At this moment, Lin Zhuoran’s thoughts were identical to Li Chang’an’s from back then. A Demon Soul leaving the body meant death. He never expected to see Old Turtle’s Demon Soul in Li Chang’an’s hands.
"Fake! It must be fake! I even received the patriarch’s teachings before I left the Sect. How could the patriarch be dead?"
Lin Zhuoran refused to believe it, thinking Li Chang’an was deceiving him with an Illusion Technique. But he soon heard a familiar tone.
"What are you spouting, you brat? I’m not dead yet!"
Old Turtle was furious. Everyone who saw his Demon Soul thought he was dead. It was truly bad luck.
Hearing this, Lin Zhuoran shuddered. He asked in disbelief, "Patriarch, is it really you?"
"Nonsense, who else could it be?"
Old Turtle immediately recounted Lin Zhuoran’s experiences in the Sect, as well as the teachings he had imparted to him in the past. Only he and Lin Zhuoran knew about those specific teachings.
After hearing this, Lin Zhuoran had no choice but to believe it. The Demon Soul in the Crystal Bottle was indeed Old Turtle!
"Patriarch, how did you end up like this? Who harmed you?"
"Your master, Holy Fire, of course!"
"Master? Master... he..."
Lin Zhuoran opened his mouth, truly unwilling to believe it, and for a moment, he was completely at a loss. He had always believed Holy Fire True Monarch’s words without a shred of doubt. Because of this, he had firmly believed that Li Chang’an was a Demonic Cultivator’s spy who was simply hiding too well for any evidence to be found.
However, what he saw and heard today completely overturned his entire understanding. His upright and righteous master was actually a spy for the Demonic Path, while the highly suspicious Li Chang’an was innocent and had even preserved Old Turtle’s Soul.
"How could this be..." Lin Zhuoran muttered softly, slumping to the ground.
Seeing his devastated state, Old Turtle and Li Chang’an exchanged a glance and communicated via Sound Transmission.
"Li, in your opinion, has this kid defected to the Demonic Path? I suspect he might be in disguise, just like his master."
After Holy Fire’s betrayal, Old Turtle’s suspicion far exceeded its past bounds; he hardly dared to trust anyone anymore.
Li Chang’an replied, "There are no Demonic restrictions in his body, nor are there any Treasures for contacting Demonic Cultivators in his Storage Pouch. All of his Treasures are completely normal."
He felt that Lin Zhuoran probably wasn’t a Demonic spy, but he couldn’t be absolutely certain.
Over the next half an hour.
Li Chang’an subjected Lin Zhuoran to a comprehensive interrogation. He used various methods, even resorting to Illusion Poison, but still failed to extract any highly valuable information. Lin Zhuoran simply didn’t know much about Holy Fire True Monarch.
After the interrogation ended.
Lin Zhuoran remained in a daze, still unable to accept all of this.
"There must be a misunderstanding. How could Master collude with the Demonic Path? Li Chang’an, release me and let me return to the Black Tortoise Sect. I need to ask Master about this face-to-face."
Li Chang’an ignored him. With a wave of his hand, he pulled Lin Zhuoran back into the Spirit Beast Bag. His figure blurred as he left the cave dwelling, quickly patrolling the entire Changqing Mountain region to confirm there were no further ambushes.
Following this.
He entered the Alchemy Room deep within Changqing Mountain and sat cross-legged before the Pill Furnace, preparing to refine the Beast Heart Pill.
"The difficulty of refining this pill is quite high. It’s likely approaching that of a Tier Four Middle Grade Elixir. I cannot be careless."
Li Chang’an took a deep breath and took out numerous Alchemy Materials. Although he had plenty of materials, he didn’t want to waste them and hoped to succeed on the first try if possible.
A moment later.
He activated his Pill Fire and tossed the materials into the Pill Furnace one by one. The early stages went smoothly, but during the fusion of the medicinal liquids, the entire cluster of liquid instantly exploded, turning into a wisp of green smoke inside the Pill Furnace.
"Failed."
Li Chang’an’s expression remained calm as he silently pondered the process of his failure.
After a while.
He reactivated his Pill Fire and began the second refining. This time went very smoothly. The pill quickly took shape, and a rich Pill Fragrance wafted out from the Pill Furnace.
"Come!"
Li Chang’an beckoned with his hand, and a round, brown pill fell into his palm.
By his side, Xiaohai and Dahuang both looked on with faces full of longing. The Beast Heart Pill could stimulate a Demon Beast’s potential, elevating their strength to the next level.
"Don’t be impatient." Li Chang’an smiled and didn’t feed it to them right away.
He took out more materials and continued to refine a third batch. This batch was also a success. The subsequent fourth and fifth batches resulted in one success and one failure, yielding only one more finished product.
"Three successes and two failures. Exactly three finished pills!"
One would be used for trading, and the other two were just right for Xiaohai and Dahuang. However, Li Chang’an kept the pills for the time being. He held off on giving the pills to his two beasts because he worried they might have side effects, intending to test them on other Demon Beasts first.
That night.
He arrived at the Western Hundred Beasts Sect and found two Tier Three Flood Dragon Kings: the Cyan Scale Flood Dragon King and the Fire Element Flood Dragon King. Both of these Flood Dragon Kings possessed a thin trace of Dragon Race bloodline. According to the Beast Taming inheritance records, the Beast Heart Pill could stimulate their bloodline potential, making their Dragon Race bloodline much richer.
"Cyan Scale, Fire Element, I promised back then that I would help you embark on the path of Dragon Transformation!"
As he spoke, Li Chang’an tossed out two Beast Heart Pills. "These are Beast Heart Pills, an exclusive Elixir Pill of the Ancient Beast Taming Sect. They can stimulate your Dragon Race bloodline, but there might be side effects. You can decide for yourselves whether to take them or not."
Hearing this, the two Flood Dragon Kings exchanged a glance and quickly made up their minds. Barring any miracles, reaching the Tier Three Peak would be the absolute limit of their cultivation in this lifetime; stepping onto the Tier Four path was nearly impossible. This Beast Heart Pill could perhaps change their destinies!
"Thank you, Master!"
The two Flood Dragons no longer hesitated and swallowed the Beast Heart Pills simultaneously. An instant later, expressions of pain surfaced on both of their faces, and a faint, blood-red flame ignited around their bodies, as if they were undergoing some sort of metamorphosis. Li Chang’an’s expression was focused as he carefully sensed the changes occurring within them.