Chapter 38: Wondrous Jade Beauty Pill
With a perfectly serious face, Ye Chenyan spouted complete nonsense. “The Biehe Sect has a unique secret art. It can hook souls and seize spirits, making people say anything and believe anything.”
Yu Qingtang opened his mouth.
If Ye Chenyan kept making things up like this, his master would be sitting at home when the title of demonic cult leader suddenly dropped from the sky.
“Right?” Ye Chenyan even asked him with a beaming smile.
Yu Qingtang’s expression was complicated, but he cooperated and nodded threateningly. “Right. Exactly. It can even turn people into idiots, so you’d better be careful.”
Li Ling’er: “...”
Were these two trying to fool idiots?
Of course, Cangzhu was not an idiot. He clearly did not believe Yu Qingtang had any torture methods.
But he did believe what Li Ling’er had said—that if he did not talk, the Guiyi Sect would beat him until he did.
He laughed dryly twice, trying to maintain his poise. “In the Golden Core Competition, each family’s prodigies display their own abilities. Conflict and cooperation are both within reason...”
“Mm-hm.” Ye Chenyan nodded perfunctorily. With a twist of his longspear, shattered stones beside Cangzhu’s face flew apart, blasting out a pit.
Cangzhu choked in fright and blurted everything out in one breath. “Jin Yangzi said he knows of a legacy site inside the Ancient Academy Realm where there may be traces of the Bodhi Pill formula!”
Ye Chenyan raised a brow. “Bodhi Pill formula? Sounds Buddhist.”
“You should all know that Dharma Academy once had a prodigy who vanished inside the Ancient Academy Realm,” Cangzhu said. Now that he had opened his mouth, he no longer dared hide anything. “But he carried Dharma Academy’s legacy—the Lotus Realm. This secret art is rather unusual. It must be passed down from generation to generation.”
“After that prodigy disappeared, no one in Dharma Academy could cultivate the Lotus Realm anymore. They come here every year hoping to find that legacy again. Supposedly, whoever finds it gets to keep it.”
Ye Chenyan narrowed his eyes and asked with interest, “The Lotus Realm—is it powerful?”
Yu Qingtang glanced at him. “You can’t learn it.”
“Hm?” Ye Chenyan turned to look at him, somewhat unconvinced. “Do you have to be connected to Buddhism to learn it?”
“Not necessarily.” Yu Qingtang shook his head. “But you have to keep the precepts.”
He held up his fingers. “No killing, no lying, no meat or fish... and you also have to be a vir—cough, an untouched boy.”
Yu Qingtang looked at him deeply. “You can’t practice it.”
“I!” Ye Chenyan choked and grew a little anxious. “How am I—”
Yu Qingtang blinked. “You eat meat and fish.”
Ye Chenyan froze. “Oh. You meant that precept. Then that’s true.”
He awkwardly looked away and cleared his throat. “I thought...”
“You also lie,” Li Ling’er said, pointing at him. “You were tricking people just now.”
Ye Chenyan paused, then waved at her in disdain, indicating she should go farther away. “Children shouldn’t interrupt.”
Yu Qingtang rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No wonder he didn’t make a move just now. So it was because he’s keeping the precept against killing.”
“Heh.” Ye Chenyan gave a cold laugh. “That also proves he’s arrogant. He thinks that if he makes a move, he’ll kill us.”
Then he looked at Cangzhu again.
Cangzhu gave a bitter smile and consciously continued, “That prodigy also had Bodhi Pills on him. Those pills can grant enlightenment. They can be called priceless treasures.”
“If those pills are still on him, then as long as I obtain one and bring it back to my sect, we will certainly be able to develop the formula.”
“Jin Yangzi and I agreed that however many Bodhi Pills we found would all be brought back to the Fire Cauldron Sect by me. But after I refined Bodhi Pills, I would have to give him five.”
Ye Chenyan looked him up and down in disdain. “You? Refine Bodhi Pills?”
Cangzhu shamelessly laughed dryly. “My master will refine them, but I am his disciple, so naturally I’ll be able to see the formula too.”
“Everyone...”
“But your deal with him has already fallen apart,” Ye Chenyan said, unmoved. His eyes shifted, and he began plotting something wicked. “Why don’t we go find the people from Dharma Academy and cause trouble for him? We can’t let him get the legacy for nothing.”
“Mm...” Yu Qingtang rubbed his chin. “It may not work.”
“Dharma Academy is devoted to Buddhism. They emphasize delivering all living beings and have even said things like all Buddhist sects under heaven are one family...”
Besides, in the plot, he really did learn this move.
“Oh, right!” Li Ling’er could always join in when gossip came up. “I heard Dharma Academy wanted to convert the one born with Buddhist bone into Buddhism. Last time, when they went to the Golden Light Sect to snatch him away, not only did they fail to take him, they weren’t even angry. They even sent over lots of gifts.”
