The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

Never underestimate an Alchemist’s perception, especially that of a Top Level Alchemist. Their senses are far sharper than you can imagine.

This was especially true for an existence like Qin Ya, who had once stood at the pinnacle of the Alchemy Dao.

His eyes narrowed slightly, his perception fully extended.

"Hehe, Qin Ya, what’s wrong?" The charming laughter of the fake Li Peiyi echoed in his ears. Suddenly, with a sound of slicing air, a longsword radiating a cold, clear light shot straight for Qin Ya’s heart.

"There you are!"

He dodged to the side and thrust his spear out abruptly. S-SLIICE! The sound of tearing fabric. The fake Li Peiyi’s clothes were ripped open by the spear, revealing a large patch of snow-white skin. Qin Ya raised his eyes, his expression unchanging, and whipped the spear back without a hint of mercy for the fairer sex.

The fake Li Peiyi was startled and shot back several dozen feet. Gazing at Qin Ya from afar, she said with a tearful expression, "Qin Ya, you’re so cruel."

Pointing his spear at her, Qin Ya executed his Body Technique, instantly closing the distance to the fake Li Peiyi. With a fierce howl of wind, he unleashed the Wind-Splitting Spear Technique.

"You really don’t know how to appreciate a woman."

The fake Li Peiyi thrusted her own sword forward. Rampant True Essence kicked up wind and sand, sending stones flying. In that instant, Qin Ya understood her Cultivation level.

It was, shockingly, the Earth Element Realm!

BOOM! Sand and stone flew everywhere!

The two were thrown back. The fake Li Peiyi was secretly dumbfounded. ’This kid is a fucking freak,’ she thought. ’He can actually withstand an Earth Element Realm expert with just his Spiritual Element.’

"Heh, you don’t like me like this?"

The fake Li Peiyi gave a charming laugh. Her sleeves fluttered, and she transformed again, now appearing as a white-robed, silver-haired girl with a bashful look on her face.

It was another person Qin Ya knew... Leng Ningshuang!

"What a troublesome skill. Enough of this!"

Qin Ya barked coldly. Faced with another familiar person, the chill in his eyes deepened. Faint frost began to condense on his spear as a moon of frost materialized in the air, and the ambient temperature plummeted.

"This is... Frost Momentum! Heh, is this the move you used to kill Wang Yan? I believe it’s called... Moon Chasing."

Wearing Leng Ningshuang’s face, she laughed charmingly, but a trace of solemnity gradually appeared in her eyes. She gripped her sword tightly, gathering her power.

"Try and see!"

Qin Ya shouted coldly, and his spear thrust out, accompanied by endless frost!

A piercing north wind blew, freezing the very heavens and earth!

"A fine attack!"

The fake Leng Ningshuang’s expression was grim. Her True Essence surged, and she poured it into the blade of her sword!

Amidst the endless wind and frost, she created her own domain, then unleashed a sudden slash. A Sword Qi several dozen feet long met the oncoming frost!

With a loud BOOM, dust and smoke billowed everywhere!

"Hmm..."

Qin Ya’s brow furrowed. The figure before him had vanished.

"Who is fighting here?!"

Suddenly, a deep shout rang out. An Iron Armor Soldier with a longsword at his waist walked over, looked at Qin Ya, and yelled, "What are you doing here?!"

"Wind-Splitting!" Qin Ya smiled coldly and thrust his spear at the Iron Armor Soldier without hesitation. The soldier’s face fell. He drew his sword to block but was still sent flying over a hundred feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Bastard, what are you doing? Attacking an Imperial Soldier is a capital crime! Aren’t you afraid of death?"

The soldier’s expression was furious as he pointed his sword at Qin Ya and shouted. In contrast, Qin Ya just smiled coldly and said, "You idiot. How could an ordinary Imperial Soldier survive a blow from my spear?"

Hearing this, the Iron Armor Soldier covered their mouth and chuckled lightly. The laugh was ethereal and pleasant, but it was a woman’s voice. Paired with the male soldier’s appearance, it was rather bizarre. Qin Ya’s expression, however, remained unchanged, as if he wasn’t surprised at all.

