Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 32 - Chapter 32 – Deceived

About half an hour later, Li Yu returned to Danding Peak together with Senior Brother Zhao.

Although cultivation was important, one also needed to balance work and rest.

After teasing Senior Sister Zhou, Li Yu’s mood had indeed lightened considerably.

Li Yu rubbed the soft flesh on his waist where she had pinched him earlier and then steadied Senior Brother Zhao, who was swaying unsteadily on his feet.

Senior Brother Zhao had been in the sect for more than ten years and currently possessed the strength of Qi Refining stage four. However, when flying, he wobbled awkwardly in the air, barely managing to steady himself. He said to Li Yu, “Junior Brother Li, don’t worry. I’ve already told Qianqian to take care of Junior Sister Zhou…”

Li Yu clasped his fists and said, “Thank you, Senior Brother Zhao.”

Senior Brother Zhao waved his hand and said, “No need to thank me. You helped me so much—it’s I who should thank you.”

Passing by Feilai Peak, Li Yu told Senior Brother Zhao to head back first. He himself went to the local market stalls to see if he could find anything good.

When passing a stall displaying various talismans, Li Yu pointed to a book and asked, “How much is this ‘Complete Compendium of Talismans’?”

Though alchemy and talisman crafting were not the same, they shared some similarities; learning one could help understand the other. When he had time in the future, he could also learn talisman making, at least to avoid being scammed.

As an alchemist, Li Yu knew how complicated the world of alchemy was; he figured talisman crafting would be no different.

He already had some talismans, some given by the sect, some gifted by Elder Sun. Li Yu wanted to check exactly what those talismans were. After all, he couldn’t just recklessly throw one out when he needed it.

The stall owner sat there and said calmly, “Fifty spirit coins.”

“Fifty spirit coins is a bit expensive. How about forty?”

“Fifty it is. No bargaining.”

In the end, Li Yu spent fifty spirit coins to buy the talisman compendium. Flipping through a few pages, he found some talismans he recognized.

When first entering the sect, the talismans they gave were low-grade talismans suitable for Qi Refining disciples, like Fire Rain, Ice Freeze, Diamond, Great Strength, Wind Walk, and so on. These first-rank talismans had roughly the power equivalent to a fourth or fifth layer Qi Refining spell. They were enough to handle common dangers or to escape.

The talismans given by Elder Sun were different.

Flame Explosion, Ice Strike, Wind Blade, Thunder Summon, Earth Spike—these five talismans Elder Sun gave him were all second-rank talismans, with power comparable to Foundation Establishment stage spells. Their market price ranged from several hundred to a thousand spirit coins each—altogether worth enough to exchange for several Meridian Clearing Pills.

Li Yu never expected the little old man to be so generous.

However, these talismans were very powerful for Li Yu. For Elder Sun, who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, they were nothing special—less powerful even than a casual strike from him. These were likely talismans purchased early on; the paper was somewhat yellowed and old, which might affect their power.

Finding nothing else interesting, Li Yu was about to leave when suddenly a vendor’s call came to his ears:

“Meridian Clearing Pills, cheap sale! Don’t miss out! Usually a thousand spirit coins each, now only seven hundred spirit coins…”

Hearing “Meridian Clearing Pill,” Li Yu immediately stopped. The Meridian Clearing Pill was undoubtedly the medicine he needed most. But he hadn’t yet saved up a thousand spirit coins. After buying the talisman compendium, he had just a little over seven hundred spirit coins left.

It wasn’t only Li Yu who needed Meridian Clearing Pills—all Qi Refining disciples did. As soon as the vendor’s call went out, an old man was instantly surrounded by a crowd.

“Why are your Meridian Clearing Pills so cheap?”

“Could they be fake?”

Faced with the disciples’ doubts, the old man sighed and explained, “These few Meridian Clearing Pills were bought with my life savings for my grandson. Unfortunately, my grandson passed away young, without any immortal fate. So I can only sell these Meridian Clearing Pills at a low price…”

Meridian Clearing Pills were the most familiar kind of pills for Qi Refining disciples. After careful examination, they found these pills were exactly the same as those sold by the sect, but priced three hundred spirit coins lower—an incredible bargain.

“I want one.”

“Me too.”

Immediately, several disciples took out spirit coins to buy. Some who hadn’t saved enough or had just spent their coins watched enviously, pounding their chests in frustration but could do nothing—they had to miss out on this batch of discounted Meridian Clearing Pills.

At Danding Peak:

Li Yu held a pill in his hand. After a careful inspection, he finally relaxed.

The Meridian Clearing Pill he bought for seven hundred spirit coins was no different from the one the sect sold for a thousand. It was a high-quality pill; its color, size, pill markings, and fragrance were all exactly like the genuine Meridian Clearing Pill.

