Chapter 233: First Sacrifice

"Two seniors, let's set aside the Medicine City matter for now; we'll study the affairs here slowly later. Tonight the junior will host a banquet in the Main City; please honor us with your presence." Li Xuan suddenly stood up, smiling at Yang Wudi and Bai He.

In the short term the Medicine City cannot be put into operation; we need to give the Po Clan and Min Clan a buffer period to join Ladi Canyon, so Li Xuan doesn't need to tell them much—talking too much would just waste words, and they might not even remember.

"Since that's the case, it's better to obey than to merely be respectful." Bai He and Yang Wudi exchanged a glance, then nodded at Li Xuan and replied.

"The banquet is ready; let's set off now." Li Xuan led Bai He and Yang Wudi onto the carriage.

Bai Chuan saw that everyone was present, so he drove the carriage toward the Main City.

……

Half an hour later, the party finally arrived at the City Lord's Mansion.

Bang Chui had already prepared the banquet; now he was just waiting for Li Xuan to bring the guests.

"Brother, the banquet is ready; let's hurry over." Upon hearing Li Xuan enter the Courtyard, Bang Chui stepped forward and said to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan nodded.

"You two seniors, please have a seat here." Li Xuan gestured an invitation to Yang Wudi and Bai He, then led the two into the Courtyard, ready to begin the feast.

The three politely entered the Courtyard, sat at the table, and Bang Chui began ordering the dishes.

"Two seniors, the Medicine City will soon be under your management; thank you for your effort, junior offers you a toast." Li Xuan raised his cup and toasted the two.

Currently Ladi Canyon lacks the strength to start the Alchemy Pill trade; once Ladi Canyon becomes strong enough, Li Xuan will definitely develop a market for Alchemy Pills, and then Medicine City will become the most profitable place in Ladi Canyon.

"Young Master Ande, rest assured, Lao Bai Niao and I will definitely manage the Medicine City for you." Yang Wudi pounded his chest and said to Li Xuan.

"By the way, two seniors, don't call me Ande anymore; just call me Xuan Ge'er'er. My name is Li Xuan; Ande is merely a false identity." Li Xuan stood, bowed respectfully to the two elders, and said with a smile.

"Haha, I see." Bai He and Yang Wudi wore a knowing smile, nodded and said.

Of course, Li Xuan never expected his false identity to fool these two old foxes.

After all, they've been living together day after day, so the two should have noticed some clues.

"Then thank you, two seniors; here, junior offers another toast! Welcome, seniors, to Ladi Canyon." Li Xuan lifted his cup and toasted the two.

"Xuan Ge'er'er, you're too kind, drink!" Yang Wudi laughed brightly, then raised his cup to Li Xuan.

In the blink of an eye, the three drank until sunset, and all three collapsed onto the table unconscious.

"Bai Shu, thank you for the trouble of sending those two seniors back to Medicine City." Bang Chui looked at the three lying down, shook his head helplessly, and said to Bai Chuan.

"Young Master, rest assured; I will safely escort those two seniors back to Medicine City." Bai Chuan nodded at Bang Chui, then led people to put Yang Wudi and Bai He onto a carriage, personally driving them back to Medicine City.

As soon as Bai Chuan left, Li Xuan opened his eyes.

"Hehe, brother, they've already been sent off." Bang Chui looked at Li Xuan proudly and said with a smile.

Bang Chui naturally knew Li Xuan was a Fire Attribute Soul Master who never gets drunk, which is why he let Bai Chuan send those two away.

"Bang Chui, you're clever, knowing your brother hasn't gotten drunk." Li Xuan smiled and nodded at Bang Chui.

"Hehe." Bang Chui gave a goofy laugh.

"Alright, let's rest a while, wait for Bai Shu to return; we still have things to do, I'll take a break." Li Xuan said to Bang Chui, then closed his eyes to rest.

……

After Bai Chuan returned Yang Wudi and Bai He to the Medicine City's City Lord's Mansion, he summoned two members of the Po Clan to look after them, then left Medicine City.

As Bai Chuan's carriage just left Medicine City, Bai He and Yang Wudi appeared on the city walls of Medicine City.

"Old Shanyang, will we continue living here?" Bai He frowned, his expression worried as he asked Yang Wudi beside him.

