Human Lives Are Like Blades of Grass

"Alchemy is no easy task. Otherwise, alchemists would not be so rare.

It is hard to imagine that someone who cannot even use a magic artifact alchemy furnace could refine graded medicinal pills!"

The Water Moon Pavilion woman shook her head.

Yu Yuehai smiled calmly.

"The affairs of this world cannot all be measured by common sense. Take Kaiyuan City, for example. Before entering it, who could have imagined that it had actually been targeted by a Strange Entity?

Moreover, before it had even fully taken shape, it could control the thoughts of every cultivator in the city and silently drain the flesh, blood, souls, and spirits of all cultivators.

And who could have imagined that you and I, dignified core disciples of the Black Demon Sect, would be trapped here for years? The sect probably thinks we have long since perished!"

At those words, the woman too sighed with emotion.

She let out a breath. "It is fortunate that Senior Brother discovered the anomaly. Otherwise, we would still be like the other cultivators in the city, waiting ignorantly for death!"

As she spoke, she looked at Yu Yuehai apologetically and said in a low voice, "If not for forcibly suppressing the changes in my body, Senior Brother, you would not have become like this."

Yu Yuehai reached out and drew the woman into his arms. "Why say such things? As long as we obtain the Blood Demon Pill and break through to Foundation Establishment, we can sever the red threads and leave this place. Even if we lose half our lifespan, we can still live another twenty or thirty years. To spend that long as a Foundation Establishment master is not too bad.

Besides, normal Foundation Establishment is unimaginably difficult. This may well be a stroke of fortune. More importantly, I have said it before—I am willing to do anything for you."

After saying that, he smoothed her long hair and kissed her smooth forehead.

Her eyes overflowed with tenderness as she nestled even closer against him.

Chen Lin knew nothing of what was happening outside. It took him three consecutive attempts before he figured out how to use the Alchemy Furnace.

There was nothing particularly mysterious about it. He simply had to use his own mana to activate the formation on the furnace and set it in motion, then regulate the temperature by controlling the strength of his mana output.

At that point, he discovered that with the depth of mana he possessed at the Qi Refining Mid-stage, he could not complete a full round of pill refinement.

The furnace consumed an enormous amount of mana.

Even if the process did not collapse midway due to operational mistakes, he would still run out of mana.

Having discovered this, he immediately stopped refining, tidied up, and pushed open the door to leave.

By then, the Water Moon Pavilion woman had already returned to her room. Only Yu Yuehai stood outside the door, his expression grave.

Chen Lin strolled over and said, "Fellow Daoist Yu, my mana is too weak to support a complete pill refinement. I am afraid I will need some Qi Replenishing Pills."

Yu Yuehai gave a cold laugh. Without wasting words, he directly tossed over a porcelain bottle.

Chen Lin caught it, opened it, and found it filled to the brim with Qi Replenishing Pills. He nodded in satisfaction, put it away, and turned to leave.

Aside from wanting to extract some benefits, he naturally did not want his secret to be discovered.

If they discovered that he had never completed a single full refinement, yet he ultimately managed to refine finished medicinal pills, it would not take much guessing to spot the problem.

And from what the other party had said earlier, they seemed to believe that he could refine First Origin Pills and Enlightenment Pills because of his good fortune.

Since they thought so, he would maintain that persona.

Just as Chen Lin pulled open the door and was about to enter, a chilly voice rang out behind him again.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, I do not have much time left. I advise you not to delay. If you still cannot refine the pills after three days, hmph hmph!"

Chen Lin paused, then stepped into the room.

At that moment, the window of the room opposite was pushed open, and the sallow-faced female cultivator poked her head out.

She looked at Chen Lin, then at Yu Yuehai, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "What pills? Who got pills? Can you sell this old lady some? This old lady will serve you however you want!"

After shouting, she fixed her gaze on Yu Yuehai and teased, "Old Yu, did you get some pills? Hurry into this old lady's room. This old lady will appraise them for you, hahaha..."

"Scram!"

Before her laughter could end, Yu Yuehai gave a cold shout. A streak of dark light shot forth and pierced through her head.

Then the dark light traced an arc and flew back.

A bloody hole the size of a peach pit remained between the sallow-faced female cultivator's brows, and she slumped limply over the windowsill.

When Chen Lin sensed the fluctuation of mana and turned around, he happened to see the dark light pierce through the female cultivator's head, making him cry out in shock.

As a chill ran down his spine, fury surged straight to his head.

The emotions he had suppressed for so long finally erupted at that moment.

His face darkened as he stepped out from the doorway and demanded in a voice strained to its limit, "Why did you kill her? She would not have affected you!"

Yu Yuehai looked at Chen Lin with eyes brimming with killing intent and sneered. "Does killing someone require a reason? If you cannot produce the Blood Demon Pill in three days, your end will be the same as hers."

With that, he turned and returned to his room.

Chen Lin stared at the door for a long while before silently turning around and walking to the female cultivator's window.

He reached out and closed her eyes, which still held a trace of terror. Then he tore off one of her sleeves and wrapped it around the bloody hole in her forehead.

Next, he forcefully pulled the corpse out through the window, carried it on his back, and slowly walked out of the courtyard.

Yu Yuehai had clearly done this to vent his anger, taking out his resentment over Chen Lin's delay in refining pills on her.

Though this female neighbor had many faults, they had lived in the same courtyard for so long. Chen Lin could not bear to face such a scene.

But his strength was too low, and he was powerless to do anything. He could only lay her to rest, taking her outside the city to find a place to bury her.

And report it to the authorities?

There were no authorities in this city. The Rogue Cultivators in the shantytown received no protection from the Five Great Families; all they got was exploitation.

A Rogue Cultivator at the Early Qi Refining Stage with no backing—if he died, he died. It would not stir so much as a ripple.

Of course, he also wanted to use this as a test, to see whether he could leave the courtyard under that pretext.

As long as he could get out of the courtyard, then even if he did not flee, he would have other options.

For instance, he could agree to Zhang Mazi's offer and become a retainer of their family. If he revealed his skill at refining First Origin Pills, the other party would surely be delighted to take him in.

If it truly came to it, even marrying that widowed Cousin of his was not beyond consideration. Anything was better than sitting here and waiting for death.

With the Zhang Family's strength, dealing with a Qi Refining Cultivator who had yet to successfully establish a foundation would be effortless. Even if the other party was at Qi Refining Great Perfection, he could not withstand the suppression of an old-established family.

But if the Blood Demon Pill were refined and the other party relied on it to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, then no one in Kaiyuan City would truly be able to stop him.

And even if someone could, no one would risk their life against a Foundation Establishment Cultivator for a nobody like him.

Chen Lin walked slowly, sensing Yu Yuehai's room as he went.

One step.

Two steps.

He carried the corpse all the way to the courtyard gate, yet Yu Yuehai still did not emerge.

His eyes flickered, and he pushed the door open to leave.

Just then, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air behind him. A streak of Dark Light traced an arc and hovered before him.