Chapter 331: Snatching Chestnuts from the Fire

Chen Hu's forehead was covered in cold sweat, his body trembling slightly...

Shang Xiangyu was going to kill him!

Chen Hu had not expected that this day would come so quickly!

He had thought he would have to wait until his three-year term was up and the time came to participate in the assessment.

The moment a spray of blood mist erupted from Yin Cong's chest, the most primal desire for survival in the depths of Chen Hu's heart still overcame his fear of Shang Xiangyu.

His complexion was ashen, his eyes filled with malice.

Chen Hu suddenly reached out and tugged at his waist, and the Nine-Section Steel Whip came off his waist and into his hand.

His body was like a startled rabbit in the grass, leaping up abruptly. The moment he leaped, his right hand swung out with the momentum, and the Nine-Section Steel Whip in his hand was like a snake emerging from its hole. A tail blade at the tip of the whip flashed with cold light, and just as Yin Cong fell to the ground, the tail blade of the whip grazed Yin Cong's shoulder and suddenly thrust toward the space between the brows of Shang Xiangyu, who was standing behind him.

This was Chen Hu's precisely calculated timing!

But it was not the timing to kill Shang Xiangyu; it was his one chance at survival to escape.

The moment the Nine-Section Whip left Chen Hu's hand, he lunged, pushing his movement technique to the limit, intending to head toward the entrance of the cave.

The moment Yin Cong fell to the ground, Shang Xiangyu felt a flash of cold light before his eyes, and he saw the tail blade of the Nine-Section Whip shooting toward him, almost grazing Yin Cong's shoulder.

Shang Xiangyu's gaze tightened, and he suddenly raised his hand, white radiance erupting from his fingertips, pointing at the tip of the tail blade of the Nine-Section Whip that Chen Hu had swung over.

The moment his fingertips met the cold blade, under the flickering white radiance, the tail blade of the Nine-Section Whip cracked inch by inch, simultaneously turning into powder and exploding into a fist-sized cloud of dust and mist.

And the entire Nine-Section Whip was also sent flying backward by an invisibly erupting force!

This was the strength of a Martial Artist at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm!

Chen Hu's precisely calculated strike had clearly also forced out some of Shang Xiangyu's hidden power; the Heaven and Earth Qi that erupted in this instant was clearly much more violent than when he had killed Yin Cong!

But just as Chen Hu began his movement, he felt a black shadow flash before his eyes. It was Duan Rong, who had been standing not far from his side, who had also suddenly leaped up and kicked horizontally at him in mid-air.

Chen Hu had not expected Duan Rong to suddenly spring out and intercept him. His expression turned vicious, and with a flip of his hand, he grabbed a dagger.

This dagger was the one he used to peel skin when feeding blood-food to the Black Blood Vine; it was extremely sharp.

Chen Hu gripped the dagger tightly, infused it with Internal Breath, and slashed at the foot Duan Rong was kicking with!

Chen Hu had originally expected flesh and blood to spray and for Duan Rong's foot to be severed.

But instead, there was only a crisp "ding" sound of metal striking stone, and the shoe at the tip of Duan Rong's foot burst open, revealing a yellow, gleaming tiger head covering his toe.

It was precisely the Tiger Head Stirrup that Duan Rong used when practicing the Broken Monument Leg.

With Internal Breath infused into this kick, Duan Rong sent Chen Hu's body reeling backward.

Duan Rong landed, blocking Chen Hu's path to the cave entrance.

Chen Hu retreated several steps before steadying himself, his complexion ashen, his eyes like blades. "Duan Rong, you..."

It was not just Chen Hu who was astonished; even Shang Xiangyu and Pan Yong not far away looked toward this spot with some shock in their eyes.

Meeting Shang Xiangyu's gaze, Duan Rong suddenly cupped his hands and said, "Master Shang, I am willing to execute Chen Hu for you as a pledge of loyalty! Duan Rong will serve Master Shang for life and never have a second heart!"

Hearing this, Shang Xiangyu merely looked at Duan Rong with an expressionless face.

But Pan Yong and Chen Hu both had their expressions change!

A cold glint flashed across Chen Hu's face, and he suddenly laughed loudly: "Duan Rong, do you think that by using me as a stepping stone, this madman Shang Xiangyu will spare you? You're daydreaming!"

