General Pill Cultivation, Coming to a Close

General Pill Cultivation, Coming to a Close

Swish, swish!

Golden light surged up from the ground, and two figures appeared in front of the former relay station.

The boundary marker for Blackwater Village still stood at an angle in the black mist.

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen looked at Ning Xuan in confusion.

"Do you think I'm a demon?"

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen shook her head. "You're much stronger than I expected, General."

Then she said coolly, "That drunken, dissolute air of yours was actually just a mask, wasn't it?"

She felt she had seen through the young man before her, and at last let out a sigh of relief. Though they had taken a roundabout route, she had ultimately chosen the right partner. The Young General before her might wear a mask of reckless abandon, but in truth he was a valiant general who acted decisively and killed without hesitation. When it mattered, he was quite dependable.

She felt relieved, and no longer quite so angry.

Ning Xuan was taken aback.

What did she mean by drunken and dissolute?

He was simply enjoying life.

Besides, the person he was now was the mask. He hated the way he looked at this very moment.

Still, seeing that the accursed woman's tone had softened, he had no intention of explaining. If she misunderstood, so be it.

"Ah, yes, yes. You saw right through me."

Ning Xuan replied with a smile, thinking the woman before him was just trying to make him feel better.

He was sick of how she always talked back and went against him at crucial moments. She seemed unable to feel at ease unless she argued with him.

If a misunderstanding could solve that problem, then let her misunderstand.

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen smiled faintly, wearing an expression that said, "Just as I thought. Thank goodness." Then she said, "You endured in silence and built up your strength before striking, making yourself known in the countryside as a wastrel. I imagine you feared nothing more than the surging undercurrents of power, which was why you put on that mask.

"But you needn't worry anymore. We both serve His Majesty, and with your potential, you can surely become one of the Twelve Divine Generals. General, you can take off that mask now."

"That wouldn't be appropriate," Ning Xuan said.

"Why not?" Immortal Aunt Yaozhen asked.

Ning Xuan dropped the subject and asked curiously, "Aren't you wondering why I was able to use the Golden Body?"

"Earlier, you asked me about Demon-Plague Warriors and how you should cultivate. I brushed you off with excuses because I wanted to observe you a little longer. If you couldn't even pass this first test, there would have been little point in telling you anything else.

"But you've passed this test with flying colors, and after seeing those mysterious, enormous Frozen Corpses just now, I don't think there's any need to keep hiding the truth."

"I see. I misunderstood you, Immortal Aunt."

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen suddenly found Ning Xuan much more agreeable.

It was a complete reversal.

Before they slew the Golden Body Bodhisattva, she had been doing her duty, but she had found fault with everything about Ning Xuan. Now, however, she found him a pleasure to be around. Even the sound of his voice put her at ease. So this is what he's really like: sensible and polite. He truly is a future pillar of the dynasty.

As the thought crossed her mind, Immortal Aunt Yaozhen began explaining the cultivation methods of generals and Demon-Plague Warriors.

"This is actually a secret known only to veteran generals. Among the Demon-Plague Warriors, only true experts know about it.

"The cultivation method is called Pill Cultivation.

"The pills are Demon Cores.

"But they can't be taken indiscriminately. You must follow these twelve words: 'Same kind and class, gradual progression, and lower ranks are compatible.'

"Put simply, generals are the lucky few who can naturally wield the power of demons after coming into contact with them. 'Naturally' doesn't mean a general is born different from ordinary people. Rather, at some point after birth, they suddenly gain the power of demons.

"But generals are still human. Even if they have the innate talent to wield demonic power, they still need to cultivate and grow stronger. The way to do that is by consuming Demon Cores."

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen paused briefly, then continued. "Same kind and class means that every general has their own innate kind and class. As for kind, most generals are fate-kind, while only a very small number are nature-kind.

"As for class, there are all sorts: tigers, leopards, oxen, sheep, and so on.

"The Demon Cores consumed by generals come from demons. Celestial Masters refine them with Dragon Fire, reducing their toxicity as much as possible.

"Generals can only consume pills made from demons of the same class as themselves."

Ning Xuan asked curiously, "How can I find out which class I belong to?"

"There's a Demon-Repelling Mirror in the Imperial Capital. One look is all it takes. Once things are settled in our jurisdiction, I'll apply for an opportunity for you to look into it.

"As for why I wasn't curious that you could wield the Golden Body, it's because I've long known that all generals possess demonic power.

"The fact that you can wield the Golden Body shows how exceptional you are."

Ning Xuan was curious where the Demon-Repelling Mirror had come from.

But when he remembered that the Great General Qin's estate had existed for eighty years, it didn't seem so strange.

Demons had existed in this world for a long time. There must have been plenty of powerful figures and secrets here, too.

He could learn about them bit by bit.

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen continued, "Gradual progression refers to the way pills are consumed.

"We Celestial Masters are ranked from Subordinate First Rank onward, and demons also have ranks.

"Put a demon of the rank above next to one of the rank below, and the difference is obvious at a glance.

"To put it this way, I'm a Second-Rank Celestial Master. Even if I completely suppress a First-Rank demon, a warrior who hasn't reached the First Rank couldn't hurt it at all. He could hack at it a thousand or ten thousand times with all his strength—even stab it in the eye—and still wouldn't leave a mark.

