Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
After speaking, Void Swallowing Flame left the Ancient Emperor's Cave, heading to a secluded area of the Dou Qi Continent to absorb Heaven a
After speaking, Void Swallowing Flame left the Ancient Emperor's Cave, heading to a secluded area of the Dou Qi Continent to absorb Heaven and earth energy and restore his vitality. After bidding farewell to Zhu Kun, Qian Renhan also left the Ancient Emperor's Cave and went to a certain place on the Dou Qi Continent to absorb the flames left behind by the Void Swallowing Flame.
It wasn't that Qian Renhan didn't want to stay inside the Ancient Emperor's Cave to break through, but the time flow there was much slower than outside. If it were the Heavenly Tomb or the Netherworld Demon Saint's stone tablet, he would gladly stay.
The Medicine Clan, like the ancient Eight Clans, lived within a space created by their ancestors. This space was located in the southernmost part of Zhongzhou, in the Shennong Mountain Range. From some perspectives, this area had already separated from Zhongzhou proper, making it quite remote.
A month after leaving the Ancient Emperor's Cave, Qian Renhan finished refining the vast sub-flames left by the Void Swallowing Flame. He didn't have time to refine the remaining half-drop of Demon Saint blood essence, but under the influence of the sub-flames, his cultivation finally advanced to early-stage Eight-Star Dou Saint.
Though his cultivation increased by one star, his body strength remained at the peak of early Nine-Star Dou Saint, showing no sign of improvement. This demonstrated just how difficult it was to progress even a single star at the late Dou Saint stage.
The Medicine Clan prospered by pill refining. Their ancestor became emperor through pill refining. There was an unspoken rule on the Dou Qi Continent: one could offend anyone but not pill refiners, because they wielded tremendous influence. It was like a lone tiger against a pack of wolves—if you truly wanted to offend them, you had to decisively kill them.
Qian Renhan concealed his aura and easily entered the Medicine Realm, beginning to search for the clan's treasure trove. He couldn't sweep the area with soul power as he did in the Wan Medicine Mountain of the Pill Tower because the Medicine Clan was filled with powerful soul cultivators. They might lack Emperor-level souls but certainly had those at the pinnacle of Heavenly Realm.
Usually, a clan's treasure trove would be hidden in a place obvious enough to guess roughly but well concealed. Since the Medicine Clan possessed Dou Saints, their treasure trove would surely have an extra dimensional space for security.
At the peak of Medicine Mountain, clouds and mist swirled, and strange pill fragrances spread, making one feel relaxed, as if in a fairyland.
At the summit, sprawling fields of medicinal herbs stretched like an ocean. Above this sea of herbs floated a colossal plaza. At the four corners of the plaza stood four gigantic pill cauldrons, emitting fragrant smoke columns soaring into the sky.
"This should be somewhere in this mountain range," Qian Renhan observed carefully. Pills and medicinal herbs were valuable resources. The Starfall Sect's Starfall Formation drew energy from meteoric iron buried beneath the Starfall Mountain Range. The Medicine Clan's territory was the richest in terrestrial energy and medicinal resources.
Hidden in another space was an ancient palace resembling the Pill Tower. The palace had four silent floors with no one inside. The pills stored there were no lower than Seventh-Tier.
Sixth-Tier pills already possessed some awareness—comparable to a newborn mouse, having only instinct. Seventh-Tier pills were like newborn babies, with instinct and some sentience. Eighth-Tier pills had shallow consciousness. Ninth-Tier pills could assume forms, with treasure pills possessing cognition akin to a grown adult.
All pills on the fourth floor remained motionless under the suppressive presence of a giant elder statue, which took up two-thirds of the building's height. This statue represented the Medicine Clan's ancestor, the Pill Emperor. Though just a statue, it held such pressure that none of the pills dared stir.
On the first floor, various Seventh-Tier pills were scattered carelessly like trash, piled in the tens of thousands. Seventh-Tier pill refiners were equivalent to Dou Zong level—common and not highly valued, hence the pills' disregard.
The first floor likely served to display the Medicine Clan's richness: anyone who had done the clan a favor could enter and select a pill freely—a form of respect and face-saving.
The second floor held Eighth-Tier pills—far fewer in number, about a hundred or so. Each pill floated in the air, protected by golden light shields requiring special methods to unlock.
The third floor held Ninth-Tier pills, also protected by golden shields, and could be counted on one's fingers.
"How strange… for such a large clan centered on pill refining and with so few Dou Saints, is this all the Ninth-Tier pills in stock?" Qian Renhan scanned the pills and saw only five Ninth-Tier treasure pills, fewer than even Zhu Kun's entire stock. The only consolation was a single Ninth-Tier Mystic Pill, which ranked between Four- and Six-Star Dou Saint in strength and could inflict serious harm to even peak Nine-Star Dou Saints, aside from Zhu Kun.
As Qian Renhan reached out to forcibly break the golden shield with his spatial power, a drop of blood mysteriously trickled from his palm onto the shield. In the next instant, a flash of golden light burst forth, shaking the entire pill palace and the mountain itself.
"Pill thief!"
In the Medicine Realm, several Dou Saint-level auras soared into the sky, converging toward Medicine Mountain.
"Die, pill thief!"
Voices rang out furiously. Moments later, a group of elders entered the pill palace. In the main hall, Qian Renhan stood calmly awaiting them. Without concealing himself, he swiftly seized all the pills inside the palace.
The few elders arriving were precisely those whose Heavenly Realm souls protected the Ninth-Tier pill stock—now reduced to a handful—and their soul rings were needed.
As for doing bad things, Qian Renhan never considered himself a good man. His actions on the Dou Qi Continent were no different than on Douluo—if he coveted something, he took it; if necessary, he killed. Whether human or beast, if unrelated to him, they were the same.
With his back to the elders, Qian Renhan said in surprise, "I was careful enough—why did you still discover me?"
One elder sneered, "Little thief, listen carefully! Every pill palace here was built by a Dou Emperor ancestor of our Medicine Clan. The restrictions on the Ninth-Tier pills were personally placed by them. If you steal Seventh- or Eighth-Tier pills, there might be a chance to succeed. But the Ninth-Tier pills' restrictions? Without our Dou Emperor bloodline, no matter how skilled you are, success is impossible!"
"Each pill palace was built by a Dou Emperor ancestor—one palace per ancestor. That explains why there are so few Ninth-Tier pills here. There must be other palaces," Qian Renhan quickly grasped this key detail and turned, smiling.
(End of Chapter)