Chapter 96
[Although Qi Qingji possessed extraordinary talent in alchemy and could freely combine spiritual herbs to create his own formulas, there was one small problem.]
[Every pill he refined ended up being... a little strange.]
[Take the most basic beginner pill for alchemists—the Bigu Pill. After consuming it, a cultivator shouldn't feel hungry for a period of time.]
[But when it came from Qi Qingji's hands...]
[Let's just say that after Qi Qingxiong swallowed one of his Bigu Pills, he spent three straight days suffering from diarrhea, so weak he could barely speak.]
Lou Yuqing instantly pictured the scene.
She couldn't help feeling a little sorry for Qi Qingxiong.
A little.
Qi Qingxiong's face darkened on the spot.
The mysterious female voice had just dragged up one of the darkest chapters of his life.
Back then, during the Yunxiao Sect's outer disciple competition, he had stepped onto the arena full of confidence.
Before the match had even begun, he had let out an earth-shaking fart in front of everyone.
The memory was still painfully vivid.
The stunned looks.
The disgust.
The disbelief.
The barely concealed contempt.
Every gaze had felt like a knife stabbing into his dignity.
Before the match even started, he had fled the arena in humiliation.
After returning to his residence, things only got worse.
The diarrhea hit immediately.
It lasted three full days.
By the end of it, he felt less like a cultivator and more like a wandering ghost.
Without question, it was the most humiliating experience of his entire life.
At the time, he was only somewhat famous within the outer sect.
That incident, however, became a double-edged sword.
His reputation spread overnight.
Unfortunately, not in the way he wanted.
From then on, whenever disciples mentioned him, their first reaction became: "Oh, that's the guy who farted during the competition."
Countless rumors followed.
Some claimed he loved farting.
Others insisted he couldn't survive a day without doing it.
Someone even gave him the title: The Farting Maniac.
Qi Qingxiong had naturally suspected foul play.
His strength had ranked among the very best during the competition. If he was eliminated, plenty of people would benefit.
He investigated every possible suspect.
The challenger who had originally called him out.
The strongest competitors.
Anyone who might have wanted to remove a threat.
Yet despite all his efforts, he found nothing.
In the end, he could only swallow his grievance.
Unable to endure the ridicule, he accepted an assignment guarding the sect's outskirts and hid there until the rumors gradually died down.
Years had passed.
No one mentioned the incident anymore.
Even he had nearly forgotten it.
And yet now, not only had the matter resurfaced, the culprit had been revealed as well.
Qi Qingxiong felt both furious and mortified.
A murderous urge surged through his chest. He had never imagined that the person who sabotaged him wasn't an enemy.
It was Qi Qingji.
Thinking back carefully, he remembered taking a Bigu Pill Qi Qingji had given him shortly before the competition.
His gaze sharpened into blades as he looked at his cousin. It was as if he wanted to carve him into pieces.
Qi Qingji froze.
"..."
My life is over.
On the other side, Si Nidie nearly died laughing.
Fortunately, she managed to keep it inside. If she laughed out loud, she and Lou Yuqing would be exposed immediately.
The disciples of Cloud Soaring Sect and Star Pavilion, however, couldn't laugh at all.
One glance at Qi Qingxiong's face was enough.
Good heavens.
It was blacker than the bottom of a pot.
They had heard rumors about that incident before, but over the years, Qi Qingxiong's prestige had only continued to rise. No one dared bring it up in front of him.
Qi Qingji's heart trembled.
It was over.
He had almost managed to fool his cousin.
Then that accursed mysterious woman had casually dug up an old scandal and thrown it directly into the sunlight.
"Brother Qingxiong, you know me."
Taking a deep breath, Qi Qingji forced himself to remain calm and immediately played the emotional card.
"I've always been honest and upright. I respect my elders and care for my fellow disciples. This Soul-Nourishing Pill took me forty-nine days to refine..."
[Nonsense. It took three.]
Qi Qingji choked.
The smile on his face almost cracked.
