Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 47. Beginning to be Newborn.
Tian Kui Zi's escape light descended, landing on a scorched red cliff, where another burly middle-aged man in red robes was already waiting.

The middle-aged man had his chest bare, revealing streaks of red flames on his strong muscles, and his wild hair resembled blazing fire.

"Fellow Daoist Lieyun, this is the newly initiated junior brother."

“Song Chen, this is your senior brother from the volcanic crater. You two have a rather special connection.”

Song Chen cupped his hands and said, "Senior Brother Lie Yun."

The middle-aged man in the red robe smiled kindly and said, "My surname is Que."

Song Chen:
Que Lieyun said, "Speaking of which, the General Que who went to conquer the north is my nephew."

I've heard of that too—a son-in-law who separates from his wife's family, but is actually a woman from a different surname.

"When you go back this time, why don't you marry another woman from my main family, and completely integrate your branch family into my main family? That way, our relationship can be even deeper."

Song Chen thought for a moment and asked, "Then what can I offer you, Senior Brother?"

Que Lieyun looked at Tian Kuizi and laughed, "Junior brother is quite sensible."

Tian Kuizi said, "Junior Brother is probably still shaken. I learned a little about your behavior on my mountain before. He asked a disciple surnamed Tang about the four disciples who were refined into human pills. He was very cautious, probably because he had suspicions all along. I brought him here today. Now that he has seen the truth, I wonder what he is thinking."

After saying that, he looked at Song Chen and said, "Junior brother, do you think we are the Demonic Sect?"

Song Chen said, "Senior Brother Que, I don't care whether it's a demonic sect or not. If the Five Elements Sect is a demonic sect, then I am a demon."

Tian Kuizi glanced into the distance, as if sensing something, and then said, "Those six are still exploring. The time is not yet right. We still have plenty of time. Fellow Daoist Lieyun is both your junior brother and a member of the Que family. Why don't you have a heart-to-heart talk with your junior brother and tell him what kind of sect we are?"

Que Lieyun nodded, then looked at Song Chen and said, "Junior brother, as you can see, there are many people in the Imperial City Temple who will be refined into human pills by us, and we will even do other things that you consider evil."

However, without us, Dayong would have been conquered by foreign enemies long ago, and Dayong would have ceased to exist. We silently protect Dayong and this land, allowing its people to live and work in peace. What's wrong with the government collecting taxes, us refining a few elixirs, and consuming some materials?
Leaving aside the distant past, if it weren't for us, would the plague have stopped so quickly because of that rat demon brought in by the Jin spies?
Of course, we didn't let the plague subside so quickly, because the underworld in the northern suburbs of the capital needed some new ghosts, so we let it run its course for a few days.

But if it weren't for us, the plague would have been delayed by more than just a few days; it would have lasted for several months, and the number of people who died then would be significantly different from the number who died now.

As for the marrow-eating crane demons, these man-eating demons from the north, of course, came with the permission of my sect.
"But after they arrived here, our sect designated a territory for them, preventing them from entering the city to devour people. However, without us, it wouldn't just be the marrow-eating crane demons; many more demons would have already swarmed in, turning Dayong into a feast."

Song Chen remained silent because he saw Que Lieyun's gaze suddenly sharpen, and within that sharpness, there was a hint of greed.

On the earth, the demonic beasts of this land of fire and spirits galloped and trampled, scattering the six figures in the distance.

Outer disciples don't know any escape techniques, so they can't run away.

The six people were momentarily stunned as they watched the fire-type demonic beast charging towards them.

"Run separately."

"If you want to fully integrate the Fiery Intent of the Mars Diagram, you must complete this trial. You must exert all your strength in this Fire Spirit Land. Only by succeeding can you enter the inner sect!"

"Entering the inner sect is not so easy. The path of cultivation is inherently unpredictable, and life and death are not in one's own hands. Fellow disciples, see you in the inner sect!"

"run!!"

Six figures shot out in six different directions, leading the fire-type demonic beasts to chase after them in six different directions.

Song Chen, who was above, could barely hear what the six people were saying.

He struck a pose like a junior brother and asked curiously, "Senior brother, what is meant by the 'Burning Intent of Mars' fusion with the Mars Diagram'?"

