Chapter 29: Pill King’s Token
The atmosphere in the dungeon was heavy.
No one spoke, only Liu Chengqi lay on the ground, howling in agony.
Liu Chenggong, regaining his senses, quickly went to help his cousin.
“Dad! Dad!”
“Shut up!”
Liu Tianfeng’s expression turned gloomy and uncertain again.
Chu Huaixu, half a head taller than the elder, stared at him, and he stared back.
Young and reckless! Truly young and reckless!
Struggling for a long time, Steward Liu felt an endless rage surge within him.
His old hands within his robes trembled slightly, and he had wanted to lash out several times!
Having a child in his middle age, this was his lifeline, especially since his real lifeline had been damaged by age.
But the young man before him was simply too arrogant.
With such an arrogant demeanor, if he didn’t have an immense background, how could he dare?
Moreover, the elder had been preparing to intervene and stop Chu Huaixu, but Niu Yuanshan had blocked him with Spiritual Power, preventing timely support.
“That guy surnamed Niu must know his background!”
Niu Yuanshan’s behavior was uncharacteristically strange today; such an abnormality must indicate something amiss!
Liu Tianfeng even felt that this Niu fellow was somewhat… fawning over this young man?
His immense rage was forcibly suppressed by reason, yielding to the authority of the Sixth Elder.
Liu Tianfeng took a deep breath and stated, “My son was in the wrong from the start regarding today’s events; he broke the rules. I will definitely take him back and discipline him properly!”
With several more ribs broken, Liu Chengqi felt he couldn’t swallow this insult. His eyes were bloodshot, his mind a chaotic mess, and he felt like he was going insane.
Liu Chenggong, who was supporting him, however, tightly gripped his right hand, his eyes constantly signaling him.
He now understood why his subordinate had reacted that way when the deputy captain of the enforcement team went to apprehend him.
Thinking about it now, he was completely without apprehension!
“Who exactly is he!” Liu Chenggong’s heart was pounding.
As he squatted on the ground, he looked up, only to see Chu Huaixu glancing over, looking down at him.
Their eyes met, and Liu Chenggong’s heart gave a jolt.
He realized that he had already provoked the other party!
After a few seconds of silence, Chu Huaixu said to Steward Liu, “Understood. Let Senior Brother Liu recover slowly.”
“Disciple will take his leave now.”
The reason Chu Huaixu had delivered that palm strike was that he was relying on his backing, nothing else.
They had already tried to take his life; if he showed no reaction now, should he go home to develop himself covertly for a while before seeking revenge?
Just like in many parenting videos, perhaps he should “teach the child to learn delayed gratification?”
What he wanted was immediate pleasure! To satisfy his intentions!
After the group of three left the dungeon, Chu Huaixu conveyed a grateful glance to Niu Yuanshan.
Old Niu gave him a slight smile, a silent understanding passing between them.
“Loyalty— Loyalty!”
Chu Huaixu still felt no sense of belonging to the [Organization], as he had no experience of training or brainwashing.
Even the [Faction] assigned to him by the system was [Daoist Sect], not [Organization].
However, his personal favorability towards Old Niu had soared.
Niu Yuanshan truly had a very strong affinity.
This slightly hunched middle-aged man with a square face raised his right hand, beckoning Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang, and said, “Come, let’s go back and chat as we walk.”
He tucked his hands into his sleeves and led the two young people towards his small courtyard.
Along the way, he chatted incessantly, seeming a bit verbose.
“I assume you are both very curious about the purpose of these two jade token fragments I managed to obtain for you?”
“This jade token is of great use, so you must listen carefully to what I say later, hehe.”
“Oh, right, before I start, I need to ask you first, do you know about the Pill King?”
“Pill King?” Han Shuangjiang softly repeated, “I’ve seen it in storybooks, the King of Alchemy.”
Niu Yuanshan looked straight ahead, his eyes filled with reverence, and began his introduction.
“The Pill King, born in the Moon Country, is one of the rare Eighth Realm Great Cultivators in the world. His alchemy attainments can be described as creating miracles from heaven and earth, and he is hailed as the foremost figure in alchemy after the Dao Ancestor.”
“Half of the current formulas for high-grade and supreme-grade Spirit Pills originated from him.”
“For example, the Profound Heaven Fetal Respiration Pill.”
“In fact, many alchemists believe that the Pill King’s achievements in alchemy are on par with the Dao Ancestor!”
