Life Devouring Pill

After returning to their residence, Xiao Yu went off to cultivate, while Xiao Tian headed toward the backyard. Once there, he began cultivating as well.

"Where did you run off to again?" Yun Yun asked Xiao Tian as she watched him return from outside.

"I went to deliver some resources to the Xiao Family members to help them cultivate," Xiao Tian replied.

All right, he would rest today and begin refining again tomorrow.

With each day of refinement, they went from one pill at the start to two, and eventually managed to sustain three. Though there had not been any huge improvement, all three of them had gained quite a bit.

One year later, at Lu Man's residence.

"It's been a year. How have you been?" Xiao Tian asked Lu Man.

"Not bad, nothing much. Oh, right, I found the dead soldiers you asked for. There are around five hundred of them. Following your instructions and with the resources you provided, they've all reached the Da Dou Shi realm."

Xiao Tian was startled by this. He had thought two or three hundred would have been pretty good, but Lu Man had actually gathered five hundred for him!

"Impressive. You must have worked very hard this past year, huh?" Xiao Tian said as he looked at Lu Man.

"Hmph, so someone does know I've been working hard? I couldn't tell," Lu Man mocked.

Xiao Tian smiled and pulled Lu Man into his arms. "You've worked hard. Starting today, our faction will officially enter this world!"

"I know you want to build a faction, but where are we going to develop it?" Lu Man asked.

"We'll discuss that later." Xiao Tian took out a pile of pills from his storage ring and handed them to Lu Man. "Give these pills to those people. Don't force them. Anyone unwilling to accept them can be killed on the spot. Make it clear to them that these are Talisman Seal Pills. The moment they lose their loyalty, their bodies will explode and they'll die. But if they remain utterly loyal after taking them, the pills will only improve their talent and cause no harm!"

"Oh, all right. I'll go now." Lu Man put them away and headed outside. This town had already been effectively occupied and had become the starting point of Xiao Tian's faction, though no one usually knew that.

As for the pills Xiao Tian had just given Lu Man, they were absolutely reliable products from the system. Although they could not detect loyalty, the moment Xiao Tian willed it, the users' bodies would immediately explode. As for increasing talent, that was impossible!

A short while later, Lu Man returned. "There are four hundred and fifty left. I dealt with the rest directly."

"Oh? Why did you kill them?" Xiao Tian asked with a smile.

"They ate and drank for free for more than a year. If they didn't want to serve us, of course I killed them!"

"Come on, take me to meet them!"

The two of them walked out, while the three Ding brothers went to gather everyone. After Lu Man and Xiao Tian arrived at a plaza and looked down at the crowd below, everyone had assembled in less than a minute!

"Very good. You will be the first disciples of my sect! Today, I will give you pills that will let you directly break through to the Dou Wang realm. You will have three years. If you break through to Dou Huang within that time, you will be spared, and may even directly gain the strength of a Dou Huang. But if you fail to break through to Dou Huang within three years, then sorry, it only means your talent is too poor! My sect does not want trash. Do you understand? Those who do not wish to take the pills, stand on the left. Those who believe they can do it, stand on the right!"

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, twenty people stood on the left, while the rest remained motionless on the right.

"Very good. I said I don't want trash! One palm strike." Boom!

Before anyone could react, everyone on that side had their bodies explode and died!

Xiao Tian took out the Life Devouring Pills again and gave one to each of the more than four hundred people below. "Take them. With three years and the sect's training, if you still cannot break through to Dou Huang, then you can just die. I don't need useless subordinates."

"Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

The crowd below answered.

"After all, there are no free lunches in this world. We are cultivating you for the rise of our sect, not to raise a group of cowards who cling to life and fear death. Sooner or later, our sect will make its mark across the entire continent and become one of the top powers!"

"What will our sect be called, then?" Lu Man asked.

"Go down and take the pills today. I'll give you five days to familiarize yourselves with the strength of a Dou Wang. Gather here again in five days."

Then he brought Lu Man back into the house. Qing Lin walked over. "Brother Xiao Tian, I'm a three-star Dou Huang now, just like you! You can take me with you when you do things from now on."

