Word Count: 3,072 Words
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"So, Xiao Yan, are we still going to rob people?" Zi Yan asked.
After a moment's consideration, Xiao Yan shook his head. "Brother Xiong Zhan has already collected most of the medicinal ingredients from the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range. What's left is either immature or low-grade. We've made more than enough profit already. Let's head out before Little Fairy Doctor and the others start to worry."
Zi Yan nodded in agreement. Over the past few days, they had traversed nearly the entire Pill Realm, using her treasure-hunting ability to dig up everything of value.
The only natural treasures they hadn't taken were those not yet fully matured, which Xiao Yan had deliberately left behind. Between those and their massive new haul, their harvest was so abundant that the thrill of the hunt had faded.
Just as they prepared to descend the mountain toward the exit, a sudden rumble caught Xiao Yan's attention.
'Hmm? That spiritual fluctuation… why is she fighting someone?' His brow furrowed as he looked sharply toward a spot at the foot of the mountain. Strangely, his Spiritual Strength couldn't penetrate that area, as if it were being blocked.
"What's wrong, Xiao Yan?" Noticing his reaction, both Zi Yan and Xiong Zhan followed his gaze.
"It's nothing. Just noticed an acquaintance being ambushed." Xiao Yan paused, considering the situation. He and Cao Ying were not particularly close, and given her status, anyone daring to attack her was definitely not weak.
'The only one who'd try to ambush an 8th-tier alchemist… it must be that fellow.' Xiao Yan found himself hesitating. To save or not to save; that was the question.
He guessed that only that old fellow Mu Gu would be so utterly deranged as to attack Cao Ying. After all, Mu Gu was determined to win the Pill Gathering. If he could eliminate a championship favorite, it would only help his chances.
But if Mu Gu was acting on orders from the Hall of Souls, things would get awkward. For Xiao Yan, an Honorable Elder of the Hall of Souls, to intervene… wouldn't that be sabotaging his own side?
…
Meanwhile, in a basin within the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range, Cao Ying and nearly a hundred other alchemists faced a group of black-robed figures with grim expressions. Each of the dozen or so figures exuded the aura of a Dou Ancestor, but the man at their center radiated a presence that dwarfed them all.
Song Qing stood dumbfounded. He had gathered over a hundred alchemists, planning to challenge Xiong Zhan, the mountain range's lord. But halfway there, they had stumbled into the black-robed man's trap, ensnared by a spiritual barrier.
Within moments, the ambushing Dou Ancestors had sprung into action, slaughtering more than ten alchemists before anyone could react.
"Your Excellency, what is the meaning of this?" Song Qing's voice trembled with shock and anger as he glared at the black-robed man.
Had his Spiritual Strength been any less acute, he too would have been among the dead.
Beside him stood the enchantingly beautiful Cao Ying, her stunning eyes fixed warily on the black-robed man. With her extraordinary spiritual perception, she immediately recognized the terrifying truth; this man's strength was utterly overwhelming!
A Dou Venerate!
No one here was a match for a Dou Venerate. If they had someone like that on their side, why would they have bothered forming a team at all? They could have simply done what Xiao Yan did and cleared the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range alone.
"Song Qing, Cao Ying, two little geniuses of the Pill Tower. Hehe, quite the reputation indeed. However, for the sake of that championship position, I have no choice but to resort to such methods. Don't blame me for being ruthless." The black-robed man still wore that eerie smile on his face as he spoke softly.
"I wonder which senior you might be? If you kill us here, are you not afraid of the Pill Tower's retribution?" Cao Ying stared intently at the black-robed man.
"Hehe, everyone here will die. The Pill Tower won't learn a thing." The black-robed man looked at Cao Ying with a smile, his manner like a cat toying with mice.
Cao Ying's face turned ashen. If she were facing just two or three low-star Dou Ancestors, she might have contended with them using Soul Techniques. But here stood not only a Dou Venerate but also over a dozen powerful Dou Ancestors.
How had these non-alchemists even entered the Pill Realm!
Some of the trapped alchemists tried to crush their spatial jade tokens. A spatial distortion appeared for a moment before a specialized Spiritual Strength sealed it off. There was no escape!
