Senior Brother, yes you're right! - Chapter 5: Blood sacrifice

On a mountain path, two people were walking toward the sect located on the mountaintop.

One of them had a face as handsome as jade, wore a luxurious long robe, along with a crown encrusted with gems. He was holding a folding fan and shaking his head. He smiled at the person next to him:

“Brother Yuan, when we reach the sect, I’ll treat you to human hearts, livers, stomachs, and skins. If you’re not fond of raw food, I have a third junior brother whose cooking skills are excellent. In any case, you won’t be disappointed when you’re with me.”

The person next to him was a burly figure, dressed in animal skins, with disheveled hair like dry grass, and an ashen face.

He was barefoot, his feet were bluish, and his toes were long and sharp. As he walked, the gravel and dirt beneath his feet crumbled to dust.

Listening to the other man’s words, the savage-looking man grinned wickedly, revealing a few sharp teeth through his purplish lips. His voice was hoarse:

“I’ve heard that your Golden Immortal Sect makes a big fuss out of eating people. You like to lure mortals down from the mountains with great effort, yet you don’t even get a taste of their flesh. It doesn’t sound very interesting.”

The youth with the folding fan smiled and said, “The cultivation methods of the Hunyuan Sect and the Boundless Sect are fundamentally different.”

“Enough with the nonsense. I’ll help you kill your senior brother, but in return, you owe me a hundred mortals for blood sacrifices!” The wild man licked his lips, revealing his bloodthirsty intent.

“That’s easy. Once Zhao Yuanhua is dead, I’ll become the top disciple within the sect. At that point, not to mention a hundred, even another hundred would be no problem.” The young man with the folding fan smiled, but a trace of disdain flickered in his eyes.

His name was Zhang Feixuan, the second disciple of the Golden Immortal Sect. This time, he descended the mountain to search for human pills but instead ended up encountering a bloodthirsty disciple of the Armored Sect, who was looking for blood sacrifices at the foot of the mountain.

Had he not been quick-witted, he would have been torn to pieces by this barbarian.

But despite both being practitioners of dark arts, the methods of the Golden Immortal Sect were far more refined and elegant. They placed great importance on the mortal heart’s state of mind, for without it, one couldn’t refine a good pill.

As for the Armored Sect, it was a sect located within the Sumeru mountain range, which Zhang Feixuan had heard of. The disciples of this sect were known for their love of tearing flesh and drinking fresh blood. They might not necessarily enjoy consuming blood and flesh, but they loved the sight of blood.

However, their combat prowess was undeniable; every disciple of the Armored Sect was a crazy warrior with exceptional strength.

If this Armored Sect disciple could defeat Zhao Yuanhua, it would be a win for Zhang Feixuan. With Zhao Yuanhua dead, Zhang Feixuan would become the top disciple. Without a capable assistant, their master would surely pass on the human pill refinement techniques to him.

And if the Armored Sect disciple lost, Zhang Feixuan could still escape unscathed.

No matter how it turned out, Zhang Feixuan wouldn’t lose!

The two quickly arrived at the mountain gate. Zhang Feixuan chuckled and pointed toward it, smiling at the wild man beside him, “We’re here. This is my sect.”

At this time, more than a dozen disciples gathered in the square inside the mountain gate, with strange expressions.

“What’s going on?”

Zhang Feixuan walked over and frowned, “Why is there no one here to greet me upon my return?”

The disciples turned around and, upon seeing who had arrived, quickly cupped their hands and stammered, “Se-Second Senior Brother!”

“Hmph!”

Zhang Feixuan snorted coldly and glanced at them. “Instead of searching for human pills, what are you all doing gathered here?”

As soon as he finished speaking, his pupils suddenly shrank and he looked at the center of the disciples’ gathering, the pit.

“Zhao… Zhao Yuanhua?!”

Zhang Feixuan’s voice quivered, his face filled with shock.

Although the man in the pit was in tatters, his face and clothes could still be seen clearly. Who else could it be but Zhao Yuanhua!

But he didn’t have any energy now. There was a dent on his face and a big dent on his chest, as if he was hit by a heavy hammer.

“Who did this?” Zhang Feixuan demanded.

“It… it was the human pill.”

“What?”

Zhang Feixuan was stunned. “A human pill?”

A human pill?

How could a human pill kill Zhao Yuanhua?