Duan Rong's gaze sharpened, and he said, "A teacher for a day is a father for life. Whether he spares me or not is up to Master Shang, not you or me!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he let out a shout, drew the Minghong Saber, and with a flicker of his body, slashed toward Chen Hu!

The moment Duan Rong's body flickered, Pan Yong's pupils suddenly constricted.

Duan Rong's movement technique at this moment was even more exquisite than what he usually displayed.

Duan Rong was no longer holding anything back; he had used almost all of his methods!

And because Chen Hu had lost his customary weapon, the Nine-Section Whip, his combat power was already impaired. At this moment, Duan Rong was unleashing his whisk, mountain-cleaving saber, Broken Monument Leg, and Hundred Flower Misleading Step, beating Chen Hu into a steady retreat.

Duan Rong's saber moves were wide and sweeping, forcing Chen Hu to struggle to support himself with the dagger, his thumb-web cracking and his weapon nearly slipping from his hand several times. But after a few moves, Duan Rong's saber technique suddenly became delicate, and he tilted slightly, exquisitely and swiftly slashing toward the fingers Chen Hu used to grip the dagger.

Chen Hu was greatly alarmed and flipped his hand to block, but at this moment, Duan Rong suddenly twisted his waist with the momentum, raised his right leg, and kicked out abruptly, striking Chen Hu squarely in the chest and sending him flying backward.

In mid-air, Chen Hu lost his balance, his Internal Breath was in chaos, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out like mist...

Pan Yong had originally been standing at Shang Xiangyu's side with no intention of intervening. Seeing Chen Hu flying toward him, his gaze suddenly shifted, and he reached behind his waist; a Soft Sword rattled in his hand.

Pan Yong lunged, thrusting toward Chen Hu as he flew backward in mid-air.

Pan Yong wanted to take this opportunity to kill Chen Hu and not give Duan Rong the chance to offer his pledge of loyalty!

Duan Rong's successive displays of various martial arts—saber techniques, leg techniques, and movement techniques—had not only startled him, but he had even seen Shang Xiangyu's expression change slightly!

In mid-air, Chen Hu saw Pan Yong fly up, his sword twisting toward his throat.

At this moment, he was in mid-air with his Internal Breath in chaos, but he was unwilling to simply bow his head and await execution.

Chen Hu tilted his body slightly and thrust the dagger in his hand toward Pan Yong's wrist.

The moment Pan Yong leaped, Plum Blossom Afterimages bloomed at Duan Rong's side, and three flying knives shot out from the Plum Blossom Afterimages!

Seeing Chen Hu's dagger thrusting toward him, Pan Yong merely flicked his Soft Sword, and with a clatter, the snake-like, writhing Soft Sword knocked Chen Hu's dagger away.

Chen Hu's Internal Breath was in chaos at this moment; this dagger thrust was devoid of any infused Internal Breath and was merely a powerless, empty move.

Pan Yong knocked away Chen Hu's dagger, and the momentum of the Soft Sword did not diminish, continuing to writhe like a spirit snake as it twisted toward Chen Hu's throat!

But just at this moment, three flying knives shot in from Pan Yong's side, silently and swiftly targeting his upper, middle, and lower paths.

Pan Yong turned abruptly, his Soft Sword fluttering in front of him!

And just as Pan Yong knocked down the flying knives, Duan Rong lunged, flashing past Pan Yong, and the Minghong Saber in his hand, infused with Internal Breath, sliced across Chen Hu's neck...

With a spray of blood, a headless corpse fell to the ground!

Duan Rong grabbed Chen Hu's head and landed gracefully beside the corpse.

Pan Yong held his Soft Sword, his expression ugly, and sneered: "It seems Disciple Duan Rong wants to kill me as well!"

Duan Rong said: "I hope Senior Brother will forgive me! The three flying knives were to force Senior Brother back. It was not to steal the credit; I simply did not want to break my word to Master Shang!"

From the moment this incident began, Duan Rong had noticed that Pan Yong was standing calmly at Shang Xiangyu's side, not suddenly becoming nervous like Chen Hu.

At that moment, Duan Rong understood instantly that for some unknown reason, Shang Xiangyu wanted to kill them, but would not kill Pan Yong.

Duan Rong gripped Chen Hu's head, walked to a spot not far in front of Shang Xiangyu, and suddenly knelt, placing the head on the ground before him, and cupped his hands: "I offer this head to Master Shang, to show the heart of Duan Rong!"

