Master Three? Is that you?

The Ten Thousand Mountains are where the sun sets last and the moon rises first. Day and night alternate, yin and yang flow in cycles.

Inside the guest room.

Song Qiuyue’s hands had already returned to their original state. Chen Huangpi’s black smoke had been confined within the Temple of the Kidney, so the sword energy contained not a trace of black smoke, and thus could not harm Song Qiuyue’s true form.

For a Nascent Soul cultivator, as long as the soul remains unchanged, the body is merely a shell. Yet the soul is the soul, and the true form is the true form. The true form is the essential shape of a life. If the true form is altered, so too is the life itself. Simply put, if Chen Huangpi were to split Song Qiuyue’s true form in two, even if she survived, she would live divided, unable to grow or reunite the halves. For her true form is what it is, and cannot be otherwise.

“Leave,” she said.

Song Qiuyue sat in the room, her heart like ashes, and grew weary at the sight of the other cultivators. All hope was lost. No one would come to save her now. The half day had slipped away in a flash. Soon, that man full of twisted logic and exuding evil—Chen Huangpi—would come to cut off her head.

She was only eighteen or nineteen years old. She regretted, she was unwilling. In Chen Huangpi, she had glimpsed the path of cultivation. Yet now, she could only wait silently for death’s arrival.

The cultivators exchanged glances and saw despair mirrored in each other’s eyes. All withdrew from the guest room, sitting on the ground, hearts heavy and cold. Outside, they were exalted Nascent Soul Lords, servants of Song Tiangang, the Governor of Xu Province. But in this Pure Immortal Temple, Nascent Soul Lords outnumbered mortals, and died even more quickly.

Meanwhile, in the pill chamber.

Chen Huangpi stared at the nearly finished Heavenly Poison Pill within the Nine Dragons Heaven Refining Furnace, his mood surging with excitement.

With a sudden gesture, Chen Huangpi formed a seal, and the lid of the Nine Dragons Heaven Refining Furnace sprang open.

Inside, a pill the size of two human heads spun rapidly. Its body was a chaotic gray, and a rich, exotic fragrance—far stronger than before—instantly filled the air.

Chen Huangpi, proud, said, “Huang Er, do you smell it? How does my Heavenly Poison Pill’s aroma compare?”

“Fragrant—extremely fragrant!” The brass oil lamp took a whiff, feeling its mouth water. If it didn’t know this was the Heavenly Poison Pill, it would have wanted to take a bite.

“Wait…” The brass oil lamp suddenly realized something amiss. “Chen Huangpi, didn’t you say the Heavenly Poison Pill, once finished, would be colorless and odorless? Did you make a mistake?”

Hearing this, Chen Huangpi froze. He stared in bewilderment at the giant pill, which was entirely gray, covered with a faintly shimmering membrane and exuded a powerful aroma—clearly not matching the description of colorless and odorless.

“Could I have made a mistake?” Chen Huangpi took out the Seventy-Two Secret Pill Recipes and examined them closely. The steps were correct. The ingredients were correct. So where had he gone wrong?

The brass oil lamp said, “Don’t think too hard. It must be your pill-making technique.”

“Impossible!” Chen Huangpi shook his head. “My master made mine this way. My technique can’t be wrong.”

“My dear, do you think it’s possible,” the brass oil lamp ventured, “that when the temple master made yours, he wasn’t using pill-making techniques at all?”

Truthfully, it had long suspected as much. Pill-making was for increasing cultivation, mending the body, or forging sword pills, artifact pills, and the like. Sounded strange. But did the temple master even need such things? If he did wish to make pills, he’d use heaven and earth as the furnace, sun and moon as the fire—only then would it barely relate to him. As for pill-making techniques, perhaps they were only used for refining Chen Huangpi himself?

Chen Huangpi and the brass oil lamp understood each other’s thoughts. He immediately caught on.

“Huang Er, did I really make a mistake?” Chen Huangpi felt utterly dejected.

“Don’t be sad. You can’t be wrong.”

The brass oil lamp comforted him: “You’re a pill-making genius, versed in Dao of Pills, and well-read. Big is beautiful, big is good. Everything is as you say.”

Hearing this, Chen Huangpi’s face flushed red, wishing he could shove his head into the furnace. His first attempt at pill-making had ended in such a blow. He was saddened—he might not be a pill-making genius after all. Worse, the Heavenly Poison Pill had not succeeded, so he couldn’t cure his master’s illness. He went out daily to gather herbs, all for healing his master. Now, all in vain.

“Huang Er, I’m useless.”

Chen Huangpi sat on the ground, burying his head in his arms. The brass oil lamp grew frantic.

“Chen Huangpi, don’t be upset.”

It couldn’t bear to see Chen Huangpi sad, so it softened and comforted him: “You may not be a pill-making genius, nor well-versed in the Dao of Pills, and you love showing off with twisted reasoning, but your first pill-making attempt produced something unknown, which is impressive.”

“I followed the steps exactly.” Chen Huangpi looked up, eyes red-rimmed, distressed. “See, I clearly made it, but it’s not the Heavenly Poison Pill.”

“It can be!”

“The Heavenly Poison Pill isn’t supposed to look like this.”

“Then let’s go with your standard.”

The brass oil lamp said, “If you say it’s the Heavenly Poison Pill, then it is. If anyone disputes, I’ll burn them with true fire.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I never lie.”

“Thank you, Huang Er. When you burn them, let me watch—it’ll cheer me up.”

With the brass oil lamp’s encouragement, Chen Huangpi’s mood brightened. He was no longer sad, his youthful spirit returned. He stood up and walked to the two human-head-sized gray pills.

