"The Five Elements Pill is indeed not easily obtained."

Before coming, Li Zhihe had subtly mentioned that Tao Xingzheng’s proposal for a meeting might have a test in mind.

Su Mu’s eyes held a deep abyss; he naturally understood that without Tao Xingzheng’s indication, how could those around him dare to act on their own accord. This County Magistrate Tao wanted to test him or perhaps give him a warning.

"Two Sixth-Grade Martial Artists as guards... As expected of a prestigious family from Qingzhou."

Su Mu thought to himself, feeling a chill amidst his admiration, as he realized they had such strong protectors yet turned a blind eye to the Black Mountain Rebel Army, allowing them to grow unchecked.

Since County Magistrate Tao arrived in Qingyun, he had adopted a hands-off approach, as if nothing concerned him. Otherwise, how could the Black Mountain Rebel Army have gained such momentum so easily?

In any case, Su Mu didn’t have much fondness for this so-called Qingyun County Magistrate and even felt a sense of dislike due to the matter of the Black Mountain Rebels.

"I am Li Feiyu, the Cyan Cloud Blade Catcher, requesting an audience with County Magistrate Tao!"

The soldier was interrupted by the white-clothed woman’s shout, suddenly terrified, trembling all over and not daring to speak further, while Su Mu calmly announced his identity without changing his expression.

"So it’s the Unparalleled Boxing and Stick Skills Li Feiyu, but the Lord’s writing is unfinished..."

Two figures, one black and one white, emerged from the shadows, both appearing around forty years old. The woman in the white martial robe was beautiful, but her features were sharp, exuding an icy coldness.

The man in the black martial robe had a square face with rugged features, marred by a ferocious scar running from his left forehead to his right cheek, adding a murderous aura. His overall presence carried a hint of burning heat.

Inside the hall, the white-clothed woman took a tea cup from the table, and the hoarse-voiced man in black poured a cup of hot tea into it.

"Brother Li, please have some tea first."

The woman’s palm flowed with cold power, and she pushed the tea cup toward the courtyard.

"While it’s hot."

In the next instant.

The tea cup in the woman’s hand spun rapidly like a blade, and the rim of the cup sliced through the air, shooting toward the hall door, leaving several fine sword-like marks as if it had been cut by a sharp sword.

The Cyan Cloud soldier kneeling outside the courtyard became extremely frightened when he saw the tea cup shooting out. Previously, a Cyan Cloud Army commander had daringly entered the Lord County Magistrate’s small courtyard without prior notice.

He ended up being lightly slapped several yards away by this white-clad woman, breaking more than a dozen bones. This was already considered lenient since that commander was a strong martial artist who had undergone Yijin three times.

Now, the Cyan Cloud soldier could feel an even more terrifying power fluctuation from the tea cup than the slap that sent the commander flying that day.

This cup of tea could easily inflict serious injury on someone who had undergone Yijin three times; even the Sixth-Grade experts from Cyan Cloud’s major forces would find it challenging to catch.

Even if they weren’t injured by the tea cup, they would still end up breaking the cup and spilling the tea.

Su Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly; if he couldn’t even handle a cup of tea, how could he be qualified to step into the courtyard and discuss the Five Elements Pill with Tao Xingzheng today?

At this moment, Su Mu seemed to be oblivious to the cup of tea, calmly stepping into the courtyard before leisurely reaching out.

The tea cup landed in Su Mu’s hand like a ferocious beast baring its fangs; the cold power within it exploded instantly, rapidly, causing the surrounding air to crackle with a crisp sound.

The soldier kneeling beside Su Mu felt as if a sudden fierce gale had erupted, causing the scales of his armor to clank.

However, the gale only existed for a moment and then vanished. A force composed of twenty-one layers of power merged into a Pill Force instantly joined the battle, and in that instant, the cold power felt as if it had met its nemesis, being devoured completely by the mighty Fire Sparrow Force.

The tea cup, now motionless, settled firmly into Su Mu’s palm, taking the white-clothed woman by surprise, while the black-clad man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Only Tao Xingzheng, fully absorbed in writing, had no reaction whatsoever in the hall.

