Ethan Brooks's expression was grim.

Having just regained his Earth Soul and Heaven Soul, even with the many explanations from his maid Emily Hayes, it was impossible for him to know everything about the city.

Moreover, for cultivators at the Subtle Realm, Emily Hayes might not fully understand their depths.

“Old master, as the head of the Yu family, you should know who that person is, the one secretly using spiritual sense to probe the Yu family's Subtle Realm cultivator!”

“Puff!”

At that moment, a surge of heat from within the pill furnace pushed open the lid.

Ethan Brooks stopped thinking about anything else, instantly stood up, and quickly rushed to the pill furnace, lowering his head to look inside.

At the bottom of the furnace were eight pill pellets, each about the size of a thumb, deep red in color, round and glossy, emitting a medicinal fragrance he was extremely familiar with.

Picking them up one by one, just by looking at their shape, color, and smelling the medicinal scent, he determined that out of the eight “Vein Expanding Pills,” five were of decent quality and could be taken directly.

The other three lacked potency and couldn't be considered successful “Vein Expanding Pills”—they were merely half-finished products.

“Hey! First time refining pills, one batch yields eight, five finished, three half-finished, and none completely ruined.” Ethan Brooks beamed with joy. “Looks like, when it comes to alchemy, my talent is still intact.”

“The three half-finished ones, if refined further, could be turned into poison pills.”

Staring at the three remaining “Vein Expanding Pills” in his left palm, a blade-like, icy smile gradually appeared on his lips. “I could scheme a bit and give Blake Turner that dog a lesson he’ll never forget in his life!”

……

Chapter 8: Night Raid!

Dark Moon City, City Lord’s Mansion.

In a secret chamber built of cold stone, there was a burly man with his upper body bare, his whole body red as if branded by hot iron, and the blood flowing in his veins was as scorching as molten lava.

The man’s hair was disheveled, his build massive and fierce, and his limbs were bound by heavy chains of icy silver cold iron.

His bearded, rugged face alternated between madness and calm.

Deep in his pupils, it seemed as if two ancient volcanoes were buried, ready to erupt at any moment.

A pillar of crimson light shot up from the crown of his head like a fountain, sometimes surging, sometimes receding.

Within the crimson light, numerous flame talismans could be vaguely seen, swirling around a tiny, fiery-red figure. That little figure looked exactly like him, but appeared extremely violent and ferocious.

“Father.”

A gentle and melodious voice suddenly sounded in the secret chamber.

The next moment, a graceful and elegant beautiful woman appeared before the burly man.

She wore a light purple long dress, tightly fitted at the waist, perfectly accentuating her slender figure and making her full bosom appear even more prominent and striking.

With a dignified bearing, the beautiful woman was both stunning and full of charm, like a ripe peach, tempting and irresistible.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

When her father attempted to break through to the Yin Spirit Realm, his Earth Soul failed to transform and advance, causing his Upper Dantian to lose control.

The Earth Soul, which failed to condense successfully, was further corroded by fire poison, causing not only his cultivation to fall to the mid-Subtle Realm, but also making his Earth Soul clash with his Heaven and Human Souls, often plunging him into bouts of confusion and frenzied demonic outbursts.

The previous two episodes of madness had directly caused several tragedies in Dark Moon City.

Fortunately, as the city lord, she managed to control the situation in time, preventing even more serious consequences.

However, with no other choice, and after obtaining permission, she had to purchase at a high price chains forged from icy silver cold iron to temporarily restrain him in the secret chamber, to prevent further incidents.

“Awooo!”

After a bout of howling, Autumn Cooper finally regained his senses, and the crimson pillar of light above his head disappeared.

“When I was refining the fire poison corroding my Earth Soul earlier, I sensed a surge of intense flame energy gathering and erupting. Using my spiritual sense to investigate, I discovered that beneath the Yu family’s estate in the north of the city, someone was actually refining pills!”

Autumn Cooper's face was no longer crazed, only filled with deep confusion.

“That Cameron Brooks, after both his legs were broken, has been suppressed by the The Bennett Family all these years, with no unusual activity. With the Yu family’s current resources, they shouldn’t be able to support or hire an alchemist.”

He found it very strange.

“Perhaps it’s just someone in the Yu family tinkering for fun.” Lily Cooper frowned. “Alchemy? It’s not that easy!”

“No!” Autumn Cooper shook his head, speaking solemnly, “From what I sensed, it’s definitely not just for fun! The burst of fire from that pill furnace was extraordinary! It must be someone who truly knows the secrets of alchemy, using flame crystals as the fire source to activate the furnace’s flame array!”

“Ah!”

Lily Cooper covered her mouth in surprise. “Even the lowest-grade pill furnaces are inscribed with flame arrays. I do know that the Yu family once spent a fortune to buy a low-grade pill furnace. But after it arrived, no one in the Yu family has ever been able to activate the flame array on it!”

“I’m certain that someone has now successfully activated the flame array on that pill furnace!”

“I understand, Father. I’ll take this matter seriously.”

“If—if there really is an alchemist!” Autumn Cooper suddenly became excited. “Maybe I can quickly resolve the fire poison and the torment of my Earth Soul!”