At night, a bonfire was lit before the ancestral hall. A bronze cauldron stood in the center of the square—it was the incense-burning cauldron the old witch had originally left in Linjiang Village for sacrifices to the River God.
This bronze cauldron alone showed how wealthy that old witch had been, and how much wealth she had scraped from the surrounding villages over several generations.
Along this stretch of the great river, the old witch's influence and control surpassed even the imperial court. In the past, who among the surrounding villages had dared disobey her? If she said a child from a certain household was to be offered to the River God, that household had to obediently hand the child over. Otherwise, the entire family would lose their lives; even the whole village, the whole township, would be implicated.
Even the county magistrate had not dared offend her, turning a blind eye to everything she did.
Though night had already fallen, the people around them did not lessen in number. Instead, they grew more and more numerous.
All afternoon, people from the surrounding villages had continuously gathered here. No one wanted to miss the chance to see an immortal. Many had brought their entire families, hoping to bask in a little of the immortal's Immortal Qi.
Not to mention, the immortal was about to refine an immortal pill here. That was something one could only hear of in myths and legends.
"Such a huge cauldron? Is an immortal truly going to refine immortal pills?" An elderly man in fine robes hurried over. He appeared to be of no low status and bore himself with extraordinary poise, with several servants at his side.
"Of course. The immortal slew the River Demon, but alas, those three children were poisoned by that damned old witch. This is a true Living Immortal of great compassion, refining immortal pills to save those three children." The middle-aged local gentryman beside him seemed genuinely conquered by the immortal's bearing. His words brimmed with reverence and admiration.
"Everyone says that even if you don't eat an immortal pill, merely taking one breath of its Immortal Qi can extend your life by several years." An old woman holding her grandson said,
"Sun Lao Er's boy is truly blessed, to actually get to eat an immortal's pill." This person was clearly from Shiqiao Village and knew Sun Lao Er well. His voice held both envy and jealousy.
"The immortal said that taking the pill will not only cure illness. In the future, one will surely rise above others—study, and become a high-ranking official; practice martial arts, and become a general."
That person added in a hushed voice, "Perhaps he might even become an immortal?"
"What? Li Lao Er's family can become immortals after eating the pill?" Someone nearby immediately spread the news.
"They won't just become immortals—they can even ascend to heaven. At the very least, they'll be granted the rank of Great Immortal." Passed on again, the tale became even more outrageous.
In the end, some even claimed that the immortal was refining pills to take everyone with him in ascending to immortality.
Rumors grew wings as they passed from mouth to mouth. The crowd surged with excitement, creating the current grand spectacle, vast as mountains and seas.
Thus, when Gao Xian learned that all was prepared and walked out of the ancestral hall, he beheld this scene: tens of thousands of eyes gleaming in the darkness as they stared at him.
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Though somewhat puzzled, Gao Xian still focused all his thoughts on pill refinement.
He sat cross-legged before the great cauldron in the center of the square. Raising his sword fingers, he saw the Azure Dragon Sword lodged in the serpent's head begin to hum without cease.
Gao Xian pulled out the sword, and the sealed serpent blood surged into the sky like a river.
General Donkey immediately spewed blazing flames, which melded with the serpent blood.
Water and fire intertwined, like the two poles of yin and yang, whirling and dancing in the sky.
When had the villagers from the surrounding villages ever seen such a sight? Cries of astonishment rose one after another, filling heaven and earth. Everyone stared at the scene above, their eyes wide and fixed.
"An immortal truly is refining pills here! This is an auspicious omen, an auspicious omen!" The elderly man in fine robes was in fact the local county magistrate. At that moment, his beard trembled again and again with excitement. Such an auspicious omen appearing in his jurisdiction counted as a great achievement; perhaps at next year's official evaluation, he could advance another step.
The great serpent's blood was continuously tempered, transforming into Blood Qi that washed down into the cauldron.
Once its blood had been drained dry, the entire serpent lost its luster. The silver scales that had grown across its surface dimmed, stripped of their former Fierce Fiendish Energy.
Gao Xian struck the great cauldron again. One material after another was extracted by divine fire, transformed into spiritual essence, and dropped into the cauldron.
Gao Xian slapped the ground, and the heavy lid came crashing down over the boiling cauldron.
Using the blood of an exotic beast together with all manner of medicinal ingredients, the fire of divine powers cleansed away the impurities from their spiritual nature.
Though the pill had not yet formed, the spiritual resonance within the cauldron was already abundant, evident from the bronze cauldron's unceasing tremors.
