The Five Viscera Radiance Pills

Yu Xiu was still in the Inner Court and had yet to earn enough merit to advance to the Main Sect, but the people of Dragon-Slaying Peak had already taught him the Dragon-Slaying Evil-Purging Sword.

In other words, Yu Xiu was already tied to Dragon-Slaying Peak.

When it was time to enter the Main Sect, he would have no choice but to join Dragon-Slaying Peak among its ten peaks.

The other nine peaks would have no way to snatch Yu Xiu away!

Liao Jianshu's earlier thought of helping Jinding Peak claim Yu Xiu ahead of time faded from his mind.

Well, there was no way to snatch him now!

No wonder Yu Xiu wanted to exchange for pills. To cultivate the Five Viscera Realm, the first of the Four Great Passes, he needed pills like the Five Viscera Radiance Pill, which could only be exchanged for at the Main Sect's ten major peaks. The Inner Court didn't have any.

"The Five Viscera Radiance Pill costs one hundred contribution points each. One pill only lasts five days of cultivation. How many contribution points do you have?" Liao Jianshu asked.

Yu Xiu replied, "Enough to exchange for twenty-six pills."

Liao Jianshu nodded and sent a message by Sword Qi. Before long, someone from the main peak arrived with twenty-six Five Viscera Radiance Pills.

Yu Xiu's contribution points were wiped out.

"When I join Dragon-Slaying Peak, I'll come bother you again." Yu Xiu bowed once more, then took his leave.

By the time he reached the Flying Boat at the mountaintop, a ferryman was already waiting. Yu Xiu had barely boarded when the boat set off, heading straight for Guiping County in Donghe Prefecture.

Aboard the Flying Boat, Yu Xiu swallowed a Five Viscera Radiance Pill and sat down to refine it.

Yuan Tianku had given him some of these Radiance Pills earlier—six in all. Over the past five days, he had used two, leaving four.

With these, he had thirty pills in total. That should be enough to fully cultivate the Five Viscera Realm, the first of the Four Great Passes.

Even if he fell short, he shouldn't be far off.

Before long, the Flying Boat landed outside Guiping County in Donghe Prefecture.

Yu Shang was already waiting there. He was well-built and upright, with fairly handsome features. When he saw Yu Xiu step off the Flying Boat, he immediately went over to meet him.

"Are you Brother Yu?" He gave Yu Xiu a discreet once-over, while recalling the nine Inner Court disciples laid out in neat rows in that hut in Lushui Town.

The young man before him had to be the one who had slain nine Inner Court disciples with a single sword, including Fang Jiming, a cultivator of the Five Viscera Realm—all before even joining the Main Sect.

He'd heard that Yu Xiu was only sixteen. One day, he could become a figure of note beneath the Ten True Seeds and the Ten Heroes.

But Tantan Lake...

Yu Shang wasn't optimistic about Yu Xiu's chances. Yu Xiu hadn't joined the Main Sect yet, so at best, he could only have reached the first of the Four Great Passes, the Five Viscera Realm—and not even its first level.

But there was a Shadow Demon at Tantan Lake with the strength of the second of the Four Great Passes, the Five Elements Realm.

What exactly was the Main Sect planning? Yu Shang sighed inwardly.

If Yu Xiu failed at Tantan Lake and angered its Shadow Demon, even the slightest misstep could spell disaster for Guiping County. Many people would die!

"That's right." Yu Xiu's voice came at just the right moment.

Yu Shang suppressed his unease and stepped forward with a fist-and-palm salute. "I've long admired your name, Brother Yu."

He shifted aside, inviting Yu Xiu to walk with him. "You may not know Guiping County very well, Brother Yu. Let's talk as we go."

He had already prepared Scale Horses. They mounted up and rode straight for Tantan Lake.

These Scale Horses were said to have been crossbred with Flood Dragons. Whether they truly had Flood Dragon blood was impossible to know, but they were incredibly fast and had excellent stamina. They could travel more than two hundred li in an hour, and some of the finest could cover more than three hundred.

"Shadow Demons have run amok in Guiping County many times. No matter how often we've tried, we've never managed to root them out. Some of them are even impossible to track.

"It wasn't until recently, when I pursued them to Tantan Lake, that I learned there were several big fellows behind these Shadow Demons." Yu Shang kept it brief.

Big fellows? Tantan Lake? Yu Xiu suddenly remembered that when he slew the Shadow Demon in Lushui Town, it had said it had powerful backers.

Now that he thought about it, those must have been the big fellows in Tantan Lake that Yu Shang had mentioned.

"How powerful?" Yu Xiu asked.

"The strongest one has already reached the second of the Four Great Passes." Yu Shang answered frankly, watching Yu Xiu's expression without drawing attention to it.

The second of the Four Great Passes! Yu Xiu assessed the situation.

I can kill it!

Before his Sword Heart had reached the second stage—the Sword Intent stage—it might have been difficult. But now...

Hm? Yu Shang's heart stirred. Why doesn't he look alarmed?

He wasn't merely unalarmed; his expression hadn't changed at all.

We're in the clear. Yu Shang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If his guess was right, Yu Xiu must have a lethal move from some great figure that could slay a Shadow Demon of the second of the Four Great Passes. Otherwise, he wouldn't remain calm when facing an enemy he knew he couldn't defeat.

Besides, Yu Xiu's Scale Horse hadn't stopped for even a moment. It kept heading toward Tantan Lake.

That showed how confident Yu Xiu was in the lethal move left to him by that great figure.

No longer worried, Yu Shang began to chat.

"True experts can only emerge from within the sect. It's almost unheard of to find a young expert like you outside, Brother Yu."

He continued, "Those of us who spend three years languishing in the Outer Court, or stall in the Inner Court and choose to venture out for experience, rarely achieve much.

"Of course, there are exceptions. I've heard that one of the True Disciples today once hit a wall in the Inner Court and chose to go out and seek experience. He later slew demons and vanquished evil, transforming himself between life and death. From then on, he soared to great heights. Even among the ten seats of the True Disciples, he ranks near the top!"

He spoke with longing, as if he had already made that expert among the ten True Disciples his goal.

Yu Xiu grew interested. "Who is this True Disciple?"

Yu Shang answered softly, "The fifth True Disciple, Zhou Jichuan!"

"He's a True Disciple who fought his way out of countless demons and monsters. I've heard his killing intent is so immense that it can make Shadow Demons collapse on the spot. His power is simply inconceivable."

Yu Xiu praised him. "He really is impressive!"

There was no shortage of geniuses in this world.

Even the Qingwei Sword Sect alone had one remarkable genius after another coming to the fore.

And the Qingwei Sword Sect occupied only Yan Province—not even all of it.

Besides the Qingwei Sword Sect, Yan Province had countless large and small sects, among which there were surely geniuses as well.

Beyond Yan Province lay thirteen more provinces, each with a colossus no weaker than the Qingwei Sword Sect.

One could only imagine how many experts and geniuses there were in this world!

They were as numerous as fish crossing a river; the comparison was hardly an exaggeration.

But Yu Xiu believed that no matter how extraordinary other geniuses were, none could outshine him.

He had the fate: God-Communicating. His comprehension could stack without limit. Given time, he would surpass every genius, one step at a time.

Until he became the strongest of them all.

"If True Disciple Zhou could carve out a path for himself, I'm sure you can too, Brother Yu," Yu Xiu said.

"I'll take that as a good omen." Yu Shang smiled.

Their laughter drifted away, and the two Scale Horses disappeared into the dust.