In front of the Low Mountain, Liu Hongfeng took a deep breath, her eyes flashing with determination as she began to ascend. At the fifteenth step of the stone platform, she stopped, sweat beading on her fair forehead. Closing her eyes, she turned her focus inward to her dantian.

At the center of her dantian, a blood-red orb spun above her spiritual sea, trembling continuously. As the blood orb shook, wisps of crimson mist emanated from it, tinting the gray spiritual ocean a faint red. A weak howl rose from within the blood orb, creating a wave of crimson that surged outward.

Pain flashed across Liu Hongfeng's face, but her heart stirred with a hint of joy. "It works!" The pressure from the Low Mountain indeed acted on the demon seed, but it was excruciating and too slow. To suppress the demon seed, she needed to reach a higher step.

With that thought, Liu Hongfeng opened her eyes, her gaze sharp, and began to climb again. Sixteenth step! Seventeenth step! Eighteenth step!

"Not enough! I must go further; I can't disappoint my junior brother and sister... I can do this..." At the nineteenth step, she trembled, on the verge of collapse, sweat pouring down and obscuring her vision. Her red dress clung tightly to her body, accentuating her graceful curves.

The Low Mountain had forty-nine steps, with every ninth step being a critical point. Each critical step doubled the pressure she faced. Just standing still required all her strength. She knew she had reached her limit.

At that moment, the gray spiritual sea in her dantian had transformed into a blood sea. The blood-red orb above had shrunk by one-third, trembling more violently. The howling within grew louder, constantly assaulting her mental resolve. Without the influence of the Low Mountain, she would have likely lost her sanity and fallen into madness.

"As long as I can eliminate the demon seed, this trial will be over; perhaps I can even gain something from this disaster..." Liu Hongfeng mused internally. In her consciousness, it felt as if her awareness transformed into an island, resisting the onslaught of the blood wave.

Whenever she was on the verge of losing herself, an immense pressure would crush down, indiscriminately pressing her island against the blood wave. At these moments, her mind felt pierced by countless needles, driving her to the brink of madness, but it also helped her resist the blood wave's assimilation.

This was destined to be a grueling tug-of-war. Time slowly passed. Eight hours later, the clock approached midnight. Liu Hongfeng opened her eyes, a look of relief washing over her pale face.

"I've finally managed to suppress it..." The blood-red orb in her dantian had shrunk by two-fifths, quietly hovering above the spiritual sea, no longer the wild thing it once was. "To completely refine it, I fear I must reach above the twenty-seventh step to have hope..."

Thinking this, Liu Hongfeng let out a bitter smile. She couldn't even manage the twentieth step, let alone the twenty-seventh. The Low Mountain targeted mental will, rendering her physical strength useless.

Now, a two-zhang radius around her was enveloped in a layer of crimson, looking exceedingly eerie. "So this is the martial domain... I've finally surpassed my junior brother... hehe~" Liu Hongfeng chuckled softly and descended the Low Mountain, sitting down to recover her energy.

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An hour later, a flash of crimson darted past as she entered the Black Tower.

...

As dawn broke, Li Sheng left the Spirit Gathering Chamber, returning to his quarters to change out of his bloodied and sweaty clothes. After a wash, he made his way to the courtyard. After a day of cultivation, his aura had grown increasingly robust. Feeling the surging spiritual power in his dantian, he muttered to himself.

"In another couple of days, I should be able to break through. But this injury is getting worse; I might need two supreme-grade pills to heal fully this time."

"Tuantu!"

"Chew chew!"

A white ball of light flashed and landed atop Li Sheng's head. "How's it going with my sister?"

"Chew chew chew..."

"She went to the Low Mountain... and is now in the Black Tower?"

"Hope everything goes smoothly."

Li Sheng sighed, then asked, "What about that scoundrel Liao and his group?"

"Chew."

"No movement?"

"Chew!"

Tuantu nodded firmly. Li Sheng acknowledged this and headed toward the Spirit Gathering Chamber. After some training, he visited the alchemy room, handing over two Solid Blood Pills to his junior sister and two Inner Breath Pills to Wang Hu and Tie Zhu. After a busy round, he returned to the Spirit Gathering Chamber to continue his training.

...

In the west wing, Liao Feng opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of foul air. "I've finally recovered!" Sensing the two guards outside, he called them in, speaking nonchalantly. "What news do you have?"

"This..." The two exchanged glances, revealing their hesitance. Finally, the man on the left bowed and said, "The formations in the Qingling Sect have illusions; many places are concealed. We couldn't get close at all, and we haven't seen a single disciple, let alone gather information. Clearly, Li Sheng is on guard against us."

"On guard?" Liao Feng sneered, "I've recovered; summon the other two, and let's pay a visit to our esteemed Mistress Qingyi!"

"Senior Liao has recovered?"

"Great!"

The two looked delighted and hurried off to inform the others.

A moment later, in the adjacent courtyard, Liao Feng looked at the three women before him with a grin that was neither here nor there. "Mistress Qingyi, where's the supreme-grade healing pill you promised me?"

Flower Manager exclaimed, "You... have recovered?"

"What's this? You're not happy that I've recovered?" Liao Feng narrowed his eyes, his tone sinister.

Qingyi stepped forward, speaking calmly. "Refining pills is a tedious task, especially for rare supreme-grade ones. Surely Senior Liao understands this?"

"Oh?"

"If you want it now..." Liao Feng spoke with a menacing tone, staring intently at Qingyi.

Qingyi's heart sank; she hadn't anticipated that this old scoundrel had a backup plan. With the family's reinforcements still three days away, Liao's sudden move left her in a bind. After pondering, she sighed internally; it seemed she would have to seek Li Sheng's help. She wondered if Li Sheng had any countermeasures.

At this moment, Flower Manager couldn't help but exclaim angrily, "Liao Feng, do you know Qingyi's..."

"Flower Aunt!" Qingyi raised her voice.

She knew Flower Aunt was trying to use her status to intimidate Liao. If they could avoid a complete fallout, it might have some effect. However, revealing her identity at this point could backfire and only strengthen Liao's sinister intentions.

Stopping Flower Aunt, Qingyi spoke calmly. "Since you want it, Senior Liao, then please follow me to see Li Sheng. Perhaps the pills have already been refined."

"Exactly what I intend. Lead the way!" Liao Feng nodded faintly, his other four fifth-grade warriors showing lewd expressions, having grown tired of concealing their intentions.

"Mother, I'm scared!" Hua Jingjing hid behind her mother, speaking softly.

"Don't be afraid; it'll be fine." Flower Manager protected her daughter behind her and followed Qingyi toward the discussion hall. Liao Feng's group followed closely behind.

At the same time, Liu Hongfeng emerged from the Black Tower, her eyes bright crimson, her demeanor slightly dazed. At times, she exuded a murderous aura, and at others, she appeared beguiling.