Chapter 16: The Killing Machine

After Tang Qiluo gave the order, Ling Zhan was like a tiger rushing down the mountain. He let out an excited roar and swung the long halberd in his hand towards the person kneeling on the ground, wailing and begging for mercy.

With the descent of Ling Zhan’s long halberd, a voice that had been wailing in utmost misery suddenly stopped. The owner of the voice was smashed from head to toe into a pulp of flesh, making it impossible to distinguish any specific body parts.

Killing a person seemed as ordinary as swatting a fly to Ling Zhan. There was not a hint of discomfort on his face. Instead, he continued to excitedly charge through the crowd, brandishing his long halberd.

Wherever the long halberd reached, flesh and blood flew, and white bones were exposed, making it seem like a hell on earth.

Ling Zhan completely ignored the pleas and cries of the people. He just kept swinging his long halberd, smashing his way through everyone one by one, just like a demon king of slaughter.

The poor guards who had been loyal to the family and were guarding the North Courtyard entrance had been injured or exhausted from resisting the attack by Mu Deyu and the others earlier. Unable to move, they were almost forced to watch Ling Zhan’s killing spree. Although these people had also killed before, they had never seen such a cruel and bloody scene. Each one of them turned deathly pale with fear, and their scalps tingled.

After enduring the nausea and watching Ling Zhan’s killing for a while, everyone unanimously turned their bodies and vomited heavily against the wall.

Mu Xian also felt his scalp tingle. He originally thought his own methods of killing were cruel enough. But after witnessing Ling Zhan’s methods, he realized how gentle and merciful he himself was.

Ling Tian and Tang Qiluo stood by and watched with indifferent expressions, their eyes showing neither joy nor sorrow.

The massacre lasted for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. By then, several guards had already been scared unconscious.

After dealing with all the traitors, Ling Zhan excitedly ran up to Mu Xian. He heavily patted Mu Xian on the shoulder and said loudly, “Brother, you are so unfair! You have such great skills, yet you kept it from me. I’ve been cultivating day and night for nothing, wanting to protect you properly!”

Mu Xian had been barely holding himself upright. After being slapped hard by Ling Zhan’s bear-like palm, he immediately collapsed to the ground weakly, like a mountain of gold and a jade pillar toppling over.

After slapping him, Ling Zhan still raised his head with a dissatisfied look, waiting for Mu Xian to give him an explanation. He waited for a long time, but no explanation came. He looked down and saw Mu Xian already lying at his feet. He was instantly dumbfounded.

“You beast! You don’t know your own strength! If you’ve hurt your brother, see how I deal with you!” Ling Tian had already experienced Mu Xian’s tendency to fall unconscious on the journey. He wasn’t truly too worried, but on the surface, he kept a stern face and scolded sharply.

“Father, I… I…” After being scolded by Ling Tian, Ling Zhan, who moments ago was like a god of slaughter, immediately wilted. He turned red-faced and couldn’t speak for a long time, his eyes even reddening.

“What ‘I, I’? Aren’t you going to carry your brother into the house, and then clean up the courtyard for me?” Ling Tian glared and scolded impatiently.

Hearing this, Ling Zhan dared not delay. He quickly carried Mu Xian into the East Courtyard. After Tang Qiluo distributed Tiger Blood Pills to the exhausted guards, she also immediately hurried to the East Courtyard.

After meditating and regulating his breath for half an incense stick’s time, Ling Tian recovered about twenty percent of the Yuan Power in his body. Concerned for Mu Xian’s safety, he also stepped into the East Courtyard. Ling Zhan obediently returned to the courtyard and began meticulously cleaning it.

Once inside the East Courtyard, Ling Tian immediately lightened his steps, and his face became anxious. On the road back from Yunyang Academy to Shitang Town, this was already the thirteenth time Mu Xian had fainted and fallen. Especially the last two times, the interval between his collapses was less than an hour, and there were no warning signs before the attacks. This made Ling Tian deeply worried about Mu Xian.

