The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

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Blood spurted from Wang Liyuan's mouth as he stumbled upon a secluded spot to rest. His face turned ashen, drained of color.

The jade-green Myriad Pill Furnace slipped from his grasp, rolling on the ground with a hollow thud, its surface now splattered with his blood.

"Brother Yuan!"

"Brother Yuan!"

Wang Lilong and Wang Lizhu rushed to his side, their faces stricken with worry as they helped steady him.

"It's nothing. Just the backlash from forcibly activating the Myriad Pill Furnace to fight our way out," Wang Liyuan reassured them with a faint wave of his hand.

His gaze fell on the blood-streaked furnace, its radiant surface marred. Despite its significance as a celestial fortune, he knew it was also a calamity waiting to unfold.

Noticing his expression, Wang Lilong sighed. "So the rumors were true after all. The legendary treasure of the Dan Ding Sect… really…"

"This furnace was something I stumbled upon in the ruins last year. I thought no one knew of it, so I kept it hidden, not even informing the ancestors. I didn't want word to get out.

Who could have known that this time, while seeking more fortune in the Dan Ding Sect ruins, someone would spread the news of the Myriad Pill Furnace being in my possession? It brought every rogue cultivator and family heir upon us, and it even cost Elder Li his life at the hands of the Tongshan Xia family's men.

It's truly hateful!"

Wang Liyuan clenched his bloodstained lips, his eyes glinting with cold fury.

He yearned to find and kill the one who had manipulated Xu Yan's group into spreading the rumors. But the shadowy figure behind it all remained elusive.

"So that's why you led us to Xu Yan's group first, Brother Yuan? To uncover who was behind the rumors?"

Wang Lilong's realization dawned as his eyes moved to the bloodied furnace.

"Exactly. As long as someone knows I possess the Myriad Pill Furnace, I'll never have peace," Wang Liyuan said coldly.

"But now, to ensure our escape, I had no choice but to use the furnace openly. The secret I worked so hard to keep has finally been exposed.

I fear this will bring endless trouble to our Wang family in the future."

At this thought, his fist tightened with renewed bitterness.

"Don't let it weigh on you, Brother Yuan," Wang Lizhu said gently. "Keep the Myriad Pill Furnace with you. Let's focus on surviving and leaving this place. Once we return to the clan and inform the ancestors, I'm sure they'll have a solution to this crisis."

Wang Liyuan nodded solemnly. "How long until the formation protecting the Dan Ding Sect ruins reactivates?"

"Tomorrow," Wang Lilong replied.

"Good. Tomorrow, we leave this cursed place immediately. We cannot afford to linger," Wang Liyuan said firmly.

He had initially planned to eliminate the two heirs of the Yun Cang Yun family, but with their current predicament, his priority was now survival. That mission would have to be abandoned.

In another cave, Yun Yanshuang's bright eyes sparkled as she turned to her elder brother. "Brother Yantian, have you heard? The Myriad Pill Furnace, the legendary treasure of the Dan Ding Sect, is truly in Wang Liyuan's possession!"

Her tone was tinged with disbelief.

Though she and Yun Yantian had spent their time in the ruins' outskirts gathering spiritual items, they had managed to keep an ear to the ground and pick up bits of news.

"I heard," Yun Yantian said with a wry smile. "I never expected the rumors to be true."

"I can only imagine the trouble Wang Liyuan must be facing now," Yun Yanshuang said. "But I suppose it's for the best—it keeps him too occupied to come after us."

"Exactly," Yun Yantian replied with a light laugh.

"Still, it's a shame the furnace didn't fall into our hands. If I had it, I could refine better-quality elixirs for the family to sell," Yun Yanshuang said wistfully.

"Possessing such a treasure is as much a curse as it is a blessing," Yun Yantian said with a shake of his head. "For now, the Yun family isn't strong enough to bear the consequences of owning the Myriad Pill Furnace. Perhaps not obtaining it is a blessing in disguise."

Yun Yanshuang fell silent, her thoughts drifting to the ancient bronze mirror hidden in their family's cellar.

The karma surrounding that mirror was no less dangerous than the Myriad Pill Furnace. For years, her father, mother, and brother had worked tirelessly to conceal its existence and protect their family from catastrophe.

Perhaps, as her brother said, not obtaining the Myriad Pill Furnace was indeed a fortunate outcome.

"Rest well. The formation reactivates tomorrow. When it does, we'll leave this place immediately. We can't risk losing the fortune we've painstakingly gathered," Yun Yantian said as he settled into meditation, preparing himself.

At dawn the next day, Wang Liyuan awoke from his meditative state. With the help of healing elixirs, his injuries had stabilized, and his spiritual energy had recovered by nearly seventy to eighty percent.

"Brother Yuan, how are you feeling?"

