The Martyrdom

Where Qin Ran's half-head was grabbed off by Feng Feiyan's claw, another Qin Ran materialized out of thin air. He caught the half-head, then took out a bloody Universe Bag from it.

Holding the head, he turned and left, moving away from the explosion site. That Universe Bag contained quite a few Death Notice Pills he had put in. With this blast, everything within a radius of several hundred meters would be devoid of life for a long time. He had to get farther away.

The Death Notice Pill was something he came up with when researching the Longevity Pill. He seriously suspected that this pill formula had already touched upon the mysteries between life and death, like that so-called life equation or something. Because life and death were intrinsically part of the same realm.

A real man doesn't look back at an explosion site, that's just the way it is. He was afraid he would be poisoned to death by his own pills.

Qin Ran strode through the forest, hugging his own half head. Behind him, the Death Notice Pills mixed with Earth Flame Pills exploded in the azure sky, blossoming like a magnificent mandala flower.

Beautiful, alluring, deadly!

At the same time, it also marked the death of Qin Ran No. 2, the second Nascent Soul split body to die. It had lived at least one more day than the first one.

So when did Qin Ran make the replacement?

Clearly, the one who first appeared at the Chief Alchemy Hall's door was a split body. The split body carried a bag of Earth Flame Pills and Death Notice Pills together with Feng Feiyan, heading to Zhican Valley.

That was why this Qin Ran didn't open the mountain-guarding grand array with his own prestigious sect elder identity token. He didn't have an identity token, the real identity token was on his original body that tailed them on the ground.

That was also why this Qin Ran was not afraid of heights. This split body didn't obtain that excellent ability from the original body.

That was also why this Qin Ran didn't fear poison. Because he already knew it would be hard for him to survive.

That was also why this Qin Ran was said by that Zhican Valley disciple to have a weak physique and timid soul. His flesh was just a water-element mystic art of the original body, and his soul merely a bit of the original body's Nascent Soul.

That was also why this Qin Ran did not fear death...

Having travelled the route once, Qin Ran remembered the way. He soon returned to the Dao Sword Sect. Fearing being tailed, he took some detours, but still entered the Chief Alchemy Hall before 5pm.

He really didn't go back to check out the explosion site, because he didn't actually care whether the others lived or died, as long as Feng Feiyan was dead. And Feng Feiyan was undoubtedly dead.

Qin Ran walked into the Chief Alchemy Hall. Seeing it was him who returned, Ke Yue's expression changed slightly, realizing something was amiss. She hurriedly asked, "Elder Qin, where is Feiyan?"

Qin Ran's footsteps halted, then he stopped and his face gradually revealed grief, followed by tears falling down his cheeks.

"Feiyan... Feiyan, we were ambushed by bandits..." he cried out, "To cover my escape, Feiyan died in battle!"

He wept as he came to the main table and flung out a bloody Universe Bag onto it with a "plop" sound.

Ke Yue looked over. That Universe Bag was drenched in blood, looking like it had indeed gone through a life-and-death struggle. She also noticed Qin Ran's pale complexion, which also seemed like he was injured internally.

Seeing Qin Ran's grieved appearance, she found it hard to judge if they really encountered bandits, or if Feng Feiyan made a move and got killed instead. But given Qin Ran's consummate acting skills, she leaned towards the former.

"These damned bandits!" she also cried, recalling Feng Feiyan's kindness and gentleness, overcome by sorrow. "We haven't run into bandits for decades, how could we suddenly encounter them? Cursed free cultivators, cursed state of the world!"

Grief-stricken, she was unable to stand steadily for a while and had to be supported by Shi Yuan before sitting down in Feng Feiyan's seat, though she continued cursing and wiping her tears.

Qin Ran only wept twice before stopping. He sat down in his own seat, glanced at Ke Yue's performance, then turned to look at Yan Yi...

Where was Yan Yi?

When he first entered, he didn't see Yan Yi, and still didn't see him now. He searched the hall again but still couldn't find Yan Yi.

Qin Ran always tended to think the worst. He realized something and sat there with a gloomy expression. He asked Shi Yuan, "Where is Yan Yi?"

"Don't know. That guy probably skipped work since Elder wasn't here today." Shi Yuan shook his head.

Unfortunately, his psychological quality was lacking. His eyes darted around when lying, eventually not even daring to meet Qin Ran's gaze.

So Qin Ran confirmed in his heart that while planning to kill him, the Chief Alchemy Hall also made a move on Yan Yi who had warned him to be careful... He just didn't know if it was just teaching him a lesson, or...

"Where does Yan Yi live?" he asked Shi Yuan.

"He's an outer disciple, doesn't belong to the Master Peak, so I don't know where he lives either." Shi Yuan replied.

But they had done something to Yan Yi, how could they not know where he lived?

Qin Ran wanted to get angry and massacre the entire Chief Alchemy Hall... But ultimately he didn't do so...

"I'm going out for a bit." He said, then carried the blood-drenched Universe Bag and left. Ke Yue didn't know the blood on the Universe Bag was Qin Ran's blood.

Qin Ran didn't go looking for Yan Yi first, but went to see the Sect Leader instead.

"Sect Leader, I'm back." He greeted the Sect Leader.

"You returned safely?" Sect Leader Gu Yueming opened his eyes, looked him up and down, and seeing only paleness but no major issues, nodded with a smile. "Not bad, very skillful."

"There's nothing else really, just ran into some bandits and lost a Chief Alchemy Hall executive." Qin Ran said.

"The one responsible for recording for Jian Yuanjie?" Gu Yueming asked. "You can find another one yourself in the future."

"Sect Leader, you mean..." Qin Ran frowned. "I'll be in charge of the Chief Alchemist position from now on?"

"Unwilling?"

As a shut-in, Qin Ran was very unwilling. He was silent for a good while before saying, "I'll continue sitting there for now."

Seeing Qin Ran, Gu Yueming shook his head with a laugh. He gestured for Qin Ran to show him the pills.

Qin Ran respectfully presented the Universe Bag to Gu Yueming with both hands. Gu Yueming took the Universe Bag and rummaged inside, taking out a bottle of pills to pour out and look at. He laughed, "Now that's more like it!"

Seeing this, Qin Ran secretly ridiculed him for showing off some low-grade pills when he didn't know anything about pills.

Gu Yueming checked the pills, and also opened a bag of spiritual herbs, taking out a ginseng root. Looking at Qin Ran, he laughed and scolded, "Not bad Chief Alchemist Qin, abusing your power for personal gain!"

"Oh no, I didn't put it away right away." Qin Ran's expression changed slightly. He hurriedly smiled at Gu Yueming, "This is for research, refining new pills."

Gu Yueming casually rummaged a bit more before putting everything back and tossing the Universe Bag back to Qin Ran. "Distribute these next month then!"

"Yes, Sect Leader!" Qin Ran saluted. Then he hesitated and asked, "Sect Leader, look, I narrowly escaped death this time. Is there no consolation prize for surviving disaster? (I risked life and limb for the Dao Sword Sect, resolving such a huge problem, is there no reward?)"

"Wanting to wheedle benefits again?" Gu Yueming laughed angrily, pointing at him and scolding, "Good ol' honest Qin Ran, who would've thought you're also such a scheming villain."

"How could Sect Leader say that..." Qin Ran was a little embarrassed. "Nevermind, I don't want anything."

He headed towards the cave exit as he spoke, but suddenly turned back when he reached the doorway and asked Gu Yueming, "Sect Leader, where does Chief Alchemy Hall clerk Yan Yi live?"