Chapter 114: Are the Xiang Jianzong

Shortly after Yue Ling left, the two finished eating the remaining rice dumplings in sweet wine and fried lotus petals.

One of the Foundation Establishment disciples came over to clear the table.

Xu Xing pulled out the Spirit Coins he had left over from Xuan Jian City to pay the bill.

Leaving the snack stall, the two continued walking; after exiting the ancient town, they soon reached the foot of Dan Ding Ge.

The number of tourists around had clearly increased significantly.

Dan Ding Ge is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Xiang Jianzong, not only because its externally sold pills are affordable and diverse, but also because it allows outside cultivators to set up stalls selling their own crafted pills or trading ancient pill formulas.

Everyone knows how much of a scam this is.

Dan Ding Ge understood this too, so they placed two notice boards at the foot of the mountain, each bearing a sentence written in bold red letters.

【Tourists who have not studied the Pill Dao should purchase pills only from Dan Ding Ge's official store to avoid being deceived.】

Although there were warnings, many tourists were still scammed every year, and someone was always causing trouble.

Yet Dan Ding Ge never revoked the rule allowing outside cultivators to set up stalls selling their own crafted pills and ancient pill formulas.

After all, Dan Ding Ge never relied on this for income—it was already the wealthiest department within the Xiang Jianzong, not short of a few Spirit Coins.

The real purpose was to train the disciples' discernment and expand their experience.

Whether they were fooled due to poor judgment or genuinely found a valuable treasure through their own knowledge, both outcomes would help them progress more smoothly in their future Pill Dao careers.

Xu Xing and Bie Xuening walked up the mountain path.

The higher they climbed, the more tourists lined the path; many had found suitable angles to take photos as souvenirs.

But the two had no such intention, so they kept going until they reached the summit.

The most striking sight was the massive pill cauldron before Dan Ding Ge, towering dozens of meters high like a skyscraper, casting a vast shadow.

Behind the cauldron lay acres of orderly Spirit Fields, planted entirely with Spirit Herbs, guarded by several Sword Cultivators with deep, stable qi.

The scents of various Spirit Herbs mingled into a uniquely refreshing and pleasant aroma.

These were specially selected varieties whose fragrance had a calming, spirit-soothing effect; Dan Ding Ge planted them outside specifically, and rarely used these herbs in actual pill refining.

"Dan Ding Ge has improved quite a bit since before," Xu Xing nodded slightly.

Bie Xuening shook her head slightly: "But it still falls far short of Ji Shi Valley."

"No need to compare with them—no one in the Pill Dao can match them."

Ji Shi Valley was the Xian Sect renowned for dominating both the Pill Dao and the Medical Dao.

Shhh! Shhh-shhh!

Several streaks of light shot across the sky, vanishing in an instant as they landed within Dan Ding Ge.

Each streak was a Storage Ring, packed full of various Spirit Herbs.

A new batch of Spirit Herbs had arrived.

The starry sky was vast; the Xiang Jianzong's domain contained no shortage of planets rich in Spirit Qi. Except for a few Spirit Herbs requiring special conditions from the Central Continent, most could be grown on suitable planets across the stars and cultivated on a large scale.

Thus, the vast majority of Spirit Herbs used by the Xiang Jianzong came from the stars.

The arrival of the Spirit Herbs drew no attention; the tourists and vendors on the summit didn't notice at all.

After glancing, Xu Xing and Bie Xuening turned their attention elsewhere.

Opposite the Spirit Fields lay Dan Ding Ge's designated "Free Trading Zone," bustling with constant foot traffic.

Many of the vendors were cultivators, mostly Xiang Jianzong disciples.

Although rumors of people being scammed were common, they did nothing to dampen people's enthusiasm.

Some got scammed; others found treasures.

Last week, someone even bought an unexpired ancient pill and resold it to Ji Shi Valley for a huge profit in Spirit Coins.

"Go take a look?"

As he asked, Xu Xing had already started walking.

"Mm."

