Immortal Sword Master

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Bound by the Mortal World, Alchemy and Killing

”Who?”

Ning Yu’an, who had been focused on practicing the Purple Qi Creation Technique nearby, was instantly startled awake by this tyrannical aura.

She leaped to her feet. Her expression changed drastically upon seeing the black-robed figure, and she quickly moved to stand in front of Ning Jiang, shielding him with her body.

In this moment of danger, her first instinct was to protect Ning Jiang.

”Little brother, you go first! I’ll hold him off.”

Ning Yu’an’s tone was fast and stern, leaving no room for argument.

Her personality had always been gentle; she was rarely like this.

”Sister An, it’s alright.”

Ning Jiang gently took Ning Yu’an’s hand and pulled her behind him. His voice was like freshly drawn spring water, cool and serene. ”You’re no assassin. A true assassin would choose the perfect moment to appear and launch a killing blow—a strike like a rainbow piercing the sun, a comet streaking across the moon, a soul-stealing, life-reaping attack. If the first strike fails, they flee a thousand miles to await the next opportunity. But you, you came right to our door, exposed your position, and didn’t attack immediately.”

”Furthermore, an assassin’s eyes are cruel, decisive, merciless, and resolute. Your eyes lack those emotions. On the contrary, when you saw the two of us, there was a flicker of hesitation. Did you find you couldn’t bring yourself to strike?”

”If you’ve accepted a mission to kill someone, you should have the resolve to see it through. Why the hesitation?”

Even in such a situation, Ning Jiang remained calm and composed, as if he would be unfazed even if the sky were to fall.

”You’re right. I did hesitate,” the black-robed man said, his voice a bit hoarse. ”When I kill, I only kill those who deserve it. I repay kindness with kindness and enmity with vengeance. My sword has never slain the innocent, and my conscience has always been clear. Today, my hand is forced in coming to kill you.”

”’My hand is forced... my hand is forced.’” Ning Jiang repeated the words twice, then suddenly sighed. ”In this world of strife, one’s hand is often forced. The bustling mortal world is a great quagmire. A lotus may rise from the mud unstained, but its roots remain in the mire. The mortal world is a prison, and its passions are a fire. No one can escape its entanglements.”

’Even I have times when my hand is forced, because in this mortal world, I have attachments.’

Ning Yu’an, Ning Changfeng, Li Qingyun... they were his attachments.

One hundred thousand years ago, he was an orphan, single-mindedly devoted to the Dao with no attachments. Thus, his progress was fierce and rapid, his Cultivation advancing a thousand miles a day.

But later on, he became entangled by attachments all the same—love and hate, passion and vendettas, human relationships and moral obligations. All of these were attachments.

He had challenged a Great Emperor for a single person precisely because he valued sentiment and loyalty, because his heart was bound by attachments.

”Shrouded by the mortal world, it’s a tangled mess that’s impossible to sort out. Let me guess the reason why your hand is forced.”

Ning Jiang set aside his musings. His eyes were crystal clear, like a pool of autumn water reflecting everything. ”You carry a very faint scent, like volcanic lava—fiery and scorching. If I’m not mistaken, it must be the Fire Rock Flower.”

”Beyond that, there’s another unique scent, a fruity aroma. That should be the Vermilion Flame Fruit. Both of these items have antitoxic properties. When used together, they can suppress a potent toxin called Bone-Eroding Poison, which is unique to a Demon Beast known as the Red-tailed Bone-Eroding Scorpion.”

”I recall that these Red-tailed Bone-Eroding Scorpions can be found in the Demon Mist Mountain Range, about seventy li from Luoyang City, though they are extremely rare.”

At this, the black-robed man’s eyes filled with shock.

Ning Jiang continued slowly and methodically, ”I see you moving freely, so the one who’s poisoned must be someone else. The Fire Rock Flower and Vermilion Flame Fruit are not cheap. A pair costs Five Thousand Primordial Stones. With your financial situation, you probably can’t afford to buy them many times. So you took this job for the Primordial Stones, forced to make a score?”

”Everything you’ve said is correct. My wife was indeed poisoned with the Bone-Eroding Poison in the Demon Mist Mountain Range. It has been seven days. I was at my wit’s end and had no choice but to accept this assassination mission.”

The black-robed man’s mind was in turmoil, reeling with profound shock. Just from a few scents, Ning Jiang had been able to deduce so much information with pinpoint accuracy. He had never seen such a crystal-clear perception before!

