Chapter 490 - A World-Wide Bounty
Fantasy Snow Pill!
Precious Jewel Pill!
Erudite Features Pill!
Thunder Substitution Blood Pill!
Hundred-Turns Body Tempering Pill!
Nine-Revolutions Tacit Exchange Pill...
In the sensual woman’s heart, she was incomparably shocked. With her eyesight, she was able to recognize these medicinal pills. Unexpectedly, they were all extremely precious and rare types of profound-level pills! Almost every single one had a price, but no market. Even if there were enough medicinal ingredients, it would be hard for a pharmacist to refine them smoothly. It was to the point that it would be somewhat challenging even for a pill king! What’s more, there were several kinds that she never heard of before.
For this person to write such things on this cloth, it was proof that their knowledge base was extensive. However, what was the purpose of this?
The next moment, the sensual woman’s expression changed even more.
It was because that black-garbed person casually waved a hand, and numerous jade bottles crowded on top of the records table in front of her. She did a quick count. There were exactly 129 bottles, which was the same number of pill names written on the silken cloth. This caused an unbelievable thought to suddenly flash in her mind — Could it be that the medicinal pills inside these jade bottles were the ones recorded on the cloth?
The sensual woman’s body faintly shuddered. Her heart surged with great waves, and her lips stammered: “Would these...be...”
The black-garbed person opened their mouth, and their voice resounded. Unexpectedly, he was very young: “You can open them yourself and take a look.”
The sensual woman didn’t dare to hesitate any longer. She promptly took the first jade bottle, and looked at the medicinal pill that had been poured out. She saw that the pill’s color was snowy-white, and noticed that the pill fragrance was strongly scented and extremely pure. It was actually a flawless Fantasy Snow Pill!
To prevent the loss of medicinal properties, she quickly put the pill back, and sealed it tightly. After that, she immediately opened the second jade bottle. The medicinal pill inside was like an amber gemstone. The pill fragrance was also exceptionally pure. This was a flawless Precious Jewel Pill!
Following that were the third and fourth jade bottles... Within each bottle were flawless profound-level pills!
The sensual woman only felt that things had gone beyond her understanding. However, when she looked at the jade bottle in her hand again, her pupils constricted. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe.
Perfectly round and completely sealed, a pill that begot rose-tinted clouds! This was a prismatic pill! It was an exquisitely perfect Thunder Substitution Blood Pill!
The sensual woman calmed down after a while. Finally, she carefully put away the prismatic pill with two trembling hands. Immediately following which, she inspected all of the jade bottles with her fastest speed.
That’s right. Apart from the few types that she didn’t recognize, all of the others were without exception. Those rumored to be capable of producing rose-tinted clouds were all prismatic pills. Meanwhile, those that couldn’t produce clouds in the first place were all flawless pills.
In other words, among identical prescriptions, the product grades of these medicinal pills had reached the pinnacle!
It was unbelievable. This was a medicinal pill feast that she had never seen before since taking charge of the affairs here.
For a short moment, the sensual woman even felt a kind of greed from the bottom of her heart. She wanted to defy the rules of the Dark Tower, kill this person, and snatch all of the medicinal pills!
However, the faint warning signs in her heart and the terror of the Dark Tower in her mind stopped her. She slowly composed herself. At last, she spoke excitedly: “Honored sir...”
After that, the person in black flicked his sleeve again. In front of the sensual woman, another sheet of silken cloth appeared. Written upon it were a little more than two hundred golden-level medicinal pills. But likewise, they were rare or precious among the golden rank. Following this, there were two hundred-something bottles. One golden-level pill was stored inside each bottle. Moreover, without exception, all of these golden-level pills were also flawless or prismatic pills.
After going through the shock of the profound-level pills, seeing these golden-level pills similarly surprised her, but the excitement in her heart had subsided a lot.
But the woman’s attitude towards the black-garbed person was even more attentive and respectful.
The person in black eventually spoke: “I want to place a bounty.”
The sensual woman inwardly sighed with lament. She secretly thought: As expected!
Such a huge sum of medicinal pills was revealed with one move. At first, she was too amazed and forgot her manners for a moment, but after forcefully calming down, she could understand why this person had come to the Dark Tower. Like most others, he certainly wanted to issue a mission. But what exactly would be this bounty...
The sensual woman spoke respectfully: “May this one ask this honored sir what the bounty is for?”
The black-garbed person seemed to have thought of the bounty’s methods long ago. There was a chill in his voice: “The bounty is for the Bright Emperor Domain’s Yang Clan. Their ancestor is the Royal Realm Yang Hu.”
