Chapter 84: Refining Demon Insect Taoist

The ruins of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace were immense. Even in his previous life, cultivators from the Congyun Sea explored them for over a decade without fully mapping their true scope.

Now, it was even more challenging, with dense fog shrouding every part of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace.

The cultivators who had awakened near the Qin Tang statue quickly divided into several factions.

Some felt that the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace was far too perilous. Surviving Qin Tang's ordeal was already a great stroke of luck. To continue exploring would be a certain death trap. They believed they had already memorized several cultivation techniques, and merely surviving and returning alive would allow them to strike it rich. Thus, they decisively chose to leave the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace immediately.

The majority chose to depart. However, the remaining individuals reasoned that if a mere statue at the entrance could offer such opportunities, what boundless fortunes might await them within the legendary ancient sect's alchemist's chambers, scripture repository, and sect treasury?

Once greed took root, it quickly swelled in their hearts, becoming impossible to suppress.

Consequently, this group, as if enchanted, vanished one after another into the swirling mist.

So, when Li Fan caught up from behind, he found that all traces of the other cultivators had disappeared. If not for his No-Form Killing Intent having already locked onto Sikong Yi and Baili Chen, he might have lost them.

However, strangely, Sikong Yi and Baili Chen seemed intimately familiar with the layout of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace. Time and again, they found paths through seemingly impassable misty crevices. With clear objectives, they steadily bypassed mist-shrouded buildings, pushing deeper into the ruins.

Was this why Sikong Yi managed to obtain the Cloudwater Scroll in the previous life? Li Fan knew many secrets of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace due to his simulated experiences from his previous life. But how did Sikong Yi know? A strong sense of intrigue immediately surged within Li Fan.

At the same time, he became even more vigilant. These two clearly harbored significant secrets! Li Fan made his presence and aura even more inconspicuous, tailing them closely.

Suddenly, the two stopped. After a brief pause, Sikong Yi and Baili Chen split up, each dashing off in opposite directions.

"A strategy to split up? Have they discovered me?" Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he pursued in the direction Sikong Yi had taken.

He delved deeper into the mist, eventually reaching a tall, tower-like structure. Sikong Yi suddenly stopped at the base of the tower, turned back towards Li Fan's direction, and flashed a provocative smile. Then, he plunged into the tower.

"Interesting. Is he trying to use a deadly area within the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace to kill me?" Li Fan gazed at the towering structure, flickering in and out of the white mist, emanating an eerie aura. Memories from his previous life surfaced in his mind.

The Demon Refining Tower, one of the most perilous regions in the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace. For the first ten years after the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace opened, no cultivator had ever returned alive from the Demon Refining Tower. Thus, it was once considered by Congyun Sea cultivators to be a death trap within the palace, absolutely forbidden for exploration. In his previous life, it wasn't until the 21st year of the anchor that a master alchemist risked his life to enter it, finally deciphering its strange rules.

"If that's your plan, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," Li Fan sneered, following him into the Demon Refining Tower.

Stepping inside, a chilling wind swept through, bringing with it the scent of decay and putrefaction. The ground floor of the tower consisted of numerous cells. However, it seemed too much time had passed, and only piles of bizarre, monstrous bones remained in the cells. Li Fan continued upward; the second floor was the same.

He finally reached the top floor. From a distance, he heard incessant muttering.

"My senior brothers and sisters are fighting on the front lines, and I'm useless.""I must refine more pills so I can increase their strength as much as possible.""The more pills I successfully refine, the greater the chance my senior brothers will survive.""But all the demons in this Demon Refining Tower are dead; there are no more alchemy materials. What am I going to do?"

A man with messy hair and wearing a loose blue Daoist robe was sighing and looking utterly helpless. In the air beside him, three figures were bound by invisible ropes. One of them was Sikong Yi. The other two were also cultivators who had entered the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace with them, though it was unclear why they were here. Both had pale faces, their lips constantly moving, though what they were saying was unclear.

Before Li Fan could react, he felt as if his hands and feet were suddenly bound by ropes, rendering him immobile. He was then pulled up and fixed in mid-air, just like the other three. Having anticipated this, Li Fan showed no panic. It was then that he finally heard the other two's frantic murmurs clearly.

"How could this happen? I clearly chose to leave this place directly! How did my vision blur, and I ended up bound here?""I'm doomed, I'm doomed! I clearly had already left the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, yet I was dragged back..."

"Oh, it's time to refine pills!" Just then, the man in the Daoist robe suddenly snapped out of his muttering.

