An unknown amount of time passed before Qin Xuan slowly awoke.
Looking around, Qin Xuan was surprised to find himself back in the Demon Disciple Dormitory.
However, the normally quiet and peaceful Demon Disciple Dormitory was now incredibly noisy.
A peculiar smell also hung in the air.
"Qin Xuan, you're finally awake?"
Qin Xuan jumped in fright.
He turned to see that the speaker was Zhao Youliang.
Zhao Youliang's Cultivation had also broken through to the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, likely because of the Blood Evil Pill.
Following the smell with his eyes, he saw a new batch of disciples had arrived at the Demon Disciple Dormitory. Among them was a young girl in a green skirt, her eyes red from crying.
The girl's green skirt was torn, revealing large patches of her fair skin. A few strands of her dark hair were strewn about as she huddled in a corner, lost and broken.
"No, don't!"
The girl resisted loudly, like a helpless fawn. Her crying, tear-streaked face was a truly pitiful sight.
The green-skirted girl's face was ashen. The last glimmer of clarity in her eyes vanished, replaced by utter despair.
"My turn, my turn." Zhou Kai rushed in impatiently.
Jiang Feng walked out, satisfied. "Senior Brother Qin, want to join in?"
Seeing the slowly waking Qin Xuan, whom Jiang Feng respected, the girl acted as if she had found her last hope. In a hoarse voice, she pleaded, "Please, save me!"
Just then, a giant ball of light flashed in his mind, and from it flew four ancient bamboo sticks.
[Middle-Upper Draw: Pay it no mind and turn a blind eye. You will gain the favor of the Yin Cha Demoness and a Ninth-Grade Opportunity. You will be spared physical suffering. Auspicious.]
[Middle-Middle Draw: Refuse decisively. You will neither gain nor lose anything. Neutral.]
[The Worst Draw: Denounce Zhou Kai's beastly actions. You will ruin the Yin Cha Demoness's plan, earn the disgust of your peers, and be resented by the Demoness. Inauspicious.]
[The Worst Draw: Join in with pleasure as a fellow 'Daoist.' You will fall into the Yin Cha Demoness's trap. Enjoy a moment of pleasure, but incur a debt of prostitution for nine lifetimes. Greatly Inauspicious!]
Qin Xuan frowned slightly.
He looked at the clarity in the eyes of the green-skirted girl before him.
He just couldn't connect this seemingly pure girl with the wanton Yin Cha Demoness described in the Blood Demon Sword Scripture.
'The Demon Sect is truly full of danger and schemes. It's terrifying!'
Qin Xuan ignored the girl's pleas, paying her no mind as he stood up straight.
'This deceptive bitch. On the surface, she's pretending to be a pure maiden asking me to save her, but in reality, she's trying to lure me in!'
'She has a man's mind completely figured out.'
Zhao Youliang swallowed hard and followed Qin Xuan. "Qin Xuan, she's a real stunner. Aren't you tempted at all?"
Qin Xuan gave a casual excuse, "I'm not into someone else's sloppy seconds."
Looking at the green-skirted girl, who was like a broken doll, Zhao Youliang felt a stir of desire.
Just then, Jiang Feng came over and invited Zhao Youliang to join him as a "fellow Daoist."
Zhao Youliang hesitated for a long time but ultimately chose to refuse decisively and followed Qin Xuan.
"So uptight. We're Holy Sect Cultivators! A mere newly initiated Demon Disciple is ours to trample as we please."
These past few days, he had been tormented in turn by Instructor Li, Zheng Qi, Steward Wang... and others, and had even accumulated a debt of several hundred points.
Jiang Feng was like a tightly wound string. Now that he finally had a chance to unwind, he wasn't about to miss it.
「...」
Standing outside the Demon Disciple Dormitory and breathing in the fresh air, Qin Xuan's Spirit Platform instantly cleared.
Qin Xuan asked, "Brother Zhao, weren't we in Elder Sun's Alchemy Room? When did we get back?"
