One of Hu Xiao’s eye lids quivered while he struggled to grapple with reality. Who could force the mighty Lord Beihan Zhao Juexian to his knees? He would have to be listed on the Longevity Roll or he was a Heavenly Lord living in solitude.

The threat was felt by all members of the Hu family.

Some onlookers had recognized Chen Fan, so they shouted.

“That man is Perfected Cultivator Azure Wood!”

“Indeed! All mighty Perfected Cultivator Azure Wood has come all the way from the Savage Wastes. Everyone along his way told the story of the mysterious rider and the black carriage performing countless miracles.”

“I didn’t expect to meet an Alchemy Grand Master.”

Chen Fan had made a name for himself along his way there. By then, everyone was familiar with his face.

“Perfected Cultivator Azure Wood?”

Hu Xiao furrowed his brow.

He had been living in the Heavenly Region for too long, so he had never heard of the name. After examining Chen Fan and found out that he was only at the Golden Core’s early-stage, he relaxed a bit and smirked.

“I don’t care what color you are, you have trespassed my territory and offended the Violet Moon Fairy. You need to pay with your life.”

As soon as he said that, he readied himself for battle.

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators formed a deadly Battle Formation completed with a snarling Four Tailed Heavenly Fox that threatened to devour the enemy’s Spirit Essence. However, Chen Fan simply linked his hands behind his back and watched their preparation for war.

Suddenly, the gorgeous Violet Moon Fairy spoke out, “Is he Master Azure Wood? I have heard of his marvelous alchemy skills.”

Her words suddenly silenced the Hu Family. Hu Xiao put on a smile and said:”My Goddess, do you know him?”

“Perfected Cultivator Azure Wood has incredible skills in Alchemy. He is considered the most talented Alchemist in all seventeen regions of the Northern Barren Land. It’s my honor to have met you on my trip to the North.”

Soft lights flowed around Violet Moon Fairy as she stood up and bowed slightly to Chen Fan. Her body’s delightful curves were accentuated by a thin and soft waist.

“He is a Grand Alchemist?”

Hu Xiao was taken aback as he examined Chen Fan again in confusion. Grand Alchemists have high standings in society due to their ability of making highly sought after Treasure Pills. However, Hu Xiao found it hard to reconcile Chen Fan’s appearance with a skillful Alchemist. Neither could he figure out why Zhao Juexian would succumb to an alchemist of an early-stage Golden Core.

“Perfected Cultivator Azure Wood has fought and won battles against three other Grand Alchemists: Master Huang, Monk Mu and Perfected Cultivator Jiudan. He was crowned the most powerful Alchemist of the seventeen regions,” Violet Moon Fairy put in.

The revelation made Hu Xiao’s face change colors.

Those three Grand Alchemists were powerful forces in their own right. They were the only three alchemists who were able to create superior-grade treasure pills outside of the heavenly region.

If Chen Fan was able to bring those three to heel, he had to possess unbelievable alchemy skills that were enough to subjugate Lord Beihan.

“Are you done talking? Move, I need to pass,” Chen Fan said indifferently.

Violet Moon Fairy’s smile curdled for a brief moment before she squeezed it back onto her face. Hu Xiao knew what was going through her mind, so he also piled smiles on his face and said, “I am sorry for the misunderstanding, Master Azure Wood, we didn’t know that it was you.”

“Misunderstanding? I think not. Who gave the Hu family the right to claim the common land for themselves? And who gave your servants the audacity to attack my carriage?”

Chen Fan sneered.

Hu Xiao pulled a hard face and said, “We will punish the insolent culprit severely.”

Then he turned around and ordered, “Bring those two imbeciles here.”

Zhang Baiye flew away, a streak of flame trailing behind him. When he returned, he had two servants clutched tightly under his arms. He threw the two servants before Hu Xiao. They were the two who had attacked Chen Fan.

“Second Young Master, they were the ones who attacked me.”

The impudent young servant melted before Hu Xiao, dropping to his knees and accusing Chen Fan. However, the older servant noticed that something was amiss.

“I ordered you to talk to them about going through another route, not to fight them! How dare you misinterpret my orders and attack innocent travellers?”

Hu Xiao put on a serious face as a fearsome light glinted in his eyes.

The young man was disheveled and speechless. The old servant’s face also turned pale.

“You have disgraced the Hu family name, you shall die!”

Hu Xiao waved a hand and turned the two servants into two puffs of bloody mist. He then heaped smiles on to his face once again and looked at Chen Fan. “Master Azure Wood, are you satisfied now?”

“Hm.”

