Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 319: Dragon Tiger Sword Pellet

Zhao Changhe received the booklet in stunned silence.

I secretly learned one of your guild’s secret techniques, yet what you’re concerned about is not that I learned it, but that I didn’t learn it well enough? And now you’re even teaching me more?

Ye Wuzong resumed the calm demeanor of a senior and said, “In ancient times, gods and demons could retrieve items with just a thought. That is the true way to use a storage ring. Nowadays, since our consciousnesses are much weaker and are unable to grow as strong, we need to use methods such as the Dragon Capturing Art and the Crane Controlling Art as substitutes. These are not techniques that are solely meant for using storage rings but proper martial arts. Do not confuse their primary purpose to be for the use of storage rings.”

Zhao Changhe composed himself and bowed sincerely, “Thank you for the guidance, senior... So do you also have the Dragon Capturing Art or...”

Ye Wuzong: “?”

Xia Chichi turned her head to the side.

Ye Wuzong looked at Zhao Changhe curiously for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. “You’ve certainly got a thick face, just like Sisi.”

Xia Chichi turned her head back, and this time she was struggling to maintain her composure.

Zhao Changhe glanced at her, dripping with cold sweat, and said, “Senior...”

I only want to learn a technique! Are you trying to get me killed?

Ye Wuzong said, “The Dragon Capturing Art is domineering, while the Crane Controlling Art is delicate. Now, do you think our Thieves Guild would practice the Dragon Capturing Art or the Crane Controlling Art? Ultimately, both teach you how to manipulate objects from a distance. Once you master the method, it’s up to you to develop it. Whether you learn one or the other doesn’t really matter.”

Zhao Changhe understood and bowed again. “Thank you, senior.”

“There’s no need to thank me. It’s just something ordinary; it really isn’t that important,” said Ye Wuzong. “Stealing is my Dao. Whether you steal from others or from me, it’s ultimately still a part of the path I’ve chosen. So why would I be angry about it? But if you use my techniques poorly... that, I cannot tolerate.”

Zhao Changhe was rather flabbergasted at the man’s morals, but then again, he was the last person who had the right to complain.

Ye Wuzong glanced at him. “Alright, alright, it’s not like I’m giving it to you for free. There’s something I need you to do for me.”

Zhao Changhe quickly said, “What is it?”

“Sisi stole a core cultivation manual from the Thieves Guild. When a secret manual is out in the open, it is no longer a matter of my philosophy; it immediately becomes a threat for others to potentially study it and develop a way to counter our martial arts, and that would simply be a disaster. From what you’ve shown, it’s clear that she only taught you the disguise arts and did not recklessly share our techniques. This shows that she at least exercised some restraint. So, there isn’t necessarily a grudge to speak of. If you encounter Sisi in the future, tell her to simply return the manual. If she does, I won’t hold anything against her. But if she delays any longer, I will really have to go out and deal with her myself.”

Zhao Changhe was surprised at the other party’s views.

Ye Wuzong is really quite the man. Not many would be able to remain so calm after having a core manual stolen from them. He’s a true master if I’ve ever seen any.

Speaking of which, Sisi isn’t just from a foreign race, but from a different world altogether. Her logic is naturally different from those of this world. When she first arrived, she saw people as NPCs more than even Xia Longyuan. It was only after some time that her perception changed a little. Actually, when Ji Chengkong spoke to her, it was clear that her views were changing.

“If I do see her again, I will definitely relay your message,” said Zhao Changhe. “Actually, she should be aware of it already. Brother Ji said something similar before, and she seemed to have been moved by his words. I believe that the main reason why she hasn’t brought it back yet is because she has other urgent matters to attend to. If you could, please give her a little more time.”

Ye Wuzong said calmly, “Are you... vouching for her?”

Zhao Changhe was stunned for a moment.

Ye Wuzong’s gaze sharpened. “Yes or no?”

Zhao Changhe could only say, “I can’t entirely vouch for her, nor can I be certain that I’ll be able to see her again anytime soon. But since I’ve received your Crane Controlling Art, I will definitely take what you said to heart and handle it as if it were my sect’s secret manual that was stolen.”

