Chapter 575 - 319: Resurrection and the Little Yellow Court Pill

Su Mu swallowed half a replica of the "White Flood Dragon Flipping River Map" into his stomach, got up, and pretended to be sleepy as he walked out of the room, opening the bamboo courtyard door.

Outside the courtyard, the two people were not entirely unfamiliar.

One was the Hall Master Lu Buji of Cyan Flood Dragon Hall, who had met Su Mu once before as a confidant of the Gang Leader, and the other was Baili Hongtang, one of the top ten beauties of Donglai County, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time after she slew the second ancestor of the Tao Family with a single sword.

Their positioning showed Baili Hongtang in front, while Hall Master Lu Buji was half a step behind.

This indicated Baili Hongtang’s unusual status within the gang, revealing some truths about the Cyan Fish Gang; indeed, the big ship was rather tumultuous. As Su Mu’s thoughts raced, he feigned some panic and greeted them in a trembling voice.

"Su Li... pays respects to Second Miss, Hall Master Lu!"

"Alchemist Sun, no need to be so tense. I’m here at this late hour seeking forgiveness; someone wishes to meet you, and I am also curious about you—such a young, promising Sixth Grade Pill Master—and so I came boldly to invite you," Baili Hongtang lightly laughed and said.

This was very different from how she usually interacted with ’Wang Chan,’ and although her words were polite, there was still an inherent authority in her demeanor.

Baili Hongtang was the daughter of the current Cyan Fish Gang Leader, Baili Hong, and sister to the Young Master Baili Feng, truly the Second Miss of Cyan Fish Gang. Her appearance, temperament, personal Martial Dao talent, and her standing and power within the gang were all exceptional.

"Second Miss, who wishes to see Su Li?"

Baili Hongtang did not answer. Her brows, bold and distant like mountains, stared directly at Su Mu. He seemed peculiarly familiar to her, as if she were born with eyes capable of perceiving things beyond ordinary sight.

Like now.

She saw in the Sun-named Alchemist before her, whose strength was only Seventh Grade but had refined Sixth Grade Elixirs, an inexplicable black mist enveloping him.

This person’s body was shrouded in black mist. It was the second such oddity she had encountered. Although those more powerful than her, even great cultivators in Donglai County, might be imperceptible, she could still catch some revealing clues.

However, the person before her was impenetrable. The only other peculiar person besides Sun the Alchemist was Wang Chan, who made a striking debut in the grand competition and then vanished after slaying the second ancestor of the Tao Family.

The timing of these two appearances was indeed coincidental—Sun Li appeared right after Wang Chan vanished.

"Sun Li... Wang Chan?"

The sudden appearance of such enigmatic yet similar individuals provoked rapid thoughts in Baili Hongtang’s mind, making her think of that wildly talented and demonic Wang Chan.

She found it hard to believe the two trembling individuals before her could be one.

Also, Baili Hongtang believed her Martial Dao talent exceeded even her father and brother. If she weren’t a woman, she was convinced she would be the next Cyan Fish Gang Leader and not Gongyang Jue, who stirred trouble.

Yet even with high self-regard, Baili Hongtang felt overwhelmed by Wang Chan.

Even though the sword with which Wang Chan slew Tao Shengjiang was not his own power, the strength displayed during the competition was already astounding.

And this trembling Sun Li was also extraordinary. As she knew, during his examination, the master Cang greatly praised him, which made Cang, a Pill Dao master intending not to take more disciples, reconsider.

Appearing just over twenty years old, able to refine Sixth Grade Elixirs, he was indeed a monster in the Pill Dao. Notably, Gu Xue’Er, a disciple of a Pavilion Master in the Pill Cauldron Pavilion, although her heart wasn’t in the Pill Dao but was still the Pavilion’s personally trained disciple.

Gu Xue’Er, of similar age, was still just a Seventh Grade Pill Master, having not reached the Sixth Grade Master rank.

