Cruel Alchemy

The next day, Li Jun got up bright and early.

He went to the place where he had tested his hand yesterday. He planned to make use of the huge pit before him and plant that rotten Emerald Cloud Bamboo Shoot here.

Li Jun tidied up the pit, then drew water over from the cliff face and poured it into the clearing.

Then he mixed in the demonic beast dung he had prepared over the past few days, blending it with a specially concocted medicinal powder made from spirit herbs. The mixture instantly turned sticky as paste.

After that, he crushed some broken Spirit Stones into powder and scattered it in, then spread dead branches and fallen leaves over the surface. A simple mud marsh was complete.

Li Jun planted the Emerald Cloud Bamboo Shoot inside. By his estimate, the Emerald Cloud Bamboo Shoot's condition would improve by tomorrow.

"As long as I add spirit-herb medicinal powder on schedule every day, this Emerald Cloud Bamboo Shoot can keep growing."

The Emerald Cloud Bamboo Shoot grew extremely fast. Basically, it could sprout a new crop in a single night.

When the time came, he would plant it every night and harvest it in the morning, making it less likely for others to discover.

As for the spirit herbs consumed, the one thing Medicine Peak lacked least was these. There was more than enough for him to use.

A day later, Li Jun came to the mud marsh early in the morning.

Looking at the white Emerald Cloud Bamboo Shoots spread throughout the mud marsh, he knew the Spirit Ox's feed had finally been solved as well.

Two weeks later, Huang Yi came to the cowshed again.

"Li Jun greets Deacon Huang."

Huang Yi nodded and said unhurriedly, "Eldest Senior Sister will be refining pills tomorrow morning. Remember to arrive at the Alchemy Room on time."

"Yes, this disciple obeys!" Li Jun agreed. Then, as if he had thought of something, he continued, "Deacon Huang, this disciple found a sachet on the back mountain. I don't know whose it is."

"A sachet?"

Huang Yi was puzzled. Looking at the sachet in Li Jun's hand, she asked, "Is there anything inside?"

"There isn't anything inside. It's just that this sachet looks very exquisite."

Huang Yi glanced at it and frowned. "Who knows which female disciple it belongs to? If it was dropped, then it was dropped. Whether you keep it or throw it away is up to you."

"Also, there's no need to report this kind of thing to me. You should still put your energy into cultivation."

With that, Huang Yi left.

Li Jun narrowed his eyes slightly. He had not expected Huang Yi to react like this.

"Could it be that the one who came that day wasn't Huang Yi?"

He looked at the sachet in his hand and carefully recalled the scene from that day.

"The appearance was indeed the same, but the way she spoke and her tone seemed a little different."

Li Jun put the sachet away. He already had a guess in his heart.

The one who had given him the sachet that day was probably someone else.

Early the next morning, Li Jun fed the oxen ahead of time, then hurried to the Alchemy Room.

Beside the pill-refining path, Shen Xiyue wore a long pink dress. She had no powder or rouge on, yet possessed an unworldly air all her own.

"Li Jun greets Eldest Senior Sister."

Shen Xiyue turned back and revealed a faint smile. "Li Jun, you've done well. I heard from the servants in the Alchemy Room that the quality of the ox milk lately has been quite good."

"Senior Sister, these are all things I ought to do."

"Keep it up. Since you already have a spiritual root, you won't be needed for the position of medicinal catalyst. However, I still need you to enter the Ancient Array. After undergoing the Ancient Array's cleansing, perhaps you'll have some sort of perception."

Shen Xiyue beckoned, and a cold, stunning female disciple walked over.

"Pan'er, take Li Jun to familiarize himself with the Ancient Array. Tell him where his position is, as well as what he needs to do after pill refining begins in a while. Li Jun, if there's anything you don't understand, just ask Pan'er directly."

"Yes, Pan'er accepts the order."

"Li Jun obeys."

Shen Xiyue moved with lotus steps and drifted away gracefully.

"Let's go. I'll take you to see the Ancient Array."

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior Sister."

Liu Pan'er glanced at Li Jun, then turned and walked toward the Ancient Array.

"As you can see, this jade disk before us is the Ancient Array's main body. No one has long known how many years it has existed. Our Medicine Peak merely possesses the method to activate it."

"Senior Sister, this Ancient Array requires special medicinal catalysts. How are those determined?" Li Jun pressed.

In truth, he had always been very curious about this matter. That day, he had felt as if his life essence had been drained dry.

To say he did not care was impossible.

Liu Pan'er pointed to one corner of the jade disk and explained, "It's very simple. All things have spirit, and all things have destiny."