Ye Wuzong smiled and did not press further. He walked toward the pill furnace, still holding the unconscious Tarantula.

As expected of someone known throughout the world as the Thief Saint—despite a treasure being right before him, he actually prioritized engaging in a long conversation with Zhao Changhe before even glancing at it.

When stealing becomes one’s Dao, the pursuit is no longer mere treasures but the act itself.

“A furnace left here for anyone to take lacks the essence of a true theft,” Ye Wuzong commented. He looked at it for a while and then said calmly, “You said taking what’s inside would cost you your life, but I can only say that you see me too lowly. I’m just curious about what’s inside. If it doesn’t interest me, I might not even take it.”

Zhao Changhe said, “It’s likely related to poison. The Thieves Guild likely has techniques related to poison, while I would have no use for something like that.”

“That might not necessarily be the case.” Ye Wuzong placed his hand on Tarantula’s shoulder and she slowly woke up.

When she regained a bit of clarity, she immediately started pleading, “Senior Thief Saint, it was Tian Lingzi who betrayed you, not me! It has nothing to do with me...”

Ye Wuzong said, “It doesn’t matter whether you schemed against me with him, I just need you to open this pill furnace.”

“If I open this pill furnace, will you spare me?”

“If you try to bargain again, I’ll just kill you right now and spare myself a headache. If you open it now, then maybe I’ll be in a good mood and spare you. It’s your choice.”

Tarantula decisively closed her mouth, then reluctantly took out several bottles of poison from her sleeves. She carefully poured the contents around the outer edge of the pill furnace. As the poison fell, the glow from the furnace intensified, and the seemingly seamless lid began to loosen.

Zhao Changhe’s earlier judgment had been correct. The slow and even application of the poison took nearly half an hour. Before, when the poison in the room had not dissipated, it would have indeed been impossible for Tarantula to open the furnace.

This method of using poison as a barrier was something that Zhao Changhe had never seen before. He had mainly seen blood or formations used to construct barriers. Clearly, there was still much he had to learn about the various systems and techniques in this world.

Ye Wuzong said, “It seems the item you took was the Classic of Materia Toxica. After reading and learning the poison arts within, including the special method on how to use poison as a barrier, you returned it here. You covered your tracks pretty well.”

Tarantula smiled obsequiously and said, “I really can’t hide anything from you, senior. The poison arts within the manual are incredibly vast and profound. I only managed to learn a small portion of it in the urgency I was in, and I was planning to study it in greater depth in the future. Oh, of course, it belongs to you now...”

Ye Wuzong did not respond and simply motioned for her to continue opening the furnace.

After Tarantula carefully laid the poison for a long time, ensuring that no spot was missed, they finally heard a faint click. The lid of the furnace finally began to separate from its body, revealing a slight gap.

Tarantula smiled nervously and said, “It’s open now...”

Ye Wuzong remained unmoved. “Remove the lid.”

Tarantula stood up to lift the lid. At the moment when the lid was removed, a burst of white light shot out. Tarantula did not even have the time to react before half of her body was obliterated, leaving her lower half to collapse by the furnace.

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath, stunned by the lethal trap. This place is truly sinister. There was still a trap so far in. The pill-refining master who set this all up was definitely not a good person. He fits perfectly in this land of the wicked. It seems like this area has been full of bad guys since the previous era.

Ye Wuzong, unfazed, did not even spare a glance at Tarantula’s gruesome end. He focused on the area above the pill furnace.

As the white light faded, an azure and white pill floated up, hovering at the mouth of the furnace.

Despite the surroundings filled with poisonous mist, the deadly traps, and the pill-refining master clearly being a master of poison, the pill itself emitted no trace of poison. Its glow was gentle, its fragrance pleasant, and it seemed to carry a faint, elusive insight, similar to the feeling inside the Black Tortoise Secret Realm, the feeling of a connection with the Dao.

Moreover, the azure and white pattern on the pill was actually a dragon and tiger intertwined with each other!

Xia Chichi’s eyes widened.

I thought I was already done with what I had to do here after capturing Yang Qianyuan. I believed the only reason I was even staying here any longer was to accompany Changhe... So why does it suddenly feel like this pill inside the furnace is connected to me?