Someone at the Royal Realm... Then, that was a bronze-ranked force?
The sensual woman had a premonition in her heart. She knew that this time probably wouldn’t be simple.
Soon after, the black-garbed person continued to speak: “This is for the descendants of the Yang Clan and those tied to Yang Hu’s bloodline. At the Houtian Realm, every ten people can be exchanged for one golden-level pill. At the Xiantian Realm, every two people can be exchanged for one golden-level pill. At the Immortal Realm, each person can be exchanged for one golden-level pill. At the Atomic Realm, each person can be exchanged for one profound-level pill suitable for Atomic Realms. The Celestial and Noble Realms will be given the same treatment. If these requirements are reached, then the medicinal pills written on the silk can be chosen at will.”
The sensual woman sucked in a cold breath.
— This was going to stir up a hornet’s nest!
She hurriedly inquired: “Honored sir, there is only one of each medicinal pill. If two people meet the same requirement...”
The person in black said: “I can refine them at any time. This is merely to win the trust of your Dark Tower, and to prove my strength.”
The sensual woman didn’t know how to describe her current state of mind, but after being surprised again and again, she could quickly adjust her mood: “Would the this honored sir’s bounty be eligible for living or dead people? Can exchanges be made for the Yang Clan’s young children and those who haven’t stepped onto the path of martial arts?”
The black-garbed person responded: “For those who step onto the path of martial arts, dead or alive are both acceptable. Young children will be left alone. However, this bounty is effective for a lifetime. If any young children want to take revenge in the future, and embark upon the martial path, then they will be dealt with accordingly.”
The sensual woman composed herself, and recorded the mission’s details. When she heard the aforementioned “dead or alive are both acceptable,” her complexion faintly changed, but once she heard “young children will be left alone,” she breathed a sigh of relief. After that was the subsequent “dealt with accordingly,” which made her heart shudder.
But overall, she felt more at ease.
At least this person wasn’t a lunatic. Otherwise, if the other party used medicinal pills as a bounty whenever he was upset, wouldn’t everyone in the world be in danger? Although this person seemed to only be a profound-level pharmacist, and wasn’t a pill king, this kind of profound-level pharmacist was scarier than the great majority of pill kings!
Just looking at that long list of pill prescriptions made her scalp go numb for a while.
She had never seen anyone who could refine so many pill prescriptions! Most of all, based on the other’s tone, all of the pills were refined by him alone! Such a profound-level pharmacist... Could he truly be called a profound-level pharmacist?
The sensual woman’s courage wasn’t small. Having worked in the Dark Tower for a long time, she wouldn’t be too afraid. At this moment, while recording the mission, she asked with a smile: “Having placed such a bounty, does this honored sir have enmity with the Yang Clan?”
The black-garbed person didn’t hide anything: “This enmity is absolutely irreconcilable.”
The sensual woman felt that these words sounded tranquil, but actually held boundless killing intent. Snapping out of it, she continued: “If the medicinal pills run out, how should we contact this honored sir? And how will the captured people be handed over?”
The person in black said: “Every seven days, someone will come here. If there’s a shortage of medicinal pills, just inform that person.”
The sensual woman asked several more questions. After that, she smiled and said: “This honored sir’s mission has already been recorded. Please rest assured, the mission shall be announced in two hours.”
The black-garbed person faintly nodded.
The sensual woman suddenly thought of something, and asked: “Honored sir, may this one ask if the bounty is world-wide or limited to within the Ten Ultimates Domain and Bright Emperor Domain?”
The person in black replied: “A world-wide bounty.” He gave a slight pause, “I would be pleased if this mission can be spread across the world quickly. Then, I’ll give one to ten prismatic pills to your Dark Tower.”
The sensual woman wore a smiling expression: “Really?” She reacted right away, “I, Third Lady Xie, shall have this matter spread widely throughout the world within a day!”
The black-garbed person lifted a hand, and tossed out a medicinal pill.
Third Lady Xie lowered her head to take a look. This was a flawless pill that was extremely suitable for her current strength. She promptly expressed her thanks again.
The person in black turned around and strode away, leaving behind only one sentence: “If matters are handled well, you will be generously rewarded.”
Third Lady Xie took a deep breath. As her beautiful form turned around, she took the mission logs and went upstairs.
She definitely had to do a good job.
Not only was it for the sake of obtaining benefits, it was also to win over this profound-level pharmacist!
In reality, such a profound-level pharmacist who could refine flawless pills was even more important to large organizations than those pill kings who could refine some earth-level pills!
