Chapter 54 - 52: Ghost Mask, Mysterious Pill Master

Chapter 54: Chapter 52: Ghost Mask, Mysterious Pill Master

After leaving the Qin Family’s inner courtyard, Jiang Hao did not head directly to the Upper Spirit Garden. Instead, he turned and made his way toward Celestial City’s Pill Storage Tower.

Over the past three years, although Jiang Hao had been training bitterly, he had not neglected the Alchemy Dao. Even though he had not spent much time on it, he had long since stepped into the realm of a Tier Two Eighth Grade Pill Master, concocting an overflowing abundance of pills.

"Subtracting what I’ve sold to the Pill Storage Tower over the years, the remaining pills are more than enough to compensate for the depletion of the Qin Mansion’s storehouse over the past two years," Jiang Hao murmured to himself.

He planned to exchange all the pills on his person for precious natural resources, leaving behind only a small amount of extremely high-grade Spirit Pills that were useful to him. The rare resources, Spirit Grass, and Spirit Medicine these pills could fetch would not just replenish the Qin Family’s storehouse—they would exceed its total capacity tenfold.

Of course, Jiang Hao did not intend to give all the exchanged treasures to the Qin Family. He would keep thirty percent for himself, use forty percent to refill the Qin Mansion’s storehouse, and give the remaining thirty percent to Zhang Tiesheng. It would serve as a small repayment for the kindness both of them had shown him over the years. With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Hao fully activated the Concealment Art and left Qin City.

Meanwhile, in the Qin Family’s inner hall.

"Lady of the House, something has happened at the Pill Storage Tower."

BOOM!

As soon as those words were spoken, Nalan Feiyan shuddered violently and shot to her feet. "What did you say? What happened to the Pill Storage Tower?"

"Lady of the House, I am not entirely sure. You must go and see for yourself. I heard that every Pill Workshop in the Earth Realm of Celestial City has gone there, bringing along many powerful experts. I fear they have already surrounded the Pill Storage Tower."

Hearing that an incident had occurred at her maiden family’s estate, Nalan Feiyan was consumed by frantic anxiety. She immediately hurried toward Celestial City.

At the same time, at Celestial City’s Pill Storage Tower.

Countless members of the Nalan Clan had already gathered in the hall. All of them looked as though they were facing a mortal threat, trembling with fear.

"Lin’Er, Patriarch, what exactly is going on?"

"Nalan Lin, tell the truth. Where exactly have the Pill Storage Tower’s pills been coming from over the past three years?"

"Look at the situation we are in, Lin. Are you still unwilling to tell the truth?"

A large number of Nalan Family Cultivators were deathly pale, overwhelmed by anxiety. Pushed to the brink of incoherence, Nalan Lin explained repeatedly, "Everyone, Yanyu and I have told you nothing but the truth. The Pill Storage Tower’s pills were indeed sold to us by that mysterious Pill Master. There is not a single word of falsehood in what we say!"

"A terrifying Pill Master wearing a grimacing ghost mask?" one of them scoffed.

"Lin, disaster is at our doorstep, and you’re still spouting nonsense? Never mind outsiders, even we don’t believe that story," another clan member retorted.

"According to what you said, Lin, if this person is a Pill Master, why won’t they show their true face? Could it be just as those Pill Workshops claim—that you are trading in pills of unknown origin? That this Pill Master of yours is an Evil Alchemist? Purposely hiding their identity, refusing to do business with behemoths like the Divine Pill Pavilion and Miaodan Square, yet specifically choosing our humble Pill Storage Tower... Could they truly be an evil Cultivator?"

"If our Pill Storage Tower is truly dealing with an evil Cultivator, then we are doomed," another voice cried out. "The Pill Realm has clear regulations. All Pill Workshops abide by the Three Prohibitions: we do not accept pills of unknown origin, we do not accept highly toxic pills, and we do not accept Tribulation Pills. Let alone pills forged by an evil Cultivator!"

In an instant, countless Nalan Family Cultivators were thrown into a state of sheer panic.

