Chapter 97

Chapter 97

The clerk wasn't fully unconscious, his eyes half-opened, dazed and foolish, showing no trace of the previous madness.

The four Earth Rank Alchemists were greatly surprised, all asking in unison, "Young Master Ning, what kind of spirit pill did you give him just now?"

"It's the Lesser Yang Pill, a derivative of the Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill." Ning Yuzhou didn't hide anything, generously explaining the effects of the Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill and its derivatives to them.

"The Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill is a yang pill that dispels evil and calamities. Practitioners who consume it can resolve the yin malevolent aura they accidentally come into contact with in their bodies. The Lesser Yang Pill, being its derivative, is only of the Profound rank, and its effect isn't great. In a situation like this, it can only make these people feel more comfortable, preventing them from going berserk..."

The four alchemists stood in a row before him, listening to his explanation with ravenous hunger, wishing they had blank jade slips in their hands to store everything he said, so they could review it at any time.

Although the others weren't alchemists, they also listened attentively to Ning Yuzhou's explanation, thus understanding the cause of the group's madness.

There was a yin malevolent aura within their bodies, destroying the practitioners' spiritual bodies, gradually eroding their divine souls, causing them to lose their minds and go mad daily. As long as the yin malevolent aura wasn't eliminated, they would have to suffer day by day.

The Lesser Yang Pill was a yang pill, its medicinal properties not as potent as the Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill. Although it couldn't resolve the yin malevolent aura in their bodies, it could calm them down.

Lord Xu was both shocked and furious.

As the city lord, he thought more deeply. Why did these practitioners come into contact with the yin malevolent aura? Where did the yin malevolent aura come from? Was it an accident, or intentional?

With such a large-scale outbreak of practitioners going mad, one didn't need to think too much to know that it must have been intentional.

Or perhaps this was a conspiracy specifically targeting Tai Zecheng!

The Tangtuan members also looked astonished, never expecting that there was such a reason behind the madness of Tai Zecheng's practitioners. This matter seemed even more complicated, adding to the strangeness of Shuilinyin's disappearance.

After explaining enough, Ning Yuzhou had them feed the Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill they had refined to the crazed clerk.

The four Earth Rank Alchemists somewhat shamefacedly took out a low-grade Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill, too embarrassed to look at Ning Yuzhou, and fed it to the clerk.

Soon after the Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill entered his mouth, the clerk's expression changed drastically, beginning to struggle violently. His eyes widened, pupils blood red, emitting wails of agony.

Everyone was startled, quickly asking, "Young Master Ning, what's happening?"

Ning Yuzhou remained unperturbed, "Nothing to worry about. The yin malevolent aura in his body is being resolved by the Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill. The process will be quite painful. Lord Xu, bring over the Treasure Branch Lamp."

The Treasure Branch Lamp?

Lord Xu was first taken aback, then remembered the lamp-shaped spirit artifact that Ning Yuzhou had given him earlier, quickly taking it out.

When the exquisite little lamp was taken out, the originally dim lamp suddenly flickered on, only to vanish just as quickly, extinguishing again.

"Huh?"

Everyone looked over, the Tangtuan members particularly interested, gathering around to curiously examine the lamp.

The Treasure Branch Lamp wasn't very large, exceptionally delicate, as if it were something female cultivators would play with in their hands. When it lit up, it became even more exquisite and beautiful, making it hard for one's eyes to look away.

"Junior Brother Ning, what kind of spirit artifact is this Treasure Branch Lamp?" Sheng Yunshen asked curiously.

Ning Yuzhou took the Treasure Branch Lamp, moving it closer to the screaming clerk, saying, "The Treasure Branch Lamp is also known as the Malevolent Aura Absorbing Lamp. As the name suggests, it naturally has the meaning of absorbing malevolent aura. When there is malevolent aura around, it will light up. The more malevolent aura it absorbs, the brighter the lamp becomes."

One could say that the Treasure Branch Lamp uses malevolent aura as energy. The more malevolent aura, the brighter the lamp. Placed in special locations, it can be used for lighting.

After hearing the explanation, the group looked at the Treasure Branch Lamp with sparkling eyes.

What a practical and wonderful thing. If one had a Treasure Branch Lamp in hand, when going to some special training grounds in the future, encountering those yin malevolent places, would one still fear the omnipresent malevolent aura?