"Old Bai Niao, why think so much? No matter how poor it is here, it's still better than being in the Tian Dou Empire. Let's settle down here peacefully; our two families no longer have anything that attracts others." Yang Wudi smiled at Bai He, waved his hand and said.

Hearing Yang Wudi's words, Bai He also silently nodded; indeed, even the worst here is better than the wandering days in the Tian Dou Empire.

……

Sitting in the Courtyard, Li Xuan took out a notebook and began writing and drawing on it.

In his mind he was scheming the upcoming experimental plan.

Li Xuan had already successfully cultivated a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast; next is the human experimentation stage, because only if it succeeds on a human can he use the method on his own people.

Not only must Bai Chuan be provided with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Li Xuan himself also needs a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

If possible, the remaining six Soul Rings of Li Xuan could each absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year ring, which would greatly boost Li Xuan's advancement.

An hour later, Bai Chuan finally returned to the City Lord's Mansion; knowing Li Xuan needed him, he went straight to Li Xuan.

"Young Master." Bai Chuan nodded at Li Xuan and said.

Li Xuan set down his paper and brush, looked up and saw Bai Chuan before him and Bang Chui beside him.

"The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast project is about to begin; come, both of you close your eyes, I'll take you somewhere." Li Xuan stood, moved to Bai Chuan and Bang Chui, and said to them.

Then Li Xuan focused his mind and led the two into the space of the Palm Sky Bottle.

The next second, Bang Chui and Bai Chuan suddenly felt a floating sensation, then slowly descended to the ground.

"We've arrived; open your eyes." Li Xuan said to Bang Chui and Bai Chuan.

Hearing Li Xuan's words, the two opened their eyes simultaneously.

Bang Chui, who often entered here, easily found a spot to sit, while Bai Chuan was entering the Palm Sky Bottle space for the first time. Looking at the surrounding delicate, beautiful flowers and strange plants, inhaling the fragrant scent, Bai Chuan was instantly captivated; he eyed a particularly luscious blossom and reached out to touch it.

"Bai Shu, Bai Shu, calm down, calm down; most of these plants are highly poisonous—if you touch them, I couldn't even save you." Bang Chui, seeing Bai Chuan's movement, rushed forward and stopped the flower‑admiring Bai Chuan.

Hearing Bang Chui's voice, Bai Chuan snapped back to his senses, startled and stepped back two paces; he hadn't expected to be so bewildered.

"Bai Shu, over here—eight out of ten plants over there are poisonous," Li Xuan waved at Bai Chuan and gave a helpless smile.

The wild Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan are truly overbearing, so only poisonous Heavenly Material Earth Treasures can survive here.

Then Li Xuan led Bai Chuan and Bang Chui to a clearing far from the Hot Spring, where several unconscious people lay on the ground.

These people had black cloth bags over their heads and their bodies were bound with thick ropes.

These were bandits Bai Chuan had personally captured on mountain passes while traveling; they were ordinary Soul Masters of roughly ten to twenty levels, perfect for experiments.

"Young Master, using these bandits as test subjects—isn't that a waste? Those are Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings." Bai Chuan glanced at the people, frowned, and asked Li Xuan.

After a Sacrifice, Soul Masters of any rank receive a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring; giving them to these irredeemable people would indeed be wasteful.

"The experiment isn't safe; if we used our own people I wouldn't feel at ease. As for the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Soul Ring… I can cultivate one and then the second, without waste." Li Xuan shrugged his shoulders and said to Bai Chuan with a smile.

After hearing Li Xuan's words, Bai Chuan also nodded; such a thing is indeed inconceivable, so it's better not to use it on our own people, and using it on these bandits can be considered a favor to them.

Li Xuan said nothing, grabbed a bandit and went to the Purple Thunder Walnut Grove beside the Hot Spring, then tossed the bandit under the tallest Purple Thunder Walnut tree.

The Purple Thunder Walnut tree was over thirty meters tall, and faint flickering arcs could be seen on its stout trunk, while its purple leaves were also brimming with energy.

Like the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Kongming Grass, the Purple Thunder Walnut tree showed no autonomous consciousness, no proactive attack, not even any sentience.

"I'm about to try the Sacrifice of the soul ring. Bang Chui, monitor the soul beast's condition; Bai Shu, just stay nearby as a guard; if anything goes wrong, kill the soul beast immediately, and that guy as well." After tossing the bandit aside, Li Xuan earnestly instructed Bai Chuan and Bang Chui.

