Chapter 56 Exploring the Ruins 4: Tiger and Demon
"There's a question: how do demonic cultivators identify alchemists? It can't be such a coincidence that these alchemists just happened to be refining pills in the secret realm and were caught by them, right?"
Xu Xing recalled that when they entered the secret realm, the demons identified them by having him and Mei Zihan put their own refined pills into a special furnace and infuse them with a wisp of spiritual fire, which immediately confirmed that they were alchemists.
Xu Xing had never heard of this method before. He figured there were many alchemists among the demon race, and it was a method they had developed. But what about the demon race? How would they distinguish between them?
“These demons are probably colluding with the Tiger Clan!” Qianqian said with disgust. “The Tiger Clan has always been like this, using any means necessary.”
"Senior Brother, they are using cultivators' spiritual bodies to refine pills. Do you know what kind of pills they are making?"
Mei Zihan pondered for a moment, "I've only ever heard of one other method of alchemy that's so ruthless..."
He glanced at Xu Xing and hesitated before saying, "Heavenly Soul Azure Nether Pill."
The Heavenly Soul Azure Nether Pill, a ninth-grade elixir, is rumored to have the miraculous effect of reshaping the spiritual body and replenishing the soul. For cultivators whose physical bodies have collapsed, it is almost equivalent to being reborn.
Xu Xing asked curiously, "Since it's a ninth-grade pill, how can it be refined using this volcano? Could it be that the Mahayana stage tiger clan cultivator is actually an alchemist?"
In her view, the volcano could only refine the cultivator's spirit into materials, but the final step of pill formation could not be achieved without a ninth-level alchemist.
“What Fellow Daoist Xu said is correct. Since Rong Jun has made such thorough preparations, it means that he is confident that he can find a ninth-level alchemist.”
Only two ninth-tier alchemists have emerged in the demon realm in the past thousand years. One of them, who has already perished, is the master of the Guixu Secret Realm, while the other has disappeared for many years and is nowhere to be found.
Xu Xing speculated, "Could it be that Rong Jun has found that alchemy master who has been missing for many years?"
However, a ninth-level alchemist has a transcendent status, so how could he be willing to be driven by Rong Jun?
"The Exploration Realm and the Return to the Void Realm are closely related. Could Rong Jun's trump card be the Lord of the Return to the Void Realm?"
Qianqian said with certainty, "The Guixu Secret Realm is the legacy of Senior Weishengyue. It was taken away by Rong Jun after she perished. It's impossible for her to still be alive."
No one knows this better than Qianqian, who is also from the Jiao clan. If Weishengyue were still alive, the Jiao clan would never have fallen to this state.
Xu Xing suddenly thought of the woman's phantom image, and something flashed through his mind: if the living Wei Shengyue was gone, then what about her soul after death?
In some ways, controlling souls is easier than commanding living people.
Unable to immediately guess how Rong Jun refined the Heavenly Soul Azure Nether Pill, the group began discussing how to save the innocent cultivators. More importantly, they aimed to prevent Rong Jun from successfully refining the pill. With Rong Jun's cultivation restored, the Tiger Clan would have two Mahayana stage cultivators and would be colluding with the Demon Clan. If the Tiger Clan were to seize the Demon King's throne, the Demon Realm would face another catastrophe, the balance of power among the races would be broken, and the Human Realm would not escape being implicated.
Xu Xing carefully examined the captured cultivators and found that apart from Li Yuan, there were no other Yu Xiao Sect members. However, the absence of them near the volcano did not mean that they were absent from other parts of this secret realm.
Since the Exploration Realm is said to offer the chance to inherit the secret treasures of a Mahayana cultivator, it naturally attracts countless cultivators. Based on Xu Xing's understanding of Li Yuan, he is a person who values his life and shouldn't be risking his life alone...
Shen Du said in a low voice, "Five Golden Core cultivators and ten Foundation Establishment cultivators, if we face them head-on, we are no match for these demonic cultivators."
Xu Xing noticed the dozens of empty alchemy furnaces. "They don't have enough alchemists. Although I don't know what kind of pills they are refining, the pill-making speed is very slow. I'm afraid it can't meet the requirements of these demonic cultivators."
When they entered the secret realm, the tiger-clan cultivators guarding the entrance made it clear that they wanted alchemists. It's likely that many alchemists have entered the secret realm, and these demonic cultivators will definitely try to capture them.
