Chương 75: The Peerless Pill Venerable (Part 3)

Horse-Head Stronghold. The stronghold's master was a Spirit Vein Realm expert who had dominated Horse-Head Mountain for fifty or sixty years. His infamous reputation preceded him.

"It's Seventh Chief! Seventh Chief is back! Every time he returns, he comes loaded with loot!" The gate guards spotted the bald giant riding up and shouted in excitement. The gates swung open. The moment the bald man entered, his face twisted in terror. He yelled in panic, "Close the gates… hurry, close them!" The two guards looked puzzled.

"Seventh Chief, aren't we waiting for the brothers?" They saw only him—no one else.

"They're dead… all of them are dead… Close the gates… close them now!" The bald man seemed half out of his mind, muttering the same frantic command over and over. Though confused, the guards obeyed without delay. But as they moved to shut the gates, they realized a youth in coarse hemp robes had appeared at the entrance at some point.

When the bald man saw him, he reacted as though he had seen a ghost—his legs buckled, he tumbled from the saddle, and he clawed desperately backward across the ground, trying to put any distance between himself and the youth.

"Who are you? Why have you come to my Horse-Head Stronghold?" Sensing danger, one guard stepped forward to block Su Chen while the other frantically rang the alarm bell. Shouts erupted throughout the stronghold. Enemy attack! Su Chen made no move to stop them. He waited until they finished, then his figure flickered. Two heads flew into the air, bodies collapsing in separate heaps. Until their final breath, the guards' eyes remained wide with disbelief and confusion.

With the stronghold now fully alerted, a faint, indifferent smile touched Su Chen's lips.

"Good. Better to settle it all at once—saves the trouble of hunting them down one by one." Seeing the stronghold master appear, the bald man reached toward his leader like a drowning man grasping for salvation, desperate to cry for help. The next instant, his head exploded.

"Seventh Brother!" The remaining chiefs roared in fury at the sight of their comrade's death.

"No matter who you are, if you dare kill one of our chiefs, you will pay with your life!" If they let this youth walk away, how could Horse-Head Stronghold ever show its face on the roads again? The stronghold's chiefs were no weaklings. Even the lowest stood at Spirit Gathering Realm, while the strongest—the master himself—was a Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse. Facing the encirclement, Su Chen stood motionless. He simply rested one hand on the broadsword he carried and slowly drew his fingers along the blade.

To everyone watching, time seemed to stretch and slow to a crawl. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Five swift strokes claimed the lives of five chiefs in succession. The final remaining chief—the great chief—managed to block the sixth strike with frantic speed. He opened his mouth to speak, only to meet the youth's gaze. A chill of dread surged through him.

"Not good!" An ominous premonition gripped him. He braced to defend himself, but it was too fast—far too fast. Even as a Spirit Vein Realm expert, he had no chance to react. The cold gleam of the blade sliced straight toward his head.

"Intent… sword intent…" Until the moment of death, the great chief never understood how they had provoked a cultivator who had comprehended sword intent. With every chief of Horse-Head Stronghold slain, the rest of the bandits fell beneath Su Chen's blade as well. Once the threat was eliminated, Su Chen began looting the spoils. Decades of plunder had accumulated treasures worth at least a hundred thousand gold coins. Among the haul were also captives the bandits had seized. Su Chen set them free without harm.

As he explored deeper into an underground chamber, Su Chen frowned and turned to leave—only to be stopped by a low, hoarse voice.

"Young hero… I am the City Lord of South Mountain City. My subordinates betrayed me, and I was captured by Horse-Head Stronghold. If you release me, Nangong Tao swears to repay you handsomely!" Su Chen paused, then turned back. He unbound and freed the middle-aged man who had clearly endured severe torture.

"Thank you, benefactor. May I have the honor of knowing your name?" Nangong Tao spoke with deep gratitude. He had thought death was certain—never expecting rescue at the last moment.

"Su Chen." When Nangong Tao saw the corpses littering the stronghold outside—even the dreaded Horse-Head Stronghold master lay dead—shock gripped his heart. All of it had been the work of this youth named Su Chen. A prodigy like this could only be befriended, never offended. Seeing Su Chen about to leave, Nangong Tao hurriedly called out to stop him.

"Benefactor, this is my identity token. If you ever have any request, simply bring this waist token to South Mountain City and find me!" Nangong Tao fumbled for a moment and produced a jade plaque. He had guarded it carefully; even the bandits had never discovered it. Su Chen accepted the token and departed without another word. Back in the village, under the setting sun, the villagers finally breathed sighs of relief when they saw Su Chen return unharmed.

"The Horse-Head Stronghold has been dealt with. No more bandits will trouble us." Su Chen spoke calmly to the gathered crowd. The villagers stood frozen, at a loss. In front of Su Chen now, gratitude mingled with a faint undercurrent of fear. No one dared speak to him as casually as they once had.

"Brother Chen… are you really a martial cultivator?" Ah Fang gathered her courage and asked. Su Chen nodded. The young girl's heart was filled with complicated emotions. That night, Su Weichang finally returned. Su Chen did not ask where the old man had been. He simply continued studying alchemy under his guidance. Three full years passed in this way. Three years later.

Su Weichang looked at Su Chen and said, "Chen'er, you have already mastered the Eight Desolations Alchemy Method completely, and you have surpassed your master. There is nothing more I can teach you. Shallow waters cannot hold a true dragon. You will leave the Dragon Firmament Dynasty and step into a far broader world. Your talent is the greatest I have witnessed in my entire life." Su Chen asked quietly, "Old man, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?" Su Weichang gave a faint smile.

"In my youth, I was full of ambition and pride, never imagining there were always people beyond people, heavens beyond heavens. A single gambling match cost me everything. If I have one true wish… it is that if the day ever comes, you will go to Central Continent for me. Go and witness the grand flourishing of alchemy! If the Eight Desolations Alchemy Method appears in that grand era of pill refinement, even in the underworld, I would laugh until my mouth split open."

Su Chen replied solemnly, "Old man, that day will come." Su Weichang seemed to recall something. He reached into his robes and pulled out a longevity lock engraved with dragon-and-phoenix patterns and the character "Su."

"This was left with you when I found you. It may be connected to your origins. It is no ordinary object." Su Chen took the longevity lock, inwardly startled. The material used to craft it was extremely rare aurora stone—something even the Gu clan of his previous life possessed only in small quantities. After entrusting his final words, Su Weichang vanished from Su Chen's sight forever. Su Chen understood it was time for him to leave this place and venture into a wider world.