Evening.
The Grand Elder returned to her room.
They called it a room, but in truth it was only a stone cave. Inside was a bed and a table-and-chair set, with clothes thrown everywhere.
When she needed to wear them, she only had to use spiritual power to clean them, then put them on.
It could be said that opposite her seductive, peerlessly beautiful appearance was a lazy and naïve soul.
The Grand Elder saw light coming from her room, thought of something, and immediately leapt off the White Crane's back.
Landing lightly in the forest, she slowly walked toward the cave, ah no, her room.
The Grand Elder saw that at the cave entrance there was a curtain set up with a wooden frame, with cute pink silk strips hanging on it.
In the distance was a pole Ri Guang had temporarily set up, and on it hung the clothes he had washed clean.
In front of the cave entrance, the table and chairs had been scrubbed clean by him. Around it and on the table were arranged fragments of spirit stones, emitting a gentle light that made the place even more romantic.
"Is that… my cave?" The Grand Elder was startled, but then she pressed her lips together and revealed a gentle smile.
Ri Guang was currently sitting on a rock, holding a small knife, carving a rather large block of wood.
"Hm?!" Seeing the Grand Elder walk over, he set the knife down, brushed the dust off himself, and smiled as he asked: "Hungry?"
The Grand Elder tilted her head to look at him and showed an enchanting smile: "What are you saying? Would Cultivators get hungry?"
Ri Guang jolted when he heard that and scratched his head: "I forgot. Sorry."
Inside, he also felt puzzled. That's right, Cultivators weren't hungry, but… he was hungry.
Could it be he wasn't a Cultivator? That wasn't right. His Cultivation had reached Qi Refining Realm, Stage 6. He was definitely a Cultivator.
Ri Guang shook his head, not wanting to think anymore. But when he saw the Grand Elder's clothes were disheveled, he felt a bit of pity for her.
Grand Elder: "…"
Sensing his pitying gaze, she felt confused.
"You…" The Grand Elder reached her hand toward Ri Guang, wanting to touch him, but he stepped back one pace, avoiding her hand.
The Grand Elder could have been faster and grabbed his arm. But seeing his distant expression, she suddenly felt a bit of pain in her heart, and an inexplicable emptiness appeared within.
Ri Guang sighed inwardly: 'Ah! Although she's very pitiful, treated by the Sect Master as an object for dual cultivation, if I touch the Sect Master's woman, I'm afraid he'll beat me into a pile of minced meat.'
Inside, he also secretly decided to keep his distance from the Grand Elder. After all, he was a man.
The one who understands men best is men.
Although the Sect Master had countless beauties around him, he definitely did not want his women to be touched by another man.
The Grand Elder gritted her teeth, wanting to say something, but then she saw Ri Guang stretch out his hand toward her, and she felt secretly happy inside.
'Huh! At least you still have some conscience.'
She also reached out her hand, wanting to touch his hand, but…
Smack!
Grand Elder: "…"
She stared in disbelief at the back of her hand that Ri Guang had just slapped. Although the slap wasn't strong and the physical damage was basically zero, the psychological damage was x 9,999,999.
"You… what do you mean?" The Grand Elder could no longer keep her seductive smile now, gritting her teeth as she spoke.
Ri Guang pursed his lips and said: "What else? Spirit stones! I cleaned your room for you, installed a door for you, washed your clothes for you, used the most fragrant scent so your room wouldn't stink anymore."
"Do you think I'm your servant? I don't need much, 10 low-grade spirit stones."
Grand Elder: "…"
She frowned and said: "You… you… I didn't need you to do it."
Ri Guang shook his head and said: "Grand Elder, don't say that. You brought me here, wasn't it so I could be like a weed, growing on my own by relying on sunlight?"
"Please, I have a wife. I need a lot of money to take care of her. A single person like you wouldn't understand."
The Grand Elder opened her mouth wide. The phrase [single person] was like a knife stabbing into her heart.
