"She was pregnant," Liu Xing muttered, reading the words at the end of the page. The sentence occupied a single line, giving it an ominous weight that made one of his eyebrows rise. He was immensely curious about the story and how it connected to the Heaven Severing Pill. Surely, this book would contain the pill's current location, and perhaps even the recipe to create it.

Liu Xing flipped to the next page.

"After I found out about her pregnancy, I told the patriarch, and he smiled widely. It was difficult, but ultimately, I decided to hide my research. I still believe that the golden grass can be extracted from her, and I have a gut feeling that the key lies in the baby she's carrying. As a researcher, I was embarrassed to follow my instincts without evidence, but I decided to do so."

Then, Jin Wuyi began planning how to extract more samples from her. In one sentence, he wrote this: "I did this knowing that the patriarch would cut off my head and that not even my father would be spared. This girl is precious, even to the patriarch. However, I needed to know. So I did it."

It was not explicitly written what he did, however, Liu Xing caught the hint. The man had extracted the sample at night by drugging her and ensuring she was fast asleep. Liu Xing decided not to jump to conclusions, though he was sure that what Jin Wuyi had done was something better left unwritten. He flipped to the next page, the sound of paper rubbing together echoing for an instant in the chamber.

"I successfully extracted some samples. However, in the middle of the extraction, she became half-conscious. It was disastrous. I shoved sleeping drugs directly down her throat. Because of my panic, the dose was too much, and on top of that, I also forced a memory-erasing elixir I had concocted on her. These two drugs were quite violent, and aside from making her agonize even in her sleep, they also obstructed my extraction. At that point, I was terrified of being found out and was in a hurry to be done with it. In the heat of the moment, I decided to extract a bit more than I needed. When I was done, I tried as thoroughly as possible to erase my presence, purging the violent drugs from her body, and I hid in my room for three days straight."

Liu Xing pinched his chin as he finished reading the page. "Should I tell the patriarch of the Jin clan about this?"

What Jin Wuyi had written in this notebook was obviously a secret, one that could have been called a perfect crime if he hadn't written it down. He continued to read.

"After my extraction, she had fallen ill once again. A doctor told me that it was because of an energy imbalance as well as an infection, and he told the patriarch about seven herbs that would heal her. I was in charge of procuring the herbs, as well as the one who ultimately concocted them into a pill. My pill worked, of course, and in the end, she returned to health. It was as if nothing had happened. But I knew something had, and I also saw the difference in her. Somehow, she became a bit weaker and more sluggish. Her cultivation stagnated; however, since she was pregnant, everyone chalked it up as merely a result of the pregnancy. I knew that it was actually the result of my mistake. My drugs were not mundane, and they could affect a pregnancy. There was nothing I could do about it aside from observing her, and I felt guilty, considering what happened the next year. However, it was worth it."

Liu Xing pressed his lips together. He knew for a fact that the result of this extraction was her death. He inhaled deeply and continued reading.

"The substance I extracted did indeed contain something extraordinary. When I placed it near several potted plants, the plants grew rapidly by absorbing the qi around them. This was both amazing and startling. I remember gawking and falling on my butt when I saw it the first time. I dipped some of the sample in murky water, and the impurities in it broke down, resulting in clear water. I even tested it by stabbing a small cat and found that it also had regenerative capabilities. It was proof that the golden grass was still inside her body—to be precise, it was all contained within her baby."

Reading this, Liu Xing's heart began beating a tad faster. What he was reading were the notes of an alchemist and researcher who had supposedly succeeded in creating the Heaven Severing Pill, which meant that baby…

"I was overjoyed with my discovery. That golden grass was indeed a gift from heaven! At the time when the fight broke out because of it, there was a rumor that eating the grass would grant immortality. And when she successfully ate half of it, people expected that her cultivation would soar, at the very least, and were disappointed when nothing happened. I knew better than them! It had merely transformed into something else. At that point, a hypothesis came to my mind, which prompted me to go to the patriarch and ask who the father of her baby was. After all, she was not married. I had hoped that it was that man from the Qing clan, the one who ate the other half of the grass. However, I was disappointed because it was not him. It was another man from my own clan, and he had already been banished. I asked more about him and even hired some people to gather information, but the results were disappointing. He was utterly normal. Barely a cultivator."

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Liu Xing flipped to the next page.

"However, other good news came to me at the same time. The current patriarch of the Qing clan was stepping down. His son would be the next patriarch, and he had a pregnant wife. After inquiring more about her, I got information that she, too, had fallen ill at the early start of her pregnancy. She had a fever, too. I still had no evidence at that time, but I knew beyond a doubt that her baby was also special. It was exhilarating news, one that even made me dance. I doubt even her husband was happier about her pregnancy than I was."

