Sixth Brother Is Not Honest

The reason Qin Dongcheng's cultivation progress had been accelerating lately, aside from the occasional critical hit rewards, was primarily due to consuming more Blood-Replenishing Pills.

The reason he dared to consume so many Blood-Replenishing Pills without fearing an unstable foundation was because he had Blood-Solidifying Pills.

Whenever there were signs of his foundation becoming unstable, Qin Dongcheng would consume a Blood-Solidifying Pill to stabilize his wavering blood-qi and solidify his cultivation foundation.

However, after this period of practice, the Blood-Solidifying Pills gifted to him by Dong Hongyan had been completely exhausted. If he wanted to continue consuming large quantities of Blood-Replenishing Pills to rapidly increase his cultivation realm, he would need to go and purchase more.

Blood-Solidifying Pills were intermediate-level pills, and their refinement involved some advanced alchemical techniques and methods. Much like the refinement of the Soul Bewildering Pill—which, despite being a low-level pill, involved some intermediate alchemical techniques and methods—the difficulty was significant.

Although the difficulty did not reach the level of a true intermediate pill, it was not something an average Low-level Alchemist could refine.

The same applied to the Blood-Solidifying Pill; it was difficult to refine unless one was among the best of the Intermediate Alchemists, which made its price quite steep.

The price of a single pill was around thirty taels of silver, equivalent to the cost of thirty Blood-Replenishing Pills, and far exceeding the price of a Soul Bewildering Pill.

Paying such a high price just to practice his techniques a few more times a day was an expense an ordinary Martial Artist could not afford unless they had sufficient financial resources.

Even for Qin Dongcheng, if not for his multiple fortuitous encounters, he would not have had such wealth.

Thinking of the benefits brought by the Blood-Solidifying Pills, Qin Dongcheng decided after some consideration to go and purchase another bottle.

The Bamboo Forest Black Market sold Blood-Solidifying Pills, with a bottle costing three hundred taels of silver—not a small sum for him.

Disguising himself and donning a cloak, Qin Dongcheng arrived at the Bamboo Forest Black Market and purchased a bottle of Blood-Solidifying Pills from a reputable pill shop.

As he prepared to leave, he noticed someone seemed to be tailing him. It appeared that someone had seen him spend three hundred taels of silver on a bottle of pills and pegged him as a fat sheep, ready to be slaughtered.

Not knowing the strength of the enemy or if there were others behind them, Qin Dongcheng had no intention of waiting around to be caught.

Using the Heaven Concealment Art to hide his aura and stepping into his Phantom Movement Technique, he easily slipped into the crowd, quickly shook off his pursuer, and returned safely to the Osmanthus Garden.

It is better to avoid trouble than to invite it. While it is said that killing and looting brings wealth, that assumes one can actually kill the enemy; if one fails and is killed instead, the enemy is the one who walks away with the spoils.

Qin Dongcheng was not lacking in resources, so he saw no reason to take such risks when he could continue his steady cultivation and improvement.

He didn't even participate in the dangerous missions of slaying demons and monsters with Dong Hongyan and the others, let alone confront unknown bandits and thugs.

With the help of the Blood-Solidifying Pills, Qin Dongcheng could consume one or two more Blood-Replenishing Pills every day and practice the Diamond Skin Refining Fist a few more times.

Whenever his blood-qi felt unstable or his foundation wavered, he would immediately stop and consume a Blood-Solidifying Pill to stabilize his foundation and blood-qi.

Repeating this cycle, he improved rapidly.

As the frequency of his practice increased, the number of critical hits naturally rose as well, and the speed of his cultivation growth increased with each passing day.

A new month arrived before he knew it. Frustratingly, the Mission Hall had once again issued a batch of mandatory demon-slaying missions to the various alchemists, blacksmiths, and formation masters.

Qin Dongcheng did not believe the higher-ups at the Mission Hall were unaware of how these alchemists and blacksmiths completed their missions; it was clearly a ploy to force the wealthy disciples to subsidize the Martial Artists who specialized in slaying demons.

Since the sect held the power, there was no choice but to accept the exploitation.

This time, Qin Dongcheng did not intend to ask Dong Hongyan and her group for help. After all, constantly having a group of women do his missions for him, especially for free, made him feel like he was living off a woman.

However, just as Qin Dongcheng was preparing to find another squad to complete the demon-slaying mission, Dong Hongyan arrived with several of her sisters and took his mission away.

"Why be so distant, Sixth Brother? You are only a Martial Artist in the Body Phase Realm; those missions are a mere trifle for us. Why spend your hard-earned money to hire others?"

"That's right, that's right! Sixth Brother is being too formal. Don't feel embarrassed; we are your sisters, surely we can help with such a small favor?"

"Hehe, Sixth Brother is an honest man who doesn't want to live off us. Sisters, let's be understanding."

The group of sisters chattered noisily, giving Qin Dongcheng a headache. He quickly begged for mercy and took out a bottle of Soul Bewildering Pills, handing it to them: "This is a type of pill I recently learned to make called the Soul Bewildering Pill. It can not only knock out enemies but also bewilder many wild beasts and Demonic Beasts. It is only less effective against Ghost Spirits and Anomaly."

"You sisters can each carry two. If you encounter an enemy that is difficult to deal with, just release it. It is very convenient to use; let me explain how."

Hearing the effects of the Soul Bewildering Pill and the various methods of using it, the sisters were astonished. They hadn't expected Qin Dongcheng to be capable of refining such a useful item.

In their daily demon-slaying, they most frequently encountered wild beasts and Demonic Beasts, and occasionally thugs and bandits. This Soul Bewildering Pill was perfect for dealing with them.

Moreover, the Soul Bewildering Pill could even have a significant effect on Demonic Beasts and Martial Artists above the third level, making it a true trump card in certain situations.

The value of this gift far exceeded that of a few mandatory missions.

Even those sisters who had wanted to refuse found themselves reluctant to do so after hearing how convenient and effective the Soul Bewildering Pill was.

Dong Hongyan saw this and did not refuse, smiling as she accepted it: "I didn't expect Sixth Brother to have such good things. If we can use these Soul Bewildering Pills to slay more demons and monsters, we will definitely share a portion of the spoils with you."

"But Sixth Brother, you went to such lengths to refine this kind of pill—could it be that there is a young lady you have your eye on, and since she won't agree, you want to use some... methods?"

At these words, the sisters were stunned for a moment, and then their expressions turned strange.

"Not bad, not bad! This Soul Bewildering Pill does seem quite suitable for that purpose. Sixth Brother, are you really planning to steal a beauty's heart? You're quite the rascal."

"What are you all saying? With Sixth Brother's looks and character, what is so difficult about marrying a beautiful woman? Does he really need to use such methods? But if there really is a girl Sixth Brother desires but cannot have, we can help you drug her."

"I agree, that works too. Sixth Brother isn't young anymore; it's time to take a wife. As the saying goes, once the wood is carved into a boat, the raw rice is cooked into porridge—even if she doesn't agree then, it won't matter."

"To make Sixth Brother resort to such methods, she must be a stunning beauty. And in our Bamboo Forest Valley, there aren't many women who fit that description."