Chapter 108: Prince Rui

As Yang Xiao spoke, his hand trembled, and he hurled the Bloodthirsty Pearl he had obtained from Wang Hai. The pearl had already been refined by Yang Xiao, allowing him to use it—albeit barely—by relying on his formidable cultivation.

The moment the Bloodthirsty Pearl left Yang Xiao’s palm, it swiftly transformed into the shape of a Bloodthirsty Beast. Opening its enormous maw, it lunged toward Murong Ba and tore at him.

At that moment, Murong Ba was locked in a fierce battle with Qi Feng, neither side gaining the slightest advantage. He had no chance to break away, and Yang Xiao had deliberately chosen this moment to strike. In the blink of an eye, the Bloodthirsty Beast reached Murong Ba.

By then, it was already too late for Murong Ba to dodge. He could only watch helplessly as the Bloodthirsty Beast pierced straight through his body. His body exploded completely, and he could only die with hatred and unwillingness in his heart.

Yet when Murong Ba’s body exploded, something flew out from within it and shot toward Yang Xiao. Yang Xiao stepped forward and caught it. Upon taking a closer look, he found that it was Murong Ba’s storage pouch.

Since it was Murong Ba’s storage pouch, it was bound to contain quite a few valuable items. Yang Xiao promptly put it away, then summoned the Bloodthirsty Pearl back to him.

“What impressive skill, young brother.”

Just then, a deep voice rang out. As the voice sounded, an elderly man in his forties or fifties suddenly appeared not far from Yang Xiao. His movements had been so swift that Yang Xiao could not determine what kind of divine ability the man had used to arrive there. In particular, the man’s cultivation seemed unfathomably deep—far stronger than either Qi Feng or Murong Ba’s. He was probably already an expert of the Heavenly Cycle Realm.

“Who are you?” Yang Xiao naturally grew wary of this cultivator who had appeared out of nowhere.

“Brother, there is no need to be nervous. This is my master, Prince Rui, the emperor’s biological brother,” Qi Feng hurriedly explained. He then bowed to Prince Rui and said, “Master, what brings you here personally?”

“I was somewhat worried about your safety, so I followed you here to take a look. Now that you have successfully eliminated Murong Ba and restored peace to the area around Mu Town, you have rendered a tremendous service,” Prince Rui said happily to Qi Feng.

“This time, I also owe much to this cultivator from the Heavenly Sword Sect. Otherwise, it would have been extremely difficult for me to eliminate Murong Ba on my own.” Qi Feng naturally praised Yang Xiao as well.

“Haha, excellent. This young brother’s cultivation is indeed no weaker than it appears. In particular, the spiritual treasure you used at the end seems to have been Wang Hai’s Bloodthirsty Pearl, was it not? How did you obtain it? And what is your name?” Prince Rui asked Yang Xiao.

“My name is Yang Xiao. It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Rui.” Yang Xiao was naturally very respectful toward him. “The spiritual treasure I used was indeed Wang Hai’s Bloodthirsty Pearl. I obtained it after killing him.”

“So you were the one who killed Wang Hai? That is truly unexpected. Wang Hai’s cultivation was by no means weak, yet you were able to kill him. It seems that you have concealed quite a bit of strength.” Prince Rui looked Yang Xiao over again.

“At the time, I had no other choice. Wang Hai intended to kill me and use me to refine the Bloodthirsty Banner. By a twist of fate, I managed to kill him by catching him off guard,” Yang Xiao replied.

“Wang Hai was a member of the demonic path and had committed countless evils. It was only natural that such conduct would eventually bring him disaster. In any case, allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Rui Wu, and I am the emperor’s brother. Now that we have met, we may consider ourselves acquainted. Moreover, by joining forces to kill Murong Ba, we have done something beneficial for the common people. Having rendered such a great service, you naturally deserve a reward. Brother Yang Xiao, if you have any requests, do not hesitate to name them,” Prince Rui said.

“I do have a small request. I intend to refine some pills, so I am extremely interested in the spiritual herbs cultivated by the Murong family. I humbly ask that Your Highness grant me some of them,” Yang Xiao said tentatively.

“I have quite a few spiritual herbs in my own residence, so I have little interest in them. Since you and Feng’er killed Murong Ba together, you may take whatever spiritual herbs you wish from the Murong family. As for the other materials belonging to the Murong family, I have come here to claim some of them as well. Since each of us can take what we need, this is a happy outcome for everyone,” Prince Rui said amiably.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Yang Xiao naturally offered a courteous reply. After all, Prince Rui’s cultivation was far too profound for him to oppose. If the man had refused, Yang Xiao would have had no chance of obtaining even a single spiritual herb. Yet judging from Prince Rui’s attitude, the prince truly seemed to be an upright and honorable man.

“Brother Yang Xiao, I greatly admire your cultivation as well. Would you be willing to join Prince Rui’s Residence as a guest official? If you agree, I can certainly arrange an official position for you, along with an extremely generous stipend. With the support of Prince Rui’s Residence, I believe your cultivation will soon reach a higher level. By then, you will possess fame, status, wealth—in short, everything. I hope you will give it serious consideration,” Prince Rui said, attempting to win Yang Xiao over.

“Well, I am grateful for Your Highness’s kindness. However, I only wish to focus on cultivation at present and have no desire to enter official service. Besides, with my current, modest level of cultivation, I doubt I could be of much assistance to Your Highness. If my cultivation improves in the future, I will certainly consider joining Prince Rui’s Residence,” Yang Xiao replied ambiguously. He wished to decline without shutting the door completely.

“Haha, there is no problem. The same invitation extends to your two friends as well; you are all welcome to join Prince Rui’s Residence at any time. Here—take these three tokens. With them, you can go directly to Prince Rui’s Residence and find me. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, I may be able to help you to some extent.” Prince Rui continued smiling, showing no sign of anger. As he spoke, he took three tokens from his storage pouch and handed them to Yang Xiao.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s kindness,” Yang Xiao said again.

“Very well. You three may go to the spiritual herb garden and gather whatever herbs you need. Feng’er and I still have to deal with the remaining members of the Murong family and reorganize their household,” Prince Rui said.

“Understood.”

Yang Xiao, Cang Yuan, and Yu Jing then bid farewell to Prince Rui and headed directly to the Murong family’s spiritual herb garden. This time, they naturally intended to gather as many spiritual herbs as possible, preparing in advance for the pills they would refine in the future.