Undercover

Nangong Xin was a disciple of Zhican Valley. He studied pill refining in Zhican Valley and later practiced it in the Boundless Sword Sect.

He was a rather peculiar individual.

Essential life skills—laundry, cooking, bathing, cleaning, grooming—he had mastered none of them. Or rather, he had no interest in learning, deeming such things unimportant.

Coupled with his introverted and reclusive nature, his social skills were virtually nonexistent. As a result, he mostly kept to himself in Zhican Valley, with few, if any, friends.

One might ask, "Ah, someone like this must be a genius, right?!"

Yes, and no.

He was a genius in the sense that his talent for pill refining was undeniable, with insights so profound they could even draw Qin Ran's attention. Yet he was no genius when it came to cultivation—after years of effort, he remained stuck at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Had it not been for Zhican Valley's abundant resources, forcibly pushing him to Foundation Establishment with pills, he might never have even stepped onto the path of cultivation.

Zhican Valley strongly suspected his stagnant cultivation was due to sheer disinterest, much like his indifference to personal grooming. After all, his spiritual root was of superior grade—someone like that should have no trouble reaching Foundation Establishment.

Such a person left Zhican Valley in a dilemma: useless to keep, yet too valuable to discard. By the time Zhican Valley fell, they still hadn’t decided what to do with him.

Uncertain of how to utilize Nangong Xin, they simply delayed the decision—until Qin Ran bombarded Zhican Valley with Death Notice Pills, igniting all-out war between Zhican Valley and the Dao Sword Sect.

With his meager cultivation, Nangong Xin was naturally excluded from the frontlines. Instead, his extensive knowledge of pill refining made him ideal for staying behind, a contingency in case Zhican Valley needed to rebuild after defeat.

…Little did anyone know Zhican Valley would never get that chance.

Among the many alchemists left behind, Nangong Xin was unremarkable, drawing no attention—until he began studying the spiritual fields ravaged by Death Notice Pills. Mere research wouldn’t have raised eyebrows, but his methodology was alarmingly precise, as if he understood the pills intimately.

And so, the eccentric madman who dabbled in the Death Notice Pills left behind by the Faceless Poison Monarch was branded an "accomplice," a label he could never shake.

He protested, claiming his goal was to neutralize the deathly residue and purify the spiritual fields, but no one listened. He was thrown into prison.

Yet this imprisonment saved his life.

Within days, the "Fate" organization raided Zhican Valley, slaughtering and pillaging without restraint.

Had this deranged Foundation Establishment alchemist been found by them, they would’ve cut him down without a second thought.

Fortunately, his cell kept him hidden. Instead of "Fate," it was the scavenging Boundless Sword Sect that discovered him.

"Fate" had seized countless alchemists in their raid—a mere Foundation Establishment pill refiner was beneath their notice.

But the Boundless Sword Sect was different. Poor and desperate, they had no standards—any alchemist was worth taking.

And so, Nangong Xin was taken away by them.

Now, he refined pills for the Boundless Sword Sect.

His skills, honed in Zhican Valley, went unused by his former sect—only to serve the very force that destroyed it. A bitter irony.

Though his cultivation was low, Nangong Xin possessed deep insight into pill dao. Any pill within the Foundation Establishment realm, he could refine—and far better than most.

Thus, the oddball outcast of Zhican Valley thrived in the Boundless Sword Sect, even earning the favor of Jian Wuming.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

He had arrived under the fiercest sun; now, the coldest frost gripped the land.

Perched on the Boundless Sword Sect’s high cliffs, he gazed at the razor-sharp winds howling below, his thoughts a tangled mess.

If asked whether he was truly the Faceless Poison Monarch’s accomplice, the answer would be:

Yes, and no.

Yes, because he did understand Death Notice Pills—taught to him by the Poison Monarch himself. No, because at the time, he hadn’t known it was the Death Notice Pill, nor that his teacher was the Poison Monarch.

…He hadn’t even known who the Faceless Poison Monarch was.

The one who gave him the pill formula was a dying stranger, and the formula itself wasn’t a conventional recipe. It was more of a pharmacological theory—not a list of ingredients and steps, but an explanation of how certain reactions between substances could generate "death."

Fascinated, he had studied it extensively, though he never experimented himself.

