Chapter 862: Li Yuqian, Victim of a Scheme
“Do you think I should be happy about this news?” Li Yuqian asked abruptly.
Ye Mo nodded. “Yes. You said the sect was strong and unafraid of the Li family. Why do you seem reluctant to see them annihilated?”
Li Yuqian handed Ye Mo a message from her flying sword. “Read this. It’s from a close friend, sent secretly.”
Ye Mo read the short message: “The Li family was annihilated yesterday. The Li family’s Burst Soul Pill is on Li Changsheng. If you’re still free, flee immediately. I’ve already left. If you’re trapped, tell—”
The message faded into illegibility.
Li Yuqian sighed. “You own a pill store. Even if you’re not a pill master, you know about the Burst Soul Pill, right?”
Ye Mo nodded. This pill was for Golden Core Stage Tertiary cultivators. It granted a power surge for four hours, enabling a Golden Core Peak cultivator to briefly reach Nascent Soul Middle Stage. Similar to a Burst Essence Pill, its ingredients were rarer, and its side effects far more potent. The user would lose three cultivation levels. A lucky Golden Core Peak cultivator might remain at Golden Core Primary; otherwise, they'd plummet to Foundation Establishment. Furthermore, the pill's ingredients were also suitable for Hollow Spirit state pills, making the Burst Soul Pill's creation unusual and wasteful. Yet, the message indicated the Li family possessed one, passed down through generations.
Li Yuqian said despondently, “The sect’s Grand Elder, Qian Tuoshui, informed us of the Li family’s ruin and arranged our mission. He was supposed to accompany us, but couldn’t at the last minute.”
Understanding dawned on Ye Mo. “You mean Qian Tuoshui sent you three to your deaths—to hold Li Changsheng back, force him to take the Burst Soul Pill, while the sect annihilated the Li family?”
Li Yuqian nodded. “That's it.”
Ye Mo inhaled sharply. They had used the Cao Huan fruit as bait. He commented, “If it were me, I wouldn’t want to lose such valuable items.”
Li Yuqian shook her head. “Wrong. He didn’t know about the Cao Huan fruit. If he did, he wouldn’t have let it go. We never reached our target; we were trapped in a formation for months. We only escaped yesterday and discovered a stealth formation. After breaching it, we found the Cao Huan fruit. We never reached the location Qian Tuoshui designated.”
Ye Mo frowned, sensing something amiss. He pondered, “I have two questions, Qianbei. First, how could Li Changsheng be injured if he possessed the Burst Soul Pill? He could easily kill a Golden Core cultivator after taking it. Second, how could Qian Tuoshui be certain Li Changsheng would attack you upon finding the location?”
Li Yuqian replied, “Who can predict everything? He saw Zhen Fei and Han Mu as Golden Core Peak and Tertiary respectively. With my Middle Stage Peak cultivation, Li Changsheng would have failed without the Burst Soul Pill. He didn’t expect us to miss the ruin, find the Cao Huan fruit instead, nor did he anticipate Li Changsheng’s cunning and decisiveness. If you hadn’t been there, Li Changsheng would have succeeded.”
“Did you four breach the stealth formation before finding the Cao Huan fruit? Li Changsheng suggested everyone consume one?” Ye Mo asked.
Li Yuqian looked approvingly at Ye Mo. “Yes. When we found the Cao Huan fruit, I was delighted. No one objected to Li Changsheng’s suggestion, so we all ate one. But while we were digesting, Li Changsheng consumed his but didn’t begin digesting. He killed Han Mu and severely wounded Zhen Fei while they cultivated. However, Zhen Fei counterattacked, injuring him severely. I managed to digest the fruit during their fight, reaching Golden Core Tertiary Stage.”
Ye Mo nodded. Now it made sense why Li Changsheng hadn’t used the Burst Soul Pill.
Li Yuqian continued, “Knowing I couldn't defeat him, I fled. You know the rest.”
Ye Mo understood. A Burst Soul Pill seemed to be in her ring; she hadn't even realized it. He could sell it, even if he didn't need it.
Ye Mo looked at the weary Li Yuqian. “Doesn’t the Zheng Yuan Sword Sect have a Nascent Soul cultivator? Why fear the Burst Soul Pill?”
Li Yuqian smiled bitterly. “Grand Elder Wang failed to reach Hollow Spirit thirty years ago and died. If Elder Wang were still alive, not even a four-star sect would dare to attack us, let alone the Li family. Qian Tuoshui wouldn't have dared use us as bait.”
An unspoken reason was that Qian Tuoshui had sent them to their deaths because they opposed the sect's merger with the Hidden Sword Sect.
Ye Mo grasped the situation but preferred not to remain with Li Yuqian, a Golden Core cultivator, given his Foundation Establishment cultivation.
“What are your plans, Qianbei?” Ye Mo asked thoughtfully.
Li Yuqian hesitated. “I was born in the Zheng Yuan Sword Sect, but I don’t want to return. I have nowhere to go. If you don't mind, I can contact my senior disciple; we can go to your pill shop together.”
Ye Mo shook his head. “I don’t mind, but if your senior disciple comes, you needn't come to my shop. If I’m not mistaken, your senior disciple allied with Li Bailsen. Song Yangzhu and Ye Ling were in trouble because of her.”
Ye Mo recounted the events at the peak. Li Yuqian’s expression shifted repeatedly before a long sigh escaped her lips. “In that case, I’ll go to River State. Yangzhu and Ye Ling are my disciples. I haven’t taught them much. I can recover there and teach them.”
Ye Mo couldn't dissuade her. He produced three Cao Huan fruits. “Qianbei, take these. I have five in total.”
Li Yuqian’s face changed, her expression sinking. “Ye Mo, I’ve always lived in the sect; I rarely go out, and I don't think much about such things. If you think I’m going to River State for the fruits, I won’t go. They’re precious, but I don’t know how to refine pills, nor do I know any high-level pill masters. They’re useless to me.”
Ye Mo retrieved the fruits. “Sorry, Qianbei, I misunderstood. I’ll take them back. I know a pill master who refines Heaven Grade Level 1 pills. I can give you a Cao Huan Pill later.”
“What?! You know a Level 1 Pill King?!” Li Yuqian’s composure finally shattered.