17: This is the perfected level of the "Bright Moon Blade Technique".

"Bright Moon Saber Technique — Embracing the Moon in the Arms!"

Seeing that there was no way to escape, Lin Yi had no choice but to grit his teeth and perform the strongest defensive Move in the Bright Moon Saber Technique to block Liu Fusheng's attack.

"Clang clang clang!"

Under the firelight, the two fought frantically outside the warehouse.

Lin Yi slashed his long saber repeatedly, and streaks of saber light followed one after another, connecting perfectly in the Void Realm to form a round full moon that blocked attacks coming from all directions.

Meanwhile, Liu Fusheng continuously poked with the soft sword in his hand; every single Move was exquisite, like a viper flicking its tongue.

Tricky, ruthless, and incredibly fierce, almost every sword strike brought a fatal crisis and immense pressure to Lin Yi.

Under this terrifying pressure, Lin Yi was like a small skiff in the middle of a vast ocean, liable to be overturned and crushed to pieces by the endless sword light at any moment!

"Young Master Lin Yi, give up!"

Liu Fusheng held the soft sword, continuously thrusting out streaks of cold sword light while sneering:

"Although your talent is formidable, you are still too young after all; you are no match for me."

"Even if you can rely on this terrifying defensive saber technique to hold out for a while, in twenty breaths at most, I will be able to easily break through this defensive light."

"If you surrender now, then for the sake of our acquaintance, This humble one Liu can give you a quick end, Young Master Lin Yi."

"But if you continue to resist stubbornly, I won't let you die so easily once you fall into my hands after your defeat."

"My Wang Family Pharmacy has awed Guangling for hundreds of years; Young Master Lin Yi, you must have heard of the Ten Great Poisons we specifically use for interrogation and forced confessions, right?"

"If you don't surrender, then once you fall into my hands later, This humble one Liu will personally sever the tendons in your wrists and ankles, and then use each of those Ten Great Poisons on your body. At that time, Young Master Lin Yi, it will be hard for you even to die."

"Cut the crap!"

Hearing Liu Fusheng's threat, Lin Yi's expression remained unchanged as he snorted:

"If you really have the ability, then go ahead and defeat me. I will naturally accept whatever fate awaits me then."

"But if you think a few words of nonsense will make me surrender, then I can only say you're dreaming."

"Good, good, good! You really have backbone!"

Hearing this, Liu Fusheng was not angry but instead laughed:

"Young Master Lin Yi, you truly live up to being a Prodigy of the Guangling Martial Academy and a friend of the main family's direct descendant Young Master. You are indeed impressive!"

"To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the crime This humble one Liu committed this time is too great, even I would want to make friends with you and let you go."

"Because I know that someone like you, as long as you don't die, will definitely achieve great things in the future! What a pity! What a pity!"

"There's no need for pity! Because you won't be able to kill me tonight!"

Lin Yi sneered:

"However, I really want to know what exactly is in that medicine manor in the west of the city that would make Shopkeeper Liu resort to playing ghost, killing the talented disciples of the pharmacy, and even rushing to the warehouse to start a fire at such a critical moment tonight, all just to obtain it."

"Oh, the medicine manor in the west of the city... you actually know about that?"

Hearing Lin Yi's words, Liu Fusheng was momentarily stunned, but he reacted in an instant and smiled:

"It seems that brat Xiao Zhi told you! That girl has a loose tongue. I already instructed them not to speak of the medicine manor in the west of the city to anyone in the Medicine Escort Team, yet she still spoke. If I had known, I should have killed her earlier and sacrificed her heart's essence blood to the 'thousand spirit blood origin grass' seedling."

"thousand spirit blood origin grass? This is the treasure you've been plotting to get?"

Suddenly hearing this unfamiliar term, Lin Yi, who had never studied medicine much, frowned and asked:

"I know about blood origin grass, but what grade of precious medicine is this thousand spirit blood origin grass that it's worth you being so devoid of conscience?"

"Devoid of conscience? Hahaha!"

Liu Fusheng laughed loudly upon hearing this:

"Young Master Lin Yi, I am not being devoid of conscience. After all, if you knew the value of this thousand spirit blood origin grass, you would likely be just like me!"

