Chapter 2885 — The Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill

"Yes, this disciple dares not do it again. Thank you, Master, for covering for me!" Kang Zhaoming said hurriedly.

"Mm, that's right. You used to be full of nasty tricks, didn't you? Tell me, could we find another way to deal with Wei Zhao?" Elder Ancestor Xuanchen happened to have nothing else to do, so now that Kang Zhaoming had come, he might as well discuss a plan with him.

"This... the methods I can think of are only these..." Kang Zhaoming scratched his head, unable for the moment to come up with any good idea. "We've already promised to refine a Qi-Gathering Pill for him, and now there's the Ice-Heart Jade-Bone Pill too. He's really getting off easy... Hm? Wait, Master, could we tamper with the pills? For instance, make a poison pill and kill Wei Zhao with it!"

"A poison pill... that's hardly likely. Wei Zhao is no fool; if you slipped him poison, could he fail to notice? Don't forget what he relied on to stand up to your Kang family back then. He is a formidable physician and alchemist in his own right. There is essentially no chance of you using poison on him," Elder Ancestor Xuanchen said, shaking his head.

"True enough... then..." Kang Zhaoming truly could not think of any other way.

"Wait—your reminder has just put a pill formula into my head. This method really might work!" A sudden inspiration struck Elder Ancestor Xuanchen. "I have a most vicious pill formula called the Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill! It is a kind of Qi-Gathering Pill as well. My own patriarch, Zhang Liju, improved it from the ancient True Qi-Gathering Pill back in the day, turning it into a third-grade pill, but it came with one fatal flaw! So it was cast aside afterward and never used again."

"Oh? What flaw?" Kang Zhaoming asked at once.

"It is like this: this Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill possesses the Qi-Gathering Pill's power to advance one's cultivation, and at the same time it can draw out a cultivator's latent potential. While the cultivator absorbs the pure energy within the pill, he must also absorb a vast amount of the world's spiritual qi. The effect it brings far exceeds that of a normal Qi-Gathering Pill—one can break through and advance again and again!" Elder Ancestor Xuanchen explained.

"Ah? Forgive this disciple's dullness, Master, but this Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill sounds like a top-grade wonder pill. How can you call it a bad pill? There's nothing bad about it at all. After taking it one can advance repeatedly—how could we give something so precious to Wei Zhao?" Kang Zhaoming asked in puzzlement.

"Heh heh, I haven't finished yet!" Elder Ancestor Xuanchen waved a hand, motioning for Kang Zhaoming to hear him out. He went on: "I said that after taking this Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill, one must absorb a vast amount of the world's spiritual qi. If the absorption is insufficient, it will backfire—at best, all one's meridians are severed; at worst, the body bursts and one dies!"

"This... but what if Wei Zhao does absorb the world's spiritual qi?" Though Kang Zhaoming felt the pill did indeed have a flaw, that was only one possibility.

"Do you think there is still any place left capable of absorbing that much spiritual qi? Even in my patriarch's day it was already impossible, and even the true qi density of the Five Baleful Wilds is no longer sufficient. Where is Wei Zhao supposed to go to absorb all that spiritual qi? If he can't absorb it, heh heh..." Elder Ancestor Xuanchen chuckled darkly.

"Exactly! Master, you are truly formidable—to think of such a venomous method in a flash. It seems the older the ginger, the spicier!" Kang Zhaoming praised excitedly after hearing it. "Master, your idea is simply brilliant!"

"Heh heh, this pill is a treasure on the surface, but in truth it is poison. Most importantly, although the materials needed to refine the Qi-Gathering Pill and the Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill are somewhat different, once refined, the two are nearly identical in color and fragrance—there is no difference at all!" Elder Ancestor Xuanchen said. "Once Wei Zhao receives it, he should have no suspicion whatsoever!"

"Heh heh, that would be just perfect!" Kang Zhaoming chuckled. "Master, so when do we begin refining?"

"For the refining, we need to make preparations. This Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill requires a great deal of heaven-and-earth treasures, among them the materials for a Qi-Gathering Pill—though not one portion, but three portions' worth, to produce a single pill!" Here Elder Ancestor Xuanchen felt a pang of distress. "To set a trap for Wei Zhao, we actually have to sink such a cost into it. I really am somewhat reluctant!"

"Master, as the saying goes, 'You can't catch a wolf without risking your child.' If we can't bear to part with the herbs, we can't kill Wei Zhao!" Kang Zhaoming consoled him.

"Mm, but the difficulty and the time required for this refinement are considerable. Study it carefully—you shall refine it yourself! My alchemy skills are only average; this task can only be entrusted to you!" Elder Ancestor Xuanchen said.

"Rest assured, Master! In the days to come, I will devote myself wholly to refining this Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill. Please set your mind at ease—I will not disappoint you!" Kang Zhaoming hastily pledged, thumping his chest. Though refining this Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill looked like exceedingly hard work, to deal with Wei Zhao, Kang Zhaoming resolved to grit his teeth and endure.

In truth, after Elder Ancestor Xuanchen had described this method, his heart still ached badly. So many materials! The Five Luminaries Sect was wealthy, yes, but by now they were largely eating into their reserves. Had it not been for Bai Lingtou's presence there, which left him no way to oppose Wei Zhao openly, he would never have resorted to such a method against him!

Still, this move really was a good one—killing without a trace. So Elder Ancestor Xuanchen gritted his teeth and tacitly approved it.

After Wei Zhao handed his trial spirit herbs to Shopkeeper Sun of the inn, he returned to his room to await news. When he got back, he found that Yang Qiqi had actually woken up!

Zhao Qitan, Feng Shipian, Li Ciba, and Ge Xian had already left. When Yang Qiqi woke and found no one in the room, she was somewhat bewildered. She did not know how she had come to this place; she remembered being beneath the cliffs of the Five Baleful Mountains, hadn't she?

Could it be... that she and Wei Zhao had both been saved? As for those days of unconsciousness and the events before, Yang Qiqi no longer remembered. Her mind had not been clear then, and she could not recall what had happened. Had Wei Zhao saved her?

Yang Qiqi was still dazed when the door of the room suddenly opened. She immediately looked toward the door with some vigilance, but to her surprise, the one who entered was Wei Zhao!

"Qiqi, you're awake?" Back in the room, Wei Zhao saw Yang Qiqi sitting on the bed and was at once startled and overjoyed. Though the baleful qi within Yang Qiqi's body had already been drawn away by Zhang Naipao, so long as she did not wake, Wei Zhao could not rest easy. Now Yang Qiqi was finally all right! (To be continued)