Chapter 48: Undercurrents Approaching

Adding them all up, there were nearly a thousand plants in total, which would be quite enough for Mo Xuan to refine.

First came the Tier 2 recovery potions, as those were the ones used most frequently.

The formula consisted of Clear Spirit Grass and Violets, supplemented by White Glossy Ganoderma, all of which were of the second tier.

Judging by the current quantity, it was estimated to be enough to refine sixty batches. Of course, the indispensable Tier 2 demonic beast core was also required—though Mo Xuan had practically picked this one up for free. Next came adjusting the proportions.

Once a demonic beast core was integrated, the situation changed entirely. The elemental energy within every demonic beast core had subtle differences. For ordinary potions below the top grade, these variations could be ignored, but the potions Mo Xuan refined were top-grade ones, so he had to be extremely careful about this.

According to what Lan Bing had taught him, trying to capture these subtle differences simply through so-called fusion was utterly impossible; one had to be patient, and it was best to base the proportions around the demonic beast core itself.

The process was not overly complex. First, the ingredients were refined using spiritual energy in a sequential order, while the integration, separation, and condensation had to be carried out simultaneously.

He could not be disturbed during the process, nor could he rush.

"Sigh, this is truly not easy!" Mo Xuan had maintained this state for almost an entire day, but in the end, he had finally succeeded.

All things considered, the result was not bad: out of sixty batches, thirty were successful. A fifty percent success rate was already a very decent probability.

For the next period of time, Mo Xuan remained busy refining various types of potions.

There were velocity-boosting potions, short-term explosive power-enhancing potions, and all sorts of other top-grade concoctions. Although failures accounted for a large proportion, fortunately, hard work paid off, and he ultimately successfully refined one hundred and twenty-three batches of potions, all of which were top-grade.

Among them, the Tier 2 potions were the most numerous, numbering around ninety-one batches, with the remainder being Tier 3. Calculating it roughly, if all these potions were sold, it would likely bring in three million spirit coins.

There were still some leftover materials, which were definitely not enough to refine top-grade potions, so he simply used them to brew some superior-grade potions instead.

After bustling about for seven days, he finally managed to process most of these materials.

Once finished, Mo Xuan began delivering these potions in batches to the Mo family's store. Naturally, only the superior-grade potions were sent there; top-grade potions could not be sold at that location for the time being. Firstly, the Mo family lacked the capability to refine top-grade potions, and secondly, it was impossible for him to continuously supply the family with potions, so he intended for them to figure out a way themselves.

As for the top-grade potions, they were all sent to the Wolingma Auction House. Coincidentally, every time Mo Xuan came here, he would catch sight of Meng Yao, and this time he ran into her once again.

She was not inside the auction house this time, but merely on a nearby street, yet this coincidence was truly uncanny.

It felt as though a pair of eyes was watching him from right outside his residence.

No, one time was a coincidence, and twice could also be considered a coincidence, but what about three or four times? It couldn't possibly be a coincidence every single time. Mo Xuan only now belatedly realized that Meng Yao was doing this intentionally.

"What a coincidence! Are you also heading to the auction house? Hey—why are you looking at me like that?!" Cold sweat broke out on Meng Yao's face, and she flushed with guilt.

This was completely unlike her. Logically speaking, she shouldn't have given herself away so easily, yet this time she had acted so overtly, probably because she deliberately wanted Mo Xuan to notice.

"Why is it that every time I step out, I end up running into you, either intentionally or unintentionally?" Mo Xuan did not get angry, but instead questioned her in a normal conversational tone.

"Well, um, ha, how would I know? It must be fate, I suppose!" Meng Yao stammered, unable to speak clearly. "Alright, fine, it's true that I've been intentionally paying attention to you! But I didn't follow you to the Aurora Forest, at least!"

Meng Yao even knew that Mo Xuan had gone to the Aurora Forest!

Only now did he realize that his whereabouts had already caught Meng Yao's attention. No wonder there had been so many coincidences, but why on earth would Meng Yao do such a thing?

Mo Xuan could not quite understand it!

Never mind; after all, it wasn't a major issue, and since Lan Bing was her teacher, paying some attention to him was probably necessary. Mo Xuan simply walked away without answering.

"I'm sorry, I was just worried about you. Don't be mad, I'm apologizing to you!" Meng Yao hurriedly caught up, tugging at Mo Xuan's sleeve. Inadvertently, she caught sight of the tooth marks on Mo Xuan's hand. Although they had already healed, a faint scar was still visible. "You're hurt!"

"I still have matters to attend to, I'm leaving first!" Mo Xuan had no intention of blaming her, yet he still felt somewhat awkward. He suspected that Lan Bing must have had a hand in this matter as well; otherwise, Meng Yao alone could never have pulled this off.

Meng Yao felt a lingering sense of guilt, so she continued to trail behind Mo Xuan like a little follower. Mo Xuan's completely silent demeanor made it truly difficult for her to gauge his thoughts. Was he angry with her or not? "Scold me a couple of times, and I'll feel a bit better... You're angry with me, I..."

"No, don't overthink it!" Mo Xuan shook his head, expressionless, and continued walking forward.

"You are definitely angry, otherwise why would you be ignoring me! How about you boss me around for a couple of days to consider it my apology, okay? With you acting like this, I feel so unsettled." Meng Yao rushed anxiously in front of Mo Xuan, blocking his path.