Hearing this, Nalan Yanyu immediately defended them. "Elders, those Pill Workshops are clearly just jealous of us. The Pill Storage Tower has higher-grade pills than they do, which threatens their profits. That is the only reason they are deliberately framing us!

"My father, my grandfather, and I have all met that Lord Pill Master. Although he wears a grimacing ghost mask every time he comes to trade, there is not a single trace of an evil Cultivator’s aura on him, nor has he shown any behavior of the Demon Dao.

"Ultimately, those Pill Workshops in Celestial City are just trying to cause trouble for our Pill Storage Tower on purpose."

It was obvious that the Nalan Family’s current crisis stemmed entirely from conflicting interests. The pills that appeared in the Pill Storage Tower were of a much higher grade than those in all the other workshops. Only the Divine Pill Pavilion and Miaodan Square could compete with them, leaving the other ordinary Pill Workshops suffering miserably. With better pills available at the same price, who would still buy their Spirit Pills? Over time, the Pill Medicine Association of Celestial City had almost formed a three-way rivalry: the Divine Pill Pavilion, Miaodan Square, and the Nalan Family’s Pill Storage Tower.

This undoubtedly cut off the livelihood of all the other Pill Workshops. Initially, they managed to hold on, but over the course of three years, many of them had gone bankrupt. Driven to desperation, these Pill Workshops cast aside all shame. They banded together, surrounded the Pill Storage Tower, and slapped them with the accusation that their Spirit Pills were of unknown origin. They even spread rumors that the Pill Storage Tower was trading with an Evil Alchemist.

"If you want to condemn a man, you can always find a pretext." The old Patriarch of the Nalan Family slowly shook his head. If it had just been a single Pill Workshop, they could have handled it. But this time, driven by profit, nearly all the Pill Workshops in the Earth Realm of Celestial City had united against them.

Yet, as countless Nalan Family Cultivators gathered and heard the explanations of Nalan Lin and his daughter, even their own people could not help but harbor doubts. It was not just the Nalan Family who was suspicious. Nalan Feiyan, who had rushed over after receiving the belated news, was completely dumbfounded upon hearing the situation.

Over the years, everyone only knew that the Nalan Family had curried favor with a terrifying Pill Master, but they knew none of the details. This was precisely because Nalan Lin had remained tight-lipped. To avoid trouble, the father and daughter had always publicly claimed that the Nalan Family had befriended a Pill Master, but they had never revealed or described the Pill Master’s attire to outsiders. They never expected that someone with ulterior motives would eventually spot the Pill Master entering the Pill Storage Tower, handing all the other Pill Workshops the perfect excuse to strike.

"Lin, since he isn’t an Evil Alchemist, why not invite that Lord Pill Master out to explain everything?"

Having grasped the whole story, Nalan Feiyan’s breathing turned ragged, her heart burning with anxiety. At this very moment, countless Pill Workshops were already at their gates. If the Nalan Family could not provide compelling evidence soon, the experts from those workshops would launch an all-out assault.

Evil Cultivators were not just intolerable in the Pill Realm; they were abhorred by heaven and earth throughout the entire Cultivation Realm. However, whether the one trading with the Pill Storage Tower was an Evil Alchemist no longer mattered. What truly mattered was that the myriad Pill Workshops in Celestial City could not tolerate the existence of such a formidable Pill Storage Tower.

As soon as Nalan Feiyan spoke, countless members of the Nalan Clan chimed in to agree.

"Yes, Lin! Quickly invite that Lord out. He is the only one who can save the Nalan Family now!"

"As long as this Lord shows himself, all these accusations will collapse on their own. Lin’Er, time is of the essence. Contact that Lord immediately!"

Faced with the crowd’s urging, Nalan Lin could only offer a bitter, helpless smile. "We have no way to contact him! Over the years, the elder has always been the one to initiate our trades. We don’t even know his true identity or where he lives.

"Furthermore, even if we could contact him, I’m afraid he wouldn’t involve himself in this conflict just for our humble Pill Storage Tower. In the eyes of a big shot like him, our Nalan Family is nothing!"