After all, this is also the first Sacrifice experiment, and Li Xuan doesn't know what will happen.

"Yes!" the two replied earnestly.

Since leaving Wusi City, Li Xuan has used all the Green Spirit Liquid to cultivate Hundred‑Thousand‑Year soul beasts.

Besides the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Purple Thunder Walnut tree before him, Li Xuan also has a Ninety‑Thousand‑Year Geng Gold Grass.

If this experiment fails, Li Xuan will have to select another Heavenly Material Earth Treasure for cultivation, grow it to Hundred‑Thousand years before trying again; as for the Geng Gold Grass, it's prepared for Bai Chuan and cannot be used for the experiment.

Li Xuan brought out the Lotus Platform, sat steadily upon it, and then slowly directed his soul power into the Purple Thunder Walnut tree.

As the massive soul power gradually entered the Purple Thunder Walnut tree, Li Xuan began to control the tree.

Soon, Li Xuan's soul power had taken over the tree's Spiritual World, and could even command the Purple Thunder Walnut tree to launch attacks.

Through Li Xuan's trial, his mental power could make the Purple Thunder Walnut tree emit its strongest attack, which is no more than a full‑force strike from a Soul Saint Realm master.

"Not bad, not bad—so they can even be controlled to attack?" Li Xuan's eyes lit up as he looked at the Purple Thunder Walnut tree. If he could breed a portable yet immensely powerful Hundred‑Thousand‑Year soul beast, he would instantly possess Soul Saint Realm combat power.

Yet the most important thing now is the Sacrifice experiment; cultivating a permanent Hundred‑Thousand‑Year soul beast is the final goal.

"Bang Chui, explain the Sacrifice method to me again in detail," Li Xuan asked Bang Chui earnestly.

"Brother, regarding the Sacrifice, I don't know much; you need to awaken the inherited power within your bloodline, and then you'll learn all the Sacrifice information," Bang Chui said after a moment, addressing Li Xuan.

Li Xuan pondered briefly after hearing Bang Chui's words.

The Sacrifice is also an unfamiliar Domain for Bang Chui, so he isn't very versed; he only has some memories within his bloodline and has not obtained all the methods of the Sacrifice in his recollections.

"Understood, then await my word." Li Xuan closed his eyes again and began adjusting his soul power usage, aiming to control the Hundred‑Thousand‑Year Purple Thunder Walnut tree with the least soul power.

Half an hour later, Li Xuan had fine‑tuned his soul power amount, and then began using soul power to reverse‑flow the tree's soul power into his bloodline.

In an instant, a dense violet thunder spread over the tree's surface, and a purple thundercloud gathered above the Purple Thunder Walnut tree, with rolling lightning within; aside from everything else, the momentum was perfectly on point.

Watching the scene, Bai Chuan instinctively positioned Bang Chui behind him.

Immediately, the thunder back‑flowed, and an ancient sealed memory was triggered from the bloodline, entering Li Xuan's mind.

Li Xuan effortlessly sensed the memories left in the Purple Thunder Walnut tree's bloodline, all concerning the Sacrifice.

The Purple Thunder Walnut tree truly lives up to its Heavenly Material Earth Treasure quality; its bloodline power is strong enough to easily obtain the specific Sacrifice methods embedded within.

"It's done!" Li Xuan whispered with his eyes closed, his tone brimming with excitement and surprise.

Then Li Xuan closed his eyes, began absorbing the sealed memory, and also obtained the information contained within it.

The Sacrifice is an ancient rite that requires offering the soul beast's soul and all of one's own power to the one being sacrificed to.

Moreover, the rite comes in several forms with varying degrees of offering, ranging from sacrificing a portion of power—such as only the soul ring—to a full sacrifice, giving one's entire soul to the recipient.

The Sacrifice process is complex, and its formations are obscure and hard to comprehend.

Li Xuan also needs time to master these Sacrifice formations.

Li Xuan sat cross‑legged beneath the Purple Thunder Walnut tree, simultaneously using soul power to further control the tree and to comprehend the formations.

Two hours later, Li Xuan slowly opened his eyes; the several formations required for the Sacrifice were already recorded in his mind.

He can begin the Sacrifice at any time now!

(End of chapter)