72: The elder's greed

"A miracle!"

Elder Zhao Wuji's trembling roar was filled with disbelief.

They looked at the Elder, whose hair was disheveled and who seemed to be in a frenzy, then at the young man, who was calm and steady, and at the twelve perfect Medicinal Pills in his hand, which sparkled like burning stars.

To make a Pill Hall Elder, who had been immersed in the Dao of Alchemy for over a hundred years and had already reached the Peak of the Spirit Body Realm, exclaim "A miracle!" in shock!

What kind of glory was this?! What kind of... unbelievable feat?!

However, just as everyone thought that this Elder Zhao, who cherished talent like his life, would, like Elder Sun before him, be overjoyed at the Sect unearthing such a Genius in Alchemy, and even disregard everything to take him as his Personal Disciple—

Zhao Wuji's old face, which had already flushed red from excitement, slowly, bit by bit, sank after the initial shock and fervor.

He tightly clutched the perfect Medicinal Pill in his hand, a pill that could drive any alchemist mad. The warm touch and the extremely pure medicinal power constantly stimulated his heart, which had long been corroded by power and desire!

His gaze fell on Lin Ye once again.

"Pure and flawless, potency doubled..." Zhao Wuji silently, repeatedly, chewed on these eight words in his heart. His heart, which had been dormant for decades, began to pound madly at this moment!

He knew very well what a Medicinal Pill of this quality meant!

This meant a completely new system of Medicinal Pills... an Alchemy technique!

Or even, possibly, an ancient Pill Formula that had long been lost!

Whichever it was, its value was far beyond what a mere "Alchemy Genius" could compare to!

If... if he could get this Pill Formula and technique into his own hands... "Cough!"

Zhao Wuji coughed heavily, forcefully suppressing the greed in his heart that was almost about to burst forth. He slowly straightened up, his face, which had been fervent, had already regained the unquestionable majesty and indifference of a Pill Hall Elder.

He slowly turned around, his eyes, which had become unfathomably deep, locked onto Lin Ye like two invisible sharp swords!

A terrifying pressure, far exceeding Han Meng's, belonging to a Peak Spirit Body Realm expert, pressed down on Lin Ye like an invisible tide!

"Brat!"

His voice no longer held any of the previous excitement; instead, it was a condescending coldness, full of interrogation!

"I ask you!"

"Where did you learn this life-saving Spirit Plant technique?!"

"And!" He shook the perfect Medicinal Pill in his hand, his voice suddenly sharpening, like the clang of metal, "This quality of 'fire spirit pill,' its Pill Formula and refining technique, where... did you steal them from?!"

"Confess truthfully!"

"If there is a single false word, don't blame this old man... for killing you on the spot for the crime of 'stealing Sect secrets'!"

These words, full of greed and killing intent, were like a basin of ice water, thoroughly waking up all the Pill Hall Disciples who were still immersed in the shock of the "miracle"!

They looked at their Elder, who was usually strict but fair, with a ghost-like expression, their minds blank!

Robbery!

This was naked, undisguised... blatant plunder!

Zhou Kai, who was slumped on the ground, heard his Master's words, and the dead eyes instantly rekindled with a malicious flame, full of schadenfreude!

And this Little Bastard who had caused him such great humiliation was about to... die without a burial place!

Under that terrifying pressure, enough to collapse mountains, Lin Ye's thin body was like a small boat in a storm, swaying precariously, as if it would be completely crushed in the next second!

His face instantly turned pale! His forehead was covered with fine cold sweat!

But his dark eyes were still as calm, as... cold!

He quietly looked at the Elder in front of him, who had shed all his disguise and revealed his greedy fangs, and his heart was clear.

"Finally... the dagger is revealed?"

He slowly, carefully, put the remaining eleven perfect Medicinal Pills into his embrace.

Then, he raised his head, meeting Zhao Wuji's almost man-eating gaze, and a mocking and... disdainful arc slowly formed at the corner of his mouth.

"Elder," he said slowly, his voice not loud, but every word was clear, "this humble skill of mine is... self-taught."

"As for the Pill Formula and technique, they are... confidential."

"Presumptuous!"

Zhao Wuji was completely enraged by Lin Ye's "reckless" attitude!

He roared, and the terrifying pressure suddenly increased by more than tenfold!