“Huang Er, this thing should count as a pill, right?”

Even if it wasn’t the Heavenly Poison Pill, at least it was a pill.

The brass oil lamp agreed: “It’s definitely a pill. Who knows what use it has?”

“Why don’t you try a bite?” Chen Huangpi glanced at the brass oil lamp. He remembered it had said it wanted the first taste when the Heavenly Poison Pill was ready. But after thinking, he shook his head: “Forget it, toss it away. Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Shows you have a conscience.” The brass oil lamp rolled its eyes. Who knew what this thing was? So many poisons, mercury, lead, and a Hundred-Deaths-No-Life Man born of the Underworld soil—all mixed in. Only a fool would eat it. Though, admittedly, it smelled pretty good…

Just then, the pill chamber door swung open.

The elder in white robes walked in, sniffing—fragrance, such fragrance! Even more alluring than Huangpi. An overpowering scent, mouth-watering.

“Huangpi, what’s inside the furnace?” The elder stared greedily at the giant gray pill, drooling uncontrollably.

Chen Huangpi explained, “Second Master, it’s a pill I made, but I failed. I don’t know what it is.”

“Who cares what it is?” The elder said hungrily, “I’m starving. I’ll eat it!”

With a gesture, the giant pill appeared before him, and he hugged it greedily.

“Second Master, this pill may be poisonous, you can’t eat it!”

“Can’t eat it?” The elder paused, then sneered, “Is it really inedible?”

“Really, you shouldn’t.”

“I think it’s not that I can’t eat it, but you don’t want to let me eat it.”

“Huh?”

Chen Huangpi was stunned.

The elder in white grumbled, “I knew it, your heart favors the eldest, and more so the third. The pill smells so good, must be for them. You don’t care about me at all!”

Chen Huangpi said, “Second Master, you’re in my heart.”

“Then will you let me eat?”

The elder clung to the pill, refusing to let go. “If you won’t, you don’t care.”

“Sigh…”

Chen Huangpi sighed heavily. His second master had said so much; what else could he do?

“I’ll try it first. If it’s poisonous, you can eat it after.”

At these words, the elder sneered endlessly. See, he knew Huangpi had learned to be sly—wanted it all for himself! He simply wiped his saliva on the pill.

Chen Huangpi was shocked: “Second Master, what are you doing? Now how can I eat it?”

“Hehehe.” The elder laughed wickedly, “Huangpi, if you eat it, what’s left for me?”

“Watch carefully, learn well. Compared to me, you’re still too green!”

With that, the elder opened his mouth wide. The pill, though as big as two heads, looked like a grape before his jaws.

Gulp.

The elder swallowed the entire pill in one go. His belly bulged, but in a blink, it flattened.

Chen Huangpi asked dryly, “Second Master, how do you feel?”

“Very smooth, doesn’t scratch the throat.”

The elder opened his mouth, gray mist seeping out, which he promptly inhaled back into his lungs. Yet with each breath, the mist grew denser. Soon, he was puffing clouds.

“Strong! Excellent—I like it!”

The elder laughed heartily and strode out of the pill chamber. Before leaving, he took another big breath, swallowing all the gray mist.

Chen Huangpi worried, “Second Master won’t get into trouble, will he?”

The brass oil lamp replied, “The temple master is not someone who’d have trouble. You didn’t make the Heavenly Poison Pill, what’s there to fear?”

“No, I must go check…”

…

Outside the pill chamber.

The elder was now enveloped in gray mist.

“This gray mist has a strange scent…” He inhaled, savoring it, and wondered, “If not for the color, I’d think it was Third Master’s green mist.”

“Wait, this… this IS Third Master’s green mist!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the gray mist turned green.

Thunder rumbled, blasting the night sky silver-white.

Above the Pure Immortal Temple, the sky had changed to violet and white. Extreme violet, raging white. In that moment, countless evil beings, disasters, and even more terrifying entities were exposed under the violet-white sky.

All the evil ones trembled with fear, as if heaven and earth were collapsing.

Chen Huangpi, with the brass oil lamp, rushed out and saw his master’s white robes turned green, face twisted, roaring at the sky, his body convulsing.

Thunder rolled, shaking heaven and earth.

The wretches, cultivators, and fox mountain gods of the temple all came out, unable to resist witnessing the awe-inspiring scene.

What on earth was happening? Why had the eerie old Daoist suddenly turned green? Why had the sky of the Ten Thousand Mountains become so monstrous?

Chen Huangpi ignored them, staring at his master, now entirely green, and stammered, “Th-th-th…”

“Te-te-temple…”

The brass oil lamp stammered too. Dear heavens, was there any hope left for a lamp’s existence? After the temple master went mad, there was the great temple master, the second temple master was already terrifying, and now even the third temple master was appearing. Might as well rebel!

Chen Huangpi and the brass oil lamp were so stunned they couldn’t utter a complete sentence.

Meanwhile, the Daoist, dyed green, gritted his teeth, face contorted, and said, “Huangpi, I am your Grandmaster. Seniority and order must not be confused!”

“Grandmaster?”

“Ahh! It’s Second Master! Not Grandmaster!”

Suddenly, another head popped out, screaming, “Third Master, if you can’t come out, don’t play dirty. Shameless!”

Soon, the two heads glared at each other, then jointly inhaled at the violet-white sky.

The entire sky, like an oily film floating in a pot, was sucked into their mouths.

Then, the temple master, now with two heads and dyed green, stared, kicked his legs, body went rigid, and fell straight down.

The brass oil lamp’s eyes widened, stammering, “Chen Huangpi, am I hallucinating? Did you…”

“You really drugged the temple master!”