Zhao Youliang sighed. "Younger Brother Xuan, it's a long story. Elder Sun's Blood Essence Pill refinement failed. The two of us almost lost our lives."
Qin Xuan deliberately feigned a look of shock.
"Elder Sun's Blood Essence Pill refinement failed?"
Zhao Youliang replied, "Yeah, and it's all thanks to Xiao Ran."
"We both passed out because we couldn't handle the potent effects of the Blood Evil Pill. Luckily, Xiao Ran took the fall for us, otherwise we would have been the unlucky ones."
"I see. I should really thank him, then," Qin Xuan said with heartfelt sincerity.
'The Golden Finger was right. After I passed out, Elder Sun didn't hold us responsible for failing to watch over the Pill Furnace.'
"Is Xiao Ran dead?"
'Elder Sun was so angry. Since I didn't die, he must have.'
"Nope. Not only is he not dead, Elder Sun decided to take him as his disciple!"
"Huh?" Qin Xuan was stunned.
"That Xiao Ran's luck is simply heaven-defying. His family heirloom, a ring pendant, turned out to be a legendary Bloodline Treasure! While all the other Demon Disciples were refined by the furnace fire into ingredients for Human Pills, he alone remained unscathed. He even broke through to the Qi Cultivation Third Layer."
Zhao Youliang continued, "When Elder Sun saw that, his anger immediately turned to joy. He not only pardoned the two of us but also decided on the spot to take Xiao Ran as his disciple and teach him the art of alchemy!"
A Magical Treasure...
That ordinary-looking ring was actually a Magical Treasure!
Qin Xuan was utterly astonished.
The weapons used by Demon Cultivators are categorized into four tiers: Magical Artifacts, Spiritual Artifacts, Magical Treasures, and Spirit Treasures. Each tier is further divided into four grades: supreme, high, middle, and low.
The Lifebound Iron Swords of Qi Cultivation Demon Disciples like them could only be considered Magical Artifacts.
To make a comparison, a Lifebound Iron Sword would have to be upgraded to a Lifebound Golden Sword—the level of a Purple Mansion True Demon—before it could even be considered a Magical Treasure.
"Xiao Ran's luck is too good. He always manages to turn danger into safety."
Zhao Youliang lowered his voice. "However, some people are guessing that Elder Sun taking him as a disciple is just a pretense. His real goal is to scheme for Xiao Ran's ring, that Magical Treasure that has already acknowledged its master."
"Is that so..." Qin Xuan's eyes narrowed, lost in thought.
"By the way, Brother Zhao, how many days was I asleep?"
Zhao Youliang answered, "About two and a half days. Today's the third day."
'The third day?'
Qin Xuan was alarmed.
He recalled the Golden Finger's reminder.
Qin Xuan quickly scrambled to his feet, tucked the Blood Evil Pill into his robes, and hurriedly pushed the door open, heading out to find Wang Jian as the Golden Finger had prompted.
As a sect of the Demon Dao, the turnover rate for low-level Demon Disciples in the Blood Demon Sword Sect was very high.
Walking along the path, Qin Xuan saw another batch of new Demon Disciples being brought up the mountain and into Jiazi No.7 Courtyard.
Steward Huang was instructing them to drink the fresh blood of Yellow Sheep.
As a new power surged into their bodies and they clearly felt their Cultivation increase, the eyes of those Demon Disciples filled with amazement and joy.
Just like Qin Xuan and the others before them.
Steward Huang, just like Steward Wang, followed the same script, fabricating a story about some Demon Beast to trick them into going to June Valley.
The poor, newly initiated Demon Disciples headed off to June Valley, brimming with excitement.
They were completely unaware that they were stepping, one foot at a time, into a bottomless abyss.
Qin Xuan skirted the plaza and walked toward the stewards' Cave Mansions.
"Steward Wang, are you there?" Qin Xuan asked softly.
"Who is it?"
"This humble one is Qin Xuan. I've come especially to repay the Steward for saving my life."
"Oh?" Steward Wang's surprised voice came from within the Cave Mansion.