Summit of the Old Gods

The scale of the Hidden Wolf Forest was much larger than Lu Ran had imagined. It was nestled on an unremarkable hilltop, hidden within a lush forest.

Lu Ran concealed himself and flew slowly through the air, observing the surroundings.

He had been to Langhua Village and Wolf Bone Village before; both mountain villages were lavish from the inside out, fully displaying the greed of the Greedy Wolf.

But the mountain village below his feet, judging purely by the architectural exterior, was no less impressive!

Unexpectedly, Lu Ran did not see any servant groups.

He had been exploring the Holy Spirit Mountain Realm for nearly two years, and he could easily distinguish who the high authorities were, who belonged to the ruling class, and who were the lower-class servants.

Yet, he only saw the fierce and menacing disciples of the Greedy Wolf.

There were no submissive servants, and seemingly no believers from other sects either.

Was the "bloodline" of Hidden Wolf Forest this pure?

A single color of wolf pups?

"Hmm?" Just as Lu Ran was puzzled, his gaze locked onto the back mountain.

A wisp of light smoke unexpectedly wafted out from there, slowly spiraling upwards, then drifting away with the wind, resembling wisps of cooking smoke.

Were these greedy wolf pups indulging their taste buds again?

Lu Ran snorted coldly in his heart and flew alone towards the back mountain.

Soon enough, Lu Ran's expression changed!

He originally thought that the Greedy Wolf disciples were roasting meat here, but the large pit in the forest, haphazardly filled with the corpses of the Human Clan, made Lu Ran's hair stand on end!

What exactly were these wolf pups roasting?

Lu Ran was both shocked and angry!

How could they be so vile? The realm was full of evil demons, yet wasn't there pork, beef, or horse meat available everywhere?

Damn!

Lu Ran looked around and saw a medium-sized house, from which wisps of light smoke were emerging through the skylight on the roof.

He immediately flew over.

And when Lu Ran peered inside through the skylight, he was taken aback.

A pill furnace?

The blue-gold pill furnace was quite large and semi-transparent, with blue-gold flames flickering within it, and a faint mist circulating inside, dream-like and illusory.

The curling blue smoke exuded a peculiar fragrance that made one salivate unconsciously.

Pill Master Divine Technique · Blue-Gold Pill Furnace?

"This?" Lu Ran was utterly shocked.

He could never have imagined that within the Holy Spirit Mountain, he would encounter disciples of the Pill Master faction.

Divine · Pill Master, ranked ninth!

The weakest among the weak gods!

In the pantheon of Da Xia's Divine beings, there is only one such deity specializing in alchemy; precisely the ninth-grade god, Lord Pill Master.

Ninety-nine percent of people live their entire lives never tasting a single pill.

Because followers of this faction are few, and the conditions for refining pills are extremely stringent, requiring the disciples to advance to the River Realm.

This is fundamentally a paradox!

The disciples under the ninth-grade deity · Pill Master generally don't have high aptitudes. How many of them truly advance to the River Realm?

But speaking of which, little Yuanxi once received a pill!

Beijing University, truly Da Xia's topmost institution, and at that time, little Yuanxi was still at the River Realm · Fourth Rank, and the end-of-term reward for their four-person team was a Breakthrough Pill.

The pill, as its name suggests, helps one break through cultivation bottlenecks.

The Pill Master faction has other elixir recipes, too.

The most famous of their pills is the Drunken Life Pill!

After consuming this pill, people can enter an incredibly real and extremely wonderful Illusion Realm.

Compared with the Evil Technique · Chasing Moon Eyes of the Ghost Moon Fox, it is even more remarkable!

You would truly be reborn and live anew in that world!

Everything you desire, the deepest wishes of your heart, can all be fulfilled with the help of this "Drunken Life Pill."

In the human world of Da Xia, the Drunken Life Pill is invaluable!

Precisely because the real world is too oppressive and cruel, people need spiritual sustenance even more.

And a Drunken Life Pill can let people know what the ultimate enjoyment in the human world is.

Lu Ran was well aware of his own limitations.

If he were to take a Drunken Life Pill, he might very well end up slaughtering all the gods and demons in another world... perhaps?

"Gulp." Lu Ran swallowed.

The light smoke rising from the pill furnace truly made one's mouth water.

He carefully observed the room and saw an old woman in a blue-gold robe in front of the large pill furnace.

Her hair was grizzled, and she had her hands spread open, with Divine Power surging in her palms, clearly casting a spell.

And near the doorway, Lu Ran saw a few crooked figures.

The four men and women were all dressed in dark silk garments, quite luxurious, seeming to have a high status within the village.

They were not dead.

Instead, they were... intoxicated and bewildered.

Their silly, blissful faces indicated that the four were immersed in a wonderful world, unable to extricate themselves.

"Clack~clack~"

The lid of the pill furnace suddenly began to shake, producing a string of crisp sounds.

"Whoosh!!"

The old woman's uplifted hands were surging with Divine Power.

The blue-gold pill furnace, composed of pure energy, was constantly compressing inward.

Until finally, the blue-gold pill furnace, the fire within, as well as the alchemical materials inside, all condensed into a pill the size of a thumb.

It was blue-gold in color, exuding a peculiar luster.

The enticing aroma of the pill made Lu Ran's fingers itch.

"Tap!"

The strange pill fell to the ground, and the old woman stood up and wobbled over.

She picked up the pill, walked to the wooden table deep inside the room, and placed the pill into a jar.

Then she walked outside again.

As she passed the entrance and saw the four "drunken and lost" Greedy Wolf disciples, the elderly woman couldn't help but shake her head and sigh: "Alas..."

Lu Ran raised his eyebrows slightly, watching the elderly woman walk out of the building.