From everything Sun Li displayed since joining the gang, his expertise appeared self-taught without any master’s guidance, implying his innate talent might surpass Gu Xue’Er as a Pill Cauldron Pavilion disciple.

And not just a little!

If Wang Chan’s Martial Dao talent and Sun Li’s Pill Dao talent were of the same person?!

That would be too provocative, forcing Baili Hongtang to immediately suppress such an absurd notion upon pondering.

"These two definitely cannot be... the same person."

Noticing the Second Miss’s odd reaction, Lu Buji spoke at the right time.

"Sun the Alchemist—you will find out upon arrival."

"Okay."

Su Mu nodded in agreement. Given his current identity as ’Sun Li,’ he naturally couldn’t refuse the invitation from the two, turning to close the courtyard door, and a hint of different color flickered in his eyes.

He noted that Baili Hongtang’s expression upon seeing him today was unusual; she seemed to carry significant secrets or perhaps possessed some unknown natural gifts.

"Donglai County’s Four Great Talents, perhaps it should be Five Great Talents."

Su Mu pondered inwardly, observing heightened perceptiveness after his recent transformation, especially noticing Baili Hongtang’s extraordinary nature, which surpassed that of Tao Xinglie, Song Jingyuan, and Guo Zhen.

If those three felt like powerful fish crossing the river to Su Mu, then Baili Hongtang felt like a lurking flood dragon.

With deep night settling and the weather growing intensely cold, the Cyan Fish Gang had dispatched its disciples mostly; now, except for those on night duty, the gang remained silent.

The two effortlessly guided Su Mu, avoiding all hidden sentries, additionally aided by the Cyan Flood Dragon Hall Master Lu Buji’s Taoist Mysterious Technique—not Martial Dao—and using spiritual power to completely cloak their whereabouts.

Su Mu followed them to a secluded hall deep within the Cyan Fish Gang, where the hall’s beams and bricks were adorned with flowing patterns, his spiritual power seemed immersed in an unfathomable dark pool, making it impossible to discern anything inside.

"Second Miss, Sun the Alchemist, please enter."

Lu Buji naturally remained at the stone steps outside the hall, transforming into a guard.

"Okay."

Su Mu nodded, feeling tense inside. Such an evening visit was clearly no ordinary affair, given that it warranted the Hall Master of Cyan Flood Dragon guarding the door. Su Mu’s sense of caution heightened.

Baili Hongtang entered the room with a smile on her face.

Passing through a long corridor lined with lamps, a heavy stone gate bearing the marks of time loomed before her. Baili Hongtang took out an ancient stone token inscribed with the words ’White Flood Dragon’ and pressed it against a spot on the stone gate.

Amidst a rumbling sound, the stone gate opened with a tremor of the earth.

Rolling heat waves immediately rushed towards her.

From the darkness came an elderly yet hearty laugh. A few steps into the hidden chamber, light gradually illuminated the room. In front of a massive ancient pill furnace towering over a person, an old man with graying hair was controlling the fire before the pill furnace.

This person was none other than Master Cang, who had recently encountered trouble.

Although Master Cang’s face showed some signs of fatigue, his complexion was rosy, nowhere near the appearance of someone on the brink as when he left the Cyan Fish Gang.

Could it be that everything was a lie?!

"Master Cang?!"

Su Mu was surprised and responded, while in the darkness behind him, Baili Hongtang observed Su Mu’s every reaction and walked forward with a bow in the light.

"Hongtang greets Grandpa Zhou."

"Sun, my boy, the old man wasn’t wrong about you. You’ve only been with the gang for a little over two months and have already refined a Sixth Grade Elixir. You truly have a resemblance to my younger self."

While controlling the fire, Grandpa Zhou smiled and examined Su Mu with satisfaction.

"First, take out that batch of Heart-Protecting Pill for the old man to see. The rest, let Hongtang girl explain to you."

"Alright."

