"What?" Ye Bufan was shocked to learn that Zhu Zizhen had lost a medical competition. After all, Zhu Zizhen had learned the Zhuyou Thirteen Needles from him. Logically, there were few in the entire Kyushu region who could match Zhu Zizhen's medical skills.
Ye Bufan asked Chu Mengyao which reclusive sect's divine doctor had competed with Zhu Zizhen.
Chu Mengyao pondered for a moment and said, "The other party claimed to be from some Ruyi Sect. This sect claimed to be recruiting disciples, specifically those with talent in refining medicine and alchemy."
"Oh?" Ye Bufan was surprised to hear of a sect primarily focused on alchemy.
This Ruyi Sect had not participated in the exploration of the Taiyi Divine Sect's secret realm. They must have participated in another secret realm, which was why Ye Bufan had not heard much about them.
Ye Bufan and Chu Mengyao returned to Xiangshan Villa. As they approached the entrance, they discovered eight or nine cars surrounding their villa.
"Zhu Zizhen, hand over the Zhuyou Thirteen Needles!" a fierce shout came from inside the villa.
Ye Bufan and Chu Mengyao exchanged glances. Just as they were about to enter, they were stopped by several people standing outside the villa.
"What? I can't even return to my own home?" Ye Bufan asked, looking at the people blocking his way.
"Who cares whose home it is? It's not allowed now. We from the Ruyi Sect are temporarily occupying it. If you don't want trouble, scram!" the leading disciple said fiercely to Ye Bufan.
"Ruyi Sect! Such arrogance." Ye Bufan snorted coldly. Seeing this, Chu Mengyao quietly took a step back.
The Ruyi Sect disciple sneered, "What? Kid, are you not convinced? Scram, or don't blame us for being rough."
"What if I insist on going in?" Ye Bufan retorted.
"Then you're asking for it!" the other replied, and several people lunged at Ye Bufan.
In the next second, a surge of energy emanated from Ye Bufan. These individuals were all at the late Qi Refining stage, and Ye Bufan didn't even spare them a glance.
This surge of energy instantly pressed down on the four of them. They looked at each other, feeling like they were facing a formidable enemy, their faces turning grim.
"You, you, you!" The man's face turned red, veins bulging. He tried to hold on, but in the end, all four spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Kneel!" Ye Bufan roared. The four people uncontrollably "thumped" and knelt on the floor, their knees creating a pit in the tiles.
Terror filled their eyes. Ye Bufan walked in with Chu Mengyao. After Ye Bufan left, the four of them, as if relieved, lay on the floor, gasping for breath.
"Dream on! The Zhuyou Thirteen Needles are my sect's inheritance, why would I give them to you?" Zhu Zizhen glared fiercely at the other party.
"The Zhuyou Thirteen Needles originally belonged to our Ruyi Sect. They were lost during the inheritance process. Our Ruyi Sect merely wishes to reclaim our physicians' needle techniques." Another voice chimed in. The speaker was a middle-aged man, looking to be in his late forties or early fifties, but his hair was already white, and he wore a white lab coat.
"A joke, the biggest joke I've ever heard." Zhu Zizhen laughed. "If the Zhuyou Thirteen Needles were yours, why doesn't your Ruyi Sect have even a fragment? Yet I was the first to obtain a fragment?"
"This..." The other person's eyes darted around, caught off guard.
"Those who achieve great things do not fuss over minor details. I already said it was lost by the sect, how could I possibly have a fragment?" the other person argued deceptively.
Zhu Zizhen looked at him. "From the beginning, your target was my Zhuyou Thirteen Needles, wasn't it? The competition with me was just a trap. I was wondering, my needle placements were correct at the time, how could I have made a mistake? It was all because of you despicable people playing dirty tricks behind my back."
"That's a bit of a stretch. If your medical skills are lacking, they are lacking. Why make so many excuses? Enough nonsense, quickly call out the Zhuyou Thirteen Needles." The other party gradually lost patience, his eyes filled with killing intent.
"What if I refuse?"
As soon as Ye Bufan's voice rang out, the door behind him was pushed open.
At this moment, the Ruyi Sect disciples surrounding the middle-aged man immediately moved to block Ye Bufan.
"Master!" Zhu Zizhen's eyes lit up with joy upon seeing Ye Bufan. The middle-aged man frowned upon hearing Zhu Zizhen call an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy "Master."
"You are Zhu Zizhen's master?" the other party asked.
"Indeed. And who are you?" Ye Bufan retorted. "A whole group of people bullying a frail old man, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
The other party's expression changed. He gave a perfunctory cupped-hand salute to Ye Bufan and said, "I am Xu Guichao of the Ruyi Sect. I came here merely to retrieve our Ruyi Sect's Zhuyou Thirteen Needles under orders."
"Your Ruyi Sect's Zhuyou Thirteen Needles?" Ye Bufan chuckled heartily upon hearing this.
In the next second, Ye Bufan and Chu Mengyao vanished from their original positions, astonishing all the Ruyi Sect disciples, who frantically searched for where Ye Bufan had gone. To everyone's shock, Ye Bufan reappeared next to Xu Guichao.
Xu Guichao, with his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, could only feel a suffocating pressure emanating from Ye Bufan.
"May I ask, which generation's ancestor of your Ruyi Sect created the Zhuyou Thirteen Needles? When was it created? What are its uses? What is the basis for it?" Ye Bufan asked.
The oppressive aura from Ye Bufan caused cold sweat to bead on Xu Guichao's forehead.
"Such powerful strength!" Xu Guichao marveled, looking at Ye Bufan. He found himself unable to answer Ye Bufan's questions.
"This Zhuyou Thirteen Needles is something lost from our sect. How would I know?" Xu Guichao managed to eke out after a long pause.
"Since you don't know? Then how can you prove it was lost by your Ruyi Sect?" Ye Bufan countered.
The other party was rendered speechless by Ye Bufan's questions. Seeing that his true intentions were completely exposed, his demeanor changed entirely.
"Kid, this is our Ruyi Sect's property. What? Are you going to go against our Ruyi Sect?" the other party threatened. "I admit you are strong, but our Ruyi Sect's elders and sect leader know I am here. If I cannot bring back the Zhuyou Thirteen Needles, you, your disciple, and everyone around you will be in serious trouble!"
"What? Now that I've exposed you, you don't even bother pretending anymore?" Ye Bufan said with a cold smile. "Even your elders and sect leader will treat me with courtesy when they see me."
As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of sword light illuminated the entire room. In the next moment, piercing screams, like those of slaughtered pigs, echoed throughout the villa.