Blood Pill Great Medicine

An Jing was, of course, suspicious of the mysterious voice. Although the entity had helped him, who was to say it didn't have ulterior motives?

However, things had reached this point, and he lacked the luxury of doubting it. At this crossroads, An Jing either had to trust the voice or submit to the Tianyi Demonic Sect.

The choice was easy.

[Hmm... It seems you are indeed very clear-headed.]

Hearing An Jing state his position so candidly, the mysterious voice paused before continuing: [Since you knew you had already been discovered, why are you still so calm? This is not something that can be explained by mere past-life wisdom.]

"He wants me to go."

Even though his past-life wisdom had been easily seen through by the mysterious voice, An Jing remained calm. He said indifferently, "He has already given enough hints. When he taught me the true method, he didn't bother to hide his identity as a member of the Tianyi Demonic Sect."

"In fact, aside from not explicitly calling themselves a demonic sect, they haven't hidden anything from start to finish."

"This is also a test—if discerning that the Imperial Heaven Method leads directly to the martial pulse was passing, and discerning the Houtu Method was excellent, then discerning the Son of Heaven Method is what Xuanming Manor, or rather, the demonic sect, is truly looking for in a 'genius'."

"Do you think the beast bones that appeared when I was waiting at the gate were a coincidence?"

"Do you think it was a coincidence that I brought medicinal liquid with me when I left the gate and headed toward the apothecary of Dongshan Manor?"

"There are no such coincidences..."

"This is the final test. A test of 'stance'. There is a truth waiting for me there."

"Manor Master Yao wants me to go, and I do indeed want to go."

[You aren't surprised at all.]

The mysterious voice spoke softly. An Jing didn't know whether to laugh or sigh, so he could only reply with a voice tinged with bitterness: "Because I have been suspicious for a long time."

"Who would actually spend real gold and silver to buy disaster victims in the Northern Frontier and then treat their illnesses?"

"Only those who truly need 'lives'."

"Checking bone structures, asking for birth dates—it's because what they need are lives. If the birth date is suitable, they are naturally willing to pay the price to save them and bring them back."

"As for the brainwashing and the procedures to cultivate obedience used by Xuanming Manor, I already had some awareness of them from my past-life wisdom, so I was extra vigilant—not to mention that strange beast meat and medicinal broth."

[That is demon meat. Demons love to eat intelligent beings, and living creatures who consume it will also possess the ferocity of demons.]

The mysterious voice listened calmly to An Jing's account, only occasionally speaking up to clarify: [Using demon meat to stimulate the ferocity of the bloodline and enhance physical potential, paired with Heartless Water to suppress the demonic evil energy and improve the resilience of the soul—they complement each other.]

[The only side effect, the subtle alteration of a person's personality, is not a problem for them.]

[Since you saw through so much, why didn't you suspect they were a demonic sect earlier?]

"So that's it."

An Jing nodded slightly. He had already crossed the path between the main manor and Dongshan Manor: "I kept saying that the personalities of most of the riders and instructors were problematic; they were far too heartless."

The rain poured down in torrents. An Jing instinctively wiped the water from his face, then vaulted over a wall and entered a shed within the manor: "As for why I couldn't see it..."

He was silent for a moment, then said bitterly: "Perhaps it is because, on the surface, they were actually quite good to us children."

"At least, to those of us still alive, they were good."

"If I were just an ordinary person, I would have definitely been completely brainwashed. They were truly very kind to me."

"But I still understand why a demonic sect is a demonic sect."

Exhaling, An Jing's voice carried a trace of rare exhaustion and a sigh that bordered on fear: "I just didn't want to know the truth about certain things."

"But I have to know."

There were many sheds in Dongshan Manor to shelter from the rain. Inside the sheds were many large, brownish-red water vats, which occupied almost the entire floor of the courtyard.

"Why are so many water vats placed here?"

Calming his mind, An Jing looked around and found at least fifty vats, each covered with a flat stone. He couldn't help but feel puzzled: "Collecting rainwater? But why cover them with lids and sheds?"

"Could it be that there is medicine inside that needs to ferment?"

But as An Jing approached, he could faintly smell a strange, sweet, and fishy medicinal odor.

An Jing was very familiar with this scent; it was very similar to the strange medicinal smell he had smelled earlier coming from the Medicine Pavilion.

An Jing frowned and looked at one of the water vats to observe it.

But upon getting closer, An Jing discovered that there was a note on the vat.

Written on it were a person's name and their birth date.

[Gu Jinghai, Earth-Ancient Rock Fate, Mixed, Talent: Low-Medium]

A familiar name.

An Jing remembered the person this name represented.

He was a quiet child, not very old, who liked to stay by himself. An Jing had once chatted with him about his hometown. He missed the river beach with its many fish, and he missed the days of chasing dragonflies with his older brother in the summer.

The Frost Calamity had destroyed everything, causing him to lose his brother and parents, leading to him being sold by his uncle and arriving here, alone.

The water vat was large enough to hold a person.

Upon realizing this, An Jing suddenly understood something.

His hands trembled slightly.

"Impossible..."

An Jing knew that muttering to himself like this was foolish; of course he knew.

He could circulate the Imperial Heaven Nourishing Qi Method at any moment to enter a state of calm, as if looking down from above; of course he could do that.

He could use an indifferent attitude and a cold spirit to face the truth.

But he did not want to. He understood very well.

If he were to evade it at this moment, he would inevitably lose something that was very important to people, and to himself.

Therefore, even An Jing, who had not even disrupted his breathing while facing the repeated probes of Manor Master Yao, began to tremble as he searched.

He searched through the water vats one by one.

[Zhan Feng, Life of the Giant Spirit, Miscellaneous, aptitude low-average]

[Ye Xiuyuan, Life of the Orator, Miscellaneous, aptitude low-average]

[Zhang Ying, Life of the Geng Wolf, Miscellaneous, aptitude average]

In the end, he found these names.

"Ha... I finally found them."

Taking a step forward, An Jing let out a short, faint laugh: "So, you were here all along..."

He reached out his hand, touched the water vat before him, and muttered in a low voice: "Right here."

His tone grew lighter and lighter, until he fell into silence.

An Jing remained silent for a long time; a bolt of lightning tore through the dark, rainy night, illuminating his pale face.

An Jing closed his eyes.

Opening them again, An Jing's pupils were deep and dark; he raised his hand and exerted force, moving the lid off the water vat.

The solid stone lid was heavy, difficult for an average adult to move, but for An Jing, who was nearing the Internal Breath realm and had consumed much demon meat, it was nothing.

Inside the vat was a mass of pale pink, viscous paste, where traces of medicinal herbs were vaguely visible, emitting an astonishingly sweet and fishy medicinal scent—the very same strange, sweet, and fishy smell An Jing had once caught, which could shake a person's very soul.

But what truly shocked the heart were the white bones emerging from the center of that medicinal paste.

A skull, not very large.

The children who had left and were never seen again, the children who had been 'eliminated'—their fate was now all too clear.

[Blood Pill Great Medicine]

That mysterious voice said coldly: [Using those who possess a life but have not awakened as medicine to nourish flesh, blood, and soul, can extend life and strengthen the body...]

[Demonic path, must be killed!]