Chapter 52: Setting Out Alone

"Come on! Have a taste!"

Su Tan took the dark yellow, faintly fragrant Qi Gathering Pill handed to him and popped it into his mouth without a moment's hesitation. Instantly, a wave of gentle and pure vital energy slid down his throat and, as if guided by eyes, drilled straight into his dantian.

At that moment, his dantian felt like it was finally meeting the sweet dew after a long drought. A wave of refreshing comfort surged through his entire body, causing a natural smile to bloom on Su Tan's face.

Watching Su Tan with his eyes closed in sheer enjoyment, Tong Jin couldn't help but toss one into his mouth as well.

The sensation—akin to a fish being dropped back into water—made him inwardly praise, "This Qi Gathering Pill truly is a marvelous thing!"

"Brother! It is indeed the intermediate-grade Qi Gathering Pill, there's no doubt about it!"

"Hehe, here, take these three as well, swallow them and take the opportunity to refine them." Tong Jin unhesitatingly shoved the remaining three pills into Su Tan's hand.

Su Tan nodded. At this point, the two of them were as close as biological brothers; offering formal thanks would only create distance between them. He immediately rose and walked toward the platform outside the cave dwelling. He knew that Tong Jin surely wanted to strike while the iron was hot and dive right back into alchemy.

The difficulty of the art of alchemy exceeded most people's imagination, placing exceptionally harsh demands on the alchemist's spiritual intuition. Everything in heaven and earth possessed its own inherent spirit, and the path of alchemy placed particularly high demands on condensing the spiritual essence of medicinal ingredients. For simple pills, one only needed to grasp the spiritual balance between the fire and the medicinal herbs; however, the rarer the pill, the more one had to contend with the laws of mutual generation and restriction of the Five Elements both inside and outside the cauldron. The slightest lapse in concentration would result in a shattered cauldron and ruined pills.

Relying on his Yin-Yang dual constitution, Tong Jin's control over the spiritual essence within herbs and acquired fire was already far superior to ordinary people's. Coupled with the detailed accounts of experiences and lessons regarding alchemy found in the books gifted by the Divine Farmer, Tong Jin quickly mastered methods of pill-refining that others would take years or even decades to figure out.

Over the next few days, aside from eating and sleeping, Tong Jin devoted almost all his time to alchemy. It was only when his medicinal materials were no longer sufficient to refine even a single batch that he regretfully shook his head and finally stopped.

Through the research and practice of these past few days, he had grown increasingly adept at refining Qi Pills, now successfully producing one batch out of every two attempts. Refining the raw medicinal ingredients was relatively straightforward; it was the final pill-fusion process that demanded exceptionally high precision throughout the entire operation.

Of course, his efforts were not in vain. The dozens of Qi Gathering Pills and five Instant Birth Pills resting inside his tunic instantly transformed him into a wealthy man.

Across the mortal realm, the number of alchemists was already pitifully small, and high-grade alchemists were rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Yet cultivators striving to accelerate their progress required the assistance of pills, and since conflicts frequently broke out among practitioners, medicinal pills were indispensable commodities. Thus, pills could be said to be worth more than gold—even higher than gold! Valuable though gold might be, how could it compare to something capable of saving one's life in a moment of crisis?

Tong Jin was unaware that if this batch of spiritual pills were to be brought out into the pugilistic world, it would inevitably spark a bloody scramble and plunder.

At this moment, he was dividing the Qi Gathering Pills into two porcelain bottles. Counting them out, there were twenty-seven pills for each. He shoved one of the bottles into Su Tan's hands, handed him another dark-yellow Instant Birth Pill, and then clapped his hands together, declaring the task a grand success.

"Kid Tan, I might set out for the western plateau in the next few days," Tong Jin suddenly announced.

A look of pleasant surprise crossed Su Tan's face. "Big Brother, I've long heard that the plateau scenery is breathtaking and its exotic customs are fascinating. Are we really going there?"

Tong Jin frowned. "No, not *we*." He slowly lowered his head.

Su Tan was stunned. "Big Brother Tong, you're not willing to take me along?"

Tong Jin sighed. "Along this journey, I must evade my enemies while having no idea what dangers might lie ahead. If you truly regard me as a big brother, go back to the Divine Repose Palace and cultivate diligently. I will definitely return to find you within two years, and together we will wash away our shame from the Six Great Sects!"