"Jie Jie Jie, I told you—none of you can get away." The black-robed man let out a chilling laugh and, with a wave of his hand, cast a Space Lock that sealed the entire area.
With the spiritual barrier blocking their tokens and the Space Lock trapping them, it was a perfect death trap. The enemy's preparations had been thorough.
"Kill them all!"
Looks of despair filled the eyes of the alchemists who saw their escape route cut off. Like mice before cats, most were merely 6th-tier alchemists with strength at the Dou Emperor level. Against more than a dozen Dou Ancestor experts, they stood no chance.
It was a one-sided massacre.
Within ten minutes, the group of nearly one hundred had been reduced to just over a dozen Dou Ancestor-level alchemists, including Song Qing and Cao Ying.
"Futile resistance."
These remaining alchemists, all possessing Dou Ancestor strength, huddled together defensively. Their combined power temporarily held the black-robed attackers at bay, but breaking their defense was clearly just a matter of time.
Song Qing stared grimly at the murder-intent-filled figures surrounding them. He could feel the aura of death closing in.
"Senior, do you truly intend to leave no survivors?"
Even Cao Ying, who typically wore a bewitching smile, had turned pale. She had been sheltered since birth, surrounded by countless guards, and had rarely witnessed such bloodshed.
Though previous Pill Gatherings had their dangers, a Dou Venerate slaughtering participants was unprecedented!
"A Soul State Spiritual Strength… Such a pity. If you're allowed to grow, you'll become another Pill Tower giant." The black-robed man's eyes narrowed on Cao Ying. He felt a certain pressure from her; the last time he had seen a twenty-three-year-old 8th-tier alchemist, it had been that 'senior brother' of his.
"So... time to die."
Just as he prepared to strike, there was a sharp crack. The powerful Space Lock inexplicably developed a fissure. The crack spread rapidly, and with a tremendous boom, the entire barrier shattered like a collapsing building!
"Who?!" The black-robed man scanned the surrounding space but found nothing. He couldn't detect who had broken his barrier!
'Could it be a Pill Tower giant?!'
Song Qing and Cao Ying reacted instantly when they saw the Space Lock shatter. Each pulled life-saving treasures from their storage rings, tearing open space for a brief moment to escape!
The black-robed man's eyes flashed with cold intent as he watched them flee. With a single step, he warped space around himself. "Even if I can't kill you, I'll at least force you two to withdraw from this Pill Gathering."
With the Space Lock broken and Cao Ying and Song Qing escaping, the remaining alchemists scattered in all directions, each using whatever escape techniques they possessed.
"Let's see how long you can run!"
The black-robed man snarled, his cold gaze fixed on where Cao Ying and Song Qing had vanished. With a cold laugh, his form trembled, the surrounding space slowly warped, and his figure strangely dissipated.
Though both fugitives possessed life-saving treasures from their elders that allowed spatial teleportation, how could such external devices outpace a true Dou Venerate?
"Stop wasting this Venerable's time." The black-robed man's patience was clearly running thin. His eyes turned sinister as he clenched his palm from a distance, aiming toward Cao Ying. Deep blue crystalline energy surged from his body, coalescing into a massive energy claw. With a wave of his sleeve, the claw vanished into thin air!
The space before Cao Ying warped violently. The crystalline claw tore through the void, forcibly piercing space itself as it lunged for her. It was clear the black-robed Dou Venerate intended to deal with her first.
The instant the claw closed in, Cao Ying realized with shock that the surrounding space had completely solidified. Even her spatial escape jade token was now useless!
Trapped and helpless, she could only watch as Song Qing, who had noticed her plight, hesitated for just an instant. His expression flickered through several emotions before he gritted his teeth, pushed off from a tree trunk, and shot into the forest like lightning, disappearing while the other party was focused on her.
Cao Ying couldn't move in this frozen space, and Song Qing, the only person she could have relied on, had also left! Tears welled up in those bewitching eyes. Then, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate.
"Sigh..."
A soft sigh suddenly echoed from all around. The next second, the empty space shattered, and a tall, burly man emerged, shattering the black-robed Dou Venerate's attack with a single palm strike.