"Refining pills, refining pills..." The man reached into his wide Daoist robe, rummaging around. Not long after, he pulled out two black pills. "The pills are refined, but I wonder about their efficacy this time." The man scratched his head, seemingly troubled. Then, he slapped his thigh hard. "That's right! I just caught a few bugs earlier. Perfect for testing the pills!"

With that, he looked over at Li Fan and the others suspended in the air, his gaze drifting. "Which bug should I choose?"

Being stared at by the man, Li Fan inexplicably felt a chill. They all dared not move, holding their breath and staying silent.

"This one will do," the Daoist robe-clad man decided after a moment, fixing his gaze on one of the individuals. He reached out and grabbed him. Seeing this, the person could no longer remain calm. But his struggles were clearly futile, and he couldn't utter a sound. His body flew towards the Daoist-robed man, shrinking in the process.

Finally, he truly transformed into a tiny fly, landing in the Daoist-robed man's palm. The fly's head still vaguely resembled a human face, its expression one of extreme terror. Held gently by the Daoist-robed man, the human-faced fly continuously buzzed its wings. But it was all in vain. The Daoist-robed man held the fly in one hand and the black pill in the other. The pill was many times larger than the fly, yet it was forcibly shoved down its throat. The human-faced fly struggled painfully, coercively swallowing the pill. Its belly swelled many times over, becoming a giant sphere. The fly's vital signs gradually dwindled, but its suffering had just begun.

After the pill entered its abdomen, it seemed to be digested, and its size began to shrink. However, a buzzing sound, like a swarm of mosquitoes, suddenly erupted. The human-faced fly's body abruptly began to convulse uncontrollably. Tiny black dots, one after another, drilled out from its abdomen. Looking closely, those black dots were clearly newly hatched flies. After emerging from its body, the flies did not scatter but remained on the human-faced fly, greedily devouring it. Soon, the human-faced fly was completely consumed, leaving not even a speck.

The Daoist-robed man shook his head, a look of regret on his face. "It seems the pill test failed. The efficacy must be too strong." Saying this, he opened his mouth and inhaled the black mist of flies into his stomach. Even though Li Fan had heard about what happened in the Demon Refining Tower and was mentally prepared, his eyelids still twitched uncontrollably at this horrifying sight.

The Daoist-robed man looked at the other remaining pill in his hand, seemingly troubled. "Should I try this one again?" He then glanced at Li Fan and the other two. All three held their breath. After a long pause, the Daoist-robed man sighed. "Never mind. Pills made in the same batch should be similar." With that, the man opened his mouth and casually tossed the black pill in.

Having swallowed the pill, the Daoist-robed man seemed entirely unaffected. He simply returned to his dazed state, muttering again about lacking alchemy materials, completely ignoring the three individuals bound in the air. Among the three survivors, Li Fan remained silent. Sikong Yi was expressionless. The remaining person was already on the verge of a breakdown.

"I wish I had died in Qin Tang's hands instead; at least that would have been a quick death."

Time seemed to lose its meaning in this Demon Refining Tower. The lives of the cultivators depended entirely on the actions of the Daoist-robed man. After an unknown period, the man awoke from his daze again. He retrieved two pills from his wide Daoist robe, though this time they were an eerie green.

"Which bug should I choose for the test?" This time, the man hesitated for a moment, his gaze settling on Sikong Yi. "I'll choose this one!"

Li Fan's spirits immediately lifted. He wanted to see what Sikong Yi relied on, daring to lure him into this deadly place. To Li Fan's surprise, Sikong Yi showed no resistance. After transforming into a bug and being forced to swallow the green pill, he instantly dissolved into a puddle of green liquid.

Sikong Yi was dead!

"What's going on? Has something changed? Could it be that in this life, my tracking has caused events to unfold differently from the previous life?""No, Sikong Yi clearly lured me to this Demon Refining Tower. How could he die so easily?""He knew this was a death trap and led me in, just for a life for a life?"

Just as Li Fan plunged into endless questions, he suddenly sensed something and looked up. Outside the Demon Refining Tower, Baili Chen, whom No-Form Killing Intent had locked onto, slowly approached. And beside him, Li Fan felt that No-Form Killing Intent, which had lost its target, had once again captured a target: Sikong Yi.

Sikong Yi, who had clearly died, reappeared outside the Demon Refining Tower.

"A puppet? An external manifestation of himself? Neither seems quite right..." Li Fan stared at the puddle of green liquid on the ground and couldn't help but smile. "It seems the secrets these two harbor are even greater than I imagined." "However, once I set my sights on something, secrets cease to be secrets."