As Liu Xing read the paragraph, his brow furrowed. A strange connection between the Qing and Jin clans was forming in his mind, but he still couldn't grasp how Jin Wuyi had managed to create the Heaven Severing Pill. He realized that the history was becoming more and more disturbing as he continued to read.

"It was a shame I had no connection whatsoever with the Qing clan. Hence, there was nothing I could do besides observing her from afar. In truth, I actually wanted to drug her and extract some samples from her too. However, even with all my resources, I couldn't do any of that. Her position was simply too important to the new patriarch of the Qing clan. There were several dedicated guards who always followed her, and when they were not guarding her, the new patriarch was always beside her. I was frustrated, but it didn't mean I did nothing. As the babies inside their bellies grew, I refined my techniques, practiced alchemy, and broadened my knowledge. It was as if a fire had been lit under my rear, and I eagerly waited for those two babies to be born. It was during this time that I finally decided to tell the patriarch about my research. However, I mixed in some lies and fabricated a story about a curse. I even staged a death to convince him. But in the end, what began as a lie suddenly became reality."

Liu Xing read the next passages, his curiosity piqued. So the curse was merely fabricated, but then it turned into reality? How could that be?

"It happened after my expedition to the northern part of the continent."

"The northern part of the continent," Liu Xing muttered, pinching his chin with his right hand. "This place again."

If he remembered correctly, Ji Dongyang's former sect was located in the north. Wei Yi had also gotten his sinister demonic techniques after an expedition to the north. And now, it was Jin Wuyi.

"I was heading there after I heard news about a rare herb which, rumor said, had also been struck by golden lightning. At the end of the journey, I found a little kingdom. The cultivation in this place was so pathetic that even my meager power garnered respect, and they were ignorant of the wider world, thinking that across the dangerous mountains was nothing but a dangerous jungle. In this place, I came across a book about something similar to the golden grass. The difference was that instead of turning gold after being struck by lightning, there was a flower that turned gold after it witnessed the brutal murder of a mother and daughter. The story said that the mother turned into a flower, and the flower became a golden flower. Later, a sage complimented how beautiful the flower was, and a sound reverberated from the sky, telling the sage that if he concocted this flower into a pill, a pill called the 'Heaven Severing Pill' would emerge. The sage refused to do so, leaving the flower to wilt."

After reading this paragraph, Liu Xing's heart felt as if it wanted to leap into his throat. "Heaven Severing Pill," he muttered. The journal clearly stated its name. This was a big deal for him, since it proved that the pill Jin Wuyi had successfully created was indeed the pill he needed to retrieve.

"When I read the name 'Heaven Severing Pill,' it was as if the heavens were speaking directly into my mind, that what I pursued was indeed this pill. Knowing its name made me excited. I rushed back to my hometown, but the first people I told about my discovery were not the patriarch nor any of my clansmen, but several of my friends from the Mirror Tide Empire. In truth, I wanted to hide it, but they bribed me with expensive liquor, and I told them the name of the pill."

Liu Xing flipped to the next page.

"Ten days later, one of them died. At first, I thought it was a mere coincidence, but one by one, those I told about the Heaven Severing Pill died. In truth, I have no evidence whatsoever that they died because they knew the name of this pill; however, my feeling about it was so strong it was as if the heavens themselves had embedded this feeling into my bones. To prove it, I told this information to my assistants, and they died one by one. The curse that I had fabricated suddenly came true. One morning, I had a vivid premonition that I would die too. That day, I concocted the strongest memory-erasing pill and modified it to target specific memories. I wanted to forget the name of the pill, and I succeeded. I lived the next day, the day after, and more. But I was so afraid of this curse that I begged the patriarch to relocate the Alchemy Hall to a hidden place. The reasoning was actually illogical. I just wanted to hide my research from the heavens themselves. Every day, I had to consume a memory-erasing pill and endure its side effects. It was unpleasant, until finally, when the building of the new Alchemy Hall was approved, two babies were finally born into this world."

Liu Xing flipped to the next page, bracing himself for what Jin Wuyi would do next.

"The baby born to my clansmen was a boy, while the baby born as a princess of the Qing clan was a girl. The boy arrived in this world with a sickly body, to the point that I was pessimistic he would survive his first day, while the girl was healthy and full of energy."

Liu Xing blinked several times. "Wait a minute, a sickly boy, a princess of the Qing clan?"

He read the next paragraph, and when he saw the name Qing Lian, it was as if he had been struck by lightning.

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