Before Zhang Feixuan could make sense of it, his expression changed as he looked toward the main hall. “Such a strong medicinal scent! Is Master refining a pill? This concentration… it must be a precious pill!”

“Blood qi!”

The Armored Sect disciple bared his teeth and drooled. “Best blood sacrifice!”

Boom!

With a powerful snap of his purplish-blue legs, he launched himself forward, kicking up a cloud of dust as he charged straight toward the main hall.

“You fool!”

Zhang Feixuan panicked and hurriedly chased after him.

Now that Zhao Yuanhua was dead, the Armored Sect disciple was no longer of use. But if this brute disturbed his master, it wouldn’t just be about losing the chance to learn the human pill technique—he might lose his life as well.

The two of them, one ahead of the other, quickly entered the main hall. The wild man, with bloodshot eyes, slammed open the door to the pill room.

Realizing he was too late, Zhang Feixuan quickly cupped his hands and shouted, “Master! This has nothing to do with me!”

Before Zhang Feixuan could finish speaking, he froze on the spot.

The Golden Immortal Sect might not be the largest sect in the Sumeru mountain range, but it was well-known. His master, Daoist Jin Guang, was a master of deception and trickery, famous throughout the mountains for his human pill technique.

With his half-step Foundation Establishment cultivation, he held a powerful presence over the entire Sumeru mountain range.

But now…

His once-formidable master was huddled in a corner, dressed only in undergarments, looking pitiful, weak, and utterly helpless.

In the center of the pill room, where the pill furnace was supposed to be, sat a stark-naked man, calmly reading a book.

“Master, this passage—‘Nourish with great medicine, concentrate the spirit into the pill body’—is about using a powerful medicinal pill to nourish oneself, correct?” Song Yin asked gently.

“Ah, yes, that’s right!” Jin Guang, still curled up in the corner, responded automatically like a puppet, occasionally making a sound.

Zhang Feixuan’s sharp eyes quickly noticed that the book in Song Yin’s hands was none other than the Golden Immortal Grand Pill Sutra, the very text he had long coveted.

The sudden noise also caught the attention of both men, and they looked up toward the entrance.

“Hmm?”

Song Yin frowned as he stared at the strange wild man standing there.

“Blood sacrifice!”

The wild man’s eyes were blood-red as he scanned the pill room, his gaze finally settled on Song Yin with a look of greed. “This one! I only need this one! Sacrifice you, and I’ll use your blood and qi to fuel my supreme technique! Sacrifice blood to the infinite!!”

As he spoke, a surge of blood qi erupted from his body, swirling around him, making his already hideous face appear even more terrifying.

The wild man’s transformation continued as faint horns began to emerge from his head, and his tongue stretched out  from between his sharp teeth.

“Evil heretic!”

Song Yin suddenly stood up and closed his book. He turned to Jin Guang and said, “Master, there’s no need for you to intervene. This is a perfect opportunity to test my newly refined qi!”

With a swift motion, Song Yin reached out and the white qi surrounded his body, forming into a sleek, well-fitted Daoist robe around his body.

“Qi refinement that is both internalized and fully transparent to the body?!”

Jin Guang was dumbfounded by the sight. “Third stage of qi refinement?”

He could scarcely believe what he was witnessing.

He just browsed through the Golden Immortal Grand Pill Sutra for a while and asked a few questions then skipped the Guarding Clumsiness and Solidifying the Essence stage and went straight to Battle strength???

Lets put battle strength aside for a while, but how did he make clothes out of thin air?That was beyond anything Jin Guang could do!

“What is this…?”

“Blood!!”

Thud!

The wild man snarled, baring his teeth as he lunged at Song Yin. A foul stench filled the air as he closed in, but Song Yin didn’t flinch. Instead, he let out a cold laugh, “I am a disciple of a righteous sect, trained in the pure methods of the Dao. Evil paths like yours are nothing more than snow before the sun. You dare to flaunt your power before me? Kneel!”

Boom!

A surge of white qi burst from Song Yin’s body as it directly pressed down the wild man forcing him to kneel. The heavy force crushed the bluestone tiles beneath him, forming a deep crater in the floor.

Zhang Feixuan swallowed hard.

The wild man from the Armored Sect was known to be formidable. He was even stronger than Zhang Feixuan himself, and was on par with Zhao Yuanhua in the ‘Connecting to the Dark’ stage. Yet, he was brought to his knees so easily?!

Just like that?!