The Terrifying Qi Refining Third Layer Devil Cultivator

The capital of Great Ning.

The East Market was the liveliest place in the capital, yet it had none of the usual air of rouge and powder found in other capitals.

There were no taverns or pleasure houses lining the long street. Instead, rows of martial arts schools, pill halls, and weapon shops stood on either side.

Most of the people passing through were martial artists in tight-fitting clothes with their sleeves bound. The occasional dignitary in embroidered robes mingled with the crowd, picking out weapons and comparing pills, without a trace of their usual airs.

In Great Qing, warriors held a higher status than ordinary officials. In the saying "scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants," the first referred not to scholars here, but to warriors.

Elsewhere, wielding spears and staves at the Son of Heaven's feet would surely have been a grave act of defiance. But an immortal lived in Great Qing's imperial palace. Who would be blind enough to cause trouble here?

Thus, not only were weapons and martial arts permitted in the East Market, but it had also become the martial arts holy land most coveted by warriors across the realm.

Any Grandmaster hoping to distinguish himself in the palace examination's immortal selection had to visit the East Market first, outfit himself, and take a few pills prepared by the immortal before he dared show his mettle in the immortal's presence.

The Fang siblings had been in the city for more than ten days, and hardly a day passed without them spending time in the East Market.

On the surface, they were buying pills and observing martial arts. In truth, they were investigating the situation in the capital for Li Zhengjun, especially any scraps of evidence connected to the "immortal."

At that moment, Fang Yuan was mingling with a crowd in a pill hall.

The shop had a broad frontage, with a red sandalwood plaque hanging in the center, bearing the words "Tiger and Leopard Pill Hall."

Martial artists newly arrived in the capital crowded around the shopkeeper, calling out questions:

"Shopkeeper, are these Tiger and Leopard Pills really made from the immortal's secret recipe?"

The shopkeeper was a thin old man with a goatee. Whenever anyone asked about the origin of the Tiger and Leopard Pill, he would lift his chin high.

"Just look at the plaque. The immortal wrote it himself. How could it be false? Do you know that my son was among the first immortal seedlings to win the immortal's favor? The immortal was so pleased that he bestowed the Pill Formula for the Tiger and Leopard Pill, bringing its blessings to martial artists across the realm."

He gave this speech several times every day and knew it by heart. Now he repeated it in a pompous tone.

"And don't doubt it. Any Martial Dao Grandmaster hoping to take the palace examination can greatly improve his chances of being selected just by taking one of my Tiger and Leopard Pills! This old man isn't like Old Wang praising her own melons. Our reputation has been proven through solid results over the years."

The pill was indeed famous and widely known throughout the jianghu. Thus, martial artists arriving in the capital would sell their pots and scrap their iron to buy one.

As soon as he finished, several martial artists who could no longer contain themselves pulled out their silver and swallowed the pills in a single gulp.

In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, their faces and ears flushed red, and faint wisps of white vapor rose from their heads. The force they inadvertently released drove the onlookers back several steps.

The man at their head laughed heartily and swung an arm, his joints cracking. His voice rang out full and strong:

"It really works! I feel like I've got endless strength in me, like there's a fierce tiger trapped in my chest. I can hardly wait to get in the ring and fight! If I take one on the day of the palace examination, I reckon I'll stand a fighting chance even against the direct-line Grandmasters of those famous schools and great sects!"

The onlookers were all tempted. They were all around the level of Martial Dao Grandmasters and could naturally tell it was no act, so they reached for their purses.

Fang Yuan, who was among the crowd, was no exception. It was not that the pill had tempted him; he wanted to buy one for the immortal to examine.

"Tiger and Leopard Pill, my foot. I'd say there's an eighty or ninety percent chance it was refined using some kind of Qi and Blood."

With the pill in hand, Fang Yuan squeezed out of the crowd and was about to leave when a hearty voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"Brother Fang! Fancy meeting you here!"

Fang Yuan turned to see a stubbled man striding toward him.

The man was named Jiang Cheng. Three years ago, when Fang Yuan had been traveling through the jianghu, an enemy had ambushed him. Jiang Cheng had come to his rescue and later given him a batch of pills and martial arts manuals.

That kindness had played a major part in Fang Yuan reaching the Grandmaster realm in just three years.

"Brother Jiang!" A delighted look appeared on Fang Yuan's face, and he hurried forward to greet him with a salute.

Jiang Cheng looked him up and down, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes. Then he smiled and said:

"In just three years, Brother Fang has become a Grandmaster. You truly have a heaven-given talent."

"Just luck. I owe it all to the medicine you gave me back then, Brother Jiang," Fang Yuan said modestly.

After they exchanged pleasantries, Jiang Cheng drew him aside, took a porcelain bottle from his robes, and pressed it into Fang Yuan's hand. In a low voice, he said:

"You're here for the palace examination too, aren't you, Brother Fang? I have a few pills here. They're superior-grade tonics, countless times better than those Tiger and Leopard Pills. Here, they're yours."

Fang Yuan was taken aback. He had not expected Brother Jiang to be just as generous after three years, and he hurriedly refused.

"How could I accept this?"

"Don't stand on ceremony."

Without giving him a choice, Jiang Cheng pressed the porcelain bottle into his palm and smiled.

"Once we've both entered the immortal sect, we can look after each other. How about we go together to next month's palace examination?"

"Then thank you, Brother Jiang."

Fang Yuan put the pills away, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke.

