Translator: Cinder Translations
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The next day, in the main hall of the Tian Sha Gang.
The head enforcer of the gang, Wang Yi, addressed the gang leader Tang Yiyu.
"Leader, last night the houses of three of our subordinates from Tian Sha Gang caught fire, and all three were burned to ashes."
Tang Yiyu was burly with a scarred face, giving him a fierce and intimidating appearance.
"Oh, someone dared to provoke our Tian Sha Gang in Yancheng."
Sitting high and mighty in the gang leader's seat, Tang Yiyu showed no signs of anger but rather seemed amused.
Having recently broken through to the realm of Grandmaster, his martial arts prowess before the breakthrough was already considered top-tier in the martial world, enough to dominate Yancheng.
Author's Note: He is still a mortal not a cultivator.
Now that he had reached this new realm, he was among the very top in the martial world.
In the martial world of Qian Kingdom, there were hardly more than a few individuals stronger than him.
Immediately, his ambitions began to swell. He was no longer satisfied with just dominating Yancheng; he believed he had the qualifications to establish a sect and become a legend in the martial world.
Furthermore, within the gang was an elusive immortal practitioner known as Ji Yin, which only fueled Tang Yiyu's ambitions further.
However, Ji Yin had always been indifferent to secular power, focusing solely on cultivation, making it difficult for Tang Yiyu to discern his intentions.
The relationship between Ji Yin and Tian Sha Gang, and Tang Yiyu in particular, was subtle. There was no camaraderie between them; they relied on each other out of mutual interest.
Ji Yin used Tian Sha Gang to procure rare spiritual herbs and to train his medicine slaves. In turn, Tian Sha Gang utilized Ji Yin's reputation to deter some formidable martial artists.
"Have you found out who is responsible?" Tang Yiyu asked.
Wang Yi replied, "According to our investigation, there are intricate connections to one of Ji Yin's disciples."
Tang Yiyu was taken aback. "One of Ji Yin's disciples! This matter needs to be handled cautiously. You may leave; I will personally handle this within the gang."
After Wang Yi left, Tang Yiyu muttered to himself.
"It's been a long time since I've seen Elder Ji Yin. Perhaps it's time to find a suitable opportunity to visit him."
...
Over the next few days, Song Wen hardly left the courtyard, focusing entirely on refining the qi and blood within his body.
In his calculations, Ji Yin should be emerging from seclusion soon. Song Wen couldn't let Ji Yin notice anything abnormal with his qi and blood; otherwise, all his previous efforts would be wasted.
Four days later, Ji Yin emerged in good spirits from the alchemy room.
Before opening the furnace this time, he felt that his alchemy skills had improved. So, he increased the amount of raw materials used. As expected, from this furnace, he successfully produced four pills.
The quality of the pills was also good, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.
"Song Wen, come up to the second floor quickly."
Immediately after emerging from seclusion, Ji Yin eagerly summoned Song Wen to test the pills.
Song Wen's face was filled with fear as he bent his knees and knelt before Ji Yin, pleading.
"Master, could you please consider my hard work in taking care of the medicinal field? Please don't make me test the pills again."
Ji Yin remained unmoved, calmly saying,
"Don't worry, this time the pill refining was highly successful. There shouldn't be any major side effects. In fact, you might even benefit by breaking through to the second level of Qi Cultivation. You should know that I am only at the peak of the third level of Qi Cultivation."
Song Wen's pupils contracted, realizing another crucial piece of information. Ji Yin was only at the peak of the third level of Qi Cultivation, but still significantly higher than him.
Kneeling on the ground, Song Wen continued to plead, shifting closer to Ji Yin and grasping his robes.
"Master, can we recruit a new batch of disciples again? Once one of them successfully cultivates their Qi, we can use them to test the pills."
With a cold snort, Ji Yin waved his hand, pushing Song Wen back half a pace.
"Hmph! Recruiting new disciples to test pills would take at least a month. I don't have that much time to wait."
"For the pills refined today, whether you like it or not, you have to take them. If you refuse, I'll kill you right now."
"Master, I..." Song Wen raised his head, looking at Ji Yin with pleading eyes, as if begging for a way out.
Ji Yin's gaze darkened as he took out a porcelain bottle and poured out a Qi and Blood Pill into his hand.
Then, he walked three or two steps towards Song Wen. "Take it."
Seemingly intimidated by Ji Yin's powerful aura, Song Wen cautiously took the pill into his hand.
However, Song Wen didn't immediately swallow it. His fearful gaze lingered on the pill in his hand, hesitating between taking it or not.
Based on past experience, Ji Yin knew that to verify the efficacy of the pill, he needed Song Wen's cooperation.
If Song Wen was determined to die and didn't cultivate his Qi and blood while taking the pill, the pill would certainly continue to consume his Qi and blood, possibly harming him.
Ji Yin needed Song Wen to have a will to survive, to actively cultivate his Qi and blood, and quickly dissipate the pill's potency, to determine if the pill truly had breakthrough effects.
Thus, Ji Yin softened his tone.
"Don't worry, I promise you this will be the last time you test pills for me. Whether successful or not, I won't use you for testing pills anymore. Moreover, I will give you the true antidote to the 'Seven Days Heartbreak Pill'. When the time comes, you will gain true freedom, deciding for yourself whether to stay in Tian Sha Gang."
Song Wen's expression softened slightly, seemingly moved by Ji Yin's words. He looked up at Ji Yin and said,
"Okay, I hope Master will keep your promise."
In truth, Song Wen didn't believe a word of what Ji Yin said.
How could Ji Yin let him go so easily? Didn't he see how the young people who failed to cultivate their Qi were all ruthlessly killed by Ji Yin to prevent the secrets of his techniques from leaking out?
What Song Wen was doing now was just an act, just to deceive Ji Yin. He was worried that his straightforward acceptance of testing the pills would make Ji Yin suspicious.
TL Note: Small Chapter :(
(End of the Chapter)