Sovereign of the Three Realms

“What’s the matter, Brother Zhuo?” Elder Feng couldn’t help but ask when he noticed Elder Zhuo’s strange expression. Concern causes confusion. He was curious about Mo Ye’s secret prescription, and also worried about the possibility that this Pill Master Zhen might not be reliable and harm his disciple in an attempt to cure him.

Elder Zhuo squeezed out a wry smile and handed the prescription to Elder Feng. The latter’s expression also became amazingly complicated with a single glance. He slammed a hand down on the table. “Utter drivel!” Elder Feng’s character was of the stubborn and old-fashioned sort. He naturally erupted in anger upon seeing this ludicrous prescription and was on the verge of charging into the private chamber and hauling Mu Ge out, interrupting the detoxifying session right then and there.

Wei Jie didn’t know what this secret prescription was either. He took it and glanced over it, with his expression also turning incomparably strange, a similarly wry smile frozen on his face.

There were only a few words written on it. Nine women at night, repeat for three days. Then, take my pills and you will recover.

“Old friend, what are you doing?” Elder Zhuo saw Elder Feng storming off to the private chamber and hurriedly pulled him to a stop.

“Brother Zhuo, if this kid is messing around to this degree, is his cure going to work? I’m not so sure that all of you haven’t been made fun of by a charlatan!” Elder Fang was shaking in his anger. With his old-fashioned character, nothing would make him believe that that preposterous prescription was normal.

However, contrary to expectations, Elder Zhuo was rather pensive. He remembered that Pill Master Zhen had said Wei Mo’s symptoms were in fact just a small problem. His diagnosis had been that it was merely an excess of yang energy combined with someone using medicine to overstimulate it, leading to a surplus of qi and blood, which made Wei Mo hyperactive and lustful. Would orthodox pill kings even direct their thoughts in that direction when faced with such symptoms?

Elder Zhuo had also invited some pill kings to diagnose Wei Mo. All of them had expended their efforts at finding poison, and none of them had come to any reliable conclusion. This secret prescription gave Elder Zhuo a new explanation. Perhaps, it was truly an excess of yang?

Even still, this prescription was indeed a little preposterous. It almost looked like a child’s prank. But when the elder thought back to the confidence in the pill master’s eyes, his calm when he offered his guarantees, as well as Wei Jie’s decisive demeanor in offering to shoulder the responsibilities together, he couldn’t quite disbelive them. None of that had looked fake. Elder Zhuo’s mood had also been infected by these two young men. It was why he’d brought them with him to visit Elder Feng and gone so far as to put in a good word for them. Therefore, he was naturally willing to put his faith in that young man in this moment.

“Old Feng, the treatment is in session and isn’t something you can disturb. If you go in rashly like this and if by any chance they are at a crucial juncture, your actions might lead things far more astray. It may even end in immediate death. How can you be so rash?”

Elder Feng breathed hard in anger. His wrath obviously still hadn’t vanished.

The door to the secret chamber opened slowly just as the two of them stood at an impasse. Jiang Chen walked out, his face as tranquil as the drifting clouds. Seeing the two elders standing right in front of the door, he smiled, “There isn’t any need for you two elders to be so courteous, is there? Going as far as standing at the door and welcoming me in person? How did you know I was done?”

Even Wei Jie and Wei Mo felt the urge to laugh. The two old men were struck dumb, momentarily lost for words. Elder Feng was worried about his beloved disciple, so he was still the first to break the silence in the end, “Where’s Mu Ge?”

“He’s fine. Actually, he’s meditating inside. If Elder Feng doesn’t wish to disturb his beloved disciple’s meditation, then please hold your peace and wait patiently for a few hours.” Jiang Chen stretched and saw Wei Mo still standing there. He spoke with an exaggerated tone, “Young master Mo, why are you still dilly-dallying here? The sooner you follow the prescription I gave you, the better. Your yang energy doesn’t look seem like it’s erupting out of control, but it’s already disturbing your consciousness. If you still don’t channel it away, then the internal demons will completely settle in, and you’ll be in big trouble.”

“Ah?” Wei Mo was still a virgin. He was thrown into complete chaos when he heard Jiang Chen’s words.

“Truly, don’t end up harming yourself no matter what. Remember, when it comes to the number, you can always go higher, but never lower. As to the quality, you’ll have to take care of that yourself. Remember, avoid women cultivating evil arts at any cost, otherwise they’ll absorb your yang energy and turn you into their cultivation furnace. It really wouldn’t be worth it if your yang energy is taken to bolster a woman’s yin energy.” Jiang Chen patted Wei Mo’s shoulder. He guessed Wei Mo was one of those martial fanatics who were so devoted to cultivation that they were clueless when it came to women.

Wei Mo blushed bright red. Wei Jie laughed, “Brother Mo, do you want this old brother to help you?”

Elder Zhuo rushed to speak before Wei Mo could decline, “Jie’er, you really have to help him in this matter. You young people can share your experience in that area.” The old man quickly felt ashamed at his own words. What the bloody hell was that?

The group continued to chat and laugh. As for Jiang Chen, he sat unperturbed, drinking his tea and tasting a few pastries, looking very much the image of an honored visiting guest. He didn’t pay any mind to the probing looks Elder Feng shot in his direction every now and then.

A few hours later, Mu Ge walked out of the chamber. Elder Feng froze as soon as he saw Mu Ge, as though he were struck by a bolt of lightning. The present Mu Ge was refreshed and relaxed. His face brimmed with vigor, and his entire being seemed full of life, radiating a formidable aura of vitality. How was this the look of someone who’d been poisoned?

“Ge’er, are… are you cured?” Excitement and strong disbelief chased each other around in Elder Feng’s voice.