Shang Xiangyu stood there with his hands behind his back, his snow-white hair draped over his shoulders, and not a trace of expression could be seen on his face.

Duan Rong simply knelt on the ground, motionless.

Pan Yong looked at Shang Xiangyu, and seeing that Shang Xiangyu had not spoken for a long time, his eyelids suddenly twitched, and with a flick of his Soft Sword, he thrust toward Duan Rong's temple. "Duan Rong, do you think Master Shang cannot see through this pretense of yours?"

Duan Rong caught a glimpse of Pan Yong's Soft Sword thrusting toward him from the corner of his eye, yet he remained kneeling, motionless.

He knew that Pan Yong jumping out to cause trouble at this moment was to force him to retaliate.

Seeing the tip of the Soft Sword about to pierce into Duan Rong's temple, Duan Rong still knelt before Shang Xiangyu, motionless.

He was gambling on a chance. The only chance!

Just at this moment, Shang Xiangyu suddenly flicked his finger, and a shard of porcelain flew out from between his fingers, passing in a flash, and with a 'Bang!', it struck the base of the Soft Sword in Pan Yong's hand.

The Soft Sword flew backward, and the web of Pan Yong's hand was shaken until it was a bloody mess.

The moment the Soft Sword flew away, Duan Rong's whole body trembled; he knew he would not die.

He had won the gamble!

At the very instant the incident occurred, he and Chen Hu had both seen a glimmer of survival!

And each had tried their utmost to seize it!

It was just that in Duan Rong's view, Chen Hu had chosen wrong from the start!

Shang Xiangyu was a Martial Artist at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm, while they were all merely at the initial stage of the True Qi Realm; they had no chance whatsoever to escape from Shang Xiangyu's hands!

In that instant, Duan Rong had decided to kill Chen Hu, present a pledge of allegiance, and gain Shang Xiangyu's trust, while striving for a glimmer of survival in another direction!

Duan Rong felt that the reason this path was not a dead end was that Pan Yong stood at Shang Xiangyu's side, his expression normal and showing no fear.

Duan Rong did not know why Shang Xiangyu wanted to kill them; perhaps it was because he used his own younger brother to refine Medicine Pills and did not want this matter to leak out. Or perhaps there were other reasons; Shang Xiangyu's conduct was so strange and evil that it clearly could not be judged by common sense.

Moreover, just now there was only a split second of lightning speed; Duan Rong had no time to think of anything else, and his only thought was how to survive?

Between life and death, it is but a snap of the fingers!

The moment Shang Xiangyu flicked the porcelain shard just now had already determined the outcome of the matter.

Duan Rong's head struck the ground heavily once more, and he said: "Thank you, Master Shang!"

"Stop the acting!" Shang Xiangyu said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong's heart tightened; he raised his head again and looked at Shang Xiangyu with deep eyes.

Shang Xiangyu looked steadily at Duan Rong and said: "Duan Rong, I am sparing your life, not because of those clever little schemes of yours."

As Shang Xiangyu spoke, his gaze swept over the stone dust on Duan Rong's forehead, which had stuck there when he had kowtowed heavily to the ground just now.

"I have a past with Shen Ping, and you have some connection to him. I am doing this for his sake, and besides, you can be considered a talent..." Shang Xiangyu paused slightly here and said: "It would be a pity to kill you!"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered; Shang Xiangyu still had not returned that notebook of Shen Ping's to him.

Hearing Shang Xiangyu's words, a flash of hatred suddenly crossed Pan Yong's eyes; he had been by Shang Xiangyu's side for many years, and this was the first time he had heard Shang Xiangyu praise anyone as a talent.

Shang Xiangyu looked at Duan Rong and said: "Get up!"

Duan Rong cupped his hands and stood up; he raised his hand to touch his temple, where there was a faint line of blood, caused by the Soft Sword that had been flicked away by Pan Yong.

Shang Xiangyu's expression was deep; although he said this with his mouth, he knew very well in his heart that if it weren't for Duan Rong's performance—killing Chen Hu and presenting a pledge of allegiance—even if Duan Rong had a connection to Shen Ping, he would not have spared him.

To be honest, when he had decided to kill them just now, he had completely forgotten about the connection between Duan Rong and Shen Ping.

It was only after Duan Rong's successive actions that he re-evaluated him and remembered the matter of Shen Ping.