Once the black-garbed person departed, his psychic power surged out in all directions. After realizing that no one was following him, he changed his cloak inside a tavern room, which revealed his original appearance.
If this person wasn’t Gu Zuo, who else could it have been?
After returning to Ten Ultimates Sect, Gu Zuo sat at the edge of a cliff near the summit. He stared blankly far into the distance.
All of a sudden, someone came looking for him: “Pharmacist Gu, the Blood Transformation Palace Master has requested your presence.”
Gu Zuo was taken aback. Shortly thereafter, he nodded his head: “I’ll go pay my respects to the palace master.”
Before long, he arrived at the Blood Transformation Palace Hall. The palace master was already waiting inside.
When he noticed Gu Zuo, he lowered his eyes to look at him: “Ah Zuo, did you go to the Dark Tower just now?”
Gu Zuo’s pair of eyes opened slightly, but he didn’t shy away from the palace master’s implication. He only said: “I did.”
The Blood Transformation Palace Master’s expression was unflinching: “In that case, that mission from the Dark Tower was issued by you?”
Gu Zuo was surprised. A hint of gloom flickered through his eyes. He replied: “It was.”
Although he knew it was a little cruel, if he was given another chance to choose, he would still make the same choice.
The palace master asked: “Is your goal to vent your anger?”
Gu Zuo nodded. After that, he shook his head: “It was to vent my anger, but more than that, I wanted to use this as a pretext to force out Yang Hu. Palace master has sent out millions of battle slaves who’ve scattered to all parts of the continent, but they haven’t found Yang Hu’s whereabouts. Who knows which mouse hole he’s hidden in... Big brother hasn’t shown up either. I’m unwilling to leave things like this.”
The palace master suddenly laughed: “Hahaha! Well done!” There was praise in his eyes, “In the past, I always felt that you had an abundance of diligence and caution, but your temperament was a little too softhearted and lacked a bit of ruthlessness. Now that you’ve made such a move, it has made me realize that I have been underestimating you!”
Gu Zuo blanked.
The Blood Transformation Palace Master’s expression became grave and stern. Amid his words, there was a type of absolute confidence: “The Yang Clan is nothing more than an insignificant organization that has just advanced from the rank of iron to bronze. If it wasn’t for the delay in finding Yang Hu and the lack of evidence, I would’ve already led my armies to suppress and slaughter the entire Yang Clan! Just on the basis of that paltry Yang Hu, he indulged his descendants in committing evil acts and provoked my Ten Ultimates Sect first. Then, he used strength to oppress the weak and persecuted my Ten Ultimates Sect’s all-star prodigy later on. It wouldn’t be considered excessive to kill him ten thousand times, shatter his bones, and scatter his ashes!”
Gu Zuo’s heart surged a little: “Palace master doesn’t think that I’m being impulsive... That’s great.”
The palace master smiled and responded: “How is this impulsive? This is clearly courageous! You have means at your disposal. Being able to do such a thing isn’t something ordinary pharmacists can do.”
After praising Gu Zuo, he said: “That Yang Hu was originally part of a cadet branch of the Yang Clan. After advancing his realm, he wiped out the main branch’s bloodline. At first, he was undisciplined and out of control, but he was quite protective of those who shared his own blood. Now that Yang Hu has become a tortoise that has withdrawn into his shell, if he really cares about his bloodline, Ah Zuo’s move will naturally force him to stick his head out. If he doesn’t, we can also use those bloodlines to deduce his whereabouts.”
It was just that it wouldn’t be easy to deduce a stronger individual based on the blood of weaker people. At the very least, large quantities of blood essence had to be gathered to have a chance. However, it would be inappropriate for Ten Ultimates Sect to do this kind of thing. As for Gu Zuo, he didn’t have any misgivings. When he issued the mission at the Dark Tower, no one saw his appearance. Under the temptation of those medicinal pills, it naturally didn’t matter. Even if some people suspected Ten Ultimates Sect, the sect could remain frank and magnanimous.
When all was said and done, Gu Zuo was Gongyi Tianheng’s personal pharmacist. In actuality, he wasn’t really classified as a disciple of Ten Ultimates Sect.
The reason why Gu Zuo couldn’t hold himself back was also related to the fact that the blood of the Tianlong Guards and Tianyang couldn’t deduce Tianheng’s whereabouts. It wasn’t known why, but when the blood was used for the calculations, the obtained result was a scene of primal chaos. Not to mention an indicated position, even a general direction couldn’t be found.
