Chapter 48

The hall was suffocating, the air so heavy it was hard to breathe.

Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic, wore a green robe, his face as cold as water, standing with his hands behind his back atop the hall.

His lean face showed no trace of joy or anger, but those who knew him understood that beneath this calm lay a coming thunderous rage.

Qu Lingfeng, Lu Chengfeng, Wu Mianfeng, Feng Mofeng, along with Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng, bound tightly with ropes, knelt prostrate on the floor, not daring to lift their heads.

Qu Lingfeng and the others looked terrified, reporting everything that had happened on the island, their voices filled with self-reproach and pleas for forgiveness.

Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng, however, had faces as gray as death, their bodies trembling like leaves in a storm, eyes brimming with boundless terror, their heads banging against the floor as they begged for mercy, their cries shrill.

"Master, spare my life! I know I was wrong! I'll never dare again!"

"Please, Master, for the sake of past kindness, spare this disciple's life!"

Ning Chuan watched this scene before him, understanding it all.

He knew that in the original story, Huang Yaoshi, enraged by Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng stealing the Nine Yin Manual, blamed his other disciples, severing their Achilles tendons, stripping them of their martial arts, and expelling them from the sect.

That tragedy was heartbreaking.

But now, things should be different.

After all, he had intervened this time, turning the tide and preventing greater losses; Qu Lingfeng and the others had done their duty, not committed any fault.

No matter how eccentric Huang Yaoshi was, he wouldn't be so unjust as to punish the innocent.

Then his gaze swept the hall, and he stiffened slightly.

He noticed beside Huang Yaoshi stood a fat Daoist Priest, clad in a tattered robe, his eyes unusually sharp and lively.

The fat Daoist Priest was pinned by a pressure point, unable to move, but his eyes rolled wildly with curiosity and mischief.

"Zhou Botong?!"

A name flashed instantly through Ning Chuan's mind.

This fat Daoist Priest's appearance matched the legendary "Old Fool" Zhou Botong perfectly!

He immediately realized Huang Yaoshi's departure from Lidao was likely not merely a social visit.

He had probably gone to seek out this Quanzhen Sect's senior uncle, trying to force him to reveal the whereabouts of the upper volume of the Nine Yin Manual!

After all, back then, when Wang Chongyang had traveled, he had split the Nine Yin Manual in two, entrusting the upper volume to Zhou Botong's care.

Just as Ning Chuan's thoughts raced.

Above, Huang Yaoshi had finished listening to Qu Lingfeng's report; his previously calm face finally betrayed a flicker of uncontrollable fury.

A chilling, bone-deep killing intent spread from him, making the hall's temperature seem to drop several degrees.

"Good! Very good!"

Huang Yaoshi's voice was icy, each word squeezed out through clenched teeth.

"I, Huang Yaoshi, have treated you all generously, imparting all I know—this is how you repay me?!"

He sharply whipped his sleeve, his gaze like a sword piercing Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng, who knelt on the floor.

"Colluding with outsiders, poisoning fellow disciples, stealing the manual, betraying your master!"

"Each crime deserves death!"

Before his words ended, his figure blurred—he appeared before Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng like a ghost.

Before either could cry out again, both his palms slammed down onto their crown points!

"Thud! Thud!"

Two dull thumps.

Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng jerked violently, their eyes dimming rapidly, then collapsing lifeless to the floor.

Two once-promising disciples of Taohuadao, once mighty figures, now dead.

Huang Yaoshi's strike was ruthless and decisive, without a moment's hesitation.

For traitors, he never showed mercy.

Qu Lingfeng, Lu Chengfeng, Wu Mianfeng, and Feng Mofeng all shuddered, their faces filled with terror.

They knew their master's fickle temper and feared he would turn his wrath upon them.

Huang Rong also jumped in fright, rushing forward to grab Huang Yaoshi's sleeve, pleading softly: "Father! Your eldest disciples are innocent! If not for their desperate resistance, I might have…"

Seeing his daughter's tear-streaked face, Huang Yaoshi's fury slightly subsided.

