Chapter 329: The Evil Pill

Mo Hua found a clean spot, sat down cross-legged, and began to ponder.

The only place he had ever seen a demonic formation was at Black Mountain Stronghold.

The outer layer of the stronghold used proper Five-Element Formations, not evil ones.

The Five-Element Formations resonated with the laws of the Dao of Heaven — they were orthodox.

Evil formations, on the other hand, carried a foul taint. No matter how many concealment arrays one layered on top, that corruption could never be fully hidden.

Thus, the Third Master only deployed such evil formations within the most secret chamber of the rear stronghold — that blood-colored pill room.

One was the bronze beast gate; the other was the white-bone pill furnace.

The formation inscribed upon the bronze beast gate served as a guardian ward, while the one within the bone furnace was clearly used for alchemy.

The Third Master had painstakingly studied these formations — surely not merely to guard a door.

That meant… it was for refining pills.

To refine evil pills required an evil furnace; to forge an evil furnace required an evil formation.

So, this evil formation the Third Master had drawn was likely meant for pill refinement.

But what kind of pill?

Longevity Pills?

At a time like this, would he still be trying to refine Longevity Pills?

Could that Third Master really be so… “dedicated to his work”?

The stronghold had collapsed, the chief had fled, and he was still diligently studying evil formations just to brew another batch of life-prolonging medicine?

Unlikely…

Something felt wrong, yet Mo Hua couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Should I ask Mister Zhuang?”

He thought about it, then shook his head.

If he took this formation to ask his teacher, Mister Zhuang might think he was dabbling in demonic arts.

Besides, his teacher valued purity and quiet cultivation — Mo Hua didn’t wish to sully that serenity with such vile things.

Moreover, Mister Zhuang would likely be leaving soon. From now on, Mo Hua would have to rely on himself.

At that thought, a faint sadness welled up in his chest.

Mister Zhuang was leaving…

Would they ever meet again?

Mo Hua lingered in that melancholy for a while before gathering his focus once more.

If the evil formation itself offered no clues, perhaps the herbs would.

He drew sketches — the bone furnace, the blood-drenched pill room, and all the strange herbs he had found in the Third Master’s storage bag.

Then he brought them to the Alchemy Hall in the southern quarter of the city to show Elder Feng.

Elder Feng’s expression changed drastically.

“These are…”

“Pills refined by evil cultivators,” Mo Hua said.

He then explained the entire matter — about Black Mountain Stronghold, the Third Master, and his suspicions.

“Could they have been refining something other than Longevity Pills?”

Elder Feng took a deep breath and thought for a while before replying:

“It’s possible. These herbs are similar in appearance but differ in medicinal property. They don’t look like they belong in the same pill formula.”

Mo Hua quickly asked, “Do you know what kind of pill it could be?”

That clearly put Elder Feng in a difficult spot.

“I’m not an evil alchemist,” he said tactfully.

Mo Hua sighed. “What a pity…”

Elder Feng shot him a glare.

“Oh? And if I were an evil alchemist, that wouldn’t be a pity?”

Mo Hua realized his slip, scratched his head, and gave an awkward laugh.

Elder Feng chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll call the other alchemists here and ask around.”

Mo Hua frowned slightly. “If even you don’t know, will they?”

“Never underestimate anyone,” Elder Feng replied warmly.

“The world is full of all kinds of people, each with their own strengths. On the long path of cultivation, even those who seem ordinary often have experiences others don’t, knowledge others lack, or insight others overlook.

If you don’t ask, how would you ever know?”

Mo Hua nodded thoughtfully.

Soon, Elder Feng gathered all the alchemists in the hall — a small crowd.

He explained the matter, showed them Mo Hua’s drawings of the bone furnace and the sinister herbs.

Instant uproar.

“That Qian Clan Patriarch really is scum!”

“To refine this kind of pill — utterly depraved!”

“Defying Heaven itself! He’ll be reborn as a pig or dog!”

They had known the Qian ancestor was an evil cultivator who colluded with Black Mountain Stronghold, but not the details. Upon learning that he might have refined human-based pills, their fury ignited.

