Chapter 29: Judiciary Demands Clarity — Life-or-Death Alchemy Duel
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
The disciples from the Judiciary Hall were all older—veterans of the outer sect who had trained for years yet failed to make it into the inner sect.
The man leading them looked to be in his forties. He stepped in front of Yu Xian and asked sternly, “So, you’re the one reselling Herb Pavilion’s materials to rogue cultivators outside the sect for spirit stones?”
Yu Xian answered calmly, “Senior Brother Zhou, this is slander. I have not resold any herbs.”
“Senior Brother! He’s lying!” Gao roared. “If he isn’t reselling, why did he purchase several hundred portions of herbs in three months? You think he’s refining pills himself? Ridiculous! You must investigate!”
“I am Zhou Wen from the Judiciary Hall. If you confess now, you may be dealt with leniently. But if I find proof, then by sect law—you will have your cultivation crippled and be expelled from the mountain!”
Zhou Wen’s gaze was icy and full of menace.
But Yu Xian remained composed. “Senior Brother Zhou, I truly did not resell herbs. They are framing me.”
“Then explain this!” Zhou suddenly shouted, “In the last three and a half months, you’ve bought one hundred sets of Minor Rejuvenation Pill herbs, one hundred and ten sets for Returning Essence Pills, and three hundred sets for Bloodburst Pills! What do you have to say for yourself!?”
The surrounding area went dead silent.
Gao sneered maliciously from the side, and Zhang Quluo’s eyes gleamed with a cruel light. Lu Chunchun looked shocked, completely at a loss.
Yu Xian chuckled. “While I don’t owe you an explanation, I’ll give one anyway just to end this nonsense. Why did I buy all those herbs? Simple. To refine pills.”
“Refine pills?”
The crowd blinked, momentarily stunned.
They looked at his robes.
Mining Division disciple?
“What a joke!”
Gao pointed at him. “You’re just a brute from the Mining Division. You’ve got nothing but raw strength. What pills can you refine!? You dare lie in front of Senior Brother Zhou!? He deserves extra punishment for this alone!”
Zhou Wen’s expression turned grim. He had previously held some doubt—perhaps this was a setup—but now Yu Xian’s own words made it seem he truly was guilty of herb reselling.
A miner refining pills? Absurd! Pill refining was an art that required immense time, talent, and training!
Zhou glared at him coldly. “You. Come with us to the Judiciary Hall.”
“Why?” Yu Xian’s eyes chilled. “I’ve already told you the purpose of my herb purchases. Why should I still go with you? Just because you said so? Then by that logic, can’t I say you’re my accomplice and helped me resell the herbs?”
“You impudent brat!”
Zhou’s face twisted in rage. “You dare slander me!?”
Yu Xian didn’t back down. “And what have they been doing to me this whole time?”
Zhou’s face twitched. He stared at Yu Xian, fists clenched. “Then explain! What are you doing with all those herbs?”
“I already told you—refining pills! Why can’t I refine pills!?”
“Are you kidding me? Still trying to talk your way out of this?”
Gao sneered mockingly, “A laborer from the mines talking about alchemy? You think you can fool everyone here?”
Yu Xian turned from Zhou to lock eyes with Gao.
Gao returned the gaze, eyes filled with hatred and triumph.
He had been humiliated—his hand broken by this brat. But he couldn’t retaliate with spells, or else his punishment would be heavier.
He was in the late Qi Condensation stage… yet he had been beaten by a miner.
He wanted Yu Xian dead.
“You’re saying I can’t refine pills?”
Yu Xian’s voice was calm, but something murderous simmered beneath the surface.
“You can’t refine shit,” Gao spat. “You’re trying to fool Senior Brother Zhou? I’ve been in the Pill Hall for over ten years—I know how hard alchemy is!”
“What if I can refine pills?”
Yu Xian’s voice was colder now. “What will you do?”
“I already said—you can’t!”
“Fine. Let’s make it interesting. What if I prove I can?”
