Chapter 110: Dare to Kill?

Chen Ci stared at the three Yellow Sprout Pills in his hand, examining them for a moment.

Hmm, good pill, good medicine.

As for the losses from this batch of pills, it is a small matter not worth worrying about.

"If the first batch is already like this, then won't the second and third batches take off?"

Chen Ci pinched a Yellow Sprout Pill and tossed it into his mouth, smacking his lips; the Spirit Pill he refined himself tasted exceptionally refreshing.

"Hurry and recover True Qi, strike while the iron is hot; whether I am a genius or just in the beginner's protection period, one test will tell."

"Pill, come!"

Low-end Spirit Material often only requires the most simple pill refining techniques.

The next day, Master Chen, who had been busy all day, began to take stock of his pill refining harvest.

Three.

Five.

Three.

A total of eleven Yellow Sprout Spirit Pills, not even enough to fill a single pill bottle; if taken to Xishan Market to sell, they would likely only be worth three Spirit Pearls.

Chen Ci felt like he couldn't breathe; this was losing money even faster than some stocks.

"This isn't right, this can't be right."

Chen Ci frowned and began pacing around the pill room.

If one were to say it was difficult, he had succeeded in three consecutive batches of Yellow Sprout Pills without any mistakes like burning the medicinal properties or losing the spiritual essence.

But if one were to say it was easy, the quantity of pills produced each time was unsatisfactory.

One must know that a standard portion of pill materials can theoretically produce up to thirty-six cycles of pills in one batch.

"Is it a problem with the Condensing Pill Method?"

Chen Ci opened his personal panel and took a few looks.

Condensing Pill Incantation: Entry/2/100 (Daily condense Spirit Pill, ten can advance one)

Although the Condensing Pill Incantation entry level was low, the Fire Control Method and Qi Observation Method entry levels were not very high either; the latter two were only slightly stronger than the former, yet they felt much better to Chen Ci when refining pills.

Small Heavens Qi Absorption Pill Method: Entry/0/4 (Four incantations completed, pill method entered)

There was nothing particularly special about it.

"Could it be that this Small Heavens Qi Absorption Pill Method has a hidden pity mechanism on the Gold Finger panel?"

Chen Ci scanned it up and down a few times; after all, the notes behind this Small Heavens Qi Absorption Pill Method were not as detailed as other Daoist methods.

That was a possibility, but it was more likely that his cultivation in the Condensing Pill Method was too shallow to grasp the medicinal properties and spiritual essence when opening the furnace.

"However, I do seem to have some talent in the Fire Control Method and Qi Observation Method; not only that, it seems I am also much better at things like the Soul Fixing Talisman than those cheap fellow disciples."

Chen Ci stood still; put that way, he truly hadn't felt any great difficulty in practicing immortal cultivation skills that required focusing the mind and grasping spiritual essence.

This kid refined pills quite well, he was just a bit lopsided in his skills.

"Condensing Pill Method, Condensing Pill Method, if I don't refine Spirit Pills, where else can I condense pills and refine methods?"

Chen Ci looked at the Yellow Sprout Pill in his hand, feeling a bit troubled: "Even for Xiaohuan Dan, the pill materials aren't that cheap; 'pills, gambling, and poison' truly live up to their reputation."

There were over sixty catties of Yellow Sprout Rice left, but the Yellow Dragon Grass and Earth Bright Stone were already used up, so this Spirit Pill could not be refined for the time being.

"If you're bad, practice more; next time I go to the market, I'll ask around to see if there are any tricks to the Condensing Pill Method; spending some silver is worth it."

Chen Ci shook his fist: "I'm only one step away from making a living as a pill master; A-Ci, you must work hard."

Sanyin Temple, backyard.

Chen Ci lay on a recliner for a nap, while Red Bell, the boss, was directing his four little brothers, East, South, West, and North, to get to work.

Dongfeng held a specially made small medicine hoe, digging small pits in the yard according to the plan.

Nanfeng put the soaked Black Jade Rice seeds in a small bag and followed behind, accurately placing each rice seed into the small pits.

Xifeng was responsible for carrying a small shovel to bury the soil.

Finally, Beifeng used a small spoon to sprinkle the Spirit Water used to soak the rice seeds onto the small pits; only then were the hundred Black Jade Rice seeds considered completely planted.

