Chapter 752: That Person
(Seeing the ingredients of the Cinnabar Pill, does anyone think of something? Oh, don’t overthink it… I mean something common in daily life.)
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After that unusual incident in Wenshui City, Seventeenth Master Tang began overseeing the family’s medicinal business. But he was widely knowledgeable, and the Blood Coral was far too famous… It wasn’t real coral—it was crystallized dragon blood, and not just any dragon blood crystallization. It had to be condensed from the true blood of a Golden Dragon or a Frost Dragon.
To the dragon race, Blood Coral was the most sacred relic, never permitted to be owned by anyone. Even the Great Zhou Imperial Palace and the Cloister Palace had none. The Wenshui Tang family, thanks to an ancient tale from countless years ago, was fortunate enough to possess a forearm-sized piece of Blood Coral, hidden deep in the secret chamber of their old mansion, never daring to see the light of day.
The bishop, listening to Seventeenth Master Tang’s assertion, hesitated and said, “What if someone secretly infiltrated the Southern Sea…”
Seventeenth Master Tang shook his head. “All dragons regard Blood Coral as their very life. Even if Zhou Dufu were resurrected, he couldn’t seize it under the watch of a host of dragons.”
The bishop asked in confusion, “But with such abundant energy and such a rich scent of life, what else could it be besides dragon blood crystallization?”
Seventeenth Master Tang seemed lost in thought and asked, “Could it be Holy Light?”
“There’s no sacred aura in this strange substance; the energy is far too violent,” the bishop said, shaking his head. “Moreover, Holy Light is formless and intangible, extremely difficult to materialize. Even the five archbishops in the Cloister Palace couldn’t do it unless they offered up their vital blood.”
Mr. Yang said, “That’s right. The medicinal herbs we identified should be used to neutralize the destructive power of that violent energy. Most crucially, according to the scriptures, to materialize Holy Light, an archbishop would need to sacrifice all of his vital blood. How could they continuously produce so many Cinnabar Pills?”
The renowned physician from Fengyang exclaimed in shock, “Does that mean using Holy Light crystallization to save a life can only be done once, and that archbishop himself would have to die?”
The bishop said solemnly, “Indeed. The Starry Sky has always been fair; life has never known nobility or baseness.”
Seventeenth Master Tang was silent for a long time, as if pondering something, but ultimately did not ask further. He said, “You still have a day and a night.”
With that, he walked out of the secret chamber and into the chilly courtyard. His gaze passed over the bare branches and settled on the distant, gray sky.
The steward and the bishop came to stand behind him, sensing his mood and vaguely guessing what troubled him. They remained silent.
The Wenshui Tang family had paid such a heavy price to invite these renowned medical experts, but their true aim was not to find a way to replicate the Cinnabar Pill by analyzing its ingredients—the attempts by Yinghua Hall and the Great Zhou military had already failed, proving that path was a dead end, or at least far too difficult.
What the Tang family truly wanted was to trace the Cinnabar Pill’s origin through these ingredients. Common Yam Rhizome was produced everywhere, but the potency varied slightly by region. Angelica was found across the continent, but traces could always be found in the flow of medicinal goods. Then there were Cloves, Epimedium…
Everything in the world leaves traces. The Tang family, merchants spanning the realm with unimaginable resources and networks, could most easily capture these traces and find the place where they began or ultimately ended. If they could learn where the Cinnabar Pill came from, they would naturally find that person.
To this war between humans and demons, that person was far too important. Even setting the war aside, that person was still crucial.
Whether it was the Tang family, the State Religion, or the Imperial Court, all naturally wanted to control this person.
“By tracing back through the current thirty-four medicinal ingredients, we should be able to find where the Cinnabar Pill was made. But even if we find that person, we might not be able to control him.”
Clearly, this bishop knew the Tang family’s true purpose. He showed slight unease and said, “At the very beginning, both Yinghua Hall and the two divine generals at Yonglan Pass made similar attempts. Though they weren’t as close to that person as we are, they likely found some clues and even made complete plans.”
The steward glanced at him and asked, “If they can’t control him, they’ll just kill him?”
The bishop nodded.
This sounded utterly unreasonable, but in this treacherous world, it was only natural.
Such a miraculous pill, such an important person—either be used by us, or die. They must never fall into the hands of others, especially enemies.
“Because of the war, the military’s stance was relatively conservative, and they weren’t deeply involved. But Yinghua Hall was very worried that the Imperial Court would control that person. They also knew that person didn’t want to be found and would surely be angered. So they made arrangements in advance to kill him. And then…”
A look of shock crossed the bishop’s face, and his voice trembled slightly. “In one night, thirty-three bishops died at the Xunyang Cathedral. Their deaths were horrific.”
The steward’s expression changed drastically. “Such a fierce reaction, such powerful means.”
Clearly, the Xunyang Cathedral, which had lost thirty-three bishops in a single night, was the one specifically tasked with carrying this out.
The bishop looked at Seventeenth Master Tang and said, “The subsequent purge in the capital by Mao Qiuyu and the King of Linghai was likely an attempt to cover this up.”
There was an unspoken implication in these words. Seventeenth Master Tang remained silent, but his mind was elsewhere.
Who was the master of the Cinnabar Pill? He had always had his suspicions, just like some others. He wondered if it could be that missing person.
If those red crystals containing violent energy were truly the legendary Blood Coral, then the answer seemed even more certain.
He was the blood brother and most trusted subordinate of Third Master Tang, so he knew many secrets.
That missing person now had a dragon by his side, and it happened to be a Frost Dragon.
But only today did he learn that the Xunyang Cathedral had lost thirty-three bishops in one night.
This made him doubt his judgment.
That person might have such powerful means and the right to make such a fierce response, but that person had never been so cold and ruthless. Not to mention that those bishops were originally his subordinates—that person was undoubtedly a great figure, but he never saw himself as one.
Moreover, according to the Tang family’s analysis, if that person was still alive, he should now be in the south.
Last year, a brutal battle had erupted on the Snow Plains, where the Great Zhou’s Black Armored Heavy Cavalry and the demon wolf cavalry fought endlessly across the vast wilderness.
No one had expected that person, who had long vanished from the continent, would appear on the battlefield with a sky full of sword rain. After a bloody fight, he turned the tide of battle, but was gravely wounded by the terrifying demon general Haidi. He then vanished again into the sea of soldiers on the battlefield, never to be seen again.
Only a very few great figures, like Seventeenth Master Tang, knew that after being severely injured by Haidi, that person had been ambushed by three human powerhouses in succession.
This was, of course, utterly despicable and must never be known by anyone. The Imperial Court had kept it tightly under wraps.
Thus, the Tang family concluded that if that person had miraculously survived, he would naturally be in the south now.
Most likely at Saintess Peak, or perhaps at Huai Academy, or possibly at Lishan—only these places could keep him alive.
If that person was in the south, then the Cinnabar Pill, which had appeared in the frontline military commands for a year, naturally had nothing to do with him.
Then why were there so many clues pointing vaguely toward him?
Could it be that the master of the Cinnabar Pill, hidden behind the scenes, wanted to use that person’s name to accomplish something significant?