Inside the Flaming Mountain cave abode.
Looking at the exploded "First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak," Lu Yang's expression gradually grew perverse. He then looked at the Pill Maiden and the Cauldron Boy, whose faces were filled with terror.
"You... how is this possible?!"
Disbelief filled the faces of the two children. The Pill Maiden, in particular, looked as if she had suffered some internal injury; her face was deathly pale, and a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.
Seeing this, Lu Yang nodded slightly. "I see. You two are Dao Arts cultivators. Your Dao Arts' profound wonders must be concealing karma and creating illusions. Coupled with the formation empowerment here, you can practically pass off fakes as genuine, even fooling Great Perfected Lords. Truly remarkable."
Lu Yang's praise came from the bottom of his heart.
Just thinking about it, if Perfected Lord Supreme Law Upholding Origin and the Great Celestial Master from the Mysterious Wall had not truly seen the First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak, how could they have agreed to cooperate?
Therefore, they must have seen him.
Moreover, he had also observed seriously just now and similarly failed to discover the truth.
Despite the gap in stature, being able to stand before a Great Perfected Lord without revealing the slightest flaw truly deserved the evaluation of "remarkable."
"Unfortunately, a fake is ultimately a fake."
Lu Yang shook his head. "When not fighting, perhaps you could barely maintain the facade. But once you actually exchange blows with a Great Perfected Lord, it can no longer be hidden."
On the other side, upon hearing this, the Pill Maiden's already pale pretty face grew even more ashen. In her heart, however, she was cursing profusely. Who hadn't heard of her Master's reputation? Under normal circumstances, how could a mere Perfected Lord have the courage to attack her Master? Even if they did, the Perfected Lord could be handled by the illusion itself.
This was also considered a clever trick.
As long as the created illusion could instantly kill a Perfected Lord, then even if it wasn't a Great Perfected Lord, it was essentially the same to a Perfected Lord. No one would suspect a thing.
However, crossing blows with someone at the same realm instantly exposed the flaw.
This was why the [Flaming Mountain] did not welcome Great Perfected Lords. But the Pill Maiden and the Cauldron Boy never imagined... a Great Perfected Lord would sneak into the [Flaming Mountain].
This made no sense!
The [Purple-Azure Doushuai Fire] surrounding the mountain and its corresponding restrictive formations were methods left behind by their Master. Logically, no one below a Heaven Treading Great Perfected Lord could break them.
Why could someone bypass them?
More importantly... now that someone had snuck in, what about Master's plan? Would it fail at the final hurdle because of their negligence?
Thinking of this, despair surfaced in both their eyes.
Seeing this, Lu Yang frowned slightly. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Do you know Baihe?"
"...Huh?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Pill Maiden and the Cauldron Boy, who had already shown a willingness to fight to the death, were instantly taken aback. "Senior Brother Baihe? What relationship do you have with Senior Brother Baihe..."
Before they could finish, Lu Yang grabbed their hands:
"I finally found you!"
Lu Yang looked agitated and spoke rapidly:
"To tell you the truth, Fellow Daoist Baihe and I were sworn brothers. I am the person he trusted the most, to the point that he even gave his dying legacy to me.
"He said he let Senior Pill Cauldron down and held him back. His dying wish was to help Senior Pill Cauldron refine that [Nascent Soul Pill]. After learning everything, I managed to swallow the [Cycle of Life and Death Pill] he gave me and rushed to the Netherworld, intending to help my dearest friend fulfill his wish..."
Lu Yang spoke with deep emotion, tears and snot streaming down his face.
This display left the Pill Maiden and the Cauldron Boy dumbfounded. The two children exchanged a glance, then asked hesitantly, "Is that really true?"
"Of course it's true."
Lu Yang lowered his voice. Unbeknownst to them, a bright lamp had already been lit inside and outside the cave abode. The shadows beneath the lamp crawled up their cheeks like venomous snakes.
"Do I not look like a good person?"
The Pill Maiden paused, somewhat fearful. "Not really..."