In Li Fan's perception, Sikong Yi and Baili Chen continued deeper into the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace. "With No-Form Killing Intent locked on, I'm not afraid of them escaping. But I need to get out of this Demon Refining Tower quickly." However, the Daoist-robed man's actions followed their own pattern, beyond Li Fan's control. He could only choose to wait patiently.

Soon, the third round of pill testing arrived. This time, Li Fan was still not chosen. This left Li Fan feeling a mix of amusement and frustration; he wasn't sure if it was good luck or bad luck. The Daoist-robed man pulled out two pink pills and fed them to the human-faced fly. With a loud pop, the fly exploded into a cloud of pink smoke. Within the smoke, tormented human faces constantly flickered into existence. As the pink mist drifted, the faces were stretched and distorted, appearing even more ghastly and terrifying. Li Fan, watching from the side, felt goosebumps all over his body at this sight. Ultimately, it was only when the Daoist-robed man, muttering to himself, inhaled the smoke into his body that this eternal suffering ended.

The Daoist-robed man fell back into his muttering state. The fourth round of pill testing finally arrived. By this point, only Li Fan remained in the Demon Refining Tower. The Daoist-robed man was about to use Li Fan for the test, but Li Fan suddenly spoke.

"Junior Brother Insect, I hear you're short on alchemy materials?"

Daoist Insect abruptly stopped his outstretched hand upon hearing this, instinctively nodding. "Yes, I am short on alchemy materials." He said apologetically, "I haven't been able to refine new pills for a long time..." Daoist Insect's words trailed off. He stared at Li Fan for a moment, recognized the clothes he was wearing, and instantly became flustered. "It's Senior Brother! I thought you were a bug!"

"Senior Brother, I'm so sorry! I'll let you down right away."

As Daoist Insect spoke, Li Fan felt the restraints on him loosen, and he regained control of his body. Daoist Insect covered his head, looking down, seemingly too ashamed to face his senior brother. He just blamed himself: "I messed up again. It's always like this. I can't refine pills well, my cultivation progress is always slow, holding everyone back..."

Li Fan stepped forward, placing a hand on Daoist Insect's shoulder, and said gently, "Don't say that, Junior Brother Insect. The pills you refine are very effective, and everyone loves them."

Daoist Insect immediately looked up, his eyes filled with surprise. "Really, Senior Brother? Everyone really likes the pills I refine?"

"What, you don't believe your senior brother's words?" Li Fan's face turned serious.

Daoist Insect quickly shook his head. "Of course I believe what Senior Brother says." Then he slumped, disheartened. "But I don't have any more alchemy materials. I can't refine the pills everyone loves anymore."

Li Fan stroked Daoist Insect's head and softly said, "It's okay, aren't I still here?"

"Refine me into a pill. That way, everyone will have pills to eat again."

"Senior Brother, you..." Daoist Insect seemed shocked by Li Fan's words. His eyes widened as he stared at Li Fan. Li Fan simply sighed deeply and continued, "Although I entered the sect early, my talent isn't enough, and my cultivation has always been very low. My senior brothers and sisters are fighting on the front lines, and I'm the only one who can't help at all."

"Every time I think of this, my heart aches terribly, and I resent my own incompetence."

"So, refine me into a pill. That way, I can still be of some help." Li Fan gripped Daoist Insect's hand, speaking with fervor.

Daoist Insect stared blankly at Li Fan, seemingly deeply moved. "So Senior Brother is just like me."

"But Senior Brother is much greater than me, willing to sacrifice himself to help the senior brothers and sisters on the front lines.""And I, I only run away. I only hide in this tower."

Daoist Insect painfully tugged at his hair. "No, I absolutely cannot watch Senior Brother sacrifice himself." He seemed to suddenly remember something, and excitedly said to Li Fan, "Senior Brother, I can refine pills for you! As long as you take the pills I refine, your strength certainly won't be low, and you'll be able to help on the front lines then!"

Daoist Insect seemed to have found a new goal. "Alchemy, I want to do alchemy!" He reached into his wide Daoist robe, rummaging around. Before long, he pulled out two golden pills.

"Senior Brother, here are your pills." Daoist Insect presented the pills to Li Fan with both hands, a wide smile on his face.

Li Fan did not take the pills but instead unfastened Daoist Insect's robe.

He saw...

Beneath the wide Daoist robe, there was only an empty skeleton remaining. On the skeleton, only a few almost imperceptible remnants of flesh remained.

Daoist Insect was refining pills using his own flesh and blood.