Chapter 20: Pill Aroma, Talisman Complete—Uninvited Guest

The streak of light came with terrifying speed; within the span of a single incense stick, it hovered above Mianshui County.

The light dispersed, revealing a middle-aged Daoist priest clad in black robes, his face grim and sinister.

He stood atop a broadsword as wide as a door panel, gazing down upon the small county, his spiritual sense sweeping recklessly over every inch of land.

“Spiritual energy is scarce, human fortune is in decline—this is truly a backwater.” The Daoist sneered, a flicker of contempt in his eyes.

His name was Hei Ya, a lone cultivator from the mountains near the Jiang Kingdom, his cultivation base at the late stage of Qi Refining to Return to Emptiness.

Several days ago, he had accidentally sensed a pure burst of primordial true energy flickering from this direction—though faint, its quality was exceptionally high, stirring his interest.

He had assumed some heavenly treasure or spiritual herb had emerged, rushing here in haste, only to find it was merely an ordinary human town.

“Hmph. A wasted trip.” Hei Ya’s mood soured; he turned to leave, when suddenly his nose twitched.

A strange, faint aroma of pills drifted from a courtyard within the town, slipping into his nostrils.

The pill aroma was crisp and distant; though the spiritual energy within was not strong, it carried a profound, primal resonance that invigorated his spirit.

“Huh? Someone is refining pills here?” Hei Ya’s eyes flashed with surprise.

He followed the source of the aroma, focusing his spiritual sense on the Su family courtyard.

Deep within the compound, a side chamber was shrouded in a faint glow, shielding it from outside scrutiny.

Clearly, a barrier had been erected.

“Showing off!”

Hei Ya sneered. He was certain his Qi Refining to Return to Emptiness cultivation base made him untouchable in this backwater.

What power could a pill-refiner hiding behind a shell possibly possess?

Perhaps he’d stumbled upon a pill formula by sheer luck—perfect for me to seize.

He retracted his flying sword, his body flickering, silently gliding into the Su family courtyard.

Inside the side chamber, Su Chen sat cross-legged before a bronze pill furnace half a man’s height.

The furnace was crafted by him from the gold and silver compensation from the Wang family, mixed with some spiritual iron he’d brought back from Sanxing Cave.

The furnace fire was no ordinary flame, but a thread of true fire he had generated from his own Golden Core’s true energy.

Inside the furnace, dozens of mundane herbs he had gathered over the past months from the mountains near Mianshui County were being refined by the true fire, purged of impurities, transforming into glistening medicinal liquids that slowly merged.

He was refining not an immortal pill, but a mundane one called “Peiyuan Pill.”

This pill was useless to cultivators, but when taken by mortals, it fortified the root, nourished the origin, cured illness, strengthened the body, and ensured a hundred-year lifespan.

Just as the pills were about to coalesce, Su Chen’s brow twitched.

He had long sensed the unwelcome guest, but had ignored him.

He hadn’t expected the fool to be so brazen as to intrude directly into the Su household.

"Since you've come, don't leave."

Su Chen’s mind stirred; the barrier surrounding the chamber flickered faintly.

Hei Ya, who had just slipped into the courtyard, was about to break through the seemingly weak barrier when his vision suddenly blurred.

The surrounding courtyard vanished instantly.

In its place stretched an endless expanse of white mist.

Within the mist, visibility vanished; his spiritual sense was suppressed to only three feet beyond his body.

“A formation?” Hei Ya’s heart jumped, then steadied.

Just a simple confusion formation—what could it do to me?

He chanted a spell, fingers weaving a hand seal; black qi surged from his palm, forming a dozen crows the size of fists, cawing as they flew in all directions, seeking the formation’s core.

Yet, within ten zhang, the crows vanished like stones swallowed by the sea, their connection severed instantly.

Hei Ya’s face finally paled.

This formation was far more sophisticated than he’d imagined!

As he hesitated, the white mist before him churned, slowly coalescing into a human figure.

“Who are you? Why do you trespass into the Su household?” Su Chen’s figure appeared within the formation, his tone calm.

