Chapter Thirty: Human Elixir
"Master...is he really alright?" Ye Chi frowned, his gaze fixed on the pale-faced boy on the ground. Shi Bai was usually so vibrant, but now even his lips were devoid of color. Even though Ye Chi didn't particularly like this junior brother who always tried to get his attention from him and their master, his worry was genuine. He looked at Ya Feiyu, whose eyes were closed, two fingers pressed together, a silver spiritual stream carrying a chilling aura emanating from his fingertips. Instead of answering seriously, he said, "Your relationship with him seems to have improved somewhat."
Ye Chi was slightly taken aback, then shifted his body guiltily behind Ya Feiyu and said, "You'll always be worried, won't you?"
Ya Feiyu didn't respond, clearly he was channeling his power, and Ye Chi didn't deliberately disturb him. Ya Feiyu swiftly formed a hand seal, and instantly a surge of blue light emanated from beneath his feet, bringing a chilling aura. Then, Ya Feiyu slowly opened his eyes, a flash of blue light passing through them. He stood up, touched Shi Bai's forehead, and his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed: "He's alright. The rest, we'll wait for him to wake up on his own."
Ye Chi breathed a sigh of relief, helped Shi Bai sit up, and then sat listlessly on a nearby boulder, observing his surroundings.
He and Ya Feiyu walked through the tunnel and stumbled upon this place by sheer chance. Logically speaking, Shi Bai's path was not connected to the other two paths, so the fact that they were able to find him in a confused state was thanks to Ya Feiyu's brute-force method. He sensed an abnormal spiritual energy from afar, swung his sword at the stone wall, and found Shi Bai unconscious in just a few minutes.
Fortunately, Ya Feiyu rescued him in time; otherwise, Shi Bai would have been in grave danger.
As Ye Chi pondered, there was a sudden movement beside him. He looked over and saw Shi Bai open his eyes, still somewhat dazed, but the moment his gaze fell on Ya Feiyu, he instantly became clear-headed. Ignoring his weak body, he sat up straight and said, "Master!"
Ya Feiyu was slightly taken aback. He saw something different in Shi Bai's eyes, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. When he came to his senses, he responded faintly, "Hmm."
Shi Bai was completely unconcerned by Ya Feiyu's coldness. He tried to stand up; his legs were slightly weak, but not to the point of being unable to stand. As usual, he walked to Ya Feiyu's side, scratched the back of his head, and said softly, "I'm sorry, Master... it's my fault. Not only did I fail to find the weapon, but I also fell into an illusion, and now I have to be rescued by Master. I'm truly... useless..."
Ya Feiyu lowered her eyes, stared at him for a long time, and said softly, "How can you be sure that you are not bound to the weapon?"
Hearing this, Ye Chi, who was standing there in a daze, was also momentarily stunned, let alone Shi Bai, the person involved. A hint of joy visibly flashed across his eyes, but it quickly cooled down as if it had been extinguished. His ears drooped dejectedly, and he muttered with a pout, "Master, don't try to coax your disciple. Your disciple knows perfectly well that someone as useless as me could never be recognized by those weapons..."
He seemed to have not finished speaking when Ya Feiyu suddenly raised his hand, his palm holding a ball of light that illuminated his handsome face.
Shi Bai was stunned for a moment. When he came to his senses, he heard Ya Feiyu say, "Stretch out your hand."
"Oh, oh..." How could his master possibly harm him? So he obediently handed over his hand.
Ya Feiyu grasped his wrist, pressing and pinching it here and there. Finally, he applied pressure to one spot and infused it with spiritual energy.
An indescribable chill flowed through his body, cold yet not piercing, gentle and soothing, and Shi Bai was captivated by it. The next second, a golden mark appeared on his wrist. Ya Feiyu looked at it and said, "This is proof of the Divine Martial Contract. Judging from the pattern, it is very rare and it is compatible with you."
Upon hearing this, Shi Bai looked at Ya Feiyu in disbelief, as if afraid it was a beautiful lie. He tried to see even the slightest trace of lying on Ya Feiyu's expressionless face, but unfortunately, he failed; Ya Feiyu's eyes were clear.
He could no longer contain his overwhelming joy, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement. He blinked and said, "Master... is everything you said true...?"
"How could Master lie to you?" Ye Chi put his hands on his head, climbed down from the boulder, walked to Ya Feiyu's side, and said, "Our Master has such good eyesight, right? Both of his only two disciples have been contracted by the Divine Martial Contract."
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at Ya Feiyu with a grin. The latter gave him a cold look, seemingly scoffing at this honor: "You were able to obtain the Divine Martial Arts because of your own character, not because of my teachings. Besides, I didn't teach you anything."
"Of course, this is related to Master. Without Master, we don't know when we would be able to come here," Ye Chi said.
