The Rich Cultivator

Chapter 780: 780. Back to the Sect

The pirate captain finished speaking with a smug grin.

"Hand over the creator of the Pill Maker, and we’ll spare the rest of you."

Elder Vance didn’t even bother replying.

Instead, he calmly took out a jade bottle, poured three pills into his mouth, chewed them a few times, then swallowed.

Tyler blinked.

"...Elder?"

"Eating before a fight?" Maximus whispered.

Shyla immediately shook her head.

"No..."

"That’s definitely not food."

The pirate captain frowned.

"What is that old man doing?"

Before anyone could understand, the pirate ship suddenly moved.

"Fire!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several spiritual cannons mounted on the pirate ship erupted one after another. Brilliant beams of spiritual light shot across the sky, carrying enough force to shatter a mountain.

Maximus subconsciously covered his head.

"They’re going to hit!"

The beams slammed into Elder Vance’s flying ship.

BOOM!

The entire sky trembled. Smoke filled the air. The pirates burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"So much for the Dark Forest Society!"

"Did we sink them?"

The smoke gradually dispersed.

Their laughter stopped.

The flying ship hadn’t moved an inch.

The defensive formation surrounding it shimmered gently before becoming calm again, as though nothing had happened.

The pirate captain’s smile disappeared.

"What?"

Elder Vance lazily stretched his shoulders.

"My turn." He opened his mouth.

"Pfft!"

A black pill shot out like a cannonball.

The pirates instinctively laughed "He spat a pill at us?"

"What is that going to do?"

The pill landed on the deck.

Pop.

Instead of exploding, it burst into a thick cloud of dark green mist that rapidly spread across the pirate ship.

The captain’s expression changed immediately.

"Poison!"

"Everyone, disperse it!"

Several pirates rushed forward carrying giant fans engraved with wind formations.

"Blow it away!"

Violent gusts roared across the deck. But To their horror, The poisonous mist didn’t move, Not even a little.

"...What?"

"It isn’t moving!"

The poison slowly settled onto the wooden deck.

Hiss...

The deck began melting. Formation lines engraved into the ship emitted sparks before dissolving one after another.

The poisonous mist continued spreading.

Wherever it passed, wood blackened, metal rusted, and even spiritual barriers started corroding.

"Captain! It’s eating the ship!"

The captain’s face turned ugly, "What kind of poison is this?!"

Before he could think of a solution, Elder Vance casually tossed another pill.

This one was much larger. Almost the size of a tennis ball.

The pirate captain snorted, "You think the same trick will work twice?"

He drew his saber and slashed downward.

Clang!

The pill split in half ...or so he thought.

Instead of breaking apart, it stuck firmly to the blade like sticky resin.

"Huh?"

Before he could shake it off—

Poof!

The pill rapidly expanded.

Within a single breath, it turned into a huge transparent bubble, wrapping around both the captain and several nearby pirates.

"What is this?!"

The trapped pirates immediately attacked from inside.

They used Swords, Fire spells, Palm strikes and Everything landed on the strange bubble.

Boing! Their attacks bounced right back.

One pirate’s sword even flew into his own face.

"Ouch!"

The captain roared and unleashed his full strength, but the strange substance only stretched before returning to its original shape.

"It won’t break!"

"It’s sticking to everything!"

Elder Vance calmly reached into his robe again.

He casually tossed few more bubble pills.

Pop!

More transparent bubbles expanded across the pirate ship. Some pirates became trapped together. Others found themselves glued to the mast.

One unfortunate fellow was sealed upside down, wildly kicking his legs while shouting for help.

Within minutes, the once-arrogant pirate ship had turned into complete chaos.

Some were trapped. Some were poisoned. Some had glued themselves to their own weapons trying to escape.

The pirate captain stared at Elder Vance with disbelief.

"...You’re..."

"...What kind of alchemist are you?"

Elder Vance smiled proudly.

"I’m not."

"I’m a formation master."

The captain nearly coughed up blood. Back aboard the Dark Forest Society’s flying ship, Tyler and the others stood in stunned silence.

Maximus swallowed hard.

"...That’s it?"

Lee slowly nodded.

"The fight..."

"...ended?"

Louch looked at the miserable pirates trapped inside giant bubbles and couldn’t help scratching his head.

"I suddenly understand why nobody likes provoking the Dark Forest Society."

Even Tyler couldn’t help smiling.

He had expected a fierce battle between flying ships.

Instead...

Elder Vance had ended the fight in just a few minutes— with nothing more than a handful of pills. He also want some of those pills.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Tyler and the others returned to the Dark Forest Society before sunset. The captured pirates were immediately handed over to the sect’s Law Enforcement Hall. From that point on, the interrogations, trials, and punishments had nothing to do with them.