If Mu Xian were merely a good-for-nothing who couldn’t cultivate, Ling Tian might have felt sympathy or pity, but he definitely wouldn’t have paid him excessive attention. However, after learning that Mu Xian was a Spiritual Master, and moreover, a Spiritual Master who might become a Spiritual Pharmacist, Ling Tian’s attitude towards Mu Xian had undergone a dramatic change.

“Sister-in-law, is Xian’er’s body alright?” After knocking and entering the room, Ling Tian couldn’t wait to ask.

When Ling Tian entered, Tang Qiluo was frowning slightly, her face full of confusion. Hearing Ling Tian’s question, she shook her head subconsciously. “There’s nothing wrong with Xian’er’s body. But his Divine Soul seems a bit strange. Second brother, was Xian’er overly frightened on the journey, or did he suffer some other kind of shock?”

When Ling Tian returned to the Mu Family, he happened to arrive just as Mu Deyu and the others were storming the North Courtyard to force a confrontation. Furious, he immediately joined the fight without a word. This fight lasted most of the day. Ling Tian had not had any time to speak with Tang Qiluo, not even meeting her face-to-face.

Seeing Tang Qiluo’s grave expression as she asked about Mu Xian, he frowned in thought, collected his memories, and began to recount what happened on the journey, not daring to omit even the smallest detail.

“What? Xian’er was ambushed right after leaving the school? Was it the work of those from the branch families?” Tang Qiluo interrupted as soon as Ling Tian started.

“On this point, Sister-in-law, you are mistaken. Those from the branch families might have the intention to break away from the main family, but they are still waiting for the results from the Elders’ council. For now, they aren’t making any moves. Xian’er was ambushed near the school because of a girl. It seems a senior female student at the school really liked Xian’er, and Xian’er also made no secret of his admiration for that senior sister. This provoked jealousy in another male student. Coincidentally, that boy’s family had a bit of money, so he directly hired an adventurer team to deal with Xian’er…”

As Ling Tian spoke, a smile involuntarily appeared on his face. After dealing with that adventurer team, Ling Tian naturally questioned the members to find out the truth for peace of mind.

Tang Qiluo suddenly heard that her son had a girlfriend at the academy, had attracted a rival in love, and had nearly lost his life because of it. Her thin, sexy lips gaped open, and her eyes were filled with disbelief. “Second brother, are you sure you didn’t get it wrong? With Xian’er’s personality, could a girl like him?”

Tang Qiluo said this not because she didn’t like her own son, but because she knew very well her son’s personality was simply not the type to attract girls.

“At first, I had the same doubt as you, Sister-in-law, so I made special inquiries. It turned out Xian’er suffered an unjust calamity. The girl Xian’er likes is named Xiao Yuerou. She is the daughter of the County Lord of Yunmen County, a very excellent girl, arguably the pride of Yunyang Academy. Xiao Yuerou was extremely popular at school and indeed showed unusually friendly behavior towards Xian’er. However, Xiao Yuerou clearly had no romantic love for Xian’er, only a purely friendly concern between friends. But her concern for Xian’er, in others’ eyes, became ambiguous, which attracted a rival in love for Xian’er.”

“And because of his body and personality, Xian’er had almost no friends at school, let alone a female friend. Xiao Yuerou suddenly showing him favor overwhelmed him with flattery. Xiao Yuerou’s beauty and excellence also fascinated Xian’er, so in his heart, he regarded Xiao Yuerou as a fairy-like being.”

“…”

What Ling Tian didn’t notice was that when he mentioned the name Xiao Yuerou, Tang Qiluo’s brows slightly furrowed, and a strange glint flashed in her eyes. However, Tang Qiluo quickly concealed this strangeness and gestured for Ling Tian to continue.