When the Faceless Poison Monarch appeared before Nangong Xin again, the latter didn’t recognize him. Glancing over, Nangong Xin—drawing on his expertise—offered a well-meaning warning: "Your soul is fractured, your body frail. You won’t live long."

His memory was sharp, but he couldn’t be bothered to recall an insignificant face.

Qin Ran studied Nangong Xin—still scrawny, still disheveled, still indifferent to appearances—and chuckled at the unpredictability of fate.

He had given Nangong Xin the Death Notice Pill formula hoping this obsessive scholar would recklessly experiment in Zhican Valley, causing minor havoc.

He never imagined Nangong Xin would lack the materials to even attempt it. The first time the alchemist saw a Death Notice Pill in action was when Qin Ran rained them down on Zhican Valley.

"Why did they beat you this time?" Qin Ran asked.

Nangong Xin was often bullied—by Boundless Sword Sect disciples, by former Zhican Valley alchemists. His social standing hadn’t improved.

Crouched on the frozen cliff edge, buffeted by gales that threatened to hurl him into the abyss, he seemed perilously close to disaster.

He glanced at Qin Ran but didn’t answer.

They needed no reason to hit him. Or rather, his mere presence was reason enough.

"I am Li Changshou, also a disciple of Zhican Valley," Qin Ran said, stepping closer with a polite bow. "Might I ask your esteemed name?"

"I’m Nangong Xin," he replied listlessly.

Then, turning his bruised face slightly, he added, "But you’re definitely not from Zhican Valley. If you were, you’d know me. I was quite famous there."

"I am an alchemist of Zhican Valley," Qin Ran replied with a smile. "My pill-refining skills are exceptional."

"Relax, I won’t expose you… Zhican Valley is gone anyway," Nangong Xin muttered. "But being good at refining pills doesn’t mean you understand pill dao. Anyone can follow a recipe and mash herbs together.

"Tch. Pill dao doesn’t matter here in the Boundless Sword Sect."

His words were disjointed, but Qin Ran grasped his meaning—most alchemists knew the how, not the why.

"So," Qin Ran asked, "is your understanding of pill dao profound?"

"Of course, it's very high. In all of Zhican Valley, few surpass my understanding of the Dao of Alchemy," Nangong Xin declared with confidence.

"But you're only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment?"

"Understanding the Dao of Alchemy has nothing to do with cultivation level," Nangong Xin replied. "There are many elders in the valley with high cultivation who teach alchemy daily, yet they don’t truly comprehend it themselves."

Qin Ran thought of his own situation—after inheriting the legacy of the Waterflame Demon, his alchemy skills... his grasp of the Dao of Alchemy far exceeded his current cultivation strength.

"True," he nodded, acknowledging Nangong Xin’s words, then asked, "Which do you think is better—Zhican Valley or the Boundless Sword Sect?"

"Is there even a question? Naturally, Zhican Valley."

Qin Ran was puzzled. "But when you were in Zhican Valley, didn’t the people there bully you too?"

"Zhican Valley had books to read, and sometimes I could gather herbs to refine pills myself. The Boundless Sword Sect has none of that," Nangong Xin answered. "Here, I’m just an alchemy puppet—soulless, with no room for my own thoughts. Day and night, I refine pills without pause, leaving no time to study the Dao of Alchemy."

"If you could return to Zhican Valley, would you?" Qin Ran asked.

Nangong Xin shook his head. "I can’t go back. Zhican Valley is gone."

"Since Zhican Valley is gone, you must create your own," Qin Ran said to him. "A better Zhican Valley—one purely dedicated to the study of alchemy, free from distractions."

Nangong Xin lifted his head and looked at Qin Ran. "How?"

"First..." Qin Ran pointed beyond the cliff. "You must find a way to leave this place."

Nangong Xin followed his gesture and asked, "How do I leave?"

"You need allies... you need strength..." Qin Ran said. "You must break free from the Boundless Sword Sect. They are merely swordsmen—they don’t understand alchemy."

"But..." Nangong Xin clenched his fist. "I’m only at mid-stage Foundation Establishment. I have no strength."

Qin Ran stood up, pointed at his own head, and smiled. "An alchemist’s strength lies in pills. Pills empower allies; poisons destroy enemies.

