Urgent Bells Ring in Shouchun

"Zhou... a Brother Zhou has popped out of Brother Zhou's body!"

In the mountains of Zhang Household Village, there are very few timid children. The venomous snakes that ordinary people fear are even a treat for the children.

But Zhang Jiangang was still startled by Zhang Xuezhou's technique.

The Yang Soul Body that Zhang Xuezhou condensed was not much different from his physical body. This was not a faint glow of Law Power that ordinary people could not see, but a real, solidified second body.

Zhang Jiangang was startled, and even Zhang Cigong, who had some prior experience, was shocked, feeling that there were too many wonders in the path of cultivation.

"High-level cultivators' trump cards can't be used lightly; if others find out, they'll be targeted," Zhang Cigong warned. "Gangniu, don't blurt out Brother Zhou's secrets again, or I'll beat you up!"

"Knew!"

Zhang Jiangang obediently lowered his head.

Zhang Changgong and Zhang Cigong were the toughest fighters in the village. They were toughest because they fought their way to the top. Zhang Xuezhou had been beaten up by Zhang Jiangang, and Zhang Jiangang had been beaten up by Zhang Cigong quite a bit.

Too much fighting creates a shadow, and even Zhang Jiangang, who was somewhat afraid of Zhang Cigong at this moment, quickly memorized Zhang Cigong's words.

"Brother Rong, do you think Brother Zhou will succeed this time?"

Looking at Zhang Xuezhou, who had vanished from the night sky, and then at the other Zhang Xuezhou so close at hand, Zhang Cigong couldn't help but feel anxious.

He only regretted not having the ability to break into the restricted area of Beishan; otherwise, he would have fought his way in and out seven times to rescue his family.

He paced back and forth, then asked Rong Tianding, who had been by Zhang Xuezhou's side for many years.

"My cousin is always very steady in his work, and he's also very lucky," Rong Tianding said earnestly. "If he could come into contact with some water, things would go even more smoothly for him!"

What kind of water?

Zhang Cigong didn't immediately understand what Rong Tianding meant, but he did grasp part of it: Rong Tianding had great confidence in Zhang Xuezhou.

This emboldened Zhang Cigong.

"Gangniu, you stay with Rong-ge. I'm going to check out the stables over in town!"

With so many people in the village, a considerable number of mounts were needed for their escape. Zhang Cigong could only hope to steal more horses or pull out some horses first.

He rarely had the chance to do such a thing, and if he were discovered, he would be dealt with on the spot, but Zhang Cigong didn't care about that.

Since there are fewer nighttime horse checks, this is also the best time for him to take action.

Zhang Xuezhou has already risked entering Wuzhu Mountain again, and Zhang Cigong is also preparing to take action.

He patted Zhang Jiangang on the shoulder, then leaped onto the horse.

Without Zhang Cigong whistling or cracking his whip, the horse had already carried him swiftly away.

"Rong... Brother Rong?"

"Wait patiently!"

Rong Tianding looked at the night sky, his gaze sweeping over the direction Zhang Cigong had left, before focusing his attention on Zhang Xuezhou, doing his best to protect him.

For them, all that's left to do is wait.

Zhang Jiangang hadn't experienced any major events, Zhang Cigong's experience was also limited, while Rong Tianding had gone through too much with Zhang Xuezhou, so he was used to all of this.

Zhang Xuezhou was a man who had been to and from the Yangling Mausoleum in Chang'an City many times. Whether it was the Venerable One, Lu Baibai, Kong Ning, the Empress Dowager, or the Daoist Ran Deng from the Western Lands, or Shen Peigong and Kong Zhong, they all ended up looking disheveled. Zhang Xuezhou was the only one who was lucky enough to stand until the end.

There was also a journey to the Immortal Court, and the impact of various schools of thought on Chang'an City during Emperor Jing Jing's funeral—two experiences that nearly led to Rong Tianding's death.

With more experience, everything becomes commonplace.

Rong Tianding watched Zhang Xuezhou escape danger step by step, which strengthened his resolve.

The matter at hand is very serious and will inevitably attract the ire of many people, possibly even the King of Huainan. But Zhang Xuezhou has offended all sorts of people over the years.

He waved his hand, indicating that Zhang Jiangang should sit down and wait patiently.

"Actually, I wanted to ask if you could have some food!"