Liu Fusheng laughed heartily, and then, perhaps because he had been suppressed for too long, or perhaps because he wanted to show off, he actually began to explain to Lin Yi:

"thousand spirit blood origin grass is a variant of the ninth-grade herb 'blood origin grass.' It is a peerless precious medicine that might not even be born among tens of billions of ordinary blood origin grass plants!"

"Its grade is as high as the Third-Rank level. It is rumored to have the miraculous effect of reviving the dead and regrowing flesh on bones. Its effect is even more astonishing when used for Alchemy; it is a holy healing medicine that countless Third-Rank Martial Artists desperately crave."

"Therefore, a mature thousand spirit blood origin grass is often of extremely high value on the market, at least over 200,000 taels of silver, and it is often rarely available even for money."

"For example, at the largest auction in Dongshan Prefecture last year, a thousand spirit blood origin grass appeared. Do you know what its final auction price was?"

"How much?"

Lin Yi couldn't help but ask instinctively.

"238,900 taels of silver! A full 238,900 taels of silver!"

As Liu Fusheng spoke, his mung bean-sized eyes flashed with endless madness and fervor.

"What! 238,900 taels of silver!"

Hearing this number, Lin Yi was also completely shocked.

With such a large sum of silver, if he used it for Talent Evolution, how many talents could he evolve? If he bought Medicinal Pills, to what level could his strength grow?

It was no wonder Liu Fusheng had gone mad; it was perfectly normal!

In the face of such a treasure, let alone a Seventh Grade Martial Artist like him, even a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist or even a weaker Fifth-rank Martial Artist would likely go crazy!

"However..."

After the shock passed, new doubts rose in Lin Yi's mind:

"As far as I know, the life force of blood origin grass is already incredibly strong; it can be planted in many places and easily transplanted. As a variant of blood origin grass, the thousand spirit blood origin grass's life force should be even stronger, right?"

"Since you discovered the thousand spirit blood origin grass long ago, then logically speaking, you should have just taken it and transplanted it beforehand. Why create so many incidents?"

"Haha! Young Master Lin Yi, you don't understand."

While Liu Fusheng fiercely attacked Lin Yi with his soft sword, he smiled boastfully:

"When the thousand spirit blood origin grass is young, although it looks identical to ordinary blood origin grass, it is far more delicate than those lowly plants."

"Before it grows to a certain level, it absolutely cannot be moved easily, otherwise it will die within an hour."

"So two months ago, when I first accidentally discovered the thousand spirit blood origin grass while inspecting the fields at the White Bird Pharmacy Manor in the west of the city, I did it to ensure the secret of its appearance wouldn't spread."

"Even though none of the apprentices, guards, or pharmacists at the manor recognized the true nature of this treasure at the time, I still acted that night and killed everyone at the White Bird Pharmacy Manor."

"Afterward, I spread rumors that the White Bird Pharmacy Manor was haunted and forbade anyone from the pharmacy from entering. To intimidate them, I even deliberately lured several apprentices to the manor at night and then killed them one by one or drove them mad to confirm the rumors."

"Sure enough, hmph! After my actions, the rumors of the manor being haunted became deeply ingrained in people's hearts. Combined with the severe punishments I gave to anyone who dared go there, everyone from the pharmacy no longer dared to visit."

"But unfortunately, just keeping the secret wasn't enough! The thousand spirit blood origin grass cannot be transplanted in the short term, and during its growth, it absorbs the nutrients from the fields for miles around, causing the efficacy of the ordinary blood origin grass planted in the surrounding manor to be greatly lost."

"On the surface, these blood origin grasses with lost efficacy seem no different from normal ones, but once used, experienced Alchemists above the Seventh Grade will soon discover that their efficacy has been plundered. From there, they would guess that a thousand spirit blood origin grass has likely appeared nearby. At that point, how could I still have a share of this thousand spirit blood origin grass?"

Speaking to this point, Liu Fusheng snorted coldly, seemingly remembering something from the past. He narrowed his eyes before continuing:

"So later, while consulting ancient texts, I first found a special Ripening Method that uses the heart's essence blood of young Martial Artists to ripen the thousand spirit blood origin grass, so that the seedling could grow to the point where it could be transplanted as soon as possible."

"Then I found a way to sow discord between that fool, the Beicang County Magistrate, and the Black Wind Stockade, thereby causing the Black Wind Stockade to attack Beicang County."