Nalan Lin held absolutely no hope for the crowd’s wishful thinking. Following his words, the entire Pill Storage Tower plunged into a deathly silence.

Just then, a series of imposing, terrifying figures began to appear, all striding toward the main hall of the Nalan Family’s Pill Storage Tower.

"Nalan Lin, you don’t have much time left. If you still can’t prove the origin of the Pill Storage Tower’s Spirit Pills, we will be forced to take action to uphold the rules of the Pill Realm."

"Patriarch Nalan, bring out that Lord Pill Master of yours at once. If you cannot, then the Nalan Family is lying to us, and we will not hold back our lethal strikes."

Countless gray-haired experts of Celestial City revealed themselves, creating an impenetrable blockade around the building.

When Jiang Hao arrived at the Pill Storage Tower at an unhurried pace, he witnessed this very scene from afar. Seeing the Pill Storage Tower besieged by countless experts, Jiang Hao could not help but frown slightly. He immediately picked out a random person among the countless spectating Cultivators and asked in confusion, "What is going on with the Pill Storage Tower? What happened?"

After listening to the bystander’s explanation, Jiang Hao instantly understood everything. That meant he was the only one who could save the Nalan Family now.

For a moment, Jiang Hao fell into a state of conflict, debating whether he should reveal himself. If he showed up, the risks he would shoulder would be massive. But if he didn’t, the Nalan Family would likely not survive this calamity. What made things even more difficult for Jiang Hao was the relationship between the Nalan Family and the Qin Family. Qin Shiming was the son-in-law of the Nalan Family, and Jiang Hao had also spotted Nalan Feiyan in the crowd. He wasn’t sure if he should truly stand by and watch the Nalan Family be condemned to eternal damnation.

Suddenly, his pupils constricted, and he finally let out a helpless sigh.

Even if he didn’t do it for the Qin Family’s sake, he couldn’t ignore the situation for Qin Shiming’s sake. Furthermore, this disaster at the Pill Storage Tower had originated because of him. Over the past three years, Nalan Lin and his daughter had indeed helped him a great deal. If he hadn’t traded with the Pill Storage Tower, and if the Nalan Family didn’t have their connection to Qin Shiming, Jiang Hao would naturally have sat back and done nothing, as it would have had absolutely nothing to do with him.

But now that both of these connections existed, Jiang Hao couldn’t just stand by. Otherwise, how could he face Uncle Qin?

"Since this matter started because of me, let it end because of me," he thought. Jiang Hao vanished soundlessly into the crowd, and when he reappeared, he was entirely disguised.

Just as the situation at the Pill Storage Tower was about to spiral out of control...

BOOM!

Suddenly, a terrifyingly scorching heatwave instantly enveloped the area, melting away the endless snow on the ground and alarming the countless Cultivators present.

Inside the Pill Storage Tower, the imposing figures sensed the shift and all turned to look back. Amidst the endless blizzard, a black-robed figure wearing a grimacing ghost mask slowly emerged. Wherever he passed, the wind and snow evaporated, and all the frost rapidly melted away.

In an instant, the countless experts turned pale, their expressions drastically changing in shock. When Nalan Lin and Nalan Yanyu saw that figure, however, they both shuddered in succession. As Nalan Lin clearly recognized the figure, his eyes filled with pleasant surprise and absolute shock.

"L... Lord?"

Within the blizzard, bursts of the Fire of Heaven and Earth flickered faintly beneath the black robe’s feet, causing the snow on the ground to vaporize wildly. The melting snow cleared a path forward, as if rolling out a road directly to the Pill Storage Tower.

Amidst the vast, heavy snowfall, under the watchful eyes of countless Cultivators of Celestial City, the figure in the grimacing ghost mask stepped through the storm and revealed himself. Perhaps due to the howling wind and snow, this scene exuded an extremely ethereal and surreal feeling.

Everyone stared at that figure, standing frozen in place like wooden statues. Even Nalan Feiyan was breathing heavily, her mouth suddenly feeling dry.

Today, she finally laid eyes upon the terrifying Lord Pill Master Lin had spoken of.