Chapter 302: Senior Brother, Luck
“Ta ta ~”
The sound of three footsteps echoed through the cavern.
Liang Zhu followed closely behind Ye Anping, surveying their surroundings carefully. After walking about a hundred feet into the cave, the rough walls gave way to neatly constructed stone bricks.
Some of the bricks bore imprints indicating the time and place of their firing, marked with “July 2095 in the Immortal Calendar” and the seal of the chieftain of Tianan City construction.
That year held unforgettable memories for Liang Zhu. It was in April of that year that he rescued Ahting and escaped from Yu Guan in the Central Domain. Later, by chance, he encountered a cultivator from the Seven Killing Sect and presented his letter of surrender.
Following the Qi Refining Stage cultivator carrying the lantern, they walked several dozen steps until the path suddenly widened, and the heat from the alchemy fire could be felt faintly.
As the three turned a corner, they entered a spacious stone chamber. Nine stone pillars supported the ceiling, and at the center was a large double-layered alchemy furnace, its flames roaring and occasionally spewing from the ventilation holes.
Around the furnace, six young cultivators in the Qi refining stage sat cross-legged on mats, channeling spiritual energy into the furnace. So far, everything seemed normal.
But when Liang Zhu looked up at the ceiling, his eyes widened in astonishment, and his typically stoic expression shifted to one of shock.
Hanging from the ceiling, about five yards above the ground, were over a dozen children who appeared to be seven or eight years old. They were suspended by chains nailed through their hands, their faces pale as if drained of blood, withered like dried-out twigs.
Ye Anping glanced at the children on the ceiling with a furrowed brow and explained, “They are the main ingredients for the Reverse-Star Pill. Brother Liang, you should be aware that in the Central Domain, children with spiritual roots usually undergo the Immortal Trial in Tian00 pool City at the age of six or seven.”
“… …,” Liang Zhu was speechless.
“After passing the trial, some are assigned to various branches, while others, due to poor aptitude or skills, return to their hometowns to seek another passing the trial…”
“You mean, these people were sent here by the Heavenly Execution Court on his own initiative!”
“Yeah,” Ye Anping replied.
Ye Anping glanced back at Liang Zhu, understanding the significance of the Heavenly Execution Court to him and knowing he was just a “sixth brother” to Liang Zhu.
Liang Zhu was unlikely to believe this one-sided account. Perhaps it would have been better if the governor named Jianghe had told him what Ye Anping said, but Jianghe was already dead.
After pondering for a moment, Ye Anping asked, “Brother Liang, what was the original purpose of you and Jianghe coming to Yuan Quan Town?”
Liang Zhu responded frankly, “A child with a single spiritual root went missing in Yuan Quan Town. The town reported it to the Heavenly Execution Court, and the Heavenly Execution Court arranged for us to come over and investigate his whereabouts.”
“What’s the child’s name?” Ye Anping inquired.
“Sun Wuyi.”
Ye Anping nodded in understanding, then turned to the Qi Refining Stage cultivator standing beside them with a lantern and asked, “Which child hanging above is named Sun Wuyi?”
The cultivator looked confused and stared blankly at Ye Anping, wondering—Weren’t they here to get the Star-Reverse Pill? Why does this sound so wrong?
“Sir… What are you…”
Ye Anping narrowed his eyes slightly and exerted his spiritual power rarely, repeating, “Who is Sun Wuyi?”
The cultivator’s face turned pale, and his legs visibly weakened. He quickly raised his hand and pointed at the little boy in the center of the ceiling, “It’s him.”
Liang Zhu looked up, gritting his teeth, and asked again, “Jianghe just said he wanted to show me. Could it be possible…”
“This is it,” Ye Anping affirmed.
“Why did he show it to me?” Liang Zhu persisted.
“This ‘alchemy room’ in Yuan Quan Town is just one of the forty-seven alchemy rooms. He just wants a small role to help him run errands. He wants to leave the matter of getting alchemy to you in the future, so of course, he will put poison or restrictions on you.”
“…”
“Brother Liang, your current identity is that of a cultivator who came from the Hundred Lotus Sect to join the Emperor Sect. This kind of person who came from other immortal realms and has no relatives or friends in the Central Region is the best to use.”
