Liu Yi carried Little Yellow as he walked toward the Medical Clinic, passing through the town center.
Suddenly, he saw a dense, dark crowd ahead; at least a thousand people were blocking the street completely.
Every one of them looked fanatical, shouting incessantly, "Immortal Master, look at me! Do I have the talent for cultivation?"
Hearing the voices, Liu Yi turned his head toward the sound and saw a Cultivator dressed in a navy blue Daoist robe floating in mid-air in the middle of the crowd.
He frowned slightly, thinking to himself: This person doesn't look like a Disciple of the Tianqi Sect.
After all, the Jin State was within the Tianqi Sect's sphere of influence. Recruiting a large number of Disciples here without permission was a blatant provocation.
He didn't know where this Loose Cultivator had come from, but to recklessly test the cultivation talent of Mortals like this was truly the height of arrogance.
Thinking of this, Liu Yi shook his head and ignored it, turning to continue toward the Medical Clinic.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out: "That Mortal carrying the dog, stop right there! This Immortal Master has business with you."
Liu Yi was slightly startled upon hearing this, but he quickly realized the other party was talking to him.
He turned around with a face full of confusion, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the Immortal Master flying toward him, thinking secretly:
"What does this Cultivator want with me? It's completely baffling. Could he have seen that I have Spiritual Root Aptitude?"
"But that's not right. Looking at his aura, he has only just broken through to the Golden Core Realm, and his Realm is very unstable, as if his cultivation was boosted through some special means."
"With his meager cultivation, he shouldn't be able to see that I have Spiritual Root Aptitude. Besides, I've never heard of anyone in the Tianqi Sect having such an ability."
"Furthermore, my aura is currently restrained; I look just like an ordinary person."
Before Liu Yi could figure it out, the Immortal Master had already flown close.
He looked down from above with an arrogant gaze, as if he viewed Liu Yi as nothing more than an ant.
"Mortal, I see that this little dog has quite a bit of spirituality. Hand it over immediately!"
Liu Yi's gaze instantly turned cold. He immediately understood that this Immortal Master had seen that Little Yellow had awakened its intelligence and wanted to seize it.
Seeing the greedy light flickering in the other's eyes, he knew this matter wouldn't end easily, so he intentionally said:
"Immortal Master, this is just a common mutt I raised at home; there's nothing special about it. If you need a good dog, I can help you buy one."
"Stop your nonsense! I want that dog in your hands. Hand it over now!"
The Immortal Master's greedy eyes were fixed on Little Yellow, as if he already considered it his property.
The surrounding crowd suddenly erupted, and sycophantic shouts rose one after another:
"It's your blessing that the Immortal Master has taken an interest in your dog. Hand it over quickly!"
"If the Immortal Master wants a dog, I'll get you a hundred of them right away!"
"Doctor Liu, I'll give you ten taels of silver. Sell the dog to me, and I'll present it to the Immortal Master!"
Little Yellow felt the Immortal Master's malicious gaze and heard the crowd wanting to hand it over.
It immediately began to bark wildly, its fur standing on end as it bared its teeth at the Immortal Master with hostility.
Liu Yi glared fiercely at those who were shouting for him to hand over the dog, thinking to himself:
"Damn it, how did I miss these bastards when I was looking for Technique Testers? I'll note this in my little book first. When I need them in the future, I'll let you all make a 'contribution'."
He reached out and gently patted Little Yellow's head, soothing the restless dog. With a smile plastered on his face, he said to the Immortal Master:
"Since the Immortal Master likes Little Yellow so much, how could I dare refuse?"
"But could the Immortal Master also help me see if I have cultivation talent? I also want to be like you, able to fly and even live forever."
As he spoke, he stepped forward a few paces while holding Little Yellow, making a gesture as if to hand it to the Immortal Master.
Just as the Immortal Master, with a face full of smiles and an arrogant expression, reached out to take Little Yellow.
Liu Yi suddenly moved like lightning, grabbing the Immortal Master's wrist and jerking it toward himself, while simultaneously throwing Little Yellow far away.
