Chapter Forty-Five: The Great Spirit Gathering Pill

Chapter Forty-Five: The Great Gathering Spirit Pill

Wu Jue knelt on the ground, his eyes utterly devoid of spirit; this time, his defeat was absolute. The Mad Dog Camp brothers who surrounded him were all buzzing with excitement. They were eager for another round of group kicks, just like when they kicked the Sky Demon to death—this time, they wanted to do the same to Wu Jue.

Chu Jie stepped forward and spoke to the Mad Dog Camp lads, “You can give him a proper welcome. Let him know the might of our Mad Dog Camp. But don’t kill him—I still have use for him.”

“Yes, Boss!” The little brothers, still fired up from watching Chu Jie’s battle, had long been itching to act. This was a golden opportunity for them: a master at the Gathering Spirit level, ripe for their abuse.

Wails echoed without cease. For a master to end up in this sorry state—well, he had only himself to blame. To run headlong into Chu Jie was courting death.

Chu Jie felt a pang of hunger. He grabbed a chunk of roasted serpent from the spit and tore into it with large bites. As the meat entered his belly, he felt a continuous warmth of spiritual energy flowing into his limbs and bones. He hadn’t realized before, but after combat, eating the Xuanwind Serpent’s meat doubled the effect. This delighted Chu Jie. Clearly, he needed to alter his brothers’ training methods going forward.

The area was originally shielded by several rocks, blocking the wind, but during the recent battle, Chu Jie had shattered one of them. Now, gusts of the Nine Heavens’ Fierce Wind swept in, chilling everyone’s clothes.

After finishing the last piece of serpent, Chu Jie stood up. He hadn’t expected the Xuanwind Serpent’s meat not only to enhance constitution but also to hasten the recovery of spiritual power. He was well pleased, especially since his Savage God Cauldron still held seventy or eighty more Xuanwind Serpents. If word got out, people would risk life and limb to seize them. These serpents, which could strengthen one’s body, were highly coveted, each worth a small fortune.

Yet Chu Jie intended to use them all to cultivate himself and his followers. His own needs were modest; the rest would go to his brothers. He was eager to see them grow strong, for only then could he achieve his goals faster.

“Stop kicking! Enough, enough! I have a treasure for your boss—let me go!” Wu Jue’s pleas for mercy rang out.

Chu Jie approached to see Wu Jue’s white robe now tattered and filthy; he looked nothing like a martial artist, more like a beggar.

Wu Jue crawled to Chu Jie’s feet. “Spare me! I’ll give you all the treasures I carry!”

“If I don’t spare you, your treasures are mine regardless.” Chu Jie sneered and signaled for his men to search him.

Moments later, a little brother found a small black box at Wu Jue’s waist, no bigger than a palm. It looked exquisite, and what caught Chu Jie’s eye was that, despite the fierce battle, the box was entirely undamaged.

Chu Jie took it and weighed it in his palm, but did not open it at once. Opening it rashly could be a trap—who knew what mechanisms lay within?

“What is this?” Chu Jie stepped forward, grasped Wu Jue by the throat, and lifted him off the ground.

Wu Jue managed a ghastly smile.

Chu Jie landed a punch on him. Wu Jue, face contorted in pain, finally spoke: “Inside is a pill—a Great Gathering Yuan Pill, meant for a Gathering Spirit realm martial artist. This one pill holds the medicinal power of over two hundred Gathering Spirit Herbs. It’s incredibly potent.”

Chu Jie tried to open the box, but it would not budge. The little black box seemed sealed by some special method, requiring a unique means to unlock.

“Don’t waste your effort,” Wu Jue said with a forced laugh, though his face was ashen. “Without the special technique, you’ll never open it. If you try to force it, the box and the pill inside will be destroyed together.”

“Oh? So you mean to bargain with me?” Chu Jie instantly saw through Wu Jue’s ploy.

Wu Jue forced a smile. “I wouldn’t dare. I only hope that if you spare me, I’ll tell you how to open it.”

Chu Jie considered this. “I can spare you, but not now. I’ll give you a chance to escape. The choice is yours.”

Wu Jue’s expression clouded, but in the end, he relented and told Chu Jie the method to unlock the box.

Following Wu Jue’s instructions, Chu Jie opened the box. A rich medicinal fragrance drifted out, and as Chu Jie inhaled, he immediately sensed the astonishing spiritual energy contained in the Great Gathering Spirit Pill.

“Very good. This is an excellent pill—I’ll accept it,” Chu Jie said. Then, in a flash, he struck Wu Jue’s dantian with overpowering force, sending tyrannical spiritual energy into it.

A brilliant light erupted from Wu Jue’s dantian—it was utterly destroyed.

“You—you…” Wu Jue’s face turned deathly pale; his spirit collapsed. With his dantian ruined, he was now a cripple, destined for a quick end. Even if Chu Jie gave him a chance to flee, he might not escape with his life.

“I never said you’d leave unharmed. But I’ll still give you your chance to run,” Chu Jie said flatly.

