“You…” Ji Shi Zhenren sputtered, utterly speechless.
He had never witnessed such a method of refining pills in his eight thousand years of existence.
“What’s wrong?” As he spoke, Jiang Huai had already begun refining the fourth pill. Suddenly, a Heaven-grade Jadeite Pill appeared before him.
This pill wasn’t refined by Jiang Huai; it was from Ji Shi Zhenren’s inheritance. “Quickly consume this. Your injuries cannot be delayed any longer.”
If Ji Shi Zhenren had previously looked down on Jiang Huai, having waited for an unknown period in the Dragon Burial Valley Secret Realm for a satisfactory successor and choosing Jiang Huai as a last resort, then now… he only wished for Jiang Huai to be well. He feared Jiang Huai might collapse from his severe injuries before the pills were even finished. If that happened, who would he discuss this unprecedented pill formation technique with?
Jiang Huai nodded slightly and, with a flick of his wrist, conjured a pill formation to extract impurities. After removing all the toxins from the Jadeite Pill, he consumed it. As the pill entered his body, his injuries and vitality began to mend and recover.
He continued refining pills. With a total of 392 pill recipes, it would still take some time. Jiang Huai diligently drew the formations. Ji Shi Zhenren remained silent, occasionally providing him with a spiritual pill to nourish his body. Jiang Huai silently kept track of the time. Approximately five Shichen later within the secret realm, he looked at the 392 pills laid out before him. He looked up, his face devoid of any pride, and asked in a humble, cautious tone, “Ji Shi Zhenren… is this sufficient?”
Ji Shi Zhenren was stunned for about five to six breaths before finally letting out a sigh. “It is sufficient.”
“Why does Ji Shi Zhenren sigh?”
“I am but a wisp of residual soul of Ji Shi Zhenren. Although I am qualified to ease the difficulty of the upcoming trials, these trials were prepared by me during my lifetime and cannot be easily altered. Your talent in alchemy surpasses even mine, and your understanding of the Dao of Alchemy is so novel and interesting, but the next trial… the second stage is a test of the heart. You cannot lie. Within this secret realm, you are incapable of lying. If you speak a falsehood, I will detect it. Therefore, to my subsequent questions, you can only answer truthfully.”
“Understood. When shall we begin?”
“We begin now. I ask you: if a devil, who has committed heinous crimes, killing millions of innocent civilians, and is reviled by all in the cultivation world, captures your wife and threatens you to heal him, would you heal him, or not?”
Ji Shi Zhenren’s voice was calm. Jiang Huai pondered for a moment. “If I heal him, will he release my wife?”
“He will.”
“Then I will heal him.”
“Even after healing him, he will go on to kill millions more, even countless righteous cultivators. You would still heal him?”
“I will.”
Since he could not lie, Jiang Huai could only answer according to his true feelings. He put himself in that situation. Whether the person holding him hostage was Chu Xianning, Wen Wanwan, Luo Qingyu, or Luo Yueguan, he would choose to heal. He could not be a saint who cared for all peoples; he only wished for those dear to him to be well.
“If you heal him, and your wife ends up resenting your decision, having willingly offered to take her own life before that evil cultivator, forbidding you to heal him. Yet you still heal the evil cultivator, causing her to leave you forever and sever your Dao Companion bond, and you bear countless infamy in the cultivation world, would you still heal him?”
“I will,” Jiang Huai replied softly after a moment of hesitation.
“Why?”
“I want her to live. If healing him allows her to survive, then bearing infamy is a small price to pay.”
Ji Shi Zhenren’s voice suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, he slowly spoke, “If I told you that you chose incorrectly… what would you think?”
“I do not seek Ji Shi Zhenren’s inheritance. I am willing to share the Dao of Pill Formations with Ji Shi Zhenren, and I am also willing to act as your agent in the outside world, searching for things you need, or completing any unfinished wishes. I only ask that Ji Shi Zhenren save my friend.”
“She is merely your friend. Why would you go to such lengths for her?”
“I do not have many friends, and even fewer are willing to risk their lives for me. The favor of a single drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring.”
“Then I will ask you again: if I can heal her for you, but it requires you to kill all the rogue cultivators and righteous cultivators who have entered this secret realm, would you kill them? If you agree to kill them, I will guarantee that you and your friend can leave here alive.”
Jiang Huai suddenly fell silent.
He considered the question very, very seriously.
Since childhood, Chu Xianning had taught him to be compassionate and never to be curious about the path of evil cultivation, lest she personally purge him. Thus, Jiang Huai’s instinct upon encountering an evil cultivator was to kill them swiftly. Now, this choice was placed before him. If he were to kill all the cultivators within the secret realm, how would he be any different from an evil cultivator?
One minute, perhaps two.
Jiang Huai looked up, gazing into the void before him, and sighed, “If Zhenren is truly willing to save my friend, heal her first, and then I will kill. If I fail to do so, Zhenren may take my life as compensation.”
“Don’t think of finding loopholes. I don’t want your life. I only ask you: if I heal her, will you kill these cultivators? If you refuse to kill them, then I will kill her first, and then kill you. Neither of you will survive. So, you can only choose whether to kill the beings in this secret realm to save her alone.”