His free right fist instantly condensed a fierce punch force. Carrying a power that could tear the sky and split the earth, it smashed toward the Immortal Master's head with the speed of a thunderbolt.
The Immortal Master's face was filled with terror. He hurriedly circulated his Spiritual Qi to shake off Liu Yi's hand, but it felt as if he were gripped by iron pincers; he couldn't break free at all.
Seeing Liu Yi's aggressive attack, he frantically prepared to prop up a Spiritual Qi shield and reached out to counter-attack.
But Liu Yi's sudden assault was simply too fast, leaving him almost no time to react.
The fist, imbued with immense power, slammed heavily into the Immortal Master's head in an instant.
With a loud "bang," the Immortal Master's head was blown apart on the spot, with flesh and blood splattering everywhere.
Warm blood splashed onto the stunned onlookers, and the previously noisy street instantly fell into a deathly silence.
A Glass Cannon Mage dares to let a Martial Artist get close? If you don't die, who will?
Liu Yi's expression was calm as he crouched down and deftly began searching the Immortal Master's corpse.
Soon, he pulled out two books, "Thick Earth Technique" and "Spirit Seizing Great Method," and stuffed all the gold and silver from the body into his robe.
Finally, he curled his fingers into a claw and precisely pierced the other's Dantian, forcefully gouging out a Golden Core the size of a soybean.
Having done all this, he slowly and methodically wiped the blood from his fingertips on the Immortal Master's clothes.
He rose slowly and looked up at the silent crowd.
The people felt as if they had been struck by lightning. They reflexively took three steps back in unison, their panicked eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
Liu Yi showed a harmless smile: "You all saw it. This Immortal Master was a fake. Even an ordinary person like me could kill him with one punch. Don't be fooled again."
After saying that, he didn't stay any longer and turned to walk toward the Medical Clinic.
There was a deathly silence in the crowd, and only after a long while did whispers begin to rise:
"An Immortal Master was just killed like that? Am I dreaming?"
"He probably wasn't an Immortal Master, otherwise how could he be killed with one punch? Doctor Liu is right, he was a fraud."
"I really didn't expect Doctor Liu to be so strong, to shatter that fraud's head with a single punch."
Liu Yi returned to the Medical Clinic, and after closing the door, he took out the "Thick Earth Technique" to study it.
This was an Earth-attribute Cultivation Technique that could be practiced up to the Golden Core Realm.
He discovered that some of the Core Formation methods within it could be extracted and integrated into the Martial Scripture he practiced, to be used for condensing a Dao Seed and perfecting the cultivation of the Dao Seed Realm.
Putting down the "Thick Earth Technique," he picked up the "Spirit Seizing Great Method" and began to flip through it. After just a few pages, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
It wasn't until he finished reading the entire Secret Manual that he came to a sudden realization.
The Immortal Master's wide recruitment of Disciples in Qingshan Town was nothing more than a front.
On the surface, he was recruiting Disciples, but in reality, he was using the opportunity of testing Spiritual Roots.
He was secretly looking for youths with outstanding Aptitude, attempting to seize their Spiritual Roots for himself.
No wonder that Immortal Master's aura was so strange. It turned out he had reached the Golden Core Realm by using the Spirit Seizing Great Method to seize the Earth Spiritual Roots of others.
Spiritual Roots were originally an innate talent, representing one's affinity for various attributes of Spiritual Qi; they were invisible and intangible.
Yet this Spirit Seizing Great Method could actually forcibly extract the Spiritual Roots of others. It was truly a stroke of Genius.
However, the methods of this technique were too cruel. Those whose Spiritual Roots were seized would die only after suffering the pain of a thousand cuts.
Still, the idea was indeed shocking. The person who created the Spirit Seizing Great Method was definitely a Genius.
Liu Yi even had the thought of wanting to chat with that person to discuss their insights on Spiritual Roots.
More importantly, from this technique, Liu Yi had gained a crucial inspiration.
If he could put this idea into practice, perhaps the threat and pressure from the Cultivation Sects would be greatly reduced in the future.
At the same time, if this idea were realized, the rules of the Cultivation World would be completely rewritten, and a brand new era might begin.