“A mere mortal boy dares to play tricks on me?” Hei Ya, seeing Su Chen’s youth, relaxed.

He assumed Su Chen was merely relying on the formation’s advantage to show himself.

He sneered, then spat sharply.

A jet-black needle shot forth with a piercing shriek, like a venomous snake striking Su Chen’s third eye.

It was his “Yinsha Soul-Seizing Needle,” forged from a century’s accumulation of yin demonic energy—deadly beyond measure; those struck lost their spirit and soul instantly.

Facing this lethal strike, Su Chen didn’t even blink.

The needle halted three inches from his brow, as if trapped in mud—its speed plummeted, then froze midair, humming faintly, unable to advance a single inch.

“What?” Hei Ya’s face drained of color.

This was his life-bound magic treasure—unstoppable until now—yet here, it had been stopped by nothing but air.

Su Chen extended two fingers, casually pinching the needle.

“This object is foul. Useless to keep.”

His fingertips pressed lightly; with a sharp crack, the needle—hard as a magic treasure—was crushed into dust.

“Puh!”

His life-bound treasure destroyed, Hei Ya was struck as if by a hammer; he spat a gout of blood, his aura instantly withering.

He stared at Su Chen, his earlier arrogance and greed gone—replaced by boundless terror.

Qi Refining to Return to Emptiness!

This youth was a Great Cultivator of the Qi Refining to Return to Emptiness realm!

I’ve truly blinded myself—I’ve kicked a block of iron!

“Elder, spare my life!” Hei Ya collapsed to his knees, pounding his head on the ground. “Your humble servant failed to recognize your greatness, offended you—please, for the sake of our shared Dao path, spare my life!”

“Shared Dao path?” Su Chen walked slowly toward him, looking down. “Do you even deserve that title?”

He raised his foot, and stepped lightly.

“Boom!”

The entire formation space shuddered violently; Hei Ya felt an irresistible, terrifying force descend from above, crushing him.

His protective magic power shattered like paper.

His entire body was pinned to the ground, immobile.

“Speak. Who are you? What is your purpose here?” Su Chen asked.

Hei Ya dared not hide a single detail; he spilled everything—his origins, how he sensed the spiritual energy, how the pill aroma drew him, how greed had seized him.

Su Chen listened, sighing inwardly.

My existence is beginning to attract karmic threads.

Today it was a Qi Refining to Return to Emptiness cultivator; tomorrow it might be a Qi Refining to Return to Emptiness.

My family are all mortals—how can they endure such turmoil?

It’s time to leave—earlier than planned.

He looked at Hei Ya, a pile of mud at his feet, and a flicker of killing intent passed through his eyes.

Su Chen swept his sleeve; flames of true fire erupted over Hei Ya, and in moments, he vanished from heaven and earth.

After disposing of Hei Ya, Su Chen returned to the chamber.

Inside, Su Chen gently tapped the pill furnace.

The lid flew open; nine pills, the size of dragon’s eyes, perfectly round, emerged in sequence and landed in his jade vial.

Peiyuan Pills—complete.

Having finished this, Su Chen did not pause.

He took from his satchel the talisman paper and cinnabar he had used to practice talisman arts at Sanxing Cave, and began crafting the final protective talismans for his family.

He bit his fingertip, drawing a drop of crimson essence blood, blending it into the cinnabar.

He dipped his brush in ink, his mind utterly focused, fusing the three talisman scripts taught by Patriarch Bodhi—“Protection,” “Averting Calamity,” and “Destruction”—into a single new talisman.

Each stroke stirred a rule of heaven and earth.

This was the Dao’s resonance—this talisman’s power had already transcended the mundane.

Su Chen’s mind was undistracted; his brush moved like coiling dragons and serpents, completing it in one breath.

As the final stroke finished, golden light blazed across the talisman; an arcane symbol flickered faintly at its center.

He exhaled slowly, a trace of weariness on his face.

With his current cultivation base, crafting a talisman infused with his essence blood and Daoic insight consumed considerable energy.

He painted nine in total.