Rejuvenation Pill

The man immediately got up to flee, but Han Shan's kick had left him unable to stand for the moment.

In that brief instant, the insect was already upon him.

"Pfft."

A sharp spike shot out from its mouth and pierced his neck like a sword.

"Argh...!"

The man let out a pained roar and clutched his neck, trying to pull the insect free, but he could not remove it at all.

Before long, he collapsed to the ground, his mouth opening in silent screams. Amid terror and agony, he turned into a dried corpse.

Meanwhile, the insect's once-shriveled belly had swollen round.

Seeing this, Han Shan played his flute again.

The insect immediately flew up and landed steadily on his hand.

Han Shan held up the insect and instantly crushed its bloated belly.

A crimson pill appeared amid the insect's remains.

He brought it to his nose and took a sniff, an intoxicated look appearing on his face.

"Excellent pill, hahaha."

The other cultists beside the blood pool saw the man turn into a dried corpse, then saw their leader laughing wildly.

How could they not realize that this so-called contribution was clearly meant to take their lives?

They instantly descended into chaos, all trying to flee outside.

But the white-robed men had long since blocked the exit.

"There are only a few of them! Let's charge out together!" someone shouted.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With one kick each, the white-robed men sent every cultist flying back.

The aura they revealed inadvertently was, at the very least, at the Tempered Bone Realm Peak.

The cultists, meanwhile, were merely ordinary people and naturally could not defeat them.

Seeing this, some cultists dropped directly to their knees and begged to be spared.

The white-robed men remained cold-eyed and unmoved, keeping the exit firmly blocked.

From the moment they had brought them here, they had never intended to let them leave alive.

Han Shan stopped laughing, and the flute sounded once more.

After a burst of agonized howls, the twenty-odd cultists fell silent forever.

In front of Han Shan, more than twenty blood-red pills now lay scattered.

"Dispose of all the corpses. You may leave."

"Yes, Envoy."

The white-robed men quickly cleared away all the bodies and withdrew.

Han Shan looked at the pills before him, his gaze flickering as though he were deep in thought.

Soon, a smile appeared on his face. He picked up a pill and spun it on his fingertip.

In a murmur only he could hear, he said, "Dragon Household, then you'll be the ones."

Inside the Dragon Household's main hall, Long Teng sat high in the seat of honor.

The key direct-line figures of the Dragon Household sat on either side.

Long Teng said nothing, while everyone wore different expressions.

The entire hall was steeped in gloom.

"Since none of you have any ideas, what's the point of holding a clan meeting? Go back and think it over before we speak again."

Long Teng glanced at the silent crowd and spoke flatly.

With that, he rose and left with a sweep of his sleeve.

After returning to his room, he thought of what had happened during the day. His heart was filled with mixed emotions, and he could not help letting out a long sigh.

He had secretly cooperated with the Song Household, gaining their aid and securing an excellent position.

To take things a step further, he had even arranged the martial contest, intending to seize the Leng Household's share completely.

Originally, with Long Qian's strength, along with the list of Leng Household retainers and sponsored martial artists provided by the Song Household—

The Organ Refinement Realm contest should have been a sure victory.

After all, the established Viscera Refinement experts were too proud to lower themselves, and among the younger generation, everyone the Leng Household could have recruited had been secretly bought off by him with money.

They merely had to refrain from competing; it was not as if they were betraying the Leng Household. It had been easy enough to arrange.

Yet after calculating every possibility, he had failed to account for Zhou Muyun.

Long Teng truly wanted to curse. Since Zhou Muyun was so outstandingly strong, why had he hidden it so well?

Although Long Qian would recover after resting for half a month, the medicinal herb supply share would henceforth have to be split evenly with the Leng Household.

He could no longer interfere with it, and that was something he simply could not accept.

Their days had already become far worse after the Leng Household got involved in the allocation.

From now on, things would likely become even harder. More importantly, the Dragon Household had only him at Early Blood Exchange.

The Leng brothers, however, had one at Mid Blood Exchange and one at Late Blood Exchange.

Even among the Leng Household's previous generation, there was still a Peak Blood Exchange expert who had not died.

Though the man was old and his blood and qi had declined, he could certainly still bully someone at the Early Blood Exchange stage like Long Teng.

The more Long Teng thought about it, the angrier he became. He slammed his palm down.