"Brother Jiang, there's something I'd like to say, though I don't know if I should."

Jiang Cheng was as hearty as ever. "Go ahead. Are you short on cultivation resources? Just say the word."

Fang Yuan looked around and lowered his voice.

"To tell you the truth, Brother Jiang, after observing the situation in the capital these past few days, I can't help feeling that this palace examination has come too easily. We consider ourselves experts now that we've reached the Grandmaster realm, but if we search our hearts, can we say our foundations are solid? Rather than rush to knock on the immortal sect's gates, why not hone ourselves for a few more years and build a stronger foundation? The immortal path is long. Why the rush?"

He put it tactfully, urging Jiang Cheng not to go to the imperial palace for the examination and immortal selection.

A cold look appeared on Jiang Cheng's face for an instant, but it quickly vanished. He frowned instead.

"Have you heard something, Brother Fang? Has something happened in the palace recently?"

Fang Yuan shook his head. He had said this much out of gratitude for Jiang Cheng's past help, unable to bear seeing a jianghu hero like him die for nothing. He could not say any more.

"I haven't heard anything. I'm simply cautious by nature and always like to think a step further when things happen. Don't read too much into it, Brother Jiang."

As they were speaking, Fang Qing came around the street corner.

The siblings had grown up together and understood each other deeply. Fang Qing needed only one look to see that her brother was in a difficult situation. She immediately stepped forward, linked arms with Fang Yuan, and smiled.

"Brother, it's getting late. We should head back."

Fang Yuan took the opportunity to bid Jiang Cheng farewell. "Brother Jiang, until we meet again."

With that, the siblings hurried away and disappeared into the crowd.

Jiang Cheng stood at the entrance to the pill hall, watching the direction they had gone. The warmth in his eyes gradually cooled, replaced by a dark look.

"There's something wrong with those Fang siblings. What warrior in Great Qing isn't scrambling to take the palace examination as soon as possible? Fang Yuan alone has kept putting off his registration, and now he's urging me to spend a few more years honing myself. That doesn't sound like caution; it sounds more like he's stalling for time. I saw him hanging around the capital for days and thought he lacked resources, so I wanted to give him some and finish the task Master assigned me as soon as possible. I never expected to make a discovery like this."

Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue in irritation. His master's Devil Cultivation Method had reached great completion, and the time had come for him to take blood pills again.

Yet far fewer Grandmasters had come to the capital this year than in previous years. His disciples had no choice but to descend the mountain themselves, personally attending to such trifles as giving away pills and manuals, all to ripen a few more pieces of human-shaped medicinal material.

If Fang Yuan talked a few of them into leaving and Jiang Cheng failed to make this year's offering, his master's thunderous wrath was not something a mere Qi Refining Third Layer disciple could endure.

"I'll follow them and see. If this brat really has noticed something, I'd rather abduct him outright than let him ruin Master's plans."

Jiang Cheng formed a Breath-Concealing Instruction, and his figure melted soundlessly into the shadows at the end of the street.

The outskirts.

The Fang siblings had followed Li Zhengjun's instructions carefully, waiting on the agreed-upon hillside once a month had passed.

But when the month was up, Li Zhengjun did not appear.

The siblings did not leave. Instead, they found a remote, abandoned farmhouse in the outskirts and settled there. Every few days, they took turns going into the city to gather information, one going while the other stayed behind.

When Fang Yuan saw his younger sister go into the city, he knew the immortal had arrived.

As soon as he entered the house, Fang Yuan saw five figures.

Li Zhengjun sat at the head, dressed in a moon-white robe. Beside him sat four cultivators who had the same immortal bearing, all dressed in plain Daoist robes untouched by a speck of dust.

Though Fang Yuan could not tell their backgrounds, anyone who could sit with the immortal had to be an immortal master too!

Fang Yuan immediately knelt and bowed.

"I am Fang Yuan. Greetings, immortals!"

Li Zhengjun raised a hand in a gesture of support, signaling him to rise.

"Fang Yuan, it's been a month. Have you learned anything in the capital?"

Fang Yuan bowed and presented the pills he had gathered over the past days.

"I dared not write anything down, so I can only tell you immortals what I learned about those Devil Cultivators."

He gathered his thoughts, then recounted what he had seen and heard in the East Market, the pill hall's background, and the approximate number of Grandmasters who had entered the capital, one detail at a time.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, he said with a sigh:

"Ever since the reign title was changed to Wuchang, not a single Martial Dao Grandmaster who entered the capital for an audience has emerged from the imperial palace. Rumors among the people say they entered an immortal sect to cultivate, or stayed in the palace as personal guards, but not one letter has come from them to this day. I venture to guess that most of them have met with disaster, at the hands of those Devil Cultivators..."

Before he could finish, the farmhouse's wooden door exploded!

A figure stepped into the house, wreathed in a thick stench of blood. A soul banner snapped in his hand, and more than a dozen distorted human faces flickered across its surface, wailing soundlessly.

The pressure of the Qi Refining Third Layer poured out like a mountain torrent, sending dust flying throughout the room!

"Heh. Fang Yuan, you really did discover the imperial palace's secret."

The newcomer was none other than Jiang Cheng!

His gaze swept slowly over the seven people in the room, pausing briefly on the five unfamiliar faces, but he paid them no mind.

They were just a few ordinary mortals. What waves could they possibly stir up?

"Seven Grandmasters. Very good. That's enough to refine a fine batch of blood pills for Master!"