Discontent flickered across Su Tan's face, yet deep down he understood that his current level of cultivation would only make him a burden to Tong Jin. "Big Brother Tong must have important matters to attend to on this trip to the plateau, right?"

Tong Jin nodded resolutely. "Yes, I am going to seek out the Millennial Black Ice."

Su Tan nodded. "I understand. Big Brother, over these next two years, I will definitely cultivate with all my might. I will make myself surpass you!"

Tong Jin patted Su Tan's shoulder. "I, Tong Jin, am alone in this world. Aside from you, Kid Tan, there is one other person. Once you return, if you ever catch wind of any news concerning him, keep an eye out and tell him that I will return to the Holy Capital in two years... By then, all grievances and debts will be settled together!" With that, he recounted everything concerning the Ghost Doctor to Su Tan.

The next day, Su Tan set off on his return journey to the Divine Repose Palace. Seeing that the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ants had also finished spawning, Tong Jin carefully wrapped five stone boxes containing the insect eggs inside a cloth bundle, packed his belongings, and set off, leaving behind this temporary dwelling place.

Tong Jin chose a heading due west. As he ventured further west, even small villages became increasingly scarce. Along the way, Tong Jin amused himself by observing the gradually changing landscape, keeping loneliness at bay by deliberately seeking out secluded paths. Having had the prior experience of walking through desolate wilderness to gather spiritual herbs, and having now mastered the basics of alchemy, he had a tremendous need for such rare herbs and treasures.

Finally, as nightfall approached on the fifth day, he once more detected traces of human presence. It appeared to be a hunting party venturing deep into the mountains. Through the dim light, Tong Jin saw that their leader was a burly, tall man with a thick beard, riding a large black stallion. Behind him were three assistants dressed in animal pelts. To Tong Jin's surprise, trailing behind the four of them was a small, date-red pony, upon which sat a young woman wearing a veil.

At that moment, Tong Jin was standing perched atop a giant tree, watching the five figures passing not far below. He was debating whether to go down and greet them when a sudden wolf howl interrupted his thoughts.

The very instant the howl rang out, the horses ridden by the five people were startled, immediately spinning in place and letting out continuous neighs. The bearded leader clearly had seen his share of major events; without a moment's hesitation, he flipped down from his saddle, strode over to the veiled maiden's horse, and grabbed hold of the reins tightly, barely preventing the rider from being thrown off.

Just as the other three men managed to steady their mounts, wave after wave of wolf howls echoed from all directions, rising and falling in chorus.

"Not good! It's a wolf pack. Find a giant tree immediately, do not scatter!" the bearded man ordered.

To Tong Jin's dismay, the giant tree the group chose happened to be the very one he was standing upon. From his vantage point, he could see clearly that over a hundred wolves were slowly closing in on this location. Such a massive number was enough to make even him try to avoid the situation if possible. Perhaps three or five wolves would look as docile as kittens in Tong Jin's eyes, but thirty, fifty, or even a hundred of them? Even he was unwilling to provoke such a horde.

As the wolf pack closed in step by step, the bearded man and the other three men all drew their bows and arrows, preparing to strike at any moment. Though Tong Jin could not see the young woman's face, he could tell she was terrified; she was currently trembling all over, pressing her body tightly against the trunk of the giant tree.

The mounts of the group suddenly scattered in panic. Before they could flee far, they were pounced upon by the wolf pack, and after a brief flurry of struggling, they vanished from sight.

"Shoot!" the bearded man bellowed.

Swish, swish, swish—

Four sharp arrows flew out, instantly claiming the lives of four wolves. Enraged by this provocation, the wolf pack launched a fierce, all-out charge toward the giant tree from every direction!

"Damn it! Switch to sabers! Protect the young miss with our lives!" the bearded man roared angrily, drawing a sharp hunting knife from his waist. He stepped forward and slashed at a grey-furred, sharp-toothed vicious wolf that lunged at the front.

Arooo—Half of the wolf's head was split open by the blow, yet it did not die instantly. Relying on its forward momentum, it viciously sank its teeth straight into the bearded man's calf.

"Uncle Man!" the veiled maiden behind him cried out in alarm, before fainting away entirely.

Catching the scent of fresh blood oozing from the bearded man's calf, the wolf pack charged forward with eyes blazing red, completely ignoring the sharp blades in the hands of the remaining four men.

The four of them looked on the verge of collapse, while more and more wolves along the outer perimeter swarmed around the giant tree.