Joel Morrow’s eyes narrowed slightly as a powerful spiritual force surged from the center of his forehead and entered the Eight Trigrams Diagram. The next moment, the diagram began to spin faster, becoming a blur within a few blinks, causing waves of energy to ripple through the hall.
After about half an hour, Joel Morrow spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered back dozens of steps, his face pale and his aura chaotic. “What’s going on?” Isai Callahan asked.
“She’s… she’s really strong,” Joel Morrow replied after suppressing the turmoil in his chest. “She could sense I was probing her.”
“Really?” Isai Callahan pressed. “Did you find her location?”
“I can only get a rough idea,” Joel Morrow said as the Eight Trigrams Diagram gradually stopped, and the hall returned to calm. Aarav Callahan noticed that the image in the center of the diagram had turned into a mountain range, where six women, including Sanaa and Harleen, were flying over.
“Where is that?” Aarav Callahan asked Joel Morrow.
“They should be near the Wilderness Entrance star domain,” Joel Morrow responded.
“The Wilderness Entrance?” Aarav Callahan was slightly taken aback. “Is she trying to return to the seventh-rank star domain?”
Turning to Isai Callahan, he said, “Send a message to the Vice Master; tell him to temporarily ignore the Demonic Clan matter. Take people to the Wilderness Entrance immediately. No matter what it takes, stop that woman!”
“Got it!” Isai Callahan nodded and took out a sound transmission stone.
…
In Desert City, after Billy and Jennifer returned to the City Lord’s Mansion, Casey and others emerged from the Nine Dragons Cauldron. They had spent a long time inside, refining numerous Spirit Fruits and beast cores, resulting in significant improvements in their cultivation levels.
Casey and Stout advanced to the third-rank Supreme Ancestry Realm, while Azure Dragon and Azure Fang reached the half-step Supreme Ancestry Realm, just one step away from the true Supreme Ancestry Realm. Vermilion Bird and White Tiger, starting from lower levels, made the most progress and were now at the eighth-rank Holy Ancestry Realm.
White Feather and Purple Spirit were still in seclusion, so Billy didn’t know their current levels but assumed they wouldn’t be low. Billy then briefed everyone on recent events.
“Boss, still no news of Opal and Harleen?” Night Orchid asked Billy.
“Not yet,” Billy shook his head. “But our presence in the Wilderness has spread; they should hear about it soon.”
“Boss, when are we heading to Wilderness City?” Casey asked Billy.
“Your strength is still lacking; going to Wilderness City now would be too risky,” Jennifer interjected.
“But isn’t ma’ma with us?” Stout said.
“I’m not as strong as Sanaa; don’t count on me,” Jennifer replied.
“Ma’ma, are there really people in the nether clan stronger than you?” Casey asked.
“Of course,” Jennifer nodded. “Don’t underestimate the nether clan; they almost unified the Wilderness back then. The Heaven Alliance even intervened, suffering significant casualties.”
“Ma’ma, do you know the nether clan leader’s cultivation level?” Soul Chaser asked.
“No,” Jennifer shook her head. “But I know the strongest person in the nether clan isn’t their leader.”
“Who is it then?” Soul Chaser pressed.
“I don’t know,” Jennifer continued shaking her head. “That’s the nether clan’s trump card; outsiders rarely know.”
“Alright,” Soul Chaser nodded.
“Ma’ma, do you know about the Demonic Clan?” Casey asked.
“What do you want to know?” Jennifer countered.
“What kind of power are they? How do they compare to the nether clan?” Casey asked.
“If at their peak, the Demonic Clan would surpass the nether clan by far,” Jennifer replied. “But after losing two-thirds of their top fighters to the Heaven Alliance, the gap isn’t as wide.”
“Why did the Heaven Alliance target the Demonic Clan? Was it like with the nether clan?” Azure Dragon asked.
“No,” Jennifer shook her head. “The Demonic Clan’s downfall was due to two reasons: they offended a core member of the Heaven Alliance, and their potential was too great.”
“What do you mean by ‘too great’?” everyone was puzzled.
“The Demonic Clan’s leader was a martial arts genius. If left unchecked, within a thousand years, they could rival the Heaven Alliance,” Jennifer explained. “So, they wanted to eliminate the threat early.”
“Ma’ma, isn’t it said that both the Demonic Clan and nether clan were sealed by a high-ranking individual? Is that person from the Heaven Alliance?” Casey asked after some thought.
“I don’t know if he’s from the Heaven Alliance, but he did seal the Demonic Clan,” Jennifer confirmed. “In a way, he saved them; otherwise, the Heaven Alliance wouldn’t have let them off easily.”
“Really?” everyone was surprised again.
“Ma’ma, do you know where the Demonic Clan is sealed?” Stout asked curiously.
“Why? Eyeing their treasury?” Jennifer teased.
“No,” Stout shook his head. “Just curious. But if there’s a chance to get their treasures, I wouldn’t refuse…”
“Focus on refining Mixing Essence Pill first. If you succeed and your cultivation improves by one or two levels, I’ll take you there,” Jennifer said to Billy.
“Alright!” Billy nodded.
For the next two or three days, Billy and Stout devoted all their time and energy to refining Mixing Essence Pill. The first challenge was obtaining a suitable alchemy furnace, which wasn’t an issue for Billy.
The Yin-yang Infinite Furnace, ranked fifth among the Ten Sacred Objects, was capable of refining any level of pill. However, despite having the furnace and recipe, mastering the control of heat for such high-level pills was crucial. Any mistake could affect the pill’s efficacy.
After several attempts, they finally grasped the technique, thanks to Billy’s ample supply of raw materials from Herb City. On the fourth morning, they officially began refining Mixing Essence Pill. By evening, everything proceeded smoothly without any uncontrollable incidents.
The next morning, when Billy completed the process with a blood seal, a rich fragrance filled the room.
“Is it done?” Jennifer and Casey entered from outside.