In such a state, how could these four Greedy Wolf disciples manage a Pill Master believer?

Or maybe, they never intended to manage them.

Could a mere Pill Master believer really escape the Hidden Wolf Forest?

Lu Ran slowly flew up, watching the elderly woman enter the forest, step by step, until she reached a large pit.

Watching her descend the dirt slope, she dragged out a skeleton and returned to the building.

Lu Ran frowned tightly!

Were these pills made using people's bones?

No way!

Although Lu Ran wasn't a top student, he knew well that the Pill Master's pills were made from plants sourced from the Demon Cave.

This...?

Lu Ran felt a chill run through his body and had no desire to taste them anymore!

"Creak."

The elderly woman pushed the door open and entered, coming to the center of the room, again summoning a cyan-gold pill furnace, and threw the corpse inside.

It was precisely at this moment when her actions paused slightly.

Moments later, she respectfully said in a low voice, "The Drunken Life Pill is in the jar on the table, you can take it yourself, I won't say more, please don't make it hard for me..."

Before she finished speaking, the elderly woman's body stiffened.

A bronze mirror suddenly appeared in front of her, quickly transforming into a landing mirror.

Her body was out of control, pulled by several red silk threads, drawn into the mirror.

She only felt a blur before her eyes, and standing right in front was a grand horse wrapped in flames!

Evil Demon·Wu Huoju?!

Instinctively retreating, her limbs wouldn't listen, and her cloudy eyes were immediately filled with despair.

However, the expected sea of fire did not rush at her.

The elderly woman stood in a daze for a long while before realizing that atop the majestic battle horse was the figure of a member of the Human Clan.

"Ngrrr..."

The black majestic horse snorted, treading flames, turning aside.

A noble woman adorned in a big red phoenix robe looked down unemotionally at the elder.

"Plop! Thud...thud..."

One by one, the drunken men and women were thrown out of the landing mirror, resembling puddles of mud.

As the landing mirror closed, the elderly woman finally regained her freedom.

She was placed on the ground, immediately kneeling, lowering her head, not daring to look at the woman in the phoenix robe: "Spare me, my lord, I am a Pill Master believer of no threat to you and can make pills for you."

Pill Master believer?

Jiang Ruyi was also quite surprised that there were even ninth-grade Divine disciples within the Holy Spirit Mountain?

Although surprised, Jiang Ruyi immediately looked at Lu Ran and asked, "Who are these four?"

The elderly woman misunderstood the question and immediately answered, "They are the personal guards of the Hidden Wolf Village Chief, sent to monitor my pill-making."

Jiang Ruyi glanced at the exquisitely dressed elderly woman and asked, "Are you a slave of the Hidden Wolf Forest?"

The elderly woman nodded immediately: "I've only survived by relying on the alchemy technique."

Lu Ran transmitted a message to Jiang Ruyi: [Ask where all the slaves of Hidden Wolf Forest are, and how many there are.]

Jiang Fairy, clad in the Phoenix儀九霄 Robe, made it impossible for anyone to lie before her.

Jiang Ruyi immediately asked, and the elderly woman's response was shocking.

There aren't many slaves in Hidden Wolf Forest; all believers from other sects are killed by the Greedy Wolf believers and thrown into the forest next to the alchemy house to be made into Drunken Life Pills.

Within the Holy Spirit Mountain, disciples from different sects are destined to clash swords.

Since Hidden Wolf Forest captured a Pill Master believer and tasted the Drunken Life Pill, never tasted in the Human World, they've been more diligent in searching for entrants into the mountain.

Lu Ran couldn't help but ask, "Aren't the pills from the Pill Master's faction made from Demon Cave plants?"

"Yes, in the Human World, they are. Our disciples would never dare, nor is it possible, to use kin to make pills."

The elderly woman responded tremblingly: "But here... I was forced. The pills made from the bodies of the human clan of the River Realm can reach the River Grade..."

Lu Ran looked extremely grim, remembering another faction—Qian Gu!

When Thousand Bone believers activate the Divine Technique·Thousand Bone Altar, they also sacrifice human lives.

The more living sacrifices, the higher their cultivation Realm, the stronger the Thousand Bone Altar's effects!

In the Human World, the Thousand Bone disciples would never unleash such cruel skills, but after coming to Holy Spirit Mountain, they really acted with impunity.

"I...I have deep sins!" The elderly woman kowtowed heavily to the ground.

She realized that the young man behind her was very angry, not like the people of Hidden Wolf Forest, who were cheerful when they caught her.

After all, who wouldn't want a taste of the exquisite delicacies that couldn't be exchanged for even a fortune in the Human World?

Though, with or without this Pill Master believer, the human clan within Holy Spirit Mountain were still slaughtering each other endlessly.

But with the Pill Master believer, Hidden Wolf Forest undoubtedly had more motivation for the slaughter.

"Are you sure there are no other slaves in Hidden Wolf Forest?" Lu Ran asked in a deep voice.

"I am sure, the Drunken Life Pill consumption in Hidden Wolf Forest is substantial each day..."

Lu Ran looked at Jiang Ruyi, who slightly nodded, indicating that the elder was telling the truth.

"Mad Immortal!" Lu Ran pointed to the four piles of mud, "Appetizers, make it quiet."

"Boom!" Si Xianxian immediately swung the Mad Hammer, jumping off the horse.

The Mad Immortal protector smashed the head of a Greedy Wolf disciple with one blow, and even then, the other three remained immersed in an incomparable world of beauty, without any response to the external world.

Lu Ran turned his head, looking towards the direction of the Hidden Wolf Forest, his expression sullen: "Later, make as much noise as possible!"

Si Xianxian carried the Mad Hammer, executing them one by one, squeezing out a response:

"Yes!"

...