Chapter 334 - 135: Are We Baring It All So Soon?

Chapter 334: Chapter 135: Are We Baring It All So Soon?

But it was better than nothing.

For a long time now, his days were spent either killing people or on his way to kill people.

The only two times he ever felt alive were when he turned in a mission for credit, and... when he took stock of his spoils.

Regardless.

These were all his.

The bandit’s living quarters were as squalid as ever. Even the chieftain’s room was merely a bit larger, the bedding a little newer.

On the table lay some half-eaten leftovers, now cold.

And a fair-skinned woman, already dead from poison.

This woman was the Lady of the Stronghold.

She had also been the medium he’d used to poison the chieftain. Otherwise, facing a Bone Forging Stage expert at peak strength while being ganged up on by others, Yang Mo would have certainly been severely injured.

It was all thanks to this woman.

Yang Mo recalled how pitiful she had seemed when she first begged for his help. He had even been conflicted about whether he should kill her.

However...

The Government Office had a rule: anyone held captive in a stronghold for less than three years was to be considered a civilian.

Anyone held for three to six years could be classified as either a civilian or a bandit.

After six years, they were unequivocally a bandit.

This woman was unlucky. She had just reached the three-year mark.

Yang Mo shook his head, stepped around the woman’s corpse, and began rummaging through the room for valuables. Before long, he had filled a large basket.

He took inventory.

Most of it was medicinal pills.

He didn’t even need to open the vials to know that the vast majority were Qi Cultivation Pills.

After all, for ordinary Cultivators, Qi Cultivation Pills were the one thing they needed most—and often, the only thing they needed at all.

Still, he was cautious.

Yang Mo opened the vials one by one, sniffing the contents of each.

’Qi Cultivation Pill, low-grade. Trash!’

’Low-grade. Trash!’

’Low-grade...’

Yang Mo opened one vial after another. Though he hadn’t expected much, disappointment slowly began to set in.

Until...

"Hm?"

Yang Mo’s pupils suddenly dilated. An unusual fragrance from one of the vials sent a jolt through his entire being.

The headache that had plagued him for months seemed to ease in an instant.

The auditory hallucinations that constantly echoed in his ears also seemed to fade.

"This is..."

Yang Mo was overjoyed. He had read numerous Elixir Medicine Collections, yet he had never heard of a pill with such a miraculous effect.

’What is this pill?’

He couldn’t help but feel a mix of shock and suspicion. ’Even though I don’t know what this pill is, it’s clearly no ordinary item. Even the vial is a cut above the rest. Why would a pill like this show up in such a godforsaken stronghold?’

’Was this bandit chieftain worthy of it?’

Yang Mo felt a growing unease. The strange fragrance made him want nothing more than to swallow the pill immediately.

But while you can be careless with what you eat...

...you can’t be careless with medicinal pills.

He sniffed it again and stared at the vial for a long time.

Suddenly, something about it felt familiar. He quickly pulled another vial from his robes.

This vial contained the Soul-Burning Potion he hadn’t yet had a chance to take.

Though one vial was crude and the other exquisite, the patterns on them were strikingly similar.

And that pattern clearly represented the organization behind the creation of the Soul-Burning Potion.

’This...’

A thread of indescribable excitement surged through him.

’If that’s the case, then this pill is most likely a tonic for repairing the Divine Soul.’

’Let’s consider this...’

’The chieftain also relied on the Soul-Burning Potion to reach his level of cultivation, so it would make sense for him to possess a pill like this.’

’And now it’s fallen into my hands...’

’No, that’s not quite right!’

Yang Mo had heard of the Soul-Burning Potion long ago. The name of that potion naturally found its way to the ears of many desperate Cultivators.

But he had never heard of a restorative elixir that could counter the effects of the Soul-Burning Potion.

’Even if one did exist...’

’...it would have to be incredibly rare.’

’If it weren’t, countless people who suffered trauma to their Divine Soul from using the Soul-Burning Potion would go mad for it.’

’Word of a potion that could drive people to such a frenzy would have undoubtedly gotten out.’

’Unless...’

’...it’s so precious as to be almost unthinkable.’

’Is a mere Bone Forging Stage bandit worthy of possessing something so precious?’

A sense of alarm shot through Yang Mo. He sprang to his feet, head tilted up as he scanned his surroundings.

"Who’s there?"

"Who’s here?"

"Show yourself!"

The only answer was the distant cawing of a crow.

He waited for a long time.

He glanced suspiciously at the vial in his hand.

Frowning, he tucked it into his robes.

Then he hastily cut off the heads of the bandit chieftain and the Lady of the Stronghold, strung them together, and dragged them down the mountain.

「At midnight.」

He found the local Government Office, had the heads counted, and registered his merits.

He then went to his temporary lodging, a courtyard provided for visiting officials. To him, it was the safest place in the entire Tianmeng Mountain Range.

After shutting the door, he quickly sat down cross-legged. With trembling hands, he opened the vial, poured out the pill inside, and, without a moment’s hesitation, stuffed it into his mouth.

The pill melted the instant it touched his tongue, transforming into a warm current that rushed toward the center of his brow.

The pleasant warmth made him groan softly in spite of himself.

He felt as if his tattered Divine Soul was being mended and nourished.

After a long while.

He sat up in bed, surprised to find that it was already daylight.

For days, the damage to his Divine Soul had made sleep nearly impossible. Even when he did manage to drift off, he would wake up within four hours.

But this time, he had slept for so long without even realizing it.

A single pill had granted him a good night’s sleep, something he hadn’t had in a very long time.

And his Divine Soul... it also felt more complete.

It had healed half the damage caused by his previous uses of the Soul-Burning Potion.

"Good!"

"Excellent!"

Yang Mo was so excited he could barely contain himself. After taking a moment to calm his nerves, he once again took the Soul-Burning Potion from his robes.