After successfully taking down the Ten Directions Sect’s stronghold, Zou Feng didn’t need to worry about the aftermath.
Upon returning to the Dragon Gate Boat, he prescribed medicine and performed acupuncture for a few injured gang members, and soon found himself with time on his hands.
Although he was eager to start reading the Great Compassion Hand manual, he knew he had to warn Bian Yixia about the mole in the Black Flood Dragon Gang right away.
So, Zou Feng asked someone for Bian Yixia’s location and headed over immediately.
To his surprise, after returning, Bian Yixia hadn’t chosen to rest. Instead, she had gone to the Practice Room again.
When Zou Feng arrived at the Practice Room, Bian Yixia seemed to be reviewing her previous fight with the Ten Directions Teaching Envoy, occasionally lifting her Round Hammer and swinging it through the air.
’Isn’t this a bit much? Is she really such a Martial Fool?’
’But everything should be done in moderation. Going too far is as bad as not going far enough.’
’Unless you’re like me and don’t have to worry about the side effects of Cultivation...’
"Miss!"
He often sparred with Bian Yixia, so they were fairly familiar with each other. Knowing her informal nature, Zou Feng walked right in.
"You need something?"
Bian Yixia didn’t turn around, still shadow-fighting as she reviewed her earlier battle.
Zou Feng got straight to the point. "I suspect we have a Ten Directions Sect mole in our gang!"
Hearing this, Bian Yixia finally stopped her movements and turned around. "Do you have any leads?"
"Ever since I moved into the Dragon Gate Boat, I haven’t left at all. But today, the moment I went out for a banquet, I was immediately targeted..."
Bian Yixia pondered this. "That is indeed a possibility."
"However, the Ten Directions Sect is on its last legs. They can barely protect themselves. Anyone still working for them at a time like this must have been kicked in the head by a donkey, right?"
For an Evil Cult that was clearly going to be wiped out sooner or later, choosing to cooperate with the Ten Directions Sect and act as a mole would be an act of utter foolishness, unless they were being forced.
But Zou Feng had a feeling that the Ten Directions Sect was still putting up a desperate struggle because they were planning something big.
"I’m afraid the Ten Directions Sect might have another trick up its sleeve..." Zou Feng voiced his concern.
But Bian Yixia was dismissive. "Whatever trick they have, could it really force the Celestial Essence Sword Sect to stop moving against them?"
"But the Ten Directions Sect has many sinister methods. It’s possible they’ve used some other means to control one of our brothers."
"Fine. I’ll have someone look into it and see if anyone in the gang has been acting abnormally lately."
Despite her words, Zou Feng felt that Bian Yixia wasn’t taking the matter seriously.
But in the end, he had only inferred a possibility; he didn’t have any concrete evidence.
Seeing that Bian Yixia wanted to continue reviewing her recent fight, Zou Feng felt he couldn’t say any more and took his leave.
He hurried back to the pharmacy, only to find that Wang Xingjian had arrived at some point and was waiting for him.
"Brother Wang, didn’t you go back to the casino with Master Chen?"
Wang Xingjian said, "I did, but Master Chen sent me back to bring you some Elixirs, my worthy brother."
"Master Chen also instructed that while your work in the pharmacy shouldn’t be neglected, you absolutely must not neglect your Cultivation because of it."
Ever since joining the Black Flood Dragon Gang, Chen Jingsheng had found various reasons to reward Zou Feng with some extremely high-quality Elixirs every ten days or so.
At first, Zou Feng thought it was because his superior appreciated him.
Chen Jingsheng urgently needed another capable subordinate in the gang.
But ever since he’d gotten injured that one time, Chen Jingsheng—a man who rarely showed his emotions—had actually become frantic. He’d even blamed Zou Feng for overreaching and putting himself in a dangerous situation...
This made Zou Feng feel that his superior was a little too concerned about his subordinate.
Especially since he hadn’t been in the Black Flood Dragon Gang for very long, nor had he spent much time with his superior.
"By the way, this time we took down a Ten Directions Sect stronghold and killed a Commander. Do you have any idea what the reward from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect will be, worthy brother?" Wang Xingjian asked mysteriously.
Zou Feng really had no idea about that.
The last time he participated in clearing out the shantytown, a Seventh Grade remnant of the Ten Directions Sect had also been executed.
But that was because a disciple from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect had arrived just in time and killed him, essentially kill-stealing.
The various factions involved in the operation were rewarded based on their contributions, but it was nothing more than a considerable amount of silver taels and Elixirs like the Qi Blood Pill.
A situation like this, where the Black Flood Dragon Gang took down a stronghold on its own and Bian Yixia killed a Seventh Grade Commander, had truly never happened before.
"Among the rewards from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, besides Pure Pills, could they possibly be giving out a few high-quality Spiritual Artifacts?" Zou Feng replied casually.
Wang Xingjian smiled and shook his head. "The Spiritual Artifacts that we Low Grade Martial Artists can handle aren’t all that special. What’s truly useful are Elixirs!"
"But not common Elixirs like Qi Blood Pills or Essence Strengthening Pills. I’m talking about the exclusive Pure Pills refined internally by the Celestial Essence Sword Sect!"
As soon as he said that, Zou Feng immediately understood.
Qi Blood Pills and Essence Strengthening Pills weren’t cheap, but you could buy them as long as you had money, and they were never out of stock.
That alone said a lot. In the end, Qi Blood Pills and Essence Strengthening Pills were just common goods.
But the exclusive Elixirs refined internally by the Celestial Essence Sword Sect were premium goods that you couldn’t necessarily buy even if you had the money.