Lu Yang's expression didn't change as he continued amiably, "You must be mistaken. Look again."
Urged by him, the Pill Maiden looked again. Then, a bewildered look appeared in her eyes. "You know, looking again, you kind of do look like a good person..."
"That's right!"
Lu Yang smiled. "In short, with me here, you don't need to worry about anything going wrong with Senior Pill Cauldron's plan. I will arrange everything. You can set your minds at ease."
"This..."
The Pill Maiden and the Cauldron Boy exchanged a glance. Under Lu Yang's gaze, all their resistance was wiped away, leaving only trust. "Then we will leave it to you, Senior."
After saying that, they even showed cheerful expressions. "Master really didn't lie to us! Even though he is gone, someone will still come to refine the [Nascent Soul Pill]. Please come this way, Senior. We will take you to Master's pill recipe right now. The Nascent Soul Pill and the real Origin Jade are both kept there."
"Oh? Really?"
Hearing this, Lu Yang immediately rubbed his hands together embarrassedly. "Since that's the case, I will reluctantly take on the burden of safeguarding these items for you first."
Soon, the three of them left the cave abode.
Not long after, Lu Yang arrived at another area of the [Flaming Mountain]. Situated amidst dangerous peaks, it was a pavilion built upon a cliff face.
The pavilion doors were wide open.
Inside the pavilion sat a three-legged cauldron. The [Purple-Azure Doushuai Fire] that encircled the entire [Flaming Mountain] surged out from beneath this very cauldron.
Next to the cauldron laid a golden book, covered in dense, interwoven talismanic characters that constantly flashed and shifted. Lu Yang was even familiar with some of the occasionally appearing scriptures—they were contents from the [Golden Liquid Returning Core Diagram], along with many others.
"This is the [Dragon and Tiger Pill Scripture]."
On the other side, the Cauldron Boy, who had already started drooling slightly, slowly explained, "Master specifically left this item behind. The pill recipe for the [Nascent Soul Pill] is written inside..."
While speaking, the three of them had already walked into the room.
"Oh, right."
Just then, Lu Yang suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, where exactly did Senior Pill Cauldron's true body go? Isn't he worried something might happen to the [Nascent Soul Pill]?"
Hearing this, the Cauldron Boy and the Pill Maiden simultaneously fell silent. After a good while, they sighed and said sorrowfully, "Master is already dead."
"...What?" Lu Yang froze.
The First-generation Master of Pill Cauldron Peak was dead?!
"How did he die?" he quickly pressed.
The Pill Maiden and the Cauldron Boy spoke word by word, sobbing softly:
"He was killed by Master's teacher, that old... that immortal old Lord. Right when he was entering the Netherworld, his soul scattered before the Three Lives Stone.
"He didn't even leave a true spirit behind."
Hearing this, Lu Yang's brow gradually furrowed. "He didn't escape the Dao Lord's sight?"
The Pill Maiden smiled bitterly. "He couldn't escape."
"Master said he had to die. Only if he died could we enter the Netherworld. So, he sacrificed himself as bait for our sakes.
"Only by doing this would the [Nascent Soul Pill] have a chance."
"So that's how it is." Lu Yang frowned deeply, then shook his head. "How lamentable."
"Yes, so..."
Before the words finished, with a soft click, Lu Yang turned his head, only to see that the figures of the Pill Maiden and the Cauldron Boy had long since vanished. Unbeknownst to him, they had retreated outside the pavilion.
And on their faces, where was the foolish, dazed expression of having their sea of consciousness clouded?
Only sheer ferocity remained!
"...Demon, go accompany my master in death!"
The next second, the pavilion doors slammed shut. The entire structure shifted its appearance, revealing its true form. This was no pavilion at all; it was a towering pill cauldron!
Seeing this, Lu Yang looked surprised. "What is the meaning of this, you two Fellow Daoists? I'm a good person..."
"Shut up, demon!"
Before he could finish, the Pill Maiden cursed out loud, gritting her silver teeth. "Still trying to trick us? We recognized that bastard stench on you long ago!"
"Go to hell!"