Niu Yuanshan paused briefly. Given his apparent identity as a Daoist Sect steward, he stated his position clearly, “Of course, our Daoist Sect absolutely does not acknowledge this point.”
Chu Huaixu had some understanding of this matter.
In terms of overall contribution, the Dao Ancestor, who founded the formulas for high-grade and supreme-grade Spirit Pills, did not have many, only a third of the quantity produced by the Pill King.
However, there was no help for it; the Meridian-Opening Pill was too formidable. The Dao Ancestor had, in essence, lowered the threshold for cultivation on his own, ushering the Profound Yellow Realm into a prosperous era of cultivation.
As for the high-end products created by the Pill King, they were far beyond the reach of ordinary people, and even ordinary cultivators could not benefit from them.
After all, high-grade and supreme-grade Spirit Pills used rare natural treasures, were astronomically expensive, and often were available but impossible to obtain.
At this moment, Niu Yuanshan continued, “Guess why the Pill King has so many followers in the alchemy world?”
Before they could answer, Old Niu provided the answer himself.
“Because the Pill King took in too many disciples throughout his life.”
“Then, disciples took disciples, and disciples took disciples, and over the years, there are a large number of his disciples and grand-disciples in the alchemy world.”
Chu Huaixu was also aware of this point.
The Pill King was fond of taking disciples, and he did not consider alchemy talent; it purely depended on his mood and whether he found the person pleasing.
As a rogue cultivator himself, he had no sect.
When accepting disciples, he did not scrutinize their lineage or nationality.
This was because he did not teach cultivation at all; he only taught alchemy and served as a master of the Dao of Alchemy.
As a result, even disciples from the major sects in the Eastern Continent’s Mirror Country would seek him out to learn alchemy.
The Daoist Sect was no exception.
Niu Yuanshan continued his narration, “Throughout his life, the Pill King had a total of 12 true disciples, 129 ordinary disciples, and countless registered disciples that he himself might not have been able to recall.”
“It’s quite amusing, but even now, in the alchemy world, there are people who deceive others by using the Pill King’s lineage as a banner, claiming their ancestor was a registered disciple of the Pill King.”
“However, in reality, because the Pill King never considered talent when accepting disciples, and he was deeply devoted to the Dao of Alchemy, he didn’t have that much time to mentor so many disciples, resulting in a mixed level of alchemy proficiency among them.”
“Of course, there were some outstanding individuals; he had several alchemy grandmasters among his disciples,” Old Niu said.
At this point, he suddenly stopped and looked solemnly at the two young people, saying,
“The jade token fragments you two obtained are actually fragments of a Pill King’s Token.”
Chu Huaixu had already known this, but as a supportive companion, how could he not understand the importance of emotional value? He immediately gasped, exclaiming, “Pill King’s Token!”
Han Shuangjiang was also slightly startled, her heart filled with surprise.
“Yes, it is a Pill King’s Token. Apart from his registered disciples, every formal disciple of the Pill King possessed a Pill King’s Token to signify their status,” Niu Yuanshan said with a gentle smile.
He continued, “You should know that many of our Daoist Sect elders, in imitation of the Dao Ancestor, established Secret Realms in certain locations outside the mountains before their passing to leave behind inheritances and opportunities.”
Chu Huaixu nodded.
Han Shuangjiang, the newcomer, heard this for the first time, and she even glanced at him in surprise.
Niu Yuanshan pointed at the two of them, “Your jade token fragments are the key to one such Secret Realm. Although that Daoist Sect predecessor was not among the 12 true disciples, he was a formal disciple of the Pill King.”
“While the alchemy attainments of the Pill King’s disciples varied, they at least wouldn’t be too poor.”
“Ahem, there was at least a basic standard.”
Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang exchanged glances, and both understood the preciousness of the jade token fragments.
In Chu Huaixu’s memory, when “The Borrowed Sword” had just entered open beta, all the players were still in the novice stage.
A storage ring left by a Third Realm Cultivator had caused a sensation on the game forums, prompting major game guilds to take action, leading to a sleepless night.
Surely this formal disciple of the Pill King would not be inferior to an ordinary Third Realm Cultivator?
Niu Yuanshan looked at them, his smile widening, and said,
“Lastly, I have one final point to make. This predecessor might have wanted to find a raw gem, so this Secret Realm can only be entered by those without Spiritual Power.”
“You two children, who are in the Meridian-Opening Stage, perfectly meet this condition.”