Chen Fan nodded slightly. He then returned to his carriage without even giving Hu Xiao a glance.

Seeing Chen Fan was about to leave, Hu Xiao panicked. Violet Moon Fairy hurried to shout, “Master, wait a moment. I need help.”

“You want to turn the Heavenly Ginseng of Nine Spirits into elixir, don’t you? Sorry, I can’t do it.”

Chen Fan ignored Violet Moon Fairy’s pleading gaze and drove off.

When the carriage disappeared into the distance, Hu Xiao’s anger flared. His face darkened as he hummed, “What a d**k! Violet Moon Fairy is from a prestigious sect, yet he wouldn’t even lift a finger to help us. Does he really think that being a Grand Alchemist would give him unlimited leverage over us?”

His anger was shared by all the Hu family members.

A Grand Alchemist’s skills might be highly sought after, but such a fact did not make them more powerful than a Heavenly Lord and his family. The Hu family had presided over the Northern Barren Land for hundreds of thousands of years, and no one except the Wang Family could challenge them.

Violet Moon Fairy remained silent, but displeasure was apparent in her eyes.

The carriage kept going for another ten thousand miles from Mount Violet Flower and Chen Fan was finally out of the Tianhai region.

The Tianhai region was the last Barren Region and past it was the Heavenly Region of Bare North. As soon as Chen Fan entered the Heavenly Region of Bare North, he noticed the energy around him seemed much more vibrant and lively. The Spirit Qi concentration was also a few times denser than that of the Beihan Region.

There was a continuous droning in the sky, which sounded like the chanting of immortals.

The ground was dotted with sprouting spirit springs and marvelous spirit beasts. Even the most common species that roamed the ground would make the rarest sight anywhere else.

“The Heavenly Region of Bare North is one of the oldest Heavenly Regions on this planet. It is over a hundred thousand years old. Hard work from generations of Heavenly Lords had since turned this land into a land of Dao. It is filled to the brim with Perfected Cultivators and rare treasures. ”

Chen Fan looked up and saw an apparition of a Heavenly Lord who was practising his art.

Those apparitions were the remains of previous Heavenly Lords’ powerful presence. Those Heavenly Lords had turned to keep their energy perfectly in tune with nature, and nature rewarded them by preserving their images and their art within its elements.

“The art of these Heavenly Lords was able to keep going even after they left this world. No wonder the Heavenly Region of Bare North was able to dominate the other regions despite its small size.”

Chen Fan nodded, impressed.

“Master, there are thirteen states in the Heavenly Region of Bare North, which one shall we visit first?” Zhao Juexian asked.

“Let’s head to the State of Ancient Medicine. That state is famous because of the sacred ground of alchemy. There are countless heavenly medicines and powerful Alchemists, most of them masters of the Wood Element,” Chen Fan said.

Chen Fan’s goal was to perfect his Azure Thearch Longevity Body and complete the second transformation of the Deity Wheel. Chen Fan wouldn’t even attempt to go to Mount Emperor without completing the Deity Wheel’s nine transformations. The first two steps in improving the Azure Thearch Longevity Body was to find Heavenly Medicine and master the wood element.

“Yes!”

The carriage flew toward the State of Ancient Medicine.

On his way, Chen Fan saw many Perfected Cultivators. Compared to their colorful and splendid mounts and vehicles, Chen Fan’s black carriage seemed insignificant.

He even saw a giant Dark Whale floating above them, casting a large shadow onto the ground below. On the back of the Dark Whale was an opulent palace. The enormous Dark Whale should have been an untamable and deadly monster, but it had been turned into an obedient beast of labor.

Chen Fan overheard people calling it the Northern Battle Halberd Whale and it was the mount of Lady Wu. The Wu family also had an Heavenly Lord and was no less influential than the Hu Family.

“If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would have never believed that such a powerful beast would only be a mount.”

Zhao Juexian let out a wry smile.

He wondered if he could hold out against that Dark Whale. Seeing a beast that was more powerful than him being used as a mount made him feel embarrassed.

Chen Fan closed his eyes, not saying a thing.

What is a Dark Whale to those Dao Reunion Perfected Immortals who reside in the depths of the Universe? Their mounts were Heavenly Dragons and Kun Pengs. In ancient times, Primordial Dark Lord’s mount was a Xuan Wu, the Dark Whale simply couldn’t compare.

“Swish!”

The carriage sped up, passing many fragrant fields of spirit herbs. They saw a magnificent view of a giant Cauldron the size of a mountain towering before them.

They had arrived in the State of Ancient Medicine.