58: Medicine Man (VI)

Thousand Mountains Region.

Pill King.

Every word felt like a poisoned dagger, stabbing fiercely into Si Yun's heart.

He suddenly recalled the past four years, and the meticulous care Qian Yuan had shown him.

Behind that care, was there also hidden the same man-eating greed as Cang Yu's?

"Yun'er, your talent is the greatest I have ever seen in my life. You must break through to the Earth Spirit Realm as soon as possible. Only then can your Junior Martial Uncle rest assured in handing the Danxia Sect over to you."

"Yun'er, if you encounter any Bottlenecks in your Cultivate, do not hesitate to tell your Junior Martial Uncle. You must not delay your progress."

"Yun'er, the Earth Spirit Realm is a major hurdle. You must prepare early. Your Junior Martial Uncle still has a few Spirit Medicines here that can stabilize your Foundation. Take them!"

In the past, Si Yun thought that was expectation, was deep affection.

Now that he thought about it, where was that expectation?

That was clearly an urging!

Like a butcher urging a carefully penned pig to fatten up quickly, so it could be sent to the slaughterhouse.

Si Yun's back was instantly soaked in a layer of cold sweat.

He also recalled that under Qian Yuan's tutelage, there was no lack of Disciples with exceptional Physiques, but strangely, it seemed very few could truly reach the Earth Spirit Realm.

He had once curiously asked other Senior Brothers in the Sect.

They replied that those gifted Senior Brothers who had broken through to the Earth Spirit Realm had all been entrusted with important tasks by their Revered Master and sent to various parts of the Southern Border to expand the Danxia Sect's influence.

Expand the Sect's influence?

Thinking about it now, I fear they had become nothing more than medicinal dregs in a Pill Furnace!

And four years ago, when Qian Yuan first saw him and sensed his Heavenly Elixir Precious Body, the flash of wild joy in his eyes.

What followed was a massive amount of resources, poured into him without reservation.

That posture was not Cultivate at all, but forced ripening!

If not for his Heavenly Elixir Precious Body being sufficiently extraordinary and his many lifetimes of Cultivate, he would have long since been ruined by this method of Cultivate, leaving his Foundation weak and utterly wasted.

From Cang Yu to Qian Yuan.

From one wolf's den to another tiger's lair.

Qian Yuan was very likely the person who had obtained that evil Pill Formula back then.

And his own perfect Heavenly Elixir Precious Body was the best "medicine man" ingredient he had been preparing for years!

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the stormy waves in his heart, raised his head, and gave Lu Li a grateful smile.

"Many thanks to Brother Lu for telling me these secrets; it has truly opened my eyes."

Lu Li simply nodded, said nothing more, and continued poking at the campfire, his expression as cold and distant as ever.

But Si Yun knew that his path had once again reached the edge of a cliff.

Within a short time, he absolutely must not Breakthrough to the Earth Spirit Realm!

Once he Breakthrough, it would be the moment for Qian Yuan to harvest him.

In the following days, within the Secret Realm, Si Yun and Lu Li continued to travel together. One specialized in attacking, the other in using poison; their coordination became increasingly tacit, and their friendship grew deeper day by day.

Finally, beside a deep pool, they discovered a rare "Dragon Blood Bone-Tempering Flower," with a Middle Stage Earth Spirit Realm single-horned Dragon coiled beside it.

This was an opportunity.

The two exchanged a glance, instantly reaching a consensus, and attacked the Dragon from both left and right.

The battle was exceptionally intense.

Just as the Dragon was constrained by Lu Li's potent poison and its movements showed a slight hesitation, Si Yun seized the opportunity and thrust his sword toward its vital spot.

However, just as the sword tip was about to touch the scales, his wrist gave a strange twitch, the sword tip veered by three inches, and it stabbed heavily onto the Dragon's hard spine.

"Roar!"

Feeling the pain, the Dragon was enraged. Its massive tail, carrying the force of ten thousand jun, slammed fiercely into Si Yun's chest.

"Pfft!"

Si Yun was struck hard, his entire body flying backward like a kite with a broken string. A mouthful of blood sprayed into the air, and his face instantly turned as pale as paper.

"Si Yun!"

Lu Li's expression changed. He sprinkled out poison powder as if it cost nothing, temporarily forcing back the Dragon, and flashed to Si Yun's side.

"Brother Lu... I... I am fine..."

Si Yun struggled to stand up, but another mouthful of blood spewed out, his aura withered to the extreme.

