Chapter 128: Gate of Life
Even as Du Heng marveled at the Tianyuan Pill King’s acting, he sneered inwardly.
He deliberately said, “It was only human blood. I never took anyone’s life.”
“My Hundred Flowers Pill was missing a single supplementary ingredient rich in spiritual power. I tried every ordinary medicinal herb with abundant spiritual power, but none produced the effect I wanted.”
Du Heng closed his eyes. “Then, by sheer chance, I discovered that a cultivator’s blood contains tremendous spiritual power. It was the perfect supplementary ingredient for this Hundred Flowers Pill.”
His eyes snapped open. “I know others would consider this utterly heretical, but I want to know what you think.”
“Surely someone like you wouldn’t be bound by such scruples!”
The Tianyuan Pill King regarded him deeply before suddenly revealing the faintest smile. “Do you truly think so?”
“Of course.” Du Heng exhaled and carefully adjusted his emotions. He stared straight into the Tianyuan Pill King’s eyes, burying his true feelings beneath a facade of fanaticism. “I am a pill cultivator. Naturally, I devote myself wholly to the Dao of alchemy and pursue it to its ultimate limits. There is nothing beneath heaven that cannot be used as an ingredient!”
“Cultivators are no exception.”
His eyes burned with fervor. “In ancient times, the Pill Sage could turn heaven and earth into a furnace with a flip of his hand. I imagine so-called geniuses were nothing more than heavenly materials for the furnace!”
The Tianyuan Pill King’s expression shifted abruptly.
He looked down at Du Heng. “...Did you come up with that yourself, or did someone tell you?”
Du Heng remained silent.
“Speak!” the Tianyuan Pill King barked.
Spiritual power was concealed within that single word. The shock struck directly at the mind. Du Heng staggered backward and nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The Girl in the Bamboo’s expression shifted. She reached out to steady him.
Du Heng coughed softly, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He raised his eyes. “...By chance, I once heard a cultivator from the Esoteric Sect mention it.”
The Tianyuan Pill King narrowed his eyes.
“The Esoteric Sect...”
Du Heng watched his expression carefully.
Without warning, the Tianyuan Pill King swept out a sleeve. A wave of force struck Du Heng and sent him tumbling uncontrollably across the floor.
The Girl in the Bamboo’s expression tightened, her brows drawing together.
The Tianyuan Pill King turned away with another sweep of his sleeve. “Leave! Since you harbor such heretical ideas, Fire Cauldron Sect cannot keep you!”
“You ignorant fool! What you described is an unorthodox cultivator’s method of pill refinement. I will have no part of it!”
“Still, reaching your present level of skill was no easy feat. I cannot bear to cripple your cultivation. Fortunately, you have not yet formally entered the sect. We will simply consider you to have never had any connection to Fire Cauldron Sect. Go!”
“Reflect carefully on your actions. If I later learn that you have caused some catastrophe, I will not spare you!”
Du Heng braced himself against the floor and slowly raised his head to give the Tianyuan Pill King a long look.
He snorted. “So the legendary Tianyuan Pill King isn’t nearly as impressive as the stories claim. You’re just another stubborn old fossil like the old Pill King.”
“At this rate, you can forget about ever refining a true Wondrous Jade Beauty Pill!”
The Tianyuan Pill King stood with his back to him, utterly unmoved.
The Girl in the Bamboo watched him warily.
Du Heng struggled to his feet and staggered out of the main hall.
The two of them continued unsteadily toward the disciples’ quarters. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did the Girl in the Bamboo speak in a low voice.
“That was too dangerous.”
Du Heng popped a pill into his mouth. “You don’t catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger’s den.”
The Girl in the Bamboo watched until his blood and qi stabilized and confirmed that he had not suffered any serious injury. Only then did she look away.
“He was lying.”
“I know.” Du Heng’s voice was calm. “I only wanted to confirm how much he knew. From his reaction, he must have some connection to the Esoteric Sect.”
“At the very least, he wasn’t surprised by the idea that an immortal pill must be refined from ‘heavenly materials.’”
The Girl in the Bamboo slowly turned toward him. “He has no intention of accepting you now. Are you planning to leave?”
“First, we find the others.”
Du Heng headed toward the outer disciples’ living quarters. Quite a few people still remembered how spectacularly he had performed at the Pillfire Conference. None of them knew that the Tianyuan Pill King had just thrown him out, so they remained exceedingly respectful and told him everything they knew.
“You haven’t seen them today?”
Du Heng frowned. After politely thanking them, a trace of concern appeared on his face.
The Girl in the Bamboo turned toward him. “Perhaps they made some progress.”
“Or perhaps they’re just fooling around.” Du Heng clearly had very little faith in the others. “They could at least have sent word.”