Fortunately, he had checked the market stall today, or he wouldn’t have gotten this good deal.

Li Yu confidently swallowed the pill. As it dissolved, a warm current flowed down his throat. At that moment, he suddenly felt uneasy and realized something was wrong. The Meridian Clearing Pill were supposed to create a cool, refreshing current. Why was this one warm?

Warm currents were the trademark of Qi Gathering Pills…

But Qi Gathering Pills cost only half as much as Meridian Clearing Pills, around five hundred spirit coins each.

As Li Yu thought this, the warm current circulated inside his body, breaking through an acupoint above his right foot. Li Yu looked down at his right foot’s Yinbai acupoint and, despite his usual temperance, couldn’t help but curse, “Damn it, that’s a Qi Gathering Pill!”

Yinbai acupoint — the first acupoint of the Earth Spiritual Vein in the human body!

That old bastard, using some trick to pass off Qi Gathering Pills as Meridian Clearing Pills—even Li Yu had been tricked!

How could someone be this despicable?

Qi Gathering Pills were used to open new spiritual veins and should never be taken casually. Opening an extra meridian meant that the time needed to reach Foundation Establishment stage by pill consumption would double, destroying any disciple’s chance of breakthrough.

After taking the Qi Gathering Pill, Li Yu’s body also began to emit a small amount of foul impurities. Just as Li Yu cursed, cries of anguish echoed from other peaks within the Kunlun Cave Heaven.

“Qi Gathering Pill! It’s the Qi Gathering Pill!”

“Damn you, old man! I’m going to kill you!”

“You cursed old bastard! I’ll tear you limb from limb!”

Amid the furious roars, several figures flew out from different peaks, ignoring the impurities emerging from their bodies. They drew swords and rushed towards Feilai Peak, but when they arrived, the old man was nowhere to be seen.

Two of them immediately broke down mentally, collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

…

Danding Peak.

Li Yu was surrounded by many figures, all looking at him with pity.

The sect was investigating a serious case of counterfeit pill sales. Some people had already come to Danding Peak, and they had learned that Li Yu was one of the unlucky disciples who had been scammed.

Senior Brother Zhao patted his shoulder and comforted him, “What’s done is done. Regretting won’t help. Li Junior Brother, stay strong…”

Another senior sister held his hand and said reassuringly, “Yeah, Li Junior Brother, try to look on the bright side. You originally had three spiritual veins, so having one more isn’t a big difference. Just remember next time, important pills should be bought at the sect’s market. Those unverified pills are not trustworthy…”

Li Yu had already come to terms with it.

One more spiritual vein or not—it was as the senior sister said: he already had three veins; one more or one less didn’t matter much. Given how fast he earned money, it just meant practicing two more years of pill refining.

Besides, cultivating one more spiritual meridian wasn’t entirely bad. It meant his spiritual power was four times that of disciples at the same level. At Qi Refining level three, he could take on level nine disciples alone, and at level nine, even challenge those at Foundation Establishment stage wasn’t a dream…

He just felt a bit ashamed.

As an alchemist, to be fooled by fake pills—what a disgrace…

Someone was selling counterfeit pills in the sect’s market, and multiple disciples were deceived, causing serious consequences. But upon investigation, they found that Kunlun Sect had no such old man. That elder was very likely a disguised sect disciple.

There had been cases before—disciples whose cultivation had gone awry and whose minds became twisted. Harboring resentment, they carried out indiscriminate acts of revenge against their peers. The sect had a long history of such incidents.

Before one gathers spiritual energy, a single Qi Gathering Pill can open the door to the path of immortality.

After one gathers spiritual energy, the same pill can sever that path completely.

After this incident, the sect’s Discipline Peak solemnly reminded all disciples that pills needed for cultivation must be purchased from the sect’s market, buying genuine products only. Never be greedy for cheap deals, or you might suffer even greater losses. Those unlucky few were examples. Kunlun disciples should take this as a warning…

…

Meanwhile, as disciples across Kunlun Sect ridiculed the victims of the scam, a middle-aged man strolled into a shop at the Zixiao Peak market. He tossed a wine gourd onto the counter, followed by a hefty pile of spirit coins.

“Fill it with wine.”

The girl behind the counter hesitated. “Senior, this much spirit wine doesn’t cost nearly that many spirit coins…”

The man chuckled. “Just fill it. This gourd is a spatial artifact—it can hold as much wine as you’ve got.”

A moment later, he lifted the wine gourd and walked out of the shop. Looking in a certain direction, he said with a half-smile, “That was a gift of fortune from this old man. Whether you can grasp it or not is up to you—especially that young fellow with three spiritual meridians. Young and ambitious…”