Although they were very moved, everyone present knew that this thing was currently being used to treat illness. They suppressed their thoughts.

"Young Master Ning, what should we do now?" asked Lord Xu.

The four Earth Rank Alchemists also looked eagerly at Ning Yuzhou. At this moment, Ning Yuzhou was no longer just a Profound Rank Alchemist to them but a senior worthy of respect, eager to learn all his skills.

What was even more rare was that Ning Yuzhou wasn't stingy in teaching them, which was both embarrassing and touching. Embarrassing because they were clearly seniors, yet their skills were lacking, failing to meet his requirements; and touching due to his broad-mindedness, not being stingy in teaching them what he knew.

Ning Yuzhou pointed to the Earth Rank Alchemist serving in the City Lord's Manor, saying, "Come here. Pay attention to his condition. When the yin malevolent aura in his body is nearly resolved, control him and help him expel the malevolent aura in his primordial spirit."

The alchemist was somewhat nervous, "Young Master Ning, how should I do it?"

"First, input your spirit power into his body, always paying attention to the changes in his body."

The alchemist hurriedly agreed, grabbing the clerk's hand and carefully sending his primordial spirit power inside.

Between practitioners, unless they were close relatives or good friends, few would allow other people's primordial spirit power to enter their bodies for inspection, let alone a direct internal view like this. At the same time, it also tested the other party's control over primordial spirit power. Fortunately, due to alchemy, alchemists had extremely fine control over primordial spirit power, so there was no fear of hurting anyone.

And now, the clerk was mentally unclear, his body suffering from the erosion of yin malevolent aura. Even though instinctively he disliked outsiders' primordial spirit power invading, he lacked the strength to resist, allowing the alchemist's primordial spirit power to smoothly take control of his body.

The alchemist worried that he wouldn't perform well in the task Ning Yuzhou had assigned, remaining highly focused throughout, nervously observing the clerk's condition, not daring to relax for a moment.

Soon, the alchemist felt that the yin malevolent aura in the clerk's body was about to be resolved by the Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill. He quickly reported, "Young Master Ning, the yin malevolent aura in his body is almost completely resolved."

Hearing this, Ning Yuzhou moved the Treasure Branch Lamp in front of the struggling clerk, inputting primordial spirit power into the Treasure Branch Lamp.

The Treasure Branch Lamp emitted a faint green glow, enveloping the clerk.

The clerk's cries became even more piercing, his body struggling violently. The alchemist quickly increased his control, lest he break free. The primordial spirit power sent into his body wrapped around the other's sea of consciousness, preventing the yin malevolent aura in the sea of consciousness from spreading through the body again.

The clerk seemed to be suffering from some terrible event. His emaciated face contorted due to pain, causing those present to feel reluctant to see his suffering.

At this moment, the Treasure Branch Lamp suddenly lit up.

The Treasure Branch Lamp began to absorb the residual yin malevolent aura in the clerk's divine soul. The more it absorbed, the brighter the lamp became, the entire room bathed in a soft glow.

"The Lesser Yang Calamity-Transcending Pill can resolve the yin malevolent aura in the practitioner's body, but it's ineffective against the divine soul. If the divine soul has already been eroded by yin malevolent aura, it can only rely on external objects to extract it."

Hearing this, everyone understood the function of the Treasure Branch Lamp.

Lord Xu finally understood why this treatment required both alchemy and artifact refinement; it was indeed no easy task. If not for Ning Yuzhou's expertise in both pill concoction and artifact crafting, it was uncertain how much longer they would have struggled to save these people—or if they could have saved them at all.

After about fifteen minutes, the shop attendant gradually calmed down before slipping into unconsciousness.

Ning Yuzhou released the Treasure Branch Lamp.

A group of people watched him closely, and Lord Xu hurriedly asked, "Young Master Ning, how is it?"

"It succeeded." Ning Yuzhou looked at the Treasure Branch Lamp in his hand and said, "His body and spirit were severely corrupted by the yin evil aura. It's best to adjust and treat him, or it will hinder his cultivation in the future."

Considering that the shop attendant was the first experimental subject for treatment, Ning Yuzhou took out a bottle of spirit pills and had someone feed them to him.

