Condensing Gang Pill

This night was destined to be a sleepless one for all of Lin'an City.

It was not only the three major powers of Lin'an City—refugees who had slipped into the city amid the chaos also caused no small amount of trouble for its residents. However, most of the refugees, having long gone hungry, were no match for Lin'an City's inhabitants. Only a small number successfully seized the magpie's nest.

Amid the unrest, there were also no shortage of those with impure intentions taking the chance to stir up trouble, making the situation in Lin'an City even more dire.

"Father!!!"

"Who? Who was it?"

"Whoever killed members of my Zhao Family, I, Zhao Honglang, will never rest under the same sky as you!"

When Zhao Honglang returned to Zhao Manor and found it drenched in blood, he was utterly heartbroken and let out a howl of agony.

The same scene played out at Sun Manor. When Sun Chengde returned to the Sun Family and discovered that Sun Manor had been massacred, he swore on the spot that he would never coexist with whoever had slaughtered his family.

The former County Office had already been occupied by the Yellow Heaven Cult and turned into their new stronghold.

"I beg you, sir, help this subordinate find the murderer who killed my Sun Family members."

"My lord, the people of my Zhao Family cannot die in vain!"

Early the next morning, Zhao Honglang and Sun Chengde came to Bai Yingfei one after the other to air their grievances, asking him to send people to find the murderer of their clansmen so they could avenge their blood feud.

"Enough. Say no more. I already know who killed your clansmen last night."

Bai Yingfei frowned as he spoke, growing somewhat impatient with Zhao Honglang and Sun Chengde's clamor. If he did not still need the two men and the forces under their command, Bai Yingfei would have twisted their heads off long ago.

"Wonderful! My lord, you know who murdered the members of our Zhao Family?"

"My lord, please tell this subordinate who the murderer is. I must tear that person into ten thousand pieces before my father and clansmen can rest in peace."

Hearing Bai Yingfei say that he knew the culprit, Zhao Honglang was overjoyed and hurriedly pressed him for an answer.

"Oh? You want to tear that murderer into ten thousand pieces?"

"What if that person is a Qi and Blood Realm martial artist?"

In response to Zhao Honglang's questioning, Bai Yingfei gave him a faintly amused smile.

"My lord means that the one who killed members of both our families last night was a Qi and Blood Realm expert?"

Sun Chengde, standing to the side, caught the implication in Bai Yingfei's words and asked in disbelief.

"That is correct. The murderer who slaughtered members of your two families last night was a Qi and Blood Realm martial artist. Both your families should have had Inner Strength Realm martial artists standing guard last night. To wipe out both your families in such a short time, who besides a Qi and Blood Realm martial artist could have done it?"

"However, we have not confirmed that Qi and Blood Realm martial artist's exact identity. We only know that he has been hiding within Lin'an City all along."

Bai Yingfei told the two men everything they knew about Bi Changsheng. When he finished, he looked at Zhao Honglang with a trace of mockery and said, "So, do you still want to tear that murderer into ten thousand pieces?"

Zhao Honglang and Sun Chengde had both been blinded by hatred and rage for the moment and had failed to think it through. Now that Bai Yingfei had pointed it out, they immediately understood that the murderer capable of wiping out both families alone was not someone they could possibly handle.

"I trust that you, my lord, will avenge us."

Having understood this, Zhao Honglang no longer entertained any thought of avenging himself with his own strength. He spoke to Bai Yingfei in a fawning tone.

"Please, my lord, uphold justice for us."

Sun Chengde likewise knew that revenge was hopeless if he relied on his own strength, and he seized the chance to request the Yellow Heaven Cult's aid.

"At least you have a little sense."

"Rest assured. So long as that person dares show himself again, we will make sure he dies without even a burial place."

Bi Changsheng's existence was also a troublesome matter for the Yellow Heaven Cult. Who knew whether Bi Changsheng would come out and ruin things while they were carrying out tasks for Chen Pengfei?

Therefore, the Yellow Heaven Cult had already made its decision: if Bi Changsheng showed himself again, he would face Chen Pengfei's thunderous strike and be eliminated once and for all as a hidden danger.