Although these Elixirs occasionally appeared at certain trading venues, they were ultimately rare and elusive treasures.
These exclusive Elixirs, which others couldn’t refine or mass-produce, were one of the reasons why the Major Sects could remain standing.
To put it bluntly, they had mastered a portion of this world’s core technology.
Even the Evil Pills of the Ten Directions Sect were difficult for other factions to imitate and refine.
Especially the Divine Inviting Pill. Even Zou Feng, a physician who was quite well-versed in pharmacology, couldn’t understand the principles behind it at all.
It felt like it already involved metaphysics, or knowledge at the level of "Skills."
Seeing that Zou Feng understood the key point, Wang Xingjian continued, "Worthy brother, your contribution this time was huge. After all, you were the one who found the stronghold."
"During the fight, you also took care of a Ninth Grade Ten Directions Cultist on your own and helped the other brothers achieve great things repeatedly..."
"Therefore, Master Chen said he will do his best to get you one of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect’s exclusive Elixirs."
"And with one of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect’s exclusive Elixirs, worthy brother, breaking through to the Eighth Grade in a short time shouldn’t be a problem. Even the hidden dangers you’ve accumulated could likely be mostly resolved by those Elixirs!"
To be honest, if he could really obtain an exclusive Elixir from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, Zou Feng would naturally jump at the chance.
’But it’s still the same question. Is Chen Jingsheng treating me like an adopted son!?’
Zou Feng really couldn’t figure it out. Why was he being so good to him?
Zou Feng had investigated before. The Cultivation Skill Chen Jingsheng practiced was no secret in the Black Flood Dragon Gang; many brothers in the gang were also training in it.
So, Zou Feng had long ago chatted with the gang members who practiced this Skill and asked about its various characteristics.
The conclusion he reached was that the Cultivation Skill Chen Jingsheng practiced was not one that required a human "Great Medicine."
Besides, after joining the Black Flood Dragon Gang, he had chosen the three Evil Skills, including the Tribulation-Indestructible Body, himself.
"Master Chen is taking such good care of me... Brother Wang, it’s actually making me a little nervous. That thing you mentioned last time, what is it exactly that the Hall Master needs my help with?"
"Can you give me a little hint? So this little brother can be prepared and serve the Hall Master with peace of mind," Zou Feng said with a wry smile.
But Wang Xingjian just clapped him on the shoulder. "The Hall Master won’t let me say. He’s afraid it will affect your Cultivation."
"In any case, just focus on your Cultivation and try to break through to the Eighth Grade soon. Trust me, it’s definitely not a bad thing. Even if it doesn’t succeed in the end, you and I can both walk away unscathed."
Seeing that Wang Xingjian still wouldn’t talk, Zou Feng could only nod helplessly.
’Well, panicking is useless. I’ve already advanced to the Eighth Grade anyway.’
’Once I master the Great Compassion Hand and am confident I can take on a Seventh Grade opponent, it shouldn’t be a big deal no matter what Chen Jingsheng wants my help with.’
After chatting for a while longer, Wang Xingjian took his leave.
After seeing Wang Xingjian off, Zou Feng eagerly went into the back room of the pharmacy and took out the Great Compassion Hand manual.
He first held the book as if it were a priceless treasure, examining it for a moment before finally opening the first page.
"To practice this skill, one must first..."
Before he could finish reading, Zou Feng’s heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, the next words weren’t "first castrate oneself."
"...first honor the Ten Directions Divine King and perform Visualization of the Divine King Dharma Aspect!"
"Before cultivating this Skill to the Realm of Integration and Mastery, one must not engage in sexual intercourse, nor ’take matters into one’s own hands’."
Reading this, Zou Feng was a little speechless. ’Some Great Compassion Hand this is. It’s like practicing a Child Skill...’
Moreover, after Vice Gang Leader Xiang Kang was struck by the palm, his Yang Qi was blocked, rendering him impotent.
’So instead, it forces others to practice a Child Skill.’
’So if you want to strike others and make them sever their passions and desires, you have to sever your own first, is that it?’
’As abstruse as expected.’
As he continued to flip through the manual, Zou Feng quickly got a general idea of the preparations needed to cultivate the Great Compassion Hand.
First, before each Cultivation session, he had to perform Visualization of the Ten Directions Divine King’s Dharma Aspect.
The manual itself contained a lifelike Ten Directions Divine King Dharma Image.
Even finding a statue of the Ten Directions Divine King would be simple.
Every time they had wiped out a Ten Directions Sect stronghold, they had basically confiscated miniature statues of the Ten Directions Divine King. The Ten Directions Cultists had clearly commissioned them for easy carrying and worship.
If he really needed one, Zou Feng could just go ask Bian Yixia for one. He could say he wanted to study the statues to see if they had any special Restrictions, or if they might be Magical Artifacts or something.
’But for now, I’ll try visualizing the Dharma Image and see what happens.’
Performing Visualization before cultivating a Cultivation Skill wasn’t a rare practice.
For example, with various Mimicry Fists, the Five Beasts Pile Skill, and so on, first visualizing the corresponding animal to leave a deep impression in one’s mind was inherently beneficial for better Cultivation.
The same applied to the Five Poison Pile Skill that Zou Feng had created himself.
Every time he used the Toad Stance or the Centipede Stance, he would get into character, even brainwashing himself into believing he had become a giant toad...
The problem was, the Great Compassion Hand was not a Cultivation Skill in the same category as Mimicry Fist.
Therefore, Zou Feng was very curious: was visualizing the Divine King Dharma Aspect just a symbolic formality for an Evil Cult’s Skill, or did it have some truly sinister meaning?