However, although Gu Zuo was initially anxious because of this, he later remembered that his big brother’s Tiandu Body stood out from the masses. He couldn’t help but feel a little more at ease.
Even the blood of the Tianlong Guards and immediate family members couldn’t make a deduction. No matter what the reason was, at the very least, if big brother encountered an unstoppable enemy in the future, he wouldn’t be afraid of being found after going into hiding...
Back to the matter of the Blood Transformation Palace Master. He summoned Gu Zuo this time just to confirm the source of the bounty to control the situation.
Of course, in the beginning, he doubted whether it was really Gu Zuo — After all, the variety and product grades of the bounty’s medicinal pills were too shocking. Even if Gu Zuo previously refined several types of unusual pills, it only made people somewhat incredulous. It was just that the palace master knew more. Besides the most likely Gu Zuo, there really wasn’t anyone else. This was because, among the people who had the deepest affection for Tianheng, apart from the palace master himself and Tianheng’s relatives, there was just Gu Zuo. And among those who had the capabilities, he was the only one!
After confirming this, the palace master was very satisfied, and said to Gu Zuo: “When the members of the Yang Clan are brought here, how does Ah Zuo intend to deal with them?”
When Gu Zuo thought about the people from the Yang Clan and Yang Hu himself, there was a trace of hatred in his tone: “The members of the Yang Clan have enjoyed endless benefits under Yang Hu’s prestige. None of them are innocent. If they’re unlucky, they’ll encounter those types of people who feel that killing is convenient. As for those Yang Clan corpses, I’ll gather them up and have them piled at the gates of the Yang Clan. This way, Yang Hu can have a good look at the fate of the evildoing descendants he indulged!
“If the ones brought back are alive...and they haven’t done anything bad, their strength will be crippled, but they’ll be allowed to go as ordinary people. If they have done anything bad, they’ll be executed after Yang Hu takes the bait!”
The Blood Transformation Palace Master smiled: “Ah Zuo is actually so merciful.”
Gu Zuo shook his head.
This wasn’t him being merciful. At most, he was being hypocritical.
Of course, on the off-chance that the situation reached this extent and those crippled Yang Clan members thought of a way to counterattack, he would count them capable, but he and his big brother had nothing to fear.
After communicating with the palace master, Gu Zuo went back.
His mood had calmed down greatly once he issued the bounty. Finally, he could refine medicine with peace of mind while waiting for the mission’s results.
Because Ying Yu hadn’t been able to protect Tianheng, he made amends for his wrongdoing. With his Celestial Realm strength, he was arranged close to that Dark Tower by Gu Zuo. Once every seven days, he would act as a bridge for communication with the people of the Dark Tower.
After receiving this kind of task, Ying Yu was conscientious and hardworking. He didn’t dare to neglect anything in the slightest.
At the same time, under the full-efforts of Third Lady Xie, that unusual mission was spread all over the world within a day by the mysterious methods of the Dark Tower!
Across many domains and throughout numerous cities, announcement sheets were located within each and every base of operations of the Dark Tower.
On the announcement sheets, there were plenty of missions, divided into ranks, that were selected by those who came to the Dark Tower. And among these missions, some were also handed over to large organizations, which allowed their disciples to go out and gain experience.
This time around, a special mission appeared on the lists.
Under normal circumstances, missions suitable for Houtian and Xiantian martial artists were classified as human-level missions. Those suitable for Immortal Realms to Ascendant Realms were classified as golden-level missions... As one went up the ranks, there were finally the heaven-level missions.
The most commonly accepted missions were the three ranks of profound, golden, and human. As for this mission in particular, it actually spanned all three ranks. Heroes and towering figures from all over the world were invited to come and complete it.
After reading the different requirements of this mission, the areas in front of the mission lists suddenly erupted with a clamor.
“Yang Clan... Is it that Yang Clan from the Bright Emperor Domain?”
“Haha! I’ve heard that the Yang Clan is very unbridled and arrogant when handling matters. They have offended many people. This time, they’ve kicked an iron plate!”
“Looking at the mission, it’s clear that someone wants to put an end to their household!”
“It’s no big deal. I’m not interested in something like this...”
“Wait a minute! Check out the rewards!”
Once they got a clear look at those rewards, this wasn’t just a clamorous racket. The atmosphere heated up like boiling water, surging together into a raging current!
“This old man didn’t read it incorrectly, right? Flawless pills?”
“Damn. Did the Yang Clan offend a big aristocratic family of pharmacists or something? The medicinal pills taken out are too—”
“Bullshit. Even if it’s a large aristocratic family, it would be too much of a loss to take out that many prismatic pills!”