’Is the person before me really just a young man and not some old monster?’

”Bone-Eroding Poison... Even an Innate Realm expert who’s been poisoned can only force it out bit by bit with Innate Gang Qi, a process that takes at least a month. As for a Postnatal Realm martial artist, it’s a death sentence. Your wife must be at the Postnatal Realm. After seven days, the poison should be starting to seep into her bone marrow. The Fire Rock Flower and Vermilion Flame Fruit can only suppress the poison and delay her death.”

”Here in Luoyang City, not even Alchemy Master Du Wanqing can save your wife. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; every trade has its own expert. Du Wanqing’s specialty is Healing Elixirs; he isn’t particularly proficient with Antitoxic Elixirs.”

”However, I can save your wife!”

Ning Jiang’s final words were like a clap of thunder on a clear day.

”What? Is that true?” Instantly, the black-robed man’s body shook violently.

”Besides trusting me, do you have any other choice?”

”If you can save my wife, my life is yours. I will be your slave and servant to repay this immense kindness,” the black-robed man said, his eyes filled with excitement.

”Was the person who sent you to kill me Liu Feng of the Liu Family?” Ning Jiang’s topic shifted abruptly.

The black-robed man’s heart jolted. He felt that this youth’s intelligence was demonic; nothing could be hidden from him. ”Yes.”

”What is your name?”

”Zheng Zhiyuan.”

”Your slave and servant. Remember your words.”

Fetching a brush and paper, Ning Jiang wrote out two Pill Formulas and handed them to Zheng Zhiyuan.

”This one is the Pill Formula to neutralize the Bone-Eroding Poison, but the ingredients are relatively difficult to acquire. It might take a few days to gather them, so there’s no rush for now. The ingredients on the other Pill Formula are all common and can be found in the medicine shops on Changle Street. Bring them back within the hour.”

”Alright.”

After taking the Pill Formulas, Zheng Zhiyuan departed in a hurry. His wife’s life was hanging by a thread, and no one in Luoyang City could save her. Now, his only hope was to desperately cling to the lifeline Ning Jiang had offered.

Although he couldn’t be sure if anything Ning Jiang said was true, it was just as Ning Jiang had stated: he had no other choice but to trust him.

It was already the dead of night, but the shops on Changle Street were open around the clock.

In less than an hour, Zheng Zhiyuan returned with the ingredients Ning Jiang had requested.

「Drunken Moon Pavilion, in the Alchemy Room.」

The Pill Cauldron was forged entirely of bronze, with three legs and two ears. Its body was engraved with intricate patterns, giving it a heavy and stable presence.

This cauldron was a Low Grade Treasure Artifact, not particularly valuable. People often borrowed it for Alchemy, provided they paid a certain amount of Primordial Stones.

Of course, with the Jade Order in hand, Ning Jiang could use anything here as he pleased.

The next moment, a great fire ignited.

The fire was fueled by Fire Rock. This type of stone contained abundant Flame Power and would burst into a roaring blaze when lit. A single Fire Rock could burn for two hours.

Fire Rock was an essential item for Alchemy. The temperature of an ordinary fire fueled by wood was simply insufficient to melt many medicinal ingredients.

Of course, once a Martial Artist reached the later stages of Cultivation, they could manifest their own Flame Power and would no longer need to rely on external aids.

Fire Rocks weren’t considered precious; they could be mined from certain veins. Each one cost ten Primordial Stones. Ning Jiang tossed three of them in.

After a while, once the temperature inside the Pill Cauldron was high enough, Ning Jiang began to add the ingredients.

This time, he was going to refine an elixir called the Violent Qi Pill. This elixir was available on the market and, upon consumption, could cause a Qi Cultivation Realm Martial Artist’s True Qi to boil and surge, temporarily increasing their cultivation by one to two Layers.

But how could the Violent Qi Pills on the market compare to one personally refined by Ning Jiang?

Although those pills could increase one’s strength, the user’s body would be left in a weakened state afterward, requiring at least a few days of recuperation to recover.

The Violent Qi Pill refined by Ning Jiang, however, not only had no side effects but could also raise one’s cultivation by three Layers! Afterward, the pill’s energy would be absorbed by the body, serving to nourish and strengthen it!

Nearby, Zheng Zhiyuan watched with rapt attention. He didn’t understand Alchemy, but he could still discern the fluid, graceful technique Ning Jiang employed.