To true alchemists, the purpose of alchemy was to heal — not to sacrifice lives.

Elder Feng raised a hand for silence.

“Does anyone know what kind of pill these herbs might be used for?”

The alchemists exchanged uneasy looks.

None were familiar with the demonic craft of evil pill refinement.

Elder Feng encouraged them, “Even guesses are fine. Anything might lead us to a clue.”

At that, tongues loosened.

“I think it’s Bloodfiend Pills!”

“No, no, Human Essence Pills!”

“How could it be Human Essence Pills?”

“It’s the only evil pill I know, so I guessed!”

“That’s not a guess, that’s nonsense!”

“Well, guessing is nonsense!”

…

“I once met an evil alchemist who used the blood of his kin to refine Blood Source Pills!”

“My own ancestor was an evil alchemist — forged a few demonic pills and even had the gall to record their names in the family genealogy!

Utter disgrace. I’ve never dared to speak of it until today…”

Elder Feng listened, jotting down every name and description.

Soon, a whole page was filled — with pill names that all contained words like “Devour,” “Blood,” “Human,” “Evil,” “Fiend.”

Just reading the list made one’s scalp prickle.

But none of them quite fit the clues.

Elder Feng frowned.

Then, a young alchemist hesitantly raised his hand.

“I…”

“I…” for quite a while, but said nothing more.

The others grew impatient. “You what? Spit it out already!”

“I… I heard a rumor.”

The young man looked nervous — surrounded by so many seniors, he didn’t dare speak too boldly.

The others waited.

“I don’t know these herbs or that furnace,” he said, “but I once heard a rumor.”

Someone barked, “Get to the point!”

“Let him speak,” Elder Feng said gently. “Slowly now. Even if you’re wrong, it’s fine.”

The young alchemist took a deep breath and continued:

“Years ago, while traveling with my master, we took shelter in a ruined temple. It was a cold night.

I woke at midnight to find my master talking to a strange Daoist.”

“His voice was eerie — though he spoke himself, it sounded borrowed, as if another’s voice spoke through him.”

“He told my master about a pill called… Transmuting Longevity into Vital Essence Pill.

It used human lifespan as the medicinal guide,

transforming life itself into blood and vital essence — refining it into pure medicinal energy,

condensing it into a pill that could raise one’s cultivation realm.”

“What happened afterward?” someone asked.

The young alchemist looked embarrassed.

“I was hungry and cold, fell asleep again… I don’t know what happened after that.”

Everyone groaned in disappointment.

“And your master?”

“He went in.”

“What?”

“He was arrested,” the young man said quietly. “Taken into the Dao Court’s prison…”

The hall fell silent.

“He tried to refine that pill?”

The young alchemist shook his head. “He never got that far. He only bought a few herbs through some connections — but the Dao Court found out and arrested him.”

“They didn’t punish you?”

“I was taken too,” he admitted. “But they questioned me — I didn’t know anything, so after ten days, they released me.”

He sighed bitterly.

“My parents spent their savings to apprentice me to a master, hoping I could learn a trade and make a living.

In the end, I barely learned anything before my master was imprisoned.

Maybe it’s just as well — if I had learned his craft, I’d probably still be rotting in that cell.”

“When I returned, my parents told me to never speak of it again.

But hearing you all discuss this today, I thought… maybe it could help.”

Elder Feng nodded. “It does help. But yes — don’t mention it again to outsiders.”

The young man beamed at the praise and nodded eagerly.

A nearby alchemist clapped him on the shoulder.

“Lucky kid. One step wrong and your whole life would’ve been over.”

The youth gave an awkward smile.

Mo Hua’s face, however, had grown grave.

Longevity Pills… Transmuting Longevity into Vital Essence Pills…

To break through realms, to raise one’s cultivation…

A chill crept through Mo Hua’s heart.

If the Qian Family Patriarch was truly refining Transmuting Longevity into Vital Essence Pills—then this was no small matter.

(End of Chapter)