The low and deep words echoed in the dark Yandang Mountain. The voice wasn't loud, but it resonated in everyone's ears.

The old leader of the Sky-aspiring Sect shivered all over. He remembered that fear, the fear when the seven major sects kneeled before Master Mystical Dragon.

"The old demon is still alive! Still alive!" He hurriedly yelled, "Retreat! Quick..."

Before the word "retreat" could fully escape his mouth, a bloody hole appeared on his forehead, forever trapping that word in his throat.

In the night forest, it seemed as if an invisible ghost was wandering. Every time the ghost appeared somewhere, everyone would have a horrifying hole appear in their brows.

In less than the time it takes for a cup of tea to brew, nearly a third of the over three thousand people who ascended the mountain died!

Now, everyone was afraid. They couldn't see clearly in the dark, they only saw their companions fall like cut wheat.

The frightened crowd ran hurriedly down the mountain. But then, that casual voice rose again.

"Run? Where do you plan to run? Once I make a move, no one can safely escape from this mountain! Now kneel in place and kowtow three thousand times, and I may spare your lives."

Soon, the sounds of thudding filled Yandang Mountain. The remaining two thousand or so people from the seven major sects were scared witless by this ghost's magic, discarding their armor and repeatedly kowtowing heavily.

On the back of Yandang Mountain, a group of children gathered around two old men. When one man appeared out of thin air, all the children knelt and shouted in unison, "Greetings, Sect Master!"

Master Mystical Dragon didn't look as old as people imagined. Aside from his white hair, his skin was no different from a young person's. A small red sword flew from the front of the mountain, trailing a red glow into his sleeve.

Seeing the return of the Master, the Great Elder, and the Third Elder both showed joy.

"Congratulations, Sect Master!"

Master Mystical Dragon looked at the kneeling children, smilingly saying, "Brother Zhang, Brother Ning, the future reserves of Mystical Dragon Sect haven't been harmed by those mundane people, have they?" The Great Elder answered, "Replying to Sect Master, when the incident happened, we immediately brought the children to the back mountain for refuge. No one is hurt."

"That's good! Seeing these children so full of vitality, the future of the Mystical Dragon Sect is promising!"

The Third Elder brought Erdan to Master Mystical Dragon, saying, "Master, during your absence, our Mystical Dragon Sect unexpectedly recruited a dual spirit root talent three months ago! Come on, Tiancheng, tell the Master about your current cultivation level!"

Erdan kowtowed, his voice trembling with excitement, "Disciple Yu Tiancheng pays respects to the Sect Master! Responding to the Sect Master, the disciple has now reached the peak of Qi Refining First Layer and is challenging the Second Layer."

Master Mystical Dragon held Erdan's small hand in surprise, "In just three months, you've been able to cultivate the Mystical Dragon Triple Rotation Divine Art to the peak of the first layer! Brother Zhang, Brother Ning, this is a big surprise for me!"

He crouched down, looking at Erdan eye to eye, and said with a satisfied smile, "Very good, keep working hard in the future and strive to break through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining as soon as possible! When the time comes, I'll take you to join the Heaven Mystical Sect, and when you grow up, you'll definitely make waves in the cultivation world!"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Erdan's cheeks turned red, stammering excitedly.

"Tha-thank you, Sect Master!"

Then, Master Mystical Dragon handed a jade bottle to Erdan.

"Inside are thirty-six Qi Gathering Pills! The higher the cultivation level, the harder it is to improve. These pills will be a great help to you."

Wow!

The Sect Master's reward left the other children wide-eyed. Each person only received one Qi Gathering Pill per month, while Erdan received an entire bottle at once!

The Great Elder asked, "Sect Master, what should we do with those mountain brutes? Just let them get away with kowtowing? Many of our disciples died at their hands!"

Master Mystical Dragon shook his head, "I have already killed more than a thousand of them, enough to deter them for a long time. Let's keep the rest. Mystical Dragon Sect spends a lot, if we don't extort money from them, the sect will struggle to stay afloat."