"Thank you, my lord! We are willing to bend ourselves to the task and serve until death."

Upon hearing Bai Yingfei's promise, Sun Chengde and Zhao Honglang were overjoyed and repeatedly pledged their loyalty to him. They still had faith in the Yellow Heaven Cult's strength; dealing with a Qi and Blood Realm martial artist would take little effort at all.

"Enough. Go back and gather your men. I will have matters for you to handle next."

Bai Yingfei waved the two men away.

After Zhao Honglang and Sun Chengde left, a figure suddenly appeared at Bai Yingfei's side.

"Elder."

Seeing the figure that had appeared out of nowhere, Bai Yingfei hurriedly rose and bowed. The newcomer was none other than Yellow Heaven Cult Elder Chen Pengfei.

"How have things been handled?"

Chen Pengfei nodded at Bai Yingfei, walked over to the chair Bai Yingfei had just been sitting in, and took a seat before asking him.

"Lin'an City is now under our control. This subordinate has also ordered the city gates shut and sealed off the entire city."

"Moreover, this subordinate has instructed those below to gather manpower and await your orders at any time, Elder."

Bai Yingfei reported Lin'an City's situation to Chen Pengfei point by point.

"Not bad. Do you know why I had you seize Lin'an City?"

After first praising Bai Yingfei, Chen Pengfei asked him this question.

"This subordinate does not know."

"Take a look at this first."

Chen Pengfei took a piece of beast hide from his robes and handed it to Bai Yingfei.

Respectfully accepting the beast hide Chen Pengfei handed over, Bai Yingfei examined it carefully. On one side was a map; upon closer inspection, the marked location on it was Lin'an City. On the other side was a complex pattern whose meaning Bai Yingfei could not discern.

"Elder, could there be something unusual about Lin'an City?"

After examining the beast hide, Bai Yingfei sought Chen Pengfei's guidance.

"Since things have reached this point, it is time to tell you some things."

"I obtained this beast hide by chance. After investigating it through many channels, I confirmed that it was made by Cen Xiuqi, the Grandmaster of Condensing Gang from a hundred years ago. It records the place where he was buried after his death."

"According to the map's directions, Cen Xiuqi's burial place is in Lin'an City."

Chen Pengfei slowly recounted the origins of the beast hide to Bai Yingfei.

Because martial artists beyond the True Qi Realm possessed overwhelmingly powerful strength, those in the martial world generally addressed True Qi Realm martial artists as Masters, while those of the Condensing Gang Realm were respectfully called Grandmasters.

"Are you referring to that Cen Xiuqi from a hundred years ago—the one who was not only a Grandmaster of Condensing Gang, but also a Pill Dao Master?"

The identity of the person who had made this beast hide greatly shocked Bai Yingfei as well. A hundred years ago, Cen Xiuqi had been a figure of towering renown throughout the martial world of Great Gan.

What made him famous was not his martial cultivation level, but his identity as a Pill Dao Master. Cen Xiuqi's talent in martial arts had been ordinary, but his talent in pill refining had been extraordinary. Relying on that exceptional talent, Cen Xiuqi had successfully become a Pill Dao Master, while his martial cultivation level had been raised entirely by popping pills.

This made Cen Xiuqi's life all the more legendary, to the point that even a hundred years later, quite a few people still knew of him.

"That's right, that very Pill Dao Master, Cen Xiuqi. With Cen Xiuqi's natural talent, he originally had no chance of breaking through into the Condensing Gang Realm. Yet at tremendous cost, he refined a precious pill called the Condensing Gang Pill. Only with the Condensing Gang Pill's aid did Cen Xiuqi break through to the Condensing Gang Realm."

"According to the information I obtained, Cen Xiuqi refined two Condensing Gang Pills in total. He consumed one himself, but there has never been any news of the other. It is very likely in Cen Xiuqi's burial place."

That was why Chen Pengfei had specifically sent Bai Yingfei to seize Lin'an City. To guard against any mishap, he had even come personally to keep the overall situation under control.