The Tang Clan members, after witnessing the treatment process, held Ning Yuzhou in high regard and enthusiastically offered, "Hey, Young Master Ning, we'll do it."

Tang Shaolin poured out the spirit pills, unsurprised to find top-grade Qi-enhancing Pills. He couldn't help but feel envious.

As disciples of major clans, they rarely had access to such top-grade spirit pills. They never expected Ning Yuzhou to be so generous, readily providing an entire bottle.

Though envious, the Tang Clan members did not wish to claim the pills for themselves. After administering the Qi-enhancing Pills, they placed the remaining ones in the shop attendant's arms, leaving them for him to consume when he regained consciousness.

The success with the first person filled Lord Xu with unexpected joy, and the four alchemists also gained confidence.

After Ning Yuzhou personally taught them the treatment method, he entrusted the task to the four alchemists while deciding to craft a few more Treasure Branch Lamps.

Lord Xu was very interested in the Treasure Branch Lamps, and the Tang Clan members felt the same way. They crowded around, bashfully asking, "Young Master Ning, may I ask if you accept custom orders for these Treasure Branch Lamps? We'd like to commission a few from you."

Ning Yuzhou gave them an inscrutable glance and said, "Let's see the situation after treating this group of frenzied people."

Considering there were still over a thousand cultivators needing rescue, everyone fell silent.

Ever since they arrived in Tai Zecheng, the city saw daily occurrences of cultivators going berserk, with the numbers steadily increasing. Now exceeding one thousand, it became clear that neither the Lesser Yang Calamity-Dispelling Pills nor the Treasure Branch Lamps would suffice.

Thus, those four Earth Rank alchemists found themselves not only rescuing people but also frantically refining Lesser Yang Calamity-Dispelling Pills, working tirelessly day and night.

After leaving the dungeon, Ning Yuzhou didn't rush to refine artifacts but instead returned to the guest courtyard to rest.

Lord Xu, considering that Ning Yuzhou had been in seclusion for three days to craft the Treasure Branch Lamp, dared not urge him to resume refining. He wished to pamper Ning Yuzhou, fearing he might exhaust himself. After all, this Young Master Ning was merely at the Martial Essence Realm. Such a cultivation level wasn't particularly impressive, and it was crucial for him to rest after days without sleep.

The Tang Clan members followed behind, exchanging meaningful glances, clearly plotting something.

Lord Xu pretended not to notice their scheming.

These Tang Clan members, aside from refusing to leave his city lord's mansion, hadn't caused any trouble. Compared to the Duan Clan disciples, the Tang Clan disciples' character was trustworthy. They wouldn't mix right and wrong, and they were brimming with a strong sense of justice. The public's impression of the Tang Clan members remained positive.

At this moment, the Tang Clan members were discussing how to convince Ning Yuzhou to sell them Treasure Branch Lamps.

There was no need to question the effectiveness of the Treasure Branch Lamps. These items were immensely useful, and one could never know when they might come in handy. Moreover, they were life-saving tools that provided security when carried on one's person!

So, once Ning Yuzhou had rested and was preparing to head to the artifact refining room to work hard, the Tang Clan members approached again.

After listening to their request, Ning Yuzhou neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he turned to Wen Qiao and said, "Ah Chuo, help me buy some artifact refining materials from the Ethereal Pavilion."

"Understood, leave it to me," Wen Qiao calmly replied. "Husband, go ahead and handle your matters. Don't worry about us. Senior Brother Sheng and I will take care of everything."

Ning Yuzhou acknowledged her words with a nod, then glanced at the group of Tang Clan members before gracefully departing.

The Tang Clan members were left speechless.

What had they just heard? They actually heard the junior sister of the Crimson Sky Sect calling Ning Yuzhou "Husband"?

The Tang Clan members turned to look at Little Tang, who had a pale face and a trembling body. Filled with sympathy and heartache, they quickly stopped Sheng Yunshen, who was about to leave with Wen Qiao.

"Master Sheng, Miss Min and Young Master Ning are Dao companions?"

"Yes, they were married back in their hometown. Although they haven't held a dual cultivation ceremony yet, they can be considered engaged," Sheng Yunshen explained, feeling that describing Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou as fiancés rather than husband and wife seemed more appropriate given their current circumstances.