"Boom!"

Lin Ye felt as if he had been directly hit by an invisible divine mountain, his legs weakened, and he almost knelt on the ground on the spot! But he still gritted his teeth, pushing the Golden Bell Shield, which had already reached the "Bone Forging" Realm, to its limit!

A faint bronze light flashed across the surface of his skin, forcefully enduring the terrifying pressure that was enough to crush any Qi Refining Realm Cultivator!

"Hmm?!"

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhao Wuji's eyes!

But the greed in his heart had long since overridden everything!

"Good! What a glib-tongued Little Bastard! What a Body Refining Cultivator with skin of copper and bones of iron!" He laughed in extreme anger, "Today, this old man will personally see whether your bones are hard, or... this old man's Soul-searching technique is harder!"

Before he finished speaking, his withered, eagle-claw-like hand transformed into a crimson afterimage, carrying a scorching aura, and fiercely clawed towards Lin Ye's crown!

He was actually going to use the Soul-searching Great Law, which had long been listed as a forbidden technique, on a Sect Genius in front of everyone!

Lin Ye's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of needlepoints!

An unprecedented, fatal sense of crisis instantly enveloped his entire body!

"Since you want to play..."

A cold, resolute madness suddenly flashed in his calm eyes!

"Then I'll... play with you to the end!"

Within his Dantian, the fist-sized Heaven Burning True Fire erupted! A destructive aura, capable of incinerating everything, was about to burst forth!

However, at this critical moment—

"Zhao Wuji!"

A clear, emotionless, yet infinitely majestic and... murderous shout, like the Nine Heavens Profound Ice, suddenly descended from the sky!

Instantly, it froze Zhao Wuji's violent fire-elemental pressure!

Zhao Wuji's eagle claw, which was about to touch Lin Ye's head, suddenly stiffened!

He slowly, inch by inch, turned his head, his old eyes, filled with greed and killing intent, looked in disbelief in the direction of the voice!

Only to see that the crowd had already parted like a tide.

A figure in white, as pure as snow, was bathed in the cold moonlight, slowly, step by step, walking over.

It was Su Qingyue.

Her beautiful face, which could make heaven and earth lose their color, was now covered with an unprecedented layer of... frost, enough to freeze even the Soul!

"Su... Junior Martial Niece Su?" A hint of apprehension flashed in Zhao Wuji's eyes, "This is an internal matter of my Pill Hall, you..."

Su Qingyue ignored him.

She simply walked quietly to Lin Ye's front, shielding him behind her with her seemingly slender, yet incredibly firm back.

Then, she slowly raised her head, her eyes, colder than ten thousand years of Profound Ice, calmly met Zhao Wuji's gaze.

"Elder Zhao," her voice was clear and unadorned, "what great authority you wield."

"You..." Zhao Wuji trembled with anger at her attitude, "Su Qingyue! Don't think that just because you are the Sect Master's daughter, you can interfere in the matters of my Pill Hall! This child's origins are unknown, and he possesses strange techniques. As a Pill Hall Elder, it is my duty to interrogate him! You quickly move aside for this old man!"

"Duty?" Su Qingyue seemed to have heard the biggest joke. For the first time, a deeply sarcastic curve appeared on her beautiful face.

She slowly took out a token from her embrace, purple-gold in color, carved with auspicious clouds and Auspicious Beasts, and emanating an unquestionable Supreme aura!

The moment this token appeared in everyone's sight, Zhao Wuji's arrogant and rampant old face instantly turned pale with a "swish"!

"Sect... Sect Master's Token?!"

"Zhao Wuji," Su Qingyue held the token, her clear voice, like a divine oracle from the Nine Heavens, was filled with irresistible majesty, "are you trying to defy the Sect Master's Token?"

"No... I wouldn't dare!" Zhao Wuji's body trembled violently, and his arrogant demeanor instantly vanished without a trace!

"Wouldn't dare?" A cold curve appeared at the corner of Su Qingyue's mouth.

She slowly raised the token in her hand, her voice not loud, but every word was like a knife, sharply carved into Zhao Wuji's heart!

"Lin Ye's Legacy, the Sect Master already knows!"

"Are you now trying to 'interrogate' under the guise of 'plunder,' to investigate the Qingyun Sect's... Sect secrets?!"