Chương 40: Mental strength

When the White Stars returned from their mission, I could see in their eyes the mental anguish. Fenghue too, but she hid it well. If Tian's couldn't see through my eyes, I wouldn't notice.

"How was it? Feeling a bit heroic now, having brought justice to thousands of victims of those criminals?" I asked with a cheerful voice, and took out my first, cheap cauldron.

"... It was bad. The screams... begging..." An Wong spoke first, and took out a cloth bag that looked like it held 200 human eyes.

"Good, good. Criminals should beg for mercy, instead of a weak woman being tormented and raped. Do you know why I asked for these eyes?" I asked, while taking out a brown eye who seemed a bit desperate.

"To check if we truly killed our targets?" the soldier girl wondered and shrugged.

"Not at all. Your faces already told me how the mission went. Killing is hard on the soul. The eyes of a criminal are useful for alchemy." I said and threw a few cheap herbs into my cauldron, then a fistful of dead eyes. In a few minutes, the amazing aroma of alchemy filled my yard, and 19 high-grade Bloodlust pills floated out. Only Tier 1 but still valuable.

"Eat one of these Bloodlust pills before a battle, and your strength and agression goes up by about 30%. Can't do much more with mortal materials, but still... these Tier 1 pills would sell for about 100 spirit stones at auction. Taking out the cost of herbs and my own work, it's 50 spirit stones profit, per one eye. And for your service, you get 5 stones too." I explained and began cooking more pills. The White Stars exchanged a few looks, considering the profits they just made.

"Do we really get 1000 spirit stones from this single mission?" Mina asked with a happy voice. I glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Learn Alchemy if you want to be rich. I said 5 stones not 1000. How can I be called a scumbag otherwise?" Their happiness vanished at once. Poor lambs.

"Compared to the 1 spirit stone per month you get from the sect as a Late-stage Qi Gatherer, those 5 stones are worth 5 months saved. Pef Tian is actually generous." Fenghue spoke in her Venerable voice, and deposited her own bleeding bag beside me.

"Alchemy seems like a good way to become rich." Mina noted in a respectful voice. Actually it was the reverse. For someone who didn't have an Immortal Emperor in their soul, learning Alchemy meant wasting thousands if not millions of herbs, ruined cauldrons, centuries of learning and practicing instead of cultivating... it was a path to ruin.

"No. Without a Nascent Soul cultivation and resources, Alchemy is a waste of time. Can you imagine gathering 10 expensive Core-grade herbs for a Tier 3 pill, and then failing the pill? Then again and again... hundreds of times." I spoke with a disgusted voice. I didn't have to imagine. Tian had done that, and more... until he became good. Alchemy sucked balls.

"It's true, White Stars. Our Sect Master has barely managed to make a few Tier 3 pills, and ruined her entire wealth gathered over centuries. Pef Tian is the exception." Fenghue advised her young disciples with a wise voice. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Damn it. However, 5 stones are not bad... can we repeat the mission, hero?" An Wong asked in a hopeful voice.

"If your Elder wants to, yes. But next, you have a swimming mission. Go to a river nearby, and catch 100 fish with your bare hands. I don't want their eyes this time. Go now. You still smell like blood and guts." I demanded with a hand wave, and their Elder nodded to Fenghue for permission and gathered her ducks for a fishing mission. The Venerable sat beside me as I kept making Bloodlust pills.

"So, you tricked us. You wanted Teshan's eyes for pills, not to watch your wedding..." she realized a bit too late.

"For Nana and Sakura, yes. The eyes are the window into the soul, and a Nascent Soul must see the Dao when he ascends. The imprint remains... weak, but with the Dao anything at all is a treasure. The Tier 3 pills should increase their chance of ascension by 20%." I explained politely, and took out the next batch of Bloodlust pills from my cauldron. Still not Supreme grade. I had lots more practice to do. Luckily now I had enough eyes for that.

"And the fish? Can you make fish pills? For swimming underwater, perhaps?" Fenghue asked curious. Hmmm. I could... in fact. Similitude had a big part in Alchemy, and using the fish gills to make pills could work. Would need more testing and practice.

"Yes, I can do that. But I just wanted the girls to get clean, and bring me some fish to eat. Plus, catching fish bare-handed is good training." I quipped with a grin, and began cooking more human eyes. Fenghue laughed and patted my shoulder.

"Always so funny. Can you heal Minghue too?" she asked in a different voice. I sighed inward.

"The blood curse, yes. Not the other thing. Wait until I get my Nascent Soul." I muttered with a sad tone, as the lid of my cauldron popped out. Finally, Supreme Bloodlust pills! And 19 of them! Tian was truly a genius. Took him like 4 or 5 trials, and the process was already perfect. Fenghue picked up a Supreme pill and ate it, possibly curious to test its effects.

"Barely any difference." she complained while clenching a fist.

"Then go hunt cultivators, Venerable Fenghue. Your sect is poor, and criminals are often rich. Just... use a dark robe and metal mask when you do. As a Dark Fairy, you need to project fear and terror into criminals, not lust and desire. It would ruin the point." I said while flicking a bleeding eye into the air.

"... Dark Fairy? You're such a child." she muttered a bit amused and flew away at speed. Duh. I was 16 years old, not a child! Quinhue returned from her own job and hugged me from behind.

"Husband... your words are spreading into the sect. Other girls are starting to train more..." she whispered in an awed voice. She hugged me tight, and I could feel her breasts dig into my back.

"That's nice, but it's merely a passing fashion. You don't need a man to tell you that you need to train. By next year they will all give up, because it's hard. Better study poetry. The rapists will be enchanted for sure." I muttered with a sad voice, and kept cooking. Practice makes perfect, and I had many more human eyes to use, and then I'll have pills to sell. My wife sighed and rested her chin on my shoulder, peeking at my alchemy.

"I'll go train too, do the leg split too. You better heal me back tonight." she whispered in a teasing voice, and ran into our room. Who was really the child? These women... they saw the world as their fairyland, sipping tea or wine while discussing poetry and fine arts. Well, their flesh will be tender enough to be eaten by cannibals. The White Stars had a long way to go, but Fenghue... she should become strong soon. And when she did, I could leave without worry.

Teshan would have been strong and ruthless enough to reach Soul Transformation by himself, but most cultivators lacked the drive to push harder. The next realms already required either advanced methods or precious resources that didn't grow on the continent, which is why all talented people migrated to the Central Continent sooner or later. Then again, I wasn't Tian. Nothing stopped me from returning to the continent after 100 years to take over and make it better.

I should be in Body Integration Realm by then, strong enough to beat up anyone who dared to disobey. Even all of them at once.