Chapter 56: Do Not Think I Dare Not Strike

Then, as if recalling something, he slapped his forehead and turned his gaze toward Pei Linfeng, who was long since dazed and distraught, grinning broadly.

“Oh, right. Senior Brother Pei, an hour is up. Thanks for your two hundred contribution points.”

Chu Xing shook the identity token in his hand and strode directly in front of the stunned Pei Linfeng, handing it over.

“Shouldn’t the remaining three hundred points be settled as well?”

He looked at Pei Linfeng's vacant expression, puzzled.

Could it be that seeing him come out unharmed, he intended to renege on the payment?

Yet Pei Linfeng remained with lifeless eyes and half-open mouth, standing there like a fool, utterly unresponsive to his words.

Chu Xing’s brow furrowed, his smile fading, and a trace of displeasure crept into his tone.

“Senior Brother Pei? What do you mean by this? I risked my life to stay inside for a full hour, and now I’m here to collect what’s owed—it’s only fair. You wouldn’t want to shirk this mere three hundred contribution points in front of Elder Fu and the other disciples, would you?”

Though his voice was low, it sounded like thunderclaps cracking through the silent crowd!

Still, Pei Linfeng remained motionless, as if six of his seven souls had vanished.

Increasingly bewildered, Chu Xing thought this wasn’t about evading payment—it looked more like... he’d been scared senseless.

He turned to look at Mu Wanqing beside him.

The usually aloof senior sister was now staring blankly at him, her beautiful eyes shimmering with tears, her red-rimmed eyes still marked with traces of dried tears.

Chu Xing’s heart skipped a beat. Why was she crying? Had Pei Linfeng bullied her?

He then glanced toward Fu Lingchuan.

The head of the Alchemy Hall wore a solemn expression, eyes locked on him with a mix of inquiry and incomprehensible shock.

Chu Xing was even more confused.

Lastly, his gaze swept over the surrounding alchemy disciples.

All of them, men and women alike, looked as if they had seen a ghost—mouths agape, eyes wide with fear and reverence.

What on earth was happening?

Scratching his head, Chu Xing was full of question marks.

Wasn’t it just spending an hour inside the ruins? Was it really necessary for everyone to look so shaken? Could it be that the secret of the Myriad Pill Spirit Liquid was already out?

Unable to understand, he decided it was best not to dwell on it.

The most important thing now was to get those three hundred contribution points.

“Ahem!”

Chu Xing cleared his throat and fixed his gaze once more on Pei Linfeng.

“Senior Brother Pei! A bet’s a bet! Five hundred contribution points, not a single one less! If you keep playing dumb, don’t blame me for taking action!”

That sharp rebuke was like a bucket of cold water, finally waking Pei Linfeng from his trance!

“Ah!”

He awoke as if from a dream, staggering back two steps.

“You... you...” He pointed at Chu Xing but couldn’t form a complete sentence for a long time.

“What ‘you’?” Chu Xing stepped forward, thrusting the token in front of him coldly. “Settle the account! Don’t think I’m a pill refiner and won’t dare to get physical!”

Pei Linfeng’s face turned deathly pale, his teeth clenched tightly, as if his face had been torn off in public. Yet under the all-seeing gazes, he had no choice but to produce his own token and swipe it against Chu Xing’s.

“Thanks for your generosity, Senior Brother Pei.”

Chu Xing withdrew his token with satisfaction, heart swelling with relief at the extra five hundred contribution points—more than five hundred, in fact!

Unable to bear the immense humiliation any longer, Pei Linfeng cast a venomous glare at Chu Xing, then pushed through the crowd and fled in disgrace.

Fu Lingchuan had not intervened once, only stepping forward slowly after Pei Linfeng had escaped.

“Did you really stay inside for a full hour?”

This question silenced the murmurs that had just begun to fade. Everyone perked up their ears—it was their biggest doubt as well.

Chu Xing met Fu Lingchuan’s extremely serious gaze, his heart skipping a beat.

On his face, he dared not betray a hint of anxiety, but inside he was calculating rapidly.

Had he made too big a fuss just now? Not only did he swallow that Blood Curse Spirit, but he also took the entire pool of Myriad Pill Spirit Liquid... If discovered, this wouldn’t be something a few contribution points could fix.

A cold sweat broke out on his back, but he steeled himself and nodded honestly.

“Yes, disciple stayed inside for exactly one hour, no more, no less.”

The casual tone caused a twitch at the corner of Fu Lingchuan’s eye.

He looked at Chu Xing deeply, as if trying to see through him from inside out. A disciple at the Body Refining Realm staying in such a place for an hour and speaking so lightly?

It made no sense!

Fu Lingchuan said no more, for words seemed futile. He needed to see with his own eyes.

In an instant, his figure became a streak of light, vanishing into the ruins!

The crowd erupted in a stir again—no one expected Elder Fu to personally investigate.

Chu Xing watched Fu Lingchuan’s disappearing back, his heart plummeting.

This was bad!

He cursed silently—he had cleaned out the place too thoroughly. If Elder Fu took a look, suspicion was inevitable!

Inside the ruins.

Fu Lingchuan pressed forward swiftly, his heart a storm of turmoil.

Something was wrong! Terribly wrong!

He expected to see the ruins overrun with alchemical curses and resentments, yet the reality was that the alchemical curses and malice had... truly vanished!

Only the purest herbal fragrance lingered in the air; the coldness and madness that had plagued this place for thirty years were completely gone!

He soon arrived before the half-collapsed alchemy hall. Seeing the quietly standing bronze alchemy furnace, his pupils suddenly contracted!

So clean!

Too clean!

The eerie blood-red runes on the furnace had completely faded, lifeless as if dead. Not a trace of alchemical curse energy could be sensed on the surrounding ground!

A Body Refining disciple not only survived but had completely purified this place of its alchemical curses?

How was that possible!

Fu Lingchuan’s figure reappeared outside the ruins.

His gaze toward Chu Xing had completely changed—shock, gravity, confusion all intertwined.

When Fu Lingchuan’s gaze, heavy as substance itself, locked onto him again, Chu Xing felt a chill run down his spine.

Suppressing his panic, he forced on an even more innocent expression.

“Boy, I’ll ask you again—what happened to the alchemical curses inside?”

Chu Xing grumbled inwardly but feigned ignorance.

“Alchemical curses? Haven’t they always been like that inside?”

...

Fu Lingchuan was momentarily speechless at that retort.

“Haven’t always been like that?”

Nonsense!

Outside just moments ago, the overwhelming resentment was still clearly palpable! No one knew better than Fu Lingchuan how the place looked before Chu Xing went in!

This boy was playing dumb with him!

Yet reason told Fu Lingchuan that the alchemical curses, entrenched for thirty years, could not have been so thoroughly cleansed by a mere Body Refining disciple, nor even by himself—otherwise, they wouldn’t have persisted for three decades.

But reality had dealt him a harsh slap—the alchemical curses were gone, and the only person who entered was this boy before him!