At this moment, the two men in front of Liu Yi began to tremble slightly.
"Say it again. What is the truth behind this corpse?" Liu Yi's voice was calm, but his eyes brimmed with a murderous aura.
If these two didn't answer him, he would kill them on the spot.
"T-this... it's because of An Yan's elixir," one of the men stammered, trembling with fear.
Their gazes were filled with terror as they looked at Liu Yi. They couldn't believe how powerful he had become in such a short time! Compared to the Liu Yi they used to know, it was as if he had become a completely different person.
What had happened to him over the past month?
"An Yan..." Liu Yi's pupils constricted slightly at the mention of the name.
An Yan was the alchemist of Xianyun Sect!
It was the very same elixir that his mother had taken before she died.
"Is this elixir poisonous?" Liu Yi asked coldly.
"We don't know..." they hurriedly replied, their voices shaking.
"This is the latest elixir crafted by An Yan, supposedly with excellent effects for cultivation. Over the past few days, many people were used as test subjects, and they all died like this," one of the men explained in a panic, while the other nodded frantically.
"A new elixir for research..." Liu Yi's eyes narrowed.
Could it be that his mother had died because she was used as a test subject for this new elixir?
Had she been treated like a mere experiment?
At that thought, Liu Yi's face darkened considerably.
"An Yan!" he roared, before dashing toward the sect, disappearing in an instant.
The two disciples of Xianyun Sect, watching Liu Yi leave, finally let out sighs of relief.
Their foreheads were drenched in cold sweat, and their legs gave way as they collapsed onto the ground.
"Did you see that? Liu Yi... he's like a completely different person," one of the men remarked shakily.
"I don't know what happened to him, but his power is terrifying. If he had wanted to kill us, we'd be dead by now," the other added.
They exchanged glances, both relieved to have survived.
...
Meanwhile, Liu Yi swiftly infiltrated the Xianyun Sect.
He didn't enter through the main gate but sneaked in through a more discreet area.
"Damn it! Damn it!!" Inside the alchemy pavilion, An Yan, a middle-aged man, was furiously smashing everything around him.
"So many days, and I still haven't figured it out!"
"Why does this new Qi Gathering Elixir still have such toxicity?!" he bellowed, glaring at the scattered elixirs on the floor.
In recent days, he had given the elixir to several test subjects. While it granted them a surge of energy in the short term, the side effects soon became apparent. Every one of them had died from sudden asphyxiation, their bodies covered in black spots.
"I must perfect this elixir!"
"The experiments must continue!" An Yan muttered to himself as he prepared more ingredients for his next round of alchemy.
At that moment, someone entered the alchemy room.
"Get out!"
"Don't you see Master An is busy with alchemy!" An Yan shouted angrily without even looking.
"Didn't you hear me? Are you courting death?" His temper was flaring, and realizing the intruder hadn't left but was approaching him, he threw down the herbs in frustration and glanced up.
"Liu Yi?!" Seeing the man before him, An Yan's eyes widened in surprise.
It had been a month since Liu Yi had carried away his mother's corpse, and he had not returned since. But now, here he was, entering An Yan's alchemy chamber!
"What are you doing here? Get out!" An Yan's eyes glinted coldly.
"I heard you're experimenting with a new elixir?" Liu Yi asked, his tone even. As he spoke, he picked up one of the scattered pills from the floor.
The pill looked similar to a standard Qi Gathering Elixir but was slightly larger in size.
"What's it to you?" An Yan said darkly.
An Yan examined Liu Yi closely, realizing that something had changed. The aura around him had become much stronger.
Could he have grown more powerful in such a short time?
But even if Liu Yi had gotten stronger, how much stronger could he have become in such a short period?
With that thought, a sneer appeared on An Yan's face.
"If you don't leave now, don't blame me for being ruthless." An Yan's face darkened as he saw Liu Yi crush one of the pills in his hand.
In a flash, he drew a sword from the side and slashed toward Liu Yi!
Whoosh—
A powerful wave of sword energy surged toward Liu Yi.
Liu Yi's expression remained calm as he watched the sword energy rush toward him. He unsheathed his sword and slashed at the air.
Boom—
The powerful sword energy instantly dissipated under Liu Yi's strike.
"Impossible!" An Yan's eyes widened in shock.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The powerful sword energy he had unleashed had been destroyed in one effortless strike from Liu Yi!
Though An Yan was primarily an alchemist and not known for his combat prowess, he was still a Martial Saint!
"Impressive," Liu Yi said calmly. A Martial Saint's power was indeed somewhat formidable.
He was still at the peak of the Martial King realm, but with the sword in his hand, his strength far surpassed that level.
"A mere Martial Saint... I've slain more Martial Gods than I can count," Ye Fan interjected smugly.
"From the looks of it, there are quite a few sects like this in the Martial God Realm," Ye Fan continued. "Sects whose strength isn't all that impressive."