Gao scoffed. “Trying to stall for time? Senior Brother Zhou, just detain him!”
“Oh, so your word is final?” Yu Xian sneered. “Then if I say you are a bastard, does that make it true?”
Gao’s face turned purple with fury. “You’re the bastard!”
Yu Xian shrugged. “No time to argue with you, bastard. Now, back to the point: you say I can’t refine pills—what if I can?”
“If you can, I’ll cut off my head and hand it to you!” Gao shouted.
“And if I can’t, I’ll do the same,” Yu Xian said flatly. “Everyone here heard it. We’re betting our lives. If I succeed, he dies. If I fail, I die. Let’s settle this in the Pill Hall—today, one of us must die.”
Without another word, Yu Xian strode out of the hall.
Zhou Wen frowned. If this kid truly knows alchemy, then all suspicion disappears…
Gao suddenly panicked and shouted, “Refining pills doesn’t mean tossing herbs into a furnace! It only counts if the pill is high-grade or above!”
“Fine,” Yu Xian didn’t even look back. “High-grade pills. If I fail—I die. If I succeed—you die!”
“Let’s go see!” Zhou Wen followed, taking long strides.
Everyone exchanged glances and followed as well.
Gao’s face turned pale. He clenched his fists but refused to believe this fifteen-year-old could actually make a high-grade pill.
Grinding his teeth, Gao stomped after them.
—
The Herb Pavilion and Pill Hall weren’t far apart. Within one incense stick’s time, the group arrived at the Pill Hall.
Their arrival caused quite a stir.
A few Pill Hall disciples recognized Gao and his gang. Seeing their battered faces, they laughed loudly.
“Gao Cong, what happened to you this time? Got in a fight with a miner again? Looks like you lost bad! Hahaha!”
Gao Cong’s expression was icy, and he said nothing.
Yu Xian stepped forward. “I’d like to rent Heaven-Class Alchemy Room One.”
“Rent a private room? Planning to cheat and refine in secret?”
Gao sneered. “No way! You refine it right here in the main hall—in front of everyone!”
Alchemy required peace and focus. Doing it here, surrounded by noise and scrutiny, would reduce the success rate by at least 30%.
But Yu Xian nodded. “Fine. So you’ll have no excuses when you lose. Bring a pill furnace, fire charcoal, and purification liquid.”
Gao’s eye twitched. “You’ll be the one dying today!”
Most of the Pill Hall disciples didn’t know what was going on.
Zhou Wen spoke coldly, “Judiciary Hall is conducting an investigation. Go prepare the furnace and materials. He’ll refine publicly to prove his innocence.”
Hearing that the Judiciary Hall was involved, the disciples were shocked. A few quickly nodded. “Yes, Senior Brothers! Please wait!”
Soon, two disciples carried a pill furnace to the center of the hall and laid out bamboo charcoal and purification liquid on either side.
A simple makeshift alchemy station was ready.
“Start! Let’s see if you really can refine pills!”
Gao Cong sneered with barely contained malice.
By now, dozens of disciples—both buyers and Pill Hall members—had gathered.
Public alchemy in the Pill Hall? In the main hall, no less?
Unheard of.
People came crowding in. Before long, over a hundred were gathered, creating an even bigger scene than sect tournaments.
Yu Xian scanned the crowd and raised his voice.
“Senior Brothers and Sisters, you are all my witnesses. Gao Cong and I have made a life-and-death wager. If I can’t refine a high-grade pill—I die. If I can—he dies. If anyone dares to back out, I hope you all will help the winner claim the loser’s life!”
An uproar burst from the crowd.
Even Gao Cong’s face turned ghostly pale.
This kid… he’s really betting his life!?
Doesn’t he fear failure!?
But Yu Xian said no more. He stepped forward, checked the furnace, then sat down cross-legged before it.
With a wave of his hand, a neat set of Bloodburst Pill herbs laid itself out before him.