"With your profound understanding of the Dao of Alchemy, why not turn it into power?"

As he listened, Nangong Xin’s eyes brightened, and he rose alongside Qin Ran.

At that moment, his frail and disheveled figure stood at the cliff’s edge, battered by the howling wind, yet radiating an unshakable resolve. A spark of fire ignited within him.

"Pills... poison..." He thought of the blackened spirit fields of Zhican Valley and murmured, "Use pills to unite allies, poison to slay enemies. Poison..."

Meanwhile, halfway up the mountain of the Boundless Sword Sect, two figures flew toward the sect’s exit.

"I don’t understand what the sect is thinking, sending me to gather spirit herbs again. A dignified swordsman like me, reduced to running errands for those alchemists—am I their herb slave?" Sword Immortal Kong Xuan sneered. "Is this the Boundless Sword Sect, or the Alchemists’ Sword Sect?"

"Uncle-Master, lower your voice!" A young disciple beside him hastily urged. "If the Sect Leader hears, it won’t end well."

"The Sect Leader?" Sword Immortal Kong Xuan scoffed. "Is he the leader of the Boundless Sword Sect or the valley master of Zhican Valley? Is he Qiu Huahui reincarnated, or her kept man? The way he favors those Zhican Valley alchemists!"

"Perhaps it’s a strategic decision?" the young disciple ventured. "Alchemists must be more important for the sect’s growth. It’s only natural the Sect Leader would favor them."

"We are a sword sect! How can alchemists be more important than swordsmen?" Sword Immortal Kong Xuan snapped. "The Sect Leader has lost his mind."

"Lost his mind?" The disciple hesitated, then mused, "The Sect Leader has always been wise and decisive—never making mistakes. But ever since the alchemists arrived, he’s been biased, making errors..."

"Hmph! Isn’t it obvious?" Sword Immortal Kong Xuan said. "Alchemists are cunning and deceitful. They must have whispered poisonous words to bewitch him."

"I thought the same, but the Sect Leader is a supreme swordsman—his will is unshakable. How could he be bewitched?" The disciple speculated. "Unless... the alchemists refined a mind-controlling pill. Could the Sect Leader be drugged?"

"No doubt—he’s poisoned!" Sword Immortal Kong Xuan clenched his fist. "Those black-hearted alchemists excel at brewing toxins. I always said they couldn’t be trusted!"

He turned to rush back and confront the Sect Leader.

But before he could move, the young disciple stopped him.

"Uncle-Master, don’t act rashly!" the disciple warned. "If the Sect Leader is already under their control, you’d be walking to your doom!"

Sword Immortal Kong Xuan froze, realizing the truth. "You’re right. If I go like this, he’ll dismiss me and punish me for disrupting relations with the alchemists."

He turned to the disciple. "What should we do, then?"

"In the mortal world, when an emperor is misled by villains, corrupting governance, righteous officials rise under the banner of ‘cleansing the court’ to save the nation."

The young disciple continued, "Now that the Sect Leader is bewitched, plunging the Boundless Sword Sect into chaos, it’s time for noble and clear-minded individuals like you, Uncle-Master, to cleanse the court!"

"Cleanse the court?" Sword Immortal Kong Xuan’s eyes gleamed. "Yes! The Sect Leader is ensnared by those scheming alchemists from Zhican Valley. We must purge them and restore the Boundless Sword Sect to its rightful glory!"

The disciple nodded, smiling. "This isn’t a task for one person. Uncle-Master should gather like-minded allies to stand against Zhican Valley’s wicked alchemists.

"If the Sect Leader is already lost, we must rise to save the Boundless Sword Sect. We cannot let those treacherous alchemists usurp our home. The Boundless Sword Sect is ours!"

"The Boundless Sword Sect is ours!" Sword Immortal Kong Xuan affirmed fiercely.

"Uncle-Master, you must act cautiously," the disciple advised. "Avoid alerting the Sect Leader, lest he punish you."

"Of course," Sword Immortal Kong Xuan snorted. "Many already despise those alchemists—strutting around like they own the sect. It’s time they learn who truly rules the Boundless Sword Sect."

With that, the two didn’t immediately seek allies but continued their errand—gathering spirit herbs for those "esteemed" alchemists.