Only then did Ou Peng take a small porcelain bottle from his robes and hand it to Hu the Eldest. Hu the Eldest accepted it and carefully examined the words on it. Even with his steady composure, his hand trembled, and those three words startled him so badly that he nearly dropped the bottle.
Hu the Eldest sat there holding the bottle, speechless.
Seeing Hu the Eldest like this, Li the Second and Liu the Fifth both curiously stepped forward and peered at either side of the bottle.
"Longevity Pill?" they both cried out.
The difference lay in what they said next.
Li the Second said, "Such a thing actually exists?!"
Liu the Fifth said, "What is that thing?!"
The expressions of Hu the Eldest and Li the Second flickered between light and dark, their brows knitting ever tighter.
Liu the Fifth looked at their expressions in confusion, then turned to look at Ou Peng, Shangguan the Fourth, and Xu the Sixth. All three wore grave expressions as well.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Hu the Eldest let out a long breath, as though he had made up his mind. He steadied himself, straightened his back again, and returned the little porcelain bottle to Ou Peng.
He said, "Third Brother, how do you plan to deal with it?"
Ou Peng heard the change in his form of address. This "Third Brother" was the sincere way brothers addressed one another, not the high-sounding "Junior Brother Sect Master." Hu the Eldest intended to speak to him as an elder brother.
Ou Peng hurriedly replied respectfully, "Eldest Brother, wasn't that why I called all of you here, so we could discuss it together?"
Hu the Eldest shook his head. "Third Brother, you should not have shown something like this to all the brothers. You should have kept it for yourself."
Ou Peng gave a bitter smile. "Eldest Brother, it was not as though I had not considered that. But this came from the Secret Realm, and there were four identical boxes. I do not know whether the others' boxes contained this as well. Besides, when I opened it here, I was careless for a moment. Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, A Hai, and Qing'er were all present. There was no way for me to keep it secret."
Hu the Eldest said, "I see. Then so be it. Since that is the case, you should keep it for now. This is not something people like us can bear to enjoy. You must never take it privately. When trouble arises in the future, take it out again. Hopefully, we can cast off this burden then."
The rest were all deep in thought. Only Liu the Fifth was utterly vexed. He grabbed Xu the Sixth and asked, "Sixth Brother, what is this 'Longevity Pill'?"
Xu the Sixth replied irritably, "Fifth Brother, didn't you just mention the legendary Elixir of Immortality? This is it. It can extend a person's life by ten years."
"Ah!" Liu the Fifth cried out. "Such a thing actually exists? Then hurry and bring them out—one for each of us, and we can all live ten years longer!"
Li the Second mocked him. "Live ten years longer? Once you take one and people find out, someone will come knocking immediately. You will not even get to live one extra day."
Liu the Fifth struggled to argue, "I'll run after I eat it. Where would they look for me?"
Li the Second sneered even more. "If the entire martial world comes looking for you, where will you run? What about the Misty Sect? What about your family?"
After hearing that, Liu the Fifth did not know how to answer. He blinked, smacked his lips, raised his brows, and said almost shamelessly, "Won't you all be standing in front to block them? What am I afraid of?"
Li the Second curled his lip and ignored him.
Hu the Eldest shot Liu the Fifth a glare. "Fifth Brother, you are not getting any younger. Can't you use your brain when something happens? Who knows whether this thing is real or fake? Even if it is real, which one of the six of us should take it? Didn't your Second Brother just say it? Even after taking it, you would be hunted by the entire martial world. Who could endure that? Better to leave it alone, whether it is real or fake. Store it away properly, untouched, and wait quietly for things to change. If someone we cannot afford to provoke comes knocking, we will announce it to the martial world and send this hot potato away. If nothing happens, then we brothers can make plans later."
Liu the Fifth picked up the wine jug, took a savage gulp, and said, "I've only got a mouth; I don't understand anything else. Just give me one bite when the time comes."
Ou Peng turned to ask the others, "Brothers, what do you think of Eldest Brother's idea?"
Stroking his beard, Shangguan the Fourth said, "Eldest Brother's words suit my thoughts perfectly. I have been thinking about this matter these past few days as well. Rather than hope for ten uncertain years of life, it is better to live our current days peacefully. We must not ruin the great foundation of our Misty Sect. And if the slightest wind stirs the grass when the time comes, Third Brother, you must handle it properly. Otherwise, we may end up trying to be clever and only make things worse."
Li the Second nodded without speaking.
Xu the Sixth said with a grin, "I'll listen to Eldest Brother and Fourth Brother."
Liu the Fifth ignored Ou Peng's gaze and drank by himself. Ou Peng's gaze swept past him and simply skipped over him.
Seeing that no one objected, Ou Peng continued, "Then I will keep this item for now and see how circumstances develop in the future."
When Liu the Fifth saw that Ou Peng had ignored him, he muttered softly to himself, "I don't pay attention to you, and you still ought to ask what I think."
Seeing him muttering, Hu the Eldest asked, "Fifth Brother, do you have something to say?"
Liu the Fifth hurriedly stood up. "No, no. I just wanted to ask, were these the only things found in the Secret Realm—things that look edible but cannot be put in our mouths?"
Hu the Eldest kept a stern face and did not bother with him further, turning instead toward Ou Peng.