He gave a bitter smile and said weakly: "It seems... I was too eager for success. This blow, I fear, has damaged my Foundation... In the future, Breakthrough to the Earth Spirit Realm... will be difficult."

Lu Li supported him, his brows tightly locked. After a brief examination, a complex expression flashed in his eyes.

There was concern, there was pity, but it seemed to also be mixed with a hint of something else.

His expression was unpredictable, but in the end, he just said in a deep voice: "Stop talking nonsense for now; let's kill this Dragon first."

The trip to the Secret Realm ended.

When Qian Yuan saw Si Yun walking out of the light gate, supported by others and bloodless in the face, the smile on his face instantly froze.

"Yun'er! What has happened to you?"

Qian Yuan stepped forward and asked with great concern.

Si Yun watched his realistic acting, sneering endlessly in his heart.

He struggled to perform a salute and said weakly: "Junior Martial Uncle... This Disciple is incompetent. In trying to seize a Spirit Medicine, I was heavily injured by a Yao Beast. I fear... I fear I have damaged my Foundation..."

He raised his head, his eyes filled with just the right amount of despair and pain.

"This Disciple feels that in this life... the possibility of Breakthrough to the Earth Spirit Realm is... likely minuscule."

"What?!"

The blood drained from Qian Yuan's face instantly, and his whole body jolted.

He grabbed Si Yun's wrist tightly, his Divine Soul power flooding in to investigate.

Si Yun's Meridians did indeed have a cold, dark Yao force coiled within them.

"Nonsense!"

Qian Yuan suddenly let out a low shout, a trace of ferocity flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by him, and he put on that benevolent Revered Master appearance once again.

He patted Si Yun's shoulder and said in a deep voice: "Yun'er, do not fear! Your Revered Master knows of a Secret Realm where a wondrous item that can repair the Foundation, the 'Nine-Turn Yang-Returning Saliva', grows! Rest assured, no matter what, your Revered Master will definitely retrieve it for you!"

Si Yun lowered his head and replied respectfully: "Many thanks... Revered Master."

Returning to the Danxia Sect, Qian Yuan immediately arranged for Si Yun to stay in the back mountain courtyard where he usually cultivated in seclusion, with the nice-sounding excuse of letting him recover from his injuries properly.

After giving some instructions, Qian Yuan left in a hurry, presumably to prepare for that "Nine-Turn Yang-Returning Saliva".

After Qian Yuan left, Si Yun immediately wanted to leave this place of trouble.

However, when he walked to the courtyard entrance, he was stopped by two Elders with deep auras.

"Young Lord Yun, the Sect Master has ordered that you must recuperate here and are not allowed to go out."

Si Yun's heart turned cold, inch by inch.

He was unwilling to give up and extended his Divine Sense outward. Very quickly, he sensed that this entire back mountain was actually covered by a massive Formation.

In the shadows, there were several powerful auras lurking, and one of them was clearly the pressure of the Heavenly Spirit Realm!

The mask had fallen.

This old dog couldn't even be bothered to keep up the pretense anymore.

Si Yun turned and walked back into the courtyard, his face showing neither joy nor anger, but his heart was already freezing cold.

Time flew by, and another two years passed.

In these two years, Si Yun truly managed to not step outside.

He did not choose to Breakthrough to the Earth Spirit Realm because he knew that once the Heavenly Tribulation descended, that massive phenomenon would immediately attract Qian Yuan, and that would be his death date.

He poured all his energy into Alchemy.

In two years, his Alchemy skills advanced by leaps and bounds, already reaching the Peak of the sixth rank, faintly touching the threshold of a Pill King.

If not for the limitation of his cultivation level, once he Breakthrough to the Earth Spirit Realm, he could ascend in one step and immediately become a Pill King.

Although he was under house arrest, news from the outside world would still trickle into his ears.

Especially news about his "brother" Lu Li.

That guy had risen to fame in these two years, making quite a name for himself.

His cultivation was already among the best in the Earth Spirit Realm, and it was said that he had been noticed by a Guiyi Realm Elder of the Hundred Grass Grotto-Heaven and taken as a Personal Disciple, enjoying boundless glory.

Si Yun listened to this news, feeling no jealousy, only an indescribable complexity.

He calculated the time and felt that the old dog Qian Yuan should be coming back soon.

Just as Si Yun was at his wits' end, thinking about a way to break the situation.

Above the Danxia Sect, a cold and domineering voice suddenly rang out.

"I, Lu Li, want to take a person away. Does your tiny Danxia Sect dare to stop me?"