“Honored master, your disciple’s poison has been entirely removed. And thanks to Pill Master Zhen’s guidance, I seemed to have comprehended some new insights. I seem to be showing signs of breaking through.”

“What?” Elder Feng’s expressions became quite rich and varied all of a sudden.

Mu Ge smiled faintly. He went to Jiang Chen and saluted him deferentially. “Many thanks for saving my life, Pill Master Zhen, and many thanks for your guidance. I will forever remember these two favors.”

Jiang Chen smiled, “Mu Ge’er, there’s actually no need to be so polite. You also know that I did it for the sake of my bet with your teacher.”

Mu Ge was still as serious and earnest as ever. “It might have been a bet, but I was still the beneficiary of these favors. A drop of water shall be repaid with a welling spring, and a favor needs to be paid back in full. If one day you ever have a need of me, I will answer the call even if I have to go through fire and water.” Mu Ge was clearly an honest man who knew to repay his debts.

Jiang Chen casually waved it off. He didn’t give any thought to having his favor repaid. Instead, he leveled a calm gaze at Elder Feng. What he cared about was Elder Feng’s attitude.

An endless stream of expressions flicked across Elder Feng’s face. In the end, he gave a long sigh. “Well oh well. It seems I’ve grown old and confused, I’d forgotten that the next wave always overtakes the old. Let us just say that you’ve taught this old man a lesson today.” Elder Feng looked at Wei Jie and added, “Young master Jie, go back and tell your esteemed father that I will stand firmly at his side as long as I live, so that we can set House Wei aright once more!”

Wei Jie was delighted. He knew that any one of the four great elders were great heavyweights and men of their word. They would never break their promises. “Many thanks, Elder Feng!”

Elder Feng shook his head with a wry smile. “Why are you thanking me for? I should be the one thanking you. Of course, it’s mostly due to your friend. I take his hat off to him.”

There were good things about stubborn people as well. If they were on the right path, you were assured of their reliability. Jiang Chen’s tone turned modest. “Elder Feng, I was merely playing some petty tricks previously to goad you, rather than intending to disrespect you.”

Elder Feng sighed. “This old man isn’t completely blind yet. How would I fail to notice the obvious tricks of youth? To tell the truth, the old man was also steering along with the current and taking advantage of the situation. I wanted to see what you were really made of. Now, it seems I’ve made an error in judgment. It seems House Leader Tianxiao has a son with a good eye.”

Elder Zhuo shared the same thoughts. He and Elder Feng both hadn’t been persuaded by Wei Tianxiao, but his son accomplished what his father could not. When it came down to it, the potential Wei Jie’d just displayed was far above what Wei Tianxiao had shown back in his youth. Elder Zhuo suddenly noticed Wei Mo still standing dazedly off to one side. The elder smacked him upside the head as he berated, “Why are you still standing dumbly here for? Go back and follow Pill Master Zhen’s instructions.”

“Ah!?” Wei Mo shouted in surprise, his face turning red again.

Wei Jie slung his arm around Wei Mo’s shoulder. “Let’s go, brother. I’ll help you with the search. Our house has many maids, but we still have to be rather picky in our selection. We can’t let these evil female cultivators get one over us!”

Everyone laughed heartily. Wei Jie suddenly thought of something just as he was about to leave and turned to Elder Feng and Elder Zhuo, “Elders, this junior has another request. I hope the matters today can stay behind these doors. We’ll only have our opportunity to strike back at Wei Tiantong at the house meeting in two days. There, we’ll make him expose himself. Only then will we gain evidence of him betraying the house.”

Elder Zhuo and Elder Feng looked at each other, both of them nodding. “That is sensible, let it be so.” Since they had now chosen to stand with Wei Tianxiao, they had to protect their side’s interests.

Jiang Chen didn’t forget to remind them, “Gentlemen, let me tack on a few more words. Wei Tiantong’s evil pill master still has many tricks up his sleeves. If you gentlemen don’t want anything else to happen, you will need to stay on high alert. If we let this fellow succeed with some other shenanigans, the situation might well change yet again.”

Elder Zhuo nodded. Elder Feng also looked pensive.

……

Jiang Chen released a silent sigh when he returned to his temporary lodgings. House Wei’s situation had been imperceptibly turned around. His next task was to finish his preparations for the pill store.

He’d found the time to train and organize the Regal Pill Palace members during these past few days. He’d decided to organize them in three levels.

Shen Trifire and Rong Zifeng made up the first level. The two of them were going to be the main pill masters in the pill store, especially Shen Trifire with his innate fire constitution. Although he wasn’t as outstanding as Mu Gaoqi, possessing three sources of fire definitely made him a good candidate for pill refining.

Jiang Chen decided to focus on mentoring Shen Trifire. He would be in charge of refining some of the important pills. Shen Trifire wasn’t a fool either. He could tell Jiang Chen intended to train him, so why would he refuse? He’d already been won over by Jiang Chen back in the Regal Pill Palace after their pill contest. Now that he’d experienced Jiang Chen’s pill dao abilities for himself, he was even more willing to bow down to Jiang Chen. He was dead-set on following his senior brother, going as far as suggesting that he take Jiang Chen as his master. However, they both came from the same sect after all. For the sake of the Regal Pill Palace, Jiang Chen couldn’t take him as a disciple. It was more suitable for them to be fellow disciples.

It was fortunate that everyone was a disciple of the Regal Pill Palace. The sect had originally been a sect that had focused on pill dao, so every disciple had a solid foundation to build from. As a result, they all made great strides forward under Jiang Chen’s tutelege. As for the ten saint realm slaves, Jiang Chen wasn’t planning on training them into pill masters. They were outsiders after all. He planned to have them to run daily operations in the pill store and work in the front.