"This Ancient Array can absorb the 'innate destiny' of all things, thereby forming a unique spiritual energy. As for how it's determined, that depends on the time the Ancient Array is used. All of that will be displayed within the jade disk."

Li Jun looked at the jade disk, and sure enough, on the side wall of its front face, he saw the densely packed words "Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches."

The disciple beside him memorized them, and after a round of calculations, finally determined the characteristics of the medicinal catalyst.

As for why a person had to be used as the medicinal catalyst, Liu Pan'er also gave an explanation.

To put it simply, Heaven and earth were the parents of all things, and man was the spirit of all things.

Among all races, humans possessed the most complex and most abundant "innate destiny."

Especially humans without spiritual roots—the "innate destiny" contained within them was the most abundant of all.

As for why people without spiritual roots were chosen, it was because spiritual roots would absorb one's own "innate destiny" and cause it to merge into them.

If such a person were used as medicine, the effect would be greatly diminished, and it might even directly cause the pill refinement to fail.

This was also why some great sect-protecting arrays required the sacrificial refinement of thousands, or even tens of thousands, of ordinary people.

At its essence, what was needed was the "innate destiny" contained within human beings themselves.

Li Jun nodded. The doubts in his heart were finally resolved.

At the same time, he could not help sighing at the vastness and profundity of the path of cultivation.

"The path of arrays involves a great many things. If there's a chance in the future, I could give it a try."

Liu Pan'er led Li Jun through the Ancient Array, and he also came to understand his mission this time.

As for why they had to do this, Liu Pan'er did not explain in detail.

She only told him to obey orders and handle the matter, and not delay the pill refinement process.

Once Liu Pan'er had finished giving her instructions, she turned and left.

Before long, several stewards filed in one after another.

Different from last time, the medicinal catalysts brought in this time numbered only a little over twenty, and all were raggedly dressed mortals.

Their hands were bound, their eyes hollow, their expressions dazed and drifting, giving off an extremely eerie feeling.

The Alchemy Room was silent as a grave.

Li Jun frowned. Unlike last time, no other disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect had appeared this time, and the atmosphere was even more oppressive.

Before long, the stewards on site hoisted up the jade disk, and the entire pill furnace was fully reassembled.

Li Jun stood at the edge of the Ancient Array, watching as those mortals were pushed onto the jade disk one by one.

Shen Xiyue appeared.

Her expression was calm. With just a wave of her sleeve, the jade disk slowly rose and hovered directly above the pill furnace.

"Enter the array."

At the command, several dozen inner sect disciples stepped onto the jade disk in unison.

Li Jun took a deep breath and followed.

Shen Xiyue swept her gaze over everyone, her voice cold and clear. "Although the Purple Foundation Pill succeeded last time, its medicinal effect was lacking by a few degrees. This time, we need to add one supplementary ingredient, so it will take longer. Each of you attend to your own duties. There must be no mistakes."

Her gaze passed over Li Jun, and a voice transmission fell into his ear. "If anything unusual occurs, inform me immediately."

Li Jun nodded slightly.

The pill furnace ignited.

At first, everything was as usual.

Spiritual patterns flowed across the jade disk, and those mortals knelt quietly in place, their faces wooden and numb.

But two hours later, a sudden change erupted.

Li Jun looked toward the center of the jade disk. A middle-aged man had begun clawing at his own arm, his nails plowing bloody furrows into his skin.

Immediately afterward, more people showed the same symptoms.

Their entire bodies itched, their faces turned deathly pale, and the veins in their necks bulged one by one.

"Aaahhh!"

They began to roar, their shrill screams ringing endlessly in the air.

"Stop them from killing each other!"

Shen Xiyue's command rang out coldly.

Quite a few inner sect disciples charged straight forward. Seeing this, Li Jun hurriedly followed.

He pressed down an old woman who was desperately smashing her head against the ground.

What Li Jun had not expected was that her strength was astonishingly great, and beast-like whimpers came from her mouth.

On the other side, two mortals were already wrestling together, and one of them had bitten the other's ear clean off.

Blood splashed across Li Jun's face.

He gritted his teeth and pinned down the struggling person beneath his hands with all his strength.

The surrounding inner sect disciples were likewise flustered and frantic, and chaos erupted across the jade disk.

Bang!

What no one present had expected was—

The first mortal exploded.

Then came the second, and the third.

Blood mist spread, and chunks of flesh flew everywhere.

The spiritual patterns on the Jade Disk flashed wildly, then fell silent.

Shen Xiyue looked at the mess covering the ground and stayed silent for a long while. In the end, she gave a soft sigh.

"So it really won't work."