"Wait! Wife? Since when did you have a wife?" the Grand Elder asked in shock.
Ri Guang shrugged and said softly: "It's Lan Yue. She is my wife. Even though I can't cultivate, she can cultivate."
That's right, he had the Rebate System. Why would he need to cultivate? As long as he had resources, he could give all of them to Lan Yue. The higher her Cultivation, the more Rebates he would receive.
Thinking of that, it was as if an entire garden of flowers was blooming in his heart.
"You…" the Grand Elder said angrily: "Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone that you're a Human Pill?"
"Tch!" Ri Guang pursed his lips and said disdainfully: "Do you dare say it? Please, I'm like a burning ember. Whoever holds me gets burned. If you tell people I'm a Human Pill, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep me here anymore. There will be countless Experts coming to fight over me. Can you accept that happening?"
After hearing it, the Grand Elder did not know what to say. It seemed… he was too right.
"Alright! I have a deal. If you agree, then we can keep talking. If not, then I'll go back to find my wife."
Hearing Ri Guang's tone, the Grand Elder felt uncomfortable inside, but in the end she still sighed and said softly: "What deal?"
Ri Guang smiled and said: "Living here alone is inconvenient too, right? Then every day I can come here to clean and prepare meals for you. In exchange, you tell me some information."
The Grand Elder thought of something and immediately nodded: "You want to know about the Human Pill identity and the Dark God?"
"Dark God?" Ri Guang heard that name for the first time and immediately jolted.
"That's right." The Grand Elder nodded. She walked to the chair Ri Guang had scrubbed clean, sat down, then continued: "All Human Pills that are raised will eventually be offered to the Dark God. That is not an individual, but an organization."
"No one knows where that organization originated from, nor what kind of cultivation technique they cultivate. They only know that people within the Dark God organization all need Human Pills to cultivate."
"However, that organization has disappeared for many years. There isn't much information. Only a few Human Pills they raised in the past remain, wandering around like you."
After hearing that, Ri Guang felt something was off inside.
If that Dark God organization had vanished, where could he go to find clues? What about his Human Pill Slave Brand? Who would help him remove this damn thing?
"Then…" Ri Guang frowned and asked: "Are there any clues about the Dark God organization? I heard they operate in the North."
Hearing the phrase "the North," the Grand Elder's body trembled slightly. Her eyes avoided him a bit, not wanting to meet his gaze.
However, she still said: "That's right. It seems that organization operates very strongly in the North. You can also go to the Huang Long Empire. But… if you don't have someone with powerful Cultivation to go with you, the odds of you dying on the way are almost certain."
Ri Guang took a deep breath when he heard that, but he had to go because his Human Pill Slave Brand was telling him that he needed to go there.
If he did not remove the Human Pill Slave Brand, then he could only wait for death.
He did not want to die, especially after activating the System and obtaining Lan Yue.
Ri Guang asked again: "Then… is there any way to escape the Human Pill identity? I mean… I don't want to keep being a Human Pill anymore."
The Grand Elder sighed, shook her head, then said: "Impossible. You also know what the process of raising a Human Pill is like, right? Basically… your body… every piece of flesh, your organs, bones, blood… everything is medicine."
"You could say you are a pill in the shape of a human. The medicinal properties have soaked into your body. They can't be separated anymore. There is only one way, and that is to find the Dark God organization, and hope they have a method to turn you into an ordinary person."
After hearing that, Ri Guang let out a sigh. Inside, he felt both despair at his fate, and joy because there was a tiny sliver of hope to change it.
The Grand Elder glanced at Ri Guang and smiled: "However… perhaps the Sixth Elder knows something."
"Heh?!" Ri Guang frowned and asked: "What do you mean…"
The Grand Elder continued: "The Sixth Elder knows your identity, he even knows how to 'process' you. That indicates that the Sixth Elder is connected to the Dark God organization."
"One must know that processing Human Pills is something only members of that organization would know. Therefore…"