Uncle Zheng at the Mission Dispatch Office was indeed caught in a headache and state of irritation.
The sect’s bigshots only needed to focus on researching various spells, but the deacons at the Mission Dispatch Office had far more to consider.
Lin Shibo had obtained a batch of Medicine People and was naturally delighted, but the tasks those disciples had accepted naturally fell through. The Mission Hall needed to rearrange them.
The Pill Room had gained more Medicine People—not to mention that it needed new helpers inside—but the materials it consumed would inevitably increase. Did that mean the Herb Garden needed more manpower too?
If basic herbs and high-end herbs could be harvested from the sect’s Herb Garden, mid-level Demonic Plants required sect disciples to go out on missions to gather them. Some materials even needed Demonic Beasts to be slaughtered on-site before extracting the required components.
Did that mean the Mission Hall had to issue a corresponding batch of new tasks?
Missions required sect disciples to carry them out, but one batch of disciples had already become Medicine People, unable to work for at least half a month. They could only draw personnel from other places.
What about the other departments then? Artifact forging, talisman refining, array crafting—they would all be short-staffed.
Not to mention that some disciples had special identities, some had connections behind them, and some had irritable tempers unsuited for certain roles… When all these factors piled up, it was clear that the Mission Dispatch Office of Silent Night Palace was no easy job.
When Shen He ran over and said he wanted to take on a menial task at the Pill Room, Uncle Zheng was surprised.
How was there still a menial disciple actively courting death?
Shen He gave a reason that sounded very much like a true Demonic Cultivator: if he could luckily obtain one or two pills, he could rapidly boost his cultivation.
Approval showed on Uncle Zheng’s face, though contempt filled his heart.
That place, the Pill Room, had furnaces exploding every day—it had the highest menial disciple loss rate. Forget luckily obtaining pills; this fellow would probably be dead by tomorrow.
Thus, Shen He received the task.
Xie Linlang noticed the fleeting subtle shift in Uncle Zheng’s expression. After a brief moment of contemplation, he said, “Once we arrive at the Pill Room, relax your body. I’ll take over.”
Shen He obediently agreed.
The Pill Room was located in the core area of Silent Night Palace. After showing his Identity Token to the guarding disciple, Shen He entered the Pill Room.
The Pill Room was a vast, cloister-shaped courtyard. In the central open space lay various medicinal materials that required sunning or special processing.
The room doors were all open, with layers of array fluctuations outside that isolated the pill Demonic Qi within, preventing mutual interference.
The guarding disciple led Shen He to a room and then left.
Shen He closed his eyes. In the next second, Xie Linlang took control of his body.
He stepped forward and slapped the Identity Token onto the door frame. The door opened silently.
As soon as he entered, a Pill Furnace overflowing with Demonic Qi floated in the middle of the room. Purple-black light occasionally burst from within, and it looked ready to explode at any moment.
A cultivator standing before the Pill Furnace wordlessly grabbed a menial disciple beside him and tossed him straight into the furnace.
Amid a scream, the Pill Furnace temporarily quieted.
The cultivator glanced at Xie Linlang standing in the doorway and sneered. “Perfect timing. Come help arrange the materials. If you’re one step too slow and the furnace explodes, you’ll go in to keep him company!”
Shen He froze in terror.
Fortunately, it was Xie Linlang controlling the body. He gave a calm and composed salute. “Yes.”
Xie Linlang walked to the preparation table before the Pill Furnace and quickly scanned it.
He had once been a renowned Pill King in the cultivation world. Though his knowledge of Demonic Plants was not deep, this cultivator’s refining skills were utterly laughable in comparison.
From the surging Demonic Qi of the Demonic Plants on the table and the tidal waves of exploding qi around the Pill Furnace, Xie Linlang roughly judged that this was a pill capable of greatly amplifying Demonic Qi.
Compared to the orthodox pills refined by a proper Pill King like him—which had no side effects—the Demonic Cores refined by Demonic Cultivators emphasized overwhelming effects with brutal repercussions. They perfectly embodied the Demonic Cultivator trait of harming the enemy at a thousand while damaging oneself by eight hundred.
Whoever consumed the Demonic Core from this furnace would gain immense power but also be tainted by the karma of the deceased menial disciple, accruing an extra share of sin that would increase the intensity of their Heavenly Tribulation by one percent.
Demonic Cultivators, however, mostly didn’t care about such side effects. They would deal with immediate troubles first.
Xie Linlang mulled over these messy thoughts as his hands moved swiftly. He quickly sorted the various materials on the table. Just as the furnace lid made another unstable clanging sound, he tossed a bundle of what seemed to be Dried Flowers into the Pill Furnace.
Xie Linlang’s throw was precise. The Demonic Plant landed at the exact moment when the qi contracted before erupting.
Burned by the Spiritual Fire, the Demonic Plant unleashed a surge of qi that collided with and fused into the erupting qi. The furnace lid settled back steadily.
The cultivator looked at Xie Linlang in surprise. “Have you studied pill refining techniques before?”
Xie Linlang replied flatly, “They taught it in the general lecture.”
The cultivator’s expression shifted slightly. If the boy could perform like this after only attending a general lecture, his talent was extraordinary.
