Chapter 196: Spiritual Treasure’s Incomplete Transformation Ends in Sudden Death

In a dim underground chamber, barrels of green liquid radiating ominous energy gave off an unsettling feeling.
Several figures walked into the basement and, upon seeing the barrels, revealed eerie grins.
There was almost no light, so when they laughed, their faces couldn’t be seen—only their gleaming white teeth were visible.

“Heh heh heh, this is the result of our month-long hard work. If we succeed, we’ll overturn the Nine Provinces!” said the leading figure with a chuckle.
“Who turned off the lights? We’re the Spirit Herb Sect, it’s not like we can’t afford lamps. Turn them on.”
“I just thought the darkness added some atmosphere,” one elder scratched his head and flicked out sparks, lighting up the basement.

With the lights on, the chamber’s true state was revealed.
Hundreds of wooden barrels stood neatly in rows, their green liquid brimming with life energy—just a sip would equal ten days of cultivation for a low-tier cultivator.
Soaked in the green liquid were various spiritual treasures.

The Sect Master of the Spirit Herb Sect, along with a few elders, carefully documented the status of each barrel.
“This bath is a failure. The spiritual treasure shows no signs of transformation.”
“This one’s no good either. No reaction from the treasure.”
“Huh? This one’s showing some change. The treasure actually…” one elder lowered his voice, “…grew hair.”

The Sect Master glared at him, signaling him to shut up.
After examining all the treasures, disappointment filled the group—one month of experiments, and not a single transformation.
Except for the hairy one.

“Don’t be discouraged. Spiritual treasure transformation is on par with treasure becoming sentient—it’s a monumental feat. How could it possibly go smoothly?”
“The Yin-Yang Heaven Seal is the greatest treasure in the Nine Provinces, an immortal artifact left by the Dao Ancestor. It’s ridiculous to think we could reach its level in just a month. Success would be more surprising.”
“Believe me, hard work pays off. As long as we persist, boldly hypothesize, and carefully verify, success will be ours!” the Sect Master encouraged the elders.
“Let’s recall—what is the Spirit Herb Sect’s founding principle?”
“Crush the Pill Refining Peak!” the elders roared with enthusiasm.
“Yes, exactly—crush the Pill Refining Peak!” the Sect Master was very pleased with their response. “Spiritual treasure transformation via medicinal baths is the first step in surpassing the Pill Refining Peak! And it’s a critical one!”
“It’s time the Pill Refining Peak learned who truly leads the alchemical path!”

“By the way, Sect Master, why are we doing all of this in secret? Wouldn’t it be better to openly study beast transformation techniques, plant transformation techniques, the Transformation Tribulation, and apply those experiences to spiritual treasure transformation baths? These slow experiments are inefficient.”

“Fool. Jiang the Human Sovereign is aligned with the Dao Sect. He’s always hanging around there—clearly supporting the Pill Refining Peak. If he finds out we’re close to surpassing them, do you think he’d sit idly by?”
The Sect Master shared his reasoning.

In truth, that wasn’t the real reason. He had heard from the Baize Empress that Jiang Li had already had quite the headache dealing with sentient spiritual treasures. If he found out someone was trying to make them transform, the Spirit Herb Sect would be in serious trouble.

They needed to finish their transformation bath experiments quickly—once the rice was cooked, Jiang could only contain it, not ban it.
After all, it wasn’t demonic cultivation—there was no outright reason to prohibit it.

But that wasn’t something he could say out loud—it’d demoralize the elders.
Jiang the Human Sovereign’s authority in the Nine Provinces was no joke. If the elders learned that transforming spiritual treasures might disrupt the order of the realm and trouble Jiang, they might refuse to keep working on it.

“Is Sect Master Huang here?”
A voice, full of righteous power, echoed through the sect and made Huang Chengdan’s hair stand on end.

Jiang the Human Sovereign had arrived!
D*mn it!
No, no, stay calm. Judging by his tone, he didn’t sound angry. He probably hasn’t discovered the lab.

With that thought, Sect Master Huang regained some composure and hurried out of the basement to greet Jiang Li.
“Human Sovereign Jiang, your arrival honors us—apologies for not welcoming you sooner.”
“No need to be so formal, Sect Master Huang. I’m here to request a certain herb…”
“We don’t have Transformation Grass,” Huang Chengdan instantly denied.
“Hm? I didn’t say anything about Transformation Grass.”
“A slip of the tongue. What herb do you need?”
“Heart-Calming Grass. It’s the antidote to Dissolution Powder…”
“We’re not doing any medicinal baths,” Huang Chengdan denied again.
“I didn’t mention medicinal baths.”
Realizing he was overreacting, Huang Chengdan explained, “Recently, my cultivation’s gone astray. My mind hasn’t been clear. Please forgive me, Human Sovereign.”
“Is it serious? Do you need a doctor… oh right, you’re all doctors.”
“It’s a minor issue. I’ll be fine in a few days.” Huang quickly changed the subject. “You wanted Heart-Calming Grass, correct? We have it.”

He led Jiang Li to the herb vault, where over ten thousand types of herbs were stored. Without expertise in botany, it would be dizzying to navigate.

Though not skilled in alchemy, Jiang Li had no trouble recognizing every herb in the Nine Provinces. To him, this place was perfectly orderly.

“How many do you need?”
“Just one.”

Huang Chengdan retrieved a Heart-Calming Grass from rootless water and handed it to Jiang Li.

【Congratulations, Host, you have completed the mission】

Jiang Li accepted the herb but didn’t leave immediately. Staring at it, he asked thoughtfully, “Sect Master Huang, you’re a great expert in the alchemical arts. I have a question and came here to consult you.”
“I’d be honored.”

“I was thinking… people say alchemy is about extracting the essence and discarding the waste from plants. Pills refined this way are naturally the most spiritually potent items between heaven and earth. It’s said that the ancient path of the Golden Core drew inspiration from this.”
“Indeed, that’s true,” Huang Chengdan beamed at the praise. To become Sect Master and aim to surpass the Pill Refining Peak, one had to love alchemy to the core.

“If pills are the most spiritually rich, then gaining sentience and transforming into human form shouldn’t be impossible,” Jiang Li said as he walked out.
“If pills really became human-like, what would your attitude be toward them?
Could you still refine pills in peace? Could you still consume them?
What kind of relationship would you have with them?”
“Have you ever thought about that, Sect Master Huang?”

Huang Chengdan froze.
What Jiang Li said sounded like a fantasy—pills transforming? He’d never considered such a thing. How could that be possible?
But if it really happened… following that line of thought, he found himself at a loss.
He didn’t know what to do.

This touched on too many ethical questions—he couldn’t think his way through it.

“Since you understand how troublesome it would be, then don’t make it troublesome for me either,” Jiang Li said with a smile, patting Huang Chengdan on the shoulder. “Hahaha, it was just something that popped into my head. Don’t take it to heart, Sect Master Huang.”

But how could Huang Chengdan not understand the subtext?
Jiang was clearly saying: since you know pill transformation would be a mess, you should also realize that spiritual treasure transformation would be a mess. Don’t cause trouble for me, and I won’t make things hard for you. Let’s keep things cordial—it’s better for everyone.

After Jiang Li left, Huang Chengdan personally terminated the spiritual treasure transformation bath project and destroyed all experimental data.