Qin Wang checked the other two white porcelain bottles and found that the Qi and Blood Pills inside were still there.
"Let's try again!"
With a thought, Qin Wang picked up another porcelain bottle and dropped it into the bowl.
"Swish!"
The bottle emitted a flash of red light, and Qin Wang clearly saw a red streak fly out of the bottle and into the bowl, disappearing. Upon checking the bottle again, he found that the Qi and Blood Pills were gone.
"This bowl..."
Qin Wang picked up the broken bowl, looking thoughtful. He remembered the intelligence that suggested this bowl could aid his cultivation.
Qin Wang examined the bowl again. It seemed intact but was dirty and stained, its original color obscured and impossible to clean. Despite absorbing the pills, it remained empty.
"How strange."
Qin Wang scrutinized the bowl, hoping to uncover its secrets.
Meanwhile, in the eastern part of the city...
At the Hao Ke Tavern...
"What? Ji Zhang, the leader of the Black River Gang, practices a demonic art that requires him to drink blood every twelve hours? The shopkeeper Zhang Fan of the northern bun shop died by his hand? This is terrifying!"
"The Feiying Martial Hall was sabotaged by the Dianjian and Ironclad Martial Halls? Du Xiang's third disciple Lin Yunfeng betrayed and slaughtered his comrades?"
"The head of the Chen family, Chen Kun, loses half his power every midnight due to his Purple Sun Technique? To compensate, he castrated himself to practice the Purple Rose Sword Technique, causing a drastic change in temperament?"
"Who posted this information? This is unbelievable! Is it true?"
"I don't know who posted it. There's similar information at the storyteller's teahouse. Whoever did this is incredibly bold!"
Dozens of people gathered around the tavern entrance, discussing the three notices posted there.
In the northern part of the city...
At a hidden residence on Yacha Street...
A tall, square-faced man with sword-like eyebrows sat cross-legged on a bed, his eyes closed, emanating a powerful bloodthirsty aura. Suddenly, a respectful voice called from outside.
"Leader, I have urgent news!"
The man in black trembled, retracted his aura, and opened the door with a wave of his hand.
"What is it?"
A lean, sharp-eyed middle-aged man respectfully approached and handed over a piece of paper.
The man in black took the paper and read it, his face gradually darkening. With a burst of inner strength, the paper crumbled to dust.
"Where did this come from?"
Ji Zhang stood up, his hands slowly clenching, bones cracking ominously.
"Leader, someone posted it at the taverns and teahouses last night. It's spreading everywhere now. I only managed to retrieve two copies, and I don't know who has the rest!"
The lean, sharp-eyed man spoke respectfully.
"Ji Bo, gather our elite members and be ready! Also, send someone to investigate the person who posted this information!"
Ji Zhang's face was extremely grim as he spoke with his hands behind his back.
"Yes, Leader!"
Ji Bo respectfully bowed and left.
"It seems someone has it in for the Black River Gang!"
Ji Zhang's expression was dark. He knew that practicing a blood-drinking demonic art was a taboo in the martial world. Once exposed, he would be hunted down like a rat. The Bloodthirsty Divine Technique he practiced was taught by the Snow Lotus Holy Envoy, and no one else knew about it.
The Holy Envoy wouldn't divulge this information.
Who could this mysterious person be? How did they know?
Meanwhile...
In the Chen family, one of the four major families in Yan Yun County...
"Bang!"
Chen Kun, the head of the Chen family, dressed in fine clothes, smashed the jade tea table in front of him. He stood up abruptly, his face extremely grim, and looked at his butler.
"Third brother, have you found out who posted this?"
"Big brother, we don't know yet. It was posted last night."
Chen Feng, who was bowing, glanced at his brother. He noticed that recently his brother often wore luxurious robes, his beard had thinned out, and his voice was less robust than before.
Could the information be true?
Did his brother really castrate himself?
The Purple Rose Sword Technique had once caused a bloody storm in the martial world, with many experts vying for it. It eventually disappeared. Did it end up in his brother's hands?
"Find out!"
"Find out who exposed the weakness of our Purple Sun Technique and slandered me, Chen Kun! It must be someone within our family!"
"I will make them regret being born!"
Chen Kun's aura surged, shattering the house around him.
"Yes, big brother!"
Chen Feng, seeing his brother's power, felt a chill in his heart, his respect increasing. He turned and left.
"Also, keep an eye on the Lin, Su, and Zhang families! The Black River Gang and the Tianhe Society!"
"Now that they know our Purple Sun Technique's weakness, they'll surely make a move!"
Chen Kun instructed further.
"I understand, big brother!"
Chen Feng bowed again and left.
At the Yan Yun County government office...
County Magistrate Chen Hao sat in his study, frowning at a piece of paper.
He glanced at his lean, monkey-like advisor, and asked, "Ji Wuyuan, do you think this mysterious person's claim about Leader Ji practicing a blood-drinking demonic art is true?"
As the county magistrate, Chen Hao had met Ji Zhang of the Black River Gang. The gang paid him a hefty tribute each year.
However, recently, many civilians had been found drained of blood, causing widespread concern.
If Ji Zhang was responsible, he had to be apprehended to calm the public.
"I also find it unlikely that Leader Ji would do such a thing."
Ji Wuyuan bowed. "Sir, the information also claims that Chen Kun's Purple Sun Technique weakens at midnight, that he castrated himself to practice the Purple Rose Sword Technique, and that Lin Yunfeng betrayed the Feiying Martial Hall."
"Let me investigate first and report back to you."
"Very well. Summon Leader Ji to the county office."
Chen Hao waved his hand.
"Yes, sir."
Ji Wuyuan nodded and left.
In the eastern part of the city...
At Qin Wang's rented house...
"Can the broken bowl purify pills?"
Around eleven o'clock in the morning, Qin Wang sat on his bed, looking at the broken bowl with delight.
At this moment...
Three soybean-sized Qi and Blood Pills lay in the bowl. No, they shouldn't be called Qi and Blood Pills anymore.
The broken bowl had absorbed the three pills from the porcelain bottle for an hour and then spat them out as new pills.
The new pills...
Their surface was smooth and white, devoid of the impurities found in Qi and Blood Pills, and their quality seemed much higher.
"Let's try one of the purified pills."
Qin Wang pinched a purified pill between his fingers and put it in his mouth.
The pill melted instantly, turning into a warm current that flowed down his throat.
Immediately...
A surge of potent medicinal energy coursed through his meridians. Qin Wang quickly circulated his Lesser Red Sun Technique to refine the new pill's energy. As he refined the energy, he felt the inner energy in his meridians, previously as thin as a toothpick, growing to the thickness of a chopstick.