After sending off Erdan and Goudan, Shu Han always felt this matter was merely a beginning, leaving an uneasy ache in his chest. He decided to voice his misgivings to the Second Elder.
The Second Elder saw through the situation at a glance and said disdainfully, “These jianghu gangs are merely probing the Dragon Profound Sect’s reaction. If the sect continues to yield, they will eventually grow bold enough to collectively storm Yandang Mountain.”
Hearing this answer only deepened Shu Han’s anxiety.
Seeing the boy’s worried face, the Second Elder chuckled, “Child, do not fret. If these mortals dare set foot on Yandang Mountain, they will surely find only a one-way path. The gulf between immortals and mortals cannot be bridged by sheer numbers alone.”
“Master, Immortal Master Zhang told me the very same thing, yet he perished at their hands. Is the divide between immortals and mortals truly so vast?”
The Second Elder patted Shu Han’s large head and muttered, “That is because you have yet to witness a true cultivator. The Dragon Profound Sect-heh-is a laughingstock in the wider cultivation world. Anyone below Foundation Establishment cannot even be considered a true cultivator, so perishing at the hands of mortals is hardly strange.”
“But outsiders say the Headmaster has already passed away…”
“You speak of that old Dragon Profound fellow?”
Whenever the Second Elder mentioned the Headmaster, a dark shadow crossed his eyes. He said irritably, “That old bastard is not so easily killed.”
Days continued to pass in this fashion.
After spending considerable time with the Second Elder, Shu Han gradually grew accustomed to his eccentric temper. The Second Elder was an aloof man who despised dealing with outsiders, and once Shu Han entered the valley, all external liaison duties were handed over to him. The old man’s greatest pastime was drinking, and with Shu Han there to manage things, he indulged in his cups even more recklessly.
He often claimed that mortals were utterly foolish, yet the wine they brewed frequently reached top-grade quality.
Aside from refining pills and crafting artifacts, he spent all his time dead drunk. Shu Han not only had to handle his daily chores but also constantly look after his master when the old man collapsed unconscious from alcohol.
Shu Han often suspected that his master was not merely fond of wine, but was instead drowning deep sorrows. It reminded him of the grown men in his village who invariably drank themselves into a stupor whenever they lost their money at gambling.
Especially on the day of each month when the pill tribute was due, his master’s mood would plummet into profound gloom.
There was an inexplicable weight to it; Shu Han sensed that his master’s attitude toward the Dragon Profound Sect was exceedingly bizarre.
Yet being saddled with such a strange master worked to Shu Han’s advantage, granting him the privacy to secretly practice alchemy on his own.
Once his pill fire achieved stable output, Shu Han began following the manual’s instructions to temper medicinal herbs using the flame. This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.
This was the very first step of alchemy, yet this initial hurdle made Shu Han fully understand why his master had sternly warned him never to attempt pill refining on his own.
The material loss rate was simply too staggering.
According to the Second Elder, the higher one’s spiritual nature, the stronger their control over pill fire during refining. Shu Han’s spiritual nature was considered relatively decent by the Second Elder’s standards, yet for five consecutive days, Shu Han ruined countless herbs. If every ruined stalk had been plucked from the spirit garden, the vast enclosure would likely have been stripped bare.
Consequently, Shu Han spent his days closely observing his master’s fire control and technique, and his nights in relentless practice. Finally, half a month later, he successfully refined the five ingredients required for the Yellow Dragon Pill.
Borne along by a wave of excitement, he attempted to condense the medicinal liquid into a pill.
With a sudden, deafening boom that startled him out of his wits, the concentrated liquid instantly collapsed into ruin.
Startled, he bolted out of the room and looked up. A massive fire had erupted at the foot of Yandang Mountain.
Then, one fireball after another traced glowing arcs through the dark night sky, crashing thunderously into the front mountain. In an instant, the lower slopes of Yandang were engulfed in blazing light.
Disaster!
Shu Han knew at once that the jianghu factions had finally launched their full-scale siege against the Dragon Profound Sect!