Que Lieyun gave him a half-smile and said, "You've been to Jinxia Mountain, so you should have seen the Taibai Sword Intent. If you hadn't jumped out, then in a few years, you should have entered the training grounds to completely integrate the Taibai Sword Intent."

Only after completing the trials can one be considered fully integrated and enter the inner sect.

What about my previous suggestion?

Since Master allowed you to consume the Human Elixir, he has already shown some approval of you in his heart.

Song Chen said, "I haven't seen Master since that day. I don't know if Master acknowledges me as his disciple?"

As he spoke, he sighed softly and said, "Shen is half-dead. If Master could grant Shen a marriage, Shen would be willing to marry anyone."

Tian Kuizi and Que Lieyun exchanged a glance, and then Tian Kuizi said, "If I am able to meet with Master in a few days, I can report this matter to him."

Song Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. In just a few brief exchanges, he had already obtained a wealth of information.

Initially, he thought the Five Elements Sect treated the entire Dayong as a pig farm.

But now he understands that the Five Elements Sect is more likely similar to the aristocratic families in the saying "a hundred-year dynasty, a thousand-year family".

The entire sect is perhaps composed of people from aristocratic families who truly hold power.

What are the characteristics of aristocratic families?
The families are deeply intertwined, each with its own interests, making them unshakeable unless all the powerful clans are uprooted.

The main way this "intertwined" relationship is through marriage.

The Five Elements Sect is a clan-based sect rooted in the imperial dynasty.

Therefore, Que Lieyun proposed a marriage alliance before he had even finished three sentences, because he felt that having another fellow disciple would elevate the Que family's status.

He entrusted his marriage arrangements to that mysterious master, and Tian Kuizi would seriously consider reporting this matter to that master.

Because this is the way the Five Elements Sect is structured, that's why they take it seriously.

As for why one should take Ren Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine)?
Song Chen naturally had no intention of taking the pill; he felt a strong aversion to it.

But if he has no choice but to do it, what else can he do?

After a while.
Que Lieyun made a move.

He flew to a spot, grabbed a disciple who was fighting against a fire beast with all his might with his right hand, and summoned a pill furnace with his left hand.

The alchemy furnace swelled upon exposure to wind, quickly reaching a length of ten feet.

In the Land of Fire Spirits, Que Lieyun moved with incredible speed, quickly picking two more "human fruits" and throwing them into the alchemy furnace. He then landed in the center of the Land of Fire Spirits and began refining pills using the earth's fire.

He would occasionally lift the stove lid and throw some herbs into it.

A clanging sound came from the furnace, as if someone was struggling.

Song remained silent, head bowed, eyes closed, ears plugged, refusing to look or listen.

Before his transmigration, he had actually read some similar stories about refining human pills, but in those stories, the protagonists were all victims of "human pill refining," and they were all filled with righteous indignation, wanting to change this messed-up world.

But now.
Instead of being "refined into a human pill," he was forced to become one of the villains feasting on the dinner table.

About a day later, Que Lieyun's eyes lit up with joy, and he said, "It's done!"

Three pills emitting a red glow floated out of the alchemy furnace.

Suddenly, the sky was filled with rosy clouds.

Que Lieyun laughed and said, "He has extraordinary talent; this batch of pills is of the highest quality, hahaha."

With a wave of his hand, he grabbed one for himself, while the other two fell into the hands of Tian Kuizi and Song Chen.

Seeing Song Chen looking at the Human Pill, Que Lieyun said from the side, "The Human Pill is different from other pills. It must be eaten as soon as it comes out of the furnace and digested. Otherwise, its effect will be greatly reduced. Junior Brother, just take it with peace of mind and digest the medicinal power."

Song Chen held the scalding hot human pill, his heart filled with intense disgust. He slowly, bit by bit, put the human pill into his mouth. Just then, a chilling, uncontrollable devouring power suddenly erupted from the dark jade slip of the Yellow Springs Scripture, swallowing the human pill before he could.

This interruption
The pills are gone.

He didn't swallow it.

He didn't want to swallow it either.

The Yellow Springs Sutra was swallowed.

However, even so, he still felt that his moral standards had suddenly dropped a lot, and he had become a novice, because if it weren't for the "Yellow Springs Sutra", he would have really swallowed it.

At this moment, he wanted to become stronger than ever before.

(End of this chapter)