A faint medicinal fragrance drifted to Cao Ying. Realizing she hadn't been captured, she slowly opened her eyes. Her beautiful eyes widened, and her red lips parted in astonishment.
There, emerging from a spatial channel, stood a man in a white alchemist's robe. He wasn't what most would call handsome, but his resolute features and sharp, confident eyes radiated a masculine charisma that was impossible to ignore.
Cao Ying had never realized just how attractive this face could be!
Sunlight illuminated Xiao Yan as he stepped forward with his hands clasped behind his back, directly confronting the black-robed Dou Venerate that had made Cao Ying tremble. Yet his face showed not the slightest hint of fear!
"Was this necessary?" Xiao Yan said, his voice calm, his expression as still as an old well as he looked at the black-robed Dou Venerate, or rather, at Mu Gu.
That calm voice! That fearless face! Without a doubt, both were now deeply etched into Cao Ying's maiden heart!
A hero rescuing a beauty!
Though the scenario was cliché, girls loved this sort of thing!
Even Cao Ying was no exception!
"You… Xiao Yan!" Cao Ying was momentarily at a loss for words, completely failing to notice that her actual savior had been Xiong Zhan.
Quite unfair to the poor old bear!
The disguised Mu Gu's eyes narrowed as his voice turned cold. "Xiao Yan... you shouldn't have interfered. Eliminating one championship favorite benefits us both."
Xiao Yan shrugged indifferently. He knew exactly what Mu Gu meant. Hun Huzi wanted them to secure the Pill Gathering championship, which meant if neither of them won, both would lose their value.
"You're mistaken. Even if you killed every alchemist in the Pill Gathering, it would make no difference. As long as I'm alive, you'll never claim the championship."
Such arrogance!
The Pill Gathering championship—who else but him could claim it!
Mu Gu's face darkened, and the aura of a Dou Venerate gradually began to emanate from his body. It was clear that here, in the Pill Realm, he was tempted to make a move on Xiao Yan!
"Hey, you thinking of making a move on Grandmaster Xiao Yan? You think this old bear is dead?"
A powerfully built figure strode forward, planting himself before Xiao Yan like a living iron wall.
As this massive figure appeared, a vast, steady, and profound aura erupted from his body, sweeping outward like a storm. He stood there not like a man, but like a towering mountain!
"Old fossil, did you really think you could take all of us alone? Did you think we were afraid of you just because we kept quiet?" Zi Yan sat cross-armed on Xiong Zhan's shoulder, looking down at Mu Gu with utter disdain. This grandaunt has never known fear.
Though Mu Gu's strength had reached late 3-star Dou Venerate, he faced not only Xiong Zhan but three others as well. Together, they were more than a match for him.
While Mu Gu couldn't discern Zi Yan's true identity, he could sense her strength was extraordinary. Combined with that freak Xiao Yan and the 8th-tier alchemist Cao Ying, he knew he couldn't prevail against them all.
"Hmph, this Venerable will claim the championship in the final round and personally deal with you!" Mu Gu gave a cold snort, and with a flick of his sleeve, he chased off in the direction Song Qing had disappeared. Whether Song Qing lived or died was no longer Xiao Yan's concern.
His saving Cao Ying, naturally, had ulterior motives.
"You… how did you get here?" With the danger past, Cao Ying relaxed and asked breathlessly.
Xiao Yan glanced at her, noting the slightly awkward expression on her face. "At a time like this, your first words should be 'thank you.'"
At this, Cao Ying's beautiful eyes gave Xiao Yan a look filled with amorous charm, and she said in a small voice: "Thank you."
Xiao Yan coughed lightly. Of course, he had not saved her out of kindness. After a moment's thought, he said, "Ahem, actually, it's like this… This is Xiong Zhan, the lord of the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range. You must know that he's gathered most of the medicinal herbs in the mountain range, right?"
Cao Ying's red lips parted as she stared at Xiong Zhan in surprise. That Song Qing really deserves to be cut by a thousand knives! He fucking called this a half-step Dou Venerate?!
