Chapter 112: The Origin-Restoring Sect
“Hm!?”
Jiang Changqing furrowed his brows, surprised that the man before him would rather die than reveal the force behind the attack.
After a moment’s thought, he approached Tan Donghe. “Old Tan, how are you holding up?”
“L-lucky... I didn’t die,” Tan Donghe gasped, utterly drained of strength. “Chief Escort, it’s fortunate you arrived in time. By the way, how did you get here so fast?”
Jiang Changqing’s voice was low and steady. “Not long after you set out, I received a letter warning that the covert escort would be ambushed. I rode hard to catch up.”
Yang Xing looked puzzled. “A letter!?”
Jiang Changqing frowned. “Yes, I don’t know who sent it, but they knew about the Sanhe Escort Agency’s covert transport.”
As they all exchanged curious glances, Elder Hou stumbled out, trembling, then collapsed to his knees with a thud.
“You’ve slain these bandits and avenged this old man’s deep hatred. I am forever grateful and will repay you in another life, whether as ox or horse,” Elder Hou said, tears streaming down his face as he kowtowed three times.
Yang Xing hurriedly helped him up. “Sir, what exactly happened? Do you know these bandits?”
“I know them—of course I do! I’d recognize them even if they turned to ashes.”
Elder Hou sobbed bitterly. “They are disciples of the Huan Yuan Sect.”
“Huan Yuan Sect!?”
At those words, both Jiang Changqing and Tan Donghe’s expressions darkened. Yang Xing’s pupils contracted sharply.
The Huan Yuan Sect was one of the three major heretical cults in Wuguo, notorious for its numerous followers and formidable influence. Their martial arts were strange and sinister, forbidden by both the government and the martial world.
Elder Hou then recounted the full story.
Three years ago, the Huan Yuan Sect arrived in this village to proselytize. At first, their arrival seemed benign—they healed the sick, showed kindness, and spread their teachings. Many villagers began to believe in the sect.
“But the true purpose of recruiting followers was to create ‘medicine people,’” Elder Hou said tearfully. “They gathered poisonous herbs, forged them into pills, and implanted these pills into people’s bodies. These pills, refined through secret techniques, are miraculous. Once inside, they absorb the person’s vital energy and blood to nourish the medicine. When the pill matures, they extract it for cultivation.”
Elder Hou wiped his tears, choking on his words. “Do you know how they implant these pills?”
“How?” Jiang Changqing asked.
Elder Hou’s voice trembled. “They divided the pills into yin and yang. The yang pill was surgically placed into men’s abdomens using secret methods, while the yin pill was inserted into women’s lower bodies and sewn up with needles and thread. When the pill ripens, they remove it.”
“When the pill leaves the body, it means all the person’s vital energy has been drained, and they perish.”
Pain etched deeply across Elder Hou’s aged face.
“My son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter-in-law all died this way. Now, only this old man remains alive.”
A heavy silence fell over the courtyard.
Everyone felt struck as if by lightning.
Tan Donghe’s face was red with rage. “These people are beasts!”
Yang Xing narrowed his eyes, horrified that the cult was so depraved.
Soon, they discovered the Huan Yuan Sect’s hall in the ancestral temple based on Elder Hou’s words.
Inside were the bodies of men and women, along with numerous pills emitting a nauseating stench.
Besides that, there were firewood, oil, and other materials.
Clearly, the cult planned to rob the escort, then destroy this hall to cover their tracks, making it an unsolved mystery.
This way, they could seize a fortune in silver and establish a new hall elsewhere.
Jiang Changqing took a deep breath. “Notify the authorities immediately. This is their responsibility. Our current task is to deliver the payroll silver to Yancheng.”
Elder Hou’s words shook them deeply.
Thinking carefully, the Huan Yuan Sect had existed here for three years without discovery, which was no coincidence.
Moreover, were there other halls or even branch sects in Hezhong Prefecture?
They dared not ponder further; the matter was too vast, even Jiang Changqing could not bear the burden.
Jiang Changqing then left a few men behind and personally led a team with Yang Xing to Yancheng to transport the silver.
The journey was uneventful, and the silver was safely delivered to Yancheng. They then rode swiftly back to the prefecture city.
The entire round trip took over ten days.
News of the Huan Yuan Sect’s scandal spread like wildfire.
No one expected such a sinister cult had quietly taken root in southwestern Hezhong Prefecture.
Unless aided or colluded with, this was impossible.
So, who was secretly backing this heresy?
Once peaceful, Hezhong Prefecture now seethed with hidden currents and dark conspiracies.
At the Sanhe Escort Agency’s gate, Yang Xing cupped his fists. “Chief Escort Jiang, I’ll take my leave now.”
“Go ahead,” Jiang Changqing replied after a long pause. “Try not to go out during this time.”
Having known each other for several dozen days, they had formed some friendship. Jiang could see Yang Xing was trustworthy and couldn’t help but offer a warning.
There was a lingering suspicion that someone was scheming behind the payroll silver affair.
Besides, the Huan Yuan Sect was a heretical cult, steeped in bad omens.
Yang Xing nodded. “Understood.”
Both men were taciturn about the Huan Yuan Sect; the depths of this matter were beyond their reach.
Soon after, Yang Xing hurried back to the Four Marvels Sect’s Pill Hall and used all his silver to purchase top-grade Four Marvel Pills.
Usually, disciples rarely used these premium pills for cultivation, reserving them mostly for breakthrough attempts.
Though he had been rushing, Yang Xing had never ceased practicing the “Black Tortoise Scripture.”
Now, he stood on the verge of the Pill Force realm, just a thin veil away from breaking through.
Today was the perfect moment to shatter that veil.
Returning from the Pill Hall, Yang Xing entered the Quiet Room and sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion.
After preparation and confirming all was ready, he began his breakthrough.
His eyes closed tightly, breathing calm and deep.
A powerful aura of qi and blood surged around him like a turbulent flood.
Within his body, dark energy permeated every inch of muscle and bone, filling him with strength.
Yang Xing adjusted his breathing, channeling his qi and blood to stimulate the dark energy, gathering it all into his dantian.
Boom!
Suddenly, a tremendous pressure surged, blocking the flow of qi and blood.
Yang Xing pushed forward with all his might.
The resistance was immense, like an impenetrable gate, draining his qi and blood.
He took out a top-grade Four Marvel Pill and swallowed it immediately.
Soon, the pill melted into a warm current.
His qi and blood surged anew, crashing forward like waves.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The tide of blood and qi raged, repeatedly battering the mysterious gate.
After about the time it takes for incense to burn, the gate remained closed, and Yang Xing’s qi and blood were drained again.
He swallowed another premium pill without hesitation.
Each pill had originally cost eight hundred taels of silver, now inflated to a thousand taels each.
These two pills alone cost him two thousand taels of silver.
His qi and blood boiled again, and he continued to assault the gate.
Once!
Twice!
...
During this, his qi and blood ran dry twice more, and he swallowed the last two premium pills without hesitation.
The pills transformed into a roaring tide of qi and blood, shaking his body as though an ocean reversed.
Wave after wave of assaults, met with failure after failure.
Just as his qi and blood were about to exhaust again—
Boom!
Suddenly, a mysterious force surged forth.
A crack appeared in the unbreakable gate, growing wider and wider.
In the next moment, it collapsed with a thunderous roar.
Qi and blood flooded out like a bursting dam.
Rumble—!
Yang Xing felt his mind go blank; his whole body seemed to float.
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