Jiang Huai lowered his head and remained silent for another half a stick of incense. Then, he looked up. “I will kill.”
Lying was impossible in this space, and Jiang Huai did not lie. He considered it very carefully. Even his Inner Demon System began to chime, eagerly urging him to agree immediately.
This was the first time he had seriously examined a system mission, rather than just glancing at it and deferring it to later.
The Inner Demon System, fearing he might not feel secure, had even specifically issued the following mission:
[You are deeply aware that all morality in this world is merely a man-made shackles. The so-called resistance against evil cultivators in the cultivation world is merely a concern that if everyone becomes an evil cultivator, it will lead to a state of mutual peril. The triumph of one is built upon the bones of ten thousand; it has been this way since ancient times.
Now, your friend Bai Li is gravely injured. She once saved your life, and you absolutely cannot stand idly by.
Kill all rogue cultivators within the secret realm. During this period, this system will extend Bai Li’s life until you have killed all rogue cultivators. This system will then provide you with a secret method to save Bai Li’s life.
Mission Reward: Refine Dragon Crystal for Bai Li, saving her life.
High-level Experience Scroll * 3.]
Jiang Huai frowned slightly. When Bai Li was critically injured in his arms previously, the system had not issued any missions, yet a mission had quietly appeared now. To this day, he still could not ascertain the system’s mission release patterns. The explanation stated it was based on his inner greed, yet sometimes the information provided was not entirely accurate. If Jiang Huai wished to ask questions, the system would only give a generic reply, asserting ownership of all explanations.
Jiang Huai gazed at the blank space before him, and suddenly felt his heart growing colder.
There seemed to be another voice in his mind, earnestly trying to dissuade him from absolutely refusing. But the image of Bai Li, covered in blood, reappeared before his eyes.
“You have passed the second trial.”
Ji Shi Zhenren’s voice seemed to carry a hint of hearty laughter. Jiang Huai looked up, confused.
“I am Ji Shi, a Ninth Realm Immortal Venerable from a thousand years ago. In my Seventh Realm, I was already one of the foremost physicians of the era. At that time, my wife, Yao Miao, was a renowned fairy of the righteous path from the Tianyi Sect, famous throughout the Eastern Region. An Eighth Realm evil cultivator initially sought me to heal his injuries. I refused even at the cost of my life, until he captured my wife and threatened me with her.”
“I healed him, and he truly spared my wife and me. Perhaps it was to ensure he could seek my healing services in the future. However, from then on, my wife treated me like a stranger, and we never spoke again.”
“She blamed me for healing the evil cultivator, which would plunge the entire Eastern Region into chaos once more. At that time, she wished to die to make a statement, but was prevented by the evil cultivator, unable to die. After the evil cultivator left, she and I parted ways, and her Dao heart was forever tarnished. Later, even when she suffered grave injuries during her cultivation, she refused to seek me out. She died of grief before reaching the Eighth Realm.”
Jiang Huai listened quietly to Ji Shi Zhenren’s account and remained silent for a long time. “This question seems to have no solution.”
“From that day forth, I abandoned alchemy and took up the sword, comprehending the Primordial Life and Death Sword. Three hundred years later, I severed the head of that evil cultivator, as a sacrifice to my wife.”
“In my life, I had attempted to take on disciples, but I was not fond of any of them. Some lacked talent, others had poor character. In truth, I did not seek disciples with perfect character, only those whose disposition matched mine, yet I never found them.”
“When my wife was gravely injured, I finally rushed to find her. Her injuries required the heart’s blood of three thousand young boys and girls as medicine. She would rather die than have me obtain this medicinal ingredient for her. I could only watch her die of grief. Later, I pondered for a very, very long time, yet I could never ascertain whether I was right or wrong. Originally, the second trial’s question had only the first part, not the second. But upon meeting you, I wished to ask you. I do not care about the correctness of the answer; perhaps I just want to tell myself that I did not fail anyone back then.”
“Zhenren… truly failed no one,” Jiang Huai said softly, sighing.
“These are all old stories. Very well, since you have broken through the second trial, then… the next is the third. Your talent in alchemy is sufficient, and your disposition deeply pleases me. But there is still a third trial… this one will test your sword intent, whether it is as terrifying as Ye Ning described. I cultivated the Sword of Emotion, comprehending karma and reincarnation amidst life and death. To attain this sword, you must, within twelve Shichen in this space, comprehend one-tenth of my sword intent, and only then can you proceed to the final trial.”
Jiang Huai nodded slightly.
Instantly, everything before him changed again.
He stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, as Ji Shi Zhenren’s memories from his lifetime rapidly flashed before him. These memories were his insights into sword comprehension and moments of execution. Jiang Huai watched with utmost seriousness, not daring to miss a single detail.
He meticulously perceived all the scenes and memories. Ji Shi Zhenren spoke, “Very well. I shall guide you through it one more time.”
Jiang Huai paused, a hint of confusion on his face. “Hmm? Why watch it again?”
Ji Shi Zhenren also faltered, a terrifying premonition suddenly dawning in his heart.
Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment before speaking softly.
“If I only needed to comprehend one-tenth, I think… I’ve got it.”
