Chapter 257: Rite of Fulfillment

Besides the external changes, the white Feibai Pill emitted a peculiar, foul medicinal stench—the same smell from when An Shenyi first failed to refine it—extremely unpleasant.

An Shenyi quickly found a delicate box, sealed the contaminated white Feibai Pill inside, and the medicinal stench ceased spreading.

The two exchanged a glance and both smiled.

"An Shenyi, I'm about to go out and kill the Zhenjiu. Do you have any pills in stock you won't give me for self-defense?"

Fang Yue didn't bother being polite with An Shenyi—now that he had Feibai Pills, wasn't An Shenyi certain he'd recoup his costs later?

"No problem. I'll give you a bottle of beginner-grade Zha Yuan Pills—100 pills inside, more than enough for you."

"I'll give you ten intermediate Zha Yuan Pills—their effect is ten times that of the basic ones."

"I've also prepared some beginner-grade Zhi Shang Pills to replenish Qi and Blood, relieve fatigue, and treat injuries."

"Lastly, I specially gift you one of my secret formula Xiong Yuan Pills—this pill is for desperate situations. It activates your internal strength, unleashing terrifying power far beyond your normal limit, but the aftereffects are severe: it causes serious bodily damage, and even if you kill your enemy within the duration, it only plunges you into an even more Zhenjiu state."

As he spoke, An Shenyi rummaged through his room and pulled out a pile of bottles and jars.

Fang Yue didn't hold back—he carefully examined each one, then stowed them all away.

The only thing that troubled Fang Yue was that Zha Yuan Pills were truly garbage—they accumulated Dan Poison quickly, offered weak effects, and took half a day to restore internal strength; even the intermediate Zha Yuan Pills, with their tenfold boost, only restored 10 points of internal strength in half a day.

Thus, any Zha Yuan Pill must be treated like candy.

As for other Qi and Blood replenishing pills, no need to elaborate—they were common fare, slightly better in quality than market goods, likely all personally refined by An Shenyi.

The only thing that truly caught Fang Yue's eye was the Xiong Yuan Pill.

"Name: Xiong Yuan Pill."

"Grade: Mortal Grade Mid-tier."

"Effect: Awakens latent power within the body, transforms blood into Qi, forces the body to operate beyond its limits, causing strength and internal strength to surge for a desperate gamble!"

"Description: Can extract internal strength by draining the body's potential even when internal strength is at zero, for combat—typically used in life-or-death moments. Side effects are extreme: one minute after the effect ends, the user bleeds from every pore, suffers severe internal damage, and becomes immobile."

"Note: Are you the 'Three-Lives-Devil'?"

The side effects were indeed severe, but compared to the outcome of death, a desperate last stand was clearly preferable.

He hadn't expected An Shenyi to have something this good hidden away.

He boldly asked for more pills, but was flatly refused.

With no choice, Fang Yue left An Fu to report to Chief Captain Lang Wu, then packed up—he was about to leave the village.

As long as the Zhenjiu lived, temporarily lifting the Yang Void Strange curse was useless.

Only by eliminating this threat entirely could he be truly safe; otherwise, every time he stepped outside, he'd be hunted by the Yang Void Strange horde.

The most terrifying part was… other villages didn't have the ancient array of Mo Cun.

If Fang Yue fled to any village along the way, it would become a massacre.

In a sense, Fang Yue was now extremely dangerous—he carried behind him a horde of terrifying things.

…

Lang Fu.

Seeing Fang Yue return, Chief Captain Lang Wu, who had just risen, froze in surprise.

"Night Captain, why are you here? How's the progress on the Feibai Pill?"

"Done." Fang Yue replied succinctly.

"Done? So fast?" Chief Captain Lang Wu was astonished, then broke into a broad smile.

"So you can now leave the village to eliminate the Zhenjiu and make this Yang Void Strange horde depart?"

"Correct. But first, I need to know where the Zhenjiu is."

Fang Yue had come here for precisely this reason.

For the sake of the Yang Void Strange matter, the entire Mo Cun had been mobilized.

After all, this was a matter of Mo Cun's survival—action was unavoidable.

The task of investigating the Zhenjiu's location fell to Chief Captain Lang Wu.

He had already dispatched scouts, and combined with the fact that hunters returning from the wild had gradually come back due to the Yang Void Strange horde and the Giant-Headed Blood Dog disturbances, gathering intelligence wasn't as hard as imagined—in fact, it went very smoothly.

"We've largely confirmed its approximate range. If we hurry there, we'll likely intercept the Zhenjiu."

Chief Captain Lang Wu unfolded a map and pointed to a location marked with a large red circle—the approximate activity range of the Yang Void Strange Zhenjiu.

It was comfortable having someone handle intelligence and logistics—everything was arranged, and all he had to do was check progress.

Fang Yue tucked the map away, ready to inform Ni Dongmei, then set out to kill the Zhenjiu.

Since ascending to the Second-rate Realm of the Post-Heaven, he had never properly fought a strange creature—now, facing the same enemy, the Yang Void Strange, he wondered if he'd find it easier.

"Wait!"

Seeing Fang Yue leave, Chief Captain Lang Wu hurriedly called out.

"What is it?" Fang Yue turned back, puzzled.

Chief Captain Lang Wu said anxiously: "Night Captain, you've lifted the curse, but if you leave the village, you'll still encounter Yang Void Strange. If you're forced to kill them, won't the curse reattach? What then? Don't forget—the Zhenjiu leading the Yang Void Strange is after you. It definitely remembers your aura."

"No, it won't." Fang Yue shook his head slightly. "Within the Feibai Pill's effect, any similar curse that enters my body will be crushed again and transferred to the white Feibai Pill in Mo Cun. So no matter how many I kill outside, the Zhenjiu won't notice… well, technically there's a limit—if I kill too many, the Feibai Pill in the village can't hold it, and I'll be reinfected. But I'll minimize my kills to avoid trouble."

Chief Captain Lang Wu sighed: "Still, it's not entirely safe. Let me send Captain Wu with you. The Zhenjiu's strength is unknown—more people are better. If you encounter Yang Void Strange, let Captain Wu kill them—it's safer than you doing it yourself, to avoid compromising the Feibai Pill's effect."

What?!

Someone's trying to steal the kill?

Fang Yue's expression hardened. He spoke solemnly: "To restore Mo Cun's former glory, it is our sacred duty! Chief Captain Lang Wu, no need to say more—I'll handle this alone. If I succeed, all is well. If I fail, I die—and the problem is solved. I won't drag Mo Cun down with me."

"Night Captain!!"

Chief Captain Lang Wu's eyes shimmered faintly with tears. At that moment, he felt Fang Yue suddenly towered—oh, no, it was just that Fang Yue was standing on tiptoe to appear taller.

(End of Chapter)