“Su Hao?”
Lin Miao was stunned. According to the maid, Su Hao was suspected of murder?
He coldly glanced at the maid.
“Hahaha, that good-for-nothing, how could he possibly kill Xiong Sanyan? Even if it was a sneak attack, he couldn’t have done it.
A clean, decisive beheading with a single sword stroke indicates a certain mastery in swordsmanship.
And Xiong Sanyan, who practiced the Mortal martial Dao for over forty years, was considered a first-rate expert in the Jianghu.
Even Qi Refining Cultivators at the second or third layers would find it difficult to kill him in one move head-on!
That good-for-nothing Su Hao can’t do it! Even if you give him ten more years of Cultivation, it’s impossible!”
Lin Miao immediately dismissed his suspicion of Su Hao.
He recalled having an argument and a fight with Xiong Sanyan three months ago.
With his Qi Refining fourth-layer strength, he barely gained the upper hand by relying on the Teng Ci Shu (Thorn Vine Technique) Spell. Killing Xiong Sanyan was very difficult!
“Oh right… the golden rock sword Master bestowed upon him is missing? It seems a Cultivator took a fancy to this golden rock sword, killed him, and seized his treasure!
I warned him long ago that a reckless man like him wasn’t qualified to possess this sword, but he wouldn’t believe me. Now look, he’s lost his life for it!”
The root cause of Lin Miao’s dispute with Xiong Sanyan was this Magical Artifact embryo, the golden rock sword. He wanted to buy it for a thousand taels of silver, but Xiong Sanyan refused.
He looked at Xiong Sanyan’s body, covered by a white cloth, without any pity. He waved his hand, “Throw him into the mass grave, find a place to bury him!”
“Mass grave? Is that appropriate?” The leading servant was startled. How could they dare to do such a thing? Everyone in the courtyard knew Xiong Sanyan was Lin Zhishan’s loyal servant.
“Oh, not quite… Send him to the Medicine Garden and say he’s newly arrived fertilizer. Bury him in the Medicine Garden, don’t waste him!
What a pity for such a body of a martial artist full of Qi and blood. It’s been delayed too long, and too much blood Qi has been lost.”
Lin Miao sighed regretfully.
Catching sight of the servants exchanging glances, he immediately reprimanded them, “Why aren’t you doing as I say! Or do you want to be buried with him?”
“Yes, yes, we will send Butler Xiong’s body to the Medicine Garden now.”
The few servants felt a sense of sorrow for their kind, but dared not hesitate any longer. They lifted the stretcher and sent Xiong Sanyan to be used as Medicinal Pill fertilizer.
Lin Miao was indifferent to Xiong Sanyan’s death; many people died in the Golden Light Sect every day!
And today, in Zhu Xin Courtyard, Xiong Sanyan was not the only one who died!
A flash of Killing Intent flickered in Lin Miao’s eyes as he looked in the direction of Su Hao’s courtyard.
With his hands behind his back, he leisurely walked towards Su Hao’s courtyard.
“Junior Brother Su, are you practicing your sword?”
Lin Miao saw Su Hao just as he was sheathing his sword, and he glanced at the familiar shape and decoration of the long sword.
His eyes suddenly widened, and he strode closer, “Su Hao, that’s the golden rock sword in your hand!”
“Senior Brother Lin recognizes it?”
Su Hao smiled faintly and hung the sword at his waist.
“How did you get this sword? Master gave it to Xiong Sanyan, and Xiong Sanyan died last night, do you know that?” Lin Miao was full of suspicion, reaching out to draw the golden rock sword.
Su Hao took a step back, “Alas, it’s a long story. Last night, I discussed it with Butler Xiong. I’ve been practicing swordplay since I was young, and I haven’t touched a sword for many days, so I borrowed it to play with for two days.
He didn’t agree at first, but then I told him that I’d give him an Essence Blood Pill in exchange for borrowing the golden rock sword, to be returned in seven days, and only then did he agree.”
“What, you traded an Essence Blood Pill with him! How dare you! Have you forgotten Master’s instructions to take an Essence Blood Pill on time every day? You actually secretly gave one to someone else.
Forget Master, even now, I have reason to kill you!”
Lin Miao was furious and no longer in a hurry to take the sword. His face was filled with Killing Intent, but he never suspected that Su Hao had killed Xiong Sanyan.
“Senior Brother Lin, please don’t be anxious.” Seeing Lin Miao about to make a move, Su Hao hastily waved his hand, “Butler Xiong is dead. Although I don’t know who killed him, this golden rock sword is now ownerless!
It’s like exchanging an Essence Blood Pill for a treasured sword. What a worthwhile deal!”