“Miss.”
A familiar voice came from behind him, carrying a smile.
“You truly are a beauty fit for a painting.”
Du Heng turned around expressionlessly and fixed a cold stare on Scholar Xiao, who was grinning with undisguised delight at his misfortune.
That bastard had traveled with the medicinal-ingredient convoy and thus escaped the privilege of suffering alongside the rest of them.
Scholar Xiao made absolutely no attempt to suppress his smile. Instead, he even cupped his hands politely.
“I am Scholar Xiao of Four Books Academy. I could not help but notice the young lady’s extraordinary bearing, and admiration arose within my heart. Might I paint your portrait and submit it to the Nine Provinces Beauty Ranking...?”
Du Heng: “...Fine.”
The word came through gritted teeth.
“If I am to paint you, we should find somewhere secluded.” Scholar Xiao’s eyes curved with his smile.
No matter how one looked at him, he was enjoying this far too much.
Once they had found a suitable place, Scholar Xiao doubled over laughing.
“Forgive me, forgive me, Brother Du. I simply—hahaha!”
“I should have known. Traveling with Brother Yu, your journey was bound to be extraordinarily eventful. To think I missed so much along the way. What a terrible shame!”
He slapped his folding fan against his palm, sounding genuinely regretful.
Du Heng stared at him expressionlessly. “Your Brother Yu is very fond of making sure everyone shares in the suffering. Your turn will come sooner or later. You won’t escape.”
Scholar Xiao’s smile vanished instantly.
He cleared his throat. “Ahem. Snowwarm came looking for me earlier. She said Brother Ye and the others had discovered a few clues and, apparently acting on impulse, went straight to see the old Pill King.”
Even Du Heng nearly failed to control his expression.
“See the old Pill King...”
“Four Books Academy spent all that time trying and never managed to meet him, and they just... did?”
“Such are timing and fate.” Scholar Xiao shook his fan regretfully. “Perhaps the people of Four Books Academy simply lack a little of Brother Yu and Brother Ye’s good fortune.”
Du Heng’s eyelid twitched.
He instinctively turned toward the depths of Fire Cauldron Sect.
“I also tried sending messages to their transmission stone.” Amusement still lingered in Scholar Xiao’s eyes. “But they appear to be in some unusual situation at the moment. They can’t receive them.”
The Girl in the Bamboo sighed softly. “I cannot sense their auras either.”
She frowned in puzzlement.
“Strange. That should not be possible.”
“There’s no need to panic yet.” Scholar Xiao seemed remarkably optimistic as he smiled and gently waved his folding fan. “If they haven’t returned, they probably made progress. And Fire Cauldron Sect hasn’t descended into chaos, which means the people here still don’t know they made progress.”
“The question is how long that can last.” Du Heng’s brows drew together. “We need to find a way to get close to the old Pill King’s chambers. If something happens, at least we’ll be in position to help.”
He turned toward the Girl in the Bamboo. “You followed them all that way before because you could sense their location?”
She nodded. “If I hadn’t been certain I could catch them, I never would have let them run ahead.”
“But now... something is wrong.”
Scholar Xiao asked curiously, “What possibilities can you think of? Perhaps we can work backward from them.”
The Girl in the Bamboo frowned and thought seriously.
“Someone with a higher cultivation level than mine hid them. A first-rank spiritual artifact is concealing them. They entered some kind of special secret realm. Or they crossed an entire province overnight.”
Scholar Xiao gently waved his folding fan. “One or three.”
Du Heng lowered his eyes as if something had occurred to him.
“Three,” he said with certainty.
Scholar Xiao raised an eyebrow. “You thought of something?”
“A first-rank spirit pill. The Reincarnation Pill.” Du Heng looked up. “It contains a pocket world of its own, and entering or leaving requires specific methods. If they accidentally entered it, they may have a very hard time escaping on their own.”
“So we really do have to go find them.”
“Hiss...” Scholar Xiao tapped his head with his folding fan, looking troubled. “That won’t be easy.”
“Easy or not, we have to do it.” Du Heng clenched his fist. “If there’s really no other way...”
“Hold on.” Scholar Xiao waved a hand. “We haven’t reached ‘no other way’ yet. Give me some time to think this through.”
“We’re outnumbered. If we can use our heads, let’s not start with our fists.”
...
Inside the Reincarnation Pill, Ye Chenyan played the dutiful son in front of Master Ye and Madam Ye until they finally gave him permission to go out.
He even left through the back gate, avoiding any grand procession in case someone from the Yu residence happened to see him.
Master Ye had already sent ten God of Wealth statues over to the Yu residence, but who could say they wouldn’t insist on the one Ye Chenyan was holding? Better to keep a low profile.
Master Ye had originally demanded that he leave the God of Wealth statue at home.