“If it’s not a large aristocratic family, then who posted the mission?”
“In my opinion, some lucky bastard found an ancient medicinal holy land, and obtained these from inside...”
“Stop guessing! No matter what, since this old man wants medicinal pills, I’ll capture those people from the Yang Clan!”
Indeed. Regardless of whether one was a desperate criminal or just an adventurer, everyone was very interested in this mission.
The desperate criminals naturally didn’t care if the Yang Clan members lived or died. In any case, so long as they chopped off a person’s head, they could kill several people and obtain top-notch pills. This was simply no different from giving them away for free! As for those who were out adventuring, they also needed flawless pills. But if they had to kill others because of this, some people would still have to do more psychological training. However, since the current mission said that capturing the targets alive was okay, then they weren’t mentally burdened at all.
Ah, they had to hurry and capture those people! If they were too late and caught nothing, then there also wouldn’t be any pills!
— In fact, with Gu Zuo’s fury directed at Yang Hu, he truly wished that the entire Yang Clan was exterminated when his thoughts were clouded with anger. However, when all was said and done, he still retained a bit of the modern world’s ideology. He didn’t want to become a person who only wanted to use killing to resolve his problems. Additionally, he had taken this type of situation into consideration.
Those who weren’t willing to kill “innocent” people indiscriminately probably had no qualms with arresting others. All people were like this. He, Gu Zuo, would be hypocritical due to that pitiful modern thinking. Anyone who wanted flawless pills naturally could exchange them for a living person. After the exchange, they wouldn’t care whether that person lived or died... This was also a type of hypocrisy.
All that Gu Zuo wanted was to force that Yang Hu out into the open with the fastest speed!
And perhaps, Gu Zuo’s way of thinking was right. After this mission was issued by the Dark Tower, it set off huge stormy waves across the entire continent. Even a few high-ranking top figures inevitably had some interest in the prismatic pills — At the very least, their juniors were interested.
Hence, at this moment, the Bright Emperor Domain’s Yang Clan had turned into a delicious cake.
Countless people from various places flooded into the Bright Emperor Domain through the teleportation arrays. Then, they quickly came to the city where the Yang Clan was located, and launched attacks on the clan.
In just a few short days, the Yang Clan didn’t even have enough time to escape, and were blocked within their old nest by nearby organizations. When more people came with murderous shouts that shook the heavens, the members of the Yang Clan seemed to see hell on earth.
Many heads were chopped down, corpses were loaded into inter-spatial tools, and numerous others were captured. To prevent them from escaping, their cultivations were crippled. Many people wanted to resist, and called out to their old ancestor, but it was of no use... The Yang Clan was toppled, and the entire ancestral residence laid vacant and empty.
Besides this, the members of the Yang Clan who were out adventuring were constantly hiding like rats skittering across the street. Even after doing their best to conceal themselves, many people still thought of ways to find them. Then, they were either killed or reduced to prisoners.
Everyone knew that the higher the realm of the captured Yang Clan members, the higher the rank of medicinal pills they could obtain. As a result, in order to give their carefully-nurtured disciples those prismatic pills, some organizations even bestowed spirit weapons and tacitly allowed many disciples to bring the battle slaves of their masters or elders to encircle and suppress the Yang Clan.
At any rate, what the mission ultimately required were the results.
As for who achieved these results, what did it matter?
On the day that the flames of war burned the brightest, the elders of the Yang Clan cried out with tears overflowing:
“Why? Why attack our Yang Clan?”
“What enmity do you all have with the Yang Clan?”
“So long as you let my Yang Clan’s bloodline go, my Yang Clan is willing to hand over a huge reward!”
However, the only things the Yang Clan received in return were ridicule and hostility.
“Your Yang Clan once harmed my whole family. I can’t afford to provoke your old ancestor, and I’m powerless to take revenge. Now that your Yang Clan has offended someone who shouldn’t be offended, I will use the eastern wind to behead the enemy. That slanderous bastard isn’t my opponent, but I can still obtain medicinal pills to save my poor little sister!”
“Persisting in evil brings out self-destruction. We are merely doing the right thing on behalf of the heavens...in exchange for some medicinal pills in passing.”
“Could it be that no one from the Yang Clan has gone to the Dark Tower? We took on this mission from the Dark Tower, but it’s just to compete a task.”
“Give yourselves up. Right now, every person from your Yang Clan can be exchanged for a flawless pill. In this world, one won’t often come across such a good deal. Miss it, and there’ll be nothing left...”
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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