An hour or so later, Bai Yuzhe arrived in front of a grand mansion.
This mansion was adorned with ancient and elegant decorations, magnificent yet understated, exuding a unique charm. From afar, one could already smell a faint fragrance of medicinal herbs.
The mansion was called Danxiang Pavilion, and its owner was Wu Cang, the only alchemist in the vast Floating City. Wu Cang held a significant position in the city—his status was so powerful that even the city lord dared not offend him easily.
"I would like to meet Master Wu. Could you please inform him?" Bai Yuzhe said to the guards at the entrance. Even saying "Master" made him feel repulsed.
An alchemist of such a high level wouldn't have even been worthy of carrying his shoes in his previous life!
But now, there was no choice—given his current circumstances, he had to start over from the bottom.
The two guards looked him up and down and immediately started laughing.
"I say, little beggar, who do you think you are? Our Master Wu is always busy making pills, managing various affairs. Even the heads of the Chen and Wang families can't just meet him at will. You're a beggar, here to make fun of us, aren't you?"
One of the guards looked at Bai Yuzhe with a mocking smile.
"Don't talk to him, Ma Zi. This beggar clearly hasn't woken up yet—he must be sleepwalking!" the other guard laughed, unable to hold back. Although they were only guards, as members of Danxiang Pavilion, they saw themselves as quite important.
"I knew it would be like this!" Bai Yuzhe shook his head in disappointment, his expression turning cold.
With his temper in his past life, he would have simply killed these little pests with a wave of his hand. There would be no need for any more words.
But now, even though he wouldn't resort to such actions and it wasn't appropriate to do so, Bai Yuzhe wasn't going to leave just because of some insignificant obstacles.
"Heh, since that's the case, I'll go in myself," Bai Yuzhe sneered, his tone carrying an unyielding authority. He then took a step forward and walked straight toward the gate.
"Kid, you're seeking death!"
The guards, who had been mocking him earlier, were now thoroughly enraged by Bai Yuzhe's attitude. They had never seen anyone dare to be so arrogant in Danxiang Pavilion. Even the city lord would never be this domineering!
Moreover, from the way this person looked, he was clearly just a beggar!
With a furious roar, the two guards attacked simultaneously—one aiming for Bai Yuzhe's head, the other for his abdomen.
Their fists whistled through the air, fast and powerful. As guards of Danxiang Pavilion, both of them had some martial arts training, and their cultivation was at the initial stage of the Heart Gate Realm, which was on par with Bai Yuzhe.
"Humph! Flowery punches and embroidered legs!" Bai Yuzhe sneered inwardly.
These kinds of attacks were full of openings in his eyes, completely lacking any lethality!
With a slight shift of his body, Bai Yuzhe expertly dodged both attacks. He opened his hands as if the two guards had run into him by themselves.
"Bang! Bang!"
There were two loud collisions, and both guards let out muffled groans as they collapsed to the ground, feeling weak all over.
In his past life, Bai Yuzhe was both an alchemist and a poison master, and his understanding of the human body was at an unimaginable level. A single hit from him was enough to render these guards incapable of fighting!
At the early stage of the Heart Gate Realm, they didn't even have Source Power, so they were defenseless!
Only at the peak of the Heart Gate Realm would a person start to manifest a small amount of Source Power. It was only after reaching the next level—the Spirit Aperture Realm—that the Source Power would continuously strengthen.
After knocking out the two guards, there was no commotion. Bai Yuzhe simply walked into the mansion.
Though his strength wasn't enough to take on the entire Wu family, once he met Wu Cang, he was confident that he could make the man willingly—and even eagerly—provide him with the resources he needed.
Once inside the courtyard, Bai Yuzhe noticed many people, most of whom were cultivating.
Even though this was Danxiang Pavilion, which specialized in alchemy, only a few people were capable of alchemy, and they needed protection from force as well.
As soon as Bai Yuzhe entered, he drew the attention of many. They were surprised to see a beggar suddenly appear.
"Who are you? Why did you break into our Danxiang Pavilion?"
A person who seemed to be the leader of the group stepped forward. He furrowed his brows, his voice filled with questioning.
"I'm here to meet your master, Master Wu," Bai Yuzhe replied calmly. He walked forward steadily, not seeming to care at all about the other person.
"What?" The man was clearly taken aback, but his anger quickly flared. He shouted, "How dare you break into Danxiang Pavilion in broad daylight? Seize him!"
He absolutely refused to believe that such a beggar would be allowed to meet their master. If Bai Yuzhe really met Master Wu, the man would definitely pay the price.
With a loud command, over ten people in the courtyard rushed toward Bai Yuzhe!
But halfway there, many of them hesitated and stopped.
"To deal with such a weak, frail beggar, do we really need this many people? If this gets out, it will be a laughing stock!"
This was exactly what many people were thinking, so most of them stopped, leaving only three who launched an attack on Bai Yuzhe at the same time!
"Hmph!"
Bai Yuzhe let out a cold laugh. His body moved forward seemingly casually, yet he had already dodged all three attacks simultaneously. His right leg suddenly whipped out, sending one person flying!
The other two had just retracted their moves and hadn't even had time to adjust their stance when they were struck from behind, groaning as they collapsed to the ground in pain!
Fighting opponents at the same cultivation level posed no challenge to Bai Yuzhe.
Everyone else was stunned. None of them had expected a beggar to possess such formidable combat strength!
They could clearly sense Bai Yuzhe's cultivation level, but with someone who had just entered the Heart Gate Realm, dressed in rags and looking frail, who would have taken him seriously?