As the conversation between the two grew increasingly unsettling, the Qi Refining Stage cultivator on the side couldn’t help but swallow nervously. He quickly stepped back, hoping to quietly escape and report the news.
Ye Anping also noticed this but refrained from taking action for the moment. He silently observed Liang Zhu.
At that moment, he suddenly heard a bell-like sound in his mind, indicating that Su Wan’er had probably followed them secretly.
After some thought, Ye Anping decided to ignore Su Wan’er. If she wanted to eavesdrop, she could listen. He just needed to keep his storage bag secure.
Liang Zhu remained silent for a long time, then asked after careful consideration, “Did the Heavenly Execution Court do this?”
“In the Heavenly Execution Court, most cultivators above Nascent Soul know about it,” Ye Anping replied.
“So the Heavenly Execution Court is colluding with demon cultivators? If the Emperor of the Central Domain knew about this, he would definitely not sit idly by and watch,” Liang Zhu remarked.
Ye Anping shook his head slightly. It was understandable that Liang Zhu would think so. The Emperor of the Central Domain was the most powerful immortal cultivator in the region, comparable in status to Immortal Si Xuanji and other cultivators from the Tai Bai Sect.
“But what if the Emperor of the Central Domain ordered this? Think back to what we experienced in the Chilong Mansion. You know what happened there,” Ye Anping suggested.
“The Emperor of the Central Region has an affair with a demon cultivator!” Liang Zhu exclaimed.
“Of course not. That person is also a Void Realm cultivator. How could he cooperate with a Demonic Cultivator? The Star-Reverse Pill is his original creation,” Ye Anping clarified.
As he spoke, Ye Anping looked towards the alchemy furnace and pulled a spiritual sword from his storage bag, raising it with his sword finger.
The sword flew directly towards the alchemy furnace, piercing its outer shell.
In the next moment.
Boom–
Inside the stone chamber, flames flickered, and four golden elixirs shot out from the cracks in the furnace. He reached out and grabbed one, twisting it between his fingers.
“This Star-Reverse Pill condenses the lifetime luck of those children above. Take it, and you can claim their luck as your own.”
“Luck!” Liang Zhu looked at the elixir in his hand, feeling perplexed.
Though cultivators often spoke of luck, in reality, it was an intangible concept.
“Can elixirs compensate for luck?”
“Eat this pill, and your luck could improve. Perhaps you’ll stumble upon a mighty cultivator willing to impart knowledge when passing through a certain place, or you’ll chance upon an ancient treasure while leaping a cliff…”
Liang Zhu hesitated as he looked at the golden elixir in Ye Anping’s hand.
There was a legend among the four realms about an elixir that could instantly elevate a Qi refining stage cultivator to a god-transformation cultivator merely by consumption.
Though the legend sounded dubious, some still believed in the existence of such a pill.
But to claim that a single pill could enhance one’s luck;
“Hmm…” Liang Zhu pondered.
“Don’t believe it!” Ye Anping raised an eyebrow in response.
“I don’t believe it,” Liang Zhu affirmed.
“I don’t believe it either,” Ye Anping agreed, shaking his head as he looked at the elixir. Suddenly, he recalled a rumor from the game, where each player’s account supposedly had a luck value.
Accounts with high luck values were said to have better chances of winning top prizes in the game. Despite its far-fetched and mystical nature, many people unquestionably believed in this concept, some even going as far as spending large sums of money to purchase initial accounts with supposedly high luck values.
“But the Emperor of the Central Domain firmly believes in this Star-Reverse Pill,” Ye Anping added, glancing at the Qi Refining Stage cultivator who had led them in earlier.
During their conversation, Ye Anping had discreetly positioned himself ten steps away from a stone switch.
As Ye Anping looked over, the cultivator immediately turned to activate the switch.
But before he could reach it—
Swish—
A white light flashed.
Despite the mechanism to seal the cave entrance being within reach, he couldn’t move his hand forward. His vision blurred, and he collapsed to the ground.
With a swift motion, Ye Anping flicked the blood off his spiritual sword, stowed away his belongings, and then turned to Liang Zhu once more.
“Brother Liang, I have another question for you,” He said.
