Stranger Danger

“What do you have to say for yourself, Lord Duanmu?”

Ye Qing looked up and stared at the young girl sitting at the head of the table.

“So, it was you! Hahahaha!”

Duanmu Longhua did not answer him, however. Instead, she looked him up and down for a couple seconds before bursting out laughing. “So you’re the Trueman who infiltrated my Goddess City! I was thinking how I could suss you out and capture you, but to think that you would deliver yourself right to my doorsteps! Hahahaha! This is most fortuitous!”

As Duanmu Longhua laughed, her expression and her presence grew twisted, crazed, and spine-chilling.

“Oh? Fortuitous how, pray tell?” Ye Qing lifted his eyebrows.

“Hahaha! You see, I needed just one more Trueman to become my human cauldron, and now, you have delivered yourself right to me. If this isn’t fortuitous, then what is?”

Duanmu Longhua was bobbing her head left and right and changing her tone repeatedly for seemingly no reason whatsoever. It truly looked like she was possessed by a crazed spirit. “I searched for you high and down from the moment Young Snow told me that a Trueman had entered the city. When my men came up with nothing, I was so disappointed thinking that it was just a misunderstanding. But it turned out that it wasn’t a mistake after all. The heavens truly favor me, hahahaha!”

“With you as my human cauldron, I will finally be able to create the Divine Fortune Pill I need to break through my limits. I will finally become a Sage! Hahaha! The heavens favor me! The heavens always favor me! Hahahahahaha!”

“Human cauldron? Divine Fortune Pill?” Ye Qing automatically filtered her gibberish and homed in on the keywords. “Is that why you invited us to your palace? You wish to turn us into human cauldrons to refine your Divine Fortune Pills?”

“Hahaha… you are a smart man, warrior Ye. You guessed the truth immediately.”

Duanmu Longhua tilted her head and examined Ye Qing curiously. “Truly, you are a smart man. If I’m not at a critical point of my cultivation, if I do not desperately need the Divine Fortune Pills at this moment, I would’ve been reluctant to see you dead.”

“Thank you for the praise.” Ye Qing saluted her uncaringly and asked, “If you don’t mind telling us, what is a Divine Fortune Pill?”

“Hahaha… you’re all going to die anyway, so why not?”

Duanmu Longhua’s face reddened with excitement as she began, “The Divine Fortune Pill is a pill created using a person’s fortune as the ingredient, and humans as the cauldron. Those who consume it would be favored and protected by the heavens. They would not fear the Three Disasters and Five Tribulations, nor would they be threatened by heart demons and any illness any longer. They will rise to the heavens, attain the Dao, and become a Sage.”

“Sounds amazing. But why did you choose us, specifically?” Ye Qing asked.

“Because the three of you possess the biggest amount of fortune, of course. The bigger the fortune, the greater the potency of the Divine Fortune Pill.”

Duanmu Longhua stared at Ye Qing passionately like she was examining a priceless treasure. “You in particular possess a level of martial fortune that is rarely seen even on a worldwide level. After all, you could not have become a Trueman at your age without it. I am certain that the Divine Fortune Pill created from your body will be of peerless quality.”

“It this the truth behind the Goddess Festival? It is all just an event to handpick the human cauldrons you need to create your Divine Fortune Pills?” Ye Qing lifted his eyebrows.

Duanmu Longhua said, “Yes, but not completely. It is both to reap the visitors’ fortune and to have the goddesses bless the human cauldrons. Only then can they be refined into Divine Fortune Pills.”

“You can only refine us into Divine Fortune Pills if we receive the goddesses’ blessing? Why is that?” Ye Qing asked.

“In this world, there are orthodox and unorthodox ways to refine pills. For example, refinement through water and fire are orthodox, and refinement through blood and soul are considered unorthodox. But regardless of the method, all pill refinement must meet four fundamental requirements: catalyst, ingredient, cauldron, and method.”

Duanmu Longhua explained, “Catalyst of course refers to the materials that precipitate a reaction. It is the root of pill making. Ingredient refers to the ingredients necessary to create the pill such as herbs. It is the foundation of pill making. Cauldron is the device that holds the ingredient and the catalyst together, and finally, method is the method used to create a pill.”

“Just like any other pill, all four requirements must be met for the Divine Fortune Pill to take form.”