Lin Miao’s expression changed slightly. Oh right, this Magical Artifact embryo was now ownerless!
A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, then he continued to reprimand with an angry expression, “What, do you, of all people, have the right to own this sword? When Master comes out of seclusion, not to mention the truth of Xiong Sanyan’s murder, he would have reason to reclaim this sword, and you would be punished or even die for disobeying Master’s orders!”
“I know my strength is low and I’m not qualified to own the golden rock sword, but you have that qualification. I can’t keep this sword, but you certainly would want to,”
Su Hao drew the golden rock sword. The sword was like a cold star, its sharpness intimidating!
He bent down, one hand supporting the hilt, the other supporting the blade, in a respectful posture of presenting a treasure, offering the treasured sword to Lin Miao.
The faint glow from the blade illuminated Lin Miao’s face, revealing an uncontrollable greed.
“Right, Su Hao, you’re sensible! I’ll find a way to make up for the loss of one Essence Blood Pill for you. You took one on the first day, I didn’t come over for the next two days, plus you gave away one Essence Blood Pill.
So, you only have one Essence Blood Pill left on hand now?”
As Lin Miao reached out, wanting to grasp the sword hilt.
Su Hao had already consumed the remaining Essence Blood Pills yesterday. He avoided answering, “Oh right!”
Su Hao retracted his hand, as if remembering something important, “Senior Brother Lin, regarding the Essence Blood Pill, I have something very important to tell you!”
“…” Lin Miao’s expression was displeased. No matter how important the matter, it wasn’t as important as this golden rock sword. He angrily snapped, “Give me the sword!”
“The Essence Blood Pill has very serious side effects. Each one consumed shortens one’s lifespan by a year, do you know that?!”
Su Hao said, startled and alarmed.
“What?!” Lin Miao was instantly shocked, “Nonsense! Where did you hear such baseless rumors? I’ve followed Master for over a year, collected Materials with him, and personally watched him perform Alchemy. He himself has even taken Essence Blood Pills, how could there be a risk of shortening one’s lifespan?”
At this point, his tone was a bit weak.
These past few days, taking Essence Blood Pills, he had indeed vaguely felt something draining from his body, but upon careful examination, he couldn’t find any problems.
“That day, I took my jade token to the library, and chatted with the old man guarding the building for a while. He was drunk and revealed it.
The old man’s name is Zhao Baijiang!”
Su Hao bent even lower, lowering his voice, fearing that these secrets would be overheard by a third party, “He said that this kind of Essence Blood Pill shortens one’s lifespan by a year, and even Foundation Establishment Cultivators who take it normally will suffer the same side effects.”
“It seems there are other ways to bypass the side effects. How exactly to bypass them, I’m not sure… Logically, Essence Blood Pills are also of great use to Master. This Medicinal Pill is astonishingly potent. Even with the side effect of shortening one’s lifespan, if sold, it should still fetch a high price, right?
Now that I think about it, how could Master, that old man, be so generous as to bestow such a Medicinal Pill upon people with low Aptitude like me and Ge Lao Si?”
As soon as Lin Miao heard Zhao Baijiang’s name, he instinctively believed him a bit. That old man was talkative and gossipy, but he never revealed too much about his own identity.
And Lin Miao had always known that Master Lin Zhishan used Medicine Slaves as Materials to secretly practice a certain secret technique.
nourishing heart pills and Essence Blood Pills were all prepared for this, to extract all the medicinal power and essence of flesh and blood through special methods.
Of course, those Medicine Slaves were not worth grieving over, it didn’t matter!
He was completely different from the Medicine Slaves; he was Master’s true Disciple!
But Lin Miao never expected this kind of Medicinal Pill to actually shorten one’s lifespan. He had already taken about 10 pills, including those he took before and these past few days, shortening his lifespan by ten years? A Qi Refining Cultivator’s normal lifespan is only about one hundred years!
One pill was equivalent to a month of arduous Cultivation, naturally making it a Spirit Pill!
But one pill, shortening one’s lifespan by a year, exchanging a year of life for a month of Cultivation, was simply a blood-loss deal!
Lin Miao was furious and shocked, his mind reeling.
“Actually… Master is treating you and me as Materials… including you, Senior Brother Lin, you will all be killed by Master one day in the future!”
As Su Hao’s voice fell, he tightly gripped the sword hilt with his right hand, and pinched the blade with two fingers of his left hand. With a slight accumulation of power, this sword strike, poised like a spring, slashed horizontally.
This sword strike cut horizontally towards Lin Miao’s neck, the sword momentum fierce as fire, irresistible!
“Su Hao! You…”