"Ah!"
Vicious Pill King's screams reached the clouds, evoking the same torment a soul would feel when being fed upon by the horde of wraiths in the Underworld. The good news was this was in the wild, so no human would be scared to death by hearing his cries at night.
Zhuo Fan sat leisurely on a big rock, staring at him pitilessly.
Suddenly, Vicious Pill King had had enough. He gnashed his teeth and gathered his Yuan Qi to blow himself up.
Of course, such an obvious move didn't escape Zhuo Fan's sharp eyes. He made a gesture and all his work came undone as the energy seeped into nothing.
"Ha-ha-ha, I almost forgot to tell you. Once the Bloodworm enters you, you are under my complete control. Think of suicide? You need to have my permission first!" Zhuo Fan mocked.
Vicious Pill King's heart was filled with shock.
[Where did this Demon Archon Zhuo Fan come from? Why was he so evil? If I had this thing, I would not need to waste time with Rainbow Cloud Palm. Instead, I could have outright controlled Drifting Flowers Edifice.]
The irony here was that instead of him getting to use it, Zhuo Fan used it on him, the glorious Vicious Pill King.
"Ah!"
All Vicious Pill King could do was make his torment known through endless shrieks and wails. His eyes bulged and blood crammed into his skull, on the verge of popping. And that was exactly what was hoping to happen.
Being at the edge of exploding, he couldn't even move as the torture only grew and grew.
He just couldn't believe such hell existed. And Zhuo Fan's gaze made his fear all the more. [The malice this kid shows had never been seen in this world, and probably won't appear either long after he is gone.]
"K-kill me!" Vicious Pill King was as stubborn as ever, although his eyes did contain a hint of pleading.
Zhuo Fan passed him a glance and placed an hourglass on the ground.
"Elder Yan, I don't have time to waste on you. If you want to die, all you have to do is wait for the hourglass to end. It's not much, just around 24 hours."
[What?!]
Vicious Pill King was on the verge of tears. Wasn't the same as saying to let him be driven mad by pain for a whole day? He didn't want to wait even a minute.
[Please kill me! I beg you, sir!]
Vicious Pill King wailed inside, but not minding his plight, Zhuo Fan ruffled the dust off himself and left.
"W-wait, where are you going?" Vicious Pill King cried.
The chance to make Zhuo Fan deliver him into the sweet embrace of death would be higher if he was watching. But if Zhuo Fan left, he'd be all alone in his suffering for a full day!
Imagining that horror got him shivering.
Never had he imagined this day would come, to hope for death, to be so miserable.
He was now longing for it, growing ever impatient to get it!
Snorting, Zhuo Fan disdained, "My time is too precious to waste it on you to kick the bucket. But I respect you too much, as the best alchemist of your generation, to walk this path all by your lonesome self. So, I'll just fetch your prized pupil to show you the way to the Underworld. He will make good company. I believe he will jump in joy since such a filial disciple can be together with his cherished master, ha-ha-ha…"
"What?!"
Panicking, Vicious Pill King's eyes took an ominous glint, "Zhuo Fan, if you touch one hair on his head, I vow to haunt you in the afterlife!"
Cocking an eyebrow, Zhuo Fan turned to look at him with a beaming smile, "Oh dear, threatening me, are we? Well, go ahead then."
Zhuo Fan flew away.
"Wait, wait!!"
Vicious Pill King's anxious cries were met with silence. Then, his face sank as he said, "Grandmaster Zhuo, young master Zhuo, I concede. I am not your match. I will do anything you want, just let my disciple go!"
Zhuo Fan's laughter echoed into the sky. He smirked triumphantly without turning around, he casually responded. "When I stole your body, I had the impression that we might become allies. So, I didn't harm your disciple, for your sake. But now, since we're enemies, it's best to snuff any danger out…"
Vicious Pill King had gone silent.
Zhuo Fan's meaning was crystal clear. Either he surrendered and both disciple and master would be his buddies, ensuring their safety. Or stay enemies and be rooted out!
He didn't want his sole disciple to be harmed, but Pill King Hall was his house. How could he betray it?
Vicious Pill King was plagued with indecision.
Picking up on his conundrum, Zhuo Fan grinned, "Elder Yan, do you have any friends, lovers, or any cherished people in the Pill King Hall?"
"Why do you want to know that?" Vicious Pill King frowned.
Shrugging, Zhuo Fan chuckled, "Not much. Since we'll be palls, it's best to know who they are so I'll go easy on them if I ever meet them."
Zhuo Fan spoke in such a heartfelt and touching tone that had Vicious Pill King nod.
"Sigh, no need for such compassion. Our great house doesn't only fight with outsiders but also among ourselves. Especially when I became the first alchemist and earned my title, the fighting only intensified. I've given all my life to my house. I am not close to even the elders, only to my disciple. I hope Grandmaster Zhuo will spare him!"
