Grace wasn’t joking, not even close. For all her talk about being Liam’s possession, her greed over him wasn’t something she would forget.

In Grace’s mind, only she had the right to watch the appealing spectacle that was Liam when he focused on alchemy, especially while shirtless. Others seeking to admire it had to go through her, asking her permission and delivering appropriate payment.

Grace was also quite adamant about the offer being limited to men. She could make exceptions for women, but only if they paid a lot extra and Liam wore clothes.

Lucas didn’t even try to argue against that outward jealousy, so Liam ended up dealing with the rest of his experiments inside the tent. Meanwhile, Grace handled the necessary preparations either outside or on the bed of pillows.

Truth was, as much as Grace enjoyed the private spectacle, she often needed the two swordsmen’s knowledge. They were cooperating for the next step, so they had to coordinate whenever their connections replied.

In that period, Liam finished working on the violet Rainbow Roses. He had to waste the entirety of one to learn their behavior and extract their poisonous properties. Then, he had to burn through some more to see how the concentrate reacted.

Ultimately, Liam was left with six small flasks of a dark-purple liquid, knowing that substance like the back of his hand, ready for use, which translated into six possible rank 3 concoctions.

Of course, Liam didn’t have the ingredients now. His cultivation wasn’t even at the stage’s peak, but his mind kept working in that absence.

One of the issues that had worried Liam the most was solved. Liam had over eight hundred thousand spirit stones. Even if each round of compound concoctions required a thousand of crystals as charcoal, he would be able to afford it.

The rank 2 ingredients would return, too. Liam was certain of that. The reason why Grace was working so hard on creating endless layers of middlemen was precisely to resume doing business.

Liam also had the right tools. The white cauldron had proven itself suitable for the superior ingredients, and Liam could pair it with one of his rank 1 ones for the compound concoctions, using it for the rank 2 side of the recipe.

Instead, the rank 3 ingredients were the issue. Even if Liam held on to those flasks, six attempts wouldn’t be enough to create something suitable for his breakthrough. He had needed more in the foundation stage, and the difficulty was greater now.

On top of that, nothing said that Liam would gain access to more violet Rainbow Roses. He might stumble upon completely different rank 3 ingredients, which would force him to restart the experimental phase.

So, it could be better to use the six flasks now to make a random rank 3 poison. Success was very unlikely, but Liam could start amassing experience in the compound concoctions of the superior level, saving money in the future.

If Liam mastered that procedure now, he would need fewer batches of nigh-unfindable ingredients later. A single lucky encounter like what had happened with the Rainbow Roses might directly give him the means to become a branching expert in that hypothetical future.

Also, as unlikely as that outcome was, adding a rank 3 poison to Liam’s arsenal would go a long way toward his survival until the stage’s peak.

Of course, the rank 3 poison in question would have the black alchemical flame throughout the concoction, and there weren’t many recipes like that. Actually, there wasn’t any because Liam had yet to make one, and only he could since his Qi was unique to him.

Still, with the violet Rainbow Roses dealt with, Liam was left with smoking, studying, and skinning the bear, releasing him from the tent.

That didn’t necessarily lead to social interactions. Liam didn’t have valuable input in his companions’ convoluted plotting. He listened attentively to learn, but that was it.

Lucas and Troy spent most of their time meditating with their swords on their knees, too, so Grace had Liam all for herself when she was free.

Truth be told, what had started as a facade now couldn’t be more real. At least, Lucas and Troy couldn’t even consider the possibility that the scenes they occasionally caught could be fake.

The brushing sessions, the looks the couple threw at each other, and their retreats to the privacy of the tent were already telling. Yet, it was catching Liam checking Grace’s dantian that sealed the matter in stone.

The pleasures of the flesh were one thing, but a dantian was a truly personal matter for a cultivator. It was basically a taboo to let others check it, but there had never been any hesitation in Liam’s actions. Even Grace just continued reviewing sheets while he did that.

The lie had become reality, and it was obvious for everyone to see.

