100: Chapter 100

Several subordinates quickly stepped forward, carving open the body of the Spirit Devouring Tapir to extract the Yao Beast's Golden Core and the parts usable for Alchemy.

The goatee-wearing Elder withdrew his palm, glanced at the remains of the Yao Beast on the ground, and said in a heavy voice, "This is already the tenth Golden Core Realm Spirit Devouring Tapir. Is it really this difficult to lure out one at the Nascent Soul Realm?"

Aboard the war chariot, a majestic middle-aged man with a face as white as paper said, "No rush. We are only halfway through the Spiritual Vulture Mountain Range. The deeper we go, the higher the Realm of these Spirit Devouring Tapirs. To refine that seventh-grade heavenly dust pill, we must use a Spirit Devouring Tapir at or above the Nascent Soul Fifth Layer as a medicinal catalyst."

"These beasts hide beneath the yellow sands all year round. If not for the blood Qi of these prodigies to bait them, even those at the Golden Core Realm would be hard to find."

"Why did the Grand Elder release that little girl we caught last time? Her Aptitude seemed quite decent," the Elder asked curiously.

"That girl's Realm was too low. These beasts have incredibly picky tastes; not only do they require High Grade Spiritual Roots, but they won't take the bait if the Realm is too low."

"So that's how it is!"

The goatee-wearing Elder narrowed his eyes at the yellow sand ahead and continued, "Grand Elder, with this heavenly dust pill, what are the chances of the Pavilion Master breaking through to the Soul Emergence Realm?"

The Grand Elder pondered for a moment and replied, "About forty percent."

The Elder narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of surprise in his heart. "That... is that barrier truly so difficult to cross?"

"You think forty percent isn't enough? It's already very high. In the entire Eastern Region, besides the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, among millions of Cultivators, who else has reached that step?"

The Elder sighed. "That makes sense... Reaching the peak of the Dao is harder with every step. I wonder what the Profound Realm is like, and why everyone there is so unfathomable."

The Grand Elder's lips curled into a slight sneer. "What, want to go take a look? With your Aptitude, you probably don't have a chance. Better to let that precious grandson of yours participate in this year's Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremony."

The goatee-wearing Elder waved his hand. "That boy's Aptitude is even worse; the envoys from the Profound Realm won't spare him a glance. Besides! What's wrong with staying here in the Central Region as a local tyrant?"

As his words fell!

Seeing the five people ahead slowing down, he barked harshly, "Hurry up! If you delay the Pavilion Master's great matter, every one of you will be fed to these beasts!"

A rustling sound rose as the five people, dragging heavy iron chains, slowly moved forward.

Xie Xingchen felt as if his body were carrying a mountain. Every inch of his skin radiated intense pain, and where the iron chains bit into his flesh, it was no longer just simple burst blood blisters.

With every step, warm blood would drip down his pant legs into the yellow sand, blooming into small patches of dark red on the desert floor.

The soles of his feet had long since been ground into a bloody mess by the grit.

"I can't die, I absolutely cannot die."

The image of his sister appeared in his mind. If he died, who would take care of her in the future?

In this cruel cultivation world, if his sister were left to walk alone, Xie Xingchen couldn't imagine what that would be like.

At the thought of these consequences, a voice in his heart screamed incessantly: Just one more step, just one more step. As long as I'm alive, there is still hope.

Around the Spiritual Vulture Mountain Range, many Cultivators were watching this scene.

Some were there to watch the show, some hoped to scavenge something, and others were... gloating, glad for their own poor Aptitude and jealous of those with extraordinary talent.

They all stayed far away, maintaining a certain distance from the Medicine Pavilion so as not to become an eyesore.

"Sigh... what's the point of having good talent? You need both talent and luck. If you have talent but no luck, you just end up as fish bait."

"Hoh... seeing the Medicine Pavilion snatching people earlier really gave me a fright. Especially that Elder Feng of the Medicine Pavilion; when he looked at me, he almost scared the soul out of me. Luckily, he just said something dismissive and looked away."

"This Medicine Pavilion is truly... such behavior is utterly devoid of conscience, an outrage to both gods and men."

"Devoid of conscience? If you're so brave, say it louder. Go say it in front of that war chariot."

"Look, it seems someone is about to give out."

As the crowd spoke, one of the five people indeed stumbled, then collapsed to the ground without another movement.

The Grand Elder, with his paper-white face, glanced over and said indifferently, "Take him back to keep for Alchemy. The rest of you, keep walking."

Xie Xingchen glanced at the fallen youth. His mind felt hazy and heavy now, reaching a state of total blankness where he couldn't think about anything.

His entire being had begun to sink into the numbness of a walking corpse.

After walking another few hundred meters, two more people collapsed one after another.

The Grand Elder frowned slightly and instructed the goatee-wearing Fifth Elder beside him, "This batch probably won't make it. Go prepare the next batch."

"Be mindful of your strength. Although severe injuries help the aura of the Spiritual Roots radiate better, it would be a loss if you beat them to death."

The Fifth Elder nodded. "Understood!"

Right then!

"Crack!"

A crisp and piercing sound of snapping suddenly sliced through the sand-filled air. Xie Xingchen felt the iron chain dragging him suddenly go light. He instinctively stopped and looked down at the broken link; the cross-section was as smooth as if cut by a sharp blade, certainly not caused by ordinary wear or struggling.

Before he could understand what was happening, he saw a figure in white robes appear before him at some unknown moment.

The other person reached out a hand, offering a Medicinal Pill.

"Eat it."

Seeing the youth before him make no move, Chen Xuan continued, "If you want to live, eat it. Your sister is still waiting for you to return."

Sister... right, my sister is still waiting for me! I can't die yet.

With a trembling hand, Xie Xingchen took the Medicinal Pill and swallowed it without hesitation.

A warm current began to spread from his Dantian throughout his entire body.

Chen Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and fed another youth a pill as well.

"Whoa... what corner did this kid crawl out of? He actually dares to block the Medicine Pavilion's business."

"Looking at him, he couldn't be trying to save them, could he... Hey, can any of you see through this kid's depth?"

"He probably has a Magic Treasure to hide his aura, but being so young, he's at most at the Golden Core. I wonder if he'll leave anything good behind after the Medicine Pavilion people slap him to death."

The goatee-wearing Fifth Elder's eyes instantly lit up as he stared fixedly at the Medicinal Pill. "A Nourishing Origin Pill, it's actually a sixth-grade elixir, a Nourishing Origin Pill. Feeding such a good thing to two ants is a complete waste!"

As an Elder of the Medicine Pavilion, he was naturally very sensitive to pills. In that instant, the Fifth Elder recognized that the pill the Man in White Robes had taken out was actually a sixth-grade elixir.

And the quality was excellent!

The Grand Elder narrowed his eyes at the Man in White Robes who had suddenly appeared.

Under normal circumstances, someone who could casually produce a sixth-grade elixir would certainly not be an ordinary person.

However, the Medicine Pavilion always acted with harmony as its priority and rarely initiated trouble. Before capturing these people, they had roughly checked the backgrounds of these baits to ensure no conflict with other Holy Lands would occur.

The person before them was clearly here for these two baits, and his Realm likely wasn't that high.

The Fifth Elder swallowed hard and threatened in a low voice, "Kid, hand over the pills. Considering this is your first offense, I won't hold your crime of interfering with the Medicine Pavilion's business against you."