"You brat! You must have a death wish, causing trouble here in Danxiang Pavilion. I don't care who you are—don't expect to leave alive today!"
The leader's face darkened as murderous intent filled his eyes.
In the next moment, the remaining seven or eight people launched an attack at once. All their previous contempt had completely vanished!
"Stop! What's going on here?"
Suddenly, a clear and youthful voice rang out—it sounded like a young woman.
Soon, a girl in a green dress walked over gracefully. She had a petite frame but an outstanding temperament. Her large, expressive eyes made her look charming and lovely, even if she wasn't an absolute beauty.
"Greetings, Young Miss. This beggar dared to stir up trouble in Danxiang Pavilion and even injured several of our disciples. I was just about to arrest him and bring him to justice!"
The man quickly turned and saluted, summarizing the situation.
"Oh? Someone actually dares to cause trouble in our Danxiang Pavilion?"
The young lady was clearly intrigued, though her expression quickly turned cold as she glanced at Bai Yuzhe.
"Hmph! Just a sickly-looking stray, and you can't even handle him?"
After sizing up Bai Yuzhe from head to toe, she let out a cold snort, her tone full of dissatisfaction.
"Forgive me, Young Miss! I will take him down immediately and leave him at your disposal!"
The man's face flushed with shame as he turned, ready to strike personally and capture this arrogant beggar.
"Hah… I see. Too many low-quality pills have ruined not just your body—but your brain as well?"
At that moment, Bai Yuzhe didn't even look at the man. Instead, he glanced at the Wu family's young lady with contempt and mockery in his voice.
"What did you say? Say that again if you dare! I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead!"
The Wu family's young lady's gaze turned icy. She even drew the long sword at her waist, pointing it directly at Bai Yuzhe, filled with killing intent!
"Wish you were dead? Keep going like this, and you really will wish you were dead."
Bai Yuzhe shook his head with a sigh. "Tell me, do you feel a tightness in your chest around midnight every night, making it hard to breathe? Do you often feel a tearing pain in your dantian while cultivating?"
After hearing Bai Yuzhe's words, the young lady was shocked. Her face turned pale. "You… How do you know that?"
This was her secret—aside from her father, no one else knew.
Her father, Wu Cang, as the only alchemist in Floating City, naturally cherished his beloved daughter deeply. He spared no effort in giving her the best pills, hoping she would achieve greater accomplishments in the future.
When her condition first appeared, Wu Cang couldn't pinpoint the cause either, only speculating that it might improve with time. But that was merely his guess.
At first, she hadn't paid much attention to it. But recently, the condition hadn't improved—in fact, it was getting worse, making her temperament more irritable and anxious than before.
"Your breath and complexion told me!"Bai Yuzhe said with an expression of utmost confidence, speaking calmly.
"Hmph!What nonsense are you talking? Are you thinking of yourself as a second-grade or third-grade alchemist?"Wu Wenxuan sneered, filled with disdain, but she didn't rush to make a move. No matter what, the fact that this person could point out her issue definitely made her curious.
"Believe it or not, it's up to you!"Bai Yuzhe shrugged nonchalantly and continued, "But let me remind you, based on your current condition, you won't last more than seven days. Every night, you'll feel a strong suffocation, and while cultivating, there's a great chance your dantian will rupture!"
"You little brat, daring to spout such nonsense here! I'll tear your mouth apart!"The man couldn't hold back any longer. If the young lady weren't here, he would have long dealt with this beggar talking nonsense!
"Enough!Did I tell you to make a move?"Wu Wenxuan's eyes flashed coldly as she quickly stopped him. Although she was unwilling to believe it, this was related to her life. Even her father, Wu Cang, had a similar condition, so it was important to take it seriously.
The man quickly retreated, still glaring angrily at Bai Yuzhe.
"Do you have a way to cure this illness of mine?"Wu Wenxuan turned to Bai Yuzhe, her tone softening a little.
"That's not an illness, it's residual poison, also known as dan poison!"Bai Yuzhe corrected her. In his previous life, he was fanatical about his field, and he would not allow any mistake, even in terminology.
"Is there a difference?Can you cure it or not?"Wu Wenxuan frowned slightly and asked again.
"Of course, there's a huge difference. Dan poison is the residual toxins left by low-quality pills, which is causing your current condition. It's not an illness!"Bai Yuzhe continued to argue, but then replied, "Take me to meet your father."
Wu Wenxuan froze for a moment. From his tone, it seemed like he was confident he could cure her condition, but this answer…It seemed a little arrogant, as though he couldn't even be bothered to answer properly.
"Hmph!After meeting my father, if you can't give a satisfactory answer, be careful of your life!"After some consideration, Wu Wenxuan decided to take Bai Yuzhe to meet her father. If he could cure her, everything would be fine. But if she discovered he was lying, she would make him regret it!
Bai Yuzhe followed behind Wu Wenxuan, walking under the fiery glares of the others, into a long corridor.
No words were spoken along the way, and after making several turns, they finally arrived at a room of several hundred square meters. On the door were three large characters: "Alchemist's Room," and a strong herbal scent wafted from inside.
Bai Yuzhe frowned. From the scent, he could already tell what kind of pill the person inside was refining, and he could even identify several of the herbs clearly!
"Father, are you refining pills?"Wu Wenxuan knocked on the door and asked.
"Xuan'er, what is it?"A slightly tired male voice came from inside.
"Uh…I…There's someone who wants to meet you."Wu Wenxuan hesitated for a moment, unsure how to introduce Bai Yuzhe, and seemed a little nervous.
"Hmm?Wants to meet me?Who is it?Is he your friend?"Wu Cang's voice was filled with some confusion and displeasure.