Chapter 378: Chapter 257: Past, Present, and Future, I Am Unrestrained (Part 4)

Looking again at the formula for the Nourishing God Pill, Qin Yuesheng had already heard Shangguan Lan talk about it earlier, but Shangguan Lan only knew the name of the Green Pill in the Alchemy Furnace, and was completely unaware of its exact effects.

This formula, extracted from Jiang Taicang’s body, detailed precisely what effect this pill actually possessed.

Since ancient times, the human body has always been said to consist of essence, energy, and spirit. Essence is the foundation of the body, energy is the source, and cultivating essence to solidify the source will make a Martial Artist stronger and more powerful.

However, the ’spirit’ is elusive and difficult to replenish.

Coincidentally, achieving perfection in essence, energy, and spirit is one of the necessary conditions to step into the Grandmaster Realm.

Many experts at the Tenth Layer of the Internal Power Realm have been stuck at this step and unable to break through, mostly due to the imperfection of their ’spirit’.

Although Jiang Taicang hadn’t reached this step, he was already preparing for his future.

The Nourishing God Pill uses souls as material and requires continuous absorption of souls to complete the pill.

After secretly controlling the Qiu Mountain Sect, Jiang Taicang had three elders, including Shangguan Lan, engaged in this activity.

The Qiu Mountain Sect was originally just a small sect with around a hundred people, unknown in the martial world, to the extent that after Jiang Taicang renamed it to the Taicang Sect and continuously had people captured and brought back, it gained considerable notoriety in the martial world.

Those who were captured would have their memories erased by an Alchemy Furnace with the ability to enter others’ dreams, making them forget their pasts and believe themselves to be disciples of the Taicang Sect, thus obediently residing there and becoming materials for Jiang Taicang’s Nourishing God Pill.

Once the Nourishing God Pill was completed, Jiang Taicang would leave immediately to plan for his next great opportunity.

However, he never expected that Qin Yuesheng would appear as an unforeseen factor, causing one mistake to lead to the loss of everything.

"Speaking of which, what exactly was that thing he just threw to the bottom of the cliff?"

Jiang Taicang was full of secrets, and Qin Yuesheng couldn’t help but be curious about his previous bizarre behavior.

Having received everything extracted from Jiang Taicang, Qin Yuesheng immediately used the Carefree Heavenly Travel Skill to descend the cliff, beginning to search along the way for the whereabouts of that item.

Shangguan Lan had been standing quietly beside, like an invisible person, until Jiang Taicang died and Qin Yuesheng left, only then did he breathe a heavy sigh of relief and quickly ran to the Qiu Mountain Sect Sect Leader on the high platform.

Being obedient to Jiang Taicang, the Great Sect Leader, was due to the control of the Heart Gu, leaving him no choice.

But to the old Sect Leader, Shangguan Lan had genuine respect, as the other was his senior brother.

"Sect Leader Senior Brother, Sect Leader Senior Brother." Shangguan Lan supported the other’s body and kept calling out.

Having been tormented by Jiang Taicang for so long, this person’s body was already extremely weak. He slowly opened his eyes and said, "Junior Brother Shangguan? How did you come here? Wasn’t the evil thief not allowing you to meet me?"

Shangguan Lan hastily replied, "Senior Brother, that evil thief is already dead; we no longer need to live in fear."

"Hahaha, good riddance, good riddance indeed."

...

Qin Yuesheng traversed to the bottom of the cliff but didn’t find any abnormal objects. After searching back and forth a few times, he gave up on finding what Jiang Taicang had discarded, and directly hurried back to the Taicang Sect to take possession of the Alchemy Furnace that held the Nourishing God Pill.

This item was extremely valuable; if Qin Yuesheng hoped to someday step into the Grandmaster Realm, he would need to rely on the pill’s assistance, so he could not afford to lose it.