At this time, the Third Elder and the Great Elder looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Sect Master, what about ours..."

Master Mystical Dragon waved his hand and laughed, "You two brothers won't be forgotten, Carry on."

An orange pill appeared in each of the elder's hands. The two elders bowed in surprise, "Thank you, Sect Master!"

…………

Shu Han, with his small body carrying Mu Wan'er, quickly entered the Yandang Mountain Valley. He dared not bring Mu Wan'er into his wooden house, instead, he found a cave and placed her inside. Mu Wan'er's condition wasn't optimistic, the wound on her waist kept bleeding, and she had already passed out due to excessive blood loss.

"I need to stop the bleeding immediately!"

Shu Han's mind was racing, remembering that the leaves of the Platycladus orientalis mentioned in the pharmacopeia had a hemostatic effect. He quickly rushed into the medicinal herb hall and took a platycladus orientalis leaf and a purple jade mushroom from the medicine cabinet.

After using the black jar to duplicate them, Shu Han returned the original two herbs, then rushed to the cave with a pile of herbs. He ground the herbs into a powder and dressed Mu Wan'er's wound carefully. Soon, the effect of the platycladus orientalis leaf took hold, and Mu Wan'er stopped bleeding.

However, her condition was still critical. At this moment, the effects of the purple cloud mushroom kicked in. Shu Han ground it into a medicinal powder and fed it to Mu Wan'er. Then he checked her pulse and said anxiously, "Sister, you have to hold on!"

Mu Wan'er had saved him twice. He couldn't let her die like this.

Finally, the purple cloud mushroom's health-restoring properties began to take effect, and Mu Wan'er's pulse stabilized.

Shu Han began to inspect the wound on her waist. Through the scab, he could see a small hole, and there were tiny black threads spreading out from the wound, with the flesh turning necrotic wherever the threads reached.

What a terrifying wound!

If Shu Han hadn't thrown himself on Mu Wan'er that day, she would have been killed instantly by the wound piercing her heart. But if the wound continued to develop like this, Mu Wan'er would still be close to death.

Shu Han thought of the only thing that could save Mu Wan'er: the recipe for the Clear Spirit Powder his master had given him. The Clear Spirit powder is a miraculous healing medicine in the mundane world.

"It seems that I'll have to temporarily give up refining the Yellow Dragon Pill and focus on the Clear Spirit Powder. Judging from sister's complexion, even with the purple cloud mushroom keeping her alive, she won't last more than half a month."

The next day, after cleaning up the traces left by Mu Wan'er in the valley, Shu Han went to the valley entrance to carry charcoal as usual. Erdan and Goudan were standing at the entrance, seemingly having waited for him for a long time.

Seeing each other safe, the three young friends hugged each other tightly.

Goudan admired, "Brother Big Head, I really admire you! You said something would happen last time, and it really did last night!"

Shu Han asked, "Where did you guys hide last night? I couldn't find you anywhere in the mountains and forests!"

"The Great Elder and Third Elder took us to the back mountain! Later, the Sect Master alone killed a lot of those mountain brutes! They were all scared to death, listen, they're still kowtowing! The Sect Master is really impressive!"

Shu Han was speechless, so the banging sound that lasted all night was actually the remaining members of the seven major sects kowtowing!

At this time, Shu Han finally understood what his master once said. There's a distinct difference between immortals and mortals, it's a matter of level.

Then Erdan proudly handed Shu Han six Qi Gathering Pills.

"So many! Erdan, where did you get these? I can't accept this, you better take them back!"

Erdan quickly stepped back, "Brother Big Head, are you treating me as an outsider?"

Goudan also persuaded, "Brother Big Head, just accept it. Erdan made a fortune last night! The Master rewarded him with a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, a total of thirty-six! Erdan also shared some with me, let's progress together, brothers!"

Helpless, Shu Han didn't want to disappoint Erdan's goodwill, so he had to accept the six Qi Gathering Pills.