“So, the goddess’ blessing is the catalyst,” Ye Qing said thoughtfully.

Going by Duanmu Longhua’s logic, their body was the cauldron, their fortune was the ingredient, and the method was the pill refinement method to create the Divine Fortune Pill. Naturally, the goddess’ blessing had to be the catalyst.

But what did the goddess do to them, exactly? When did they plant this so-called “catalyst”, and why hadn’t he sensed anything strange when he received the goddess’ blessing? Unless…

Ye Qing put two and two together and added, “The opportunity itself is the catalyst.”

“Hahaha… you got it, warrior Ye.”

Duanmu Longhua slammed her hand on the table and laughed boisterously. “That’s right. The opportunity you received itself is the catalyst. It will slowly separate your innate fortune from your mind and body, draw them out into the open, and condense them into a form that is best for the creation of the Divine Fortune Pill.”

“Heh… I already knew that this Goddess Festival was a scam, but this is even scummier than I initially imagined.” Ye Qing produced the jade pendant he received from Goddess Moonview and brushed a finger against its smooth surface. The item immediately disintegrated into powder.

Duanmu Longhua snorted at Ye Qing’s action. “It’s far too late, fellow. The catalyst has long since slipped into your body. You’re just costing yourself an opportunity by destroying the jade pendant.”

Ye Qing blew away the powder on his hand and asked, “I’m curious. What will happen to us after the Divine Fortune Pills are made?”

“Oh, that?” Duanmu Longhua chuckled evilly. “Your fortune would be gone, and your mind would be slain. You will turn into a walking corpse, of course.”

Having heard the whole truth, Yao Jingce pointed a shuddering finger at Duanmu Longhua and exclaimed in shock and anger, “You… you monster! How dare you commit such an atrocity!”

Yue Hongmian wasn’t even reacting. She was as pale and stunned as a deer in the headlights.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Duanmu Longhua turned to look at Yao Jingce and countered.

Yao Jingce was taken aback by the sudden question, but he quickly launched into a furious argument, “You are stealing a fellow human’s fortune and even using their body to refine pills! Your utter disregard for the value of human life is no different from that of a demon’s! Aren’t you worried that the imperial court or the orthodoxy would find out about this and annihilate you and your ilk to the last?”

“Of course I’m afraid. That’s why I cover my tracks properly.” Duanmu Longhua giggled. “We’ve held the Goddess Festival and refined hundreds of Divine Fortune Pills for decades, and yet we’ve never been discovered, have we?”

“We haven’t been discovered in the beginning, and we’ve only gotten better at covering our tracks thanks to decades of experience, so what on earth are you talking about?”

“You…” Yao Jingce didn’t know what to say. He soon abandoned that line of thought and raged, “What goes around comes around, and those who persist in evil will eventually bring about their self-destruction! One day, karmic retribution will strike you down!”

“Hahaha… karmic retribution, you say? Once I’ve eaten the Divine Fortune Pills made from your fortune, I will become a Sage, the equal of heavens! I will become karmic retribution itself!”

Duanmu Longhua laughed like a madman. “Once I have become the master of all, I’ll be able to do whatever I want. Who or what can punish me then, pray tell?”

“Ahhh! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

Finally, Yue Hongmian could not hold back her fear any longer and let out a panicked scream. She then turned around and dashed toward the exit with everything she got.

It was a foolish thing to do. With just one snap of the finger, Duanmu Longhua froze Yue Hongmian where she stood. The young woman was unable to break free no matter how hard she struggled.

“I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die… mercy… please let me go… please let me go!” Yue Hongmian begged as terrified tears poured down her cheeks.

“Tsk tsk… you poor, innocent thing. There is a reason the ancients say that ignorance is bliss,” said Duanmu Longhua and appeared in front of Yue Hongmian. While caressing her tear-streaked cheeks, the city lord shook her head and lamented, “You really should have drank the Unawakened Bugs. You would’ve passed peacefully without fear, shock, or pain. But now? You’ll have to suffer all that and infinite despair, and oh, did I mention that the pain of having your fortune forcefully stripped from your body is worse than death? You poor, poor thing.”

Ye Qing eyed Duanmu Longhua curiously and said, “You seem exceedingly confident that you’ll be able to suppress me, Lord Duanmu.”

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