By releasing all the spirits from the twisted maze, and with Qin Yuesheng’s help, everyone regained their memories of before, and most fled the Taicang Sect overnight, escaping down Broken Sword Peak.

For a moment, the entire Qiu Mountain Sect became significantly desolate.

The next day.

Qin Yuesheng stood outside the Ancestor Hall of the Qiu Mountain Sect, bidding farewell to Shangguan Lan and the Qiu Mountain Sect Leader Gongsun Bamboo.

Two elders of the Qiu Mountain Sect, whom Qin Yuesheng had met earlier, stood by, occasionally exchanging words with Qin Yuesheng.

The four of them had the same master, and the master was quite interesting, naming them Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum.

"Young Hero, we are truly grateful to you this time. If it weren’t for your intervention, not only would the lives of all our Qiu Mountain Sect disciples be at risk, but the villain might have even harmed the people of Jiangnan." Gongsun Bamboo said gratefully.

In fact, he didn’t know that if Jiang Taicang hadn’t used the Time Holy Wheel to escape back into the past, he would have already died at Jiang Taicang’s hands, becoming the first step in his cultivation of the Five Ghost Spirit Body Skill.

"No worries, I was merely here to admire the scenery atop Broken Sword Peak. Now that I have seen it all, I shall take my leave." Qin Yuesheng mounted Ah Hu’s back, intending to leave.

But at this moment, Gongsun Bamboo suddenly said, "Young Hero, please stay. My grandmaster was also an eccentric who loved raising tigers; he once kept tigers on the mountain and crafted a full suit of armor for his beloved tiger. Once worn, it did not hinder the tiger’s movement or attack, but rather endowed the tiger with the ability to charge and battle. I see your golden tiger is well-built, truly a king among tigers, and its body quite matches the armor crafted by my grandmaster for the tiger. If the young hero doesn’t mind, I would like to present that set of tiger armor to you as a token of gratitude from our Qiu Mountain Sect."

"Armor?" Qin Yuesheng hadn’t expected that someone would be so leisure-driven as to create a suit of armor for a tiger. However, it was indeed interesting, so he nodded in agreement. "Very well."

Soon, a group of Qiu Mountain Sect disciples came carrying a large wooden box. Gongsun Bamboo stepped forward, opened the box, and revealed a suit of armor with numerous pieces inside.

Qin Yuesheng immediately walked over and tried fitting a few pieces onto Ah Hu to see if the size was appropriate.

It was quite a coincidence; the armor was only a few inches bigger than Ah Hu, making it perfectly fit for wearing. Once Ah Hu grew slightly larger, it would fit completely.

In a short while, all armor pieces were fitted onto Ah Hu by Qin Yuesheng. Upon close inspection, Ah Hu was fully covered in steel, resembling an iron tiger entirely made of metal.

As Ah Hu wagged its tail and head, the armor moved with a clattering sound, showing it did not obstruct its movement, which evidenced the fine craftsmanship in the armor’s details.

"Back then, my grandmaster spared no effort in crafting this set of tiger armor, pouring his heart and soul into it. After he passed away, no one in our sect ever raised tigers again. Giving this armor to you, young hero, is indeed more fitting than letting it gather dust here." Gongsun Bamboo fondled his beard and smiled, observing the now even more imposing and majestic Ah Hu.

"In that case, I extend my gratitude to Mr. Gongsun for this precious gift," Qin Yuesheng said with a cupped fist salute.

"The young hero is too polite; you saved our entire sect from the evil hands of that villain first."

After a round of pleasantries, Qin Yuesheng rode off on Ah Hu, now dressed in a ’new outfit’, leaving the Qiu Mountain Sect.

The back of the tiger armor had an arched flat area seemingly designed for a person to sit on.

As Ah Hu sprinted swiftly down the mountain, Qin Yuesheng found the ride very smooth and even, unlike before when he could feel all of Ah Hu’s back muscles moving vigorously during the run.

Soon, the silhouette of man and tiger had vanished below Broken Sword Peak.