Crack.

The table shattered in response, wood chips scattering across the floor.

"Patriarch Long, there's no need to be so angry, is there?"

A leisurely male voice rang out in the room.

"Who is it?" Already enraged, Long Teng circulated his strength and, following the voice, threw a heavy punch.

"Hehe, attacking before even offering a greeting—aren't you being rather impolite, Patriarch Long?"

From the shadows, a huge palm emerged and lightly tapped Long Teng's fist, neutralizing the blow.

"I'm impolite? This is my home. The impolite one is you, sir."

Long Teng withdrew his fist and warily watched the tall black-robed figure emerge from the shadows.

He did not dare attack again. The moment their fist and palm met, he knew that the other man was far stronger than him.

And since the other party had not continued attacking, Long Teng concluded that he bore no ill will.

Still, vigilance was essential when traveling the martial world. Long Teng would not lower his guard so easily.

"Look at me, I nearly forgot. Then allow me to apologize."

With a flick of his finger, the black-robed man sent a red pill flying toward Long Teng.

"This is my gift of apology. Please accept it."

Long Teng caught the pill with one hand, a puzzled expression appearing on his face.

"Sir, my Dragon Household is a family of medicinal herb merchants. You bring out this fake pill and still dare to try deceiving me with it?"

As the head of a medicinal herb household, Long Teng had known herbs since childhood and was particularly sensitive to their scents.

The moment the pill entered his hand, he sniffed it. There was not the slightest medicinal fragrance.

"In such a remote backwater, it is understandable that you have never heard of this pill. I do not blame you.

"This pill is called the Rejuvenation Pill. After consumption, it can replenish a martial artist's blood and qi."

The black-robed man sneered and explained at an unhurried pace, emphasizing his final words.

"A remote backwater? Rejuvenation Pill?" Long Teng immediately said disdainfully, "Yunlin County may indeed be small, but medicine has a medicinal scent. I, Long, know that much.

"And as for this Rejuvenation Pill of yours, I've never even heard of it. You should take it back."

As he spoke, he prepared to toss the pill in his hand back to the black-robed man.

"A frog at the bottom of a well!" the black-robed man said unhurriedly. "What if I told you this medicine could restore the blood and qi of someone whose blood and qi had declined?"

"?" Long Teng's hand froze. Skeptically, he said, "Impossible. Only precious medicines more than fifty years old could have such an effect, and they would have to specifically possess that property. For a tiny pill like yours to claim such efficacy is sheer arrogance."

A martial artist's blood and qi were key to improving one's strength. Once someone passed forty, their blood and qi began to decline.

Forget about breaking through—even maintaining strength equal to one's realm was already quite good.

Legend had it that high-realm martial artists could avoid this issue, but that was not something Long Teng could come into contact with.

"Patriarch Long, I will not waste words. Since I have given you the medicine, I naturally will not take it back.

"As for whether you believe in its effects, you'll know after trying it." the black-robed man replied.

"Leaving aside its effects for now, what exactly is your purpose?"

"Naturally, I came to discuss cooperation. But there is no rush. Try the medicine first, and if you are satisfied with its effects, then we can talk.

"When the time comes, simply place a red paper origami crane outside your door, and I will appear. I believe that once you try this medicine, you certainly will not be disappointed!"

The black-robed man's tone was confident. After speaking, he pushed open the door and vanished into the night.

"Rejuvenation Pill... it can restore the blood and qi of those whose blood and qi have declined."

Long Teng stared at the red pill in his hand and muttered to himself.

He was already forty-five. There was no hope of a breakthrough, but if this medicine truly had such an effect—

He could break through to Mid Blood Exchange, perhaps even Late Blood Exchange, and keep his blood and qi at its peak. Why would he fear the Leng Household?

He might even be able to challenge the Song Household!

At that thought, fervor flashed in Long Teng's eyes, but he quickly calmed down.

The medicine definitely had to be tested.

But he would not test it himself. Someone else would.

As for the candidate, he already had one: any of those Dragon Household elders who had been the loudest in the main hall earlier.

He could pick any one of them.

He put away the pill and looked at the scattered moonlight outside the window.

Suddenly, it seemed that this unlucky day had finally brought him a bit of good news.

Though nothing was certain yet, at least he now had something to hope for, didn't he?