"Yes, Master, if it weren't for you, your disciple wouldn't have been able to... truly embark on the path of immortality." The two, who usually loved to oppose each other, surprisingly stood on the same side when it came to Ya Feiyu. Ya Feiyu's gaze swept over the two of them for a moment, then, as if suddenly burned by something, he quickly turned around and left with a flick of his sleeve: "Since you've both obtained divine weapons, then go back."
Ye Chi watched with a smile, feeling quite relaxed.
Ya Feiyu's hasty retreat was clearly an attempt to hide her shyness, but she failed completely.
Your bright red ears have already given you away, Master.
...
Following the narrow path to the end, a faint glimmer of light finally appeared on the dark trail.
Having been in this tunnel for far too long, even those without claustrophobia would be on the verge of going crazy. So, as soon as they saw the exit, Ye Chi rushed forward without a second thought, followed closely by Shi Bai, while Ya Feiyu trailed behind at a leisurely pace. His eyes swirled with spiritual energy as he confirmed that the path ahead was indeed safe and not some kind of illusion before he felt at ease letting his two naive disciples pass through.
They entered through a strange cave and emerged from a small cave at the other end, where they found themselves in another lush, green forest, but something seemed amiss.
Ye Chi half-squatted down, staring intently at the slightly greenish ground, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, and said, "Master, is there... something wrong here?"
Ya Feiyu put two fingers together and pressed them against his chest. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a long time before saying, "There is an ominous aura here, but even I can't sense what it is... It comes from not far away."
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint smell of blood wafted over. Ye Chi's pupils contracted, and he suddenly looked up, following the direction the wind was coming from: "Is it somewhere?"
The group followed the wind and slowly made their way up the mountain. The path led upwards, so they continued their ascent. The stench of blood grew stronger, as if it were polluting the very air. Shi Bai, with his keen senses, frowned uncomfortably, while Ya Feiyu simply held his breath, and Ye Chi felt unsteady on his feet from the stench.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a huge gap suddenly appeared in the road beneath his feet. Ye Chi was lost in thought, struggling against the stench, and almost lost his footing. Fortunately, Ya Feiyu grabbed him by the back of his collar in time.
He was nearly suffocated by the choking. When his feet touched the ground, he bent over and coughed twice. As soon as he looked up, he was so shocked by the scene before him that he couldn't say a word.
They found themselves at the edge of a cliff, and at the bottom of the cliff was a huge hollow. The center of the hollow was an eerie black color, as if it had been scorched by charcoal fire, and strange scarlet gas drifted out, winding upwards and reaching the sky.
The area was desolate, with withered vegetation, which explains why there were almost no living creatures along the way.
In the center of that depression, there were countless "hills," seemingly piled up densely from something. In the middle, there was an open space with a few wooden branches stuck in it, on which hung several figures swaying precariously. When the wind blew, the tattered hems of their clothes swayed gently.
Ye Chi then realized that everything in the hollow, whether piled up or stuck into wooden branches, consisted of people.
It was unclear how long they had slumbered there; the corpses were rotten beyond recognition, mostly charred bones, devoid of life. Ye Chi was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth. He forced himself to snap out of the scene and turned to look at the remaining two. Ya Feiyu looked serious, not as reacting as Ye Chi. In contrast, Shi Bai's face was drained of color, and his reaction was not much different from Ye Chi's.
It seems it wasn't that he was overreacting, but rather that Ya Feiyu's reaction was too calm. Ye Chi thought to himself.
“This place seems to be…” Ya Feiyu took a few steps forward, squatted down on the edge of the cliff, and touched the black soil with his finger. His expression instantly became serious. “This is the place where demons cultivate the Human-Controlling Pill.”
Ye Chi paused slightly: "Human Pill? Master, what is that?"
Ya Feiyu gave him a look and said calmly, "One of the forbidden techniques of demonic cultivation: using humans to refine pills can increase cultivation level."
He seemed unwilling to say much. He stood up, brushed the black ash off his sleeves, curled his lips, and sneered, "Heh, no wonder we couldn't find their base for so many years. It turns out it's here."
"That's clever of them to have set it up here."
Ya Feiyu offered a comment without much emotional fluctuation, then looked up and gazed at the layered mountains of corpses. His face remained calm, but his hands, hanging at his sides, suddenly clenched, veins bulging on the back of his hands. A cold flame seemed to burn in his eyes, but it was eventually hidden silently.
His long eyelashes drooped, and even the most cold-hearted person would be stirred by them.
“It’s truly hateful…” Shi Bai clenched his fists and whispered.
Ya Feiyu snapped out of her daze and glanced at him.
No wonder we ran into that man in black robes here; it turns out this is the lair of the demonic cultivators. Although there might not be any trace of activity left, this place will undoubtedly become a focus of attention. If word gets out, Linglong Pavilion will likely be sealed off.
Ya Feiyu lightly twirled his fingertips, muttering incantations.
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