“Nonsense!”
“With your current condition, entering the Sword Prison is suicide!”
“Besides, to cultivate the Sword Bone Physique, you need the remains of a Sword Immortal as a foundation. Where are you going to find a Sword Immortal’s corpse?”
Elder Yao shouted, scolding him outright. He couldn’t watch Lu Hengge walk into death.
Lu Hengge didn’t know how to respond—because there was a Sword Immortal’s corpse in the Sword Prison. And that person was none other than the previous sect master of the Three Thousand Dao Sect.
Still, Elder Yao was right. In his current condition, entering the Sword Prison was practically walking to his death. Without cultivation, an ordinary mortal would be torn into millions of pieces by the sword energy there in an instant. A single breeze could scatter his flesh into dust.
“Elder Yao,” Lu Hengge spoke softly, “If I don’t attempt to cultivate the Sword Bone Physique, I may never be able to cultivate again in this lifetime.”
Elder Yao’s brows knit tightly, and he began pacing in front of Lu Hengge, muttering non-stop.
A long while later, Elder Yao stopped, “Do you really have a Sword Immortal’s corpse?”
Since Lu Hengge was so determined to cultivate the Sword Bone Physique, he must have made some preparations.
Lu Hengge hesitated for a few breaths, then slowly nodded.
Elder Yao’s eyes widened immediately.
Good heavens! This brat actually had such a treasure—and kept it hidden so well.
If it were anyone else, Lu Hengge would have lied. But standing before him was Elder Yao, someone he chose to trust.
The elder and youth locked eyes.
No one knew how long passed before Elder Yao finally spoke again, “When you decide on something, no one can change your mind. I can’t stop you even if I wanted to. Come to the Pill Hall in ten days. After that, wherever you go, I won’t interfere.”
Lu Hengge bowed once more, “Thank you, Elder Yao.”
Ten days wasn’t long. He could afford to wait.
Elder Yao patted his shoulder, “Staying alive is the most important thing. Don’t act on impulse.”
Lu Hengge looked at the deathly Qi wrapped deep into Elder Yao’s bones and couldn’t help but ask, “Elder Yao, does cultivation really lead to immortality?”
Elder Yao was stunned for a moment.
Then, the old man smiled and shook his head, “Cultivation cannot grant eternal life. Even becoming an immortal does not mean eternal life.”
Then what’s the point of cultivating? Lu Hengge felt a flicker of doubt.
Elder Yao didn’t say more. He turned and left the alchemy room with unsteady steps.
Lu Hengge didn’t waste time. While the sky was still light, he refined another batch of pills—various types, in a complete mess.
On the other side, Elder Yao exited the alchemy room, his calm expression now tinged with sorrow and helplessness.
Cultivators were still human—just ones who lived longer.
Fighting others, fighting oneself, fighting the heavens—in the end, they still returned to dust.
Elder Yao could sense that his end was near. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
The deathly Qi on him was like a parasite clinging to his bones. No matter how many pills he took, he couldn’t dispel it.
Perhaps it was that approaching death that had let him release his obsession with cultivation—and with alchemy.
However, before he died, he wanted to do something for Lu Hengge.
Since Lu Hengge entered the sect twenty years ago, he had followed Elder Yao in learning alchemy. Officially, Lu Sheng was Lu Hengge’s master, but in reality, he had spent more time in the Pill Hall than on Qingyun Peak.
To Elder Yao, Lu Hengge had long been his true disciple.
He had nothing tying him down in this life—except Lu Hengge.
At that moment, a disciple wearing a pill-refining robe hurried over and whispered, “Hall Master, tomorrow is pill distribution day. Shall we proceed as usual?”
By sect rules, the Pill Hall had to distribute refined pills monthly to other peaks and halls. How many pills each peak received depended on its strength.
But Qingyun Peak was the exception. It had the fewest people, yet always received the most pills—because most of them were refined by Lu Hengge. Elder Yao hadn’t personally refined anything in a long time.
Many disciples were envious of Qingyun Peak.
But what could they do? Lu Hengge was Lu Sheng’s disciple, after all.
“What pills!” Elder Yao snapped. “Tell the others to get lost!”
The junior pill disciple scratched his head and pointed to Lu Hengge’s alchemy room, “Isn’t the Holy Son refining pills inside? How could there be no pills?”
“Not a single pill tomorrow. Especially for those from Qingyun Peak—not even allowed past the door!”
“If anyone from Qingyun Peak enters the Pill Hall tomorrow, you might as well pack your things and go be a menial laborer.”
Elder Yao gave a cold snort and vanished.
The young disciple stood stunned for a long time.
What now?
If not a single pill was distributed tomorrow, there would be an uproar.
…
It wasn’t until evening that Lu Hengge finally emerged from the alchemy room, carrying a burlap sack full of pills.
He had no choice. Without a storage ring, carrying too many things was just inconvenient.
The junior disciple standing outside saw the bag and his eyes lit up. He immediately stepped forward to take it, “Thank you for your hard work, Holy Son. Looks like tomorrow’s distribution is secured.”
The next second, his hands grabbed nothing but air.
Lu Hengge glanced at him, “Who told you these pills were for distribution? They’re all for me.”
All for himself?
The disciple’s mouth twitched.
Even if he treated these pills like candy, eating that entire sack would take ten days to half a month. Was he treating medicinal herbs like meals?
“Tomorrow is pill distribution day.”
“If there are no pills, disciples from the other peaks and halls will surely cause trouble.”
Let them cause trouble!
Lu Hengge would be more than happy to see chaos erupt in the Three Thousand Dao Sect.
“Get lost!”
A shout burst forth.
The disciple was stunned.
The Holy Son was famous for his warm and friendly demeanor—he had never spoken coldly to anyone, let alone told someone to get lost.
At that moment, Elder Yao appeared again and tossed a storage ring to Lu Hengge, “Don’t forget to come back in ten days.”
Lu Hengge bowed slightly.
The junior disciple bent over even more, his forehead nearly touching his knees, “Hall Master.”
“Not a single pill tomorrow!” Elder Yao barked. “If anyone has complaints, tell them to come to me!”
“I want to see whether this old bag of bones can convince them or not!”
Aside from the sect master, who had Elder Yao ever backed down from?
Leaving aside his title as a peak 8th-grade alchemist, he was also a half-step Great Ascension Realm expert.
Even Lu Sheng had to greet him respectfully as ‘Elder Yao.’
The disciple didn’t dare lift his head. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his voice trembled, “I’ll remember your words, Master.”
Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
The Holy Son, once gentle and kind, now cursed openly.
And the always mild-tempered hall master had become sharp and aggressive.
This couldn’t be good.
Elder Yao glanced at Lu Hengge one last time before vanishing.
Without hesitation, Lu Hengge placed the sack of pills into the storage ring and left with long strides.
Only after a long time did the disciple dare to slowly straighten his back.
“Something big has happened!”
“The Holy Son and the hall master have both lost it!”
“This is way more serious than not distributing pills tomorrow. I need to report to the sect master right away!”