The Cycle of Reincarnation in the Four-Courtyard House: A Journey Through the Heavens

The disciples of Yipintang swung their swords wildly, but only managed to strike the air or their comrades' weapons. Their own side was the first to lose their composure.

Li Xiao moved through the crowd, his fingertips like lightning, each strike precisely hitting a pressure point on a person's acupoint, his strength perfectly controlled, both sealing off the opponent's mobility and leaving them alive.

In just a short while, when his figure solidified again and stood firmly in front of Azhu and Abi, all fifty-odd members of the First-Class Hall had been struck in their pressure points. They were all frozen in place, like rooted wooden stakes, unable to move, only able to stare wide-eyed and make muffled groans, their faces full of horror and resentment.

Li Xiao took out the bottle of the antidote for the Sorrowful Breeze from his bosom, poured out two translucent white pills, and offered them to A Zhu and A Bi respectively: "Ladies, please take the antidote first to remove the poison from your bodies."

Although Azhu and Abi had doubts, seeing his sincere eyes and feeling grateful for his life-saving grace, they opened their mouths and swallowed the food as he instructed.

The antidote was extremely effective. In just a short while, the soreness and weakness in the two women's bodies completely disappeared, their pale faces regained color, and they regained their mobility.

Seeing this, Li Xiao handed the small porcelain bottle in his hand to A'Zhu: "Miss A'Zhu, there is still some antidote left here. Bao Butong and the others must have also been poisoned. You can go and treat them."

Azhu and Abi exchanged a glance, both seeing the relief and gratitude of surviving a calamity in each other's eyes. They quickly bowed to Li Xiao, saying, "Thank you so much, young master, for saving us and for giving us the antidote. We are deeply grateful!"

Seeing this, Wang Yuyan, who was at the edge of the woods, finally felt relieved and quickly walked over. Her gaze fell on Li Xiao, and all the worry in her eyes turned into relief. The hidden feelings in her eyes deepened.

After Azhu took the porcelain bottle, she pulled Abi and turned to rescue Bao Butong and the others. Li Xiao turned around, his gaze falling on the Yipintang disciples who had been immobilized by pressure points, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

He had previously missed a golden opportunity to absorb the internal energy of Helian Tieshu and others, so he naturally wouldn't waste it again this time.

Li Xiao walked up to the two members of Yipintang and placed his hands directly on their shoulders.

The two disciples of Yipintang looked terrified, because they discovered that the internal energy in their dantian was being sucked away like a flood breaking through a dam, and they had no power to resist at all.

Ignoring the pleading expression on their faces, Li Xiao absorbed all of their inner strength in less than three minutes.

The two men looked as if they had just recovered from a serious illness, their faces turning a sickly sallow yellow.

Fortunately, they were all quite young, so they didn't die from having their internal energy drained.

These people were all ordinary members of the First-Class Hall. Their internal strength was far less than that of Helian Tieshu. Each of them had cultivated for about twenty years, or at least ten years. However, they had the advantage of a large number of people and a considerable amount of internal strength.

As the Northern Darkness Divine Art circulated, strands of internal energy were continuously drawn from everyone's dantian and flowed into Li Xiao's dantian through the meridians in his hands.

Those disciples of Yipintang felt their dantian empty, their strength rapidly draining away. Their eyes were filled with terror and despair, yet they couldn't even cry for help, and could only watch as their inner strength was plundered.

Li Xiao closed his eyes and concentrated, absorbing internal energy while circulating his mental techniques to purify and compress the mixed internal energy surging into his body.

The internal energy attributes of the people in Yipintang are different, and they are mixed together in a rather chaotic way. He needs to sort and refine them one by one, removing impurities, in order to transform them into pure Beiming True Qi.

About half an hour later, the internal energy of the fifty-two disciples of the First Rank Hall was completely drained. They all turned pale and slumped on the ground, unconscious.

Meanwhile, the true energy within Li Xiao's body had become increasingly abundant. After purification and compression, it had actually increased his cultivation by about fifteen years. The true energy in his dantian was full and abundant, and its circulation became increasingly smooth and free.

Li Xiao slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them.

The pale blue true energy that had been dissipating from his body receded back into his body. He got up and stretched his muscles and bones, feeling that his limbs and bones were full of inexhaustible strength, and the foundation of the Northern Darkness Divine Art had become even more solid.

At this moment, Wang Yuyan had already walked closer. Looking at the unconscious disciple of Yipintang on the ground, although she was mentally prepared, she still couldn't help but feel a little shocked. Her gaze towards Li Xiao was now filled with a more complicated expression.

Li Xiao looked towards A Zhu. This girl was extremely kind-hearted. She begged Bao Butong and the others, who had regained their mobility, to search the members of the Yipintang and find some antidote for Beisu Qingfeng. They then fed it to the Beggar Clan members who had collapsed on the ground.

Li Xiao had already taken Wang Yuyan away from there, and soon after they returned to Mantuo Manor.

Stepping through the gates of Mantuo Manor, the courtyard is still filled with the familiar sea of ​​datura flowers, their fragrance intoxicating, yet unable to conceal a touch of serene coolness.

Before the two could reach the main hall, they saw a figure dressed in white standing under the shade of flowers. The man had a handsome face but a hint of impatience and anxiety. Li Xiao recognized him at a glance as Murong Fu.

At this moment, only Murong Fu was in the courtyard. Li Qingluo did not come out to greet him, which shows that she had no good feelings towards this nephew.

Upon seeing the two return, Murong Fu's eyes flashed with urgency. He quickly stepped forward, his gaze only briefly glancing at Li Xiao before turning to Wang Yuyan. His tone was anxious: "Yuyan, have you seen my four retainers and Azhu and Abi? I sent them out to search for Qiao Feng, but there has been no news. I have come today to inquire about the situation from my aunt."

It turned out that after losing contact with everyone, his first thought was Mantuo Manor. He guessed that his subordinates might come here to look for Wang Yuyan, which is why he came to Mantuo Manor.

When Wang Yuyan saw Murong Fu, she subconsciously stopped in her tracks, but she felt no joy or intimacy as she usually did. Instead, she felt a strange sense of estrangement.

In the past, whenever she saw her cousin, she would rush up to him and chatter on and on about her recent life. But today, looking at Murong Fu's familiar face, she felt calm and undisturbed.

On the way back to Mantuo Villa from Xingzilin, she would often think of Li Xiao protecting her in Xingzilin. She even wondered to herself why her feelings for her cousin were gradually fading.

She nodded slightly, her tone calm: "Cousin, Brother Li and I attended the Beggars' Sect meeting at Xingzilin yesterday, and we saw Azhu and Abi there. Brother Bao and the others were also there."

Wang Yuyan recounted everything that had happened in Xingzilin the previous day to Murong Fu, but her expression and tone lacked the usual enthusiasm and dependence.

Murong Fu was extremely perceptive and immediately noticed the unusual state of Wang Yuyan's emotions.

In the past, when his cousin saw him, her eyes would almost overflow with love and affection, and her words and actions were full of intimacy. But today, not only was there no closeness as before, but her gaze did not linger on him for long. Instead, she would subconsciously look at Li Xiao beside her from time to time.

He was secretly surprised, and a faint chill ran through him, but he didn't point it out. He simply followed up on the conversation and said, "I see. As long as they are alright, that's good."

After saying that, he looked at Li Xiao, his tone somewhat polite: "May I ask how this gentleman is addressed?"