wu raised his chin and reached out to take back the Golden Spirit Iron.

Qin Mo raised her hand and grabbed his wrist.

"The details haven't been explained yet, what are you in such a hurry to take?"

Xiao Wu's wrist sank, and his shoulder slumped down.

The veins on his forehead bulged, and his other hand reached for the jade talisman at his waist.

"open."

Qin Mo tightened his grip, and Xiao Wu's knuckles cracked softly.

"Your father is a Nascent Soul elder, so he can prove how these things came to be?"

Xiao Wu gritted his teeth, about to activate the jade talisman, when suddenly he heard the sound of a wooden board breaking above his head.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

Above the tavern's kitchen, a black oil vat was protruding from the broken beam.

The jar was crooked, and filled with the rotten animal entrails and corpse oil that emitted a pale green glow.

That blade of energy just now cleaved the support frame in two.

The oil cylinder rolled half a circle along the dilapidated roof before crashing down on Xiao Wu.

When Xiao Wu looked up, the bottom of the jar was already pressing against the tip of his nose.

With a loud bang, putrid oil poured down his head.

His robe, hair, face, and boots were all soaked.

Rotten entrails slid down his collar, green oil clung to his face, and emitted a pungent, fishy smell.

The surrounding cultivators retreated several steps, some covering their mouths and noses, others bending over and retching on the spot.

Xiao Wu froze on the spot, and the jade talisman in his hand fell into the oil.

He opened his mouth, and a foul-smelling liquid dripped down the corner of his lips.

"Who did it?"