Sure enough, one of the alchemists, who was nervously refining pills under the watchful eye of the demonic cultivator, added the wrong ingredients out of fear, ruining a batch of pills. The demonic cultivator next to him was furious and whipped the alchemist several times, also cursing him.
"Alright! Go easy on him. If you kill him, we'll have to go find the alchemist again!" The other demonic cultivators stopped the beating, but not out of sympathy for the alchemist.
At this moment, a tiger-clan cultivator suddenly arrived. He glanced at the progress of the alchemy and said sternly, "The Lord has ordered you to speed things up! You must gather forty-nine spirit bodies within three days!"
"These alchemists are all useless. They can only manage one or two out of ten furnaces. What's the use of urging us?! Why don't you send some capable alchemists over here!" The demonic cultivator was dissatisfied with his attitude. The two sides were merely cooperating; who was he giving him attitude for?!
"Since they're not up to par, let's bring in some new ones! We've had quite a few new alchemists these past few days, that should be enough for you!"
“Alright, let’s go capture the alchemist. But the Tiger Clan is a large and powerful family, so we should at least show some sincerity first, right?” A demon raised an eyebrow at the tiger clan member and began to demand benefits.
The tiger-clan cultivator was quite annoyed. The demons were cunning and fickle. Although they cooperated with the demons, they looked down on them from the bottom of their hearts. They were just pretending to cooperate now. Once their Lord's cultivation was restored, they would definitely teach these demons a lesson!
However, these demons are still very useful before the Lord's grand plan is completed. Thinking of this, the tiger clan cultivator softened his tone, "The Lord has always been generous and will naturally not forget your contributions."
He waved his hand and placed an object on the ground. Xu Xing and the others, who were observing from afar, could clearly see that it was radiant with light and extraordinary spiritual energy. It was actually an alchemy furnace!
"Azure Feather Heavenly Fire Furnace?!" Qianqian was filled with shock and anger, her teeth grinding together. "The Tiger Clan actually gave Lord Weisheng's precious furnace to the Demon Clan! How utterly hateful!"
Master Wei Sheng?
Noticing Xu Xing's questioning gaze, Qianqian glanced at Mei Zihan and whispered, "Now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore. You saw the scales on my arm that day, didn't you?"
“That’s right, I am indeed a demon. Before I was taken in by Shuiyun Xiandu, I had another name—Weisheng Qianqian.”
"Are you a member of Senior Wei Shengyue's clan?" Xu Xing suddenly realized. No wonder she was so hostile to the Tiger Clan and wanted to enter the Guixu Secret Realm. It turned out she was a member of the Jiaolong Clan.
Qianqian said self-deprecatingly, "It's a pity that I didn't inherit Lord Weisheng's talent and I know nothing about alchemy."
Mei Zihan did not stop Qianqian from revealing her identity, but sighed and said, "The Azure Feather Heavenly Fire Furnace is an excellent magic tool for alchemy. It can not only increase the success rate of pills, but also improve the quality of pills. It can be said to be the pill furnace that every alchemist dreams of. It is a pity that it has fallen into the hands of the demon race."
Chen Du glanced down at Xu Xing, who was looking at the Azure Feather Heavenly Fire Furnace with admiration, and reminded him, "They are leaving."
Only three Golden Core stage and five Foundation Establishment stage demons remained near the volcano; the rest had left, presumably to capture alchemists. Two Golden Core stage demons split up, and one of them, heading southeast, was the one who had obtained the Azure Feather Heavenly Fire Furnace.
Shen Du said in a deep voice, "Defeat them one by one."
After saying that, he pulled Xu Xing and concealed himself, chasing after them in the southeast direction.
Qianqian was taken aback. "Senior Brother, what about us?"
Mei Zihan set his sights on another lone demon, "Our target is him!"
"Senior brother, can I borrow your weapon?"
During the pursuit, Xu Xing obtained the sword used by Shen Du and quickly equipped it with a metal-type spirit. The second-tier spirit could increase attack power by 10%, which was ideal for killing the demons in one blow to prevent them from having a chance to inform the enemy.
"who?!"
The demon, after all, possessed the cultivation of the Golden Core stage. As Shen Du and Xu Xing closed the distance, he finally sensed something was wrong. "What's all that sneaking around? Get out here!"
Shen Du appeared, having also taken the Illusion Pill, and at Xu Xing's suggestion, covered most of his face. "Isn't it inappropriate for you to keep such a good thing as the Azure Feather Heavenly Fire Furnace all to yourself?"
