The Black and White Jade Herbs cannot be used for alchemy because ordinary alchemists would directly remove the impurities and toxic gases within them.

However, that would also affect a trace of the Great Dao's Qi within the spirit medicine!

The Great Dao's Qi is hidden within the turbid toxins.

It can only be swallowed whole, then slowly detoxified, ultimately leaving behind that trace of Dao Qi to forge the foundation for the Dao.

After ingesting the Black and White Jade Herbs, the medicinal and toxic gases erupted in the body simultaneously.

From within Li An's Life Seed, a green aura flowed out, helping him resist the toxins.

Li An did not use the power of the Life Seed to neutralize the poison because he realized that would still be too wasteful.

The toxins could be guided by the power of the Life Seed to converge in his hand, enhancing the poison potency of the Cold Yin Finger.

...

Until the next morning.

Li An opened his eyes, filled with a look of excitement and satisfaction.

Upon introspection, above the pool in his Dantian, a faint wisp of milky-white aura had appeared.

If not carefully examined, it was impossible to see.

But Li An was very clear that this was the Dao Qi!

This wisp of Dao Qi was truly too thin and fragile, even though it was extracted and purified from the many turbid toxins, it still gave a feeling that it would dissipate at any moment.

This is the hope for the Golden Core!

It's still scarce now and needs to be slowly accumulated.

According to Li An's calculations, at least nine strands of Dao Qi are needed to barely suffice!

"In another ten years or so, the early-stage Foundation Establishment can reach perfection..."

He wasn't in a hurry, progressing steadily and surely.

...

In the blink of an eye, another seven years passed!

Li An had served as an ordinary artifact evaluator for ten years, reaching the age of one hundred and twenty-one.

Over seven years, he steadily found three more toxic Dao medicines.

The benefits of becoming an artifact evaluator gradually emerged. He lacked no resources in cultivation, gained considerable status, and even had channels for collecting toxic Dao herbs.

Moreover, under his quiet influence, Gu Hong officially became the "pill supplier" for the Treasure Pavilion three years ago!

He didn't help directly but showcased Gu Hong's excellence, such as recommending her when other artifact evaluators had alchemy needs.

Gradually, opportunities arose, and Gu Hong seized them, everything falling into place naturally.

Her income now was at least three times that of before!

"Recently, we need to acquire a batch of Celestial Slayer Stones!"

One day, the three senior artifact evaluators assigned the latest task.

Li An frowned slightly.

The Celestial Slayer Stone is born from the intermingling of heaven and earth's Qi, where evil Qi breeds, containing a large amount of evil Qi inside, generally deemed ominous for cultivators!

Only some specialized demon and evil cultivators would use it, considered a rare item.

Why would Treasure Pavilion suddenly collect such items on a large scale?

There are only two possibilities for needing such a large quantity:

First, a sect specializing in evil Qi has emerged, requiring a massive amount of such resources.

Second, someone wants to set up an unimaginably lethal formation!

——The evil Qi contained within the Celestial Slayer Stone can significantly enhance the power of a killing formation.

Or perhaps both?

His years of cautious upbringing made Li An sense something peculiar about this.

Because, he now knew, the real power behind the Treasure Pavilion was the Prince Mansion.

The Pavilion Master Qin Xuan herself was the lover of Prince Zhenbei, Li Xiaoyuan, of the Great Li royal family!

Every large-scale collection of various materials by the Treasure Pavilion always served the needs of the Prince Mansion.

This time would be no exception.

One must pay attention to the grand actions of the Prince Mansion.

Because this implies the dynamics at the highest level.

The items were previously analyzed by Li An, and they were all relatively normal material demands, but this time, it seemed a little strange no matter how one looked at it.

However, he wasn't in a rush, as such items wouldn't be collected quickly, and the "big action" of the Prince Mansion wouldn't come that swiftly either.

"Zuo Wen,"

Mo Rong found Li An alone: "You must take this matter to heart and act quickly!"

Her expression was extremely grave, "If you perform outstandingly in this matter, there might be a chance for advancement to a senior artifact evaluator in the future…"

Li An's heart stirred.

The competition between her and Xu Changkong for the chief artifact evaluator position had become increasingly heated; this batch of items, being so important, was undoubtedly a critical assessment factor.

Li An calmly said, "Zuo Wen will do his utmost!"