Wu Jue suddenly lifted his head and hissed through clenched teeth, “You’ll regret this. You have no idea who you’ve provoked.”

“Oh? And who might that be? Honestly, it doesn’t matter. I have many enemies—what’s one more?” Chu Jie replied calmly.

He suspected this Great Gathering Spirit Pill was meant for someone else, and now that he'd taken it, trouble would surely follow.

Wu Jue snorted and fell silent, clearly unwilling to speak further. He wanted nothing more than to see Chu Jie slaughtered—why would he give him any warning?

Seeing Wu Jue’s silence, Chu Jie didn’t press him. He handed him over to his men for strict watch, then found a quiet spot and sat cross-legged.

He had come here originally to temper his brothers, never expecting such fortune—a Great Gathering Spirit Pill.

Along the way, the many corpses he’d seen gave him a sense of urgency. Without hesitation, he swallowed the pill.

He did not feel his spiritual power bursting uncontrollably as he’d imagined. The pill was expertly refined, allowing the energy to disperse slowly within his body, ensuring none of its potency was wasted.

Chu Jie immediately began circulating the Samsara Sutra, madly absorbing the pill’s energy. His body also drank in the power.

The energy released by the Great Gathering Spirit Pill grew steadily, until it surged like a dam burst. Chu Jie found himself immersed in a sea of spiritual power.

The flow was endless, and the Samsara Sutra’s unparalleled devouring ability was on full display. Though the spiritual power raged like a storm within him, each turn of the Sutra swallowed vast amounts, continually expanding Chu Jie’s dantian.

If this continued, Chu Jie sensed he could soon ascend a level. Yet something felt off—his Nine Tribulations Sacred Body was absorbing far more spiritual power than ever before. This time, more than half of the energy was drawn directly into his body.

What should have been enough to raise him a full level was, due to the demands of his Sacred Body, only enough to bring him to the very peak of his current stage, poised at the brink of advancement.

Now, only a trickle of spiritual power was left from the Great Gathering Spirit Pill, flowing into Chu Jie’s body like a gentle stream.

“If I had just one more of these pills, I might break through,” Chu Jie thought with a hint of regret. That was the drawback of the Nine Tribulations Sacred Body—it consumed immense resources. But the benefits were just as clear; the growth it offered was unmatched. Gains and losses, in balance.

He opened his eyes to find the Mad Dog Camp brothers gathered around, standing guard for him.

“How long was I out?” Chu Jie asked.

“Boss, you’ve been cultivating for more than half a day,” one of them replied at once.

While Chu Jie was cultivating, his brothers had been on edge—if anyone had come looking for trouble, things could have gotten ugly.

“Good. Let’s move,” Chu Jie said, rising to his feet. After his cultivation, his body felt even more formidable, and his confidence in facing the Xuanwind Serpent King had grown.

The Mad Dog Camp brothers followed as they made their way toward the cave they’d scouted before.

A day later, they arrived again at the site. Chu Jie blasted open the cave entrance and led his men inside.

He did not take them straight into the Black Crystal Cavern. He wanted to wait for Chen Long to return so they could all hunt the Xuanwind Serpent King together.

While waiting for Chen Long over the following days, Chu Jie put the Mad Dog Camp through relentless training, having them hone their bodies nearby, running with massive stones on their backs—now several times heavier than before.

After each bout of strenuous exercise, Chu Jie fed the Mad Dog Camp brothers serpent meat.

Each time Chu Jie brought out a Xuanwind Serpent from the Savage Cauldron, Wu Jue’s face would light up with greed, but it was pointless—he would never again have access to such things. Even if Chu Jie handed him the Savage Cauldron, he wouldn’t be able to use it.

There was a reason Chu Jie kept Wu Jue alive.

Several days later, Chen Long finally returned, bringing with him more than twenty men, all warriors of the Fifth Stage or above in the Body Tempering Realm, each armed with a crossbow. Clearly, Chen Long had handled matters well.

These twenty-plus men were all under Duan Kun’s command. Leading them was Wang Ye, whom Chu Jie recognized as the one who had tried to tear down his tent before.

Now, Wang Ye had reached the Ninth Stage of Body Tempering. In truth, he’d always resented Chu Jie, but now that Chu Jie was a master at the Gathering Spirit Realm—equal to his own boss, Duan Kun—Wang Ye, though still dissatisfied, maintained a passable façade.

“Master Chu!” Wang Ye cupped his fists in greeting, then led the brothers to stand at attention.

“Mm.” Chu Jie glanced at Chen Long and suddenly noticed his expression seemed off—he looked extremely displeased, and his face was swollen.

“You hit my man?” Chu Jie’s face darkened as he glared at Wang Ye.

He wanted nothing more than to kill Wang Ye on the spot, but since he’d asked Chen Long to bring reinforcements, acting rashly would be inappropriate. Moreover, Chu Jie and Duan Kun’s men were, in essence, on the same side. Wang Ye was his subordinate as well, though Wang Ye simply refused to accept him as his superior.