“Wait, you said Xian’er casually concocted a Yuan-Dispelling Potion, draining all the Yuan Power from Red Wolf and Mu Guitu, but you who stood right beside him were completely unaffected?” When Ling Tian spoke about what happened at Green Forest Ridge, Tang Qiluo suddenly stood up straight and cried out in surprise.

“Yes, when I was being attacked by Red Wolf and Mu Guitu together, I almost despaired. Those two are a formidable pair in Shitang Town—one invincible at long-range, the other formidable in close combat. Fighting together, even a True Essence Realm martial artist would be extremely wary, much less me, who only has high-level Condensed Essence Realm cultivation. But I never imagined at the critical moment, Xian’er stepped forward and easily dealt with Mu Guitu and Red Wolf…”

After hearing Ling Tian’s words, Tang Qiluo was so shocked she couldn’t speak for a long time.

“Second brother, Xian’er tricked you. Xian’er is already a Spiritual Pharmacist, and his attainments in Spiritual Medicine are not low.” After a long silence, Tang Qiluo finally spoke as if in a dream.

Others didn’t know the difficulty of concocting a Yuan-Dispelling Potion, but Tang Qiluo knew it all too well.

When Fairy Furong of the Hundred Herbs Sect went to the Poison Mist Swamp to gather herbs, she was injured by a poisonous creature there and had to return to Shitang Town to recuperate and restock. During this time, she needed an assistant to help her prepare potions. Due to the talent she displayed, Tang Qiluo was fortunate to be chosen by Fairy Furong.

While assisting Fairy Furong, Tang Qiluo successfully cultivated Spiritual Power, becoming an esteemed Spiritual Master. She also came into contact with the field of Spiritual Medicine and barely learned some knowledge about it.

Fairy Furong originally only wanted a temporary assistant. However, upon discovering Tang Qiluo’s displayed talent and diligence far exceeded her expectations, she developed the idea of taking Tang Qiluo as a disciple and wanted to bring her to the Hundred Herbs Sect for cultivation. But Tang Qiluo was deeply in love with Mu Yuanshan at the time and refused to leave Shitang Town no matter what.

Finding herself unable to persuade Tang Qiluo, Fairy Furong became angrily humiliated. She casually sealed the Spiritual Power within Tang Qiluo’s body, cutting off Tang Qiluo’s path of Spiritual Cultivation.

Before leaving, Fairy Furong stated that if Tang Qiluo wanted to continue her Spiritual Cultivation path, she only had two ways: either go to the Hundred Herbs Sect and become her disciple, or concoct the Spiritual Medicine herself to break the seal. Whether to give Tang Qiluo a thread of hope or to deliberately tempt her to go to the Hundred Herbs Sect, Fairy Furong also threw Tang Qiluo a copy of her own cultivation notes before leaving.

Over the past ten-plus years, although Tang Qiluo couldn’t cultivate, she read and re-read Fairy Furong’s notes countless times. Therefore, she understood better than anyone the immense difficulty a Spiritual Pharmacist faced in concocting Spiritual Medicine.

According to Fairy Furong’s records, the Yuan-Dispelling Potion was simply not something an ordinary Spiritual Pharmacist could concoct. At the very least, Fairy Furong at the time had never successfully concocted the Yuan-Dispelling Potion, and she was already a Medicine Venerable capable of successfully concocting Sixth Rank potions.

Not only had Fairy Furong never successfully concocted the Yuan-Dispelling Potion, but even within the entire Sheng Zhou Dynasty, there were only a handful of Spiritual Pharmacists capable of successfully concocting it. This included even those Medicine Saints capable of concocting Ninth Rank potions.

Poor Mu Xian, after transmigrating, hadn’t yet shifted many concepts in his mind. He completely viewed the issue of the Yuan-Dispelling Potion with the knowledge from twenty thousand years in the future, utterly unaware that the concoction technique for the Yuan-Dispelling Potion at this time was quite underdeveloped. Thus, his explanation fooled an outsider like Ling Tian but couldn’t deceive Tang Qiluo, who had once had close contact with a Spiritual Pharmacist.