Inside the dungeon, the atmosphere was heavy.
No one spoke. Only Liu Chengqi lay on the ground, unable to get up, wailing relentlessly.
Liu Chenggong, realizing what was happening, rushed to help his cousin.
"Dad! Dad..."
"Shut up!"
Liu Tianfeng's face once again flickered with uncertain emotions.
Chu Huaixu, half a head taller than the old man, simply stared at him, and he stared back at Chu Huaixu.
Young and reckless! Truly, young and reckless!
Steward Liu, with endless rage surging in his heart, struggled for a long time.
The old hands inside his robes trembled slightly, several times on the verge of losing control!
A son born in middle age—this was his lifeblood, especially since his true lifeblood was already worn out.
Yet the young man before him was just too arrogant.
Such flagrant arrogance—if his background weren't heaven-defying, how would he dare?
What's more, the old man had just tried to intervene and stop Chu Huaixu, only to be blocked by Niu Yuanshan's spiritual power, causing his aid to be a step too late.
"That guy Niu surely knows what this kid's true background is!"
Niu Yuanshan was acting out of character today—something's up for sure!
Liu Tianfeng even felt like this Niu fellow was... flattering this young man?
His wrath was forcibly suppressed by reason, forced to submit under the tyranny of the Sixth Elder.
Liu Tianfeng took a deep breath and stated, "Today's incident is entirely my son's fault. He broke the rules, and I will take him back to deliver a proper precept!"
Liu Chengqi, with several more ribs fractured, simply couldn't swallow this humiliation. His eyes were bloodshot, his mind in chaos, on the edge of madness.
Liu Chenggong, who has been supporting him, gripped his right hand tightly, sending silent hints with his gaze.
Now he understood why, when the Law Enforcement Team vice captain had tried to arrest him, he'd reacted that way.
Now that he thought about it carefully, it was pure confidence—he had nothing to fear!
"Who is he really?!" Liu Chenggong was shocked.
Squatting on the ground, he looked up, only to see Chu Huaixu glancing over, looking down at him.
Their eyes met, and Liu Chenggong felt a sudden chill.
He realized he'd already provoked the wrong person!
Chu Huaixu remained silent for a few seconds before addressing Steward Liu: "Understood. Let Senior Brother Liu recover at his own pace."
"As for me, I'll take my leave."
The only reason Chu Huaixu had struck was because he had backers, nothing else.
You people already tried to kill me, and if I still did nothing here, should I go home and lie low for a while and then look for payback?
This is just like all those parenting videos—"Children must learn delayed gratification," huh?
Screw that—what I want is instant fun! Unimpeded desires!
...
...
The three of them left the dungeon. Chu Huaixu shot a grateful look at Niu Yuanshan.
Old Niu gave him a faint smile, the two of them sharing a silent understanding.
"Loyalty!"
Chu Huaixu still felt no sense of belonging to the organization; after all, he hadn't experienced any brainwashing or indoctrination.
Even his system-registered camp was [Daoist Sect], not [organization].
Still, his personal favorability toward Old Niu was skyrocketing.
Niu Yuanshan truly exuded immense charm.
This slightly stooped, square-faced middle-aged man raised his right hand and beckoned to Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang, saying, "Come, let's go back and talk as we walk."
He tucked both hands into his sleeves and, leading the two youths, headed for his small courtyard.
All along the way, he kept chattering, a little long-winded maybe.
"I suppose you're both curious: these two Jade Token Fragments I secured for you—what exactly do they do?"
"This Jade Token is truly useful, so listen well to what I'm about to say, heh heh."
"Oh, but before I start, let me ask—you guys know about the Pill King?"
"Pill King?" Han Shuangjiang spoke softly, "I've read about him in storybooks—the King of Alchemy Dao."
Niu Yuanshan looked straight ahead, his eyes full of reverence, and began to introduce.
"The Pill King, hailing from the Moon Country, is a rare Eighth Realm Great Cultivator. His alchemical attainment is said to defy heaven itself. In the Alchemy Dao, he's recognized as second only to the Dao Ancestor."
"Half the Upper Grade and Super Grade Spirit Pill formulas in use today came from him."
"For example, the Profound Celestial Fetal Breath Pill."
"Some alchemists even say that the Pill King's achievements can already rival the Dao Ancestor in the Alchemy Dao!"
