“I doubt the lower echelons of the Beggars sect would be able to hide demonic influence for too long.” Alistair calmly said. “You mean…”“Focus on the elders. If there's an infiltration, it's going to be one of the elders.” “I see.” Master Xie nodded. “I'll report to you once I find anything.”“That's alright,” Alistair said. With that, neither spoke again and the rest of the journey continued in silence. Upon their arrival at Master Xie's residence, Xie asked Alistair to wait while he rushed in to retrieve the Aeon Sun Phoenix Grass. A few minutes later, Master Xie returned, but he didn't just bring the Aeon Sun Phoenix Grass. He felt the grass was too little for a man like Alistair, and so he had retrieved a pair of ancient, blood-red gauntlets alongside it.The gauntlets were crafted from the hide of a deep-sea abyssal beast, reinforced with dark meteoric iron that pulsed with a faint, rhythmic heartbeat.Wisps of heavy, condensed martial energy rolled off the metallic knuckl

"You thought you were clever, didn't you?" James spat, stepping onto the concrete courtyard. "Hiding behind Master Xie, pretending to be some grand artist with 'unparalleled insight.' You humiliated me in front of the entire province! But Master Xie isn't here to protect you now, old man. Let’s see how sharp your tongue is when I have my men snap every single bone in your hands!”Alistair slowly turned around, his posture remaining unhurried and loose.Under the flickering halide bulb of a half-finished warehouse nearby, his middle-aged scholar facade looked entirely defenseless.Yet, those dull brown eyes held a terrifying, immovable stillness.“You crossed half the city, incapacitated an innocent driver, and cornered me out here in the city center,” Alistair said softly, a hint of genuine pity playing in his voice. “All because a wandering sage told you your painting lacked a soul. Young Master Morrison, your heart is even narrower than I initially thought.”“Shut your mouth!” James

Alistair slowly bent down, bringing his golden gaze level with James's pale face.He raised his right hand, the meteoric iron of the gauntlet hovering mere inches from James's forehead.The immense heat radiating from the celestial qi singed the tips of James's hair.“Please… please don’t kill me… I’ll give you anything… money, herbs, the Morrison Clan’s shares…” James wept openly, his pride completely shattered, a puddle of urine staining the concrete beneath him.“I will not kill you tonight, Young Master Morrison,” Alistair murmured coldly. “A dead fool teaches no lessons to the clan backing him. But your hands… the hands you wanted to use to shred my fingers…”Alistair gently tapped James’s shoulders with the tip of his fingers.An agonizing, silent burst of golden qi surged directly into James’s upper meridians.James didn't even have the breath to scream as the energy systematically locked down his main arm pathways, completely severing the connection between his brain and his h

"A ragged painter? Hiding behind Xie?" Patriarch Morrison's fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. "And he possessed a special treasure? Absurd! What is this bastard's name?!""I... I don't know!" James cried out, shaking his head frantically. "He never said his name! Master Xie just called him 'Sir' and treated him like an elder!"Patriarch Morrison turned his ferocious gaze toward the butler, who had just rushed into the sitting room. "It matters not if he hides his name. In Haven, nothing moves without the knowledge of the beggars."He pointed a rigid finger at the butler, his voice dripping with absolute malice. "Take my personal token and head straight to the Beggar's Sect headquarters in Haven. Demand that the regional elders hand over every piece of information regarding this mysterious painter within the hour! If they hesitate, tell them the Morrison Clan will withdraw all financial backing from their southern trading ports!""Right away, Patriarch!" the butler resp

With all the items he had gathered, Alistair would finally be able to begin the refinement of the Sacred Life and Death Pill. Taking a deep breath, Alistair studied the items he had claimed thus far. The four rare components hovered gently above the woven mat, illuminated by a mesmerizing tapestry of contrasting energies.The Eternal Verdant Heart Lotus pulsed with raw, vibrant green vitality, perfectly contrasting the searing, sun-baked heat of the Aeon Sun Phoenix Grass.Beside them, the Spirit-Nurturing Primordial Dew floated as a collection of perfect, crystalline spheres trapped in a vial that emitted a gentle, soul-soothing hum.Finally, the Void-Withered Root sat anchoring the display—a twisted, ash-gray relic that looked completely dead to the untrained eye, yet fundamentally warped the light around it, drinking in the ambient spiritual friction of the room.To any modern cultivator, seeing these four ingredients gathered in one room would be akin to witnessing a myth manife