Xiao Tian rubbed Qing Lin's head and said, "Summon White Fang and the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake." After Cai Lin released the two magical beasts, Xiao Tian directly tossed two Shape-Shifting Pills into their mouths. Two naked men appeared before the three of them.

The two women immediately turned their heads away, and Xiao Tian tossed each of them a set of clothes.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing the pills!" Because of Qing Lin, the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake also addressed Xiao Tian as Master. He was now a sixth-tier magical beast as well, all thanks to Xiao Tian's cultivation.

"You two need to cultivate properly from now on too." As he spoke, he tossed two Emperor Pills to them. "White Fang, go break through to Dou Huang. Fire Snake, cultivate well from now on too! Breaking through to a seventh-tier magical beast someday will not be a problem."

"Yes, Master."

"You're already a seventh-tier Alchemist?" Lu Man asked.

"That's right. And the pills I gave those people earlier are called Life Devouring Pills. Once consumed, they let a Da Dou Shi directly break through to Dou Wang. But if they can break through to Dou Huang within three years, they can live. If they fail, they die immediately!" Xiao Tian said.

"There's actually a pill like that?!" Lu Man was shocked.

Xiao Tian nodded, then said to Lu Man, "I'll bring Cai Lin, Yun Yun, and the other three here. After five days of preparation, our faction will be established!"

Lu Man snorted and ignored Xiao Tian. Xiao Tian walked over and patted her delicate butt. "When I come back tonight, how about I serve you properly?"

"You're awful!" Lu Man said, blushing.

"How am I awful? You looked like you were unsatisfied, so I thought I'd satisfy you." Xiao Tian grinned wickedly.

Qing Lin, standing nearby, blushed as well. Seeing how adorable she looked, Xiao Tian could not help thinking, Is this what raising a loli is like? Hehe.

Qing Lin covered her face and ran outside, then turned back and said, "Ah, Brother Xiao Tian, you're so bad!"

"You shameless man! Were you already planning something for Qing Lin?" Lu Man asked.

"Do I need to? She was already my woman. Why would I need to plot against her?" Xiao Tian said with a wicked smile.

Qing Lin was becoming more and more alluring now, especially that slender, snake-like waist, which made Xiao Tian burn with desire. The little girl he had raised for several years would soon be ready for him.

"All right, I'm heading back. I'll come find you tomorrow!"

With that, Xiao Tian returned to the Inner Academy. Looking toward the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, he thought that the Falling Heart Flame was about to break through its seal. When that happened, he only needed to seize the chance to subdue it!

After returning to the room, he found Yun Yun and Cai Lin fighting again. Xiao Tian felt helpless. Over the past year, this had become an everyday occurrence, and he had grown used to it.

He walked over and pulled both women into his arms. "My faction is about to be established. If you two ruin my good mood again, stay here tomorrow! And don't expect me to take you with me in the future."

Upon hearing that, the two women could only stop.

"Hmph, your faction? How many people could it possibly have?" Cai Lin asked mockingly, still upset about earlier.

Xiao Tian did not mind. Smiling, he said, "Only a little over four hundred for now. There will be more in the future. I will lead them into the Central Plains and make them the greatest faction on the Dou Qi Continent!"

"You think it's that easy to establish a faction? You might as well come back to the Misty Cloud Sect with me," Yun Yun said. She did not think much of the faction Xiao Tian spoke of either.

"You two really don't think much of my faction?" Xiao Tian asked.

The two women froze. Was it really all right to discourage him like this? But when they both thought that they could not bow their heads before the other woman, they turned their heads to the side.

"How about a bet? My faction will become the ruler of the Black Corner Region! If I lose, you two will be my heaven from now on. But if I win, you two are not allowed to go against me anymore!" Xiao Tian said with a wicked grin.

"A bet it is. I'd like to see how a faction you built in one year can rule the Black Corner Region!" Yun Yun said.

Cai Lin clearly did not believe it either, so she agreed as well.

Xiao Tian was already imagining the emperor-like life he would have in the future, lost in his fantasies until pain shot through both sides of his waist and brought him back to his senses.

"Ahem. Where did that girl Xiao Yu go?" Xiao Tian asked Cai Lin.

"She was so happy about breaking through to Dou Ling that she went flying," Cai Lin replied indifferently.