Wang Lilong, who had been waiting nearby, noticed Wang Liyuan awaken and hurried over, his face filled with concern.

"Brother Yuan, how are you feeling?"

"My injuries and spiritual energy have recovered about seventy to eighty percent. As long as we don't encounter the heirs of the Three Great Families or the Six Clans, we should be able to escape the ruins without issue," Wang Liyuan replied with a faint smile.

"The formation will activate soon. Shall we leave now?" Wang Lizhu asked, her eyes fixed on her younger brother.

"Let's move!" Wang Liyuan nodded, rising to his feet. He gestured for Wang Lizhu and Wang Lilong to follow as they prepared to depart.

"Ah, so this is where the three of you have been hiding! You've made me search high and low!"

The sudden voice startled them, cutting through the quiet.

Immediately, the trio tensed, their gazes sharpening as they prepared for battle.

Wang Lizhu and Wang Lilong quickly summoned their spiritual weapons, circulating their energy in preparation for an attack.

Their eyes followed the direction of the voice to see a middle-aged rogue cultivator dressed in a black robe.

Unbeknownst to them, this man was Yun Yanshui in disguise.

"Who are you?" Wang Liyuan asked cautiously, refraining from making the first move.

He could sense that the aura emanating from this rogue cultivator was anything but ordinary. The man's cultivation surpassed his own and seemed to hover on the brink of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Just a nameless rogue cultivator," Yun Yanshui replied indifferently.

"Are you here for the Myriad Pill Furnace as well?" Wang Liyuan asked, his tone cold.

"Indeed. So, are you willing to hand it over willingly?" Yun Yanshui asked with a faint smile.

"Dream on! If you think you can take my brother's furnace, you're mistaken!" Wang Lilong roared, raising his spear and charging at Yun Yanshui in a burst of fury.

But before he could close the distance, Yun Yanshui merely released a sliver of his oppressive aura.

The sheer force of it slammed Wang Lilong to the ground, pinning him in place. His body trembled uncontrollably, unable to move.

Wang Liyuan and Wang Lizhu's expressions darkened as they felt the overwhelming power emanating from this rogue cultivator.

This was not an opponent they could defeat.

If Wang Liyuan were at his peak, he might have been able to hold his own, relying on his sword intent and the power of the Myriad Pill Furnace to create an opening for his siblings to escape.

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But now, his injuries were far from healed, and his spiritual energy was only partially recovered. Escaping from this man's grasp was nothing short of impossible.

"So, what will it be? Hand it over, or face the consequences?" Yun Yanshui's tone was calm, but his words carried an unrelenting edge.

"Do you realize we are heirs of the Yulin Wang family? If you target us, aren't you afraid of our family's retaliation?" Wang Lizhu stepped forward, her eyes blazing with defiance as she glared at Yun Yanshui.

Despite her anger, the suffocating pressure radiating from Yun Yanshui kept her from making a move. The gap between their strength was too great.

"If you want to call it bullying, so be it. I'm here to bully the Wang family," Yun Yanshui said nonchalantly, his gaze fixed on Wang Liyuan, who had yet to speak.

"You have two choices: hand over the Myriad Pill Furnace, and I'll let you live. Or refuse, and I'll kill you and take it anyway."

His tone left no room for negotiation, the threat hanging in the air like a blade poised to strike.

Wang Liyuan's fists clenched in frustration, but the harsh reality of the situation forced him to swallow his pride. His life, and the lives of his siblings, were more important than the furnace.

"If I give you the furnace, what guarantee do I have that you won't kill us anyway?"

"Guarantee? You think you're in any position to negotiate?" Yun Yanshui's voice grew colder, and his aura pressed down even harder.

Beneath the weight of the pressure, Wang Lilong's bones creaked, and blood spilled from his mouth in great heaves.

"Please, spare him! I'll hand it over!" Wang Liyuan shouted, his voice tinged with desperation as he saw his brother on the verge of collapse.

He flipped his hand, summoning the Myriad Pill Furnace.

He had considered using the furnace to attack, but in his current state, activating it was out of the question.

"Take it, and show mercy!"

With a heavy heart, Wang Liyuan tossed the Myriad Pill Furnace to Yun Yanshui, his expression filled with unwillingness.

"Wise choice. I'll let you live this time."

Yun Yanshui caught the furnace effortlessly, his figure vanishing into the shadows like a specter.

As he disappeared, Yun Yanshui's mind was already calculating his next move.

He had no intention of killing the Wang siblings. Letting them live would serve as the perfect cover. If they died, the Three Great Families and the Six Clans would suspect someone else had taken the furnace and might eventually trace it back to him.

But as long as Wang Liyuan and his companions remained alive, the Wang family would remain the primary target of their enemies.

For Yun Yanshui, this arrangement couldn't be more perfect.