Chapter 53: The Tragic Zhang Jichen
“Senior Brother, what medicinal pill are you refining this time?”
Qin Jue stepped into the main hall and felt a bit dumbfounded.
“Junior Brother, you’re here. Hahaha, I finally succeeded!”
Bai Ye’s excited voice sounded.
“You succeeded? What are you talking about?”
Qin Jue was stunned. He suddenly remembered that this was the sentence that the frog was repeating when he first saw it.
“I finally succeeded in refining a medicinal pill!”
Bai Ye danced with excitement.
Qin Jue :”…”
“Caw, caw, caw!”
“Chirp, chirp, chirp.”
“Chee, chee, chee.”
Suddenly, the cries of various animals could be heard.
Qin Jue looked over and found several iron cages not far away. They were filled with all kinds of animals, including frogs and birds.
“These are…”
Qin Jue was stunned.
“Oh, these are all the test subjects that I caught from outside. In order to wash away the shame of my previous failures, I started using an entirely different pill refining technique this time. After feeding these animals the medicinal pills refined in the first few furnaces, not a single one of them died.”
“…”
You seem pretty proud of yourself?
“Right, just now, a frog ate my pill and not only became able to walk upright, but it even learned how to talk. But I didn’t think anything of it, so I let it go.”
Qin Jue :”…”
It seemed like the frog Bai Ye was talking about was the one Qin Jue had seen just now.
“Let’s not talk about that for now. Come, come, come. Look, it’s my first successfully refined medicinal pill.”
Bai Ye impatiently pulled Qin Jue over and pointed at the jade box on the stone table.
Qin Jue focused his eyes and saw a crystal clear medicinal pill lying in the jade box. It looked like glass and even emitted a pill fragrance. It was indeed similar to other spirit pills.
Although Bai Ye could refine pills in the past, most of them only turned out to be black lumps. This was the most normal looking one to date.
But for some reason, Qin Jue felt that something was wrong.
“What kind of pill is this?”
“Grade four pill, Heaven Soaring Pill!”
Grade four pill?
Qin Jue couldn’t help but roll his eyes. If he didn’t remember wrongly, the Heaven Soaring Pill seemed to be a pill used by Earth Stage cultivators to attack the Heaven Stage. It could increase the probability of success by more than 70% and was very precious.
He finally understood what was wrong. How could a fellow who could not even refine a grade one pill possibly refine a grade four pill?
Therefore, there must be something wrong with this medicinal pill!
“What? You don’t believe me?”
Seeing Qin Jue’s expression, Bai Ye was quite displeased.
“I do. I do.”
Qin Jue nodded repeatedly. He was very helpless against this senior brother of his. This senior brother was simply too unreliable!
This senior brother had actually forgotten what he had experienced a few days ago!
“Since you believe me, then eat it.”
Bai Ye said righteously.
Qin Jue: “???”
What the hell?
“I’m not an Earth Stage cultivator, why would I eat it?”
Suppressing the urge to beat up Bai Ye, Qin Jue retorted.
Putting aside the fact that the pills refined by Bai Ye should not be eaten at all, even if it was really a Heaven Soaring Pill, it would only be useful for Earth Stage cultivators.
“Uh… that’s true.”
Bai Ye was stunned. He pondered for a moment and sighed. “I had no choice but to call Zhang Jichen over.”
“…”
The corner of Qin Jue’s eyes twitched slightly as he silently mourned for Zhang Jichen.
Not long after, Bai Ye used a spirit energy transmission to call Zhang Jichen over. Zhang Jichen seemed to have had a premonition long ago, and his legs were already trembling when he entered.
“Why is it so noisy outside? What happened?”
Bai Ye frowned.
“No… nothing.”
Zhang Jichen forced a smile and did not say anything about the frog.
Hearing this, Bai Ye did not ask any more questions and said with a smile, “Ji Chen, have I always been good to you?”
Tears welled up in Zhang Jichen’s eyes, but he still braced himself and said, “Yes, Master has always treated me very well.”
“Haha, Master really didn’t dote on you for nothing.”
Bai Ye waved his sleeve and handed the jade box to Zhang Jichen. “In that case, eat this pill.”
“What… what kind of pill is this?”
Zhang Jichen couldn’t help but shudder as he looked at the pill lying in the jade box.
“This is a Heaven Soaring Pill. It can help you step into the Heaven Stage and allow you to increase your strength. You will be reborn. I only have one, so I’ve decided to give it to you. You must not tell Wu Ying about this.”
Bai Ye said seriously. His tone and attitude almost made Jichen believe in the pill.
“Thank… Thank you, Master.”
Zhang Jichen wanted to cry but had no tears. He said weakly, “But I don’t have any plans to break through yet. Is it alright with you if I don’t eat it?”
“No!”
Bai Ye immediately refused without hesitation.
Zhang Jichen :”…”
What did I do wrong? Why are you treating me like this?
“Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with the pill. I’m certain.”
Pausing for a moment, Bai Ye continued, “Besides, your Uncle-Master is also here. Even if there’s really a problem, he can still save you.”
“…”
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Jichen summoned his courage and said, “Alright!”
With that said, Zhang Jichen picked up the Heaven Soaring Pill and threw it into his mouth, looking like he was prepared to die.
Unexpectedly, the medicinal pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth and turned into spirit qi that surged into Zhang Jichen’s limbs and bones. Although this spirit qi was not enough to support his breakthrough, at least it proved that this was indeed a medicinal pill that worked!
“Master! You succeeded!”
Zhang Jichen’s eyes widened as he shouted excitedly. Finally, he no longer needed to suffer after eating his master’s strange pills!
“Hahaha, I knew it. I knew that I wouldn’t fail this time.”
Bai Ye was also overjoyed. He had been obsessed with pill refinement for several years and had finally succeeded for once!
However, Qin Jue, who had seen what had happened to the frog and bird, felt doubtful. He thought that it was odd that nothing was happening…
“Wait!”
At this moment, Zhang Jichen suddenly revealed a strange expression.
“What is it?”
Bai Ye asked impatiently, thinking that this pill had some other effect.
“I… I feel an itch in my chest, like something’s trying to rush out.”
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Jichen’s chest began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then, under Bai Ye and Qin Jue’s shocked gazes, his chest forcefully burst open his clothes and was exposed.
Silence. Dead silence.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, Zhang Jichen let out a scream that sounded like a pig being slaughtered. It spread throughout the entire Xuanyi Mountain Sect.
“How could this be?”
…
“Eh, I think it’s Elder Zhang’s voice.”
“Wasn’t Elder Zhang called away by the sect master?”
“Screw it, I’ll keep looking for that frog!”
“Yes!”
“…”
…
“Master, Master, how could this be?!”
Zhang Jichen was on the verge of breaking down. He didn’t even dare to lower his head to look at his chest. Wasn’t it supposed to be the Heaven Soaring Pill? How did it turn out like this?
“Uh… this, this…”
Bai Ye dodged his gaze, not knowing how to respond for a moment. How could he have thought that the pill he refined would have such an effect? If he had known, he would have found a female elder.
“Wuwuwu, Master, how am I supposed to face anyone now?”
Zhang Jichen did not know how long it had been since he last cried, but he really wanted to cry now!
“Junior Brother, do you think… there’s a way?”
Bai Ye was helpless and could only look at Qin Jue.
Beside him, Qin Jue was already dumbfounded. It took him a while to react before he hurriedly shook his head and said, “No, I don’t know how to fix this.”