Panicked, he sprinted toward the medicine pavilion to wake his master, but the old man was dead drunk and completely unresponsive no matter how hard Shu Han shook him. Desperate and deeply worried for the safety of Erdan and Goudan, Shu Han grabbed the token required to activate the four-layer sword formation and rushed out of the valley.
Terror gripped his heart; he only wanted to find Erdan and Goudan and drag them back to the safety of the valley.
He lacked the capacity to worry about the life and death of any other senior brothers.
At the foot of Yandang Mountain, clusters of torches flickered like scattered sparks. Seven great gangs, mustering thousands of men, had surrounded the Dragon Profound Sect and glared upward with hostile intent.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Eight large catapults operated without pause, hurling jars filled with fire oil toward the heights. Behind the siege engines stood heavy ballistae; their wheels had been removed, and each was borne forward by five brawny, muscular men.
The Hungry Wolf Gang leader grinned hideously as he stared at the mounting flames on the mountain, unable to hide his gloating praise. “Elder Mu, the ballistae and catapults you provided are truly terrifying! Let us see how arrogant these charlatans remain now!”
Clad in white asbestos battle armor, Mu Wan’er drew her sword and stepped forward to request an assignment. “Father, let me lead the vanguard! If we continue using fire-oil jars, the entire mountain will be scorched to cinders, and even if we retake it, nothing of value will remain.” Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
Elder Mu stroked his beard, turned to face the host, and shouted, “Heroes and brave men, today is the day our seven factions unite to eradicate the Dragon Profound Sect! Let us cast aside all past grudges and work as one to pull this poisonous tumor out from Northern Yan!
“Our seven factions total three thousand men, divided into seven squads to seal off Yandang Mountain completely. Do not let a single cultivator slip away!”
Wielding his wolf-tooth club, the Hungry Wolf Gang leader glanced sideways at Mu Wan’er with a smirk. “Lady Wan’er, care to wager on a contest today? Let us see who slaughters more of these false immortals!”
“Hmph! Underestimate them, and you will find yourself dead.”
“Ha-ha-ha! Dead? I only fear there are too few charlatans in the Dragon Profound Sect to satisfy my bloodlust!” He heaved his wolf-tooth club upward, channeling his inner strength into a roar that echoed like a bronze bell: “Lads! Charge! Whoever claims the most heads shall take the position of deputy gang leader!”
“Kill!”
Instantly, battle cries shook the earth at the base of Yandang Mountain.
Thousands of men surged upward in a frantic charge, a display of momentum that drained the color from the faces of the Dragon Profound Sect disciples.
Accustomed to lording over the surrounding region on the strength of the sect’s reputation and immortal arts, they had never once faced a genuine life-and-death struggle. The higher-tier disciples managed to retain a shred of composure, while the junior disciples trembled so violently their legs nearly gave out.
They had pinned their hopes on the two elders displaying divine might right away, but the First Elder and Third Elder had issued a joint directive: all disciples over the age of twenty were to establish a defense line at the summit, while those under twenty were ordered to follow the elders toward the rear mountain.
The Dragon Profound Sect’s numbers were already meager. After subtracting those killed in previous external ambushes, only fifty-two disciples remained who were over twenty years old. Facing the clamor of thousands swarming up the mountain, even the senior brothers with the highest spiritual power felt their hearts freeze with terror.
Green-light barriers flickered into existence around each of the remaining disciples.
They clutched fireball techniques tightly in their palms, bracing themselves for a desperate final struggle.
Yet several high-stage Qi Condensation disciples, realizing the situation was utterly hopeless, immediately cast wind-riding techniques to flee into the distance, abandoning the sect without a second thought and leaving those who had yet to master the technique with faces as pale as death.
Before long, the vanguard of the seven factions breached the upper paths without hindrance.
The remaining forty-odd disciples scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions across the mountainside.
In the blink of an eye, the Dragon Profound Sect was transformed into a bloody slaughterhouse.