Chapter Forty-Three: Zhu Jiangyang’s Surveillance

The task of refining pills might be taxing and laborious for other cultivators, but for Liu Pan, it required no effort at all. After all, he possessed the spiritual strength of the True Lake realm. If he couldn't endure even the refining of a few batches of Human Origin Pills, it would be nothing short of laughable.

In three hours, Liu Pan had refined seven batches of pills: five batches of lower-grade Human Origin Pills and two batches of middle-grade ones. Although he botched one batch of each grade, he had successfully produced Exploding Origin Pills as he had hoped. Though it amounted to just six pills in half a cauldron, Liu Pan found this more than sufficient.

He decided not to continue refining. Although Elder Lin’s reserves could have supported a few more batches of middle-grade Human Origin Pills, Liu Pan saw no need to proceed any further. His goal had been the Exploding Origin Pills, and now that he had them, there was no purpose in exhausting himself unnecessarily.

Moreover, dusk was falling and hunger gnawed at him. Should he press on and lose focus, wasting precious ingredients, it would certainly not be worth the cost.

Elder Lin’s eyes were now bloodshot, his expression electrified, his entire being radiating a strange excitement. For him, what he had witnessed today was of immense value; a period of closed-door contemplation would surely yield great rewards.

“Master,” Liu Pan called softly. When Elder Lin turned, Liu Pan continued, “Master, I’d like to keep a few of the Exploding Origin Pills.”

Though the pills were of Liu Pan’s own making, and it was only right for him to take some, he still chose to inform Elder Lin out of courtesy, confident that the elder would not object.

“Of course,” Elder Lin replied, his voice still brimming with fervor. As he spoke, he swiftly opened a dozen alabaster porcelain bottles at his side, separating out most of the pills, then placed them into new containers and handed them to Liu Pan. “These are all your handiwork; I’ll keep just a few, the rest are yours.”

Yet Liu Pan did not accept all the bottles. He picked out just one, saying, “I’ll only take the Exploding Origin Pills, Master. You should keep the rest. Besides, carrying so many bottles would be quite inconvenient for me.”

Elder Lin was taken aback for a moment, but then realized: Liu Pan had no storage pouch. With so many bottles rattling around, walking would be noisy and cumbersome indeed.

After a moment’s thought, Elder Lin suddenly tore the storage pouch from his waist, emptied it, swept all the porcelain bottles inside with a wave of his hand, and held it out to Liu Pan. “Here, take it. This storage pouch is yours now.”

On the Tianfeng Continent, storage pouches were not exceedingly rare, but for a lower-tier sect like the Sunbright Sect, they were certainly treasures.

Liu Pan, of course, knew Elder Lin possessed a storage pouch, but he had never imagined the elder would part with it so readily.

“Master—” Liu Pan began to refuse, but Elder Lin cut him off with a wave. “Say no more. I can see you’re no ordinary person. Your future achievements will be limitless. Consider this a gesture of goodwill in advance, so that when you ascend in the future, you’ll remember this old man.”

Elder Lin spoke quickly, his excitement still uncontained. After speaking, a sudden thought made him burst into laughter.

Liu Pan was silent for a moment, then bowed respectfully to Elder Lin and accepted the storage pouch. “Thank you, Master.”

Regardless of Elder Lin’s true intentions, Liu Pan could no longer bring himself to refuse. Besides, having a storage pouch now would indeed make things much easier for him, so he accepted it without further ado.

Leaving the Alchemy Hall, Liu Pan raised his brow as his spiritual sense swept over his second senior brother, Zhu Jiangyang. Still lurking in the distance, Zhu Jiangyang watched the main hall furtively. When Liu Pan exited, he noticed Zhu Jiangyang instinctively shrink back. Clearly, Zhu Jiangyang’s target was him.

What exactly was he after? Liu Pan was filled with questions. He had been so absorbed in alchemy earlier that he hadn’t noticed whether Zhu Jiangyang had been standing guard outside the hall the entire time. Now, upon leaving, and with a sweep of his senses, Liu Pan spotted that shadowy figure, deepening his suspicions.