As for Hongzhong, he was holding a small fan, fanning his master 'puff, puff'; it looked hard, but he was actually the most comfortable of the five little ones.

Chen Ci sighed; it seemed his own 'Hongzhong' was also too eager to get ahead; doing a good job is not as good as fawning well, how insightful.

However, it had been some time since the message was sent to Fuhu Altar, and there was no reply, which made Chen Ci feel a bit uneasy.

"Copper Tuo Yao Clan."

"Jiao Zhenren."

Chen Ci's eyes narrowed slightly; when he was at He Mountain, he hadn't heard much of this Jiao Zhenren's name, but the Copper Tuo Yao Clan was heard of even by his predecessor on Dulong Mountain; at the very least, not to mention the five Golden Core True Persons, one had to know that the number one longevity Great Law in the He Mountain Scripture, the Seven Kill Primordial Spirit Method, definitely had a lineage within the Copper Tuo Yao Clan; as for whether any Yao Clan ancestor had actually survived, outsiders didn't know.

On the surface, the backing of Senior Brother Yao Daosheng was much tougher than Lin Qinhu's; no matter how absurd, Senior Brother Hutou could not possibly be the blood descendant of Jiao Zhenren; there had to be some distance.

"However, the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish; perhaps that is why the pie drawn by that man surnamed Liu was so small, and why Senior Brother Hutou invested so much."

Chen Ci rocked a few times on the recliner, considering his means of pulling chestnuts from the fire.

Big pie or small pie, only what you can actually eat is a good pie.

"Bang, bang, bang~"

"Master, there is a letter from Fuhu Altar."

Chen Ci opened his eyes: "Hmm, I know."

"Hmm?"

Chen Ci took the envelope and opened it, took a few looks, but the expression on his face became subtle.

The content of the letter was not much, just four short characters.

Dare to kill?

The meaning was clear at a glance, but the attitude was ambiguous, very much like how some leaders speak in a fog; clearly wanting you to do something, but unable to get to the point for a long time, leaving no handle for anyone to grasp.

"This cheap senior brother's boat, surely it won't capsize, right?"

Chen Ci frowned slightly; given Hutou Daoren's previous methods of doing things, if he didn't also have his own reservations, he would have simply sent the two words "kill him."

By only asking "dare or not" instead of directly saying "do or not," it was clearly meant to let Chen Ci decide for himself, but if the matter was handled poorly, it would have nothing to do with Fuhu Altar.

Any sect, even a minor heterodox one, has basic rules and systems; at the very least, killing a fellow disciple is something that cannot be done openly unless one occupies the absolute moral high ground.

If you kill me and I kill you at the slightest disagreement, such a sect might as well disband.

But wherever there are people, there are factions, and cultivators are beings who gather great power unto themselves; when their paths are obstructed, if they don't fight it out, are they supposed to report it and reason it out instead?

In the end, it still comes down to methods—not just the methods of magical combat, but also the methods of handling affairs.

"Wait a moment."

Chen Ci took up pen and ink, wrote a reply on the letter, handed it to the messenger Daoist, and rewarded him with five taels of gold: "I have understood the meaning of the letter; you may take this letter back."

"Yes, Martial Uncle."

The messenger Daoist did not linger, stowed the letter away, left Sanyin Temple, mounted his horse, and returned to Fuhu Altar in Xishan Prefecture.

Inside Fuhu Altar, Ding Jiang took the letter, feeling somewhat curious, and asked: "What else did Senior Brother Chen say?"

"Nothing, Martial Uncle only said he had understood, and told me to bring this letter back."

Ding Jiang thought for a moment, not daring to open the letter, and hurriedly delivered it to his teacher, Hutou Daoren.

When Hutou Daoren opened the envelope and saw the reply written by Chen Ci inside, he chuckled softly and paid it no more mind.

There were only four characters on it as well.

Why would I not dare?

At the very least, the territory of Changping County should be secure, and perhaps it could even be of some other use.

This man surnamed Chen is actually quite interesting.

Knowing the other party is from the Copper Tuo Yao Clan, he doesn't say "dare or not dare," but instead asks why he "would not dare."

"Heh, if you truly dare, what harm is there in granting you a path to the Dao?"

Hutou Daoren closed his eyes for a short rest; his own foundation was still a bit too thin, but the most urgent priority was still to attain an Upper Grade Dao Foundation first.

In the end, the one with the higher Dao wins.

(End of this chapter)