The Secret of the Strengthening Blood Pill!

Lu Changsheng recognized the red-robed figure among the crowd. A month ago, when martial artists in the black market had tried to force him to buy and sell Strengthening Blood Pills, he had run into this very martial artist in red. Back then, the red-robed martial artist had even invited Lu Changsheng to investigate the matter of the Strengthening Blood Pills together. Not wanting to wade into troubled waters, Lu Changsheng had declined. He had not expected to see the red-robed man again, much less that the man would also track things down to Xu Family Manor. Though the red-robed man stood alone, his strength was formidable. Armed with a single saber, he fought so ferociously that none of the surrounding guards dared to approach. Lu Changsheng's objective on this trip, however, was not to kill. He had come to save people. *Where is Apothecary Cheng being held?* Lu Changsheng glanced in all directions. The underground hall was vast; it certainly had not been built overnight. To construct such an immense subterranean chamber must have consumed an unimaginable amount of manpower and resources. As time passed, more and more guards from Xu Family Manor converged on the hall. *These guards came from the passageway to the northeast.* *Let's go take a look over there.* A thought struck Lu Changsheng. Quite a few apothecaries and physicians had vanished recently. Since they had been captured rather than killed, their captors clearly needed something from them and would require guards to keep watch. And not just a handful, either. Perhaps these arriving guards had been the very ones overseeing the captive apothecaries and physicians. Lu Changsheng moved down that passageway, and sure enough, he came upon another massive secret chamber. Inside, dozens of apothecaries and physicians were busily preparing all sorts of medicinal ingredients under the harsh urging of guards. A blazing furnace burned in the center of the chamber. Bare-chested, burly men continually tossed herbs inside. Before long, a large quantity of Strengthening Blood Pills rolled out from the furnace. Only then did Lu Changsheng understand. The Strengthening Blood Pills had indeed originated from Xu Family Manor. Scanning the crowd, Lu Changsheng finally spotted Apothecary Cheng. And not just Apothecary Cheng—there were many physicians and apothecaries from Miaoshou Garden whom Lu Changsheng recognized as well. *Xu Family Manor captured so many apothecaries and physicians just to concoct Strengthening Blood Pills for them?* Lu Changsheng glanced at the guards. Most of the guards had already been drawn away to deal with the red-robed man. Only about twenty or thirty remained here, which would not be difficult for Lu Changsheng to handle. *Whoosh.* In the next instant, Lu Changsheng darted out from the corner. His speed was like a phantom's. Under the dim, yellow lamplight of the subterranean chamber, he moved like a gust of wind. "Huh? Did you just see a dark shadow?" "What dark shadow? Your eyes playing tricks on you?" "There's an intruder outside. We'd better be careful." "I know, I know. But with so many of our brothers out there, could they really fail to handle one intruder? Let's just do our job and keep these people concocting pills." A few guards chatted among themselves. Even those who had vaguely caught a glimpse of a shadow rubbed their eyes, saw no stranger, and assumed their vision was merely playing tricks on them. *Slash!* Yet a moment later, a razor-sharp blade sliced clean across their throats. Blood spurted forth, and two guards crumpled to the floor. Seeing them drop, the remaining guards finally reacted. "An intruder!" "Over there, stop him!" "Don't let him damage the furnace...!" Quite a few of these guards were Tempering Bone martial artists. If twenty or thirty men swarmed at once, even a Refining Organs martial artist would likely have to yield to their momentum. Martial artists below the Divine Strength Realm could not completely ignore numbers. If there were enough opponents, even the strongest Refining Organs martial artist could be beaten to death by sheer overwhelming force. Lu Changsheng, however, was different. His style was built on pure speed. So long as his enemies were not in the Divine Strength Realm, their flesh and blood could not withstand cold steel. Against Lu Changsheng, sheer numbers posed no threat at all. *Swish! Swish! Swish!* Lu Changsheng drew his blade. Instantly, his swift swordplay blurred into afterimages. Coupled with his astonishing movement technique, he was like a tiger loose among a flock of sheep. With every flick of his blade, someone inevitably fell. Within mere breaths, all twenty to thirty guards lay sprawled across the floor. *Drip, drip.* Blood trickled drop by drop from Lu Changsheng's blade. The steel was thoroughly stained red. Strewn in disarray across the ground were twenty to thirty corpses. Not a single one groaned. All of them were dead, nearly every one felled by a single lethal stroke! Witnessing this, every apothecary and physician present could not help but shudder in terror. Lu Changsheng walked toward them step by step. He glanced at the pill furnace, then asked, "You have been refining Strengthening Blood Pills here. Do you know what is wrong with them?" The physicians and apothecaries exchanged glances, bewildered and hesitant. None of them knew who Lu Changsheng was. Even so, one physician spoke up tremulously, "Yes... these Strengthening Blood Pills are deeply problematic." "They added a rare chronic poison to the formula. Taking it once or twice causes no harm, but long-term consumption leads to severe poisoning." "Once poisoned, without the antidote, a person will die in agonizing pain all over their body. By relying on these Strengthening Blood Pills, they could probably control a massive number of martial artists in just a few months." Lu Changsheng's heart chilled. He had not expected the pills to be so sinister—they were actually a chronic poison! Even as an apothecary himself, he had failed to detect the chronic toxin within, which only proved how thoroughly concealed it was. However, for Xu Family Manor to concoct such harmful pills and distribute them on a large scale to control vast numbers of martial artists meant their ambition was enormous! This was definitely not something a mere Xu Family Manor—or Philanthropist Xu alone—could accomplish. "Who exactly is Philanthropist Xu? Or rather, who stands behind him?" Lu Changsheng asked. Yet the apothecaries and physicians only shook their heads one after another. Lu Changsheng did not press further; this was likely all they knew. "I have already killed the guards. You can choose to stay here a while longer until this is over, or you can leave now. But fighting is still underway outside, so it may be dangerous." "How you choose is up to you." With that, Lu Changsheng turned and departed. Meanwhile, in the outer hall, the red-robed man's situation had grown perilous. From somewhere, the guards had produced crossbows. A dense barrage of bolts rained relentlessly toward the red-robed man. No matter how strong he was, he remained flesh and blood. Unable to deflect so many bolts, he had overturned a stone table to take cover behind it, his position hanging by a thread. Philanthropist Xu stood to the side, his gaze fixed coldly on the red-robed man. Just then, several guards stumbled over in panic, shouting loudly, "Master, it's bad! Someone breached the furnace room and killed dozens of our brothers, and now he's fighting his way out...!" "What?" Philanthropist Xu was startled. *Slash!* In the next instant, numerous guards tumbled backward in retreat. Immediately after, Philanthropist Xu saw a masked man clad in black. Moving like a bolt of lightning, the intruder flicked his short sword with effortless ease, and with every stroke, someone inevitably clutched their throat and collapsed. The guards frantically aimed their crossbows at the man in black. Yet it was useless. The man in black was too fast, his footwork eerie and unpredictable. He plunged directly into their ranks; wherever his sword rose and fell, guards collapsed one after another in pools of blood. Watching this unfold, Philanthropist Xu's face turned ashen. He slammed his cane hard against the ground with a sharp crack, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "I must trouble the Honored Emissary to capture this villain!" *Rumble!* No sooner had Philanthropist Xu's words fallen than the entire underground hall seemed to tremble. At the same time, the solid wall right beside Lu Changsheng shattered violently. From within, a towering, iron-armored figure burst forth, lunging a massive arm straight toward Lu Changsheng in a vicious grab.