Nevertheless, two weeks after the swordsmen’s arrival, the Heavenly Sword Cult replied, getting everyone on the move.

During the escape, Liam had gotten close to the previous Outer Circle, while the destination was on the other side of the border. It would take at least two weeks to reach on foot, and that was exactly how the group had decided to move.

A branching expert was hunting the group, along with anyone who she might have on her side. Flying just wasn’t an option.

Summer arrived as Lucas and Troy led the couple through the wilderness. They knew the area best, moving west through the central mountain chain, avoiding any encounter.

That ended up being quite easy with Liam among the group. They were also four rooting experts of notable power. Magical beasts knew better than to launch desperate attacks.

The problems arrived when the destination was close. The group had just surpassed their tensest patch, the four mountains where the level four overlord lived, when Liam smelled the oddest thing his nose had ever caught.

It wasn’t a breeze. There wasn’t even anything remotely notable on any physical level. The group was crossing a forest on a mountain’s slope when Liam tasted the faintest trace of a ripple in the air.

That was actually normal. Moving displaced air. It was a basic rule of the world, but that ripple carried something that Liam could only describe as a purpose.

Particles of an undefined scent had blended with the air, working on a layer of the world too deep to alert perceptions, but the orderliness in it tickled Liam’s sixth sense.

"The air found us," Liam warned, his odd choice of words stopping the group and sending questioning looks in his direction. Still, he only inspected his surroundings.

There truly was nothing to be seen. Except for the fearsome halo enveloping the clump of four mountains the group had just circled, Liam couldn’t sense everything, but his body reacted nonetheless.

Liam’s skin crawled, goosebumps running over his back. A sense of imminent danger spread through his animal instincts, growing more intense by the second.

"Run," Liam calmly ordered, lifting Grace as the fan materialized at his side.

Lucas and Troy didn’t hesitate to unsheathe their swords and jump onto them. The four abandoned caution as they soared past the forest to fly through the sky at full speed, and it didn’t take long for Liam’s warning to ring true.

The sky was clear, the midday sunlight creating a perfectly visible picture, but an ominous patch expanded behind the group, almost darkening the world in their vision.

No silhouette was visible yet, but it was obvious that danger was coming faster than the group could escape it.

Liam considered activating the fan’s ability when his companions cried reassuring words.

"A bit further ahead!" Lucas shouted.

The group was beyond doubting each other. They proceeded ahead, cutting through the sky despite the closing threat from behind, when Liam’s skin crawled once more.

A dark-red light flashed ahead, like a twinkle in the clear sky, advancing at unfathomable speed. The world shuddered at its passage. The ground and trees below cracked and tilted, as if squashed down by the overwhelming displacing force.

As sharp as Liam’s eyes were, he failed to follow the event. In the previous second, the light was far away. In the next, it had already cut above the group, leaving a dark-red trail in the sky, as if scarring the very world.

A shockwave of catastrophic proportions followed, blowing away anything in its surroundings. A spherical storm of Qi, wind, and debris expanded in the sky, eradicating everything it touched.

Liam and the others were caught in the storm. Despite not being at its epicenter, flying became impossible. They had to dive toward more stable ground to avoid being thrown off, enduring the apocalypse’s leftovers that crashed upon them.

Then, everything calmed down. Liam stopped shielding Grace between his arms and turned, looking up, still half-covering her with his body, but inspecting the two mighty figures above.

Jessica was in the sky, her grey hair disheveled, partially covering her sharp, furious face. Her sleeves fluttered, but the left one highlighted the missing piece of her arm.

Facing Jessica was a short old man with wrinkles around his small blue eyes. Both his hair and beard were white and long, straight, well-kept, and immune to the pressure of his opponent’s existence.

A broad grin stood on the old man’s face, highlighting additional wrinkles, but his existence exuded nothing but pristine yet chaotic vitality. His robe was dark blue, and he floated on a sword as red as blood.

"It’s Elder Ray," Lucas explained under his breath. Apparently, reinforcements had come.