"I imagine you haven't gathered all the ingredients for this stage yet, have you? We could make a deal. I... we could sell you the ingredients you need," Xiao Yan said, smiling broadly. His smile now held an unmistakable hint of cunning and slyness.
"Hehe, it won't be too expensive. We'll help you clear this stage—all for the price of just one tier 8 pill!"
The moment those words fell, not only was Cao Ying dumbfounded, but even Xiong Zhan and Zi Yan at the side were utterly shocked!
Three stalks of tier 7 medicinal ingredients for a tier 8 pill???
What kind of black-hearted merchant is this? Calling you that is an insult to merchants everywhere!
Zi Yan and Xiong Zhan suddenly understood why Xiao Yan had decided to save this woman. He had promised Xiong Zhan a tier 8 pill in exchange for a mountain range of ingredients, and now he was making Cao Ying pay the debt.
Pure profit!
"This is even better than robbery," Zi Yan mused thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, Xiong Zhan struggled to process what was happening. The ingredients had originally been his, yet somehow three stalks of tier 7 medicinal ingredients were being traded for a tier 8 pill? Wasn't he the one suffering a huge loss then? But wait, it didn't seem like it could be calculated that way!
For a moment, his small brain could not wrap itself around how Grandmaster Xiao Yan had managed to achieve this result!
A pencil for a mansion?
But the most pitiful was Cao Ying. Her delicate face flushed red, her beautiful eyes transformed from coquettish to furious, and her teeth nearly cracked from how hard she was clenching them.
Is this even something a human could do?!
"Hehe, don't worry, Miss Cao. I know you're an 8th-tier alchemist with a solid reputation," Xiao Yan said, pulling paper and brush from his storage ring. "We'll give you the ingredients first, and you can just write us an IOU. You can refine the pill after the Pill Gathering ends."
He flashed his pearly white teeth, smiling brilliantly in the sunlight.
Peng!
Cao Ying's just-budding maiden heart shattered into smithereens. It was then fiercely stomped on, as if it had not been broken thoroughly enough.
"Xiao Yan! You… you villain!"
…
Not long after, Xiao Yan and Cao Ying arrived at the exit of the Pill Realm, handed over the medicinal ingredients, and officially passed the second stage.
Cao Ying had lost all trace of her usual charm. Her face was flushed with anger, her proud figure rising and falling with each agitated breath, drawing the gazes of countless men. She found a quiet spot in the gathering plaza for the third stage, needing to calm herself before the pill-refining competition.
Meanwhile, Zi Yan and Xiong Zhan naturally left the Pill Realm.
To Xiao Yan's surprise, Song Qing had somehow survived Mu Gu's pursuit. He had emerged safely and had even gathered the necessary ingredients.
However, his deathly pale complexion revealed that he had barely escaped with his life.
Upon exiting, Song Qing quickly spotted Cao Ying's elegant figure in her black dress and hurried over, his face a picture of shame. "Ying'er, that old devil used a hidden force to push me away. If not for my quick reaction, that attack would have taken my life. It's not that I ran away—I swear it!"
Cao Ying had regained her composure and returned to her bewitching demeanor. Her eyes showed a flash of pain as she covered her mouth and giggled. "Senior Brother Song, there's no need to blame yourself. In such a situation, staying behind would only have meant death for both of us. How could Ying'er blame you? Seeing you safe puts my mind at ease."
Song Qing failed to notice that behind her gentle words, Cao Ying's eyes held not just coldness toward him, but disgust and revulsion as well.
Clearly, this Song Qing had been permanently added to her blacklist.
Cao Ying stole a glance at Xiao Yan in the distance, who was chatting and laughing with Dan Chen. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, a touch of displeasure rising in her heart.
Time passed steadily, and with the toll of a bell, the second stage officially ended.
'Where's that Mu Gu? Has he changed his disguise again?' Xiao Yan scanned the plaza but saw no sign of the black-robed man!
He knew this wasn't because Mu Gu had failed to pass the stage, but rather because he knew his actions would be exposed, so he had adopted another disguise to hide among the crowd.
The Hall of Souls excelled at concealment. They had always operated from the shadows.