He took a deep breath and said slowly: "I, Huang Yaoshi, am not a man who confuses right and wrong."

His gaze swept over Qu Lingfeng and the other three. "You protected Taohuadao and saved Rong'er—you have done your duty. Rise."

Hearing this, Qu Lingfeng and the others felt as if released from death's grip, trembling as they rose, their hearts overflowing with gratitude toward Huang Yaoshi.

Then Huang Yaoshi's gaze turned to Ning Chuan, who had quietly remained in the corner.

His eyes grew complex.

Shock, curiosity, gratitude—and even a hint of… indescribable regret.

He had learned from Huang Rong and Qu Lingfeng's reports of Ning Chuan's extraordinary feats during this time.

In just a few days, he had learned to read, comprehended martial arts, spoken human speech, cultivated internal energy, and his power was immeasurable—he had effortlessly subdued Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng, two innate experts.

Such talent, such insight, was utterly astonishing!

Far surpassing his so-called favored disciples by countless times!

Huang Yaoshi could not help but feel a pang of regret.

If only he had not cared about societal judgment and truly taken this strange serpent as his disciple, nurturing him with care—his future achievements might have been limitless!

But now, to speak of it was too late.

Huang Yaoshi was a man who valued face—he could not bring himself to retract his words and propose taking a disciple again.

He bowed deeply to Ning Chuan, his voice solemn:

"Ning… Ning boy, this great calamity that struck Taohuadao—thanks to you turning the tide, you saved my daughter Rong'er and preserved our sect's legacy. This debt, I, Huang, will never forget!"

He had originally wanted to address him as "Brother Ning," but on second thought, since the other party was of the same generation as his own daughter, calling him Brother Ning seemed a bit improper and awkward after all, so he changed his address to "Ning boy," which actually seemed a bit more intimate.

Ning Chuan replied in that slightly halting voice, "It was a trivial effort, Island Master Huang need not be so polite."

He carried himself neither obsequiously nor overbearingly, calm and composed.

Zhou Botong beside him, at this moment, had his eyes wide open, looking at Ning Chuan with curiosity.

Although he had been immobilized by acupoint strikes earlier, his mind remained clear; everything that had happened in the hall, he had seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears.

Such a huge black serpent, not only could understand human speech, but could actually speak, and even knew Wu Gong?!

This was simply too miraculous! Too fascinating!

His eyeballs darted about restlessly, filled with a strong interest in Ning Chuan; it was a pity he could not move now, otherwise he would certainly have gone up to study him thoroughly.

Seeing this, Huang Rong teased Huang Yaoshi, "Daddy, are you only going to thank Brother Chuan with words? Isn't that a bit too lacking in sincerity?"

Hearing this, Huang Yaoshi glared irritably at his precious daughter, snorted, and said, "You girl, your elbow turns outward! This father had long prepared a thank-you gift!"

Immediately, he took out an exquisite jade box from his bosom; once opened, a rich medicinal fragrance instantly spread out.

Inside the jade box, three elixirs the size of longan, entirely crimson, emitting a strange luster, lay quietly.

"These are three spiritual pills I obtained by chance in my early years, refined over several years of painstaking effort from a hundred-year blood ginseng, Tianshan snow lotus, and dozens of other rare medicinal ingredients — the 'Innate Pill.'"

Huang Yaoshi looked at Ning Chuan and said solemnly, "This elixir's efficacy is astonishing; not only can it revive the dead and regrow flesh on bone, it can also help Innate-stage strong persons consolidate their cultivation base, and even has a certain probability of helping Innate-stage martial artists break through their bottleneck and elevate a small realm. Today, I shall present these three Innate Pills to you, in gratitude for your life-saving grace!"

Innate Pill!

An elixir that can aid an Innate-stage strong person breaking through the realm!

Such a treasure, in the jianghu, would be enough to drive countless people into a frenzied scramble!

This time, Huang Yaoshi could also be said to have put his very blood and capital on the line.