Mo Rong still looked at him: "You and I are mutually bound by our successes, if Xu Changkong finds out what you did back then, he will surely hate you to the bone…"

She was pressing Li An!

After all, back then, she had expectations for Li An to replace Lu Hua, but after Li An's ascension, he didn't provide her much assistance…

She certainly understood Li An's intentions.

But this time, she would not allow Li An to remain uninvolved any longer.

...

And at this moment.

Within a certain building in Celestial Yang City.

A middle-aged man quickly walked in, "Leader, your subordinate has an important matter to report, regarding the side of White Tiger City..."

This middle-aged man was, surprisingly, Fujitaka, the senior disciple of Life-taking Horse-Faced!

Upon hearing this, Life-taking Horse-Faced waved his hand, causing everyone around to leave, and then directly activated a grand formation to prevent eavesdropping.

"Speak."

Fujitaka said: "Master, your instructions have been completed by this disciple, here are the current lists of all the artifact evaluators and managers of the Treasure Pavilion!"

He handed over an envelope.

Life-taking Horse-Faced took it, opened it, and began to carefully scrutinize it, pondering for a long time.

"Master, I have been watching Gu Hong for thirteen years, she indeed exhibits no deficiencies, nor has she had contact with any suspicious individuals during this period..."

Fujitaka's expression was complicated.

Since more than twenty years ago, when Life-taking Horse-Faced tasked him with finding the black-hearted talisman master, he had been tirelessly focused on this matter.

Over these years, he thoroughly examined every cultivator who successfully established a foundation in the three years leading up to the battle of White Tiger City, pinpointing several key targets.

He indeed uncovered the most peculiar one—Wei Ming!

Wei Ming's Foundation Establishment Pill… came from the alchemist Gu Hong.

Moreover, Gu Hong had previously been captured by the Demon Sect members.

Further, during the siege on White Tiger City, Gu Hong left the city early.

As a result, they put significant focus on Gu Hong.

Under Life-taking Horse-Faced's instructions, Fujitaka began secretly monitoring Gu Hong thirteen years ago, yet not even a hint of a clue surfaced, and the black-hearted talisman master had not appeared even once!

He had nearly despaired.

This black-hearted talisman master was truly evasive, and if things continued this way, he thought he might die of old age before ever witnessing Li An.

His endurance was boundless!

Were it not for being pressured by his master, Life-taking Horse-Faced, he would have given up long ago!

Even now, he still didn't understand why a lesser talisman master warranted such an exhaustive search by his master.

Moreover, he even thought his master was somewhat obsessed with this matter, almost to the point of insanity!

Forcing him to analyze everyone associated with Gu Hong, even requiring him to investigate the personnel within the Treasure Pavilion…

Though everything seemed so normal to him, even Gu Hong becoming a supplier for the Treasure Pavilion felt entirely natural... without any issues.

"Hmm? Zuo Wen?"

Life-taking Horse-Faced looked for a long time, suddenly focusing on a name, "An outsider..."

"This matter ends here, from today, you will attend to other matters."

Upon hearing this, Fujitaka was overjoyed, "Alright, disciple obeys, disciple obeys!"

He was ecstatic!

After more than twenty years, finally, liberation.

"Come over, I'll impart you a divine skill."

Life-taking Horse-Faced waved him over, Fujitaka was utterly delighted, immediately stepping forward and kneeling before Life-taking Horse-Faced, eyes filled with eagerness.

Life-taking Horse-Faced smiled slightly, placing his hand on Fujitaka's forehead.

Immediately—

A stream of black light instantly sank into Fujitaka's Spirit Platform.

Fujitaka began trembling immediately, crying out painfully, eyes filled with terror, "Master, Master…"

He realized…

Was his master going to turn him into a blood and flesh puppet?

When did his master learn the Blood and Flesh Melting Furnace Skill? Isn't it true that within the Yin Yang Demon Sect, different skills are controlled by different branch leaders?

"No, no…"

He pleaded desperately, but Life-taking Horse-Faced remained as cold as ever, unmoved.

After a long time.

The puppet refining was complete.

"Don't blame Master, knowing about this matter left Master with only two choices: to kill you or turn you into a puppet…"

Life-taking Horse-Faced stood up and then narrowed his eyes, "The black-hearted talisman master, Li An…"

He stood up and departed!

...

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