novelraw Chapter 443 - 237, Return to the Starfall School, take out the secret order of the headmaster.
Chapter 443 - 237, Return to the Starfall School, take out the secret order of the headmaster.
「Half a day later.」
Helan Lianjiang, who was sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the Dao Pill in his Dantian stabilizing, he thanked Xu Xing, then hurriedly left the inner palace and returned to his Cave Mansion.
Kang Han saw this, a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes as he shook his head. Senior Brother Helan is about to reach the Dao Pill Nine Transformations. From now on, our Immeasurable Sect will have another True Monarch at the Dao Pill Peak... After Helan Lianjiang reaches the Dao Pill Peak, he will definitely seek a Nascent Soul Spiritual Object. And he has monopolized the Immeasurable Sect’s quota for these 700 years... Conflicts of interest, friends turning into foes—he has experienced this once already.
"Sect Master Gu has replied," Kang Han said, regaining his usual composure. He looked at Xu Xing with a smile. "Junior Brother Chang, if you have nothing pressing at the moment, why not accompany your elder brother back to the Sect first? We can go to the Sect’s treasury to get some pills for your breakthrough." He stood up as he spoke.
While Helan Lianjiang was refining the Blood Pill, Kang Han had already informed Sect Master Gu Chengbin of Xu Xing’s request via a voice transmission talisman.
One hour ago, Gu Chengbin had replied, agreeing to the request.
"Excellent," Xu Xing said. "Many thanks to both Senior Brothers for your help."
Xu Xing and Kang Han, clouds forming beneath their feet, left Crane Mountain Marketplace together and headed towards the Yan Mountain Range, where the Immeasurable Sect was located.
Junior Brother’s cloud under his feet...
Kang Han noticed Xu Xing’s Escape Technique. It was somewhat unusual; the cloud-mist beneath his feet was a brilliant gold, like a scorching sun. It seems more like a Treasure than an ordinary traveling cloud condensed by an Escape Technique. "I recently emerged from seclusion, having just perfected this Escape Technique," Xu Xing chuckled, openly displaying the Fire Cloud Escape beneath his feet, not minding Kang Han’s scrutiny. "I integrated a peculiar object, which is how I achieved this Fire Cloud Escape."
He had cultivated the Fire Cloud Escape Technique, a cloud-mist type Escape Technique from the Pill Cauldron Sect. After doing so, it had reversed to the Innate stage. Coupled with the unique spiritual flame he used, his Fire Cloud Escape was entirely different from those acquired by other cultivators. Therefore, he wasn’t worried that Kang Han would discern the origin of this cloud.
More than twenty years ago, when Junior Brother Chang and I left the Immeasurable Sect, his footspeed was slightly inferior to mine. Now that he has cultivated this Fire Cloud Escape, his footspeed has surpassed mine... Kang Han mused, slightly startled, then nodded.
With Xu Xing’s cultivation breakthrough and his mastery of the Fire Cloud Escape, Kang Han no longer harbored any doubts about Xu Xing’s seclusion in Crane Mountain Marketplace; the facts served as clear evidence.
「Before long.」
The two descended from their Cloud Heads and performed a Daoist salutation to Sect Master Gu Chengbin, who was waiting in front of Lingxin Pavilion. Then, they followed Gu Chengbin to a mountain peak near the Sect.
"Junior Brother Chang’s Blood Pill can actually help Senior Brother Helan break through his cultivation, from the eighth to the Dao Pill Nine Transformations," Gu Chengbin remarked. "It’s clear the medicinal power of this Blood Pill is not insignificant. In that case, the only pill in our Sect suitable for Junior Brother Chang is the Heavy Cloud Pill, purchased from the Chu Kingdom’s Pill Cauldron Sect a thousand years ago."
Gu Chengbin held a horsetail whisk, his hands hidden in his sleeves forming seals. The mountain peak suddenly rumbled. The Prohibition’s spiritual light flashed faintly, and the peak split open down the middle, revealing a stone staircase and a deep, bottomless Cave.
It is common knowledge in the Cultivation World that if a cultivator takes the same kind of pill too many times, their body will develop resistance. So, in Gu Chengbin’s view, while the Blood Pill’s medicinal effects might be highly beneficial for Helan Lianjiang, its efficacy would be minimal for Xu Xing, who had taken this pill before. This was also why Xu Xing could generously give away two Blood Pills.
"The Heavy Cloud Pill from the Chu Kingdom’s Pill Cauldron Sect?" Xu Xing asked, slightly surprised. This pill... I recall it’s one that the Pill Cauldron Sect prohibits from being sold to other sects. After all, at the True Monarch level, any pill that increases another sect’s strength is akin to aiding an enemy...
Those closest to the source benefit first. Xu Xing thought. One of the reasons I infiltrated the Pill Cauldron Sect was to purchase pills as a disciple of the Pill Cauldron Sect, both for inter-state trading and for my own consumption. The Pill Cauldron Sect’s Heavy Cloud Pill is precisely one of the pills I knew was prohibited from sale to other sects. Of course, I was also aware that the Pill Cauldron Sect’s so-called prohibited pills were merely not sold openly. Behind the scenes, the Pill Cauldron Sect would never let go of such lucrative profit.
His current question was an attempt to learn the specific transaction details between the Immeasurable Sect and the Pill Cauldron Sect, so that he could fish in troubled waters and make a fortune.
"Although the Pill Cauldron Sect prohibits the sale of Heavy Cloud Pills," Gu Chengbin said, stroking his beard and hesitating for a moment before revealing the inside story, "privately, Elder Yuanba of the Pill Cauldron Sect has some past friendship with our Sect. Every ten years, they trade some pills with us."
He did not doubt that Xu Xing knew the Heavy Cloud Pill was a prohibited item. The Chu Kingdom’s Pill Cauldron Sect was extremely famous among the various states; while not many cultivators in those states knew about their prohibited pills, the number wasn’t small either.
So that’s the reason, Xu Xing thought, nodding with a relieved smile, and didn’t press further. The Elder Yuanba Gu Chengbin mentioned was the Fifth Elder of the Pill Cauldron Sect and wasn’t on good terms with the Great Elder’s faction, to which Xu Xing belonged.
Hearing Gu Chengbin’s explanation of the internal affairs, Xu Xing instantly understood why the internal strife in the Pill Cauldron Sect was so clearly divided into various mountain factions. Firstly, it was for self-preservation, to prevent other sects from coveting them. All sects were extremely wary of a monolithic Pill Cauldron Sect. Secondly, it was to use this as a pretext to sell prohibited pills, thereby reaping benefits from other sects separately.
「Shaoqing, their conversation ended.」
Gu Chengbin lifted his long robe, stepped onto the stone staircase, and led the way into the Cave.
Kang Han followed closely behind.
Xu Xing, however, deliberately slowed his pace, falling to the rear. His Divine Sense constantly monitored the Prohibition surrounding the Cave’s exterior.