Demonic Cult Leader, Sacrificing Dali

Vermillion Bird Street, Medicine Manor.

"Grandfather, Grandfather, I succeeded in refining the Foundation Building Liquid."

Inside the main hall, a young woman rushed in, a flask clutched in her hand, her words brimming with joy.

The young woman had immortal-like skin and jade-like bones, a face of stunning beauty, a waist as supple as a willow, and cascading raven hair that fell to her waist like a waterfall. Her eyes, in particular, were pure and spirited.

"How dare you! A girl acting so rashly, losing all composure before the elders!"

"And stop obsessing over the Art of Pill Dao. It's a dying craft. Waste less time on this trivial path."

Yao Qingyin, scolded by her father Yao Xuan, stuck out her tongue and quietly stepped aside, glancing at the hall full of elders.

"Xuan'er, don't talk nonsense. How can the Pill Dao be a trivial path? Our ancestor Yao Xingchen was the greatest Pill Dao master in the Great Li in a thousand years."

"Speaking like that is an insult to our ancestor!"

Yao Qingyang, the patriarch of the Yao Family seated at the head, furrowed his brow with displeasure.

"Father, I meant no disrespect to our ancestor."

Seeing Yao Qingyang's frown, Yao Xuan quickly explained: "We're in the Age of Dharma's End now. The path of the alchemist has declined to its lowest point."

"Even with mastery of the Art of Pill Dao, without spiritual herbs and immortal materials, you can't refine powerful pills."

"Qingyin's talent in Martial Arts ranks among the top three of the younger generation in our Medicine Manor. If she focused on martial cultivation, how could she still be stuck in the Innate Realm?"

Yao Xuan had long been dissatisfied with his precious daughter's obsession with alchemy, but with Yao Qingyang backing her, there was little he could do.

"Enough. Our Yao Family was once the premier Pill Dao Family, but times have forced us to abandon the Pill Dao for Martial Arts."

"Still, we can't discard our ancestral legacy. Since Qingyin is devoted to the Art of Pill Dao, let her pursue it. If she can reach the rank of fourth-grade alchemist, it will greatly benefit our Medicine Manor."

Three hundred years ago, the ninth patriarch had decided the entire Yao Family should abandon the Pill Dao for Martial Arts to ensure the clan's survival.

But Yao Qingyang still harbored regret, always dreaming of restoring the Medicine Manor's glory as the top Pill Dao Family. All his hopes rested on Yao Qingyin.

"Come, Qingyin, let me see the Foundation Building Liquid you've made."

"Yes, Grandfather."

Beaming, Yao Qingyin ran to Yao Qingyang and placed the porcelain flask containing the Foundation Building Liquid into his hands.

He uncorked it, brought the liquid to his nose, and sniffed. His expression shifted dramatically, and he nearly dropped the flask.

"This... this is actually... top-grade Foundation Building Liquid. Looking at the quality, it's almost... almost reached the supreme grade."

Yao Qingyang's mind churned like a stormy sea, and his gaze at Yao Qingyin held a trace of complexity.

Achieving supreme-grade pills was something only the most prodigious Pill Dao masters could do. Though Foundation Building Liquid was only a second-grade pill, Yao Qingyin was just an eighteen-year-old girl.

To reach such a level at her age—this kind of talent in the Art of Pill Dao was unmatched even in the Great Li's most prosperous era a thousand years ago, with only a handful capable of it.

What a pity she was born in the wrong time. If another Heaven and Earth Cataclysm came, with her talent, she might rise to become a figure like their ancestor Yao Xingchen.

"Hahaha, to achieve such mastery in the Art of Pill Dao at just eighteen—if born in a Prosperous Era, she'd surely be another Yao Xingchen."

Just as Yao Qingyang was lost in thought, a cold, clear voice echoed through the hall.

"Who goes there? Show yourself and speak with me, Yao."

The sudden voice sent shock through the elders in the hall.

Yao Qingyang was equally stunned. He prided himself on his martial skill, having reached the Great Grandmaster realm. Across the entire Great Li, aside from the old monsters in the Great Li Imperial Palace, fewer than ten could slip past his perception without a trace.

And the voice came from less than ten zhang outside the hall, yet he had sensed nothing.

In other words, if the visitor meant harm, he would be dead in an instant.

On high alert, Yao Qingyang fixed his gaze on the door, sweat beading on his forehead.

Soon, two figures—one in black, one in white—appeared at the entrance.

"Who are you! What business do you have at the Medicine Manor!"

The two stepped inside together. The one in the white robe, Yue Ji, spoke first—she had been the one to call out earlier.

"Patriarch Yao, I am Yue Ji, the Demonic Cult Flag Bearer. I've come to the Medicine Manor to request something from you."

"Demonic Cult? You're from the Demonic Cult!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Yao Qingyang's face went pale, disbelief in his eyes as he shouted hoarsely: "If you were truly Yue Ji, the Demonic Cult Flag Bearer, how could you have evaded the Night Watch Division's patrols?"

"The Night Watch Division has a Peak of Humanity guarding it. For a Demonic Cult figure like you to set foot in the Imperial Capital, your aura would be detected instantly."

A hint of mockery flickered in Yue Ji's eyes: "Can't you guess?"

"Without the Great Li Imperial Family's approval, even the full might of the Demonic Cult couldn't take a single step into the Imperial Capital."

At Yue Ji's words, Yao Qingyang's face turned ashen. In truth, he had confirmed her identity the moment she appeared.

But he refused to believe the Great Li Imperial Family would sacrifice the Medicine Manor. Now, hearing Yue Ji admit it herself, a wave of helplessness surged within him.

Still, Yao Qingyang quickly steadied himself. He looked at Yue Ji and voiced his final doubt.

"That pill was only a half-finished product, with no life-extending effects. Why would your Demonic Cult go to such lengths to demand the Pine Crane Pill from the Medicine Manor?"

Yao Qingyang was no fool. The moment Yue Ji opened her mouth to demand something from Medicine Manor, he knew the Demonic Cult's goal was the Pine Crane Pill—the very pill their ancestor Yao Xingchen had attempted to forge a thousand years ago, defying heaven's will, only to suffer backlash and ruin.

After all, Medicine Manor had long since declined. There was nothing else worth the Demonic Cult going to such lengths.

He refused to believe that a figure as prominent as the Demonic Cult Flag Bearer could enter the Imperial Capital without paying a steep price!

Yue Ji shot Yao Qingyang a surprised glance, a hint of astonishment in her voice. "You're quite something. Facing life and death, and you can calm down this quickly."

"But since you're a dead man walking, telling you won't hurt."

"The Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm is approaching. My Demonic Cult Leader's Lifespan is nearly spent, but with the Pine Crane Pill, he can extend it by another five hundred years."

"Then, by seizing the opportunity of the Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm, his cultivation will surely reach new heights."

"As for the Pine Crane Pill—it's only a half-finished product! No need to worry; the Demonic Cult will invite an Outer Domain Sixth-Rank Pill Master to refine it anew."

"But don't fret either. When the Cult Leader refines Dali in the future, the people of Dali will soon come to keep you company."

"Rest assured, that day isn't far off."

Yue Ji glanced at Yao Qingyang, whose face had turned ashen, and a flicker of mockery flashed in her eyes.