The demon's expression shifted. He took a step back and said sternly, "You're from the Tiger Clan? You've gone back on your word! Aren't you afraid of His Highness's wrath?!"
Shen Du did not answer, but instead swung his sword to meet the attack, each move deadly.
The demon couldn't believe that a sword cultivator at the early Golden Core stage could be on par with him. "You're not from the Tiger Clan! Who are you?"
Shen Du remained silent, his attacks becoming increasingly fierce. In just a few leaps and bounds, the two had exchanged blows several times, and the demon was gradually losing ground.
If this drags on, I'm afraid my situation will be dire! The demon's eyes hardened. He sensed some spiritual energy fluctuations not far away and immediately swung a wisp of demonic energy at it. Although it struck the shield, it forced the person inside the shield to reveal themselves.
"Foundation Establishment brat, hiding and dodging, do you think you can escape my eyes?!" The demon and Shen Du passed each other, and the demonic energy around him suddenly surged, his aura soaring. He unleashed several bursts of demonic energy, forcing Shen Du back two steps, and then flew towards Xu Xing to attack.
Xu Xing, feigning panic, hid inside the spirit shield bead, crying out, "Senior brother, save me!"
Chen Du was worried about her getting hurt, so he lost his composure and gave the demons an opportunity to gain the upper hand.
"Hmph! A mere shield, how can it stop me!" Knowing that although he was slightly ahead, he still couldn't kill this sword cultivator, the demon simply attacked Xu Xing with all his might. The second-tier spirit shield bead was shattered into pieces after being hit only once.
"stop!"
Shen Du caught up with a cold face, but it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as the demon shattered the spirit shield bead and reached out to grab Xu Xing's throat!
"Well--"
The demon's sinister grin hadn't faded when the female cultivator he was holding vanished in a wisp of smoke. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized, "An illusion?!"
"It seems the demons' eyesight isn't very good?"
Xu Xing appeared behind Shen Du with a smile. She would never use herself as bait! The Phantom Flowing Beads she had refined earlier would come in handy now.
"You dare to play me?!"
The demon was so angry that his eyes turned bloodshot. He had never suffered such a great loss before. He immediately forced out a mouthful of blood and sprayed it onto his weapon, intending to fight to the death!
Xu Xing raised his hand and pointed at him from a distance, "Hey! Don't you want to take a look at yourself first?"
The demon stared blankly down at the blackened blood on his weapon. Was this his blood?
With a clatter, the weapon fell heavily to the ground. He tried to bend down and retrieve it, but grasped at nothing. It turned out that his arms had been corroded by the deadly poison and turned into pus...
"You are... a demon..."
The words left unspoken vanished between his teeth. The next moment, the demon turned into a puddle of pus, emitting a pungent odor, his storage bag and magical artifacts scattered on the ground.
The remaining golden core, still retaining some consciousness, was shattered by Shen Du's sword.
Xu Xing clicked his tongue, pinched his nose, and shook his head. "Who said only demons use poison?"
The Soul-Severing Grass is really useful! But these storage bags are stuck in the pus, and she really doesn't want to go get them...
"Be careful when using poison, don't hurt yourself."
Because Xu Xing wanted to test the toxicity of the Soul-Severing Grass, Shen Du, who had played along with her, used the tip of his sword to pick up the storage bag. Just as he wiped off the restriction on it, a black aura rushed towards him. Fortunately, he was prepared and dodged to the side, quickly slashing it down with his sword energy.
Xu Xing shrugged. "No wonder they suspect we're demons. They're the real masters of poison; they even set up such traps in their storage bags."
Shen Du rummaged through the contents and indeed found the Azure Feather Heavenly Fire Furnace, which had not yet been claimed as its owner. With a flick of his sword, the entire furnace landed in front of Xu Xing. "Keep it safe."
"Mmm!" Xu Xu nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, no one can take my storage space away!"
She skillfully placed the alchemy furnace into her storage bag, then tossed the bag into her backpack. "I'll return it to Qianqian when I see her later."
Chen Du paused, glancing at Xu Xing. "Still? Wasn't this alchemy furnace supposed to be every alchemist's dream come true...?"
Seeing that Xu Xing had already squatted down and was picking through the demon's storage bag, Chen Du pursed his lips and swallowed the words that were about to come out of his throat.
That's enough.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to the lovely readers Sheep, Star, and Watching Star for the nutrient solution! [heart]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
