"If she refuses to help, then we'll find a way to save her ourselves."
With that, Bai Yang strode toward the main hall.
"Senior Brother, no!"
Lu Nanfeng's face paled as he rushed forward to stop him. "If Master finds out, we're dead!"
This wasn't just sneaking around—this was theft.
Bai Yang turned his head slightly, a glint of resolve—and something darker—in his eyes.
"Junior Sister Ye is dying. I have no other choice. You stay here. If I'm discovered, I'll take full responsibility."
There was a cold light in his gaze. "Besides, Master is only acting out because she's been provoked. She won't really do anything to me. Don't worry."
He had entered her tutelage at the age of five. She had raised him with her own hands, doted on him more than anyone. Even if she found out, she would be angry at most. She wouldn't have the heart to truly punish him. Bai Yang turned and walked into the grand hall without hesitation.
Lu Nanfeng bit down on his lip, anxious, but in the face of life and death, even if Master were to punish them later, they had to save Senior Sister Ye first.
Inside the hall, Bai Yang moved with familiarity until he reached the Pill Vault.
As a master alchemist, Song Wanníng's vault was overflowing with pills. Some were rare even in the outside world, casually arranged on shelves as if they were common goods.
Over the years, they had never lacked for medicine. They knew very well how formidable their master was. His eyes scanned quickly, then locked onto a single jade bottle.
Heart pounding, Bai Yang snatched it up and opened the lid. Inside lay a round, lustrous pill glowing with a metallic sheen—the Heavenly Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill.
"She really is selfish to the core."
He lowered his eyes, and a flash of icy disdain crossed them.
An eighth-grade pill, the Heavenly Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill could regenerate flesh and bone, bring the dying back from the brink, even restore a shattered dantian.
Ye Chuxue's wounds were grave, her dantian nearly destroyed. This pill was the only thing that could save her. But Master had chosen to hoard it instead. She would rather let Chuxue die. Bai Yang slipped the pill into his storage ring and bolted out of the hall.
—
"Chuxue!"
Gu Qingyuan rushed back to the mountain peak, straight into Ye Chuxue's room. The chamber was already filled with people—elders, senior disciples, even the Sect Master of Wentian Sect himself.
Ye Chuxue and Bai Yang were considered the top disciples of their generation. She was a renowned prodigy. Now that she was critically injured, everyone was waiting for Gu Qingyuan to return with the pill that could save her.
But he came back empty-handed. A flicker of shock and disappointment passed through Ye Chuxue's eyes. "Even with Master intervening, Auntie Song still refused?"
"What's going on, Junior Brother Gu? Where's the pill?"
The Sect Master's brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing.
"If you have it, hurry and give it to her. The longer we delay, the more danger she's in. Her dantian is the least of it—her life is at risk."
"Right. Hand it over, Gu Qingyuan. Quickly."
Voices of urgency echoed through the room.
Gu Qingyuan clenched his fists. As if he didn't want to give it.
"It's alright, Master. I've caused you enough trouble. If Auntie Song refuses to give it, then we can't blame her."
Ye Chuxue forced a weak smile. "The pill is extremely rare. It's understandable if she wants to keep it. You shouldn't be upset with her."
"Chuxue, it's I who failed you."
Gu Qingyuan's chest ached. Even now, on the brink of death, she was still thinking of others. And yet that snake of a woman had chosen to stand by and watch her die.
"What exactly happened?" the Sect Master asked, frowning deeper. "Are you saying you personally went to ask, and Song Wanníng still refused?"
They had approached her earlier, only to be firmly rejected. That was why they had asked Gu Qingyuan to plead for the pill himself.
"That can't be. Song Wanníng has always listened to you. Why would she say no?"
"Did something happen between you?"
Another elder spoke up, clearly doubtful.
For more than a hundred years, everyone had witnessed how deeply Song Wanníng cared for Gu Qingyuan. She would have given up her own life for him. A mere pill should have been nothing.
Gu Qingyuan's expression turned dark. "She already took it."
He didn't even call her "Junior Sister" anymore.
"What?"
"This is terrible. The Heavenly Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill is nearly impossible to refine. The ingredients alone are outrageously rare. Where could we find another one now?"
"And she wasn't even injured. Why would she waste it?"
Panic spread across the room. With the pill gone, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse.
Ye Chuxue's face turned even paler.
No pill. Then she...
At that moment, someone burst in from the doorway.
It was Bai Yang and Lu Nanfeng, followed by An Ze, who had just woken from his coma.
"I have the pill!"
Bai Yang ran in, holding the bottle high.
"Master never took it. She just chose to let Chuxue die!"
A gasp rippled through the crowd.
"What happened to Song Wanníng?"
"She had it and didn't use it? That's too cruel."
"She's one of us, and she still turned her back on her. Heartless!"
"She's a Nascent Soul cultivator. How can she be this petty?"
The elders muttered discontentedly under their breath.
"Is it really the pill? Bring it here."
The Sect Master snatched the bottle, examined it carefully, then brightened.
"This is it. The Heavenly Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill. Quickly, give it to her!"
He handed it to Gu Qingyuan.
"No... Master, don't. Since Auntie Song refused to give it to me, I shouldn't use it. Otherwise..."
Ye Chuxue tried to shake her head.
"Whatever the consequences, I'll bear them. You don't need to worry."
Gu Qingyuan's eyes turned cold. He popped the pill into her mouth without hesitation.
The medicine dissolved quickly in her body. Her color began to return, and her skin slowly regained its healthy glow. Relief swept through the room. Bai Yang's eyes lit up with joy. Once the pill took effect, Ye Chuxue would be safe. But just as everyone began to relax, Ye Chuxue suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Splatter—
Her skin darkened like a flower withering in fast-forward. Her once full and glowing complexion dried and cracked, like bark rotting from within. Her breath caught in her throat. Within seconds, she fell unconscious again.
"Chuxue!"
Everyone shouted in alarm.
Gu Qingyuan's divine sense rushed into her body. What he found made his blood run cold. Her dantian was now flooded with black poison. Her meridians, too, were riddled with toxins. Her already critical wounds had worsened. Even her life force was draining away.
"How... how could this happen? I saw Master put the pill there herself. How did it end up like this?"
Bai Yang stood frozen in place, face pale. His good intentions had brought disaster.
They had all checked the pill. There had been nothing wrong with it.
"SONG WANNÍNG!"
Gu Qingyuan's eyes burned with murderous intent. In a blink, he vanished from the room.