Ye Chenyan, however, flatly refused.
Wherever he went, the statue went with him.
Today, he claimed he was going to inspect the family shops. In reality, he took a detour and marched boldly into a medicine shop carrying one bird and one God of Wealth statue, looking for Physician Sun.
One glance at him was enough to tell that there was nothing normal about this arrangement.
The apprentice at the entrance froze when he saw Ye Chenyan, nearly tripped over the threshold, then stammered his way inside to fetch Physician Sun.
Physician Sun had an exceptionally trustworthy physician’s face: a goatee, a wrinkled countenance, and the general look of someone who could have been admitted to the imperial medical bureau on appearance alone.
He examined his visitor.
Ye Chenyan examined him right back.
Physician Sun cautiously asked, “Are you here for treatment?”
“Mm.” Ye Chenyan nodded and chuckled. “What illness do you think I have?”
“Well...” Physician Sun looked troubled. He answered tactfully, “I would need to take your pulse before I could say.”
Ye Chenyan spoke with very little courtesy. “Fine. But let me make one thing clear first. There is nothing wrong with my head.”
Physician Sun laughed twice. “Haha. Of course not.”
He led Ye Chenyan into the rear room.
The two sat across a table, but instead of offering his wrist for a pulse reading, Ye Chenyan went straight to the point.
“I want treatment for soul-loss sickness.”
Physician Sun narrowed his eyes.
The ingratiating smile disappeared as he looked Ye Chenyan up and down. “Are you the one who needs treatment, or is it someone else? The patient has to come in person.”
“Naturally, I came in person.” Ye Chenyan made no effort to hide how much he already knew. “My guess is, I don’t even need medicine.”
Physician Sun’s expression went blank for a moment.
Then his lips curved into the same arrogant smile they had seen countless times in Fire Cauldron Sect.
He nodded. “Correct. After all these days, someone with a little sense has finally shown up.”
“Smart people don’t need medicine. They only need one piece of good advice.”
Ye Chenyan stared at him without the slightest politeness. “And can that one piece of advice keep me alive?”
Physician Sun snorted with amusement. “You want to live? Good. Wanting to live makes things easy.”
“Find someone. Once you find him, you can live.”
Ye Chenyan obligingly leaned closer. “Who? What does he look like? My appearance changed completely after entering this world. Even with a portrait, finding someone would be difficult.”
“I know. That’s why it’s troublesome.” Physician Sun lowered his voice. “White perilla. Omphalia. Whoever can tell you what the third medicinal ingredient is—that’s the person you’re looking for.”
Ye Chenyan pressed him. “But I don’t know what the third ingredient is. How am I supposed to know whether he gives the right answer?”
“Bring the answer back and ask me.”
Physician Sun clearly had no intention of telling him what the correct answer was.
“Fine.” Ye Chenyan leaned back.
Then he abruptly changed tack.
“Or I could tell Celestial Master Jiang?”
Physician Sun glanced at him and sneered. “Go right ahead.”
“Let me guess. Those people who refuse to cooperate, whose ‘soul-loss sickness’ becomes incurable—how are they dealt with?”
“In that case, I understand.” Ye Chenyan chuckled. “You’re the gate of life. He’s the gate of death.”
“I want to live. Of course I choose you.”
Only then did Physician Sun nod in satisfaction. “That’s more like it.”
He waved a hand.
“Go find him properly. Your life is in your own hands. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get out.”
Once the three of them had left the medicine shop and found somewhere deserted, Yu Qingtang finally spoke.
“Now that we know all this, are we still going to see Celestial Master Jiang?”
Ye Chenyan shook his head. “No. Celestial Master Jiang is probably there to deal with ‘soul-loss sickness’ patients who refuse to cooperate. Going to see him now would be far too dangerous.”
“They gave us a clue, so I suppose we can reluctantly help them look. And if we don’t find him...”
Ye Chenyan lowered his gaze toward Yu Qingtang.
A flash of inspiration struck Yu Qingtang, and he immediately guessed what Ye Chenyan was thinking.
He ventured, “We just make up an answer and test it?”
Ye Chenyan’s eyes curved with his smile. “Exactly.”
Yu Qingtang proudly raised his head. “I’ll guess! If I practice my cultivation method a few more times, maybe my luck will be good enough!”
Qingzhu said calmly, “Can you even practice your cultivation method right now?”
Yu Qingtang froze.
“Oh. Right. I can’t cultivate right now.”
He sounded a little dejected.
“Then you two guess.”
“We’re guessing blindly either way.” Ye Chenyan instinctively took his side. “You already wanted to do it, so you can guess first.”
Qingzhu glanced at the two of them.
“Has it not occurred to either of you that we could simply find him today?”