"I’m the one who’s curious. How exactly did you see through my Disguise Skill?" The Iron Armor Soldier’s body twisted, sleeves flew, and light gauze floated in the air as they transformed back into a seductive woman. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Her face was stunningly beautiful, with crimson lips and pearly teeth, her eyebrows like willow leaves. Every glance was full of grace. The cinnabar dot on her forehead, in particular, made her even more captivating.

"Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Hua Wuchang, but I’m known as Thousand Faces. I’m an assassin from the Black Market." Hua Wuchang gave a seductive smile, her eyes fixed on Qin Ya, sparkling with a strange light. Her Disguise Skill could be called flawless; even a Martial Artist a full Realm higher than her might not be able to see through it.

And here was Qin Ya, whose Cultivation hadn’t even reached the Earth Element Realm. Since her debut, she had never encountered anything so strange. The absurd thought that this kid might possess a Celestial Eye even crossed her mind.

She didn’t know that a Top Level Alchemist could distinguish between tens of thousands of medicinal herbs by scent alone. As a former Pill Venerable, how could Qin Ya be fooled by such a simple trick? In his eyes, every person was like a medicine, each with a unique scent. Her Disguise Skill was brilliant, but no matter how she changed her appearance, her scent remained the same. Relying on this alone, he could smell her out, no matter what form she took.

"The Black Market?!"

Qin Ya frowned.

"An all-encompassing Dark World within the Imperial Capital. And I’m just one of the assassins in it, taking blood-soaked Gold Coins to reap human lives."

"Oh? How brazen." Qin Ya said indifferently. He hadn’t expected such a place to exist within the Imperial Capital. He then asked, "So who wants me dead, and what’s the price on my head?"

Hua Wuchang smiled seductively. "Sorry, no comment."

"Then leave your life behind!"

Qin Ya had never been merciful to those who wanted him dead. He thrust his spear straight for Hua Wuchang’s vital points. But she just smiled calmly, her sword flashing with light, when she suddenly heard...

"Heavenly Cold Earth Freeze!"

Qin Ya held his spear in one hand, while his other hand gathered endless cold energy. In an instant, the area within a hundred-foot radius became like the dead of winter, as a frigid power far stronger than his Moon Chasing spear descended!

An Earth-Level Top Martial Skill... Heavenly Cold Earth Freeze.

Seeing this, Hua Wuchang’s pupils shrank. A terrifying sense of crisis, one that made her blood run cold, enveloped her. ’This move... I can’t block it head-on!’

Realizing the power of this Martial Skill, Hua Wuchang’s expression turned grave. She made a split-second decision, unleashing several beams of Sword Qi from her blade as she explosively retreated!

He struck out with his palm, and the cold energy of the heavens and earth condensed into a massive, pale blue Palm Seal that pressed down on Hua Wuchang. The beams of Sword Qi shot through the air and struck the giant palm. With a deafening boom, endless cold energy rampaged forth.

Within a radius of a hundred feet, countless layers of frost condensed.

It was like a world of ice and snow.

A hundred feet away, Hua Wuchang’s face was deathly pale. Her delicate body shivered uncontrollably, her expression a mask of terror as she stared at the white-robed youth standing with his spear, a look of lingering fear on her face...

’Such terrifying cold energy,’ she thought. ’No, I have to retreat!’

At this moment, half of her body was covered in frost, and even the circulation of her True Essence felt sluggish. Forcing her True Essence to move, Hua Wuchang immediately tried to flee, but how could Qin Ya let her get what she wanted?

"Trying to escape? Hmph!"

With a cold shout, Qin Ya executed Chasing Wind and Shadow. His figure flashed as he gave chase. Because Hua Wuchang was injured, she couldn’t reach her top speed, and he caught up to her within a few breaths.

"Damn it."

Hua Wuchang gritted her teeth, her figure shifting like a Meiying. Although she couldn’t shake Qin Ya’s pursuit, she managed to delay his attacks.

The pursuer and the pursued!

In an instant, their roles had been reversed.

Soon, the two were miles away from the Chaotic Stone Forest, and the crowds of people were growing denser. Hua Wuchang gave a seductive smile. "Qin Ya, we’ll meet again. Farewell..."

Then, she dove into the crowd, used her Disguise Skill to instantly change her appearance, and vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

There were too many people and too many conflicting scents, so Qin Ya couldn’t pick her out right away. That brief moment was all Hua Wuchang needed to escape.

"Tch. What a troublesome woman."