Mistress's Little Treasure Trove

Seeing his eldest senior brother, Mingshan, eyeing the Ebony Sword in Li Yan's hand, the second senior sister put a hand on his shoulder.

"Brother, it'll be dawn soon. We should return to our rooms and recuperate, so we can heal our injuries as quickly as possible."

"My sister is right." The eldest senior brother cupped his fists toward Li Yan. "We have you to thank for using this sword to seal Mistress."

"It was just luck! Pure luck!"

Li Yan returned the salute with cupped fists and watched the eldest senior brother and second senior sister leave.

Once outside Stone Workshop Eatery, Mingyue shot Mingshan a reproachful look.

"Brother, don't ruin our plan because of your greed."

Mingshan waved a hand. "I wasn't going to steal his treasure. I was just curious and wanted to borrow it for a look."

The second senior sister was pondering something. "What kind of pill did Master feed our junior brother? After examining him carefully, I found that he's at the sixth layer of the Blood Condensation Realm."

"It really is strange. Our junior brother had only just arrived a few days ago, yet he already had this kind of cultivation!"

The siblings were puzzled. Li Yan was a new disciple who had just joined Jingxu Temple, yet he was already at the sixth layer of the Blood Condensation Realm.

They had started cultivating in their early teens and had followed their master for ten years, yet they had only reached the ninth and eighth layers of the Blood Condensation Realm.

Li Yan had only been here two or three days, and he already had this kind of strength. It was unusual.

Second senior sister Mingyue guessed, "Could it be... that he's a Flesh Pill cultivated by Master?"

"That's the only possibility! He probably won't live much longer."

Their entire conversation fell into Li Yan's ears.

Standing by the window, he watched the two of them leave and gave a cold, quiet laugh.

"Eldest senior brother and second senior sister were obviously saying that on purpose so I'd hear."

They couldn't possibly know that, with Li Yan's current cultivation, he couldn't hear their conversation.

A Flesh Pill.

Just as the name suggested, it was cultivation pumped full of water.

From the memories Li Yan had read, so-called Flesh Pill cultivators were force-fed vast amounts of heavenly treasures and earthly valuables over a short period, making their cultivation skyrocket temporarily.

Because their strength rose so quickly in such a short time, a Flesh Pill cultivator's cultivation wouldn't last. The side effects were severe, and the aftereffects even worse. Given enough time, their cultivation would even regress.

A fitting way to describe a Flesh Pill cultivator was a watered-down chicken.

Their final fate was to be thrown into a medicine mortar by that old devil Xuan Wang, pounded to pieces, and turned into ingredients for alchemy.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes as he watched the eldest senior brother and second senior sister's backs.

"They deliberately warned me. What are they hinting at?"

"Could they be trying to establish their own sect, unwilling to remain under that old devil Xuan Wang?"

It was only a guess for now. Li Yan didn't want to get involved in their scheme unless he had no choice.

Just as the two senior siblings disappeared around a corner in the courtyard, the dim sun gradually rose. The night had passed without any real danger.

"With my current strength, helping them scheme against that old devil Xuan Wang would probably get me killed even more horribly. Better stay out of it..."

As soon as he said this, the Ebony Sword in Li Yan's hand suddenly began to tremble.

"Hm?"

He looked down and saw the Ebony Sword shaking nonstop. Mistress, sealed inside it, was restless.

"Mistress, is there something you want to say?"

Li Yan slowly loosened his grip, and the Ebony Sword floated in midair.

Black blood seeped from the sword and drew a forward-pointing arrow on the ground: ↑.

Mistress seemed to be hinting at something, but Li Yan was naturally suspicious and had a persecution complex. He was afraid she might lead him straight into a ditch.

But when his gaze fell on the Ebony Sword, information appeared before him.

[Nine-foot Yin Immortal Ebony Sword]

[Status: Sealed]

[Master-harming side effect reversed—obedience.]

Obedience?

The Ebony Sword had a master-harming property, but now that its side effect had been reversed, Mistress had become obedient.

Since that was the case, Li Yan let go and allowed the Ebony Sword to float on its own.

It had only just grown light. The demons and evil spirits had retreated, and the other disciples of Jingxu Temple hadn't left their rooms yet.

He followed the Ebony Sword to a back mountain within Jingxu Temple.

"What is this place?"

Li Yan realized that although this spot was within Jingxu Temple, hardly anyone ever came here. It was extremely secluded.

The Ebony Sword, with Mistress sealed inside, led him into a crack in the cliff face.

Right before Li Yan's eyes, the Ebony Sword triggered a formation mechanism, and a hidden door slowly opened.

Looking inside through the doorway, Li Yan discovered an incredibly well-concealed cave dwelling in the stone wall.

It contained not only an Alchemy Furnace, but also a supply of medicinal ingredients.

He immediately used his Mind's Eye to inspect the surroundings. After confirming no one had followed him, Li Yan entered the cave dwelling and triggered the mechanism to shut the stone door.

"There's a concealment formation outside, and there's an Alchemy Furnace and medicinal ingredients in here..."

"This place must be Mistress's little treasure trove, right?"

Li Yan realized what had happened. Once the Ebony Sword's master-harming trait had been reversed, Mistress had been changed along with it.

Mistress was helping him!

Li Yan eagerly went into the cave dwelling and took a look at the medicinal ingredients stored in the cabinet.

"Ten-year Blood Ginseng, Blood Condensation Grass, Turtle Spirit Fat."

"These are all ingredients for refining Blood Condensation Pills!"

In the midst of his excitement, Li Yan slowly regained his composure.

The faster his cultivation rose, the easier it would be for that old man Xuan Wang to notice him.

What he needed more was pills and cultivation techniques that could keep him alive.

Speaking of pills that could keep him alive...

Li Yan had a sudden idea and asked, "Mistress, do you have any poison? The more toxic, the better!"

Mistress had no idea what Li Yan wanted the poisons for, but from inside the sword, she controlled the Ebony Sword and floated it toward the corner.

Black hair sprouted from the sword. Its eerie strands curled around several bottles of pills and set them on the table.

[Poison Numbing Powder] [Rotting Blood Pill] [Bone Erosion Pill]

Just from their names, it was obvious what effects these three pills had.

Yet when Li Yan saw them, he broke into a delighted smile.

"Excellent, excellent. The last two bottles will be a huge tonic for me!"

Li Yan looked at the bottles of deadly poison as if they were life-saving medicine.

Even Mistress, who had been dead for many years and had only a wisp of lingering consciousness left, couldn't make sense of it.

The Ebony Sword's hair even scratched at its hilt, as if scratching its head.

How could anyone in this world treat poison like a tonic?

Only Li Yan knew the truth. Rotting Blood Pills, Bone Erosion Pills—the stronger their side effects, the more potent they were. The stronger, the better.

Other people who swallowed these poisons would be afflicted by corrupting toxins and have their bones eaten away.

But if he swallowed these pills, they would definitely strengthen his body and leave him more energized with every bite.

Just then, a deep, resonant voice came from outside the door.

"Disciples of Jingxu Temple, heed my command! I have found the location of Broken Sword Valley. Come with me!"

Hearing that voice, Li Yan realized that the old devil Xuan Wang had returned!

And something big seemed to have happened. The old devil was summoning every disciple of Jingxu Temple to set out.

"Broken Sword Valley? Something big must be about to happen again..."

Remembering that he still had a Tracking Restriction on him, Li Yan didn't dare stay in the cave dwelling for long.

He hurriedly grabbed the bottles of "tonics" and headed for the Jingxu Temple plaza to join the others.