204: Questioning, exposing, and public opinion response

Midnight Gao Sou's Alchemy skill level wasn't high; at most, he was an eighth-rank Alchemist.

An eighth-rank Alchemist could only refine Medicinal Pills needed for Qi Refining, and even Foundation Establishment was a stretch. As for Spirit Pills to Breakthrough to Golden Core, that was a pipe dream.

So, why was Midnight Gao Sou able to refine Human Pills?

The reason was simple: Star Fiend was helping him.

As a powerful Cultivator who once achieved sixth-rank Alchemy and ultimately became a golden body statue, even if he had perished and only a wisp of his Soul remained, his Alchemy skills were still intact.

Refining Human Pills to assist in a Golden Core Breakthrough was effortless for him.

Not only could he smoothly refine Foundation Establishment Cultivators into Medicinal Pills, but he could also conduct multiple Alchemy processes simultaneously, refining hundreds of people at once.

The high refining efficiency and excellent quality of the Pills, thanks to Star Fiend's technique, left Midnight Gao Sou in awe.

After Star Fiend had refined another batch of Medicinal Pills, Midnight Gao Sou carefully placed them into jade boxes and prepared to send messages to the next group of players.

But just then, Great Love Sect Elder Jiang Yezi sent a message: "Gao Sou, someone on the internet is slandering you!"

Slandering me?

Midnight Gao Sou frowned, immediately feeling a sense of unease.

He quickly opened the forum to check the post.

Sure enough, there was a new post, published less than ten minutes ago, but it already had over three thousand replies and was being constantly pushed to the top at a visible speed.

The post's title was:

"[Sect-wide Welfare? Clearly a Trap to Lure People in and Kill Them!]"

Midnight Gao Sou trembled violently.

A feeling of being exposed instantly swept through him, giving him goosebumps.

Could he really have been found out?

With immense fear, Midnight Gao Sou quickly opened the post to view its contents:

"[Recently, Midnight Gao Sou, the Sect Master of the Great Love Sect, announced a welfare program, releasing a large number of medicinal bath slots. It seemed like a good thing.]"

"[However, according to my investigation, this is a complete scam!!!]"

Midnight Gao Sou became even more flustered, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

He quickly comforted himself mentally, telling himself not to be afraid. Even if he was exposed, it wasn't a big deal. He just needed to hold on a little longer until he had enough Human Pills, then he could hide and Breakthrough directly.

"And it might not even be an exposure..."

Midnight Gao Sou's lips trembled. He had never experienced anything like this before. This feeling of being on the verge of ruin was truly terrifying.

He forced himself to calm down and read the entire post.

The poster stated that several of his friends had been selected for the medicinal bath, had bought gift packs and prepared, and some had even changed their Cultivation Technique in advance to make their Physical Body extremely strong, so they wouldn't explode even if they swallowed high-grade Spirit Medicine.

However, in the end, all of them failed the medicinal bath and perished.

The poster felt something was wrong and asked his friends to release the replays. He studied them carefully, then discussed it with the soul body Senior in his possession, and finally confirmed that this was clearly a wicked Cultivator's method, not a medicinal bath, but rather refining people into Medicinal Pills!

"Damn it!"

Midnight Gao Sou cursed upon seeing this.

His greatest fear had come true.

Given the players' current level, it was actually very difficult to discern wicked Cultivator methods. The secret of the medicinal bath was unlikely to be exposed.

However, some players had soul body Seniors parasitic on them, and these Seniors had intricate connections with Star Fiend, making it far too easy for them to recognize wicked Cultivator methods.

"Calm down, calm down..."

Midnight Gao Sou took a deep breath and continued to read the post.

He quickly found the key point.

This was an anonymous post; the poster had not revealed his identity.

And after claiming to have a soul body Senior, in order to remain hidden, he didn't discuss too many details, merely offering the conclusion of "wicked Cultivator Alchemy" and advising players to avoid it.

This made the authenticity somewhat debatable.

Sure enough, many people in the comments were speaking up for Midnight Gao Sou:

"[I think you're just jealous because you didn't get a slot!]"

"[Your friends failed, but my friends all succeeded. How do you explain that?]"

"[It was already stated there were risks, and if you fail, you have to accept it. How can you be so unreasonable?]"

"[Midnight Gao Sou is paying out of his own pocket to give everyone welfare, and yet he's being slandered by a petty person like you. Bah!]"

"[You say you have a Senior guiding you? Then reveal your identity, otherwise, it's just empty talk. I could say I have a Senior too!]"

Seeing these replies, Midnight Gao Sou's lips curved upwards.

He had truly made the right choice by studying Duan Kong Cave.

Each time he refined Medicine, he deliberately chose to let some people fail, allowing them to leave unharmed, and even improve their Realm or achieve a Breakthrough due to the medicinal bath.

At the time, he felt it was a bit of a loss, but now it seemed that Duan Kong Cave's preference for maintaining a facade of respectability indeed had its reasons.

When someone came to expose him, countless beneficiaries would speak up for him, even defending him.

"Hoo..."

Midnight Gao Sou exhaled, feeling much more relaxed.

He had initially feared being directly exposed and having his Medicine refining plan completely ruined.

But now, it seemed he could continue refining Medicine.

Midnight Gao Sou relaxed and continued to communicate with Star Fiend: "Senior, how many more do we need?"

Star Fiend calculated carefully: "Based on your Aptitude, the Spirit resources you've prepared, and the spiritual energy of the Immortal Cave you've chosen for seclusion... refining another thirty thousand people should be enough."

Midnight Gao Sou frowned: "Why do we still need so many?"

Star Fiend replied: "Mainly because there are more Qi Refining Cultivators. If they were all Immortal Foundation, then only dozens would be needed. Even if they were Mortal Foundation, a few thousand would be enough."

Midnight Gao Sou pondered for a moment: "Immortal Foundation is impossible; even one death would cause a huge commotion. Mortal Foundation won't work either; it's not easy for us Extraterrestrial Demons to Breakthrough Mortal Foundation, and if too many die, public opinion will become very strong, which would interfere with my Breakthrough, and that would be troublesome."

Star Fiend chuckled: "That's why I said refining another thirty thousand should be enough; I've already calculated it."

Midnight Gao Sou nodded, calmed his mood, and sent another message to Jiang Yezi:

"[I've seen the post. Although that person slandered me, the players' eyes are sharp, and they are all defending me. It's nothing serious.]"

Just as he was about to continue sending messages to call people for Alchemy,

Jiang Yezi replied again:

"[Gao Sou, this is bad! Players are blocking the main peak, demanding an explanation from you!]"

Midnight Gao Sou's heart fluttered again. People like him actually cared a lot about their reputation.

"[Wait, I'll be right there.]"

Midnight Gao Sou didn't hesitate much. He tidied himself up, quickly rose on the wind, and headed towards the Great Love Sect's main peak.

Soon, amidst swirling clouds and mist, a mountain range undulated into view. Within the mountains, layers of buildings could be seen, with a magnificent hall atop the highest peak—that was the main peak.

Midnight Gao Sou continuously lowered his altitude and, sure enough, he could see hundreds of players gathered before the main peak's mountain gate, holding wooden signs, shouting upwards, much like a protest.