"It refreshes the mind and spirit; a fine tea." Su Mu lifted the lid of the tea cup, gently pushing the green leaves floating on the tea, and took a sip, "I’m a simple man, please give me another cup."

With those words, Su Mu gulped down the tea and pushed the cup back with his hand.

In the next instant, the tea cup broke through the air once more.

The white-clothed woman raised an eyebrow; it was impressive enough that Li Feiyu could calmly catch her cup of tea, but just impressive.

Now, the other party requested another cup clearly intending to return the courtesy, wanting to see what this ’Unparalleled Boxing and Stick Skills’ Li Feiyu was capable of.

The white-clothed woman and black-clad man were siblings; the man was named Lin Lie, and the woman was named Lin Shuang.

Both were genuine Sixth-Grade Five Extremes Realm martial artists, and their martial arts were quite unique, being complementary sets of martial arts. Even among Sixth-Grade techniques, they weren’t ordinary. Lin Lie practiced Fire Attribute techniques, and Lin Shuang practiced Water Attribute skills.

If the siblings worked together, they believed themselves unmatched in the Sixth Grade, even capable of exchanging a few moves with Fifth-Grade martial artists. Even separately, they were considered skilled within the Sixth Grade.

The Lin Family siblings had been following Tao Xingzheng for many years, responsible for his safety. They were not well-known, but they had their pride.

Had it not been for Tao Xingzheng instructing them to hold back, the two would have long become famous across the Three Counties.

They also understood that Tao Xingzheng intended to test and win over Li Feiyu, and if he passed, Li Feiyu would become their colleague, which naturally made them disgruntled.

At this moment, Lin Shuang’s palm erupted with cold power as she reached out to grab the cup.

In the instant the tea cup was in her grasp, the woman showed disdain, but it quickly stiffened as an overwhelming, unmatched fiery force suddenly emanated from the cup.

"Not good!"

Lin Shuang thought to herself, triggering her own power to protect the cup, but no matter how she willed her cold power, she couldn’t suppress the fiery force.

Bang!

The teacup suddenly exploded, tea splashing everywhere. Lin Lie’s face showed surprise and suspicion as he quickly struck out with a palm, his power surging to block the flying tea.

Hiss!

Though the tea was completely blocked, the intense heat contained in the teacup also burned the hand Lin Shuang had used to catch the teacup, turning a patch of skin bright red.

"Brother, I was just careless for a moment."

Lin Lie glanced at Lin Shuang’s burned palm, his heart filled with even more surprise and suspicion. He shook his head, indicating to stay calm.

At this moment, Tao Xingzheng finally finished his last stroke, then looked up, a warm smile on his face upon seeing Su Mu.

"Mr. Li has arrived, why didn’t you two remind me earlier? Mr. Li, please come in!"

Tao Xingzheng put down his pen and briskly came forward from the hall.

"I have seen Lord County Magistrate Tao."

Su Mu slightly cupped his hand in greeting.

"This way, please!"

Tao Xingzheng was full of enthusiasm, pulling up his sleeve to lead Su Mu into the main hall. "All of you, go retreat for now."

The Lin Family Siblings obeyed and left the hall, standing outside the small courtyard, leaving only Su Mu and Tao Xingzheng inside the hall.

"Mr. Li, don’t blame me. The Lin Family Siblings have followed this official for many years and usually love to connect with powerful figures. Upon hearing Mr. Li was coming, their eagerness was stirred, so they wished to engage with Mr. Li."

Tao Xingzheng spoke apologetically before changing the subject, "Sir, not to hide from you, I greatly admire your Martial Arts potential. Even without reaching the Sixth Grade, you managed to cause an unexpected setback for the Lin Family Siblings. I have the mind to nurture you, what do you think, Mr. Li?"

Su Mu furrowed his brow slightly and shook his head.

"I’m used to being unrestrained; I will have to disappoint Lord County Magistrate Tao."

Tao Xingzheng chuckled lightly, waving his hand, "Mr. Li needn’t be in such a hurry to refuse. Since you have entrusted Director Li to negotiate the Five Elements Pill matter with me, you must be somewhat aware of my family’s background."