It was as if that giant serpent were rampaging within the cauldron.
This godlike pill-refining art made the villagers sweat profusely. One by one, they danced with excitement, now utterly convinced that the immortal before them was real.
"So this is how immortal pills are refined."
"That old witch only knew how to use the River Demon to frighten people all day. How could she compare with a true immortal?"
"The immortal must have been sent down from heaven. Heaven itself knew that old witch had committed every evil imaginable, so it sent an immortal to help the surrounding villages slay that serpent demon."
Blazing flames cooked the cauldron, and the bronze cauldron gradually settled down.
Then, a fragrance spread through the air.
The scent did not pass through nose or mouth. It seemed to seep directly into people's skulls. Everyone felt that even the finest fragrance in the world could be no more pleasant than this.
In an instant, everyone inside and outside fell silent, as though immersed in that fragrance.
Only when the pill was complete did the alchemy cauldron reopen, overflowing with rosy light.
Only then did everyone come back to their senses.
"What is going on? I feel full of strength from head to toe." Everyone felt incomparably well, as if they had strength they could never exhaust.
"As expected of immortal pills. Even their Immortal Qi has such effects."
In an instant, everyone bowed to Gao Xian, shouting all kinds of jumbled slogans.
"Thank you, Immortal, for your blessing."
"Thank the Immortal for your blessing..."
By then, Gao Xian had already put away the Rejuvenation Pills from the bronze cauldron. He came before the three children seated outside the ancestral hall and sent three pills into their mouths.
Everyone watched white light flow beneath the children's skin, followed by steaming heat rising from their entire bodies.
After a long while, the three children, once sickly and pale-faced, instantly became lively and vigorous. They jumped down from the table and were each swept up by their ecstatic families.
"Wonderful!"
"They've been saved!"
"They're saved."
Though envious and jealous, many present were also happy for the three families.
Gao Xian dismissed the three families, who kept thanking him while clutching their children. He carefully tucked the box full of Rejuvenation Pills into his robes, then summoned several village elders.
Though the problem afflicting the three children had been resolved, Gao Xian was far from relaxed.
The method of extracting the spiritual nature from human bodies to feed exotic beasts was no ordinary one. It was absolutely not something a common martial wanderer could perform. He vaguely felt that this matter was not so simple.
Unfortunately, the old witch was dead. Gao Xian had found nothing useful on her body. It was likely all hidden in her lair.
Gao Xian asked about the old witch. The village elders exchanged glances, then began speaking one after another.
"This old man does not know much either. The old witch was passed down from generation to generation, for at least a hundred years by now. But in earlier days, she was merely an ordinary old witch. It was only several decades ago that she began forcing us to worship the River Demon like this."
"That's right. That year, the great river's dikes burst, and this whole region suffered disaster. The old witch said the River God was enraged and that we had to perform the River God Sacrifice so that the winds and rains would be favorable thereafter."
Another elderly man in a long robe said, "That old witch has always lived in Ping'an Township, where there is a River God Temple."
"Furthermore, the disciples under her were not from the surrounding villages. They came from Jiangting Commandery City, and she never accepted people from our villages as disciples. I fear she had ties to certain people in the city."
Gao Xian nodded. He had let those men in black go earlier precisely to make them relax their guard and cling to a lucky hope, believing he would not deal with them, before wiping them out in one sweep.
The Daoist turned his back and sighed, his tone full of compassion. "These people aid the tiger in its evil deeds, and their martial arts are formidable."
"If this poor Daoist remains here, I can suppress them. But if I am absent, I fear you will suffer their retaliation instead."
"It seems that when eliminating evil, one must pull it out by the roots."
The village elders had already been worried about this matter. Hearing this, they were overjoyed.
"This old man will immediately organize the people from the surrounding villages and head to the River God Temple. Tonight, we will wipe them out in one net."
The Daoist nodded. "The strong men under that old witch have practiced martial arts. I fear you will not be their match and will suffer greatly."
"General Donkey, make a trip there. Bring all those people from the River God Temple back."
"General Donkey accepts the order!" Having said that, the donkey trotted forward eagerly. He had long wanted to go out and run wild.
Without Gao Xian beside him to restrain him, the donkey felt like a fish swimming into the sea, with the heavens high and the earth wide.
Do not be fooled by how cowardly he was under Great Immortal Kongchen. This fellow was a genuine Fierce God. Once unleashed, he could be called a peerless demon capable of bringing calamity upon the human world.
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