Niu Yuanshan paused for a moment. Given his public identity as Daoist Steward, he made his stance clear: "Of course, our Daoist Sect absolutely does not acknowledge this claim."
Chu Huaixu also knew a thing or two about this matter.
Looking at sheer contribution, the Upper Grade and Super Grade Spirit Pill formulas the Dao Ancestor originated are actually quite few, barely a third of what the Pill King produced.
But there's nothing to be done—the Acupoint Opening Pill is just too damned OP. The Dao Ancestor basically single-handedly lowered the threshold for cultivation, ushering the Profound Yellow Realm into a golden age.
As for the Pill King's high-end goods, honestly, not just ordinary folks—even most ordinary cultivators can't benefit from them.
After all, Upper Grade and Super Grade Spirit Pills both require Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, with sky-high prices, and they're often priceless even when you have the money.
At this point, Niu Yuanshan continued, "Guess why the Pill King has so many supporters in the Alchemy Realm?"
Without waiting for the two to answer, Old Niu supplied his own response.
"Because the Pill King took on way too many disciples in his lifetime."
"Then those disciples took disciples, and those took disciples—after all these years, there's a massive web of his students and their students throughout the Alchemy Realm."
Chu Huaixu knew this as well.
The Pill King loved recruiting disciples, and he didn't care about your talent for alchemy—just depended on his mood, and whether he found you pleasing to the eye.
As a loose cultivator, he never belonged to any sect.
He didn't care about his disciples' backgrounds or nationalities when picking them, either.
Because he never taught cultivation, only taught alchemy, only served as a teacher of the Alchemy Dao.
This meant that here in the East Continent Mirror Country, even disciples of the Four Great Sects would go looking for him to learn alchemy.
Even Daoist Sect is no exception.
Niu Yuanshan carried on, "Over his lifetime, the Pill King had 12 direct disciples, 129 ordinary disciples, and who knows how many registered disciples—even he probably lost count."
"It's kinda hilarious, actually. Even now, in the Alchemy Realm, people often tout the Pill King's lineage as a way to fool others, claiming their founder was once a registered disciple of the Pill King."
"But truth be told, since the Pill King never cared about talent, and he himself was obsessed with the Alchemy Dao, he just didn't have enough time to guide so many disciples. As a result, their alchemy skills vary wildly."
"Still, there were some standouts—more than a few of his disciples became Alchemy Grandmasters," Old Niu said.
At this, he suddenly stopped and looked seriously at the two young people, saying:
"The Jade Token Fragments you two got are actually pieces of a Pill King Token."
Chu Huaixu already knew this, but as a professional sidekick, he knew how to deliver emotional value—he sucked in a breath and exclaimed, "A Pill King Token!"
Han Shuangjiang also paused, surprised inside.
"Exactly, it's a Pill King Token. All official disciples of the Pill King, besides registered ones, have a Pill King Token as proof of identity." Niu Yuanshan smiled gently.
He went on, "You should know, in our Daoist Sect, many elders follow the Dao Ancestor's example—before ascending, they leave a Secret Realm with inheritance and opportunities somewhere in Beyond the Mountain."
Chu Huaixu nodded.
Han Shuangjiang, an innocent newbie, was hearing this for the first time and glanced at him in amazement.
Niu Yuanshan pointed at the pair: "Your Jade Token Fragments—those are a key to one such Secret Realm. That Daoist predecessor wasn't among the 12 direct disciples, but he was an official disciple of the Pill King."
"Although the Pill King's disciples' alchemy skills were uneven, at the very least... they weren't bad."
"Ahem, there's still a minimum standard."
Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang exchanged glances, both now appreciating the true value of these Jade Token Fragments.
In Chu Huaixu's memory, when 'Borrowed Sword' had just launched and players were all in the Newbie Stage...
Even just a Storage Ring left behind by a Third Realm cultivator had caused a stir on the game forum, with all the major gaming guilds mobilizing, turning the night into an all-out frenzy.
An official disciple of the Pill King shouldn't be any weaker than some random Third Realm cultivator, right?
Niu Yuanshan looked at them, his smile growing wider as he declared:
"Finally, one last thing. Maybe that predecessor wanted to find another rough jade, so this Secret Realm can only be entered by Non-Spiritual Power Users."
"And you two at the Acupoint Opening Stage kids fit the requirement perfectly."
...