Seeing Qi Qingxiong's increasingly hostile expression, he subconsciously swallowed.
If he didn't think of something soon, he really might die here.
Truthfully, he had felt guilty back then.
When he learned that Qi Qingxiong had publicly embarrassed himself because of the pill, he had even considered confessing.
But every time he imagined the consequences, he instinctively avoided the issue.
"Brother Qingxiong, believe me."
Under the pressure of that terrifying gaze, Qi Qingji looked close to tears.
"I swear my heart is completely on your side!"
Those Bigu Pills had been the very first pills he successfully refined. Aside from the ones he gave Qi Qingxiong, he had personally eaten the rest.
His intentions had genuinely been good.
Unfortunately, shortly afterward, he suffered diarrhea for ten straight days.
To this day, he remained impressed that Qi Qingxiong had only endured three.
Later, he discovered that nearly every pill he refined developed some sort of unusual side effect.
And then he remembered his cousin's astonishingly durable physique...
[If he really used Qi Qingxiong as a test subject, I'm going to laugh myself to death.]
Qi Qingji: "..."
Senior, please stop talking.
He was genuinely about to cry.
The words test subject echoed endlessly in Qi Qingxiong's mind.
A smile gradually spread across his face, revealing a flash of white teeth.
Yet that smile carried not the slightest trace of warmth. If anything, it looked downright sinister.
"Qingji..."
His voice was so gentle that it made Qi Qingji's scalp tingle.
"I just remembered something. Over the years, you've given me quite a few pills."
He paused, as though genuinely thinking back.
"And now that I think about it..." His smile deepened. "Every single time I took one, something strange happened afterward."
His gaze settled on Qi Qingji.
"That wasn't a coincidence, was it?"
Qi Qingji nearly shook his head off.
"No! Of course not! The pills I refine are perfectly fine!"
Seeing Qi Qingxiong's expression darken further, he hurriedly added, "Really! Why would I do something like that?"
He forced out a laugh that sounded more strained than convincing.
"Brother Qingxiong, have you considered that the problem might be... your cultivation technique?"
Brother Qingxiong looks terrifying. I absolutely cannot admit anything.
[Did Qi Qingxiong already suspect something?]
[That's understandable. After enough coincidences, anyone would start realizing they'd been tricked.]
[One pill made him suddenly lose focus and trip over nothing. Another caused his body hair to grow wildly until he looked like a savage...]
A storm gathered in Qi Qingxiong's eyes.
All these years, he had assumed those incidents were caused by problems with his cultivation.
Never once had he suspected Qi Qingji.
Every time Qi Qingji sent him pills, he had been genuinely moved.
He trusted him completely.
Not only did he take every pill without hesitation, he even supplied Qi Qingji with spirit stones to support his alchemy.
After all, everyone knew alchemy burned through money like water.
And now, Qi Qingji had used his spirit stones to refine experimental pills, then used him as the test subject.
A vein throbbed violently at Qi Qingxiong's temple.
I'm going to kill him.
Even if the Heavenly King himself descended today, nobody was saving Qi Qingji.
The tip of the Qingfeng Sword rose and settled at Qi Qingji's throat.
"Qingji." His voice was frighteningly calm. "It's been a long time since we brothers sparred."
Qi Qingji immediately felt his scalp go numb.
Qi Qingxiong continued coldly, "Since I happen to be free today, let's have a proper match."
The sword tip shifted forward slightly.
"I'll even give you time to prepare. Three breaths."
Qi Qingji stared at him as if he had been struck by lightning.
After confirming that his cousin was completely serious, he forced out an ugly smile and carefully reached toward the sword.
"Brother, let's talk this through."
The moment the Qingfeng Sword shifted, he immediately withdrew his hand.
"I'm no match for you, you know that." He laughed nervously. "Besides, we're still in the middle of the trial. The competition is more important."
His mind raced.
"We can discuss sparring after we get out. I'll definitely—"
The Qingfeng Sword trembled.
A burst of sword energy exploded outward and slapped his hand away.
