Borrowed Sword

Chapter 29: Pill King Token

In the dungeon, the atmosphere was heavy.

Everyone fell silent, except Liu Chenggong, who had collapsed and kept screaming in agony.

Liu Chenggong’s cousin, Liu Chengqi,, snapped out of it and hurried to help him.

“Father! Father…”

“Shut up!”

Liu Tianfeng’s face shifted again, his expression unpredictable.

Chu Huaixu, half a head taller than the old man, stared at him intently, and he stared back.

So reckless in youth! Truly reckless!

Anger surged endlessly in Steward Liu’s heart, though he struggled to hold it back.

His old hands, hidden beneath his robe, trembled slightly, as though ready to strike at any moment.

Having a son in middle age—this one was his treasure, especially since his true reproductive roots were aging and failing.

Yet this young man before him was far too arrogant.

Such audacious arrogance—if he didn’t have a powerful backing, how could he dare act like this?

Moreover, just now the elder had tried to stop Chu Huaixu but was blocked by Niu Yuanshan’s spiritual power, so support hadn’t arrived in time.

“That fellow named Niu must know his background!”

Niu Yuanshan’s behavior was highly unusual today—where there’s abnormality, there must be demons involved!

Liu Tianfeng even felt that this Niu was perhaps… currying favor with Chu Huaixu.

His mad rage was forcibly suppressed by reason, submitting to the intimidation of Sixth Elder.

Liu Tianfeng took a deep breath and declared, “Today’s matter was entirely my son’s fault—he broke the rules, and I will take him home for a proper reprimand!”

Liu Chenggong, whose ribs had been broken again, felt suffocated with indignation, his eyes bloodshot, his mind in chaos, nearly losing his sanity.

Liu Chengqi, supporting him, gripped his right hand firmly, signaling to him with his eyes.

Now he understood why the vice-captain of the enforcement team had acted as he did when arresting him.

Looking back, it was completely fearless!

“Just who is he?” Liu Chengqi thought, stunned.

Crouched on the ground, he looked up, and saw Chu Huaixu glancing in his direction, looking down at him.

Their eyes met, and Liu Chengqi’s heart jolted.

He realized he had long since provoked someone serious.

After remaining silent for several seconds, Chu Huaixu finally said to Steward Liu, “Understood. Let Senior Brother Liu recuperate.”

“I will take my leave now.”

Chu Huaixu had struck precisely because he had backing—nothing else.

They had already tried to kill him; if he hadn’t reacted at this moment, would he wait to go home and grow stronger before showing himself again?

Just like many parenting videos preach—teaching children delayed gratification, right?

What he wanted was to seize joy in the moment! His thoughts were clear!

...

...

After the trio left the dungeon, Chu Huaixu gave Niu Yuanshan a grateful look.

Old Niu returned a slight smile, and the two shared a tacit understanding.

“Loyal—honest!”

Chu Huaixu still felt no sense of belonging to the Organization; after all, he had never been trained or brainwashed.

The system had even classified his faction as Dao Gate, not Organization.

But his personal goodwill toward Old Niu soared.

Niu Yuanshan genuinely had a strong affinity.

This slightly stooped, square-faced middle-aged man raised his right hand, signaling both Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang, “Come, let’s head back. We can talk as we walk.”

He clasped both hands inside his sleeves and led the two young people toward his small courtyard.

Along the way, he chattered on, seeming somewhat loquacious.

"I think you must all be curious about what use these two jade token fragments I fetched for you actually have, right?"

"This jade token is of great use, so what I'm about to say, you'd better listen carefully, hehe."

"Oh right, before I start, let me ask you—do you know about the Pill King?"

"The Pill King?" Han Shuangjiang softly said, "I've seen the name in storybooks, the king of pill-making."

Niu Yuanshan looked straight ahead, his eyes filled with reverence, and began to explain.

"The Pill King, born in the Moon Country, is a rare Eighth Realm great cultivator in this world. His alchemy skills can be said to defy heaven's craftsmanship, and in the Dao of Pills, he is regarded as second only to the Dao Ancestor."

"Half of the current top-grade and ultra-grade spiritual pill formulas came from his hands."

"For example, the Xuantian Embryo Breathing Pill."

"In fact, many alchemists believe that the Pill King can rival the Dao Ancestor in pill-making!"

