Chapter 160: Chapter 157: The Whole World is Shocked

Inside a mountain in Pill King Valley.

"Why has the ground been shaking intermittently? Did something happen outside?"

This was a place of punishment in Pill King Valley, a space hollowed out from the inside of a mountain.

A Sound Insulation Array had been set up here, blocking all noise from the outside world.

At this moment, Huang Feng furrowed her delicate brows. For some time now, she had felt the ground trembling.

However, due to the Sound Insulation Array, she couldn’t hear what was happening outside.

"Let’s go check it out later. Don’t forget Senior Brother Tianchen’s orders. This time, we have to make this bitch spill the secrets of her Pill Formula," said a woman beside her.

"You’re right," Huang Feng nodded.

As she spoke—

CRACK!

The sound of a whip echoed, followed by a woman’s agonized cry.

Inside the dimly lit mountain chamber, two women stood, looking down imperiously. One of them, Huang Feng, held a long whip, which she was using to lash a white-robed woman kneeling before her.

The kneeling woman had a cold temperament, delicate features, and skin as white as snow—a true ice beauty.

She knelt there, biting her lip hard. Several horrifying, bloody welts marred her slender back.

"Wei Yanran, are you going to talk or not? How exactly did you refine a Treasure Elixir? Hand over the Pill Formula you learned!" Huang Feng sneered, her words sharp.

Wei Yanran clenched her jaw and remained silent.

She had been captured by Wei Tianchen half a year ago. Back then, she’d had some freedom; other than not being allowed to leave Pill King Valley, she hadn’t been mistreated.

Later, she had desperately cultivated the Third Transformation Refining Pill Technique that Ning Jiang had taught her, hoping to improve her alchemy skills. She believed that if she could reach the level of a Grandmaster, Pill King Valley wouldn’t dare to imprison her any longer.

Just yesterday, through her own hard work, she had successfully used the Third Transformation Refining Pill Technique to create a Treasure Elixir. At that moment, she thought she finally had the leverage to negotiate with Pill King Valley.

Who would have thought that Wei Tianchen would guess that her rapid progress must be due to her mastering some kind of Top Level Pill Formula?

Originally, Wei Tianchen had gone to Luoyang City and captured Wei Yanran precisely to obtain Ning Jiang’s Pill Formula. Now that he discovered Wei Yanran might possess it herself, how could he possibly let her go?

To force the Pill Formula out of her, Wei Tianchen had ordered these two to seize her and torture her here until she confessed.

"Not talking? You’re asking for it."

Seeing Wei Yanran’s pale lips pressed tightly together, Huang Feng’s eyes turned cold as she brought the whip down again.

WHAP.

Another bloody welt appeared on Wei Yanran’s back, the skin splitting open.

"Go ahead and hit me. See if you can get a single word out of my mouth."

Wei Yanran’s voice was weak, but her gaze was incomparably firm.

The Third Transformation Refining Pill Technique had been given to her by Ning Jiang. In her eyes, it was a Top Level Pill Formula and therefore incredibly precious.

How could she pass on such a precious Pill Formula to others without Ning Jiang’s permission?

She would rather die than utter a single word.

"Still playing tough," Huang Feng sneered. "Wei Yanran, if you don’t start talking, don’t blame me for being vicious. I refuse to believe you’ll still be so stubborn after I destroy your face!"

Wei Yanran’s delicate body trembled, her expression turning pale.

For any woman, her appearance was of utmost importance.

"Heh, scared now, are you?" Huang Feng said coldly, seeing Wei Yanran’s body tremble.

But to her surprise, Wei Yanran raised her head, her voice firm as steel, "I! Will! Not! Talk!"

"Fine, fine! You asked for this!"

Huang Feng’s gaze was icy. She raised the whip in her hand and swung it viciously, aiming directly for Wei Yanran’s cheek.

Wei Yanran closed her eyes, clear tears streaming down her face.

The will to die sprouted in her heart. If she were to be disfigured, she would not want to live on in humiliation.

At this moment, a figure appeared repeatedly in her mind.

’I wonder if his injuries have healed. Has he woken up?’

’Knowing his personality, he’ll definitely come to Pill King Valley to save me, right?’

’But... I can’t wait for him any longer...’

’I’ll just sever my own heart meridians and end it all...’

The Innate Gang Qi in her Dantian began to surge, rushing toward her heart.

She was going to sever her own heart meridians!

"Stop!"

Suddenly, a voice filled with earth-shattering killing intent rang out.

Huang Feng was shocked to find that her whip had frozen in mid-air just as it was about to strike Wei Yanran, unable to move another inch.

She and her companion looked over and saw a white-haired man striding toward them, his eyes as cold as a polar ice field, chilling them to the bone.

"Ning Jiang!"

Wei Yanran, who had been on the verge of severing her heart meridians, trembled violently upon hearing the voice. She looked up, and for a moment, she was completely stunned.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass here? Don’t you know no one is allowed to enter without Senior Brother Tianchen’s permission?"

Huang Feng was arrogant and domineering.

But in the next moment, her jaw dropped.

Behind Ning Jiang, a group of people swarmed in.

’The Pill King, and all the Elders.’

When Huang Feng and her companion saw the people behind Ning Jiang clearly, they were stunned and hurriedly bowed. "Disciples greet the Pill King and the Elders."

But Pill King Lu Changsheng and the Elders completely ignored them. Their faces were ashen as they stared at Ning Jiang with a mixture of fear and dread in their eyes.

An overwhelming, icy killing intent surged forth from Ning Jiang.