Qi Qingxiong's gaze was as cold as ice.
"Enough. You have two breaths left."
Qi Qingji nearly cried.
"Brother, I really don't want to fight you! You can't force me!"
"One breath."
"No—!"
The disciples of Cloud Soaring Sect and Star Pavilion instantly retreated.
Far.
Very far.
Senior Brother Qi had clearly gone berserk.
The last thing they wanted was to become collateral damage. It was better to let the two cousins settle things themselves.
Si Nidie clapped excitedly.
The show was finally starting.
At the exact moment Qi Qingji let out his anguished scream, countless talismans exploded from his storage bag.
Streams of light whirled around him, overlapping one after another as layer upon layer of defensive formations rapidly took shape.
In the blink of an eye, they condensed into a massive protective barrier more than two zhang thick, completely enveloping him.
Everyone stared.
That many defensive talismans...
He wasn't fighting anymore.
He was setting spirit stones on fire.
Qi Qingxiong's divine sense locked onto him.
Then he swung his sword.
The strike looked simple.
The sword aura it produced was anything but.
A sharp whistle tore through the air as the blade's energy split the wind apart and shot forward. The distance between them vanished in an instant.
Boom!
The sword aura crashed headlong into the defensive barrier.
What a fast sword.
Even Si Nidie couldn't help marveling inwardly.
The sword energy punched straight through the barrier.
Under Qi Qingji's horrified gaze, it continued forward, carving through everything in its path before finally dissipating after exhausting its momentum.
Qi Qingji let out a shaky breath, but the relief didn't last long.
A serious look settled over his face.
His cousin's swordsmanship had improved again.
For a brief moment, he had genuinely believed that single strike would break through his defenses and end the fight.
Unfortunately, Qi Qingxiong had no intention of giving him time to recover.
He didn't even glance at the result of the first attack.
Another sword strike followed immediately.
Then another.
Then another.
Sword energy swept across the valley in an unbroken torrent, wave after wave crashing toward Qi Qingji.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The defensive barrier shuddered violently under the relentless bombardment.
Cracks spread rapidly across its surface like a spiderweb, multiplying with every impact until the entire structure could no longer withstand the pressure.
With a deafening crash, the barrier exploded into countless fragments of light.
Yet the sword energy did not stop.
The remaining attacks tore straight through the collapsing brilliance and continued toward Qi Qingji.
Fortunately, the barrier had bought him enough time.
A jade-green bead appeared in his hand.
As spiritual energy flowed into it, the bead expanded into a second defensive barrier that wrapped tightly around him.
The remaining sword energy crashed against the green barrier and gradually dissipated.
"Brother, I was wrong!"
Qi Qingji surrendered instantly.
Unfortunately, admitting defeat did little to ease his anxiety.
He knew exactly how guilty he was.
If he simply stood there and took the beating, there was still a chance Qi Qingxiong might vent his anger and calm down afterward.
If he actually fought back...
Qi Qingji didn't dare imagine the consequences.
[Qi Qingxiong's physique really is impressive. After consuming so many of Qi Qingji's pills, he's still alive.]
[And this Soul-Nourishing Pill is especially dangerous.]
[While it can expand the sea of consciousness and strengthen the soul, it also comes with a side effect.]
[Hair loss.]
Qi Qingxiong froze.
A chill ran straight down his spine.
[According to the original plot, he was supposed to take it during the second arena match. Once the effects kicked in... he'd lose every last strand of hair.]
[His glorious bald head would become famous throughout all Seven Sects.]
Qi Qingxiong froze.
For a brief moment, the valley fell deathly silent.
Then his eyes turned red.
"QI QINGJI—!"
The roar exploded across the valley like thunder.
"GET OUT HERE!"
His voice was filled with murderous fury.
"STOP HIDING BEHIND THOSE DEFENSIVE TREASURES! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Qi Qingji looked up at the sky, his eyes brimming with tears.
For the first time in his life, he sincerely hoped the heavens would show mercy.
Someone.
Anyone.
Please leave him a path to survival.