Niu Yuanshan paused briefly. After all, his outward identity was that of a Dao Gate steward, so he made his position clear: "Of course, we of the Dao Gate absolutely do not acknowledge this point."

On this matter, Chu Huaixu also had some understanding.

From the perspective of overall contribution, the number of top-grade and ultra-grade pill formulas created by the Dao Ancestor was actually not many—only about one-third of the Pill King's.

But there was no helping it. The Qi-Opening Pill was simply too incredible. The Dao Ancestor had singlehandedly lowered the threshold for cultivation, ushering the Xuanhuang Realm into an age of flourishing cultivation.

As for the high-end products made by the Pill King—never mind ordinary people—even regular cultivators could not benefit from them.

After all, top-grade and ultra-grade pills were made from rare heaven-and-earth treasures, costing a fortune and often unavailable even if you had money.

At this moment, Niu Yuanshan continued, "Can you guess why the Pill King has so many followers in the alchemy world?"

Without waiting for the two to answer, Old Niu gave the answer himself.

"Because the Pill King took in far too many disciples in his lifetime."

"And then those disciples took on disciples, who again took on disciples—over the years, a huge number of his apprentices spread through the alchemy world."

Chu Huaixu also knew this well.

The Pill King loved accepting disciples, and he didn’t care about one's alchemy talent. He went solely by his mood and whether he found you pleasing.

As a rogue cultivator, he had no sect or affiliation.

When accepting disciples, he didn’t mind their origins and disregarded national boundaries.

Because he never taught cultivation—he only taught pill-making, serving solely as a mentor in the Dao of Pills.

As a result, in Mirror Country of the Eastern Continent, even some disciples of the Four Major Sects sought him out as a master in pill-making.

The Dao Gate was no exception.

Niu Yuanshan went on: "In his life, the Pill King had a total of 12 direct disciples, 129 regular disciples, and an unknown number of registered disciples—he probably couldn’t remember them all."

"It's a bit ridiculous, but even now, there are people in the alchemy world using the Pill King's name to swindle others, claiming that the founder of their lineage was once a registered disciple of the Pill King."

"But in truth, because the Pill King never looked at talent when taking disciples—and he was so engrossed in the Dao of Pills—he didn’t have the time to personally guide so many students, resulting in vastly uneven skill levels among them."

"Of course, there were some standouts among them. A few of his disciples did become great alchemy masters," said Old Niu.

At this point, he suddenly stopped walking, looked seriously at the two young people, and said:

"The jade token fragments you two received are actually fragments of a Pill King Token."

Chu Huaixu had already known this, but as a professional play companion, he naturally understood the value of emotions. He immediately drew in a sharp breath and exclaimed, "Pill King Token!"

Han Shuangjiang also paused slightly, surprised in her heart.

"Yes, the Pill King Token. Aside from registered disciples, each formal disciple of the Pill King possessed a Pill King Token to signify their identity," Niu Yuanshan said with a warm smile.

He continued, "You should know that many of our Dao Gate elders followed the Dao Ancestor’s example. Before passing away, they would establish secret realms somewhere in the Mountains Beyond Mountains to leave behind inheritances and opportunities."

Chu Huaixu nodded.

Han Shuangjiang, being a complete newbie, had never heard this before and looked at him in surprise.

Niu Yuanshan pointed at the two of them. "Your jade token fragments are keys to one such secret realm. Although that Dao Gate senior was not among the 12 direct disciples, he was a formal disciple of the Pill King."

"Although the Pill King's disciples varied greatly in skill, at the very least... they weren’t bad."

"Ahem, there was still a basic standard."

Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang exchanged glances and both realized how precious these jade token fragments truly were.

In Chu Huaixu’s memory, back when 《Borrowed Sword》 had just started open beta and players were still in the newbie phase...

Even a storage ring left behind by a Third Realm cultivator caused a sensation on the game forum, prompting major game guilds to take action, making it a sleepless night.

This formal disciple of the Pill King surely wouldn’t be inferior to some random Third Realm cultivator, right?

Niu Yuanshan looked at them, his smile widening, and said:

"Lastly, I have one more thing to say. That senior might have hoped to find a hidden gem, so this secret realm can only be entered by those without spiritual energy."

"You two children at the Qi-Opening Stage just happen to perfectly meet that condition."

...