"I have done well to live until now… this is only the second time I have witnessed refinement like that."
Old Fu spoke as he walked slowly toward Lian. From his sleeve, he produced a brown wooden box and handed it over.
"Use this to store it. There are Qi-gathering arrays inside, so it won't lose its medicinal effects."
Lian accepted the box, carefully placing the pill inside before sealing it. Only then did his gaze lift to Fu.
"You are truly talented, nephew. The only other person I know who has ever triggered a heavenly tribulation during refinement is Old Master Giang Su. He has been in seclusion for many years now… though I heard he took in a disciple."
Old Fu's eyes sparkled as he studied Lian closely.
"Might that disciple be you?"
"No… no. I don't know him," Lian replied calmly.
"Hehehe," Old Fu chuckled softly. "I see. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'm sure Master Giang wouldn't want his whereabouts known."
His voice dropped into a frequency whisper.
Lian's heart skipped.
"Is he mistaking me for someone?"
"He must also be the one who gave you that disguise," Old Fu continued lightly. "It would have been nice to see your real face at least—but I understand."
Then Fu slipped a square jade seal into Lian's hand.
Lian's pupils shrank.
"I knew it. He saw right through our disguise…"
"This is the Alchemic Association Seal," Fu said. "With this, you will be treated as an honorary elder wherever you go. You'll receive the same respect they give me. Spirit herbs will be sold to you at a reduced price as well."
He paused, then added meaningfully,
"Keep it on you at all times."
Lian looked down at the jade, then back at Old Fu, confusion clearly written on his face.
"But… why are you doing all this?" he asked.
"Hehehe… you may not realise it, but what you just did was incredible. If I were to grade that pill, I would say it is equivalent to a Supreme grade."
Lian's eyes widened.
"Really?" His breath caught. "I knew this refinement felt different, but… a Supreme-tier pill? That's unbelievable.
"But now, think carefully," Old Fu cut in, his tone turning serious.
"How many powerful sects, clans, and hidden masters would want to claim you for themselves? Right now, you may be a master refiner—but you are still too weak."
Lian's heart trembled.
"Damn… I didn't think that far," he muttered. "I'm really glad we're wearing disguises. I can't afford to have the entire murium hunting me down."
Old Fu nodded calmly.
"That jade plate will help you. With it, no one can touch you. If they dare, they will face the wrath of the Alchemic Association."
He smiled faintly.
"No one will dare."
"Thank you very much," Lian said sincerely, bowing as he accepted the jade.
Old Fu watched him for a moment, then turned to the gathered alchemists.
"As for all of you—what transpired here today must never leave this room."
He raised his hand and formed a seal in the air.
The symbol shot forward, splitting into countless streaks of light before embedding itself into everyone present.
A chill crawled down their spines.
"That should hold them," Old Fu thought.
"If they dare speak of this… their hearts will explode."
"Oho… oho—!"
Splaat!
Pai Ying suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blackened blood and collapsed to the floor, clawing weakly at the tiles.
"Tsk," Old Fu muttered as he walked over. "His dantian has collapsed. I warned him."
Pai Ying's skin had turned dark as pitch; his body twisted unnaturally as his meridians writhed out of control.
Old Fu stopped in front of him, looking down without pity.
"Pai Ying… you disappoint me," he said coldly.
"Do you know how many chances I gave you?"
The room was silent.
Even the air itself seemed to hold its breath.
"When you were stealing pills and selling them at auctions, I let it slide," Fu said coldly.
"I thought you were growing. I thought you were learning restraint."
Murmurs rippled through the hall.
"From time to time, I heard rumours," Fu continued.
"Rumours that you were taking advantage of female disciples… and of common folk. I turned a blind eye, believing them to be exaggerations."
The murmuring grew louder.
"Is that true?"
"No way…"
"How could Senior Pai—?"
Pai Ying twitched in the air, his body trembling.
"All of that," Fu said, his voice dropping, "was already a stain."
Pai Ying's cracked lips moved weakly.
"He–hel… help me… Master…"
Blood leaked from the corners of his mouth.
Fu didn't look away.
"But then," he said, and his voice boomed, shaking the room,
"You committed something unforgivable."
The pressure in the chamber spiked.
"You worked with the Blood Sect."
"What?!"
"The Blood Cult?!"
Shock tore through the crowd like lightning.
Pai Ying's eyes bulged. Tears streamed down his face as he struggled uselessly in the air.
"Pl–please…" he cried, his voice breaking. "I beg you—!"
Fu lifted him higher using nothing but his internal energy. Pai Ying's limbs dangled like those of a corpse.
At the same time, Pai Ying's storage ring slipped from his finger and floated gently into Lian's hand.
"Take it," Fu said without looking at Lian.
"You won the duel."
Lian's fingers tightened slightly around the ring.
Fu's gaze returned to Pai Ying—sharp, merciless.
"And had it been anything else," Fu continued,
"I might have understood. Greed. Ambition. Even cruelty."
"But tell me this—"
His voice thundered.
"How many children have you killed refining Blood Pills for them?"
The hall fell deathly silent.
"People have been disappearing day after day," Fu went on.
"Entire villages wiped out one after another."
"A nearby village was completely annihilated."
Fu's eyes burned.
"And you were adding to the count."
Pai Ying screamed.
"No, no! I didn't mean—!"
"You have lost your humanity," Fu barked.
The words struck harder than any blade.
Pai Ying's screams turned hoarse as the pressure crushed him, his cultivation unravelling, his meridians collapsing in real time.
No one moved.
No one dared breathe.
A red flame formed at Elder Fu's fingertip.
With a casual flick, he sent it drifting toward Pai Ying.
The moment it touched him, he erupted into flames.
"AAAAAAHHHH—!"
Pai Ying's screams tore through the hall as his body writhed violently in the air, the flames clinging to his flesh like living things. The stench of burning Qi and scorched blood filled the chamber.
"Please! Please! I didn't know—I swear!" he wailed.
The fire only burned hotter.
His screams weakened… then stopped.
...
Silence.
Not even the sound of breathing remained.
Elder Fu finally spoke again, his voice rising for the first time, heavy, absolute.
"I want to warn everyone here."
Everyone flinched.
"I know that one of the Eight Evils, the Blood Cult, has already sunk its roots into Yùzhàn. Even some officials have turned."
Murmurs erupted, fear spreading like a plague.
"But," Fu continued coldly,
"I will not allow any trace of that filth within this association."
His gaze swept across every alchemist present.
"Let this be known—if any of you are ever tempted…"
"You will meet the same fate as Pai Ying."
No one dared meet his eyes.
Fu turned and walked toward Lian.
The crowd instinctively parted.
"Thanks to your karmic energy, nephew," Fu said calmly, placing a hand on Lian's shoulder,
"It resonated with Pai Ying's corrupted Qi and exposed him."
He nodded slightly.
"And since no one else reacted, it seems he was working alone."
Lian exhaled quietly.
Then he bowed deeply.
"Master Fu," Lian said seriously,
"Can we please ask for your help?"
His hand tightened around the wooden box.
"I will even give you this pill."