“This news about the Lotus Realm might even have been told to Jin Yangzi by them!”
“Are those monks stupid?” Ye Chenyan clicked his tongue. “Then we can only go cause trouble ourselves.”
He withdrew his spear, and Cangzhu let out a breath of relief.
Yu Qingtang moved in front of him and held out his hand.
Cangzhu looked at his palm and did not react for a moment.
“Can’t understand?” Ye Chenyan stood behind Yu Qingtang with his spear in hand, smiling. “This is robbery. Hand over all the pills and magical artifacts on you.”
Cangzhu: “...”
“You’re from the Fire Cauldron Sect.” Yu Qingtang looked at him like he was looking at a fat sheep and rubbed two fingers together. “You should have quite a few valuable things on you, right?”
Cangzhu: “...”
Trembling, he removed his storage ring and took out many bottles and jars.
“What’s this?” Yu Qingtang carefully recorded the use of every bottle of medicine to prevent the kind of wrong-medicine plot everyone loved to see in immortal-fantasy and martial-arts stories.
“Cough.” Cangzhu gave him a meaningful look that everyone understood. “Good stuff.”
Ye Chenyan understood instantly and immediately took it out of Yu Qingtang’s hand. “You can’t have this one.”
So there really was that kind of thing!
Yu Qingtang snatched it back and hugged it warily. “What are you taking it for? This can’t be given to you either!”
“I!” Ye Chenyan choked, and even his ears flushed red. “Who, who wants to take it? I was thinking of a way to dispose of it...”
Just then, Wen Rubing finished clearing out the remaining stubborn cultivators nearby. Only now did he descend on his sword and walk over to them. “Miss Yu, Junior Brother Ye.”
“Chi Yantian of the Heavenly Fire Cult said the spear has been tested, so he won’t stay here any longer.”
“Scholar Xiao of Four Books Academy chased after him. He said if the two of you have any materials related to the artifact-refining office, you can send him a message at any time. He also left a transmission stone.”
With his good temper, he helped pass along the message and handed over a transmission stone.
Ye Chenyan reached out and took it. “I’ll keep it with me so he doesn’t bother anyone.”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes lit up.
Wasn’t the most suitable storage place right here?
Yu Qingtang waved at him excitedly. “Eldest Senior Brother!”
Wen Rubing showed him a grateful smile. “Just now—”
Before he could finish, Yu Qingtang directly stuffed that dangerous little bottle into his arms with a solemn expression. “I’ll entrust this to you!”
Wen Rubing froze. “This is a pill? It doesn’t seem to be an ordinary pill. What exactly is it...”
Yu Qingtang gestured for him to come closer so they could speak, but before the two of them could draw near, Ye Chenyan covered Yu Qingtang’s mouth and pulled him behind himself.
“Cough.” Ye Chenyan wore a smile and took a step forward himself, leaning close to his senior brother’s ear. “Aphrodisiac.”
Wen Rubing turned pale with shock. Frightened, he threw the pill bottle high into the air, then fumbled in a panic to catch it again. His entire face flushed frighteningly red, and he did not dare look directly at Yu Qingtang. “W-what does Miss Yu mean by this!”
“Ahem—” Ye Chenyan stood between the two of them, smiling. “Of course, he thinks something like this cannot be left in the hands of bad people. Eldest Senior Brother is upright and honorable, so you will definitely be able to safeguard this...”
He pointed at the bottle of medicine. “Crooked and deviant thing.”
He added, “Aside from that, there is absolutely no other meaning.”
Wen Rubing held his breath, forced himself to calm down, and nodded solemnly. “Junior Brother, rest assured. I absolutely will not let anyone with improper intentions approach it!”
Li Ling’er’s mouth fell open, and she could not help asking, “What kind of medicine is it? What are you all being so secretive about?”
In all the years she had been alive, this was the first time she had seen Eldest Senior Brother so flustered.
Yu Qingtang’s face filled with loving kindness. “Be good. You’re still young. Don’t ask.”
“I’m already grown up!” Li Ling’er was very unconvinced. “Tell me, tell me!”
Helpless, Yu Qingtang gestured for her to lend him her ear. Li Ling’er leaned over excitedly, only to hear one sentence—
“Go home and ask your father.”
Outside the Ancient Academy Realm, a rare trace of emotion appeared on Sword Sovereign Tianyi’s face.
He could almost foresee the scene of Li Ling’er chasing after him with questions once she returned home.
Tianji Zi slapped his thigh in gloating delight, but did not dare laugh out loud.
Meanwhile, inside the Ancient Academy Realm, Cangzhu looked between them with a slight frown, then suddenly understood. “Oh—you want that?”
He chuckled and revealed an expression of realization. “I have that too, but this isn’t it. This is good stuff that you might not be able to buy even with spirit stones.”
“I wonder if you’ve heard of it—the Wondrous Jade Beauty Pill?”