So, that was how they presented their relationship to others.

With confirmation, the Tang Clan members turned to persuade Little Tang to give up.

"You see, she already has a husband. Little Tang, you should let go."

"Yeah, although your cultivation speed is commendable, making you a genius in our Tang Clan, even as a genius, you can't compare to Young Master Ning's extraordinary talent. What do you have that measures up to Young Master Ning?"

"Little Tang, stay strong. There are plenty of flowers in the world. Losing this one doesn't mean anything. Believe that you will surely find your own flower someday."

"Little Tang…"

Tang Yalin was comforted to tears by his brothers.

"Oh, come on, what's a man crying for?"

"But actually, Little Tang is still young, not quite a man yet, at most a teenager."

Tang Yalin looked at his brothers with red eyes and angrily said, "I didn't want to cry at first. You made me cry with your consolation. Can't you just say less?"

The older Tang Clan members exchanged glances, then shook their heads. "No, if we said less, what if you strayed onto the wrong path? Our Tang Clan does not condone the despicable act of stealing someone else's wife. You would end up with your third leg broken."

"Yeah, we're just worried about you taking the wrong path."

"Be a man and snap out of it."

"Be a man and…"

"Shut up!!"

Tang Yalin yelled in frustration, pushing away these annoying cousins and following them out the door.

Tang Yalin felt a pang of sadness. Although he genuinely liked Wen Qiao, finding her beautiful, adorable, kind, and wonderful, with no flaws, he wasn't infatuated to the point of wanting to steal someone's Dao companion.

The cousins were right; he indeed fell short of Ning Yuzhou's standards.

In terms of appearance, demeanor, and capability, he was utterly outclassed.

But were they speaking in human tongues? Such consolation was more like a brutal assault.

Little Tangtuan was seething with anger, so much so that he ignored his cousins. Coupled with the recent heartbreak, he couldn't recover his composure, thus deciding to flee from this sorrowful place. He ran away, straight out of the city.

***

The Tangtuan brothers initially intended for their little brother to regain his peace of mind on his own. Yet, they never expected him not to return.

Panic set in among the Tangtuan brothers.

What if their little brother, unable to bear the blow of heartbreak, did something regrettable?

The Tangtuan brothers hastily searched for him. Upon learning that Tang Yaelin had left the city, they followed suit, tracking his aura.

In their search, they stumbled upon a horrifying discovery.

Following Tang Yaelin's trail led them to a forest thirty miles east of the city outskirts, where signs of battle were evident, including traces left by demonic cultivators. Tang Yaelin's whereabouts were unknown.

Demonic cultivators had appeared in the vicinity.

This was no trivial matter. While worried about Tang Yaelin, the Tangtuan brothers also feared a potential scheme by the demonic cultivators. They promptly sent one of their own back to the city lord's mansion to report the news, while the rest continued searching for Tang Yaelin.

Tang Honglin was dispatched back to Tai Zecheng, as it was he who initially encouraged his little brother to pursue Wen Qiao. Feeling responsible for Tang Yaelin's heartbreak, he was consumed by guilt.

In haste, he returned to Tai Zecheng, coincidentally bumping into Wen Qiao and Sheng Yunshen emerging from the Lingxu Pavilion.

"Mr. Tang, what happened?" asked Wen Qiao.

Tang Honglin, his face grave, hurriedly explained, "Little Tangtuan is missing. There are traces left by demonic cultivators in the woods thirty miles east of the city. I must inform City Lord Xu."

Sheng Yunshen, aware of the power of demonic cultivators, was visibly shaken.

Soon after, City Lord Xu dispatched a group of Tai Zecheng's guards toward the eastern outskirts of the city.

Due to the presence of demonic cultivators, all cultivators above the Yuanmai realm in Tai Zecheng volunteered to join the city lord's guards in investigating the situation. This demonstrated Central Continent's attitude towards demonic cultivators: an absolute stance of merciless extermination whenever encountered.

"Junior Sister, let's go take a look," said Sheng Yunshen solemnly.

Wen Qiao nodded in agreement.

Thus, the two joined Tai Zecheng's cultivators, leaving the city together and heading toward the eastern woods beyond its borders.