However, after a brief contemplation, Liu Pan chose to ignore Zhu Jiangyang. With a light step, he descended Medicine Peak and made his way directly to Great Leaf Peak.

Upon reaching Great Leaf Peak, Liu Pan paused as he passed the dining hall halfway up the mountain. Since gaining the ability to freely wield his spiritual strength, he had kept it extended within a two-hundred-meter radius about him at all times—to detect any unusual developments and respond accordingly.

At present, there was nothing out of the ordinary, but he did notice a familiar face in the dining hall, prompting him to halt.

After a moment’s thought, Liu Pan turned and entered the hall.

This was the dining hall for outer sect disciples. By now, the evening rush had long since passed, and only a dozen or so people remained, eating in silence. Liu Pan entered and immediately spotted a man in a short fur jacket, sitting alone in a corner and eating heartily—Wolf, as he was known.

Without hesitation, Liu Pan strode over.

As he approached, Liu Pan caught a faint whiff of blood, making him frown slightly, but a sweep of his spiritual sense put him at ease. Wolf bore numerous wounds, though most were superficial. His waist and abdomen were clearly swollen—a sign of his recent attempts to train against others, striving to overcome ingrained combat habits.

“Why are you here alone?” Liu Pan asked, glancing at the stack of plates before Wolf.

Hearing a voice, Wolf’s eating slowed. He looked up, dazed. “Brother Pan,” he muttered, staring blankly at Liu Pan, as if still processing his presence.

Liu Pan was bemused. Was his appearance really that unexpected?

After a moment’s silence, Liu Pan took out a white jade vial from his robe. “This is Bone Tempering Pill. It’ll help your cultivation. Use it well.” He lowered his voice, tossing the vial to Wolf before turning to leave.

“Brother Pan!” Seeing Liu Pan about to go, Wolf finally snapped out of his stupor and called after him.

“Oh, by the way,” Liu Pan paused, “you’d best choose some challenging ways to break your combat habits. Only under real pressure can you grow. If you only spar half-heartedly, it won’t help much.”

Without another word, Liu Pan left the dining hall and made for the summit.

Giving Wolf the pill was a matter of impulse upon seeing him. The Bone Tempering Pill had little use for someone already at the Warrior realm like Liu Pan; better to give it to someone he was on good terms with than let it go to waste.

Meeting Wolf was but a brief interlude. After dining at the summit, Liu Pan returned to his small courtyard on Medicine Peak.

Closing the door behind him, Liu Pan frowned slightly, then sat cross-legged on his bed and began expanding his spiritual sense.

Once back in his courtyard, he noticed that Zhu Jiangyang had disappeared, raising yet more questions. Why did Zhu Jiangyang spend all day watching him?

Extending his spiritual sense, Liu Pan soon located Zhu Jiangyang, who was on the move. Liu Pan observed his every action.

Before long, Zhu Jiangyang entered a small courtyard. Liu Pan’s brow rose; his spiritual sweep told him who lived there—his third senior brother, Wang Dadao.

At this late hour, what business did Zhu Jiangyang have with Wang Dadao?

Through his senses, Liu Pan saw them converse for about fifteen minutes before Zhu Jiangyang left and returned to his own quarters. Wang Dadao, meanwhile, thought deeply for a moment, opened his door to look at the sky, deemed it too late, and shut himself in with no further action.

Liu Pan frowned. Though his spiritual sense caught their lip movements, he had never studied lip reading, so he couldn’t tell what they discussed. Still, given that Zhu Jiangyang had spent the day watching him, their conversation was surely about him.

Though the details eluded him, Liu Pan did notice that Zhu Jiangyang treated Wang Dadao with marked respect—a peculiar dynamic between second and third senior brothers.

There was something odd here. What was the true relationship between these two? Why were they watching him? And what about Wang Dadao himself?

Liu Pan pondered long but found no answers. After some hesitation, he closed his eyes and began to cultivate, leaving his spiritual sense extended to continue monitoring Wang Dadao, ready to react to any developments.

The night passed swiftly. As the sun rose, Liu Pan’s eyes opened in a flash, a glint of resolve in their depths. Without hesitation, he rose, opened the door, and stepped outside.