Ye Wuzong and Zhao Changhe both turned to look at her, their expressions peculiar.

Clearly, they had not expected the pill to resonate so strongly with her attributes.

Zhao Changhe almost wanted to piece Tarantula back together and ask if she knew anything about this.

Ye Wuzong pondered for a moment, then bent down to pick up the jade token and Classic of Materia Toxica that Tian Lingzi had dropped on the ground. He flipped through the booklet for a while before suddenly laughing out loud. “This has nothing to do with the Four Idols Cult. It just so happens that different paths led to the same end.”

Xia Chichi hurriedly said, “Please enlighten us, senior.”

“All things in the world can be categorized under the four idols and five elements. Even within the symbol of the Azure Dragon alone, there are many aspects to consider, including medicine and poison. This person refined poison to its pinnacle, resulting in the manifestation of the Azure Dragon. His poison arts can truly be said to have reached the highest level.”

Xia Chichi understood this well. The Azure Dragon branch of the Four Idols Cult also focused on medicine and poison. In fact, this was the reason Vermillion Bird had such great confidence in the cult’s medicinal pills. The disguise technique[1] that Xia Chichi had inherited from her mother fell under this domain as well.

But at the end of the day, the Four Idols Cult was just a small cult. It was suppressed by the imperial court and forced to develop in secret. Their inheritance was rather incomplete. For example, they lacked the Rejuvenation Art. This significantly limited their scope of research, forcing them to focus mainly on martial arts. Although they did dabble in other areas, their expertise was limited. Xia Chichi herself had specialized in sword arts, leaving other areas to the elders, who only had limited expertise themselves.

Even the Azure Dragon branch of the Four Idols Cult, which focused on poison, had not achieved much. Yet, an unrelated poison master had actually managed to manifest the Azure Dragon.

Zhao Changhe asked on her behalf, “Then what about the image of the White Tiger...”

“This is not a medicinal pill, nor is it the Dragon Tiger Golden Pill, as you might think. It’s a sword pellet[2]...” said Ye Wuzong. “This person did not know how to refine sword pellets traditionally, so he used a different approach. His idea was to combine poison with pill-refining techniques. He thus had the dragon and the tiger intertwine, the dragon being poison, while the tiger being the sword.”

Xia Chichi was genuinely impressed: “He took a different path and managed to manifest both the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger. They must have been very renowned in ancient times.”

“Not necessarily... Only if he could successfully control the sword pellet would he have been truly powerful.”

“He couldn’t?”

“No,” said Ye Wuzong. “If I’m not mistaken, the reason for his death was that when the sword pellet was formed, he could not control the overflowing sword qi, ultimately leading to his demise.”

Xia Chichi was speechless.

“But the sword pellet killing him also wore down its sharpness, making it usable now. Before he died, he sealed the sword pellet, hoping to use it in the future. But as you can see, he did not live long enough to do so... This explains what happened here.” Ye Wuzong’s face was filled with the satisfaction of solving a puzzle. “The invisible poison in this room was probably released when he opened the furnace. Since no more was being made, it would naturally dissipate after being consumed.”

Zhao Changhe interjected, “But the sword pellet was still completed, making it a divine treasure. When the era collapsed, the treasure’s unique power must have protected this space, keeping it separate from Kunlun.”

Ye Wuzong clapped his hands and said, “Indeed, that must be the case.”

Xia Chichi looked at the two with a strange expression.

You two know that it’s a divine treasure, yet you seem to be more interested in solving puzzles than the treasure itself. Forget about me, maybe the two of you should be together...

Just as she was thinking this, Ye Wuzong turned to her, his smile fading and his gaze becoming sharp as he asked, “Saintess, do you want it?”

1. This is referring to her rather effective cross-dressing in the first couple of chapters. ☜

2. This is 剑丸, lit. sword pill or sword pellet. When not being used, it stays in the form of a pill. When in use, it changes into a sword and starts shooting out sword qi or something like that. Do note that this might not exactly be accurate, but this is how I’ve pictured it. ☜