"Finally, I would take advantage of the chaos while the Black Wind Stockade attacked the county and the pharmacy to fish in troubled waters, burning all these blood origin grasses to destroy the medicine and erase all traces, so that no one could ever find any hint of the thousand spirit blood origin grass again."

"This way, even if the main family investigates and places blame afterward, they will only blame the Black Wind Stockade and the Beicang County Magistrate who provoked them. It will have absolutely nothing to do with me."

"And this thousand spirit blood origin grass will be completely in the palm of my, Liu Fusheng's, hand! Hahaha!"

Liu Fusheng laughed loudly, laughing with immense pride and joy.

"So that's how it is."

On the other side, Lin Yi also understood:

"Shopkeeper Liu is truly good at calculating. However, with all your calculations, did you not consider that our Medicine Escort Team might arrive at Beicang County before the Black Wind Stockade's attack and transport the blood origin grass away early?"

"Once this batch of blood origin grass reaches the prefecture city and is used by various Alchemists, wouldn't the news of the thousand spirit blood origin grass be exposed all the same?"

"Young Master Lin Yi underestimates This humble one Liu."

Liu Fusheng smiled again:

"If you can think of something so simple, how could I, Liu Fusheng, not have thought of it?"

"At this point, I won't hide it from you. In fact, tonight's battle between your Medicine Escort Team and the Black Wind Stockade was something I had planned long ago."

"After all, the Black Wind Stockade is powerful enough to rival the top forces in the prefecture city. Therefore, even if they just sent a random group of men to attack the county, without external intervention, the Martial Artists in the county—including myself—would likely find it hard to escape with our lives, let alone burn the blood origin grass amidst the chaos."

"So, to ensure my safety, I first found a way to find out the date your Medicine Escort Team would come to Beicang County, and then I spent a large sum of money to bribe a Fifth-Rank Chief of the Black Wind Stockade to have him send men to attack Beicang County tonight."

"This way, the forces from the Black Wind Stockade attacking Beicang County would happen to run into the people from your Medicine Escort Team."

"And with your Medicine Escort Team acting as a distraction, I can easily burn all the blood origin grass collected in the warehouse and then leave easily afterward! Killing two birds with one stone! Hahaha!"

"Impressive! Truly impressive!"

After hearing Liu Fusheng's full explanation, Lin Yi couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration in his heart.

"Indeed, no one who can climb from being a low-level nobody to the head shopkeeper of a county is simple."

"Shopkeeper Liu, I had already thought highly of you, but I didn't expect you to be even more impressive than I imagined."

"To complete such a staggering plot as a Seventh Grade Martial Artist and earn over 200,000 taels of silver in one go."

"Such a feat... forget Guangling Prefecture, even in the entire Dongshan Prefecture, one wouldn't find another Seventh Grade Martial Artist who can compare to Shopkeeper Liu."

"Even if I were in your position, I doubt I could have done it as perfectly as you. You truly have my admiration!"

"Haha! To receive a word of praise from Young Master Lin Yi, This humble one Liu hasn't wasted his breath."

"But after all this talk, it's about time for Young Master Lin Yi to be on his way! Young Master Lin Yi, rest in peace!"

As his voice fell, a cold light flashed in Liu Fusheng's eyes. Moments later, he found a flaw in Lin Yi's saber technique and thrust his soft sword forward; it seemed that in the next instant, he would pierce Lin Yi's heart.

But, just then—

"Clang!"

The sound of clashing metal suddenly rang out. At that critical moment, the speed and power of the long saber in Lin Yi's hand suddenly surged, instantly making up for the flaw and easily blocking Liu Fusheng's strike.

"What! Sev... Seventh Grade Mid-stage! How is this possible!"

Seeing this, Liu Fusheng's eyes widened, filled with incredible shock and horror.

In that moment of his shock, the long saber in Lin Yi's hand suddenly turned. The bright full moon instantly transformed into an incomparably dazzling and sharp saber light that whistled through the air, slashing across Liu Fusheng's neck.

"Pfft!"

The sound of a blade entering flesh rang out.

In the dark night, a plump head soared into the sky.

Immediately following that, a fountain of blood erupted from the fat, headless corpse below.

Defense! Creating that sliver of terrifying killing intent from within defense!

This, is, the Perfection-level, Bright Moon Saber Technique!