"The difference between a Second-Rank demon and a First-Rank demon is just as great.

"So far, we haven't been able to pin down the characteristics of demons at each rank, because their defining characteristic is that they have no defining characteristics. We can only keep gathering information and report it to our colleagues in the Imperial Capital through the Whisper Chain. They compile and organize it, then inform us whenever there's news. All the Divine General candidates learn it as well.

"After this battle, your strength has definitely reached the First Rank, and you're an extremely rare First-Rank warrior at that.

"You probably haven't consumed any pills yet, so your first pill should come from a demon whose strength matches yours. The second should be one rank stronger, and so on. But after every pill, you'll need to spend time digesting it, absorbing the demon's power and making it your own."

"What happens if I fail?" Ning Xuan asked.

"If a general fails, it depends on the circumstances. Usually, nothing happens if they fail three times or fewer. But after that, problems arise.

"Perhaps a general will turn into a Demon-Plague Warrior after failing the fourth time. Perhaps it will take five or six. No one has yet broken the record of six failures.

"As for a Demon-Plague Warrior, one failure turns them into a Human Demon. The moment a Demon-Plague Warrior fails once, they become a completely insane Human Demon."

"Does that count as successfully consuming the pill?" Ning Xuan asked.

"It does, because they really do gain greater power. But as a result, they only have a very brief period of lucidity each day. They can only be kept in a special prison or cage."

"Have any Demon-Plague Warriors succeeded repeatedly?" Ning Xuan asked.

"Yes, but very, very few. I'm not qualified to access their records yet."

Then she added, "As for lower ranks being compatible, demons have another classification besides kind and class: rank. A higher-ranked demon can consume any pill refined from a lower-ranked one. This even takes precedence over matching kind and class.

"In other words, as long as you're of a higher rank, you can consume pills from lower-ranked demons regardless of whether they're tigers, leopards, oxen, or sheep, and regardless of whether they're fate-kind or nature-kind. Your chances of success will also be fairly high.

"The first division of rank is based on whether you can manifest a Golden Body. We call it the Incense-Fire class.

"So your current level should be called a First-Rank Incense-Fire General."

Ning Xuan narrowed his eyes.

He had realized that the dynasty's description was exactly the same as the one on his status panel.

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen said, "Until now, only we have consumed demons and mastered their power. But just now, I sensed Dragon Qi in that enormous Frozen Corpse. Could that mean demons are merging with us too, gaining our power?"

As they talked, both of them recovered quickly. By the end of their conversation, they had regained much of their strength, though neither had suffered any serious injuries.

"Let's go back," Ning Xuan said.

This time, Immortal Aunt Yaozhen didn't argue. She grabbed Ning Xuan and burrowed underground, returning to the cliff.

As they emerged, the eerie wind rustled again. Deep inside the rock face, an enormous Frozen Corpse began crawling toward them at high speed.

"You cover me," Ning Xuan said.

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen nodded firmly, then began watching their surroundings.

Ning Xuan planted a foot on the ground and shot forward. The Beast-Slaying Long Saber traced a crescent arc, and amid the sound of Swallow Cry, it struck the enormous Frozen Corpse squarely.

The blade passed through the Frozen Corpse as if through air.

The force of the blow swept upward and burst in midair, but the enormous Frozen Corpse was completely unharmed.

Just as it was about to pounce on Ning Xuan, Immortal Aunt Yaozhen produced the Celestial Master Seal. With a single call, the enormous Frozen Corpse seemed to be struck by a heavy hammer and was sent flying backward.

The two had developed a little rapport. They exchanged a glance and read the same thought in each other's eyes: This Frozen Corpse was a soul—or rather, a ghost.

Demons and ghosts. Now they had the whole set!

Just then, more rustling sounds arose. They were all Frozen Corpses—more than ten of them. The corpses began drifting faster, and their target wasn't Ning Xuan. It was Immortal Aunt Yaozhen.

From their ever-quickening crawl, Ning Xuan sensed a powerful greed.

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen grabbed Ning Xuan and fled underground.

The two reappeared in front of the relay station, then waited and watched the distance for a while.

Not a single Frozen Corpse followed them.

"It looks like they can't stray far from that area, and this must be connected to the Ice Mountain that appeared out of nowhere north of Ping'an Prefecture. Let's investigate further," Immortal Aunt Yaozhen said.

"That Ice Mountain isn't part of Ping'an Prefecture. All we need to do for now is mark out a forbidden zone around the perimeter, forbid anyone from going near it, and station guards along the boundary to patrol. Then we can investigate how many Human Skin demons have infiltrated the prefecture, county seats, towns, and villages, and deal with them one by one.

"Also, send the information to the Imperial Capital. Tell everyone to be careful if they encounter an Ice Mountain like this. As long as they don't go near it, those black-smoke heads can't get out."

"What should we do about the Ice Mountain?" Immortal Aunt Yaozhen asked.

"Go ask for reinforcements," Ning Xuan said.

"And you?" Immortal Aunt Yaozhen asked.

"I'll mark out the boundary, then... um... rest up and wait for the right opportunity."

At the last moment, he had managed to replace "go out and carouse, have a good time, and wait for a marriage alliance" with a more respectable version.

Immortal Aunt Yaozhen seemed quite satisfied.

Her cool eyes gazed deep into the darkness in the distance. "All right. We'll do as you say."