Vicious Pill King's tone was mournful, yet sincere. Zhuo Fan nodded, "Does that mean Elder Yan concedes?"
"I cannot, Pill King Hall is my home…"
"What home? A place filled with coldness, a place undeserving of you is worthy of being called home?"
Zhuo Fan cut him off before he could finish, "The way I see it, Pill King Hall is nothing more than a bank, loaning and collecting money. It should be proud of itself to raise a great alchemist such as yourself. But, think about it. All those years you wasted on it, is time you will never get back. You stand on the edge of a knife. Dwell on this reluctance of yours to leave it. Is Pill King Hall truly worthy to be called your home?"
Vicious Pill King was shocked to the core. Zhuo Fan also calmed down the Bloodworm and let him think it through.
Zhuo Fan wanted Vicious Pill King to surrender wholly, not be forced into submission. He would be better off without him otherwise. Who knew when he'd be sold out one day because of him?
"Besides, didn't you betray Pill King Hall?" Zhuo Fan prodded Vicious Pill King, seeing him hesitating, "What happened with Chu Qingtian and the pill recipe? And don't you dare tell me he was a spy, who would believe a normal disciple could steal the pill recipe? Isn't it more along the lines that you gave it to him?"
Startled, Vicious Pill King watched Zhuo Fan shocked, "H-how did you know…"
Zhuo Fan sighed, "Because you're too similar to the Chu Qingtian. You are both fond of alchemy. Which alchemy master wouldn't like a disciple who loves alchemy as well as he does? Although you mocked Chu Qingtian whenever he is mentioned, you have not once denounced his talent. In fact, you even find him pitiful!"
Vicious Pill King sat dazed on the ground, powerless to move, as he droned, "As soon as the child arrived at the door, I knew of his origin. At the beginning, I have to admit, I held no good intentions towards him. Furthermore, I am usually haughty and shameless. Doing whatever I liked. But, his talent had me surprised and I could no longer bear to hold such intentions towards him anymore."
"So, I let him steal the pill recipe. Allowed him the opportunity to learn it on his own. If he could understand it, then, he would've surpassed me. Such a pity…" Vicious Pill King sighed with sorrow, "That was the only time I failed Pill King Hall!"
[Humph, only by making you admit your betrayal, will you embrace it!]
[Besides, any 'loyalist' that had betrayed once, will definitely do it again!]
Zhuo Fan shed some light, "Elder Yan loves his disciples, and no harm was done even if the pill recipe was leaked, since no one could unravel it. Furthermore, you're dead and no one will look into this betrayal of yours."
"What, dead?"
"Correct. Everyone saw how I killed you. I killed you then and saved you now, without the eyes of the public. In other words, your life is mine, it no longer has anything to do with Pill King Hall!"
The words struck close to home. Vicious Pill King still held onto Pill King Hall not because he cared for it, but being the place where he grew up.
But Zhuo Fan said he died once, breaking all ties with Pill King Hall. Now it was time to think about the future and leave the past behind.
And sure enough, Vicious Pill King's eyes changed, hesitation growing stronger in him.
Zhuo Fan thought it was about time to drive the last nail, "You now have a choice. To return to being Pill King Hall's Vicious Pill King, and enemies to me along with your disciple so that I may kill you again. Or accept my proposal, and become Windgaze City's Luo clan's Pill House's Elder, be reborn and shake the world!"
Vicious Pill King's eyes flashed and laughed, "Grandmaster Zhuo's words are sweet. So, I've already died once. In that case, I am willing to follow the great Grandmaster Zhuo into shaking Tianyu."
Vicious Pill King looked more majestic than ever as he cupped his hands.
"Excellent!"
Nodding, Zhuo Fan flicked an azure pill to him. Vicious Pill King cried in shock, "Isn't this one of the perfect 8th-grade pills Grandmaster Zhuo refined? Why are you…"
"To remove your poison!"
Zhuo Fan spoke in a heavy tone, "I already saw through that pill recipe and improved upon it. This perfect 8th-grade pill is made based on its instructions. It stated that to make the antidote, I first must make the poison. I used the seven poisonous ingredients and then, seven more detoxifying ingredients to create this. Following that pill recipe, it was impossible to refine a true antidote. Also, the initial part of mixing those seven poisonous ingredients was what ended up poisoning Tao Danniang and the others."
Vicious Pill King felt even more admiration, "Grandmaster Zhuo is without a doubt the best alchemist. You even understood the thousand-year-old pill recipe of Pill King Hall with one look?"
"Ha-ha-ha, you don't need to exaggerate. It took me five days."
Zhuo Fan waved his praise in modesty. But Vicious Pill King's cheeks twitched. [That's still fast. If the Hall Leader knew, he might end up crying…]