Mysterious Scroll

Ning Huarong was nicknamed the Witch, and the way she conducted herself truly carried the style of a demonic sect.

She even sought out clan disciples for dual cultivation.

Calling it dual cultivation was not quite accurate. More precisely, these male disciples became her cultivation cauldrons, unilaterally harvested by Ning Huarong.

The fate of the clan's male disciples harvested by her was naturally far from good. Most of them suffered severe depletion of vital essence.

Some even damaged their Dao Foundation, their cultivation not only failing to advance but regressing instead, leaving their Immortal Path difficult thereafter.

Yet Ning Huarong held an extremely high position within the clan.

Once an ordinary male disciple caught her eye, unless he possessed considerable status or outstanding aptitude, it was difficult for him to refuse.

Blood ties were not an issue either. Though they belonged to the same clan, cultivators from different branches of the Ning Clan were actually distantly related, already beyond the fifth degree of kinship. After all, the Ning Clan's mortal bloodline alone numbered several million.

On Blue Star, that would have been the population of a small country.

Moreover, Ning Huarong generally did not resort to coercion. She mainly tempted them with benefits and was exceedingly generous with her offerings.

Male disciples who dual cultivated with her would all receive substantial spirit stone rewards. Thus, the clan tacitly approved, and most male disciples she approached could only accept their fate.

There were even quite a few male disciples of mediocre aptitude in the clan who longed to catch Ning Huarong's eye, such as the blue-robed clan disciple from earlier, Ning Chuanwei.

He merely possessed the mediocre aptitude of a Pseudo Spiritual Root. His Immortal Path had been hopeless to begin with, so even damaging his Dao Foundation was nothing to fear.

Besides, Ning Huarong was a great beauty and held high authority within the clan. As long as they submitted to her, they could obtain a large sum of spirit stones.

That held enormous appeal for them. After all, it was already considered good for low-level cultivators to earn a dozen or so spirit stones in an entire year.

But Ning Huarong had high standards. Those with ordinary aptitude or looks found it difficult to enter her sights.

And Ning Fa was someone Ning Huarong had long coveted.

However, Ning Fa had previously possessed the halo of a Lightning Spiritual Root, so the clan had not permitted Ning Huarong to lay a hand on him.

Later, after the clan abandoned Ning Fa, Ning Huarong happened to enter seclusion for a time. Sure enough, the moment she emerged, she sought Ning Fa out again.

At that time, Ning Fa's former self was obsessively devoted to pill refinement as though possessed, and had already reached the end of his rope, with no spirit stones left to support his refining.

His former self had wanted to make one last stand with his back to the river, so he made this wager with Ning Huarong and obtained a large sum of spirit stones from her.

He had foolishly hoped that this would allow him to become a clan alchemist and regain the clan's esteem.

But unfortunately, his former self had ultimately fallen short at the last step. Even after spending all five hundred spirit stones borrowed from Ning Huarong, his pill-refining skill had improved little, and yesterday's clan alchemist assessment had still ended in failure.

In despair, his former self had died from pent-up anguish, and Ning Fa had arrived through transmigration at just that moment to take over his body.

"You died and got it over with, but you left me to suffer."

Ning Fa sat on a stone chair in the courtyard, his face full of gloom.

Though there was still one month before the one-year deadline agreed upon by his former self and Ning Huarong, unless a miracle occurred, it would be difficult to avoid the fate of becoming her dual-cultivation cauldron.

"Looks like I can only hand over this pure body of mine."

Ning Fa muttered. Though he could still crack a joke or two, his heart was filled with helplessness.

Becoming Ning Huarong's dual-cultivation cauldron seemed, at worst, to damage his Dao Foundation and leave him without hope of cultivation, but posed no danger to his life.

Yet since Ning Fa had been fortunate enough to transmigrate into this Cultivation World, especially after learning that those cultivators with profound Mana could possess unimaginable divine abilities—

And, beyond that, incredibly long lifespans—he was naturally deeply tempted. He was unwilling to become a dual-cultivation cauldron, damage his Dao Foundation, and lose all hope of climbing the Great Dao.

But from the looks of it, the outcome seemed unavoidable, unless he could truly become a clan alchemist within this final month.

Yet his former self had worked so hard and still failed. Could he really expect himself, a transmigrator, to become a clan alchemist in such a short month?

What was more, his former self had already spent every last spirit stone. He did not have any spirit stones left to buy spiritual ingredients and continue refining pills.

Thinking of this, Ning Fa could not help feeling helpless.

After a long while, he stood up and returned to the main hall. More accurately, this should have been his former self's pill-refining room.

Ning Fa first glanced at the small pill furnace lying on its side on the ground, then looked at the few pale-yellow pills scattered across the floor.

He bent down, picked up the five pills, and carefully examined them in his palm.

Each pill was no larger than the tip of a little finger and emitted a faint fragrance that refreshed the mind upon inhalation.

The only flaw was that several cracks ran across the surface of every pill. Their shapes were also inconsistent; rather than perfect spheres, most were oval.

By now, Ning Fa knew that these pills were Low-grade First-grade Pills known as Essence Replenishing Pills. They could increase the Mana of cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refinement and were extremely valuable, with a single pill selling for ten spirit stones.

But the ones in his hand were all Failed Pills, only one step away from becoming true finished pills.

Though it was only one step, the medicinal effects were as far apart as heaven and earth. That step was also like an impassable chasm, preventing Ning Fa's former self from truly grasping the secret. He had rarely managed to refine a finished pill.

In yesterday's clan alchemist assessment, Ning Fa had refined only one completed Essence Replenishing Pill. Unwilling to accept it, he had returned home and continued trying. After using up his final batch of spiritual ingredients and still refining only five Failed Pills, he had ultimately died from pent-up despair.

Just as Ning Fa was sighing over this, he suddenly felt a burning pain in his right arm, making him cry out.

His face filled with shock and suspicion, Ning Fa cautiously pulled aside the clothing covering his right arm. On the exposed arm was a long, narrow white mark, flashing with white light.

Before Ning Fa could react, the white mark suddenly flew from his arm. After a burst of white light, it transformed into a white scroll-like object floating in the air, flickering as it emitted a mysterious white radiance.

Ning Fa's eyes widened.

Was this white scroll not the one he had picked up at an antique market on Blue Star?

After buying it, he had kept it on his desk as an ornament. Could this white scroll be the reason he had transmigrated here?

At that moment, the white scroll suddenly unfurled on its own, revealing a sheet about two feet long and one foot high.

It was called a white sheet, but it looked more like some unknown kind of white animal hide, covered in Mysterious Patterns that made one dizzy just from looking at them.

White light flickered across the sheet, and countless tiny White Runes gradually appeared, blinking in and out of existence, making the scroll seem even more unfathomably mysterious.

The tiny White Runes slowly gathered together, turning into a mass of white light. When the glow gradually faded, several pill-shaped images appeared on the scroll.

There were five pills in total. Each was the size of a little fingertip, pale yellow and irregularly round, with several cracks on its surface.

Ning Fa stared in astonishment. He looked at the Mysterious Scroll before him, then at the pills in his hand.

Were the pills displayed on this Mysterious Scroll not the five Failed Essence Replenishing Pills in his hand?

This mysterious sight left Ning Fa somewhat at a loss. He wanted to touch the Mysterious Scroll, but did not dare.

At that moment, the pill images on the scroll flashed with white light. The glow then extended downward, and a white line appeared.

Soon, the white light stopped extending. When the radiance faded, another cluster of objects appeared on the scroll.

More accurately, they were images resembling several kinds of spiritual herbs.