Three Sins Against Heaven

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Inside the attic, Mark Ye grasped the Spirit Stone, and pure Spiritual Energy continuously flowed into his body. In less than an hour, he had completely absorbed the Spiritual Energy from the stone.

The Spirit Stone, now devoid of Spiritual Energy, turned into an ordinary rock, losing all its luster.

Mark Ye crushed the stone into powder and fell into deep thought.

Absorbing one Spirit Stone was equivalent to ten days of cultivation. With his talent, if he had enough Spirit Stones, he could break through to the second level of Qi Refinement in just a few months.

However, the Demonic Extreme Sect had many disciples. Even though his talent was exceptional enough to be accepted as a personal disciple, the care his master could provide was limited.

Moreover, the Demonic Extreme Sect always believed in the law of the jungle. To obtain more cultivation resources, one had to fight for them with their own strength. Only by finding a way to acquire enough Spirit Stones could he maintain his cultivation speed.

With this in mind, Mark Ye slowly stood up and left the courtyard.

The light screen covering the courtyard began to ripple. After observing for some time, the people inside the room knew this meant Mark Ye had left.

Out of caution, no one dared to speak first, and the courtyard remained eerily silent.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, the sound of a window opening was heard. Ryan Ji poked half his head out of the window.

"He's gone, really gone this time. Judging by his demeanor, he won't be back for a while. Come on out and chat. That guy can really endure, sitting in the room for twenty days without saying a word. It's driving me crazy. Dylan, are you mute?"

Only then did Dylan Chen push open his window and look at Ryan Ji. His gaze fell on Ryan's temples, where his hair had turned gray like dried grass, and his expression became complicated.

"Your hair has turned white."

Ryan was taken aback and pointed at Dylan's temples, "Yours too. That bastard, not only did he absorb my Spiritual Energy, but he also drained my vitality. Damn it!"

Carol Yan pushed open her window and stuck her head out. Seeing the gray hair at Ryan and Dylan's temples, she couldn't help but cover her mouth in shock, then her eyes dimmed.

"No need to ask, mine must be white too. Ryan, do I look ugly like this?"

Ryan comforted her gently, "How could that be? No matter what you look like, you're always the most beautiful."@@novelbin@@

Carol whispered, "How long do you think we can live like this?"

Dylan didn't speak, and Ryan fell silent. They were all aware of their own bodies. Each of them knew the answer but was unwilling to say it out loud.

Two years, at most two years, and their vitality would be completely drained, leading to their deaths.

Next door, Roy Li was secretly wiping his tears. Although he wasn't crying loudly, Dylan and the others could hear him clearly.

Ryan asked, "Why are you crying?"

"I'm only thirteen; I don't want to die." Roy Li began to sob.

Ryan impatiently said, "Crying, crying, all you do is cry. If crying were useful, you might as well cry Mark Ye to death. A real man bleeds but doesn't cry. Stop crying!"

"But I really don't want to die. I don't have the courage to face death like you do. I want to go home. My parents are waiting for me. I was kidnapped. If I die, my parents will be heartbroken." The more Roy Li thought about it, the more upset he became, and his crying grew louder.

"Enough, stop crying!" Ryan shouted, his voice so loud it startled Roy Li into silence. "What's the use of crying? If you don't want to die, find a way to escape. You can..."

"Ryan!" Dylan immediately stopped Ryan, shaking his head.

Ryan realized his mistake and quickly shut his mouth.

He and Dylan were naturally unwilling to die like this and had been thinking of ways to escape, but they couldn't say it out loud.

If Roy Li told Mark Ye about their plans, they would be doomed.

Ryan cleared his throat and changed the subject, teasing, "Dylan, I've found someone even quieter than you."

"Who?" Dylan asked.

"Who else? It's him, of course." Ryan pointed to the room on the far right. "Since he came here, he hasn't said a word. He's like a mute!"

Ralph Zhao, who lived in the far-right room, didn't respond at all, not even opening his window.

He was the most obedient of the five. Even when Mark Ye wasn't around, he strictly followed his orders and didn't speak.

Suddenly, the light screen above the courtyard began to ripple. The few of them quickly closed their windows.

Not long after, Mark Ye entered the inner courtyard. This time, however, he didn't go straight into the attic as usual but came to the outside of their rooms.

"Come out."

Their hearts sank immediately. Could it be that Mark Ye had heard them talking just now?

With anxious hearts, they walked out of their rooms. Bathing in the long-lost sunlight felt like needles on their backs as they nervously looked at Mark Ye. Seeing him holding a pitch-black tiger cub, their eyes filled with confusion.

Mark Ye handed the tiger cub to Ryan and pointed at Ralph Zhao, instructing, "From now on, you two are responsible for feeding this Mystic Tiger. Feed it fresh meat three times a day. There are livestock in the pasture at the foot of the mountain. Go get it yourselves. Each outing must not exceed the time it takes to burn a stick of incense."

"There's land outside the courtyard. Plant these seeds and nourish them with Spiritual Energy." Mark Ye handed a handful of seeds to Carol Yan and then took out a block of silver weighing several hundred pounds and a heavy black iron hammer from his Storage Bag.

The five of them were stunned. They had never seen so much money in their lives.

"You will be responsible for forging, refining the silver essence with Spiritual Energy." Mark Ye glanced at Roy Li and then demonstrated the hand seal to open the light screen.

They couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. This meant they would have a chance to go outside for some fresh air in the future.

Finally, Mark Ye beckoned Dylan to follow him into the attic. On the top floor, he took out a palm-sized jade token and handed it to Dylan.

"Use your spiritual sense to check it."

This was no ordinary jade but a jade slip made from refined jade marrow, capable of containing Spiritual Energy.

After being imprinted with a cultivator's spiritual sense, it could store sounds and even images, often used to record cultivation techniques and manuals.

Dylan cautiously released his spiritual sense into the jade slip, and a low, hoarse voice immediately sounded in his ear.

"Alchemy, understanding medicinal properties and the Five Elements, gathering the essence of herbs and trees to form pills..."

"First-grade Spirit Gathering Pill, seven clusters of root, one Spirit Mist Flower..."

After the voice faded, Dylan stood in place, repeatedly recalling the information to ensure he hadn't forgotten anything before returning the jade slip to Mark Ye.

Pills were made by gathering the essence of natural treasures. Each pill had different effects and varying grades. The higher the grade, the stronger the pill's effect.

Pills were graded from one to ten, with one being the lowest and ten being the highest. The highest grade of pills that a Qi Refinement cultivator could refine was second-grade.

As for the first-grade Spirit Gathering Pill recorded in the jade slip, consuming it could accelerate the absorption of Spiritual Energy, making cultivation more efficient.

Mark Ye placed a dark pill furnace in front of Dylan and, with a wave of his hand, piled the ground with medicinal herbs.

"Begin."

Dylan was stunned. Although he had guessed this after reading the jade slip, hearing Mark Ye actually ask him to refine pills still felt a bit unbelievable.

The jade slip only contained a basic introduction to alchemy and the recipe for the Spirit Gathering Pill. It didn't include the specific techniques for pill refining. How was he supposed to do it?