As for how much of a role the matter of Shen Ping played in his decision, he himself could not say clearly.

Shang Xiangyu suddenly flipped his hand and threw a small black Porcelain Bottle to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong immediately reached out and caught it.

Duan Rong looked at the small black Porcelain Bottle in his hand, his eyes narrowing.

Shang Xiangyu said: "There are ten Medicine Pills in this bottle, one per month; they are of great benefit to your cultivation!"

Duan Rong looked at the Porcelain Bottle in his hand, feigning joy, while his heart was filled with bitterness.

Yin Cong had told him before that only Pan Yong could obtain Medicine Pills from Shang Xiangyu, and when Shang Xiangyu wanted to kill them just now, Pan Yong was the only one who was safe.

Then, what the Medicine Pill in this black Porcelain Bottle was, became self-evident.

This Medicine Pill was clearly some kind of evil object used to control people.

And it was estimated that this item was extremely difficult to refine, otherwise Shang Xiangyu would not have controlled only Pan Yong.

And he had decided to keep me after weighing the situation.

If his quota for controlling people was always only one person.

Then, keeping me, does that mean he will kill Pan Yong?

Just as Duan Rong was deep in thought, Shang Xiangyu suddenly said coldly: "Eat one!"

"Now?" Duan Rong was stunned for a moment.

Shang Xiangyu only looked at him with cold eyes and did not speak.

Duan Rong hesitated only slightly before opening the Porcelain Bottle and carefully pouring out a black Medicine Pill; he saw that the pill was only the size of a pinky fingernail, and its surface was rough, with an somewhat irregular shape.

Duan Rong swallowed the Medicine Pill into his mouth.

Shang Xiangyu watched Duan Rong, and seeing Duan Rong's throat roll, it seemed he had swallowed it.

Shang Xiangyu suddenly flashed, and Duan Rong felt his vision blur; Shang Xiangyu was already standing beside him like a ghost.

Shang Xiangyu suddenly raised his hand, gripped Duan Rong's chin firmly, and turned it toward the firelight.

Duan Rong's mouth was wide open, and Shang Xiangyu looked into his mouth by the firelight.

"Lift your tongue."

Duan Rong did as he was told upon hearing this; Shang Xiangyu let go and said: "Eat one every thirty days. If you don't eat it, or eat too many, you will die!"

Duan Rong's face was ashen, but he still carefully placed the Porcelain Bottle in his hand into the inner pocket of his robe.

If he didn't eat it, he would die! With ten Medicine Pills, he could at least live for ten more months. He wondered if these Medicine Pills were some kind of poison, or something else?

In ten months' time, perhaps he could find a way to resolve the control this thing had over him.

Shang Xiangyu glanced toward the Pill Furnace not far away; by now, the Pill Furnace had basically cooled down. He looked at Pan Yong and said, "Go and take the Blood Pills out of the furnace."

Upon hearing this, Pan Yong walked over, looked at Duan Rong, and said, "Disciple Duan Rong, come over here too and give me a hand."

Duan Rong followed Pan Yong, stepped over the corpse of Yin Cong, and arrived in front of the Pill Furnace.

Pan Yong skillfully slid open the spring mechanism in the middle of the second level of the Pill Furnace, and then the two of them worked together to lift the second level of the Pill Furnace off.

The moment the Pill Furnace was lifted, a rich fragrance mixed with a strange, bloody stench rushed toward them.

That scent even made Duan Rong feel a sense of intoxication for a moment.

The two stood by the furnace and looked inside, only to see more than thirty faint, shimmering threads of light at the pitch-black bottom of the furnace.

Pan Yong suddenly took out a long ladle and scooped those threads of light, which flickered like eyes, out of the bottom of the furnace one by one.

Duan Rong held a white Porcelain Bottle and a small wooden spoon.

Every time Pan Yong scooped one out, he would use the small wooden spoon to nudge it into the Porcelain Bottle in his hand.

The medicinal pills had been shimmering with woven light at the bottom of the furnace, but as soon as they left the Pill Furnace, the halo dissipated.

Duan Rong stared closely and saw that the pill bodies were round and entirely crimson.

"Blood Pills?!"

Shang Xiangyu watched from the side throughout the entire process of the two retrieving the pills. Thirty-six pills in total were packed into two Porcelain Bottles.

(End of chapter)