Mo Xuan stopped in his tracks. He knew it must have been because of the assassination attempt last time; Meng Yao hadn't even had the chance to repay Mo Xuan for saving her life, so she certainly wouldn't want anything to happen to him. "I'm not that petty. If there's nothing else, stop following me!"

"Then I'll wait for you outside, alright!" Before Meng Yao could finish speaking, Mo Xuan had already stepped inside. She shook her head repeatedly, pacing back and forth outside, seemingly wanting to say something yet unsure of how to express it.

Inside the auction house!

Today, the place was exceptionally deserted, as if no business was being conducted.

When Mo Xuan arrived, Tian Xi was currently in the middle of discussing matters with someone.

The duty staff led Mo Xuan to a designated room to rest. In the hallway, he happened to run into a group of people emerging from the main conference hall.

There were two of them in total. One was Tian Xi, while the other was someone Mo Xuan did not recognize very well. Judging by his appearance, he possessed a certain majesty and looked relatively young, around thirty-something years of age.

That person exchanged a greeting and then left. Before departing, he cast a glance at Mo Xuan—one filled with open disdain.

He apparently did not know that Mo Xuan was here to see Tian Xi; otherwise, he probably would have stepped up to block his way.

Seeing that Mo Xuan had arrived, Tian Xi instructed the people beside her to withdraw, and then greeted him warmly with a smile, "It's been a long time! I had some matters to attend to just now, please forgive me!"

"It's nothing, I only just arrived myself," Mo Xuan replied. "If I may boldly ask, who was that person just now?"

"He is Luo Haiji, the Lord of Luochuan City. He came this time to entrust me with a matter, but the task he spoke of is simply too difficult... Oh well, never mind. Since you're here this time, you must be here to auction potions again, right?"

Tian Xi sighed for a moment, but the mention of potions brought a slight smile to her face, dispersing the dark clouds before her eyes.

Soon, she led Mo Xuan into the main hall to discuss the transaction details.

"That's right, this time there are over a hundred bottles of top-grade potions, including more than eighty bottles of Tier 2 and a dozen or so bottles of Tier 3. Please accept them!" Naturally, Mo Xuan wouldn't sell all of them; he still needed to keep some in reserve for himself.

"That's wonderful! I was just worrying about a lack of merchandise, and this fills the gap just right." Seeing that Mo Xuan had casually brought out so many top-grade potions at once—especially when business had been rather sluggish lately—a trace of worry had initially flickered across Tian Xi's face, but it quickly dissipated.

"Could it be that such a large auction house would ever lack business?" Mo Xuan asked curiously.

Tian Xi waved her hand and briefly explained, "Sigh, many items here are scarce to begin with, and a somewhat grand auction isn't held every single day. It's quite normal for things to be a bit quiet."

This was indeed natural. Many clans operated on mass production for various goods and could be self-sufficient in many aspects. Unless it was something truly exceptional, there was no need to visit an auction house, where prices were bound to be higher than market value. Thus, most items put up for auction were rare and precious treasures.

In the end, Tian Xi invited Mo Xuan to help out by attending a banquet together.

A banquet? Mo Xuan was quite puzzled as to what was going on.

Tian Xi briefly explained the situation. Ever since Chen Kaishan, the ancestor of the Chen family, was eliminated by an unknown party, the true strength of the Chen family could no longer be kept under wraps, ultimately causing panic among the other three major families and the City Lord's Mansion.

Fearing that they would be the next targets, the three families and the City Lord's Mansion had temporarily formed an alliance, secretly hosting a banquet to discuss cooperation.

What was worse, the Chen family had already started making aggressive moves!

On a night just seven days ago, the Chen family launched a sneak attack on the Yue family. As a result, the Yue family suffered heavy losses, even losing their family head, and their top-tier combat strength was virtually wiped out overnight.

The Chen family's actions had been too swift for anyone to detect or provide reinforcements in time. Moreover, the alliance had not yet been formed back then, and each family had been looking out for their own interests.

This City Lord Luo was on familiar terms with Tian Xi, the owner of the auction house, and had helped her out on many occasions.

Therefore, he wanted to leverage the influence of the auction house, primarily seeking support in terms of supplementary materials. Of course, those were secondary; his main goal was to acquire a spiritual herb that could assist him in breaking through to the next realm. Yet, how could such an item possibly exist in such a small place?

Naturally, Tian Xi could not intervene directly. Although a major faction stood behind her, she was ultimately a businesswoman whose priority was always profit. Besides, interfering in conflicts between these local families would only plunge things into greater chaos.

She couldn't just produce such a herb out of thin air. However, seeing how generous Mo Xuan was—bringing out over a hundred bottles of top-grade potions—she hoped to invite him to attend the banquet alongside her to help resolve her dilemma.

Mo Xuan had originally intended to stay out of the conflict with the Chen family, but upon hearing this, he realized that if things continued to develop at this rate, the Chen family would likely become the paramount power in Luochuan City. Once he left, the Chen family would certainly seek revenge, so he decided he might as well lend a hand. Besides, he held a relatively favorable impression of Bai Mei from the Bai family.

He genuinely did not wish to see the Bai family wiped out as well.

Thus, he agreed. The banquet was scheduled for the night after next.

Caution was paramount in all things, so he figured he should also inquire about what had actually transpired on the night the Yue family was destroyed; he always felt the matter wasn't as simple as it appeared.

Upon stepping out of the auction house, Meng Yao was unexpectedly still waiting outside.

This scene happened to be witnessed by Tian Xi, who couldn't resist teasing Meng Yao a little.

"Why are you still here?!" Mo Xuan asked, deeply surprised.