Elder Vance clapped his hands and looked at the group.

"You all head to the Task Hall first and register your return."

Everyone nodded.

Just as Tyler was about to follow the others, Elder Vance suddenly called out to him.

"Tyler."

"Yes, Elder?"

"You still have that... Pill Maker with you?"

Tyler nodded.

"Yes."

"Good. Follow me."

Without another word, Elder Vance turned onto a different path. Tyler quickly followed behind him while Lee, Louch, Maximus, and Shyla watched them leave.

As they walked through the quiet mountain paths, Elder Vance suddenly sighed.

"I should’ve listened to you that day."

Tyler looked at him.

"Hm?"

"You tried to tell me about your project. I didn’t listen." He shook his head. "Never mind. It’s my fault."

After walking a little farther, he asked another question.

"Where did you learn formations?" He paused before adding, "If it’s inconvenient to answer, then don’t."

Tyler thought for a moment. He couldn’t exactly tell the truth. After organizing his thoughts, he finally replied, "I had a dream."

"A dream?"

"In the dream... there was another person named Tyler. He taught me many things."

Elder Vance slowed his footsteps. "A dream..."

He didn’t laugh. Instead, he nodded thoughtfully, "There have been cases like that."

Tyler looked at him. "Really?"

"Hm. Some cultivators awaken fragments of memories from a previous life. Others obtain inheritances through dreams. Nobody truly understands why it happens." He glanced at Tyler. "Perhaps you’ve inherited memories from your previous life."

Tyler simply smiled without agreeing or denying it. Elder Vance didn’t ask any further questions. As long as Tyler wasn’t a spy sent by another sect, he didn’t care where the knowledge came from.

...

At the same time, deep inside the Intelligence Hall of the Dark Forest Society....

An elderly man finished reading a report.

"Tyler." He placed the jade slip on the table.

"Born in a small mortal village... Parents died early... The family later fell into debt and eventually disappeared."

Another elder nodded.

"The investigation matches.".The first elder continued reading. "He once had a fiancée named Juvi. The engagement was broken after she joined the Sun Dial Sect together with another disciple."

He placed the report aside.

"No suspicious background....No contact with hostile forces... No evidence of being planted by another sect."

An elder sitting nearby smiled.

"So He’s clean." The others nodded. "Looks that way."

...

Meanwhile, Elder Vance had already led Tyler to a place he had never seen before.

In front of them stood a gigantic skull-shaped castle..A long wooden bridge connected the mountain path to the enormous skull.

Tyler couldn’t help looking up.

The skull suddenly moved. Its empty eye sockets glowed with green flames before its jaw slowly opened.

"Welcome, Elder Vance." Then it looked toward Tyler. "Welcome, Student. The Master has been waiting for both of you."

The inside of the skull was completely dark.

Even sunlight couldn’t enter. Elder Vance walked in as though he had done this countless times before. Tyler took a deep breath and followed.

The moment he stepped through the darkness... His surroundings changed completely.

"..."

Tyler stopped walking.

This wasn’t the gloomy underground palace he had imagined.

Instead...

He found himself standing on a small island beneath a bright blue sky.

A gentle sea breeze blew across the island.

Palm trees swayed softly.

White sand stretched along the shore.

Not far away, dozens of handsome young men and beautiful women dressed in revealing clothes were working in the fields. Some carried baskets, some watered spirit herbs, while others simply walked along the beach.

For a moment, Tyler wondered if he had entered the wrong place.

Then he noticed something strange..None of them were breathing..Their movements weren’t stiff. But Their eyes were empty.

Tyler finally realized the truth.

"...Corpses?"

Elder Vance nodded casually.

"They were all bought from the market."

Tyler suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Just then, a pale middle-aged man slowly walked toward them..His face was sickly white. His body looked thin and weak, as though a strong wind could knock him over.

Tyler looked him up and down before speaking honestly, "This corpse looks pretty weak."

For a heartbeat... The entire island became silent. The corpse also stopped working.

Elder Vance stared blankly at Tyler.

Then—

"Hahaha!"

He burst into uncontrollable laughter.

The pale man slowly turned his head toward Vance. His expression darkened. Without saying a word, he casually flicked his sleeve.

Bang!

Elder Vance disappeared like a cannonball and splashed straight into the sea. Even after falling into the water, his laughter could still be heard.

"Hahaha...!"*

The pale man slowly looked back at Tyler. Tyler suddenly had a very bad feeling.

The man sighed helplessly, "I’m not a corpse, young man."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I’m the Sect Master."