Chapter 43: The Secret of the Blood-Strengthening Pill!

Lu Changsheng recognized the crimson-robed figure among the crowd. A month earlier, he had encountered this very man in the black market when several martial artists had tried to forcefully sell him Blood-Strengthening Pills.

Back then, the crimson-robed martial artist had proposed that they investigate the origin of the pills together. Lu Changsheng had refused, unwilling to involve himself in such murky affairs. Now, however, their paths had crossed again, as it seemed that the man had also tracked the matter back to Xu Manor.

Though he was fighting by himself, the robed man displayed terrifying strength. With only a single saber in hand, he carved through the enemy ranks and forced the surrounding martial artists to keep their distance.

As far as Lu Changsheng was concerned, his purpose here was not to kill, but to rescue Apothecary Cheng. His eyes swept across the hall as he muttered under his breath, "Where are they keeping him?"

The underground hall was vast and imposing, making it clear that its construction had demanded countless resources and years of labor. As Lu Changsheng observed, more and more of Xu Manor's guards rushed in as time went on.

These guards are coming from the northeast passage. I should take a look there.

Suspicion stirred in his heart. Many apothecaries and physicians had gone missing over the past few days. However, Xu Manor must have had a reason for capturing them instead of just killing them. Holding so many people would require considerable manpower to guard, and perhaps the men Lu Changsheng was looking at were the ones watching them.

He followed the passage and soon found another vast secret chamber. Inside, countless apothecaries and physicians were reluctantly processing medicinal herbs under the watchful eyes of guards. At the center, a bare-chested man was tossing heaps of herbs into a massive, blazing alchemy furnace[1] that blazed with flames.

Not long after, large batches of Blood-Strengthening Pills rolled out from the furnace, and only then did Lu Changsheng understand what was going on. The pills indeed originated from Xu Manor. He scanned the crowd until he finally spotted Apothecary Cheng—and many other apothecaries and physicians from Miaoshou Garden, faces he recognized one by one.

Xu Manor captured so many people just to force them into refining Blood-Strengthening Pills?

Lu Changsheng's gaze grew cold as it swept over the guards. Most of them had already been dispatched to deal with the crimson-robed man, leaving only twenty or thirty behind. Still, the number of guards here would pose a significant threat to most people—but not to Lu Changsheng.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Whoosh!

In an instant, he surged forth from the shadows. His figure was like a mirage, moving like a sudden gale slicing through the dimly lit chamber.

"

Huh

? Did you see a shadow just now?" one guard asked.

"What shadow? You're seeing things," another said dismissively.

"There's an intruder outside. We should be more careful," someone muttered.

"Relax. With so many of our brothers fighting out there, that intruder won't last. Hurry them along with the pills."

The guards muttered to one another. Even those who thought they glimpsed a shadow rubbed their eyes and dismissed it as an illusion.

Squelch.

In the next instant, a sword swiftly slid across their throats. Blood sprayed as the two guards collapsed. It took a good two seconds for the others to process what had just happened.

"An intruder!"

"There, catch him!"

"Don't let him near the alchemy furnace!"

Many of the guards were martial artists at the Bone Tempering Stage. If two or three dozen of them joined forces, they could pose a threat even to an Organ Refinement martial artist. No one below the Divine Strength Realm could withstand such overwhelming numbers—even the strongest would fall beneath a storm of fists.

However, Lu Changsheng was unlike the others, for the path he walked was one of speed. So long as his opponents were below the Divine Strength Realm, their flesh and blood [2]could never withstand the edge of his saber. No matter how many gathered before him, their numbers posed no threat.

Swish, swish, swish.

Lu Changsheng's sword moved in a blur, each strike paired with agile footwork that let him slip through gaps like a phantom. The sight was no different from a tiger breaking into a flock of sheep. Each flash of sword-light brought another man crashing lifeless to the ground. In only a few breaths, the dozens of guards all lay dead.

Drip... drip...

Blood kept dripping from the tip of Lu Changsheng's sword; the entire blade was stained crimson. The room was littered with bodies, scattered in grotesque disarray, not a single groan rising from their throats. Almost all of them had been felled by a single strike. The apothecaries and physicians who witnessed the scene trembled uncontrollably.

Lu Changsheng strode toward them, his gaze sweeping over the alchemy furnace before he asked, "You've been forced to refine these Blood-Strengthening Pills, right? Do you know what's wrong with them?"

The physicians and apothecaries exchanged uneasy glances, none daring to speak. They had no idea who this masked stranger was.

At last, one physician stammered out, "Y-Yes... These pills are gravely flawed. They've laced the pills with a rare insidious poison. Taking them once or twice does little harm, but with prolonged use, the poison starts taking effect. Without an antidote, you'll go through unbearable pain and inevitably die. With these pills, within mere months, they could enslave countless martial artists."

A chill ran through Lu Changsheng's heart. He hadn't been fooled by the idea that these Blood-Strengthening Pills were some miraculous aid, but he hadn't imagined they were actually poison. He was an apothecary, and yet he had failed to detect the toxin within them, which showed just how insidious these pills were.

Was Xu Manor really trying to spread these vile pills across the land to control martial artists? Such a scheme seemed far too grand to be the work of Xu Manor alone, or of Great Benevolent Xu himself.

"Who exactly is this Great Benevolent Xu? Or rather, who stands behind him?" Lu Changsheng pressed coldly.

But the apothecaries and physicians shook their heads in unison. They knew nothing more.

He did not pursue the matter further, for they had already told him all they could. His gaze turned upon them once more as he said, "The guards here are dead. You may remain until the chaos subsides, or you may leave now. If you choose the latter, you must know that outside the fighting rages on, and great danger lies ahead. So, what will it be?"

With that, Lu Changsheng turned and left. Meanwhile, in the outer hall, the situation of the red-robed man had become perilous. From somewhere, guards drew their crossbows and unleashed a deadly volley upon him. Even with all his formidable strength, the man in red was nonetheless mortal; there was no way he could withstand a storm of bolts. He sought cover behind an overturned stone table, but it wouldn't be long before the enemies overwhelmed him.

Great Benevolent Xu stood nearby, his gaze fixed upon the man under assault. Just then, several staggering guards burst in.

"Master, something's wrong! Someone broke into the furnace chamber, killed dozens of our brothers, and now he's already fought his way out!"

A jolt of shock pierced through Great Benevolent Xu's heart. "What?!"

Slash!

The next moment, more guards stumbled into the hall, bloodied and battered. Great Benevolent Xu's gaze followed them until it fell upon a figure in black, his face hidden behind a mask, moving with lightning speed. Each time his short sword flashed through the air, a guard clutched his throat and fell lifeless to the ground.

The guards desperately raised their crossbows to try to shoot him down, but it was useless. He moved too swiftly, and his footwork was too elusive. He plunged straight into their ranks, and sword flashing in a relentless rhythm. With each swing and thrust, another body collapsed into a spreading pool of blood.

Great Benevolent Xu's face turned grim as iron. He slammed his cane hard upon the ground with a sharp crack and shouted, "Honored Envoy, please capture the intruder!"

Boom!

The underground hall shook violently the instant his words fell. At the same time, the wall beside Lu Changsheng crumbled as though shattered by an explosion. A towering figure, clad in iron armor, burst forth, his massive arm lashing out to seize him in a crushing grip.

1. The alchemy furnace (Dān Lú | 丹炉) is a vessel for making elixirs or pills in Chinese alchemical traditions. Typically they look like

this

. ☜

2. I assume the reason their flesh and blood couldn't withstand the speed is because they were still in their "mortal" bodies. ☜