Ning Yu’an also stood guard by Ning Jiang’s side, her expression wary, afraid that Zheng Zhiyuan would go back on his word and launch a surprise attack.

Time passed, and the Alchemy Room grew progressively hotter. Throughout this period, Ning Jiang methodically added one ingredient after another.

The two great difficulties in Alchemy were controlling the heat and timing the addition of ingredients. The slightest deviation in either would lead to failure and a waste of precious materials.

No Alchemist could ever guarantee that their refinement would succeed. Even an Alchemy Master like Du Wanqing faced a huge risk of failure when concocting some High Level Elixirs.

Moreover, the ingredients for High Level Elixirs were often very expensive. This was why the first requirement for an Alchemist was to be wealthy. Otherwise, if you couldn’t even afford the ingredients, how could you practice Alchemy?

Of course, many Alchemists were also retainers for families. The family would provide the resources, and the Alchemist, in turn, would serve the family.

In any case, an Alchemist held a respected status no matter where they went and could not be easily offended.

Alchemy Master Du Wanqing alone was comparable to a second-tier family. Even a first-class noble house would have to treat him with courtesy.

Furthermore, an Alchemist’s Pill Cauldron was also extremely important. Some precious cauldrons could improve the quality of the elixirs, increase the success rate, and shorten the refinement time.

Some elixirs took ten-odd days or even longer to refine. A good Pill Cauldron could drastically reduce that time.

However, the price of Pill Cauldrons among Treasure Artifacts had always been exorbitant. A Pill Cauldron was several times, or even more, expensive than a Treasure Artifact of the same level.

An Upper Grade Treasure Sword might cost twenty or thirty thousand Primordial Stones, but a Pill Cauldron would cost a hundred or two hundred thousand.

Of course, with Ning Jiang’s ability, even using a mere Low Grade Pill Cauldron, the quality of the elixir he produced would be better than what others could make with an Upper Grade Pill Cauldron.

In his eyes, even Alchemy Master Du Wanqing was just an amateur.

Two hours later, more than a dozen different ingredients had been completely transformed into a single, blood-red elixir. The pill was perfectly round, the size of a fingernail, and exuded a rich fragrance that made the True Qi within one’s body stir restlessly.

”This is a Violent Qi Pill?!”

Zheng Zhiyuan’s eyes showed deep astonishment. He had seen plenty of Violent Qi Pills before, but the best ones on the market were merely a pale red color with a less-than-smooth surface, looking like pale red stone beads.

But the one Ning Jiang had refined was as vibrant red as blood, with a surface as smooth as jade. It was translucent, looking just like a piece of red Jade.

Compared to Ning Jiang’s Violent Qi Pill, Zheng Zhiyuan felt that all the others he had ever seen were complete trash. The difference was like that between the clouds and the mud.

’Not necessarily,’ Zheng Zhiyuan speculated internally. ’Perhaps this Violent Qi Pill just looks good on the surface. The best ones on the market can raise a Qi Cultivation Realm practitioner’s cultivation by two Layers. This one should also be around two Layers, right?’

The next moment, as Ning Jiang swallowed the Violent Qi Pill, his aura began to climb steadily.

”How is this possible?!”

When Ning Jiang’s aura stabilized, Zheng Zhiyuan was stunned. Ning Jiang’s aura had now reached the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer—an increase of three whole Layers!

Moreover, his aura was incredibly stable, no different from someone genuinely at the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer.

One had to understand that the True Qi boosted by a normal Violent Qi Pill would be frenzied and unstable, not condensed and solid like Ning Jiang’s.

”How long can this Violent Qi Pill last?” Zheng Zhiyuan couldn’t help but ask.

The best Violent Qi Pill in Luoyang City lasted for the time it took one stick of incense to burn!

”About the time it takes for five sticks of incense to burn,” Ning Jiang said.

Zheng Zhiyuan’s heart pounded violently. At the same time, a deep, ecstatic joy appeared in his eyes. If he had harbored any doubts about whether Ning Jiang could save his wife before, he was now utterly convinced.

With such skill in Alchemy, not even Du Wanqing could compare to Ning Jiang!

”Zheng Zhiyuan, you will stay here. If anything at all happens to Sister An, I will hold you solely responsible.” Ning Jiang squeezed Ning Yu’an’s hand. ”Sister An, wait for me here. I’m going to kill someone.”

Before his voice had even faded, his figure was already gone.