Xie Linlang chatted with Senior Brother Qian while Kill Matt Night Senior nestled on his shoulder, listening in.
Though he was somewhat distracted, as a great cultivator of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, dividing his attention was a simple matter.
When Senior Brother Qian analyzed that there were inside dealings in this Mustard Seed Realm contention, Pei Jiye rarely reined in his wandering thoughts and gave Senior Brother Qian a slightly serious once-over.
This kid might have bought his spot with money and resources, but he indeed possessed some wit and vigilance.
No wonder the sect’s higher-ups thought highly of him; he had the talent to become a Demonic Cultivator.
With so many sects heading collectively to Jiuxia Mountain, it was naturally not just about the Mustard Seed Realm.
Pei Jiye curled into a ball and sneered inwardly. The Tianling Sect Master, that bastard, probably wanted to use the momentum of the crowd to force him to dissolve the oath they had sworn in front of Yao Huang all those years ago.
It didn’t matter. He had recently undergone Nirvana anyway, and the Pei Ji of the past was long dead. This time, he wasn’t even here in his true body, but in his Demon Body. There was no way anyone could confirm his identity.
Unless the Tianling Sect Master had truly found Xie Linlang’s reincarnation.
At that thought, Pei Jiye felt a stir of excitement.
If the Tianling Sect Master really used news of Xie Linlang to bargain with him… well, it wasn’t out of the question.
For a moment, Pei Jiye actually felt a bit of anticipation toward the upcoming Mustard Seed Realm exploration.
After bidding farewell to Senior Brother Qian, Xie Linlang returned to his quiet chamber with the exchanged materials and an even longer list of names.
He lit the furnace and refined a batch of Peiyuan Pills in short order.
Peiyuan Pills were used to consolidate a cultivator’s foundation. Not only could cultivators consume them, but any practicing creature could take them to strengthen their roots and essence. They were an extremely popular pill with high demand.
Every pill refiner modified the Peiyuan Pill formula to suit their own circumstances.
Xie Linlang had his own Peiyuan Pill formula as well. Now that he had turned to Demonic Cultivation Conversion, he made subtle adjustments to his old formula and employed a brand-new refining technique. Even though Pei Jiye watched the entire pill refining process, he detected no clues.
He only thought that Xie Linlang’s pill refining technique was beautiful, evoking a strong sense of déjà vu. As expected of someone from the Xie Clan.
Xie Linlang controlled the heat and the changes in the creative energies within the Pill Furnace. Soon, a full furnace of pills emerged. He tossed most of them into the Beast Taming Bag to feed the sparrows that Night Senior had collectively plucked a few days earlier.
Considering that Night Senior had been unusually well-behaved without causing trouble—and had even gifted quite a few materials—Xie Linlang simply stuffed the remaining Peiyuan Pills into Night Senior’s beak.
The obedient Night Senior dutifully opened his beak wide. Fearing that the sharp teeth along the edges of his beak might cut Xie Linlang’s fingers, he opened it extra wide, like a gaping maw.
Xie Linlang grumbled inwardly that Night Senior must be hungry, but kept a straight face as he fed the pills over.
“Please give me some pointers, Night Senior.”
The pills slid down his throat and swiftly dissolved into a strand of pure Demonic Qi that coursed through his body.
Pei Jiye’s strength was too great for such pills to have much effect anymore, but he could still discern that the Peiyuan Pills Xie Linlang had refined were of excellent quality, potency, and efficacy.
Night Senior smacked his beak, nodded reservedly, chirped softly, and spat out a Jade Slip, handing it to Xie Linlang.
Xie Linlang raised a brow but accepted it impassively. Upon close inspection, his heart skipped a beat.
It was actually the formula for the Zhu Yan Pill, which he had once refined himself.
Zhu Yan Pills allowed cultivators to alter their appearance, and many Loose Cultivators or those frequently engaged in battles stockpiled this highly technical pill.
After Xie Linlang’s fall, the few remaining Zhu Yan Pills had skyrocketed in price.
A flash of sharpness crossed Xie Linlang’s eyes.
For a pill refiner, nothing was more important than their private pill formulas.
Xie Linlang had innovated many formulas and refining techniques. He had bundled most of them into the Mustard Seed Realm as inheritance, while the few particularly crucial ones with potentially disruptive influence became his closely guarded secrets, never shared with anyone.
Why did Night Senior have the Zhu Yan Pill formula?
A thread of doubt rose in Xie Linlang’s mind. He quickly scanned the formula and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The formula was incomplete, missing the modulation techniques for certain special materials and the control variations for the Pill Furnace during refining.
It must have been reverse-engineered by some other pill refiner from the Zhu Yan Pill itself.
“It seems to be a pill for changing one’s appearance?”
Xie Linlang feigned ignorance. “Does Senior want me to help refine it? But many of the materials listed are unique to the True Realm, and there are no refining instructions. It appears to be an extremely advanced pill. I’m afraid this disciple is not up to the task…”
Pei Jiye observed Xie Linlang’s expression closely.
Unfortunately, years of tempering at Jiuxia Mountain had honed Xie Linlang’s imperturbable mindset, and Pei Jiye discovered nothing.
“Exactly, the formula is incomplete.”
The Night Senior, who had been pretending he couldn’t communicate, finally dropped the act and wrote in the air with Demonic Qi. “I hope you can modify it into a demonic pill—one that not only changes appearance but also bodily form.”
Kill Matt Night Senior puffed out his chest, making the plumes on his head and chest look fluffy and gorgeous. “I want to try using this pill to mimic a human form.”
Xie Linlang paused, his eyes flickering with interest. “Oh? A pill that lets a demon beast take on a human form after consumption? That would require the demon beast to have sufficient knowledge of human appearances, wouldn’t it?”