This time, Ou Peng smiled like a blooming flower. He took two more small porcelain bottles from his robes and handed them to Hu the Eldest.
Hu the Eldest accepted the bottles and examined them closely. He was immediately astonished again. "Qi Boosting Pills? These treasures really exist? They have not appeared in the martial world for who knows how many years." This time, even Li the Second could not remain seated. He put away that dead-man's face and leaned closer. Only Shangguan the Fourth, Xu the Sixth, and Liu the Fifth did not move. The first two already knew, while the last one, carefree as ever, asked again, "Qi Boosting Pills? What are those things?"
As it happened, Hu the Eldest spoke at that moment as well. "Bone-Strengthening Pills? What are those things?"
With curved brows and a beaming smile, Ou Peng said, "Everyone knows about Qi Boosting Pills. They are legendary sacred medicines that increase one's cultivation. Whoever takes one can gain twenty years of internal strength. However, they only work for those who practice Internal Family martial arts. In other words, among the brothers present, aside from Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother, anyone who takes a Qi Boosting Pill will double their accomplishments in internal energy and save twenty years of bitter cultivation. But according to the sect's inherited texts I consulted, they seem to have some flaws, though the texts did not explain them clearly."
Upon hearing this, Xu the Sixth's expression turned somewhat unnatural. He had thought he would get a share of the spoils, but from Ou Peng's words, it seemed the Qi Boosting Pill had nothing to do with him. Still, he pressed on, "Third Brother, can those of us who practice external martial arts truly not take it?"
Liu the Fifth was also depressed. "Damn it, why is my luck so rotten?"
Ou Peng remained smiling. "I checked carefully, Sixth Brother. It truly has no effect on external martial arts."
Xu the Sixth slumped into his chair and had nothing more to say.
Shangguan the Fourth took over. "Third Brother, how many Qi Boosting Pills are in that bottle? There are four of us. What if there are not enough? What then?"
Ou Peng said with a bitter smile, "I did not dare open it either. I only dared do so after all the brothers had gathered."
Hu the Eldest's eyes flickered, and he too nodded silently.
Looking at the somewhat dejected Liu the Fifth and Xu the Sixth, Ou Peng continued, "As for these Bone-Strengthening Pills, there is no record of them in the Misty Sect's inherited texts. I informed our disciples and told the informants planted in the various sects to pay close attention. Sure enough, news came from Great Forest Temple yesterday, saying that their inherited texts contain a small record."
Ou Peng took a sip of clear tea. Ignoring Liu the Fifth's resentful gaze, he continued at an unhurried pace, "According to Great Forest Temple's texts, Bone-Strengthening Pills are the exact opposite of Qi Boosting Pills. They are specially prepared for those who practice external martial arts. Those who practice Internal Family martial arts gain nothing from taking them. For people like Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother, who practice external martial arts, they strengthen the bones, skin, and muscles, improve the precision of external martial arts, and seem to be roughly equivalent to twenty years of cultivation."
Liu the Fifth instantly sprang up and rushed before Hu the Eldest. "Yahoo~~~~~~ Such an amazing thing exists? I never even dreamed of it in my dreams!" He raised his hand to grab the porcelain bottle from Hu the Eldest.
However, Hu the Eldest flashed aside and dodged him, saying angrily, "What are you doing, Fifth Brother? Why are you so rash?"
Seeing this, Liu the Fifth smiled sheepishly. "I was in a hurry. I wanted to see what this thing looked like."
Hu the Eldest rebuked him, "Sit there properly. You will naturally be given one in a moment."
Liu the Fifth obediently sat back down.
Xu the Sixth was also extraordinarily excited. Anyone who experienced such a huge swing in emotions, with sorrow and joy changing places, would be too stirred up to sit still.
He too stared greedily at the little porcelain bottle.
Holding the two small porcelain bottles, Hu the Eldest did not return them to Ou Peng. Instead, he sat down in his chair.
He looked at Ou Peng with a smile, his tone full of gratification. "Third Brother, you are capable—truly capable. Second Brother, we were not wrong not to fight Third Brother for the position of sect master back then. To obtain so many good things without a soul knowing, your achievement surpasses even the Founding Ancestor's. The two of us cannot compare. With these two items, the strength of our Misty Sect will increase by more than one level."
Hu the Eldest studied the two porcelain bottles with amusement and continued, "Even if there is only one pill in each bottle, we can gain two supreme experts. Though there will still be a gap between us and top-tier sects like Great Forest Temple, we will certainly rank among the prominent mid-sized sects."
Seeing Hu the Eldest's excited expression, Ou Peng said, "Eldest Brother, you praise me too highly. Your little brother truly cannot bear such praise. I was merely lucky—merely lucky."
Hu the Eldest said, "Luck is also a part of strength. Third Brother, there is no need for modesty."
Then he continued, "It is just that we do not know how many pills are in these porcelain bottles. It will be difficult to divide them among us six brothers."
Ou Peng said, "Eldest Brother, I brought these out today because I wished for you to decide their distribution. Although I am the sect master, and I too hope to become a supreme expert, the rise and success of a sect are the result of all the brothers working together. A sect master alone cannot accomplish too much. Therefore, I hope that no matter how many pills are in these bottles, we brothers will not let them hurt our harmony."