About an hour after Xu Qing left the Moonrebel Congregation, the followers in his temple made up their minds and left with excited expressions on their faces. They were immediately noticed by those who had become accustomed to waiting outside the temple

“Grandmaster Pill Nine has issued a dharmic decree!” the burly neighbor announced in a booming voice. “In ten days, the grandmaster will be releasing an amazing and innovative medicinal pill! This pill carries on the traditions of the painquelling lozenge, but has very different effects. It’s a type of pill that’s never been seen in the Moonrebel Congregation, despite all the years that have passed. This shocking pill will change everything!”

The statues present were visibly taken aback, and were listening very carefully.

Seeing that, the burly man took a deep breath. Eyes gleaming with anticipation, he raised his voice even louder.

“I can’t go into any more detail, ladies and gentlemen. But I can reveal the name of the pill. The name is not painquelling. It’s cursequelling! Cursequelling lozenge!”

Every single statue outside the temple was visibly moved. At the same time, it was possible to see many expressions of disbelief.

“Cursequelling lozenge? It can suppress the curse?”

“That’s not possible!”

“Who would dare to undo Crimson Mother’s curse?”

An uproar was already building. There were clearly only a few dozen statues outside Xu Qing’s temple, but the monumental news resulted in a commotion that sounded like it came from hundreds of voices.

The reaction caused the burly man to inhale sharply. Then he continued, “Ten days! When the grandmaster returns, he’ll release the pill. Ladies and gentlemen, all you have to do is wait ten days, and then you’ll bear witness to a true miracle!”

With that, he hurried away. The other followers also scattered. All of them were going to do everything in their power to spread the word as widely as possible in the Moonrebel Congregation. They had ten days.

Of course, they all knew that they didn’t need to do much. All they had to do was start spreading the word, and it would naturally spread like wildfire. After all, Grandmaster Pill Nine was already quite well known in the Moonrebel Congregation, and a lot of people were paying attention to his name. Considering the monumental nature of the news, word would spread as surely as one stone creating a thousand ripples. It was easy to imagine what would happen over the next ten days.

Sure enough, after the followers scattered, the statues who had been waiting outside the temple also went their separate ways to spread the astonishing news. Truth be told… the name ‘cursequelling lozenge’ was profoundly significant. Actually, the reaction to the news surpassed what the burly neighbor and the other followers had predicted. By the fourth day, the entire Moonrebel Congregation was abuzz. Everyone who heard the news was shaken to the deepest level. However, it also led to endless doubts and suspicion.

“Only a dumbass would believe stupid crap like that!”

“People are claiming this pill will quell the curse? That’s complete and utter nonsense!”

“It’s the curse of a god! What, is this Grandmaster Pill Nine also some kind of god?”

“But… what if it’s true? If it really can quell the curse, even just a little bit?”

Even within all the doubts and suspicion, many people were also saying “but, what if?” After all, the flame of hope still burned in the hearts of everyone in the Moonrebel Congregation. In the Moonrite Region in general, that flame had been extinguished in most people. But people who joined the Moonrebel Congregation were people who wanted to defy fate. Therefore, because the flame existed in their heart, they were all moved.

That said, the hope didn’t stop the doubts and suspicions. The more hope one had, the more one would fear disappointment, and the more one would become suspicious. And that was especially true among members of the Moonrebel Congregation who were skilled in making medicinal pills or doing research into the curse.

“We cultivators despise show-offs. This Fellow Daoist Pill Nine is saying some really irresponsible things!”

“He’s giving people hope, but if they end up being disappointed in the end, his reputation is going to hit rock bottom!”

“Cursequelling lozenge. Cursequelling lozenge…. That’s easy to say, but from ancient times until now, no one has ever succeeded in something like that. Neither will he, unless he’s either a god or a godchild!”

Rumors raged, rocking the Moonrebel Congregation. Even the high-level leaders heard about what was happening, and were paying close attention. Although some people believed the rumors, about ninety percent of the rumors were negative. Among the other grandmasters who had very good reputations, some fed the rumor mill, while others focused on research, trying to determine how realistic it was that such a pill could be concocted.

***

In the eastern part of the Moonrite Region, not far from the Heavenfire Sea in the Ninehues Plains, was the hiding spot of one of those grandmasters.

Someone had just flown up to the entrance of his secluded meditation facilities in his mansion grotto, and they were holding aloft a medicinal pill bottle.

“Master, I managed to purchase one of those painquelling lozenges that Pill Nine concocted.”

Shortly after, the door of the mansion grotto opened, and a gravitational force emerged from within, grabbing the bottle and pulling it inside.

Within the mansion grotto was a middle-aged man in a white robe, seated cross-legged in meditation. Circled around him, also cross-legged, were a few dozen squirrels with red eyes, all of them pulsing with extraordinary auras as they also meditated. The man snatched the bottle out of the air. Face expressionless, he opened it and inhaled. Then he looked at the pill inside.

“It has the aura of the Greenhair Badlands’ white wind,” the man said coolly. “The life force in the white wind establishes an equilibrium with Crimson Mother’s curse. However, the truth is… that this method was explored years ago and subsequently abandoned. People who consume this pill will initially suffer no ill side-effects. However, after enough time, it will result in a severe backlash.”

The cultivator outside the mansion grotto nodded respectfully. “So that’s how it is. No wonder they’re so cheap. You’re as knowledgeable and wise as ever, Master.”

The man continued to inspect the pill, going so far as to squeeze it between his fingers. Finally, he shook his head.