"To be honest, I hail from the Tao Clan of Qingzhou, which ranks only below the Liu, Yang, Li, and Zhong families. I won’t be in the small Qingyun County for long, as my presence here is merely arranged by the family."

He won’t stay in Qingyun for long; being the Qingyun County Magistrate is just a family arrangement.

Tao Xingzheng’s words conveyed a sense of pride, imbued with a proud and confident spirit when mentioning the Tao Clan.

"What can Lord County Magistrate Tao offer me?"

Su Mu certainly wouldn’t become a follower or guard like the Lin Family Siblings outside the hall, but right now, he needed to pretend to be drawn in to exchange for the Five Elements Pill in Tao Xingzheng’s possession.

"If you follow me, with the resources of my Tao Clan invested in you, with your potential, reaching the Sixth Grade would merely be the beginning—later the Fifth Grade, Fourth Grade, and even achieving the Three Flowers Unification and reaching the Upper Three Grade Grandmaster Realm could be within reach!"

Three Flowers Unification, achieving a Grandmaster?!

Su Mu’s brow furrowed deeply; Tao Xingzheng truly had a grand tongue, but Su Mu didn’t believe it. If the Tao Clan had such power, how could they be merely beneath the Liu, Yang, Li, and Zhong families?

"Mr. Li, what do you make of this?"

A spiritual light flashed in Tao Xingzheng’s hand, and an exquisite sandalwood box appeared out of thin air. The moment it appeared, Su Mu sensed five pure Five Elements energies emanating from it.

"Could it possibly be the Five Elements Pill?"

Su Mu feigned surprise.

"In Martial Dao, the Middle Third Grade First Realm is the Five Extremes Realm; this realm requires drawing Five Elements Spiritual Qi into the body and refining internal power into Five Elements Power, in order to refine the viscera and achieve a complete blood exchange."

"However, a single major blood exchange is not the end of the Five Extremes Realm. Like the Lower Three Grades Body Tempering Realm, the Middle Third Grade Blood Exchange is also divided into four realms. After a major blood exchange, a martial artist can achieve Qi Blood Like Smoke."

"The term Qi Blood Like Smoke means Qi blood rolls like billowing smoke, able to permeate the body, like a curtain of blood. The heat of Qi blood can evaporate the moisture in surrounding air within a foot radius and has the ability to burn Qi Blood, accelerating physical injury recovery, allowing a martial artist’s prowess to surge in a short period, a life-risking method."

"But if halted here, the potential in Martial Dao will only reach the Middle Third Grade, with hopes of the Upper Three Grade elusive for life."

"A typical set of Five Elements Pills will at most allow a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist to enter the Sixth Grade Realm; if the talent is exceptional, perhaps reach the Sixth Grade peak and luckily achieve the first blood exchange, but further exchanges will require more Five Elements Pills, or even pills better than Five Elements Pills, the consumption is enormous, far beyond what an ordinary martial artist can bear."

Tao Xingzheng paused slightly at this point.

"Moreover, the process of refining five viscera and blood exchange is extremely perilous. After one major blood exchange, continuing requires burning off impurities in the blood, constant refining, requiring various precious elixirs and taking Demon Beast Essence Blood for replenishment; only thus is there a chance to continue."

"Simultaneously, the success rate of blood exchange is related not only to a martial artist’s talent and physique but also greatly associated with age—the younger, the higher the success rate, and even if blood exchange fails, the backlash will be lighter."

"Conversely, the older a martial artist is, not only does the success rate decrease, if blood exchange fails, it can easily lead to Qi Blood Decline, leaving irreversible damage, even resulting in death and disappearance."

"In the world’s cultivation methods, any Dharma Gate is like rowing upstream, especially the path of Martial Dao, which defies heaven, like a moth to a flame; it is precisely this that favors earlier blood exchange for greater benefits in subsequent Martial Dao advancement."

"Mr. Li’s potential in Martial Dao is exceptional, it shouldn’t be squandered or wasted in this small Qingyun."

Each word Tao Xingzheng said was riveting, his tone carrying a hint of lament, explaining to Su Mu the danger of blood exchange, also pointing out that rootless martial artists without attachment to major powers could only advance in Martial Dao.

Moreover, the sooner they attach, the better, to avoid wasting Martial Dao potential!