I'll Slaughter My Way to Immortality on the Bones of Betrayers - Chapter 32:

Chapter 32: 3rd Stage Qi Refining Realm

Pill Hall.

A young alchemy disciple sat at his post, nodding off out of boredom.

The Pill Hall had become far too quiet.

In the past, disciples and elders from various halls and peaks would stop by to request pills. But ever since the Pill Hall sealed itself off, not a single person had come.

The young disciple wanted to learn alchemy. But no one taught him.

Bored and with nothing to do, he could only use his drowsy state as an excuse to quietly speed up his own cultivation.

BOOM!

A sudden loud explosion!

In an instant, the disciple jumped to his feet, all sleepiness gone.

“What happened?”
“What was that sound?”

The noise just now sounded exactly like an alchemy furnace explosion—and the only one still refining pills in the Pill Hall was Lu Hengge.

He looked toward Lu Hengge’s private alchemy chamber.

Sure enough, thick black smoke was pouring out.

Fortunately, the chamber door was strong enough to contain the blast and hadn’t been blown open.

The disciple cautiously approached the chamber door, only to be overwhelmed by the stench of the escaping smoke, forcing him to stumble backward. Mixed into the smoke was a nauseating smell—definitely not just scorched herbs.

“Holy Son, are you alright?” he called out while pinching his nose.

No response.

In the past, the disciple wouldn’t have been worried about Lu Hengge’s safety. After all, as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, even a furnace explosion posed little threat. But now it was different.

The Holy Son had lost all his cultivation.

Without spiritual Qi to protect him, another explosion could be fatal.

The young disciple panicked.

There was no way he could break in.

This alchemy chamber used to belong to Elder Yao Fan. Later, when Yao Fan stopped refining as frequently, he gifted it to Lu Hengge. Forcibly opening the door from the outside would require a Divine Ascension Realm expert.

He was just a low-ranking alchemy disciple, barely at the Foundation Establishment Realm. There was no way he could open it.

Wait!

Go find the Hall Master!

With that thought, he prepared to contact Elder Yao Fan immediately.

But just then, the chamber door slowly creaked open.

Lu Hengge stepped out, his newly changed robes now in shreds again, barely clinging to his body—he looked like a beggar.

“I did it!”
“I did it, Grandpa Dan! I succeeded!!”

Lu Hengge burst into wild laughter.

After thousands of attempts, nearly exhausting every herb seedling in the chamber, he had finally succeeded in nurturing one medicinal herb using demonic Qi. Not only had it not withered, it had actually grown well under the nourishment of demonic Qi.

Of course, this was just the first step.

Using demonic Qi-infused herbs to refine pills still required a long process.

But now that it worked, it meant all of Lu Hengge’s prior efforts weren’t in vain. His theory was valid.

He laughed heartily.

To be honest, there were massive differences between the physical constitutions of the human race and the demon race.

For humans to cultivate demonic Qi was inherently restricted by their roots and bones—let alone consuming pills made for demon physiology, which was even more difficult.

However, Lu Hengge had overcome these problems.

If human physiques couldn’t absorb demonic Qi normally, then use the Heart of the Demon Race to cultivate instead. As for consuming demon pills, he had now successfully cultivated herbs that could grow under demonic Qi.

“Holy Son… are you alright?” the disciple asked hesitantly, thinking Lu Hengge had lost his mind.

But it was understandable. To lose all your Nascent Soul Realm cultivation—anyone would be mentally shaken.

“I’m fine,” Lu Hengge waved his hand.

Now, he could fully commit himself to cultivation.

Medicinal herbs had long growth cycles, so the task of refining demon pills could be delayed.

But in just a few days, he would have to enter Sword Prison. That couldn’t be delayed. Before then, he had to rebuild his foundation.

“Go back to your work,” Lu Hengge said, ready to get some food before returning to the chamber.

The disciple didn’t dare say more.

The Pill Hall wasn’t just a building—the entire mountain peak belonged to the Pill Hall. It was the place with the richest spiritual Qi in the whole sect. Whether it was wild beasts or spirit animals, all liked to stay in such Qi-rich environments. Lu Hengge didn’t need to search specifically—he could just wander out and easily catch some game.

Soon, a bonfire crackled, flames dancing in the night.

As the meat sizzled and popped, Lu Hengge was drawn into memories of his past life.

He was still curious—how had he been reborn five hundred years into the past?

He had experienced many fortuitous events, but none of them could reverse time.

Compared to Ye Feng, Lu Hengge had only slightly better luck. If divine treasures were ruled out, then the only other possibility was that the Heavenly Dao had sent him back.

But that made no sense.

Why would the Heavenly Dao help him?

He and Ye Feng were mortal enemies, and Ye Feng was the beloved child of the Heavenly Dao.

The fact that the Heavenly Dao didn’t kill him personally was already a blessing.

No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t figure it out.

The aroma of the roasted meat grew more intense, making his stomach grumble.

He reached out to tear off a drumstick from a phoenix bird chicken—but the moment he touched it, it disappeared.

Lu Hengge froze.

A second later, an old figure stepped out from the darkness, holding the missing drumstick and biting into it with oily satisfaction. “Kid, you’ve got a real talent for cooking. Why not give up cultivation and open a tavern?”

Lu Hengge laughed, “Not a bad idea. I’ll open a tavern, make a fortune, marry a dozen or two wives, and travel the mountains when I’m bored.”

Yao Fan snorted, “You greedy brat. Marrying that many wives—you’re not afraid of dying in bed?”

Lu Hengge shrugged and said nothing.

With a flick of Yao Fan’s finger, a rocking chair made from ancient vine wood appeared in front of the fire. He reclined lazily and said, “Kid, you’re planning to cultivate using demonic Qi?”

In that instant, Lu Hengge’s heart skipped a beat.

He had never told anyone about that.

“You caused such a racket in my alchemy chamber—how could I not know?” Yao Fan broke through Lu Hengge’s concerns with a calm tone.

Lu Hengge gave a bitter smile.

He had forgotten—he was using Yao Fan’s old chamber.

“Are you going to report me?” Lu Hengge asked.

Yao Fan gnawed on the drumstick, eyes fixed on the moon above. He didn’t answer but instead asked, “What are your chances of success?”

Lu Hengge looked at him in surprise.

When demonic Qi was mentioned, there wasn’t even a trace of disgust in Yao Fan’s tone.

After a pause, Lu Hengge softly replied, “I’ve reached the 3rd stage Qi Refining Realm.”

Hearing that, Yao Fan finally examined Lu Hengge more seriously. Despite being at half-step Divine Ascension Realm himself, he couldn’t see through Lu Hengge’s cultivation—it was as if he was just a mortal.

The reason Yao Fan couldn’t sense anything was partly due to the concealment of the Heart of the Demon Race, and partly due to the uniqueness of the [Scripture of Gazing at Immortality].

With both, even if Lu Hengge reached the Divine Ascension Realm, outsiders would still think he was an ordinary man.

“Looks like I don’t need to worry about your safety in Sword Prison anymore,” Yao Fan relaxed. Lu Hengge was never the reckless type, and now that he had regained his cultivation, the dangers of Sword Prison had lessened greatly.

Lu Hengge looked at the old man in front of him, feeling moved. “If only you had brought me back to the Three Thousand Dao Sect twenty years ago, how different things would have been.”

“Do you regret following Lu Sheng?” Yao Fan asked with a smile.

Lu Hengge nodded seriously, “I regret it. I truly regret it.”

Upon hearing that, Yao Fan’s smile faded. “Child, you’ve suffered enough these past years. From now on, just do what you truly want to do.”