“There are some random medical plants inside, plus some other unknown substances. But in the end, the fundamental composition is incorrect. Alchemists nowadays don’t spend enough time on their cultivation. They use cheap tricks to show off and play to the crowd. There are definitely going to be a lot of people who get hurt by this pill.”

The man tossed the pill to one of the squirrels. Without any hesitation, the squirrel consumed the pill.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” the man said. Looking outside of the mansion grotto, he said, “Distributing pills like this is downright evil. Go to the Moonrebel Congregation and announce that I’ve recently improved the painquelling lozenge as well. In six days, on the same day that Grandmaster Pill Nine releases his pill… I’m also going to release a new pill. My new painquelling lozenge is also amazing and innovative. It’s twice as effective as the old painquelling lozenge. And I’ve cut the side-effects in half!”

The apprentice outside was visibly moved. Inhaling sharply, he gave a respectful salute, then raced away to spread the news in the Moonrebel Congregation. Before long, more shocking news was making the rounds.

“In six days, Grandmaster Saintlowe is releasing an improved painquelling lozenge!”

“With such amazing medicinal effects, and such a reduced rate of side-effects, this pill is going to be nothing short of a miracle. It’s going to be far, far superior to the cursequelling lozenge!”

“Grandmaster Saintlowe has a sterling reputation, unlike Pill Nine with his vile theatrics!”

In contrast to the cursequelling lozenge, there were no doubts or suspicions regarding this news. Just about everyone reacted with praise and anticipation. Of course, it also prompted more discussion about Xu Qing’s cursequelling lozenge. In the briefest of moments, the tempest in the Moonrebel Congregation became more intense. The waves even reached beyond the Moonrebel Congregation.

***

Two days before the release date for the pills, Xu Qing was in the middle of doing some research when the Captain showed up with a cryptic look on his face.

“Something really big happened, little Ah Qing!” he said with a jaunty grin.

Xu Qing looked up at him. “Oh? What is it?”

Looking very pleased, the Captain sat down in front of Xu Qing. “What? You don’t know? I thought you said you were actually my dear friend Grandmaster Pill Nine! Shouldn’t you already know what’s going on? Well, let me tell you. Right now, ‘you’ are the hottest topic of conversation in the Moonrebel Congregation.”

Grinning maliciously, he took out a peach and bit into it.

Xu Qing nodded expressionlessly.

“Still trying to sell the act?” The Captain laughed heartily and patted Xu Qing on the shoulder. “Oh, little Ah Qing. I’ve been paying very close attention to you recently. I haven’t detected even the slightest hint that you went to the Moonrebel Congregation. What’s more, the very day the grandmaster returned, I was right there at his temple!

“After everything went down, I came back and found that you were here playing Go with grandpa the whole time. Look, you and I are close friends, so there’s no need for all this showboating.”

The Captain grinned arrogantly.

Xu Qing thought for a moment but couldn’t remember ever playing Go with the Heir Apparent. After glancing in the direction of the Heir Apparent’s room, he thought back to the statues he’d seen when he went back to his temple. Sadly, thanks to the properties of the Moonrebel Congregation, he had no idea of confirming whether or not the Captain was one of the statues at his temple. However, seeing how the Captain was in such high spirits, he decided not to be the one to rain on his parade.

“Did something happen with this best friend of yours?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing much,” the Captain said, looking down his nose. “In a few days he’s going to release a new type of medicinal pill. I went to see him today and he actually showed it to me. I think it’s so-so, nothing more.” The Captain cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s not bad, so I comforted him a bit. You see, he’s somewhat depressed at how everyone is suspicious of him. I told him that all those doubts just go to show how important people think he is.

“Thanks to my advice, Ol’ Nine came to his senses. Then, in order to thank me for my help, he promised to give me one of those pills after he releases them. After I get it, little Ah Qing, I’ll pass it on to you!”

Xu Qing nodded. He was now determined to pay much closer attention to those followers next time he went to his temple, and try to determine if any of them were acting like the Captain.

***

The day before the pill was to be released, rumbling sounds filled the dome of heaven outside the mudbrick city. At the same time, a majestic pressure spread out from the desert. The green wind was picking up dramatically, and it was just possible to see bolts of lightning dancing within it.

Astonishingly, closer examination would reveal the presence of numerous cultivators in the wind. They wore white robes with hoods that covered their faces. Apparently, they had gruish bloodlines that allowed them to fuse with the wind, and travel anywhere it went. There were a lot of them, probably several thousand at the minimum. What was more, their presence made the green wind seem a bit whiter.

Among them were five individuals with shocking Spirit Trove auras.

The person leading them, though in the Spirit Trove level, emitted shocking pressure that was on the very cusp of the Void Returning level. He was a white-haired old man with a cold expression on his face, who kept his hands clasped behind his back as he sped toward the mudbrick city.

Among the members of the younger generation that accompanied him was the very same person in the great circle of Nascent Soul who had impaled the shadow to the ground during the white wind. 1

These people were from the mysterious species known as the Wind Guardians!

“Patriarch, that’s the city up ahead! After we issued the bounty for the vile thief who stole our species’ holy relic, we got information indicating he operates a medicine shop in this city!”

“Our species has laid low for a long time,” the patriarch said coolly. His eyes were already fixed on the mudbrick city, and within it, the little medicine shop. “Apparently, the cultivators in the Greenhair Badlands have forgotten how mighty we are. Let’s set an example with this fellow. That way, the locals will once again remember the Wind Guardians!”

1. The situation with the shadow being impaled during the white wind was in chapters 587 and 588. ☜

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