Wen Rubing froze and subconsciously looked at Ye Chenyan. “It isn’t aphro—cough cough!”
Ye Chenyan’s expression turned suspicious. “Wondrous Jade Beauty Pill... What is that?”
“You are all young, so naturally, you have no use for this treasure pill yet,” Cangzhu said with a smile that carried a deeper meaning. “But for a mighty expert whose lifespan is about to end, this treasure pill can make a divine maiden appear, allowing the person to regain youth for an instant and restore peak spiritual power in a flash!”
Yu Qingtang furrowed his brow slightly. “That pill name sounds a little familiar.”
But that sense of familiarity did not seem to come from the plot. It probably was not an important plot item. Instead, it felt as if he had heard it somewhere before.
“Can you remember?” Ye Chenyan asked him curiously.
Yu Qingtang rubbed his chin and began relying on the astonishing memory he had gained after cultivating to trace it back.
Pill cultivator. Pill refining. Wondrous Jade Beauty Pill...
Along the way, he had not met many cultivators connected to that sort of thing. Aside from Du Heng, there was...
His eyes suddenly widened. With a whoosh, he jumped behind Ye Chenyan, pointed at Cangzhu, and said, “It was that heretical cultivator! The one in Jinzhou who captured Golden Core female cultivators to refine pills! He mentioned it! He wanted to use us to refine some Wondrous Jade Beauty Pill!”
“They’re in this together!”
Cangzhu’s face changed abruptly. Before he could move, a spear and a sword were already resting against his neck.
Wen Rubing’s face was cold as frost. “You actually possess such a heretical thing!”
“No, no!” Cangzhu’s face was deathly pale as he shook his head over and over. “How could that be? This pill was refined by my master. How could it have anything to do with some heretical cultivator? She’s slandering me!”
Outwardly fierce but inwardly weak, he said, “Do you know the consequences of slandering the Fire Cauldron Sect’s sect master, Tianyuan Pill King?”
“What an impressive display of authority.” Ye Chenyan looked down at him from above. “Who cares what Pill King or Heavenly King he is? If there’s suspicion, it should be investigated.”
“Correct.” Wen Rubing’s expression was icy. “This person can no longer remain in the Ancient Academy Realm. I will bind him and send him to the outside world, to be judged by the seniors there.”
Yu Qingtang poked his head out and stared at Cangzhu’s ashen face, thoughtful. “Maybe he really doesn’t know.”
“If he knew, he probably wouldn’t be stupid enough to take this pill out in front of so many people outside.”
“Not necessarily,” Li Ling’er said, also wanting to work hard at pretending she was thinking. “I don’t think he looks very smart.”
Outside the Ancient Academy Realm, Tianji Zi opened his eyes and asked half-seriously, half-jokingly, “Old Tianyuan, you aren’t really dabbling in these crooked and deviant things, are you?”
Within the Fire Cauldron Sect’s group, an old man with snow-white hair and beard and compassionate features smiled. “Of course not.”
“However, my Wondrous Jade Beauty Pill is quite famous, and many pill cultivators have used my name to swindle people. Among them, there have also been those who wanted to research the formula, could not understand it no matter how they thought, and finally took to crooked and deviant paths... Ai.”
Among Qingzhou’s Heavenly Music Sect group, a man in green robes opened his eyes. A jade-green bamboo flute was tucked at his waist. His bearing was otherworldly, and his voice was clear and penetrating, like a light breeze brushing past.
“A few days ago, here in Qingzhou, there was indeed a thief so bold and reckless that he abducted several Golden Core female cultivators.” His gaze fell on the Ancient Academy Realm. “Fortunately, they encountered Ye Chenyan of Guiyi Sect and Yu Qingtang of Biehe Sect and were rescued, escaping disaster.”
“Since this pill shares a name with that demonic pill, I imagine Tianyuan Pill King would not mind if we investigate and clear up our confusion.”
Tianyuan Pill King’s smile did not change. “Naturally.”
“Since everyone wants to clear up confusion, I also have some curiosity.” Elder Lieyang of the Golden Light Sect narrowed his eyes. “Qingzhu, that piece the little girl played just now was your Heavenly Music Sect’s secret transmission, wasn’t it?”
Qingzhu’s lowered eyes paused slightly, then he smiled. “Naturally, it was a gift from the Heavenly Music Sect because they eliminated a great calamity for Qingzhou.”
His words could not really be considered a lie. The Heart-Questioning Melody had been gifted by Miaoyin Xian. Counting it that way, it had also been given by their Heavenly Music Sect.
Elder Lieyang clearly did not believe him. “A sect’s secret transmission, given away just like that? How generous!”
“We music cultivators value lofty mountains and flowing water finding a kindred soul.” Qingzhu’s expression did not change. “If the conversation is not agreeable, then naturally...”
He glanced at the other man, turned his head away, and stopped speaking.