The temperature in the entire space plummeted by dozens of degrees!

’What in the world is going on?’

Huang Feng and her companion looked on, dazed and confused.

’Why would so many important figures suddenly show up here? And who is that white-haired young man?’

"I’m late. I’ve made you suffer."

A hint of gentleness flashed in Ning Jiang’s eyes as he looked at the wounds on Wei Yanran’s back.

Wei Yanran had been captured entirely because of him.

"I knew it... with your personality, I knew you would come for me... This is wonderful." Wei Yanran’s body swayed as she shakily stood up, a tragically beautiful smile gracing her paper-white face.

"If they wanted the Pill Formula, you should have just given it to them. It’s just a mediocre formula. Why make yourself suffer for it?" Ning Jiang said.

"It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt."

A brave smile appeared on Wei Yanran’s beautiful face, but just as she finished speaking, her body went limp, and she collapsed into Ning Jiang’s arms.

She was exceptionally sharp and knew that Ning Jiang probably wouldn’t have blamed her if she had revealed the Pill Formula.

But doing so would have inevitably disappointed him.

Although she had suffered, at least Ning Jiang had seen her loyalty and her strength.

At this moment, the pity she saw in Ning Jiang’s eyes, even if it was just a little, made her feel that everything had been worth it.

All the suffering she had endured was worth it!

"Don’t worry. I will get justice for the suffering you’ve endured."

As Ning Jiang spoke, the killing intent radiating from him grew even stronger, making the very air in the space so oppressive it was almost suffocating.

Unable to bear it, Huang Feng and her companion were forced to the ground with a THUD.

"Pill King, please calm your anger."

The expressions of Lu Changsheng and the others changed drastically.

Their hearts trembled with fear!

They had never imagined that Wei Yanran was being tortured here. At this moment, even the Pill King himself, Lu Changsheng, felt a secret resentment toward Wei Tianchen.

What Wei Tianchen had done could lead to the annihilation of their entire Pill King Valley at Ning Jiang’s hands!

"Calm my anger?" Ning Jiang laughed coldly.

Lu Changsheng shuddered and quickly said, "We were not aware of the grievances Miss Wei has suffered here. Please understand, Pill King. Pill King Valley will handle the culprits and ensure you are satisfied."

As he spoke, Lu Changsheng’s voice turned cold as he ordered, "Men, kill these two and throw them into the Qingjiang River to feed the fish."

"Yes, sir."

An Elder immediately stepped forward.

"No! We were just following Senior Brother Tianchen’s orders!"

Thick fear filled the eyes of Huang Feng and the other woman. How could they have known that Wei Yanran had such a terrifying backer?

"Die."

The Elder showed no mercy, killing both of them with a single palm strike before dragging their bodies away.

However, Ning Jiang just stood there, his killing intent not diminishing in the slightest.

The killing intent felt tangible, pressing down on everyone present.

"Let it go. Don’t involve them."

In the end, it was Wei Yanran who shook her head.

She was clear about who to love and who to hate, and she knew that Lu Changsheng and the others were not involved in this matter.

"Hmph." Ning Jiang snorted coldly. "Remember, your lives were spared by Wei Yanran!"

"Thank you, Miss Wei."

Lu Changsheng and the others all breathed a sigh of relief. Some of the Elders’ backs were soaked in sweat, feeling as if they had just taken a trip to the Ghost Gate.

"Senior Pill King, please allow Pill King Valley to make amends and treat Miss Wei’s injuries," an Elder said.

"You think I’d have any use for your mediocre elixirs?"

Ning Jiang was dismissive. He had just refined nine Supreme Grade Elixirs, all for healing. He took one out directly and had Wei Yanran consume it.

"A Supreme Grade Elixir... You don’t have to be so good to me. Any other elixir would have been fine." Seeing the Supreme Grade Elixir, Wei Yanran shook her head like a drum rattle.

"Eat."

Ning Jiang said only one word.

Hearing the command in his voice, Wei Yanran no longer refused and obediently swallowed the elixir.

A Supreme Grade Elixir truly lived up to its name. Shortly after Wei Yanran consumed it, the wounds on her back began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. In less than ten breaths’ time, the marks on her back vanished completely, returning her skin to its original smooth, snow-white state.

’For this woman, he charged into Pill King Valley, defeated the Sword Sect with a single strike, and beheaded the Fire Dragon with another. He single-handedly forced the entire Pill King Valley to bow its head. If only he had done all that for me...’

Liang Xiyue watched Wei Yanran with a complex and envious gaze in her beautiful eyes.

’The era of Cyan Cloud Country is truly about to change. With his appearance, what kind of transformations will the Innate List undergo?’

The Elders sighed inwardly.

Even Pill King Valley had bowed its head before Ning Jiang. In all of Cyan Cloud Country, was there anywhere he couldn’t go?

How many people were left who could fight him?

"Pill King, please take the seat of honor. Allow us to host you properly," Lu Changsheng said.

...

While Ning Jiang was single-handedly suppressing Pill King Valley, news of his actions since emerging from seclusion was finally spreading throughout the country.

In just a few short days, he had battled his way across thousands of miles, from Luoyang City to Golden Cauldron City, and then from Golden Cauldron City to the Qingjiang River and Pill King Valley.

Everywhere he went, heads rolled, and the world shook!

This news could no longer be contained and spread rapidly throughout Cyan Cloud Country.

The entire world was horrified!

PS: Ning Jiang’s title of "Young Master" is coming soon, and Volume 2 is almost over. Feel free to guess what his title will be.