Bie Xuening followed behind him into the "Free Trading Zone."

The place was crowded, but most buyers were Dan Ding Ge disciples; tourists mostly came out of curiosity.

Yet… eighty percent of the items in this "Free Trading Zone" were fake.

Especially the stalls run by Xiang Jianzong disciples—nearly all of them sold counterfeit goods.

But honestly, the fakes were well-made.

At that moment, a commotion erupted ahead.

Many people rushed over; even Xu Xing and Bie Xuening turned to look.

In the center of the crowd, a plain-looking young man wearing Dan Ding Ge's uniform lay in another's arms, foaming at the mouth, face purple, body convulsing uncontrollably. In his hand he clutched a pill as lustrous and translucent as white jade, with swirling mist inside.

"Brother! Brother! Don't scare me, brother!" The man holding him continuously poured True Qi into his body to suppress the poison.

The vendor was not a Xiang Jianzong disciple, but an outsider; he was now drenched in sweat, repeating one phrase over and over.

"I told you—don't lick pills! Don't blame me! Don't blame me!"

At that moment, an old man stood inside Dan Ding Ge, looking down at the convulsing youth.

"Hmph! Forgot the most basic taboo? Deserved it!"

His tone carried the frustration of seeing a student fail.

Are pills something you just lick?

You shouldn't even smell pills you don't recognize!

He didn't rush to help immediately precisely so the youth would learn a lesson—if the Sect saved him, what if he was outside the Sect?

If he remained this reckless outside, he'd be playing with his own life.

"Sister, do you think he's lucky or unlucky?" Xu Xing watched the scene with interest.

As bad luck would have it, the pill he held was one of the few genuine items in this 'Free Trading Zone,' and its value was not low.

But as good luck would have it, that very pill was a poison pill capable of sealing magic power and carrying a faint toxicity.

"A reckless lucky fool," Bie Xuening said coolly.

Then she flicked her finger, sending a speck of spiritual light into the disciple's body.

The toxicity that had spread over more than half his body melted away like snow, vanishing completely under the suppression of the spiritual light.

In less than ten seconds, the purple hue on his face faded entirely, and his convulsions ceased.

Fortunately, he had only licked it—if he'd swallowed it, he could've been dragged off for burial right then and there.

Huh?!

The old man who had been about to descend and offer aid was stunned by this sight.

What the hell? How did it vanish so fast?! The toxicity of that pill was so stubborn, even he would need one or two days to slowly extract it.

Hmm… could it be that the prolonged storage caused the potency to fade? But the pill's appearance suggested its potency was perfectly preserved!

Or perhaps… this isn't the kind of pill I suspected?

A completely new pill?

Thinking of this, his heart grew itchy.

Go down and test it!

The old man's figure flashed, appearing instantly in the center of the crowd.

Huh? Who is this old man…? But soon, someone recognized him.

"Chief!"

"Chief, what brings you here?"

Deputy Chief of the Outer Gate Pill Cauldron Pavilion, a Grand Cultivator of the Return to Void realm.

Ignoring the voices around him, the old man reached out and summoned the pure white, translucent pill into his hand.

Seeing his action, the crowd instantly understood.

So that's it—the Deputy Chief of the Pill Cauldron Pavilion had intervened and saved the Xiang Jianzong disciple poisoned by the pill.

Then they saw him pick up the pill and lick it.

"... "

Wait, never mind that this was a poison pill—this is incredibly unsanitary! But before long, something even more shocking happened before the onlookers' eyes.

The Deputy Chief of the Outer Gate Pill Cauldron Pavilion, a Grand Cultivator of the Return to Void realm, suddenly showed a faint purplish tint on his face.

Then, right before everyone's eyes, he collapsed straight down.

"Didn't guess wrong!"

That was his final thought before falling.

"... "

After a moment of silence, Bie Xuening looked at Xu Xing, only to find Xu Xing looking back at her.

Are Xiang Jianzong juniors playing this way now?

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(End of chapter)