Su Mu was prepared and took out the batch of Heart-Protecting Pill. Upon seeing the elixirs in the furnace, Baili Hongtang’s beautiful eyes flashed with a hint of nearly imperceptible worry but her expression remained unchanged.

As for Master Cang, who had ’come back to life’, his eyes brightened. Although only one pill was refined, as the saying goes, an outsider enjoys the show while an insider sees the skill.

Baili Hongtang saw one pill, but Master Cang had a different view.

The quality of this Heart-Protecting Pill was not low. Although it couldn’t be considered top-grade, it was above middle grade. Moreover, the Heart-Protecting Pill was already one of the more challenging Sixth Grade Elixirs to refine.

Even an ordinary Sixth Grade Pill Master would struggle to produce a Heart-Protecting Pill of this quality on their first attempt, and that was not all.

The Heart-Protecting Pill in front had clear traces of the ’Merging Pill Technique’ and ’Sacrificial Pill Technique’, indicating that Su Mu had already begun to grasp these two pill techniques.

With only five sets of Elixir Materials, he not only successfully refined the challenging Sixth Grade Elixir within ten days but also directly applied two pill techniques—this talent is truly astounding.

"Indeed a Heart-Protecting Pill... remarkable, truly remarkable!"

Master Cang’s eyes shone with admiration, holding the Heart-Protecting Pill and repeatedly praising, he looked at Su Mu as though he were a rarity, akin to the master craftsmen at the Cyan Cloud Forging Workshop.

Upon hearing Master Cang’s heartfelt praise, Baili Hongtang’s expression subtly changed. She knew Master Cang’s temperament, his self-esteem in Alchemy Dao was high. Even his three prior disciples rarely received such admiration.

It was evident that Master Cang valued Sun Li exceedingly, exceeding Baili Hongtang’s expectations.

At this moment, neither realized that Su Mu’s batch of refined pills was not just one, but three. Su Mu only took one out. If they learned of this, Master Cang would certainly be dumbfounded on the spot.

"Master Cang overpraises, I’m just a junior who had some insights recently, hence the refined pill."

"Hmph, don’t be modest, young man. Good is good."

Master Cang paused briefly, "About ten days ago, I sensed the aura of a Sixth Grade Elixir being refined within the gang. That must have been your doing, right? Which batch was it?"

Upon hearing this, Su Mu’s eyes flickered, the words revealing some information.

Master Cang wasn’t just recently back in the gang; he returned quite a while ago. The earlier ’incident’ was likely intentional.

Additionally, Master Cang, Baili Hongtang, and Hall Master Lu were secretly watching him, not all the previous observers were Vice Gang Leader’s people.

Ultimately, the phenomenon of refining the pill was detected by Master Cang. However, his cautious nature led him to suppress the aura, making Master Cang assume it was a failure, but that might have been for the best.

"Answering Master Cang, it was the fourth batch before I finally refined it, fortunately without failing the mission."

"Tsk tsk, refining on the fourth batch is already quite good."

Master Cang was even more pleased, his gaze at Su Mu akin to looking at a treasure becoming more intense. Baili Hongtang timely spoke, straight to the point without beating around the bush.

"Alchemist Sun, we’re here to request your assistance with Master Cang’s alchemy."

This request left Su Mu somewhat surprised, questioning whether his earlier speculation was wrong; could the plotting around Master Cang only be about refining pills, an overblown matter?

"Might I ask... are there any considerations regarding this?"

Baili Hongtang didn’t hesitate, speaking solemnly, "This time, the refinement is not of an ordinary elixir, it’s very challenging and there are only three sets of materials."

"Second Miss, my alchemy skills are limited, I’ll do my best. May I ask which elixir?"

"Little Yellow Court Pill."

As her words fell, Su Mu’s fish-shaped Jade Pendant vibrated slightly, from which the Sun Family Ancestor’s slightly surprised murmur emerged.

"Interesting, they want to refine the Little Yellow Court Pill... Young man, agree to their request."