Death

After emerging from seclusion, Extreme Yin first went to inspect the spirit fields. He was quite satisfied with the growth of the spirit herbs.

"Not bad. Keep up the good work."

After putting on a show of encouraging Song Wen for a few words, he left the spirit fields.

He had more important matters to attend to. This pill-refining session had gone exceptionally smoothly. For the first time ever, he had produced two pills from a single batch, which meant his alchemy had improved greatly.

Because of this, he was full of confidence in the Blood Qi Pills he had refined this time. He felt certain that he had finally produced genuine Blood Qi Pills.

"Second Ox, Zhang Cheng, you two, come upstairs with your master. I have something good prepared for you."

Extreme Yin shouted loudly. Without waiting for Second Ox and Zhang Cheng to react, he headed up to the second floor on his own.

Zhang Cheng was the first to open his door, hurrying eagerly upstairs.

His master had been in seclusion refining pills for so long, and the moment he emerged, he summoned him. His master must be planning to have him take a pill and raise his strength.

His master had said that as long as he advanced to the second level of Qi Refining, he would be given leave to return home and visit his family.

By then, not only would he be able to travel openly as a core member of the Heavenly Baleful Gang, but he would also receive a considerable amount of silver every month.

When he appeared before his parents, relatives, and neighbors, he would truly be returning home in glory, bringing honor to his ancestors.

At that thought, Zhang Cheng quickened his pace and rushed toward the second floor.

Second Ox, who was slower to act, looked hesitant after opening his door.

His experience after taking the last pill was still vivid in his mind. Although his strength had improved enormously after taking it, it had nearly cost him his life.

If his master had not made him consume a large amount of tonics, Second Ox even suspected that he would not have lived past three days.

He had never expected that less than a month later, he would have to take another Blood Qi Pill. He truly did not want to take it again.

Although he knew the Blood Qi Pill had side effects, honest Second Ox did not think too deeply about it. In his simple heart, he had never imagined that the master he regarded as a second parent, the one who had changed his fate, would do anything that endangered his life.

In the end, Second Ox still stepped upstairs.

"Here, these are pills refined by your master. Taking them will greatly improve your cultivation. Take the pills in my room, then immediately circulate your cultivation to refine their medicinal power. Your master will stand guard beside you."

"Thank you, Master."

Zhang Cheng said excitedly, filled with gratitude.

After taking the pill, he immediately swallowed it.

After hesitating for a moment, Second Ox ultimately lacked the courage to question Extreme Yin and swallowed his pill as well.

A moment later, wisps of mist rose from above the two men's heads, and painful expressions appeared on their faces.

"Hold on. Keep circulating your cultivation to refine it. If you stop now, all your previous efforts will be wasted. Not only will you fail to improve your cultivation, but your cultivation may even regress."

Extreme Yin sternly rebuked them from the side.

Hearing this, both men gritted their teeth and persevered.

Their body temperatures suddenly began to rise, and their skin gradually turned red, like river shrimp being boiled alive.

Seeing their reactions, Extreme Yin immediately felt uneasy.

"Ah!"

Second Ox suddenly let out a miserable scream, then fell backward onto the ground. His body continued to convulse.

As if it had triggered a chain reaction, Zhang Cheng collapsed unconscious right after him.

"How could this happen?!"

Extreme Yin's face showed panic and unwillingness.

He could sense the violent spiritual energy within the two men, as well as their rapidly depleting blood qi.

Their cultivation had indeed improved dramatically, but just like with the previous pills, it came at the cost of rapidly consuming their blood qi. Moreover, their blood qi was being depleted even faster than before.

Although Second Ox and Zhang Cheng had already collapsed unconscious, the Blood Qi Pills were still taking effect.

The blood qi in their bodies continued to be consumed at an extremely rapid rate and converted into spiritual energy. But now that they were no longer circulating their cultivation, the spiritual energy lost control and began dissipating into the surroundings. Gradually, even the concentration of spiritual energy in the room rose slightly.

As their essence blood continued to be consumed, their condition visibly weakened. Their skin gradually sagged, and wrinkles spread across their bodies.

Second Ox, who was taking the pill for the second time, even developed age spots.

Their breaths also gradually weakened. It was clear they did not have long to live.

Extreme Yin's expression turned exceedingly ugly. He had failed again, and he had lost two medicine subjects at once.

I should have only let one person test the pill.

Extreme Yin felt some regret.

After a moment, Extreme Yin composed himself, and his gaze became vicious.

"Looks like next time, I can only use that boy outside to test the pill. I had originally planned to let him live a while longer, but heaven refuses to grant my wishes. I also need to put selecting new medicine subjects on the agenda. If another shortage of medicine subjects delays me like last time, that will be troublesome."

Extreme Yin opened the door and walked out, without sparing another glance at the two men still struggling weakly on the floor.

Song Wen, who had been watching the second floor all along, happened to meet Extreme Yin's eyes as he stepped out.

Song Wen immediately felt as though he had been targeted by a savage beast, as if he could be devoured at any moment.

Did those two fail the pill test? Has Extreme Yin set his sights on me?

Though gripped by fear, Song Wen casually turned his head away as if nothing had happened. He stopped watching Extreme Yin and diligently continued working in the herb fields.

For the entire day, Song Wen kept an eye on the second floor.

He hoped to see Second Ox and Zhang Cheng come down alive.

But after waiting for a long time, there was no movement at all from the second floor.

It was not until evening that two members of the Heavenly Baleful Gang went upstairs. Soon afterward, each of them carried a large burlap sack out of the courtyard.

Song Wen was now certain that the two men were dead. The next person to test pills would likely be him.

That night, Song Wen suffered from insomnia once again. He had already lost count of how many times this had happened.

The next day, Extreme Yin found Song Wen and told him that he would be entering seclusion again, instructing Song Wen to take proper care of the herb fields.

After respectfully seeing Extreme Yin off, Song Wen felt both excited and nervous. He understood that the ten days Extreme Yin would spend refining pills were his final chance to escape.

He absolutely could not sit still and wait for death any longer.

Having resolved to try escaping through the back mountain that night, Song Wen immediately lost all interest in continuing to tend the herb fields.

He found a woodcutter's knife in the tool shed, then picked out four small trees far from the courtyard wall.

After nightfall, he planned to cut down the four trees, tie them together into a ladder, and use it to climb the cliff face.

He was the only person in the courtyard. The guards were all stationed outside, so as long as he was careful while cutting the trees, he should not draw their attention.

Moreover, he was now at the mid-stage of the first level, and both his strength and agility had improved greatly.

His chances of escaping were not small.