Zhang Jiangang muttered something, which startled Rong Tianding. He thought to himself that this girl was quite bold, still thinking about food at a time like this.

He patted the horse's back, took out two millet cakes from his bag, and thus satisfied the other party's request for food.

Night fell, and everything quieted down.

Rong Tianding waited patiently, while Zhang Xuezhou had flown to Wuzhu Mountain, also waited patiently for his opportunity.

Just as he had predicted, even after the incident involving the medicine slave, Li Shang did not stop his idea of refining pills.

Zhang Jiangang escaped, and then others were brought in, bound hand and foot, and thrown on the ground.

"Brother Li, is your Life-Creating Pill reliable?"

"I don't know if it's reliable or not, but I have to give it a try!"

Li Shang had an air of otherworldly elegance, while a very strong man holding a large ring-bladed sword stood beside the Pill Furnace, watching Li Shang continuously grind and prepare medicine.

"This pill requires three days and three nights to make. Grinding is the first hurdle. The pill-making process is very difficult," Li Shang said. "Please, Brother Zuo, do not disturb my pill-making!"

"Tch, there's nothing wrong with alchemy, I can do that too!"

"The elixirs of metal and stone you refine are different from ours. Your elixirs poison people, your methods of blasting rocks and mining are completely different from your methods of refining elixirs for healing and saving lives!"

"Both internal alchemy and external alchemy lead to the same ultimate goal and will not differ in the end. Brother Li, you are too attached to the form of alchemy!"

"Zuo Wu, I don't want to discuss internal and external alchemy right now. I just want to refine the Life-Creating Pill. Let me have some peace and quiet. Besides, you've lost a woman at Purple Gold Mountain; going to find her is the most important thing!"

"On the other side of Beishan is the Huai River, which is wide and swift. The cliffs along the riverbank are too steep to stand on. On this side, there are 3,200 people guarding the area. She couldn't escape even if she had wings. If she spent a freezing night in the mountains, she would have to run back tomorrow."

That's not entirely wrong!

Li Shang and Zuo Wu talked back and forth.

One wanted the other to leave, since the proper refining of the Perfect Tonic Pill required extremely high standards, and any slight mistake would render the pill unusable.

The other reason was that he wanted to see how Li Shang would refine this human medicine pill, so he stayed there for a long time and was unwilling to leave.

Zhang Xuezhou, on the other hand, observed from a great distance, searching for a possible opportunity.

The night concealed his figure well, and Li Shang and Zuo Wu were engrossed in conversation, rarely paying attention to their surroundings.

At the time, all three parties had their own objectives and were also waiting for something.

"Brother Li, if we're going to use human flesh as medicine, how should we grind it in using your fine grinding method?" Zuo Wu continued to ask.

"Your Majesty previously used a cauldron to refine elixirs. After these hundred-year-old medicinal herbs were ground into powder, I lit a fire under the cauldron to boil water, and then poured the human-shaped elixir and the herbs into it to simmer until it turned into a thick paste!"

"That cauldron requires the King's presence to open, right?"

"I plan to use this Pill Cauldron as a demonstration to see if it can successfully produce pills," Li Shang said. "Besides, the medicine person you sent is old and ugly, so I think it will be difficult for him to refine a good pill. I can only try digging out a heart to use as medicine first!"

"So you're saying you're not very confident!"

"This elixir cannot be refined without a single mistake for three days and three nights. Its difficulty is extremely high. How could I possibly be confident? I have said what I needed to say. You should leave immediately and not disturb me!"

"I heard this elixir can cure my old wounds and make me feel itchy, so I want to see and learn how to make it. I promise I'll just look and not bother you, you can just let me squat to the side and watch!"

"Someone, boil some water and wash this person clean!"

One person was driven away with a few words, while the other stubbornly insisted on staying.

Zuo Wu's strength was clearly superior; otherwise, Li Shang wouldn't have been so polite.

Frustrated by Zuo Wu, he could only prepare for his alchemy work in advance, then adjust his state and outlast Zuo Wu until he finally managed to outlast him.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, they heard a series of urgent bell tolling from the distant city of Shouchun.

This caused Li Shang and Zuo Wu's expressions to change drastically. They immediately abandoned their Law Artifact and medicine-making practices, grabbed their magical artifacts and weapons, and ran wildly down the mountain.